Steak with Beans and Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 400g piece of steak about 3-4 cm thick.
• 200g of beans
• 3 potatoes
• Olive-Oil
• Salt and pepper

First you have to heat the oven up to 375 F and place the potatoes on foil in the oven for 1 hour 17 min.

Traditionally you place the potatoes on salt but that takes out the moister which means that you have to add fat (oil or butter) and milk to put moister back in the potatoes.

Bake the potatoes (no salt!)

Once the potatoes are done, take them out of the oven and just smash them (i used the bottom of a wine bottle) at a little pepper and salt and put glad wrap over them and let them sit.

Now put a pot of water on the stove and bring to the boil while you heat the fry pan. Add the beans into the pot of water on the stove and cook for 7-8min.

Season the streak with salt and oil and place in a hot pan at medium to high heat. Cook both sides for 3 min then place in a hot oven (375 F) for 5 min. Take out and rest for 5 min on foil.

Then cut the steak into 3 cm pieces and serve with the smashed potatoes and beans.

Enjoy!!

Critic:

Best meal I have ever cooked for him!!

Apple Caramel

Apple Caramel with ice cream

• 3 apples sliced into cubes
• Butter
• oil
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• ice cream

Place apples in a fry pan and add a teaspoon of butter and 1 table spoon of sugar. Place foil or a lid over the apples and leave on the lowest heat for 15 min.
Once this is done place 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil and the remaining sugar. Turn the heat up to high and bring the sugar and oil to a boil and turn the apples in the caramel.
Bake for 4 min and keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Serve with ice cream and enjoy.

Critic:
They were good considering I cooked the apples before hand and made up the recipe. I thought they were delicious and would add a layer of pastry and make a tarti-tarn next time!

Cheese Burgers

Ingredients:

• 4 hamburger buns
• 200g of mince
• 1 egg
• 1/4cup bread crumbs
• 1 x shallot
• Tomato
• Cheese
• Lettuce
• Tomato sauce
• mustard
• Mayonnaise (can make this if you want best recipe here)
• gurkins
• pickled onions

Instructions:

Make hamburgers about an hour before because they need to sit in the fridge.
Cook in fry pan on each side when you flip over add the cheese so it melts.
depending on the size of the burger cooking time changes.

Critic:

Left out bread crumbs so would defiantly add this next time.
bun too big to burger, make sure that you make the burger the same size as the burger.
Try mini burgers then you have fun making them together.
Also have one slice of cheese not grated cheese.

Mini Meringues

I used http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/50/mini-meringues-with-fragrant-peaches

It was a disaster because I didn't have baking paper so they went in the bin.

Will have to try again.

Mushroom Risotto (Jamie Oliver style)

• 14 g Dried mushrooms (Black Trumpet)
• 2 handfuls of risotto rice per person
• 1 x shallot
• 40ml of wine
• 10 sprigs of thyme
• 1-2 liters of mushroom stock (depending on how much rice)
• butter
• olive-oil
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan

Prepare stock by heating on the stove top.
Add some of the warm stock about a cup to the dried mushrooms and let sit for 20min.

Heat pan and add 2 tablespoons of butter, then add chopped shallots
After the shallots have cooked through (not browned) add thyme.
Add the rice and cook until starts to pop at this stage add the wine and let simmer for 2 min.

Now add 2 cups of stock let the rice absorb it then, add half a cup at a time and let the rice absorb do this until the rice is nearly cooked then add the stock that the mushrooms have been sitting in and the mushrooms and stir and cook for anyother 5 min.
When the rice is done take off the heat and the mushrooms have been added the butter and parmasen and let sit of at leased 10min.
We let it sit for an hour which was too long. Next time I think I will try a traditional risotto not the Jamie Oliver style.

Tonight I have decided to try making Mini Pavlova's

So its cold and horrible in Toronto at the moment and trying not to get cabin fever, what better than to get a glimpse of the Australian summer. I thought what could be better than watching the cricket tonight and have Pavlova!

So I can't cook very well and I have the number one critic in the world my husband. So with the pressure on this is what I did:

Following this recipe