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Weekend feasts, Time for treats by Janelle Bloom

Though I cook for a living, I bake for pleasure – and the sheer delight I get from serving treats to the people I love. It’s something that runs in my family, so in this chapter I share a few more of my family recipes. As you remove my nan’s Gugelhoph from the oven, as you dredge my mum’s powder puffs with icing sugar, I hope you’re as proud as they would be. Remember to hide away a little something sweet to treat yourself as well!

Deep-fried ice-cream

Just saying deep-fried ice-cream out loud might make you feel guilty – not I! When it’s homemade, this special treat is as good as anything I have tasted. This recipe is a slight variation on an original created by a beautiful gentle soul I used to work with – Kerrie Mullins.

What you’ll need:

Serves 4
1 litre vanilla ice-cream
450g packet Madeira cake
(Top Taste brand)
2 eggs
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
real caramel sauce, to serve
icing sugar, to serve

1. Scoop 4 large scoops of ice-cream onto a tray lined with baking paper and freeze for 3–4 hours, or until firm.
2. Cut 8 × 1cm-thick slices from the cake. Place a slice of cake in the palm of your hand and top it with a scoop of ice-cream. Place a second piece of cake over the ice-cream and use your hands to mould the cake around the ice-cream, ensuring the ice-cream is completely covered. Place on a tray and return to the freezer. Repeat with the remaining cake and ice-cream and freeze the balls for 3–6 hours, until firm.
3. Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl and place the breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Take one ice-cream ball at a time and roll it in the egg, then coat in the breadcrumbs. Return to the freezer after coating. Repeat the egg and breadcrumb layers to form a double coating. *Freeze for 3 hours or overnight.
4. Pour oil into a large heavy-based saucepan or wok until it is one-third full and heat it over medium heat until hot. Remove the ice-cream balls from the freezer and let stand for 5 minutes before cooking.
5. Drop 2 balls into the oil at a time and cook for 1 minute, or until golden. Drain on a wire rack, then serve immediately, drizzled with hot caramel sauce and dusted with icing sugar.

*You can make the ice-cream balls and then stop at this step, keeping them in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Weekend feasts, Time to cook by Janelle Bloom

While the recipes in this chapter are perfect for leisurely weekend fare, you shouldn’t discount them for midweek meals. Running around all over town looking for something new isn’t how I like to spend my days off , so the ingredients I call for are all familiar and easy to find. The steps and techniques have also been kept simple. As you create, serve and enjoy these dishes, you will experience a depth of flavour well worth that little bit of extra time and effort you’ve put in.

Buttermilk Chicken

This is better than any take-out – it’s half the price and way less kilojoules (so you can enjoy dessert without guilt). It’s also perfect lunch box and picnic food. I have a feeling this will quickly become part of your repertoire.

What you’ll need:

Serves 4–6
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
8 pieces chicken on bone (such as thigh cutlets, marylands, legs)
1½ cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
3 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
olive oil cooking spray

1. Combine the buttermilk and Tabasco in a large snap lock bag. Add the chicken and massage to coat. Secure the bag and refrigerate for minimum 2 hours (overnight is best).
2. Preheat the oven to 220°C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, paprika and sesame seeds in another large snap lock bag and shake to combine. Add one chicken piece at a time to the bag and shake to coat. Place the chicken on the tray and spray lightly with olive oil.
3. Roast the chicken for 45 minutes, or until golden, crisp and cooked through.

Family Food Midweek Meals by Janelle Bloom

Apple & Mint Lamb

Serves 4
12 lamb cutlets
½ cup apple juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon shredded mint leaves
3 golden delicious or granny smith
apples, cut into wedges
2 teaspoons white sugar*
1 tablespoon olive oil
mint sauce, to serve

*The sugar prevents the apples
collapsing and turning to mush,
while also helping to caramelise
and crisp the surface.

1. Place the lamb in a ceramic dish. Combine the apple juice, extra-virgin olive oil, mint and salt and pepper in a screw-top jar and shake well to combine. Pour over the lamb, then turn to coat both sides. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes if time permits.
2. Place the apple wedges on a microwave-safe plate. Sprinkle over the sugar, then the olive oil. Cover with a damp paper towel and microwave on High/100% for 3 minutes, until warm but still fi rm. Set aside.
3. Remove the lamb from the marinade. Pour the marinade into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil for 3 minutes, then remove fromthe heat.
4. Preheat a barbecue plate or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the lamb, basting occasionally with the cooked marinade, for 3–4 minutes on each side for medium, or until cooked to your liking. Transfer the lamb to a plate, cover with foil and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Add the apples to the hot plate or pan and cook for 3–4 minutes, turning occasionally, until light golden and just tender.  Serve the lamb with the apples and mint sauce.

Family food, midweek sweets by Janelle Bloom

Ice-cream with chocolate sauce or canned fruit and custard is more often than not what’s on offer midweek. While there’s nothing wrong with that, especially if the chocolate sauce and custard are homemade, sometimes a little more effort is called for. Whether it’s a family birthday, a note from school about an upcoming fundraiser, friends dropping in for a casual get-together, or just time to spoil the ones you love for no reason at all, something sweet that requires little effort with maximum results is what you want.

Strawberry & cream tart

This amazing tart is one of the easiest you will ever make. You can have it on the table within 30 minutes.

Serves 6

You’ll Need:
500g strawberries, hulled, halved
2 tablespoons pure icing sugar
1 tablespoon liqueur (such as Kahlúa or
Grand Marnier), optional
2 sheets frozen ready-rolled
puff pastry **
1 tablespoon white sugar
250g mascarpone

1. Place the strawberries in a bowl, sprinkle over the icing sugar, then drizzle over the liqueur, if using. Toss gently to combine, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven and a large fl at tray to 200°C fan-forced. Place 1 pastry sheet on a piece of baking paper. Top with the second sheet, then sprinkle the top sheet with the white sugar.
3. Being careful not to cut all the way through, use a small sharp knife to cut a 2cm-thick border around all four of the pastry edges. Place a 19cm square piece of baking paper in the centre of the pastry (inside the border), then place a 19cm square (base) cake pan on top. *Half fill the pan with rice. Using the paper, quickly lift the pastry onto the hot tray and bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges are light golden. Remove the cake pan and the piece of baking paper under it and bake for a further 8–10 minutes, until crisp and cooked through. Set aside to cool on the tray.
4. Keeping within the border, spoon the mascarpone evenly over the pastry base. Spoon over the strawberries and any syrup in the bowl. Serve.

*The pan helps to press down and condense the centre of the tart, which makes the base crisp and also allows the borders to rise higher.

**If you are like me and have discovered Carême frozen pastry, replace the 2 sheets with 1 × 450g packet, rolled out to a 23cm square.

Family Food, Midweek Meal by Janelle Bloom

This week we will be featuring a recipe a day from FAMILY FOOD & WEEKEND FEASTS

With limited time to plan and shop on weekdays, we find ourselves cooking the same meals over and over again.  This chapter is dedicated to expanding your weeknight repertoire – whether it’s dressing up barbecue lamb chops with a delicious lemon curd dressing, experimenting with sensational new salads and side dishes, or adding a dollop of homemade relish or chutney when serving up sausages.  I urge you to try one new recipe each week – the reward of empty dinner plates and eternal gratitude awaits!

Open Chicken, avocado & cheese fingers

Toasted “fingers”, as we used to call them, hit the spot for lunch or dinner any day of the week.

Serves 2

What you’ll need:

1 loaf uncut multigrain bread, 2 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 200g cooked chicken*, shredded, 1 large ripe avocado, peeled, mashed, 150g Swiss cheese, thinly sliced

*Any cooked chicken is suitable for this recipe. I am a big fan of smoked chicken, available at the meat section at most supermarkets.

1. Position a rack on the top shelf of the oven.  Preheat the grill to high heat.  Cut 4 thick slices from the loaf of bread. Place the bread on a tray and grill for 2-3 minutes, or until toasted, then remove to a serving board, un-toasted side up.
2. Reduce the grill heat to medium and re-position the oven rack one shelf lower in the oven.
3. Combine the mayonnaise, mustard and salt and pepper in a bowl, then mix until well combined.  Add the chicken and stir to coat.  Thickly spread the un-toasted side of each piece of bread with avocado right to the corners.  Top with the chicken mixture, followed by the cheese.  Place on the tray for 4-5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.  Serve.