Slippery Jacks

So I haven't got quite used to blogging just yet, I keep forgetting about all the little things like slippery jacks. Just last week after the rains we were able to collect a full 20 litre bucket of these gems. These mushrooms are found in areas where pine trees are growing but as with all mushrooms don't pick what you don't know as they can be extremely dangerous or fatal.

Dried mushrooms, perfect for soups and casseroles. These were dried simply by

                                                               slicing and placing on racks for a few days.

Sauteed mushrooms and onions on a scotch fillet steak with toasted sourdough.

My Food Heroes- Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Browsing in the library one day I came across the river cottage meat book, after flipping through just a few pages I knew I had to buy this book. Hugh has so much passion for local seasonal products, animal welfare and nose to tail eating. Reading his book really made me think more about the end product and ethical eating.

Hugh is well known for his series of river cottage books and shows in which he tries to live self sufficiently. 

 

  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Fearnley-Whittingstall

http://rivercottage.net/

Panna Cotta

I found a recipe for panna cotta on the net a while ago and tweaked it a little.
I didn’t have any suitable moulds so I bought a 12 pack of plastic tumblers from woollies. I made a quick syrup/sauce just by crushing raspberries and a little icing sugar. With the quantities below I made 7 servings.

Ingredients:
4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
powdered gelatine 4 1/2 teaspoons
100ml cold water
few strips of lemon rind

Method:

1. Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the powdered gelatine in. Give it a stir and set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Using a small, sharp knife, split the vanilla bean down the middle and scrape out the seeds. Place both the seeds and the rest of the bean into a saucepan with the cream, sugar, and lemon rind.
3. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring gently. Add in the gelatine mixture and heat through, stirring, for another 2-3 minutes. The gelatine should be completely dissolved by this stage.
4. Discard the lemon rind and vanilla bean. Pour into moulds and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
5. To serve slide a thin knife around the panna cotta and flip onto a plate. It is delicious as is but you could also add any sauces, shaved chocolate, lightly dust it with coffee just use your imagination.

They turned out really well, during the cooking process I tried the cream and it was really rich but as they set they mellowed out. Next time I may replace one quarter of the cream with a low fat cream to make it a bit lighter.

My Food Heroes- Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain definitely the first chef to inspire my gastronomic exploration. I first discovered Tony on his show A Cooks Tour which led me to reading Kitchen Confidential where I learned about the wild behind-the-scenes world of chefs and restaurateurs. I find him to be one of the most honest figures in the food world not afraid to speak his mind at any time. His passion for traditional home-style cooking is inspiring proving that it’s not necessary to have squeezy bottled, towered food prepared by Michelin star chefs to enjoy a great meal.

From Wikipedia-

Anthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain (born June 25, 1956) is an American author and chef. He is well known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and is the host of Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.
A 1978 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a 28-year veteran of professional kitchens, Bourdain is currently a chef-at-large, whose home base is Brasserie Les Halles, New York where he was executive chef for many years.