Tea poached turtle bean and quinoa salad (T) March 22, 2020
Posted by Pam R in Recipes.Tags: pam, recipe, t
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This recipe is from the T themed dinner, and is based on this one at Detoxinista.
I cooked the turtle beans and quinoa in Russian caravan tea instead of water. The dressing came from the original recipe, but I used coriander, red capsicum, spring onion and broccolini instead of the veg they listed.
Tea smoked chicken (T) March 22, 2020
Posted by Pam R in Recipes.Tags: pam, recipe, t
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This recipe is from the T themed dinner.
I didn’t stick strictly to a recipe, but based it mostly on the first of these links, with the additional ingredients from the second (I used orange rind, star anise and cinnamon stick, with green tea that was infused with Pandan).
“T” March 22, 2020
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: dinner, Jacinta, pam, t
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On Monday 2nd March, our dinner theme was “T”, or foods/ingredients that began with that letter. Jacinta and Pam cooked the food, and Pam also hosted.
Drink
Our cocktail of the evening was a chai tea dirty martini.
Entre
For entre we had roast tomato with feta and thyme, served with tiger nut and tapioca flat bread.
Mains
Main course consisted of tea-smoked chicken, tequila pork tenderloin, tarragon and tater salad, and tea-poached turtle bean and quinoa salad.
Dessert
For dessert, we had tequila cheesecakes, and tea-infused creme caramel.
Lime and Coconut Tart (Kaffir Lime) March 22, 2020
Posted by andrewescott in Recipes.Tags: andrew, kaffir lime, recipe
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This dessert was part of the Kaffir Lime dinner, and was based on this recipe from Gourmet Traveller magazine, which originally came from Sayers Food in Leederville, Western Australia.
I had challenges making the macaroon crust, and make it three times before it worked. The winning formula was:
Ingredients
- 220g caster sugar (normal white sugar didn’t work)
- 4 extra large eggs (~67g each)
- 250g desiccated coconut (fresh, flaked coconut didn’t work as well)
Method
- Heated oven to 160 degrees Celcius (fan-forced).
Otherwise, the rest of the recipe was followed exactly.
Kaffir Lime March 22, 2020
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: andrew, dinner, franca, kaffir lime, makrut lime
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On Monday 3rd February, the theme of our dinner was Kaffir Lime. Andrew and Franca cooked the dishes, and Franca also hosted.
Entre
For entre, Andrew made Mark Wiens’ tom kha gai (chicken tom kha soup).
Main
The main course was made by Franca, and consisted of sticky pork with kaffir lime leaves, and lime leaf chicken with rice noodles and cucumber.
Palate Cleanser
Franca then gave us a ginger and kaffir lime granita.
Dessert
For dessert, Andrew made a lime and coconut tart in a macaroon crust.
Mystery Box March 22, 2020
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: black beans, cherries, dinner, kerri, laura, mint, mystery box, pecans
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The TV cooking show MasterChef has a Mystery Box challenge, where the contestants need to make a dish featuring surprise ingredients they all get in boxes. We chose this as the theme for the dinner on 6th January, where the non-cooking members suggested an ingredient each to go in the Mystery Box: black beans (suggested by Pam), pecans (Andrew), cherries (Jacinta & Franca), and mint (reserve option from Jacinta).
Entre
To start the meal, we had balsamic cherry, feta and prosciutto pizza.
Mains
The main course was cherry and pecan pesto chicken, with black bean salad.
Palate Cleanser
To cleanse out palates after mains, we had a mint sorbet.
Dessert
To finish, the dessert was black bean, pecan and cherry brownies, and cherry and pecan pound cake.
Mexican Christmas March 22, 2020
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: Christmas, dinner, Jacinta, mexican, mexican christmas, pam
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On Monday 2nd December, we took our usual Christmas theme and turned it Mexican! Pam and Jacinta cooked the dishes, and Jacinta also hosted.
Drink
Entre
Mains
Dessert
Chickpeas March 22, 2020
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: andrew, chickpea, chickpeas, dinner, franca
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On Monday 11th November, we had a dinner on the theme of Chickpeas – the versatile legume. Andrew and Franca cooked the food, and Andrew also hosted.
Entre
To start the dinner, Franca made chickpea chips with a dipping sauce.
Mains
Andrew served the main course of Nigella’s mughlai chicken with papadums and raita, Not Quite Nigella’s chickpea spinach and red lentil curry, and North Indian onion and cucumber salad.
Dessert
To finish the meal, Franca made aquafaba pavlova with balsamic strawberries and vanilla cream, and chickpea lemon slice.
Herbs March 22, 2020
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: dinner, herbs, kerri, pam
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On Monday 7th October, our recipe club dinner was inspired by Herbs. Kerri and Pam both cooked, with Pam also hosting.
Drink
The feature drink for the evening was raspberry cocktails inflused with sage, tarragon and mint.
Entre
The entre was Ottolenghi mushroom and herb omlette (meant to be polenta).
Mains
Main course was kangaroo fillets rolled in finely chopped parsley, tarragon, rosemary and mint, with herbed roast vegetables.
Dessert
To finish, dessert was Swiss hazelnut & rosemary cake with chocolate frosting.
Rolled Roast Pork (Crunchy) March 22, 2020
Posted by andrewescott in Recipes.Tags: crunchy, laura, pork, recipe, roast
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This recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens magazine (Sep 2019 issue), and was served in the Crunchy dinner.
Ingredients
- 3 kg piece of boneless, skin-on pork belly
- 2 tablespoons sea salt (plus extra)
- 4 cloves garlic
- small bunch of thyme, chopped
- 8 bay leaves
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Method
- Preheat over to 140 degrees C (for fan-forced ovens). Season pork all over with 1 tablespoon of salt. Keep salted pork covered, and chill in fridge up to 40 hours.
- Crush garlic, thyme, and bay leaves together in a mortar and pestle to make a paste. Mix with remaining salt and pepper.
- Boil water, and lay pork skin-side down on a chopping board, then score deep criss-cross pattern all over. Pour boiling water over scored skin then dry thoroughly. Massage herb seasoning into the flesh-side.
- Starting from longest side, roll pork belly up tightly, then secure with twine at regular 2cm intervals to hold it together.
- Place wire rack or trivet in a large roasting dish and sit pork on top. Massage or brush pork skin with oil and give final sprinkling of extra salt. Roast for 3 hours, basting with pan juices every 30 minutes after the first hour.
- Remove pork from oven, turn up heat to 220 degrees C (for fan-forced). Pour out most of the pan juices. Place pork back onto the rack and roast for a further 30-40 minutes, turning pork with tongs to expose different parks of the skin that you want to make into crackling.
- When pork is ready, lift onto a board, and rest for 10 minutes before it is ready to carve. Slice pork with a serrated knife.
Melbourne Recipe Club 