Scallop Chowder

It's been raining and a little chilly for the last three days and I really fancied a nice light soup. It wasn't cold enough to want a full on, thick chunky winter special, just something warm and delicate. I was digging around for a good recipe and found a fish chowder that sounded good but a little too fishy and heavy, so I decided to have a crack at my own version of chowder.

The end result was superb. My husband stated that it was restaurant quality, and he wasn't even sucking up, and a friend thought that it was a good as one would get on the docks in San Francisco. Seeing as this is the home of chowder I was suitably chuffed with myself.

Teapots have a crack, scallop chowder

Serves 3

350g fresh scallops, roe removed and discarded
4 Dutch Cream potatoes - peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
1 stick of Celery - finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic - crushed
1 French Shallot - diced as fine as possible
6 strands of Saffron - no imitation saffron please
300mls cream
80g Butter - once again the real thing. No margarine substitutes
700ml Chicken Stock
200ml warm water
1/4 bunch of Parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tbs Olive Oil
Chives to garnish
Salt & Pepper

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan add 30g of the butter and the olive oil. Once this mixture is bubbling add the scallops and cook for a 40 seconds a side. The scallops should expand a little and be a slight golden colour. Once they are done remove them from the pan and set to one side.

Add the potatoes, celery, shallot, saffron and garlic. Cook this for a minute or two or until the celery and garlic have softened. Don't let it brown. Pour in the chicken stock and water. Bring to the boil and then let it simmer for about 20 minutes.  Stir in the cream and let it bubble slightly for another 10 minutes.

Return the scallops to the pan, add the parsley and remaining butter.  Season to taste with salt. As soon as the butter has melted remove from heat and serve immediately.  Garnish with chives and cracked pepper.

We had this with some fresh crusty white bread. So delicious. I should have doubled the amounts that I made as there was a tiny little bit left the next day and it tasted even better.

Much love and soupy goodness coming your way
Teapot Lou

I'm baaacckk!

After a huge period of technical difficulties, losing the battery charger to my camera, (Husbands fault of course) I'm back. YAY!

So to kick this off again I'm going to start with another lazy girls guide. Warning this is loaded with fat, creams, cheese and all the good stuff. It's not as bad as mac 'n' cheese (promise I'll make that) but it is way yummy. 

The lazy girls guide to 15 minute gnocchi

1 x packet of gnocchi

2 glasses of white wine - one for the pot and one for you

100 mls of cream

1 x basil dip, black swan brand is awesome

1/2 a green chilli

1 x punnet of cherry tomatoes - quarted

2 handfuls of rocket

BBQ chicken - breasts chopped roughly

Lemon

Parmesan

Salt & pepper

Fill a saucepan with cold water and add salt to it. The saucepan needs to be big enough to cook gnocchi and put it on a medium heat. 

In a large non-stick frypan add the chilli and basil dip. Once it becomes fragrant add the tomatoes and pour in the glass of wine. The sauce should turn a creamy green. Let this simmer for a few minutes until it starts to thicken. 

Once the sauce has thickened slightly add in the chicken and season to your liking. The pot of salted water should be boiling at this point.  Add the gnocchi to the boiling water. 

Give the sauce a quick stir and add in the rocket. Mix this into the sauce and then take the sauce off the heat. The gnocchi should be ready, if it has floated to to top of the pan, it's done. 

Drain gnocchi, top with sauce, squeeze on some fresh lemon juice, add a few pieces of fresh parmesan and a crack of black pepper and you are done.

Belissimo.

Peace, 

Teapot Lou

Sorry!

Sorry no posts lately - I'm having technical difficulties ie: I can't find my battery charger for my camera. I promise a new post tomorrow.

MWAH
Teapot Lou

Mmmmm Chicken

My lovely fig tree is still fruiting away so I decided to make something savoury this time. This recipe was inspired by Aunty D, he is so lovely ( also see Aunty D's Summer Sangria) and I think he is my new cooking muse.

So Aunty D served me a lovely dinner of chicken breasts wrapped in prosciutto, baby new potatoes with green olives and bay leaves and a delectable salad with figs.

Here is my spin......

Chicken breasts stuffed figs and brie wrapped in prosciutto with a burnt butter, sage sauce
4 x single chicken breasts
4 x slices of prosciutto
4 x figs
4 slices of brie
14 x sage leaves
40g butter
1/2 a lemon
1 kilo dutch cream potatoes
20g butter - for the mash
3 tablespoons cream
1 egg
2 x bunches of asparagus
Toothpicks
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200 or 180 for a fan forced oven.

Take each chicken breast and with a paring knife slice a pocket into it. Be careful not to go all the way through the chicken as the filling will fall out.

Dice the figs and slice the camembert lengthwise.

Wash and peel the spuds, cut into cubes and put into a pot of salted cold water, place onto the stove and bring to a slow boil. Spuds retain more flavour when they are boiled from cold water rather than being put into boiling water straight away. This goes for all root vegetables. It takes much longer to cook this way but the difference in flavour makes it worth it.

Take each chicken breast and stuff with the brie and figs. Wrap each breast with a slice of prosciutto and secure with toothpicks.

 Pan fry the chicken breasts until they are browned and then place into the oven for 15 minutes.

In the same pan that the chicken was cooked in add the butter and sage leaves. Cook butter until it foams. Once it has foamed, take it off the heat.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain and mash. Crack in the egg, add cream and butter, season to taste and mash again. Set aside.  Place the asparagus in glass dish and boil a kettle. Pour boiling water into glass dish with asparagus. This cooks it perfectly without it going mushy or losing any of it's gorgeous flavour. Leave in the boiling water for no more than three minutes. Take the chicken out of the oven. Squeeze the lemon into the butter sauce.

Place some mash on the place, put the chicken on the mash, stand the asparagus over the chicken and drizzle with the sauce. Make sure to get some sage leaves on each plate as they should be delicious. 

This is a yummy pretty simple dinner to make. The most complicated part is in the preparation and even that is simple. All up this took me about 45 minutes to make.  It's an uber yummy dinner to make and the little bit of extra effort makes it a winner for a week night dinner.

Peace, 

Teapot Lou 

Desserty goodness

We are lucky enough to have a fig tree in our yard and it's fruiting at the moment. Yay! Usually I would let the fruit ripen a bit more but in my excitement I picked a few figs that were a little under ripe. So I invented this delicious sweet treat.

Toffee figs with pistachios and vanilla bean ice-cream
1 punnet of vanilla bean ice-cream
6 smallish figs
handful of salted pistachios - crushed
1/2 caster sugar
1/8 cup of water
tiny pinch of cream of tatar

In the top of each fig, through the stem push in a toothpick. Set figs aside.

In a small saucepan place the sugar, water and cream of tatar. Stir constantly over a medium heat. The mix should start to bubble and turn a golden brown colour after about two minutes. As soon as it's the colour of honey take it off the heat. Don't stop stirring until the toffee has stopped bubbling.  It should look like this......

If you leave the toffee for too long and stop stirring it, this is what happens. Not pretty. See the tip at the end of this post on how to save a saucepan that's been almost destroyed. If it can't be saved then bury it in the backyard. No one needs to know.

So now that you've seen how not to make toffee, lets get on with how to make it. Grab a fig by it's tooth pick and roll it around in the warm toffee. Place it on a sheet of baking paper. Repeat with the remaining figs.

With the left over toffee, dip a metal spoon into the mixture and splatter and streak it over a piece of baking paper.

Put the figs and 'splatter' toffee in the fridge. Leave for 10 minutes to set. Once it's set scoop some ice-cream out of the tub, (I used Weiss Vanilla Bean and it was super yummy) place down a fig and sprinkle on the pistachios. Break off some of the splatter toffee and stand it on the ice-cream.

It's super tasty and takes very little time to make. It is so good with the salted pistachios on the sweet ice-cream.

This is easy providing that you pay attention attention to the toffee. To clean a destroyed pan just pour the burnt toffee into a jar, pour some white vinegar and boiling water into the saucepan and put it back on the stove for about 3 minutes. Don't let it boil. Pour out the crappy water and voila, the pan is back to normal. 

Peace, 

Teapot Lou

Sangria!

As it was so disgustingly hot on the weekend we had some visitors come to stay as the poor things had no air conditioning and a north facing, glass and tin house. One of the said visitors whimpered that he knew exactly how a dog feels when it's locked inside a car on a hot day. Seeing as the inside of my house was an air-conditioned paradise we had ourselves a little sleep over with delicious food and drinks.

One of the visitors, let's call him Aunty D, suggested that we make Sangria.


Aunty D's Summer Sangria
1 bottle of  chilled red wine
1 nectarine - diced
1 orange - slices
1 apple - diced
3 passionfruit
1 bottle of chilled sparkling mineral water
90 mls of Cointreau
Handful of fresh chopped mint
Ice cubes

Add fruit into a large jug, pour liquids in, top with mint and stir.

Ta-da! Done

Simple sushi

It has been hideously hot here for the last 10 days and I've been getting a little sick of eating salad. I wanted something a little more substantial but not something that would make me feel like I was getting hotter while eating it.

Sushi is the perfect solution. It's simple to make, delicious, healthy and you can make it out of almost anything. Yay!

Teapot's Simple Sushi
2 cups sushi rice
3 cups of cold water
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
6 x dried nori sheets
2 tbls kecap manis
2 tbls bbq sauce
Kewpie Japanese mayonaise  (or any mayo you want)
Sushi mat

A hand fan is great but not essential

You can use almost anything for the fillings I used a combination of these;
1/2 red capsicum
1/2 yellow capsicum
1/2 avocado
1 chicken breast
1 duck breast
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds
1/2 cucumber
shallots chopped lengthwise

Place the rice and cups of water in a sauce pan and cook until rice is fluffy. Make sure it's not too gluggy or sticky. Or if you are lucky enough to have a rice cooker, let it do all the work for you.

Mix two tablespoons of kecap manis and one of BBQ sauce in a little bowl and set aside. In a seperate small bowl mix the mayonnaise and remaining BBQ sauce. Set aside in the fridge.

Once the rice is cooked place it on a large plate or chopping board, essentially it needs a large non stick surface to cool on. Lay the rice out breaking up any lumps and bits that have stuck together. Sprinkle the rice wine vinegar over the rice and fan it to cool it down.

I was lucky enough to have a kitchen assistant (drinking buddy) who agreed to fan the rice with his gorgeous man-fan.

After the rice has cooled get ready to roll. A sushi mat is not essential, I don't have one. Instead I used a bamboo table runner with some glad wrap over it. You can also hand roll it.  I don't think it needs to be perfect. I like it to look like it's home made.

Put down a sheet of nori with the shiny side to the front and the rough surface on the back. Place a single layer of rice on the nori but leave a gap of about 2-3 centimetres near the edges. Put your choice of fillings into the middle of the rice. For this one I used mayonaise, duck, sesame seeds and shallots.

I'm not even going to try to explain how to roll these things but it's pretty easy.  Check out the YouTube link. This person is super fast and perfect at doing it but if it looks rough around the edges it doesn't matter as it still is yummy. Making the first roll is kind of like making pancakes. The first one is always crap.

Once the first one is rolled put it on a plate - don't chop it into slices yet - and put it into the fridge.
Then it's simple, just follow the steps and use different combinations of ingredients. Chicken, mayo and avocado is always a winner. Cucumber, sesame seeds, capsicum and shallots is really tasty too. Go crazy and just see what works for you.

Leave the rolls in the fridge for about an hour. This gives them time to chill and firm up. Then it's as easy as chopping them into slices and serving them with sauce.

If you have pickled ginger and plain soy sauce it's delicious with the sushi too.

Simple, yummy, healthy and a crowd pleaser. Total winner.

Peace,
Teapot Lou

The lazy girls guide to a 15 minute dinner

This is one of my favourite quick dinners to throw together. It's super healthy, super fast and super tasty.

Teapot's Asian inspired omelette

Serves 2

4 eggs
splash of milk
1/2 red capsicum - sliced into length wise pieces
2 shallots - sliced length wise
handful of mint - shredded
2 tbls Kecap Manis
1 tbls BBQ sauce
1 duck breast
1/2 tsp olive oil

Crack two eggs into a jug and whisk. Add a splash of milk (or water for the lactose intolerant) and whisk again.

In a small bowl or jar add the sauces and mix to combine. Set aside.

Into a small frypan add 1/4 tsp of olive oil and let this heat up. Once the pan is hot, pour in the egg mixture. Let it cook on a medium heat until it's cooked almost all the way through. This takes about 2 minutes.

Once the egg is cooked slide it out of the pan and onto the plate. Layer the shallots, capsicum, mint and duck over half of the omelette. Gently fold the omelette over.

Spoon over the sauce, a little of the mint and voila! Super fast tasty dinner. Repeat all steps to make the second omelette.

This was made of of things I had lying around in the fridge. You can replace the duck with almost anything, chicken, left over roast, prawns etc. I usually have cucumber and carrot in mine but as it's the end of the week, there wasn't much fresh veg left in the fridge. I can thank my garden for the mint and shallots.

An empty plate is the best compliment any chef can have.

Peace, 

Teapot Lou

Frankie........how I love thee

I thought I'd share an old love of mine today. Frankie, he's been in my life for about a year now and every two months I eagerly await his glossy pages to arrive at my door stop. That's right, I'm having a love affair with a magazine.

His gorgeous, recycled paper pages scream "look at me you young old lady, I'm filled with Australian op shop fashion, amazing photography, a whole page dedicated to beards and delicious candy recipes".

I've just read an article which was entitled 24hrs* where writer Anna Krien spends 24 hours being 'radically' honest. No editing the thought to mouth process, no sugar coating. Just saying it like it really is. Frankly I would find it a little terrifying.  Here's a snippet:

"Hey Kristen, you coming to my birthday party on Saturday night?" The text message came through my phone loud and clear. Thumb poised - I'm about to reply with the usual excuses (too much work, double booked, can't find a baby sitter for the kids I don't have) when I remember. I've committed myself to 24 hours of radical honesty. "Nah, I can't be bothered I type back, and then for an extra 'radical' honesty's sake I add: 'I mean it's just your birthday, you'll have another one next year. No big deal". When I finally hear back from her, it's a simple message. "You're fucked."

I adore the little gems that adorn the magazine pages with sparkling wit and humour. It's refreshing in todays age of airbrushing every damn image, making women seem like these impossibly perfect goddesses, with perfect bodies, hair, teeth and no personality or anything worth while to say.

I flick over a couple of pages and there are amazing photos of men with the most incredible beards and moustaches I've ever seen. A few more pages and voila, vintage Christmas decorations. A few more and bang, two whole pages dedicated to ice-cream flavours. Be still my beating heart.

All of this pleasure entwined with funny, heartfelt, honest and insightful interviews and stories. Frankie, frankly I applaud you and all of your creators for bringing in a magazine dedicated to all those indie, pop, young old ladies (and lads), bravo.

Frankie, if you were a man and I wasn't married, I'd marry you.

Peace,
Teapot Lou

Oh, BTW, all this pleasure is purchased for a mere $8.95. Bargain basement

http://www.frankie.com.au/

Ground control, prepare for lift off

So after months of whining to my husband that I should start blog dedicated to all things 'young old lady', here it is.

What is a young old lady I hear you ask? Well you've come to the right place. She's that girl who is a little fond of her grandmothers tea cosy, thinks mens shirts made into lovely summer dresses are gorgeous and doesn't mind cooking dinner for herself/friends/family. It's an appreciation of old school values wrapped up in brown paper and tied with pretty ribbons. It's that gorgeous pair of vintage boots you find in a thrift shop, that slutty red lipstick teamed up with a darling flowing dress, the piggy
money- box and that oh so cute apron you wear in your kitchen. It's a little kitsch, a little vintage and a lot modern.

I don't pretend to be fabulous all the time, it's far to exhausting. It's ok to chip a nail and get your hands dirty. Muss up your hair and walk around the house in your boyfriends (or girlfriends) t-shirt and wear your nanna pants.

The joy of being a young old lady is knowing when to let it all hang out. Ask your Nanna, I bet her hair isn't perfect all the time.

There is no perfect idea in my mind of what this blog will contain. I do know there will be lots of food and wine.....mmmmm wine. I'm going learn how to operate my sewing machine so be prepared for plenty of disasters but at least it will show you how not to do things. I'm learning how to take care of a garden & be more sustainable so there will be a little bit of that. I dare say there will be a rant or two about caterpillars and possums that get into the garden but hey, it's all part of it.  Potentially there will be the occasional bitch about something that annoys me and a dash or two of swearing. Liberates the spirit swearing does. Mum if you are reading this just shut your eyes when you can feel a naughty word coming on.

So thats it for now.  I should get busy & take photos of my enormous tomato plant ( the packet didn't say it would grow so big & take over my entire garden) and things that I cook.

Until then,

peace,
Teapot Lou
xxx

P.S  I don't mind if you are reading this in your underpants. It's likely I'm writing it in mine.