Part 3: Bacon wrapped jalapenos!

I considered these sinful delights as devils food. They are delirously evil and far worst, addictive! The heat of the jalapenos married with the texture of cream cheese and to top it of the the crispy bacon, just explodes in your mouth. And if you are like me, I tend to top one offwith another at a fairly consistent pace and it is only after consuming a fair dozen or so, I feel the effects and try to guzzle down any form liquids to eleviate the manic activity that had just taken place in the cave of my mouth. But fear not, as I am always ready for the next round.

I stumbled upon this recipe from another food bloggers site - and if i could only remember, I would take off my hat to you and give you credit for this grand recipe. Anyways, I did stumble across this recipe in my search for foods I could make and create on a stick for my "On a Stick" housewarming party. The house warming party never eventuated (due to lack of preparation, my tendency to procrastinate and organising people availability - but I'm not staying it will never happen!) but it didn't stop me from making these little suckers. And now I'm forever in love.....



INGREDIENTS
Green jalapenos
strips of bacon rashes (cut into thirds)
tub of philly's cream cheese
toothpics


1. Halve the jalapenos and scoop seeds and membranes out. Hint: wash hands thoroughly after this step or face the consequences (trust me, as my eye twitches whilst typing this post)

2. Spoon a generous amount of cream cheese into the cavity of the jalapenos.

3. Wrap bacon around and secure with the toothpick

4. Arrange on a tray and bake in oven at 200 degrees for approx 20 mins
Before serving let it cool. (Or if you're like me eat and burn the bridge of you mouth)

Trio of appetisers - Part 2: Very, Very wicked spuds

I am guilty of revealing the secret of these wicked spuds or perhaps moreso hesitant to admitting that I like spuds cooked this way. It is not a method of cooking that I would always use when roasting potatoes, but one I would definitely consider to saviour on special occasions like Christmas, birthdays and dinner parties. It's not a new method of cooking as such, but perhaps or more sinful one because you are consuming more than the recommended amount of this certain 'bad' food group. Yes folks, I am talking about fat. Pork fat to be more precise. Before you cringe or depict a visual of image of lard being drizzled over wedges of potatoes, let me tell you, that was not to case. I had a craving for crackle! not the pork with the meat attached - just the skin! and I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and cook pork crackle and potatoes, so that's how it came about. I devoured the crackle as soon as it was done - OMG it was good! No photos were taken however, because what the stomach wants, the stomach will get.

So, with the aide of crackle, my spuds turned out wonderfully crisp and mushy on the inside, the way good roasted spuds should be. Ahhhh!

Ingredients

20 Small chat potatoes - skin on

strip of pork skin

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Clean spuds, quarter them and then parboil them in a pot. Drain potatoes and lay on a baking tray and lightly season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Also put the strip of crackle.

Bung in the oven, and cook until golden brown. Be wary that the crackle may be ready before the potatoes, so take it out when it is done and leave the potatoes to cook until it's reached the colour.

Serve with sour cream & sweet chilli sauce or on it's own or as a side.

Part 3 - bacon wrapped jalapenos.....oooohhhh

trio of appetisers - Part 1 Wontons

Trio of appetisers - part 1

Wontons! What can I say except i love these little suckers, as passionately mentioned in my previous post on 'the art of making wontons'. I actually made these with the leftovers I had from Wonton noodle soup I made the night before. I must admit that i am guilty of sometimes making more than I need to - just so i can enjoy these little pleasures.



INGREDIENTS
wonton wrappers (50 sheets in a pkt)
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Filling: chicken mince 300g
salt n pepper
tbsp minced garlic
tbsp minced ginger
1/2 cup finely sliced spring onions
2 tbsp oyster sauce
tbsp fish sauce


Mix all the filling ingredients. then let it set in the fridge for 5 minutes.
take a sheet of wonton wrapper and put a small amount of the filling in the middle.

Have a small bowl of water set aside and dip your finger into the water and then run your finger along two sides of the wrapper.

Fold over and seal sides together and you should have a triangle shape with the point facing you. Then again wet your finger and dab one corner of the wonton and bring two sides together and then flip it up. You should have a little boat.

Heat a wok with vegetable oil, wait till the surface is shimmering and drop in the wontons in batches.

Fry until golden brown and transfer to paper towels to absorb excess oil
Serve on plate or platter with your choice of dipping sauce. I use sweet chilli.


Part 2 - spuds. STAY TUNED

What do with black bananas!

MAKE BANANA BREAD or LOAF...(same difference)

I had way, way, way too many bananas in my bowl and what made it worst was the fact that I bought more a week after because they were cheap. I do not know why I bought so many; it is not as if I have a pet monkey. However, after watching the bananas rapidly deteriorate in colour, I brooded over my stupidity of buying in excess and put it down to my inability of purchasing for one. Since moving out and fending for myself, I have realised I cannot buy things in masses because:
1. You spend more than you need to
2. Your food will go off before touch it
3. As a result of no. 2 you waste your money

Yes! I think it will take a bit of time before I settle and adjust to living on my own. In meantime, while I am in this transition phase I guest my mates will be my extended family and enjoy the fruits of my labour.

Further to justifying my lack of self-restraint to buying bananas, I believe with great affirmation that I bought the bananas in a mad frenzy due to the banana drought we had early 2007, when bananas were like $20.00 kilo. That went for a good six months and I thought I would never eat a banana again.

Now I have too many!!!

So what to do with black bananas?

Make yummy moist banana bread....

INGREDIENTS
2 ½ cups of organic self raising flour
½ cup sugar
½ cup honey
1 cup milk
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 ripe bananas
1 cup shredded coconut
½ cup of crushed walnuts
1 cup rolled oats

EXTRA: rolled oats & Walnuts to sprinkle on top

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. In a bowl mix eggs, sugar, honey, bananas, milk.
3. Then add in flour, coconut, rolled oats and walnuts and fold with large spoon. Do not over do it.
4. Butter loaf tin and pour mixture in. Sprinkle rolled oats and walnuts on top.
5. Place in oven for approx 45 mins or test by poking a knife in the middle and if knife comes out dry then it’s done.

Slice it up warm/cold or even toast it and spread a generous amount of butter/margarine and enjoy with a good cup of tea.

Merry Christmas & Chox in box

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
I heart Christmas! (sigh) I Absolutely adore what this day represents, how it brings love ones together and the uncontrolable joy that expels through every vessel in my body upon receiving presents. But what I absolutely adore about Christmas, is the food - food glorious food. Your turkeys, hams, chooks, spuds roasted to perfection. Oh dear goodness Christmas is like a smorgasboard that celebrated once a year and gives anyone and everyone a guilt-free reason to indulge themselves into having extras. More potatoes? Yes please!....Gravy oh yes!

However this Christmas, was first one in a long time where we had home cooked meal, or should I say barbeque. Last year I was on a plane to Cambodia on Christmas day, the year before that we went to a birthday. This year Mum had the fortunate task of feeding us silly and she succeeded. What was on the menu:

Cos lettuce salad mixed with capsicums, olives, tomatoes and feta cheese
Potato salad (always good)
garlic sauteed prawns (with chilli dipping sauce)
Corn on cobs
barbequed baby carrots
Lamb on the barby

Melbourne's weather decided to take a break from giving us thunderous, lightning and constant pouring of rain the days leading up to Christmas. We were praying for good barbeque weather, as Mum was adamant of having her lamb chops on the bbq and her prays were answered, it turned out to be beautiful, actually - warm, not to windy, not hot, just right.

Unfortunately folks, I did not take any pictures and I have a good reason. I'm currently moving out and renovating the house, so everything is everywhere at the moments, so instead of showing you pictures of our wonderful Christmas feast. I've posted up these choccies. Yes folks! Chocolates, I made these about a week ago, during the last week of work. Last year I made chocolate chip cookies and put them in tiny boxes and gave them out to my workmates. This year I wanted to make chocolates, but didn't have the stamina to present them in little gift boxes, so instead I brought them to our Kris Kringle morning brunch and was well enjoyed by my fellow peers.

INGREDIENTS
200g of either milk,white or dark cooking chocolate broken into pieces i used dark and white)
1/4 cup thickened cream
20g butter chopped
1 cup rice bubbles
1/2 cup desicated coconut
50 g red glace cherries coarsely chopped

EXTRA: Coco powder and/or icing sugar to decorate.

This recipe was adapted from Woolworths Fresh Magazine at my local Safeway supermarket. Simple, beautiful, tasty. I used dark and white chocolates.
1. Melt chocolate, cream and butter in heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water until smooth. (In the original recipe, it instructs you to melt the chocolate cream and butter in a bowl in the microwave for 1 1/2 mins, stirring every 30 seconds)
2. Ad Rice bubbles, coconut & cherries and stir until well combined. chill until firm.
Divide mixture into 2 parts and roll into logs by place chocolate on a sheet of baking paper. Cut into 1cm- thick slices. You can roll some of them into balls to create different shapes.
3. Coat with coconut/icing sugar or coco powder

They make adorable pressies. As shown in picsabove I placed them in a round box