Sunny Hobart

I’d love to share a recipe with you today but I’m currently stuck in Hobart airport waiting on my tiger flight which is one and a half hours late.

We visited sunny Hobart for a friend’s wedding at their gorgeous property in the Huon valley. After a short service we picnicked in the sun. Ok we all got a little too much sun and will be sorry tomorrow.

The groom’s father (an ex army cook) prepared a spit roast of lamb, chicken, turkey and beef and a cavalcade of helpers kept us supplied with salads and drinks.

It was beautiful day for two beautiful people.

That said I can’t wait to get on this plane and get home.

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A little Lemon Curd

 

I love Lemon Curd, but most recipes are of the opinion that more is better!

Sometimes you just want a little, a dribble for some crepes, a dollop for some lemon cakes. So here is the recipe for just a little lemon curd. No preserving instructions included, I’m sure you can get through this amount in a day or two.

A little Lemon Curd
Adapted from the Basic lemon Curd recipe at taste.com.au

What you’ll need:
1 large lemon
75 grams Castor Sugar (superfine sugar)
1 large egg
30 grams of butter

How to do it:

1. Choose a saucepan and medium heatproof bowl which fit snuggly together leaving at least 8cm free in the bottom of the saucepan.
2. Fill saucepan with about 5cm of water cover with a lid and bring to the boil over a medium heat.
3. Remove zest from lemon, (I can’t live without my microplane!) and juice.
4. Beat your egg in a separate bowl and then strain to remove any difficult proteins.(you can break the difficult bits up with a spatula by pushing them through the sieve.)
5. In your bowl mix 40mls of the juice and your sugar. Add eggs and stir.
6. Reduce the saucepan to a low simmer and place your bowl on top. Be careful of steam and make sure the bowl does not touch the water!
7. Stir the mixture over the heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, this will take about 10-15 minutes depending on what your stovetop’s low simmer is.
8. Take the  bowl from the heat and place on a damp towel to stop the cooking.
9. Stir in your butter and about 1 teaspoon of the grated zest of your lemon (more or less to taste)

   Enjoy warm for a decadent experience or use when cooled and it holds it’s shape better.

 

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30 in 30 & chocolate or vanilla?

One month ago today Robert and I returned from a visit to Europe where I was entranced by the many techniques of French pattiserie.

Many of these techniques require patience and skill, something I’m not generally known for in my cooking. You want tasty food? Can do, that’s right up my alley, however if you want pretty then I generally rely on Robert’s attention to detail and steady hand to take over the reigns.

So I came back determined to learn the skills needed to create the masterpieces I saw at Pierre Herme, Laduree and Fauchon.

That is not to say this blog will only be about sweet things and complicated desserts. In fact I’ll be starting out with things I know, things like chocolate cake, cotolette & marinated fetta. I want to share with you images our vegetable and herb gardens, our family gatherings and my adventures in learning how to take photos of food.

There’s nothing like diving in the deep end, so as our literary inclined friends begin NaNoWriMo I’ll begin a 30in30 for NaBloPoMo. I know I’m insane, 1 post a day, for 30 days with a blog that hasn’t yet decided if it’s chocolate or vanilla!

I hope you’ll join me on this insane journey, I’d love to catch up with you on twitter as well, just look for me at www.twitter.com/petitdelice

One last thing before I go, can you help my blog make up it’s mind; Chocolate or vanilla?

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