A Pretend Chef

Possibly my favourite winter dessert and one of the easiest to make. Goes perfectly with some creamy vanilla ice cream. This recipe is inspired by one I read a few years back in a Vogue Entertaining cookbook that was a collection of recipes from the now long closed Sopra at Fratelli Fresh in Danks Street Waterloo. Ingredients 150gm dried muscatels 150ml All 'Uovo Crema or another sweet Marsala style fortified wine 8 slices of thick cut raisin bread 4 eggs 2 egg yolks 1/3 cup caster sugar 600ml thickened cream Method Grease two rectangular 23cm long baking dishes with butter and pre-heat a fan forced oven to 180C. Simmer the muscatels and sweet wine in a small saucepan for 2-3 minutes and allow to cool slightly. Arrange the slices of bread in the two baking dishes in two layers, breaking the bread to fit. Spread the muscatels and sweet wine liquid across the bread on both the middle and top layers.  In a bowl, mix the egg yolks, eggs, sugar and cre

Perfect for 4th of July weekend, the tomato relish can be amped up with some more cayenne pepper or some chilli if preferred, however this version is kid friendly. The relish will keep for months in the fridge in a sterilised glass jar. The pulled pork recipe is based on a recipe provided to me by Dave the chef at my favourite cafe in Darlinghurst, Stop Valve cafe in Riley Street (www.stopvalve.com.au) PULLED PORK  Ingredients 2kg Pork Neck 150 ml Coca Cola 150 ml beer 1 large onion roughly chopped 5 cloves garlic chopped 1 tbs olive oil For the spice rub 1 tsp salt 2 tsp black peppercorns 1 tbs coriander seeds 1 tbs yellow mustard seeds 1/2 tbs nutmeg 1 tbs oregano flakes 2 tbs garlic powder 1 tbs chilli powder 1 tbs cayenne pepper Method Grind the coriander and mustard seeds together with the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle into powder and combine with all of the other rub ingredients. Dry the pork off with a paper towel and massage the spice mix

This is based on a Jill Dupleix recipe (The Sydney Morning Herald August 19 2011). This is easy to make, requires about 45 minutes effort and an hour's baking.  For the sausages, I prefer a spicy pork based Italian sausage or pork and fennel sausages. This can be served with a side of roast potatoes or a green salad. Ingredients 1 cup dried bread crumbs 600 gm silverbeet, washed and chopped 12 cherry bocconcini balls 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 500 gm minced beef 500 gm filling from Italian pork sausages 1 tbs tomato paste 1 tbs capers 2 tbs olive oil 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 egg 200 ml red wine salt and pepper For the tomato sauce 2 tins chopped tomatoes 1 large brown onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tbs olive oil 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil Salt & pepper to taste Method Pre-heat a fan forced oven to 200C. In a large bowl, add the beef, sausage

5 minutes of work, some time in the oven and you are left with a delicious, healthy snack. Perfect with a cold beer. I love chilli so you may want to turn down the volume a little and use half the amount of chilli and cayenne pepper. Ingredients 1 x 400gm tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained 1 tbs dried chilli flakes 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper to taste Method Pre-heat a fan forced oven to 170C. Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Pour out onto a flat oven baking tray, onto some baking paper. Place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool before eating.

I found the recipe for this Italian crowd pleaser in an edition of Australian Gourmet Traveller and since then I've prepared it every year, usually during winter. It feeds a small army and is perfect for a family gathering washed down with a nice Chianti. It's a labour of love but well worth the effort. If serving for a dinner party I start prep in the morning. This recipe is re-written directly from the one published in the May 2006 Australian Gourmet Traveller (p. 107) and I have slightly tweaked it to my preference. Serves 8-12 people. Ingredients 500 gm bucatini or spagetti pasta, cooked 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled 2 cups cooked green peas 2 cacciatore sausages thinly sliced 2 balls of fresh mozzarella, sliced 150 gm grated parmesan cheese 1 cup of tomato passata  1 beaten egg with a tbs of milk added For the pastry 500 gm strong plain white flour 125 gm cold unsalted butter, chopped 2 tbs caster sugar 1 tbs extra virgin olive oi

This is a favourite of my kids, great for school lunches and a general crowd pleaser. You can make one or two large loaves, or six to eight small ones. I prefer to leave the dough overnight in my fridge to prove, however you can just let it rest for 2 hours if you don't want to wait. Leaving it overnight improves the flavour and adds a degree of light chewiness to the finished bread, almost like an Italian ciabatta. These can be frozen and consumed at a later time, reheated or at room temperature.  Ingredients For the dough 600gms strong plain white flour 2 x 7gm packets dried yeast 400ml warm water 20ml extra virgin olive oil 30ml milk extra flour on hand for kneading and dusting For the stuffing 2 x Chorizo sausages, diced 4 onions, roughly chopped 2 Tbs fresh thyme leaves 1 Tbs olive oil (not extra virgin) for frying Salt and pepper to taste Method Pour the warm water into a small bowl or jug and add the yeast. Stir thoroughly