food hits and misses

When it comes to kitchenware and cooking, I'm more than a bit of a gadget girl. This week, we've acquired a new stick mixer and a breadmaker. Both have had a bit of a work-out over the week, and I'd have to say I'm pretty happy with both of them. And being happy with them, when I invited a group of friends over for lunch, I had to use both of them.

The food: Soup
The Gadget: Wizz Stick Plus

I'm kind of clumsy, so the extra length of the Wizz Stick Plus is a definite plus, keeping me out of the way of hot soup splashes. It's got two speeds, the low one being about the same as the standard speed of my old stick mixer. Altogether, it did a good job of blending the soup to a really smooth consistency.

Leek and Potato Soup

1 tbspn olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or chopped
2 leeks, thinly sliced
700g potato, peeled and chopped
1.25 litres vegetable stock

Cream to serve

Method

Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan. Saute the onion until translucent, then add garlic and continue cooking for around a minute. Add the leek and potato, stir, then add stock. Cover, and allow to simmer until potato is tender - depending on the size of the potato pieces, this should be around 20 minutes. When soft, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Using the slow setting on the stick mixer, break up the large chunks of potato. For an extra smooth soup, blend on the high setting. Serve with a dollop of cream and garnish with chopped spring onion.

The food:Ciabatta

The gadget: SmartBake Breadmaker

The SmartBake has a horizontal pan, which sounds like it should make a loaf with pretty normal dimensions. But that's only true when you compare it to a standard breadmaker which, generally speaking, would produce a loaf more like a tower than anything you see at the local bakery. That said, it certainly makes a nice loaf, kneading perfectly and rising just the right amount. And it's super easy to keep clean, which is always a bonus.

Since I'm fairly new to bread making, I used a packet of bread mix instead of bread flour, improver and what not. Having bought 5 kilos of bread flour yesterday, I'm sure there'll be plenty of more authentic recipes to come.

Ciabatta

1 pkt crusty white bread mix
4.5 tspns dried yeast
420 mls water

Method

Place the ingredients in the bread maker in the suggested order for your machine. Select a dough only setting - for the SmartBake, the pizza dough setting is the best one. Allow the machine to knead and prove the dough once, then remove from the pan. The dough will be very sticky and elastic. Divide the dough into two pieces and pull each half into an elongated oval shape. It should be fairly flat. Place the dough on an oiled baking tray and allow to rise for 30 - 45 minutes. The longer it rises, the coarser the bread will be. Leaving it to rise for any less than 30 minutes will result in a loaf that's like a standard white bread only denser. Bake at 210 C until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

Pizzas really are a simple meal to prepare - here's last night's effort that went down very well with the primary care giver.

Artichoke Pizza

12 inch pre-sauced pizza base
Pizza sauce
Half green capsicum
Two button mushrooms
Pickled artichoke hearts (in vinegar)
Half stick of goats cheese
Pizza cheese

Start with the pizza base on a pizza tray - I've found the best ones are the refridgerated ones with preapplied sauce in the deli. There's never enough sauce, so I use Leggo's pizza sauce in a squeeze bottle - more flavour than plain tomato paste which I used to use, and a full tub of tomato paste is too much and you end up wasting some. Use the back of a dessert spoon to evenly apply the sauce. I usually add some garlic flakes at this point for extra flavour.

Light sprinkling of cheese directly on the sauce. Don't put too much cheese on - it will form a cheese bubble that burns and ruins the pizza. Add diced green capsicum, sliced button mushrooms, then add eight artichoke hearts evenly spaced - you want them to be the feature ingredient of each slice. Make sure the artichoke is well drained - too many liquidy ingredients are the death of a good pizza. Goats cheese can be a bit tricky - if it's a firm cheese, you can add medallions of it, but if it's soft, sticky or crumbly, you're stuck spreading it as best you can. Goats cheese is a personal preference - and the most expensive ingredient. $8 worth only does two pizzas, but complements the artichoke so well, it's worth it.

When applying your ingredients, remember that the finished pizza is going to be cut into slices - leave the middle fairly bare of toppings to help with slicing. Add more cheese on top to finish - leave a bit of a well in the middle, and don't spill cheese onto the edge of the crust - it will burn. Sprinkle with oregano to finish.

Pizzas don't take long to cook - 12 to 14 minutes in a fan forced oven at 250C should be enough - commercial pizzas are cooked in only 6 minutes! You want the cheese to be just brown. Cut the pizza almost immediately after coming out of the oven - it will cool quickly. No need for parmesan with this pizza - the flavour of the goats cheese and the artichoke is the main attraction.

Trust me, after having worked in a pizza shop - make your own at home :)

The small person has started having sleeps through the day which has meant baking is back on the agenda. So far I haven't attempted anything too adventurous - he's just as likely to wake up at a crucial moment. Biscuits seemed like a good starting point. Muesli biscuits are a bit like Anzacs, only with less fuss. I like to think the dried fruit makes them a little more nutritious.

Muesli Biscuits

125 g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 tspn vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup oats
1 tspn bicarb soda
3/4 cup dried fruit
1/4 cup coconut

Method

Preheat the oven to 170 C and line a cookie sheet with baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla essence and beat well. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Roll small amounts of dough into balls and place on the cookie sheet. Press to flatten. Bake for around 25 minutes until golden brown.