'B' is for....banana spice ice-cream

It's a little on the late side, but here is my second "Cooking A-Z" ice-cream post. On the menu today? Banana spice ice-cream. I've thrown together some ripe bananas and various spices from the rack, a handful of brown sugar, a few eggs, a splash of vanilla and a sprinkling of walnuts to make what I think is an excellent mélange of "yum". This recipe could be taken to the next level if the vanilla extract was substituted for half a vanilla bean and cinnamon sticks took the place of the ground stuff (clearly I need to shop...like urgently!). In any case, this is a quick, easy ice-cream that will certainly please any banana cake lover!

Banana spice ice-cream

Serves 6-8

2 ripe bananas

1 cup milk

250ml cream

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 whole star anise

3 egg yolks

a handful or two of walnuts

In a saucepan, mix together milk, cream, vanilla and spices.

Blitz bananas in a food processor until smooth and add to spiced cream mixture.

Heat until boiling (stirring regularly).

Take off heat and set aside for around 30 minutes to allow the spices to really penetrate through the mixture.

Put mix back on heat and, when hot, stir through egg yolks. 

Whisk constantly over a low heat, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove from heat and force the custard through a sieve.

Chill mixture. For really hungry people (like me!) this process can be expedited by placing the custard container into an ice bath.

Once cool, pour mixture into an ice-cream machine and churn according to manufacturer's instructions (approximately 10-15 minutes), adding a few handfuls of walnuts (as desired) to the mixture at around the five minute mark.

 

Then, as a turkey would say: "Gobble, gobble, gobble!" 

Coda Bar & Restaurant

Where: Coda Bar and Restaurant
What: Two pre-show meals in one week
Rating 17.5/20

Coda has been one of those Melbourne eateries that has been on my radar for over a year. However, until this week, I hadn't managed to get to the venue. In fact, at the start of the week, I had no intention to have one, let alone two meals there in the space of six days.

Let's rewind. Some months ago, I was fortunate enough to score tickets to see Ira Glass live (if you don't know his podcast, you *must* check it out!) thanks to an equally fanatic girlfriend. We initially trundled off to Movida, but were advised that, largely thanks to the Australian Open crowds, the venue was full. A very astute staff member recommend that we head to Coda. Excellent recommendation!

Before mentioning the food, I must start this review by stating that the service at Coda was truly outstanding. The waiters and bar staff were friendly and jocular, while maintaining an in-depth knowledge of food and an excellent level of professionalism - a fine balance that is rarely achieved in eateries.

The food at Coda tends to fall into one of two categories - South East Asian or Mediterranean. The former makes up most of the small dishes on the menu and both are offered in the more substantial menu options. On our first visit we were spoilt by fresh and aromatic spanner crab in betel leaf; a crispy rice paper roll, complete with Vietnamese condiments; perfectly cooked pork belly (a current special that I wholeheartedly endorse should you get to the restaurant in the next little while); duck liver parfait; and a salami, buffalo mozzarella and olive platter. All excellent, though the pork belly was a standout.

Only six days later, my beloved's family were in the country (visiting from Dubai) and we were set to attend another show in the CBD - this time, stand up comedy. In keeping with the theme of the evening, our second visit to Coda was a more relaxed affair. We asked the waiter to bring a selection of dishes. A favourite this time was the crispy prawn and tapioca betel leaf. Just as well there was only one per person or I may well have eaten my body weight in them! Once again, flawless service and delicious food made the meal memorable for all diners.

Both of our evenings at Coda were balmy and humid. As such, I opted for either G&Ts or beer. We were approached by (presumably) a sommelier asking if we'd like any advice about wine. We declined, but I suspect that wine is something that Coda does well...like everything really!

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Coda. It is very "Melbourne" - tucked away in a lane, understated and minimalist. It doesn't need to be any more than that. The refined cooking, affable staff and great location make this place (pardon my basketball analogy) a "triple threat"!

 

'A' is for...avocado ice-cream

Today marks my very first "Cooking A-Z" post for 2012. Where better to start than with avocado ice-cream? Well, that's what I thought. My beloved did not share my passion for converting this typically savoury ingredient into a milky dessert. He spent the good part of half a week trying to convince me to start the A-Z challenge with apple ice-cream, apricot ice-cream, allspice, almond....you get the picture. I persisted, maintaining that, while I had never eaten the fruit in ice-cream form, it makes a deliciously lush, thick smoothie and a velvety mousse and thus *must* make for a delectable ice-cream. For my sake (and that of women the world over, right?!), I was correct. Not only was the ice-cream a hit with my beloved (who has asked me to "make it again...and soon"), but my parents are tempted to make this dish an entry requirement for our regular dinners. This is an incredibly simple recipe (using all store bought ingredients and requiring no cooking) and was made with lactose-free milk and cream, both of which were low fat varieties. The rich, creamy flavour was not at all compromised and my farty lactose-intolerant other half was thrilled.

Avocado ice-cream

(Serves 6-8)

3 ripe avocados

1/2 lemon (juiced)

1/2 cup sugar

300ml cream

1 cup skim milk

Remove flesh from avocados and blitz with lemon juice and sugar in a food processor until smooth.
Transfer avocado mixture to a bowl and add cream and milk. Whisk until well combined, like so:

Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours and then churn in an ice-cream maker for around 10 minutes or according to manufacturer instructions.

Enjoy either immediately in "soft serve" form...

...or freeze for a couple of hours for a more solid consistency:

Rich, luscious and creamy goodness - perfect for a balmy Summer evening!

A brand spanking new year

Hello 2012! Am I glad to see you?! 2011 was far too dramatic for my liking. However, I suspect that 2012 may not be so different. There's a trip to Hong Kong, our wedding, the completion of my MBA and a new house on the cards, but you want to know the fabulous thing about all of this? They are "good-dramatic". None of this knee reconstruction business, thank you very much!

So, what's on the cards for this blog? Well, there will of course be more eating, reviewing, recipes and travel in 2012, but I'm pleased to inform you that I'll also be taking part in a year-long (yes, you read that right - eek!) A-Z cooking challenge conceived by fellow Melburnian, Laura and friend. There are 26 fortnights in a year and 26 letters in the alphabet. It is thus only fitting that each fortnight in 2012 I shall endeavour to cook something starting with 'A' and then 'B' and then...okay you know the drill!

My A-Z recipes won't be any old food, oh no! Instead, I shall attempt to create an index of ice-cream, an alphabet of affogato, a gazette of gelati. Why, I hear you ask? Because I was lucky enough to receive this brilliant, albeit admittedly somewhat lurid, ice-cream maker from my beloved for Christmas.

Check out the Cooking A-Z project here and feel free to join the party! What will my first ice-cream be? Apple? Apricot? Almond? Nope. I'm going to keep you guessing for just a little while longer!

Shortbread x2 (pandan and lemon myrtle)

Last night I had an overwhelming urge to bake. I settled on shortbread, but couldn't decide whether to kick things up a notch with some pandan extract or with ground lemon myrtle leaves.

What's a girl to do (as my bestie would say: "problems of the first world"!)? I decided to make both! The results were great and I am thrilled to share the recipe(s) with readers.
However, I must first give some credit to Adriana's inspiring blog post in September, which drove me to start experimenting with some more native ingredients - cheers!  

Pandan shortbread and lemon myrtle shortbread

Makes 30 shortbread (half of which will be lemon myrtle flavoured and the other half, pandan)

175g butter (at room temperature)

1/3 cup icing sugar

2 tbs cornflour

1.75 cups plain flour

1 tbs vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

1 tbs pandan extract (found in all good Asian grocery stores)

1 heaped tbs ground lemon myrtle (available in Oxfam stores around Australia) 

Cream butter and sugar.
Add vanilla extract, cornflour, plain flour and salt. Combine well to create a buttery dough.

Simple so far, right? Here's where the creative bit kicks in:
Split dough evenly into two mixing bowls.
In one bowl add pandan extract. Mix well.
In the other bowl, sprinkle dough with lemon myrtle and stir through. This mixture may need a few drops of water to assist the combining process. Note that if you're unable to get your hands on lemon myrtle leaf (I suspect its availability outside Australia would be limited, though you can purchase it online), you can add a few tablespoons of lemon juice and the zest of one lemon to this batch of dough instead.

Remove dough from bowls and form into a rectangular log.
Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

When the dough has firmed up and you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 170°C.
Remove dough from fridge. It should look something like this:

Line a couple of baking trays with greaseproof paper. Slice the logs of shortbread into centimetre wide slices and place on trays like so:

Bake shortbread for around 15-20 minutes. Note that the biscuits will still be a little soft when they come out of the oven. This is completely normal and they will firm up as they cool.
You may wish to dust the biscuits with a little icing sugar at this point, but I chose not to so that the colours of the ingredients could really shine through.

I think these little gems look particularly festive and fitting for this time of year. Indeed, they may even make their way into some Christmas stockings later in the month.

"And what about the taste?" I hear you ask.
I think my beloved put it best as he was munching on one of the pandan biscuits: "hmm mmm urg mmm good"!

Article...on me!

I've been reading the very talented and witty Charlotte's Great Fitness Experiment for at least a couple of years. The girl is hilarious, honest and can contort herself into a mean pretzel-like configurations! When she tweeted a couple of weeks back to ask if anyone had tried hypnosis for weight loss, I jumped at the opportunity to discuss my "hypno" experiences. Little did I know (okay, I totally did know, but thought it would be fun!) that the story would be picked up by Shape magazine. So here you go, guys - the wonderful Charlotte on hypnosis, weight loss and yours truly can be read here*.
[EDIT: I've had a number of people contact me to ask about my hypnotherapist. If you're in the Melbourne area and interested, check out her website]

*FYI: the totally knobby looking photo of moi was taken at Playa de la Concha, San Sebastian. For those who are interested, you can read about our time in San Seb here and here.  

Triple "P" pasta

As much as I love making pasta from scratch, there are occasions (more often than not for me at the moment!) when something quick and easy is called for. On my Sunday afternoon walk, some beautifully thin slices of prosciutto caught my eye in a local delicatessen. Together with some pantry basics, fresh herbs from the garden and frozen (yes, I am realistic!) peas, my beloved and I enjoyed a fragrant and delicious meal....

....and you can too!

Quick and easy triple "P" (prosciutto, pea and parmesan) pasta 

Serves 4 

1 packet of fettuccine or other pasta (store bought)

1-2 cups of frozen peas

3tbs olive oil

1/2 cup chicken stock

6-8 thin slices of prosciutto

2-3 cloves garlic

1 bird's eye chili 

herbs from the garden (I used flat leaf parsley, basil and oregano)

a generous handful of good quality parmesan to serve

Boil pasta until al dente. Drain.

While pasta is draining (can you tell I'm a fan of minimal washing up?), heat olive oil in pot. 

Because you're awesome at multitasking (I knew it!), defrost peas in microwave.

Add crushed garlic and chili to pot, followed by prosciutto.

After a couple of minutes, add the peas and stock to the mix. Allow to cook for a few minutes before throwing in a couple of generous handfuls of fresh herbs.

The mixture may appear to be a little runny at this point, but don't you worry - it'll coat the pasta just perfectly!

Return drained pasta to pot and stir sauce through well.

Serve immediately and top with parmesan and cracked black pepper. 

Best enjoyed with a glass of vino...or two!