Tag Archives: Pepper

Pie again and again it was good

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Okay today has been good at work. Busy but entirely manageable. I spent some parts of it thinking about dinner. I had a boneless and skinless chicken thigh in the refrigerator along with some vegetables. I bought some puff pastry from the supermarket.

I finely chopped some onions and sliced a part of a leek very finely. I also finely diced some salami I had too. While that was softening in a wok I floured some diced chicken meat and then added that. While that was cooking I grated some sweet potato and Gruyere cheese. After tossing the chicken around a bit to brown it off I added a little white wine and cream to thicken the sauce. I combined the sweet potato and cheese with a packet of French onion soup. To this I added the chicken salami, onion and leek. This all went into a Pyrex dish and I added some peas and corn and a little more cheese.I added some Tabasco sauce and chili flakes to add some kick to the hot salami. I covered this with the puff pastry brushed with an egg wash and then covered in freshly ground pepper. The dish was put in a moderate oven for 45 minutes.

It tasted good. It was really nice.

Just ready for the oven

Just out of the oven

It's not a pie without sauce :-)

I cracked the pastry and the creamy cheesy goodness oozed around inside

I want more :-)

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Roast lamb and smashed potatoes

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Some time ago I had the best roast lamb at a friend’s house. It was an awesome dinner party. This week I’ve eaten a good share of lamb (Australia Day dinner. Yes it’s lamb again. and Lamb cutlets with mint sauce and radish salad) and just feel the need for more. I didn’t feel the need to buy a shoulder, rather Coles had cheap lamb bones on sale which I thought would be good enough since they were ribs. Intercostal muscle is always tasty although it can be tough, so it needs long slow cooking.

Following my friend’s advice I laid down a bed of garlic and rosemary and overlaid that with lamb. On top I put in more garlic and rosemary and then covered snugly with aluminium foil. I placed the tray in a hot oven 240 °C for 30 minutes and then turned it down to 150 °C for a few hours. When it was ready I pulled the tray out and allowed the meat to cool enough for me to pick the meat from the bones and then put on my dinner plate.

These were cheap as at Coles.

There was lots of garlic. I pity friends who sit near me tomorrow.

The smashed potatoes were made by boiling a few spuds until just tender, allowing them to cool, ‘smashing’ them with your hand and then covering with salt, pepper, herbs and butter.

After boiling and smashing, in the tray.

The spuds should be boiled to just soft enough to smash with the heel of your hand.

Cover with salt, pepper and your herbs of choice. I chose oregano.

The potatoes need to be seasoned well.

Butter is also important.

As I’ve said before butter (like bacon) makes everything taste better.

The bones came out with the meat soft enough to pull away.

It is always a feeling of accomplishment when meat is cooked the way you like.

Plated up lamb and potatoes.

I should have made some gravy, but in truth it wasn’t necessary.

Poh does a nice rendition of this which can be found at the ABC website.

For alternative guidance on smashed potatoes here’s a youtube video to assist.

The images were captured with Lumix point and shoot AVCHD Lite.

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