Kate's Crazy Culinary Creations

This is the last gingerbread item for Christmas, I promise. While it did take some time it was worth the effort and they came out really good. I once again used the recipe for my gingerbread, here is the link for the recipe-  Gingerbread Recipe . I have a cookie cutter to cut out the Santa face and mustache so they were easy to make.  It was the icing that took the time. I decorated them them over 3 nights to allow the royal icing to set between colours.  Night 1 the red hat. Night 2 the white on the hat. Night 3 the skin colour, 4 hours later the beard and mustache. I iced the beard first then the mustache. I allow the beard and mustache to form a skin before I sat the mustache on, about 30 minutes. I will make theses again but now that I have made them once I think they will take half the time the next time because I know the constancy that the icing needs to be and understand the timing better. Happy cooking, until next time, Kate.

I had ordered extra fruit and vegetables for Christmas and ended up with extra tomatoes so I decided to make Tomato Passata, tomato puree that I use all the time in my pasta sauces. It was pretty easy to make and can be frozen for up to 2 months, so it will no doubt get used before then. Firstly you need to peel the fresh tomatoes. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Remove any stems that maybe on the tomatoes and cut a cross about 2 cm across on the bottom of the tomato (the other side to where you removed the stem.) Fill a bowl large enough for 4 tomatoes with water and ice. Place the tomatoes into the boiling water, 4 at a time, for 30 seconds to a minutes. The cross will slightly open. Then drop into the ice water. Once removed from the ice water you should be able to remove the skin from the tomatoes. Once all the skin is removed chop the tomatoes. In a large deep saucepan pour the oil, add both the fresh and tinned tomatoes. Finally add the sugar, basil, salt and ...

I was looking for an alternative for a Christmas cake and recently had this whilst on holidays in Hawaii. I had it at the Cheesecake Factory and loved it. I thought at the time that it was something that I would have to try. The red cake makes it perfect for a Christmas cake. I will warn you though, it does take a bit of time but the result is spectacular. You will need to make it over two days or make the cheesecake in the morning and the cake and icing in the evening to serve. So first to make the cheesecake. Preheat your oven to 140 degrees Celsius. You will need a roasting tray large enough to fit the spring form pan into that you are using. I used 24 cm tin, just keep in mind that you will also need a cake tin of the same size to cook the cakes in later. Boil you kettle with enough water to fill the roasting tray with half way up the sides of your tin. Line the base of the spring form tin with baking paper and spray the sides with oil. Wrap the bottom of the tin with 2 layers of...

I posted my gingerbread recipe last Christmas but I though I would post a couple of picture of the gingerbread house that I made this year and one last Christmas. This gingerbread recipe is so good and great for making structures with. Here is the link for the recipe- Gingerbread Recipe .

This recipe combines some flavours that I really like. And is there anything better that a home made pizza. I have posted my recipe for pizza bases on my lamb pizza  post earlier this year. This recipe is amazing and the more times that you make it the easier it gets! Now for the topping, you can cook this on your BBQ, if you have a BBQ with a hood, otherwise you can grill the chicken and onion in a grill pan on a hot plate. Spray the capsicum with some oil and put into an oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20-30 minutes until the skin begins to black. (If you are doing on your BBQ place them onto the grill and cook until charred all over. Turning as required.) Once cooked place into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to stand for 5 minutes. Peel the skin off and deseed. Cut up to your desired size. While you are waiting for the capsicum to seam in the bowl, process the garlic, chilli, paprika and oregano until finely chopped. Add the lemon juice and oil and continue t...

I thought that this recipe looked interesting. It combined to things that I really like curry and noodles. It was a little different having a curry with noodles like this but it was easy to make and a great mid week meal. In a large heavy based saucepan heat the oil over a medium-low heat. Add the curry paste, ground coriander, curry powder and turmeric. Cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly until aromatic. Add half the coconut milk and continue to cook, still stirring. Once the oil has separated add the chicken and cook, still stirring, for a further 4 minutes. Add the onion, stock, brown sugar, fish sauce and the remaining coconut milk. Simmer covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the cover from the pan and simmer for a further 6 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Meanwhile cook you noodle as per the packets instructions. Drain them and divide them among the 4 serving bowls. Cut the lime in half. Add the juice of 1 half to the curry and qua...

I was looking for something to make for Christmas gifts this year and I have seen a few different combinations of Chocolate bark. This recipe combined a lot of chocolate but looked awesome and was fairly easy to make. You could make it with store bought cookies if you were short on time. I decided to make my own.   So first you need to make the cookies. Place the butter into the bowl of your stand mixer and beat until smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy and light in colour. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla until combined. Just make sure that you scrape down the sides of the bowl if you need to.   Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Combine with the wet ingredients on a low speed. Add the chocolate chips and mix on low for a minute until well distributed. Remove the dough from the bowl and cover with aluminium foil and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.   Preheat the oven to 170 degr...

I saw this recipe a while ago in one of my cookbooks, it was my brother's dog's birthday last week so I thought it was the perfect chance to give them ago. They are fairly easy to make and would be great Christmas gifts for any dog lovers out there.  So to start with combine the wholemeal flour, bread flour, salt and brown sugar into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the eggs and the vegetable oil. Dissolve the milk powder in the water and add to the mixture. Mix together to form a firm dough that is smooth and workable. At this time you may need to adjust the mixture by add a little more flour or water. Cover the dough in the bowl and set aside to relax for 15-20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Roll out the dough to about 1 cm thick. Cut the biscuits with a bone shaped cookie cutter (if you don't have one, like me, just use whatever you have. I used a car and a medium sized gingerbread man). Place the biscuits on to a baking tray lined with b...

Well they are a classic and I thought why not give them a go. They were easier than I thought but as messy as I expected. You will need to make the sponge the day before. It will make it a lot easier to coat them with the chocolate and coconut. I used my mum's sponge recipe. We have been brought up on this sponge cake and it was a little daunting to try it as sponges can be temperamental, but it turned out perfectly. It is important firstly that you sift together the corn flour, custard powder, bicarb soda and baking powder. You need to sift it 3 times. It is important that you do this as this is it allows you to creating a light and airy sponge. Now beat your eggs until light and fluffy. Slowly add the caster sugar. Gently add the sifted ingredients. The finally carefully add the warm milk. Pour the mixture into a greased and lined lamington tin. Place into the oven and cook for 20 minutes until lightly brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly in the tin....

Well it was time for another birthday and the request this time was for a Triple Chocolate Swirl Cake. I have had this recipe for a couple of years and it was finally selected from my cookbook options. I am warning you now it does get messy when you are making the cake. But the result is worth it, but it does take a while. The recipe says that it takes an hour but by the time you melt all the chocolate it took me closer to 1 and a half to make the cake batter. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prepare two 7 cm deep, 20 cm round cake tins.  Line the base with baking paper and grease the sides of the tins. Now to start the batter, with you mixer (or beaters) beat together the butter, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing for each egg to be well combine before adding the next. Now add the flour. Continue to mix on a low speed, then add 1 cup of the milk, just until combined. Divide the mixture into 4 separate bowls. We will sta...

This recipe is great for dinner parties and flexible to suit everyones tastes. Added bonus it is quick! Quick No-bake Cheesecake http://katesculinarycreations.blogspot.com/2015/11/quick-no-bake-cheesecake.html

This is a really easy crowd pleaser. It can be made ahead of time so is ideal for a dinner party, but impressive when served. I made mine in small tart pans so they could be served individually. Firstly you will need to made the crust. In a food processor place the biscuits, depending on the size of your food processor you may need to do this in batches, blitz to a fine crumb. Then add the butter and blitz again to combined with no lumps. Press the crumb into the base of the tins. If you are in a hurry you can place them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, otherwise place in the fridge for a hour to set firm. Now for the filling in the clean food processor place the cream cheese and lemon curd. Pulse until smooth and well combined. Spread over the chilled base.  Turn them out for their tins and top with fruit. I topped mine with blueberries because I love them. But you could use what ever fruit that you like, strawberries, raspberries, kiwi fruit slices, the options are ...

Chorizo Pasta Bake http://katesculinarycreations.blogspot.com/2015/10/chorizo-pasta-bake.html

I saw this recipe online and thought it would make a great mid week meal. It was so good. It reheats really well and would serve 4 people. It would be great with a fresh tossed salad. So in a large cast iron pan over a medium heat, heat up the olive oil until just smoking. Add the sliced chorizo and diced onion to the pan and cook until brown. Add garlic and cook for a further 30 seconds. Add to the pot the stock, passata, cream, pasta, salt and pepper. Bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover with the lid and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Stir once during the 15 minutes. After the fifteen minutes stir in half the grated cheese and pour mixture into a casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and grill under the grill until the cheese is melted and brown on top. If you don't have a grill you can put it in the oven. It will just take a little bit longer. As I said earlier it would be great with a green salad. I loved this and have alr...

I can't take credit for this recipe it is from my sister. She has been making them for awhile and I finally thought I would give it a go. They are amazing and pretty simple to make. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Beat the butter until pale and fluffy for 2 minutes. Now add the brown and white sugar and continue to beat on a medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and finally add the vanilla. In a medium sized bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in the the mixer. Mix together. Finally stir in the chocolate and nuts with a large spoon until incorporated. Scoop a generous tablespoon of the mixture out and roll into a ball. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Press down lightly on the top of the balls to flatten the mixture. Allow for the biscuits to spread when cooked. About 8 biscuits to a tray. Bake for 10 minutes. You still want the cookies to be soft in the middle so you ...

Well tomorrow is the AFL Grand Final and I made some sausage rolls for the occasion. I have made these before and they were really nice. They are a little bit fiddly to assemble but the filling is easy to make. So here goes. Firstly preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. In a small sauce pan cook off the onion, garlic and fennel seeds until soft, but not brown. Set the onion mixture aside to cool while you mix together the other ingredients except for the egg and pastry of course. Now add the cooled onion mixture to the meat mixture until well combined. Defrost the puff pastry sheets. Cut them into 6 rectangles. In the middle of the sheet piece place a tablespoon of the mixture. Spread lengthwise and roll up the pastry. Then cut the roll in half again. Brush each roll with the beaten egg. Place the rolls on a baking tray that is lined with baking paper and cook in the oven until golden brown. It should take around 20 minutes. After they are cooked serve while still hot. You c...

I have had this recipe for awhile to try but because of the timing haven't had a chance to try it. I preplaned dinner this week so I could get the timing right and finally try it. It is definitely a recipe that needs forward planning. It is recipe that you need to either do on the weekend or over 2 nights. That being said, once the filling os made on the first night, assembly doesn't take long the next day. The recipe makes 6-8 individual pies.   So firstly to prepare the chicken. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celcius. In a large frying pan brown off the chicken, in batches. Careful not to over crowd the pan. It should take around 4-5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a roasting pan. Remove the excess fat from the pan and add the spring onions, celery and leek. Saute until tender 3-4 minutes, then deglaze the pan with the vermouth (you can use white wine if you prefer.) Allow to simmer for a further 3 minutes. Add the stock and tarragon sprigs and bring to the boil. Seas...

I love my sport. It is finals season for both the AFL and NRL and I am in my element. Last Saturday night I wanted a snack to eat while I was watching the games that were on. I thought that I would finally give caramel popcorn ago. When we were kids my mum used to make it for us as a treat and it is something that everyone loved. So firstly to pop the corn. In a large pot, I used my stock pot, heat a quarter of a cup of vegetable oil over a medium heat. Put a kernel into the pot and if it starts to turn it is hot enough to cook the kernels. Pour half a cup of popping kernels into the pot and swirl around in oil. Put the lid on and wait. Once they start popping shake the pot to prevent them burning. Once cooked tip into a clean bowl and set aside while you make the caramel. In a small pot add all the ingredients to the pot. Once the butter is melted and the sugar dissolved bring to the boil. It is important not to stir it at the stage. Allow the mixture to boil for 5 minute...

I have had a tagine in the cupboard for a few years now. Everytime I have gone to use it I get half way though the recipe and realise that there is no way that every thing is going to fit into my tagine. This time I was only making dinner for 2 so I didn't need to make quite as much, so I could finally use my tagine. Very exciting! I really enjoyed this recipe and I will 100% be making it again. The recipe makes about enough for 4 people. I reheats ok, but might be better if you don't add the yogurt until serves if you are going to reheat it. I also had trouble getting lamb mince so minced my own. You need to use a good quality mince. It does make a difference. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. So you start off by making the meatballs. In a bowl mix together the lamb mince, breadcrumbs, egg and half the onion. Roll the mixture into golf ball sized balls. In a large fry pan or is you have a metal based tagine place 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and heat over a mediu...

Well as promised here are the other cupcakes that I made for today's RSPCA's Cupcake Day. I mainly made these for my sister as she love's banana. She liked them so they are a keeper and include ingredients that I usually have in the house. Firstly preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prepare a 12 cup muffin tray with cake liners. Set aside while you make the cakes. Sift together the flours, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. In a small bowl use a fork to mash up the banana. Now on your stand mixer beat together the butter and brown sugar on a medium speed until light and fluffy. It should take no longer than 3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and lemon zest, and continue to beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix on a low speed until just combined. Be careful not to over beat as you still need to add the banana and don't what to make the cupcakes tough. Finally fold in the banana until just combined. Divide the batter evenl...

Tomorrow is Cupcake Day for the RSPCA so I thought I would make some cupcakes to take to work tomorrow. I made 2 types these White Chocolate and Raspberry and Banana. (I will post the Banana cupcakes tomorrow night.) So here goes. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and position the rack in the middle shelf of the oven. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tray with cake liners. In a bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Now using your stand mixer or electric beaters on high speed beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. This will take around 2-3 minutes. Then add the egg and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches alternating with the milk. Ensure that you scrape down the sides to include all the ingredients evenly. Finally add the chopped chocolate and beat on a low speed until just combined. Divide the mixture into the muffin tray. Place in oven and cook until lightly golden and a skewer comes out clean. Around 15-18 minutes. On...

Well I love Pad Thai but usually cheat and buy a jar of sauce. I assumed that it would be difficult to make so have avoided it. But it was surprisingly easy and at least I know what ingredients are in it. First to start with the sauce. Cut the palm sugar into pieces about the size of  10 cent pieces. In a small saucepan place all the ingredients. Place the pan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Then taste the sauce, it may need adjusting depending on the strength of the tamarind paste. For a little more heat add some thai chilli powder at this stage. Once the sauce is balanced remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Now to make the rest of the dish. Chop the chicken into 2 centimeter square pieces and prepare the vegetables, slice the spring onions and julienne the carrots. In a large bowl cover the rice noodles with boiling water. Allow to sit for 3-5 minutes or until the noodle are soft. Strain and set aside. Heat a large fry pan with the olive oi...

I finally lashed out and bought a food processor a couple of weeks ago. I am a sucker for a new toy. I have posted my Chicken and Pesto Ravioli previously and I thought it was time to try making my own pesto. It was surprisingly simple(almost seems to short to warrant it's own post), but it is yummy so I will post it any way. Place all the ingredients except the olive oil into the food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Drizzle the olive oil into the chute and pulse until a thick paste is formed. You may need to scrape down the sides of the food processor and blitz again to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated. I also tasted it at this stage and added a little more salt and pepper. As I said earlier I used it to make a pasta sauce, as pictured below. (Post to follow shortly.) But there are a never ending list of options that could use the pesto for. Until next time happy cooking, Kate. ***Ingredients 2 cups packed basil leaves 3 garlic cloves Zest...

Earlier this week I made mousaka, (will post shortly) and I had an eggplant left over. As they are not cheap and I didn't want to waste it. I thought I would find another use for it. I found this recipe online and I love eggplant in my pasta sauce so I thought I would give it a go. Firstly in a large saucepan bring the white wine vinegar and water to a boil. While that heats up slice your eggplant into 5 mm thick slices. Place the slided eggplant into the boiling vinegar mixture in batches. Allowing for the pieces to be fully submerged. Cook for 2 minutes and remove to drain on a tray with paper towel to absorb the excess vinegar. Repeat until all the eggplant is cooked. It took me 4 batches. Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Brush the surface of the eggplant with the olive oil for the pan. Cook the eggplant in batches. Allow the pan to create grill lines before turning them over and cooking the other side. Once grilled place on a plate whilst you cook the rest. C...

I had some odds and ends in the crisper so I decided to make a vegetable soup. Especially with the colder weather this soup is amazing. But also really tasty and easy to make. Firstly prepare all your vegetables as outlined below, Halve and slice the zucchini's Dice 2 tomatoes Finely dice 1 onion Finely dice 2 garlic cloves Chop the red capsicum into 2 cm pieces Dice 2 carrots into 1/2 cm cubes Once all your vegetables are ready in a stock pot heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a low to medium heat. Place your onion and garlic in and cook off for around 5 minutes. Careful not brown them too much just soften them. Now add the carrots, capsicum, zucchini and tomatoes to the pot and cook off for 2-3 minutes. Stiring occasionally to coat the vegetables with oil. Add the passata and the chicken stock to the pot. Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Bring to the boil and cover. Continue to cook for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes add the pasta and ...

Last week I had someone bring in a bag of home grown limes into work. Of course I straight away began thinking about what I was going to make. One of my favorite blog, Sally's Baking Addiction , happen to post a recipe for this slice. I had already thought about making a Key Lime pie but this was an interesting and easy take of a favorite of mine. So here goes. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Line the base of a baking pan with foil. Allow for overhang, this will make it easier to remove later. Lightly spray the inside of the foil with nonstick spray. Set aside whilst you prepare the base. Place your biscuits into your food processor and blitz to a fine crumb. Place into a medium size bowl and mix in the melted butter. Press the mixture into the pan. Using the back of a spoon to spread out evenly and compress the base mixture. Place the tin in the oven and cook for 10 minutes until the base is slightly brown. Now to make the filling, in a large bowl beat the cream ch...

I have just started receiving a fortnightly fruit and vegetable delivery from Aussie Farmer's Direct. This was the inspiration for this recipe as I had some vegetables to use and thought this was the perfect recipe to use them. I had made another vegetarian lasagne before but this one was far better than the last. Firstly you need to preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Peel and slice the pumpkins and sweet potato into 1 cm thick pieces. Lay the pieces onto the baking trays, pumpkin on one and the sweet potato on the other. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over them and some salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes or until soft. Whilst the vegetables are roasting you will need to make the tomato based sauce. First you will be need to cut up the vegetables. Finely dice the onion, chop the red capsicum into pieces about 2 cm, halve and slice the zucchini, chop the eggplant and slice the mushrooms. Put all the ...

This is a recipe that I have made a few times now. It looks spectacular and is pretty easy to make. It can be thrown together last minute and it looks like you have spent hours preparing it. So firstly preheat your oven to 160 degree celcius and prepare the baking tins. I made 3 cakes in 20 cm tins. If you wanted you could make 2  and slice them in half to make 4 layers. I find 3 works better, but have made it with 4 before. Line the base of your tins with baking paper Now for the cake, place the butter, sugar and vanilla in your electric mixer. Beat for 10-12 minutes until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well. Fold through the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and milk. Spoon the mixture into the pans, as evenly possible. Place in the oven and cook for 45-50 minutes. Once cooked stand in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out to cool on a cooling rack. Now for the filling dissolve the coffee granules in the water. Mix together the coffee mixture, mascarpo...

Well this is the last recipe from my Mother's day, and my favourite. I made mine into small pies (6) but have also made it into one large pie before. This was one of my first experimental recipes about 6 years ago. And it always turns out well. It is also a walk down memory lane. Firstly to make the pastry. Sift together the flours and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub through the flour with your fingertips until is resembles breadcrumbs. Then stir through the sugar. In a small bowl or mug lightly beat together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of chilled water. Drizzle over the flour mixture and use a butter knife to cut the liquid through the flour mixture. Bring the dough together with your hands into a smooth ball. Divide the dough into 2 ball, (One slightly bigger than the other). Cover with cling wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes whilst you make the filling. Peel and core the apples. Cut each apple into 8 wedges. It is important that you ...

Well this is another recipe that I cooked for Mother's Day. I know it was awhile ago but I haven't had a chance to post it yet. So here goes! You will need a large deep sided roasting pan for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Peel and slice the potatoes and onion. In the roasting tray layer the potatoes, onion, garlic, half the rosemary and the bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the stock and wine over the potatoes. Lay the lamb on top. Sprinkle the remaining rosemary over the lamb and season with sea salt and black pepper. Pour the remaining olive oil over the lamb and place in the oven for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes turn down the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and cook for a further hour and 15 minutes. Or until the potatoes are tender. Once cooked transfer the lamb to a wooden board and cover with foil to rest for 15 minutes. Return the potatoes to the turned off oven to keep warm whilst the lamb rests. Carve the lamb serve with the ...

I know it probably doesn't seem like a likely dish to serve for Mother's day but I don't eat pork and my parents both do. So when my family came over for Mother's Day it was the perfect time for me to have my first attempt at cooking pork. And facing the slightly daunting task of crackling. The rhubarb jelly recipe that I posted on the weekend is the accompaniment for this dish, and like the je lly there is some preparation the day before so some forward planning is required. So the day before you intend to cook the dish you need to prepare the pork belly. You will need a 2 kg piece of Pork belly. Score the pork skin width-wise at 1 cm a part. Rub in the sea salt flakes. Refrigerate, uncovered over night, preferably 24 hours. The next day preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Cut the 2 onions into thin wedges and combine with the potatoes. Put into the roasting tray with half of the oil. Season with salt and pepper and place in the oven to start cooking whilst ...