Cauliflower cheese

Cauliflower Cheese and sous vide duck breast

Posted by Gary

Cauliflower Cheese and sous vide duck breast

Dedicated to Emma (Diabetes Diet) (and Pink Glitter Publishing) who posted a recipe for the cauliflower cheese a few weeks ago

I modified Emma’s recipe to suit my tastes and predilections. I urge you to read Emma’s version and mine so you can see I’ve done my best to avoid any accusation of plagiarism.

Cauliflower cheese for some people is the ultimate comfort food. Cauliflower has recently taken on this aura as a low carb healthful option to a starchy root or tuber. Please note, I’m not using the word ‘root’ as a verb in Australian vernacular, rather I’m using the word ‘root’ as a noun. Although, in the Australian vernacular, ‘root’ can be converted to a noun when described and prefaced with the adjective ‘good’.

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Yummy Lummy’s sous vide cauliflower cheese

Posted by Gary

Saturday dinner. Sous vide cauliflower cheese and lamb rump steak. Garnished with parsley and lime. I cooked for 2 hours at 57 °C/135 °F. I 💚 lime flavours with my food. #sousvide #cauliflowercheese #lamb #rump #steak
Saturday dinner. Sous vide cauliflower cheese and lamb rump steak. Garnished with parsley and lime. I cooked for 2 hours at 57 °C/135 °F. I 💚 lime flavours with my food.

Yummy Lummy’s sous vide cauliflower cheese

This is a Yummy Lummy original recipe.

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Christmas lunch

Posted by Gary

Christmas lunch is always fantastic also when it’s on Christmas day 

This year I spent Christmas Day in Sydney with Bron and her sister Lou.

The day itself was fantastic weather-wise. It started warm and sunny and ended with a beautiful lightning show. The thunder wasn’t that good but the rain was glorious. It was also warm and a little muggy. I could feel my skin drinking in the muggy goodness. I love that feeling of perspiration on my brow without doing anything. 

So the plan for lunch was for a small turkey (~4.5 kg), stuffing, ham, roast spuds (potatoes for refined readers), roast parsnips, roast carrots, and cauliflower cheese. There was also bread sauce, I didn’t have any. I don’t get bread sauce 

With the sage and walnut (and bacon) stuffing the turkey weighed in at about 5 kg which meant about 200 minutes cooking at 180 °C followed by a covered rest for 60 minutes. The ham was ready straight from the refrigerator but was dressed with cloves for show.

After lunch and during the thunderstorm Bron heated up a Christmas pudding and made vanilla custard from scratch. The custard was perfect. 

 

I over exposed this photograph. The background is blown out. The ham though was very nice and the cloves studs were a nice touch. 

Ham studded with cloves SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/2.2, 1/60sec, ISO 125
Ham studded with cloves SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/2.2, 1/60sec, ISO 125

 

I tried to slice the ham thinly but wasn’t very successful. Who cares, everyone likes thick cut ham don’t they? 

Ham and cloves SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 200
Ham and cloves SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 200

 

The turkey looks good out of the oven.

Turkey out of the oven after resting for 60 minutes SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 640
Turkey out of the oven after resting for 60 minutes SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 640

 

Nothing like a well stuffed bird.

Turkey from the good end after resting for 60 minutes SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 640
Turkey from the good end after resting for 60 minutes SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 640

 

I tried to truss up the bird to keep the stuffing in. My knot work isn’t as good as it used to be  

Turkey from the oven after resting for 60 minutes. I didn't truss it up very well. At least it kept the stuffing in. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 250
Turkey from the oven after resting for 60 minutes. I didn’t truss it up very well. At least it kept the stuffing in. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 250

 

Regular readers know my favourite piece of any poultry is the cloaca. 

My favourite part of any poultry. The cloaca. It's full of fatty goodness. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 320
My favourite part of any poultry. The cloaca. It’s full of fatty goodness. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 320

 

I love carving meat. Being able to dissect an animal is so much fun. Unfortunately I didn’t have a sharp carving knife for this job. I did it with a bread knife which meant muscle strands were pulled and the skin was a little ragged. The turkey though was perfectly cooked which made the dissection easy and still very pleasurable.

Turkey all carved up. I do like to dissect the flesh of animals. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/400sec, ISO 100
Turkey all carved up. I do like to dissect the flesh of animals. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/400sec, ISO 100

 

Plate number one. I didn’t photograph subsequent plates.

My first plate for lunch. Turkey humerus, stuffing, ham, cranberry sauce, distressed spuds cooked in duck fat, roasted carrots and parsnip with a generous helping of cauliflower cheese. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/100sec, ISO 100
My first plate for lunch. Turkey humerus, stuffing, ham, cranberry sauce, distressed spuds cooked in duck fat, roasted carrots and parsnip with a generous helping of cauliflower cheese. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/100sec, ISO 100

The turkey's cloaca. I saved this to nearly the end to savour it. It was rich and juicy and oily and fatty. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/80sec, ISO 100
The turkey’s cloaca. I saved this to nearly the end to savour it. It was rich and juicy and oily and fatty. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/80sec, ISO 100

 

I like my pudding swimming in warm luscious freshly made custard with real vanilla in it. 

Christmas pudding with custard. Check out the vanilla. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 1250
Christmas pudding with custard. Check out the vanilla. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 1250

Bron and Lou cooked a fantastic Christmas lunch. It was delicious.  

What did you eat for Christmas lunch? What dessert did you have? Do you like custard? Share with me what you enjoyed on Christmas day.

Leftover vegetables with bacon and blue cheese recipe

Posted by Gary

This is an easy way to make leftover vegetables appetising and yummy

What to do with leftover vegetables like pumpkin, cauliflower, spinach and mushrooms. Really anything can be prepared for this dish.

Pay day dinner. Leftover vegetables baked with bacon and blue cheese. NIKON D7100 with 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 110mm and f/22, 1/20sec, ISO 400
Pay day dinner. Leftover vegetables baked with bacon and blue cheese. NIKON D7100 with 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 110mm and f/22, 1/20sec, ISO 400

Leftover vegetables with bacon and blue cheese recipe
 
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • Leftover vegetables like:
  • Pumpkin
  • Cauliflower
  • Mushrooms
  • Spinach
  • Onion
  • Bacon
  • Tasty Coon cheese
  • Blue cheese
  • Pouring cream
  • Pepper
Instructions
  1. Put the vegetables into a pyrex bowl
  2. Shred the bacon and add
  3. Crumble over some tasty Coon and blue cheese
  4. Pour in some cream
  5. Add some pepper
  6. Place in an oven (200 °C) for 30 to 45 minutes
  7. Shoot a photograph
  8. Plate up in a bowl
  9. Shoot a photograph
  10. Eat the meal
  11. Wash up
  12. Write the recipe
  13. Blog about it
 

Pay day dinner. Leftover vegetables baked with bacon and blue cheese. NIKON D7100 with 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 92mm and f/22, 1/13sec, ISO 400
Pay day dinner. Leftover vegetables baked with bacon and blue cheese. NIKON D7100 with 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 92mm and f/22, 1/13sec, ISO 400

Pay day breakfast. Fried egg with pork and Strasburg sausage. NIKON D7100 with 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 110mm and f/22, 1/13sec, ISO 400
Pay day breakfast. Fried egg with pork and Strasburg sausage. NIKON D7100 with 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 110mm and f/22, 1/13sec, ISO 400

 

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Roast chicken thigh recipe

Posted by Gary

With the cloaca attached the chicken thigh is my favourite cut of chicken

After so much food last week I need to start reducing the amount of food I’m consuming. Normally I would eat two thighs; tonight, I set one aside for breakfast 😉 

Roast chicken thigh recipe
 
Recipe Type: Dinner (and breakfast)
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
A simple roast dinner for a weeknight
Ingredients
  • Chicken thigh pieces preferably with cloaca attached
  • Cauliflower
  • Pumpkin
  • Capsicum
  • Mushroom
  • Tasty Coon cheese slices
  • Pouring cream
  • Chilli flakes
  • Mixed dried herbs
  • Curry powder
  • Pepper
  • Pank bread crumbs
  • Honey
  • Cooking oil
  • Soy sauce
  • Lemon
Instructions
  1. Heat up your oven to 150 °C
  2. Slice a lemon and in a bowl add some honey, soy sauce and oil
  3. Heat this in a microwave oven for about 30 seconds and then pour over and rub into the chicken pieces
  4. Put the chicken pieces into a baking tray and pour the remaining oily salty sugary liquid over the top
  5. Place the chicken into the oven for a total cooking time of 1 hour
  6. Cut up the cauliflower, pumpkin, capsicum and mushroom into small pieces and toss around in a bowl
  7. Put the vegetables into a pyrex bowl and add some cream as well as the curry powder, pepper, and mixed dried herbs
  8. Cover with the tasty Coon cheese and top with the panko bread crumbs
  9. Put the cauliflower cheese into the oven and cook with the chicken
  10. Plate up
  11. Shoot a photograph
  12. Eat the dinner
  13. Wash up
  14. Write the recipe
  15. Blog about it
 

For tomorrow's breakfast
For tomorrow’s breakfast

Chicken thigh

Tuesday dinner. Chicken thigh and cauliflower cheese.
Tuesday dinner. Chicken thigh and cauliflower cheese.

Tuesday breakfast. Chicken schnitzel and avocado.
Tuesday breakfast. Chicken schnitzel and avocado.

 
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