Kate's Crazy Culinary Creations

I made this around Christmas time as a part of a hamper that I made for my Mum for Christmas. She assures me that it was good. I am not a huge fan of chutney typically but of course had to taste it to make sure it was okay. I was pretty good even if I do say so myself. So start by preparing the tomatoes. You will need to peel the tomatoes so bring a pot of water to the boil on a hotplate. Cut a small cross in the bottom of the each tomato. Place into the water for around 30 seconds to a minute until the skins starts to lift around the cross. Remove from the pot and put into an ice bath. Remove from the ice bath and peel. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Peel and chop the onions and the garlic. Place all the ingrdients except the sugar in a saucepan. Stir until boiling and cook mixture until thickened, about1 1/2 hours. Add the sugar, stiring until boiling and cook for a further 30 minutes, stiring frequently! Whilst this is happening sterlise the jars for the chutney. Once the chutne...

I tend to have a bit of a hit and miss record when it comes to cookies/biscuits. This recipe is from one of my favourite bloggers and I haven't had any disasters with her recipes in the past so why not give it a go. So start by whisking together the flour, baking soda, cornflour and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment beat together the cream cheese and butter for 1 minute. Once creamy and smooth, add the brown sugar and caster sugar. Beat on a medium speed until light and fluffy and light in colour. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract, scrape down the sides of the bowl as required. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet on low speed. Beat until combined. Remove from the stand and stir in the biscuits with a large spoon. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours (or up to 3 days.) Take the dough out of the fridge and rest for 10 minutes allowing the mixture to soften slightly. Preheat your oven to 165 degree celcius. Line 2...

I had made a different version of this cake quite a few years ago but for my Dad's birthday last month I thought that I would do a slight variation and make it a bit more to his tastes. The original version is your traditional Neapolitan flavours, Chocolate, Raspberries and Vanilla. I decided to change it up a little and change the strawberry to peppermint. Also the recipe that I followed last time had a baked brownie base that I wasn't huge fan of so I changed mine to a simple crushed Oreo base. So here goes. Firstly to make the base, in your food processor place the Oreo's into your food processor. Pulse to create a fine crumb. Place the crumb into a bowl and add the melted butter. Line the base of a 20 centimeter spring form tin with baking paper. Place the Oreo mixture into the base of the tin and use the back of a spoon to smooth out and compress. Place the tin into the fridge to firm up whilst you prepare the filling. Whilst that is in the fridge you can star...

This week has been busy and I had to make my second birthday cake for the week last night for work today. I was pretty lucky because of the cheesecake options that he had to choose from he chose the easiest one. It was the only no bake option and it was suprisingly easy to make. I will be making this one again! You will need to make this one a day ahead as it needs to be allowed to set in the fridge for at least 12 hours. Start off with making the base. Process 300 grams of Tim Tam's in a food processor until a fine crumb. Add cooled butter and process mixture until it starts to come together as a dough. Press the mixture into the base and sides of a 20 cm spring form tin. I used the back of a soup spoon to smooth it out. Place in the fridge to firm up whilst you prepare the filling. Prepare the gelatine, place the boiling water into a bowl and sprinkle the gelatine powder over the water and stir to combine. Whisk together until the powder dissolves. Set aside to cool. Roughl...

I had another birthday to make for today. I came across this recipe and it was different to anything that I had made before. I thought I would give it a go. I was a little hesitant when I read the method as it was different to other recipes that I have made in the past. However it turned out really well and it was easy to assemble. Firstly preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celcuis. Line 2 lightly greased 20 cm tins with non-stick baking paper and set aside. Place the butter, maple syrup, both sugars and vanilla in the bowl of stand mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs one at a time, beating well between additions. Remove from the stand and fold through the flour, baking powder and milk until combined. Divide the mixure evenly into the prepared tins. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool co...

Earlier this week I had my parents around for dinner. I saw this recipe a couple of weeks ago and though that this would be the perfect opportunity to make it.  Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcuis. Dust the beef pieces with flour, shake to remove any excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy based oven proof saucepan over a high heat. Cook the beef for 2-3 minutes each side or until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside. Reduce the heat to low, add the remaining oil, onion and garlic and cook for 6-8 minutes or until softened. Increase the heat to high and add the wine. Cook off scraping the bottom of the pan until reduced by half. Add the stock, water, tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves and sugar. Stir to combine. Return the beef to the pan and cover with a tight fitting lid. Place in the oven and stir every 30 minutes and roast for 2 hours. Remove the lid and roast for a further 30 minutes. Put on a large pot of water for the pasta. Remove the ...

I has been pretty hot here in Melbourne for the last couple of week and I also haven't had an oven😢 So I was looking for something to cook on the BBQ. I am a fan of butterflied chicken because it cooks quicker than a traditional roast. I also like that it is easier to get marinade to stay on the bird while you are trying to cook it. I made this for my family and some of them, not naming names, aren't huge fans of chilli, so I reduce the amount of flakes that I used. However if I was making it for myself I wouldn't hesitate to use the full amount. I don't think that the full quantity would be to hot at all. Obviously depending on the type of flakes that you use. Preheat your oven or hooded BBQ to 200 degrees Celsius.  I prefer to butterfly my own chickens. It is really easy and once you have done it once or twice and you know where to cut you will never buy one again pre-cut. I suggest watching one of the many videos on YouTube. It will give you the added visua...

My parent moved house last year and they are having their first summer on their new house. There is numerous fruit trees there but we had no idea whatsome of them until recently. One of the tree we now know is crab apple tree. I have never seen them before let alone used them to make anything. I did some research and I found this recipe online. It was pretty easy and you could of course use whatever apples you have. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celcius. So firstly to prepare the apples, wash them and cut in half. Core as required. Place in a microwave proof dish and steam 3 times for 30 seconds. In the meantime combine the sugar, butter and golden syrup into a cast iron skillet. Over a medium heat stir until the butter melted. Reduce the heat and allow to cook for a further 5 minutes. After this time place the apples cut side facing up in the skillet. Cook for a further 3 minutes.  Remove the skillet from the heat and lay the pastry over the top of the apples. ...