Tzatziki

I saw this being made on Masterchef by George Calombaris and had to try it. I was not disappointed. It really is the best Tzatziki I have ever had. Served as a sauce with some grilled chicken & vegetables. Would be wonderful on it's own as a dip with Pita Bread too.
http://www.masterchef.com.au/prawn-kalamaki-with-tzatziki-and-herb-salad.htm 

4 Lebanese cucumbers, peeled
2 cups Greek yoghurt
1/2 clove garlic, finely grated
1 small eschalot, finely grated
½ bunch dill, fronds finely chopped
1 lemon, zest finely grated
1 pinch Cayenne pepper
1 tsp Greek honey
4-5 tbs olive oil

Coarsely grate the cucumbers onto a tray covered with a clean cloth so the liquid from the cucumber can drain into the tray. Spread cucumber out evenly, season lightly with salt, cover with a clean cloth and leave for 5 minutes then roll up to extract the juice. Set drained cucumber aside.

Place ½ cup of the thickened yoghurt in a small bowl with the garlic, eschalot, dill, lemon zest and cayenne pepper.

Add drained cucumber to the yoghurt mixture and stir to combine. Add olive oil and stir well.

Ritzy Chicken Nuggets & Capery Salad

This is my very favourite Nigella Lawson recipe. I have changed the salad a bit so it's more kid friendly. The chicken is just sooo tender and yummy. You will never have store bought nuggets again!  In Summer I serve this as written but in Winter I will add a Cauliflower Gratin as another side dish. Her original recipe is here:-
http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/1643/ritzy-chicken-nuggets-and-capery-salad

NUGGETS

2 x chicken breasts
1 cup Buttermilk
Spray Olive Oil
1 box 250g Ritz Crackers processed into crumbs (I use both packets inside)

Butterfly out the chicken breasts until thin and even. Slice into about 6 to 8 slices.

Put the slices into a freezer bag with the buttermilk and leave in the refrigerator to marinade for at least 24 hours up to 48 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200 deg C.

Tip the cracker crumbs into a wide shallow bowl, and then shake off the excess buttermilk from the nuggets and dip them in the crumbs. Lay the crumb-coated chicken nuggets on a lined baking sheet and spray well with Olive Oil Spray. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

You can also Deep Fy them if you prefer.

SALAD
1 tablespoon Capers squished into a semi-paste (use the back of a large knife)
2 diced gherkins
2 tablespoons gherkin brine
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Dijonnaise (or 1TBS Dijon Must & 1TBS Mayo)
1 bag of mixed lettuce leaves
1 cucumber sliced
1 avocado diced
1 red capsicum finely sliced

Combine the capers, gherkin brine, olive oil & dijonnaise to form a dressing.

Combine the lettuce, diced gherkins, cucumber, avocado & capsicuim in a bowl. Toss through the dressing.

Easy Egg Free Ice-Cream

I do love a rich egg custard ice-cream but it takes a bit of work (and a lot of egg yolks!). This one I can whip up in about 5 mins and usually have everything I need in the cupboard / fridge. It will set up harder than a store bought or egg ice-cream. Just let it soften for 5-10 mins before serving. 

My ice-cream maker is not great. So I chill the mixture in the freezer (in a pyrex measuring cup) until it just starts to freeze. Then I stir it and churn in the ice-cream maker. You can do the same thing without an ice-cream maker by beating it with electric beaters for 5 mins then freezing in a container until firm.

1 x tin Sweetned Condensed Milk
2 cups thickned cream
1 cup full cream milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
+  flavouring of your choice (see suggestions below)

Mix everything together and chill until ready to churn in ice-cream maker. Transfer to a container and store in freezer.

Makes approx 1 litre.

Flavour Ideas
Cherry (pictured) - drain liquid from 2 tins dark cherries (I use Woolworths Select brand). Puree until smooth
Strawberry - puree 2 punnets of strawberries until smooth
Rich Chocolate - melt 200g of 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate
Pistachio - ground up 1 cup of shelled pistacho nuts
Rocky Road - add 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder, mini marshmellows and roasted peanuts
Cookies & Cream - crush 2 packets of Oreo Cookies
Choc-Orange - same as Rich Chocolate but add the zest of 1 orange as well

Baked Blueberry Cheesecake

Blueberries are reasonably priced at the moment so I have been doing lots of 'Blueberry' baking. This is my favourite recipe so far. It's based on one by Rachel Allen and is super easy to make.

1 x vanilla biscuit base (using a springform cake tin)

2 x 125g punnets blueberries
500g soft cream cheese (room temp)
1/2 cup castor sugar 
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Beat the soft cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and the eggs together in a large bowl until smooth and creamy.

Add one punnet of blueberries to the biscuit base. Pour over 3/4 of the cream cheese mixture. Add the 2nd punnet of blueberries and pour the remaining cream cheese mixture over.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until it is pale golden and should only wobble very slightly when you gently shake the tin.

Allow to cool in the tin for about an hour before removing. Dust with icing sugar before serving.