priorities

recently, i was asked about which cookbook was my favourite. my all out favourite is probably not the sensible person's choice, but i have a soft spot for the AWW quick mix cakes cookbook. baking a cake was one of those things i had always wanted to do well. whether it had anything to do with my mother not being able to bake, i don't know, but it was important to me. i wanted to be able to bake something for my children. you'd think that knowing how to cook a proper meal would be way ahead on the list, but no, cakes were by far, more important. i know i have my priorities right - i'm right there with marie antoinette when she said "let them eat cake"...now, there's a woman who had her priorities straight! imagine the ball the two of us would have had on baking day!

quick apricot mousse

remember my strawberry mousse from last year? i thought that was pretty effortless. this is even more so. and three ingredients, to boot.
this is another offering from the same australian women's weekly menu planner i got the cream cheese flan from; this one's from page 54.

825 gram can apricot halves
2 teaspoons gelatine
300 grams sour cream

drain the apricots and reserve 1/2 cup syrup. sprinkle the gelatine over the syrup and allow to soften over a bowl of hot water.
puree the apricots, add the sour cream and gelatine mixture and mix until combined throughly.
pour into individual dishes and refrigerate until set.

isn't that easy? i'd suspect that it might be diabetic friendly if you used apricots in natural juice, but you should check that out with a dietician just to make sure.

cream cheese flan

every so often, i like to flip through my australian women's weekly menu planners. i don't have the whole set and would love to complete it if it is at all possible. anyway, this recipe is from the third book of the first series and was printed in 1987....page 58, if you must know. i love these little books - they hark to a different time and the recipes in them have that quaint quality to them, retro, if you like, but definitely not mainstream.
a gluten free version of this flan can be made if gluten free biscuits are used for the base.

this flan can be made up to 1 day ahead; store, covered, in the refrigerator. recipe unsuitable to freeze.

1 1/2 cups (185grams) sweet biscuit crumbs
90 grams butter, melted
250 grams cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons lemon rind
300 grams sour cream

combine the biscuit crumbs and butter and press over the base of a 23 cm flan tin; refrigerate until firm.
beat the cream cheese and sugar until soft, add the eggs and lemon rind and mix well.
add the sour cream and beat to combine.
pour the mixture into a saucepan and whisk over heat without boiling until slightly thickened (or microwave on high 8 minutes, stopping every 2 minute to whisk mixture).
pour mixture over biscuit base, cool and refirgerate several hours or overnight.

decorate with whipped cream, drizzled chocolate and strawberries if you'd like.

hazelnut rosettes

the big book of beautiful biscuits by the australian women's weekly was the first book i bought from the weekly library, and for all i know, it may well have been their first book (i'd love to know if anyone does know) from that collection. after buying this book (some nearly 30 years ago), i was hooked and now have a good number of books from the collection. i'm sure i don't have the entire library, but pretty close. there were some things which didn't interest me, believe it or not.
i'm not sure whether i'm stuck in a time warp, but i find the books from this collection a joy to own; the newer ones, while slick and stylish don't have the same appeal. i have many of the newer ones, but cannot say i have used them to the extent i have used the older ones...they're just nice to look at, but don't inspire me to get up and make something from them. to be really honest, i don't think i've cooked anything out of them....there, i've said it.....major confession, major sin.
but this biscuit book is my redemption. there are many biscuits i have made out of it and each one delicious. i haven't made all the biscuits, yet, but given the opportunity (read: finding people outside this household to help eat them) and the time, i intend to at least give it a try. other people's ambitions in life are to conquer mountains; mine, to conquer recipes (i'd really like to have the opportunity to travel more, especially america and europe, but making something out of a cookbook is more within my reach).
the recipe i offer today is a favourite. as a beginner cook all those years ago, this gave me the confidence to continue cooking and baking.

hazelnut rosettes
from the big book of beautiful biscuits by the australian women's weekly

250 g butter
1/3 cup sugar
60 g ground hazelnuts
1 2/3 cups plain flour
choc bits to decorate

beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
add ground hazelnuts, beat until combined.
add sifted flour.
mix well.
put mixture into a piping bag fitted with a fluted tube. pipe small stars into small paper patty cases and top each biscuit with a choc bit.
bake in a moderate oven approximately 15 minutes or until biscuits are light brown.
makes about 50.
note: the small paper patty cases used for confectionary are an ideal size for these delicious biscuits.

lemon cream cheese slice

this recipe come from the australian women's weekly's simple slices cookbook. this is a handy little A5 sized book which seems to contain alot of the favourites from over the years.

2x150g packets coconut macaroons, crushed
140g butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey


filling
3 teaspoons gelatine
1/4 cup (60ml) water
500g packaged cream cheese softened, chopped
280g jar lemon butter
1/2 cup (125ml) sour cream


grease 20cm x 30cm lamington pan; line base and two long sides with baking paper, extending paper 2cm above edge of pan.
combine macaroons, butter and honey in medium bowl; mix well. press into prepared pan, roughen surface using a fork. pour filling over macaroon base; refrigarate until firm.


filling
sprinkle gelatine over water in cup. stand in small pan of simmering water, stir until dissolved. beat cheese in medium bowl with electric mixer until smooth. add gelatine mixture and remaining ingrediants, beat until smooth.


makes about 10


tip this recipe can be made three days ahead and kept, covered, in the refrigerator.

cheesy bacon and egg slice

this is from AWW's Best Recipes from the Weekly. i love this cookbook. actually, i love lots of the old cookbooks. they have recipes which are comforting and reflect a slower pace of life. if you look at the cookbook shelves in bookshops these days, a considerable amount of space is devoted to speed - you know - dinner in 30 minutes, fast food at home...you know what i mean - there's even fast eddy on telly. i'm sure i could cook as fast as he does if i had everything at the ready for me too. but do i want to? whatever happened to cooking being relaxing? all this speed just sounds like a stressful finish to a stressful day. surely something slow helps one wind down? this is a slow recipe. the people at the weekly even tell you that it's better if you take your time about it (i copied the introduction to this recipe verbatim from them - not my words), and qualify it by saying that it's even better that way.
instead of making a casserole for a slow meal, try this. it's a different slow, one which you can stick in the fridge and forget until the next day and won't tempt you with cooking smells hours before you can eat it.

this is one of the tastiest and handiest recipes we have created in the kitchen. the whole dish is prepared, covered, refrigerated overnight and baked when you are ready the next day. it can be baked on the same day, but the flavor is not quite as good.

1/2 loaf unsliced white bread
125g grated cheddar cheese
5 rashers bacon
2 shallots
1 small green pepper
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon mayonnaise pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 small red pepper

trim crusts from bread, cut bread into 2.5 cm cubes, place bread in single layer in ovenproof dish. sprinkle with cheese. cut bacon in 2.5cm pieces, fry until crisp and brown, drain, place over cheese, top with chopped shallots and chopped green pepper.
whisk eggs with fork, add milk, mustard, worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, pepper and basil. pour over bread mixture, top with chopped red pepper, cover with plastic food wrap, refrigerate overnight. next day bake uncovered in moderate oven for 50 - 60 minutes. serves 6

layered garden salad

this salad is wonderfully tasty and easy to prepare, and as an added bonus, it can be made the day before it is required, which is useful when entertaining.
this recipe can be found in All-Time Favourites from the Australian Women's Weekly and Best Recipes from The Weekly, both sadly now out of print.
i'm really grateful to my friend, kris, for drawing my attention to this salad - if she hadn't, i'd still be in the dark and ignorant to its total yumminess. i was always aware of this salad, but never thought it was so good; i just categorised it as one of those salads which had its heyday in the 60s and 70s and shelved it as such. little did i know ....

1/2 iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 cups frozen peas
2 hard-boiled eggs
250g button mushrooms, finely sliced
1 cup (125g) grated tasty cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tbs sour cream
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbs lemon juice
6 spring/green onions, finely chopped
4 bacon rashes, finally chopped
1 large tomato, sliced
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Place lettuce into deep 3.5 litre (14 cup) dish; cover lettuce evenly with peas. Place the sliced mushrooms over the peas and push eggs through sieve, sprinkling the eggs evenly over the mushrooms; top with cheese.
Combine mayonnaise, cream, mustard, juice and onions in a small bowl and pour over cheese. Cover and refrigerate.
Before serving, cook bacon in a pan, stirring until crisp and browned; drain on absorbent paper. Arrange tomato slices over mayonnaise layer, and sprinkle with bacon and parsley just before serving.
serves 6 to 8.