Look what I made and it's all your fault (Reese's Pieces Cookies Recipe)

Do not be complacent about these they are fantastic!!!

Earlier this week I sent an e-mail with this picture to my good friend currently residing in Boston, entitled "look what I made and it's all your fault."

I received a shipment of American candy at the beginning of this month from this particular friend.  With delight and dismay and the moral support of my Boston cast mate we hid the candy in the drawer under my couch.

I have no stop button when it comes to candy and neither do most other dancers who angrily glare at you while eating all candy in sight.
So it became common knowledge amongst my performer friends in the village that I had a drawer full of the candy that made them miss home.

One evening this week a dancer friend from LA came over for a cup of tea and right on cue I had the urge to make cookies.
While whipping up my favourite new cookie recipe that always goes down well, he asks, "do you still have all that hidden candy?" He opens the drawer and chooses an unopened bag of Reese's Pieces to munch on.  While baking, making tea and eating those amazing morsels I decide I'm turning these cookies into Reese's cookies.

REESE'S PIECES COOKIES (or any other kind of chocolate)
SCRIPT:

125g butter 

1/2 cup  Soft Brown Sugar (lightly packed) 

1/2 cup  Castor Sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence 

1 egg 

1 3/4 cups self-raising flour (or plain flour and 1 1/2 t bp)

1/4 tsp salt 

1/2 cup chocolate chunks or Reese's Pieces

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 180°C and grease or line two baking trays with baking paper. 

Beat butter, sugars and vanilla until creamed, add egg and beat until mixed. 

Sift in flour and salt, mix until combined before stirring in the chocolate. 

Roll heaped teaspoon sized balls of mixture and place on tray, press down lightly with a floured fork. 

Bake for approx. 12 minutes. Makes 20 medium sized biscuits. 

* I didn't have any white sugar or butter left so I made them with brown and dark brown sugar and shortening.  I actually preferred them like that.

A Special Birthday Cake (Chocoholic Choccie Cake Recipe)

This is a special cake recipe. 

For many reasons but mainly that it has been used on all big occasions in my family including my own 21st where my mum decorated it with a custom built Tutu Skirt.  

This time I made it for my German Dancer friends birthday.  We celebrated his birthday as a diverse group of dancers, actors, a fashion designer, Americans, Australians, a Brit, a Kiwi and two Japanese at Bill's restaurant in Odaiba http://bills-jp.net/ which serves exquisite Australian style food, but with weird service.

My first go at really decorating a cake since I'm not much of an artist and I still required help to apply the red frosting I had made but didn't know what to do with.  I called my Connecticut Dancer cast mate and she finished it off for me just in time to leave.  

*It's like berry, chocolate, moist, thick, rich goodness...

CHOCOHOLIC CHOCCIE CAKE

SCRIPT:

125g butter

¾ C Castor sugar

2 eggs

1t Vanilla essence

½ C raspberry jam

1 ¼ C Flour

1t BP

½ C of cocoa

1 t soda

1 C milk          

1/2C Choc chips

(I also add a handful of mixed frozen berries to the cake once it's in the tin)

METHOD:

Cream butter, sugar add eggs and vanilla essence beating till well combined.  Mix in jam.

in a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder and cocoa.  warm milk in microwave and dissolve soda in it.

combine all ingredients slowly alternating between flour and milk.  

stir in Choc chips.

pour into lined 22cm cake tin and bake in an oven preheated to 180c for 40-50 minutes.

Mums Favourite (Lemon Cake)

Needing a birthday cake for my Russian cast and not wanting to make another cheesecake just yet...
I recently managed to get my mum to email me a couple of cake recipes from my recipe book I left in NZ as there are a ridiculous amount of birthdays in the casts this month.
Although people keep requesting cheesecakes, I don't want to keep making them when I know I have recipes like this one.
It's a killer summer dessert not really birthday cake material since it shouldn't really be iced.
It's a crowd pleaser, seriously zesty and sticky.
To be eaten hot and with yogurt is best.

 LEMON CAKE  

SCRIPT:
3 lemons zest and juice
125g butter
1C Castor sugar
3 eggs
150g sour cream or plain yogurt 
1C sifted flour
1t soda
¼ C white sugar  

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180c
Cream 1C sugar and butter,  beat in egg and add lemon rind to mixture,  stir in sour cream  (reserve  lemon juice for the syrup later)  
Fold in flour and soda.
Place in small cake tin or tin with hole in the middle  and bake 30-40 minutes in oven @180c or until cooked.
Prepare syrup by boiling 1/4C sugar and lemon juice until sugar is dissolved.  Pour over hot cooked cake.   When cold turn out and dust with icing sugar and serve with whipped cream or plain yogurt.             

Food and fellowship Pt.3 (berry crumble, homemade vanilla custard recipes)

There are 3 girls in the kitchen now as my dancing friend from Colorado joins us late from her theatre. Although the caffeine in my system is wrecking havoc with my delegation skills these two girls are awesome cooks and I love that even though they are mocking me for my crazy were having a blast attempting far too many recipes at one time.

People often say "oh I'm more of a cook" or "I'm more of a baker."
I'm neither, I just like to feed people and create environments where people can make friends with strangers and feel they can talk about important things and pray for each other.  I put it down to my mum for not liking to cook and then having 3 alpha male sons.... and to my pastors wife in NZ who taught me all about food and fellowship and catering for ridiculous numbers of people at the last minute.

On that note I make my crowd favourite

BERRY CRUMBLE
SCRIPT:
3-4 C Mixed frozen berries
1 lemon zested and juiced
1T sugar
2T water
1C white flour
1C coconut
1C rolled oats
1/2 C melted butter
1/2 C brown sugar
2t cinnamon

METHOD:
Put berries, water, lemon juice, 1t sugar in a pot on the stove.  At a low heat allow berries to melt but don't boil them down as it's nicer to have the berries still whole.  Taste and add more sugar if you want
it.  I like sour and tart flavours.  Once the berries are done put them in the bottom of a pie dish.
For the crumble combine all dry ingredients and with your hands mix in the butter, brown sugar and lemon zest until it sticks together but isn't to wet.
Crumble on top of the berries and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Cook for approx 20minutes on 180 C or until golden brown on top.

On this particular night I didn't have any coconut so we crushed up some fresh almonds.  Also I used my left over cinnamon, honey syrup from the pancakes (1st blog) to combine the crumble mixture instead of butter and brown sugar.
Feel free to ad more or less of any ingredient until the right consistency is reached for the size dish you are using.

accompanying the Crumble is my new favourite recipe (I have this thing for custard)

HOMEMADE VANILLA CUSTARD

SCRIPT:

570ml  milk

55ml single cream

1 vanilla pod or ½ tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs, yolks only

30g caster sugar

2 level tsp cornflour

METHOD:

1. Bring the milk, cream and vanilla pod to simmering point slowly over a low heat.

2. Remove the vanilla pod (wash the vanilla pod, dry and store in jar with caster sugar to make vanilla sugar).

3. Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a bowl until well blended.

4. Pour the hot milk and cream on to the eggs and sugar, whisking all the time with a balloon whisk.

5. Return to the pan, (add vanilla extract if using) and over a low heat gently stir with a wooden spatula until thickened.

6. Pour the custard into a jug and serve at once.

7. To keep hot, stand the jug in a pan of hot water and cover the top with cling film to prevent skin forming.

Serve with vanilla ice cream if you like and eat it cold for breakfast the next morning if you like.  

We sat and digested, talked, laughed and bonded and eventually left the Ruby player with the leftovers and made our way home happy from a 12 hour day together bonding, meeting randoms, getting lost and wet, cooking and eating.  

Food and fellowship pt.2 (Beef Lasagne, Salad & garlic bread recipes)

On a day full of spontaneity out in Harajuku with a gorgeous Australian dancer And two dancing boys from LA what better way to finish it off than to meet at my friend the Rugby players apartment for some fellowship and death by food.
The boys talk boy in the lounge and the Aussie dancer and I hit the chaos in the kitchen.
(I get these compulsions during the day where I have an idea of things I want to cook and today was no exception)

BEEF LASAGNE:
SCRIPT:
For the Meat Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, peeled and grated
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 pinches dried oregano
300g minced beef
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons red wine
1 (400g) tin chopped tomatoes
50ml milk
sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
 For the Cheese Sauce:
50g butter
50g plain flour
600ml milk
1 pinch ground nutmeg (or mustard)
120g Cheddar cheese, grated
 40g Parmesan cheese, grated
6 fresh lasagne sheets (approximately)
METHOD:
Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 40 mins Preheat oven to 230 C / Gas 8.
To make the meat sauce: Heat the oil in a hot pan and fry the onion, carrot and garlic together. Season with the bay leaf, 1 pinch oregano, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Allow the onion to soften before making a well in the centre of the pan.
Place minced beef in the middle of the pan and stir to break it up. Add the tomato puree and allow it to cook for 30 seconds. Cook until all the meat has browned.
Add wine and cook off alcohol before adding the tomatoes. Leave to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Finally add the milk, turn off the heat and set aside.
To make the cheese sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add flour to make a paste. When bubbling and grainy, add 1/3 milk, whisking to prevent lumps. Add remaining milk, a little at a time, whisking as you go. Season with salt and pepper and 1 pinch ground nutmeg.(mustard)
Allow sauce to cook for 1 minute before adding the Cheddar. Stir and remove from the heat.
Spoon 1/2 the meat sauce into a large baking dish and place lasagne sheets on top.
Pour 1/2 the cheese sauce and spread out evenly over the pasta sheets before spooning the remaining meat on top. Add the final layer of pasta and pour the remaining cheese sauce on top.
Finish with the grated Parmesan and sprinkle with 1 pinch dried oregano. Add a light seasoning of salt and pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

We accompany the Lasagne with the very multi talented Aussie dancers salad creation.

SALAD
SCRIPT:
1 avocado chopped up small
1 green lettuce broken with your hands
2 bunches fresh baby spinach leaves torn off
1 lime squeezed as dressing through salad
Handful cherry tomatoes whole in salad
1 red pepper chopped through salad

My mum makes this garlic bread that I think is really yum and I always think of Lasagne with Salad and garlic bread so we had a French stick cut in two and sliced diagonally

GARLIC BREAD
SCRIPT:
Depending on how much you want to make.  Melt 50g butter and add 3 cloves of crushed garlic with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some chopped fresh parsley.  Spread on French loaf, wrap in tin foil and place in the oven for 10 minutes or longer if needed. Open the tinfoil at the top and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes to crisp up the top.

and since there are now 3 boys and 3 girls and dessert is my thing.  We get the dessert under way before we all sit down to eat...

Food and fellowship pt.1 (espresso, doughnuts and Burgers in Harajuku)

We (Beautiful Aussie dancer, two male dancers from LA and me all from different casts and noone knowing each other except me) are enticed out of our apartments at 10am on our day off by the promise of breakfast and what we New Zealanders call 'proper' coffee.  Yes I'm somewhat of a coffee snob even though I actually don't drink if very often since I am insanely sensitive to caffeine.  

Harajuku calls us as I've heard great things about this place called 'eggs n things' http://www.eggsnthingsjapan.com/ by the time we find it we are extremely hungry and are thoroughly frustrated when finding that there is a 'Golden Week' sized wait time of 3 hours... yea right 

The mission continues with the promise I make them of actual espresso and doughnuts at Streamer Coffee Company http://streamercoffee.com/ (having been there only once before we get lost in the rain/I get them lost in the rain and end up at their other store)  At least we are there. It's totally worth it when we each order a doughnut with green tea flavored camo icing and our individual drinks.  One of the LA boys doesn't drink coffee?  He has a hot chocolate that comes out with pretty latte art, the Aussie dancer, LA dancer and I order their Streamer Latte Special (picture bellow)  I try my best not to have a tourettes moment when the LA boy pours the 'popular in Japan' sugar syrup in to his beautiful latte.  (you can take the kid away from starbucks but you can take the starbucks out of the kid)

Fuelled on caffeine and the promise of more food we explore the wonderful creative streets of Harajuku and find our way to the burger joint the LA boy promised us. Findin 'The Great Burger' http://www.the-great-burger.com/news/2011/03/31/  we end up sitting next to a documentary maker and magazine editor from LA and have a really entertaining lunch.  The Aussie dancer and I share a gorgonzola burger and chili cheese fries.  I couldn't possibly eat any more (and lucky that since we create a feast for dinner later on)

I love how conversation over food always leads to conversation about food.  On this note we invite the Aussie dancer and the LA dancer to dinner at my Rugby friends place and the eating continues...

A lunchtime Favourite (lemon, honey, ginger, soy chicken sandwich recipe)

29/4/2012

 This is lemon, honey, ginger, soy chicken....~!
I came up with this mix of flavors for my chicken a couple of months ago at about 1am having a food chat with an Aussie Dancer on the train heading home from a night out at a jazz bar in Ginza.  It's incredible how often food comes up in conversation with dancers.  I am still convinced that they can eat more than anyone.
I've been eating my chicken like this in sandwiches with different kinds of grainy bread ever since.
Even after eating it during rehearsals everyday I'm still not sick of it. It's that good!!!


GOURMET CHICKEN SANDWICH


SCRIPT:
1/4 avocado
QP Japanese Mayo
1/4 Red pepper
3 fresh spinach leaves
2 Pieces dark walnut bread
red leicester cheese optional
CHICKEN SCRIPT:
1/2 lemon Dash of Soy Sauce
1 chicken breast
1t honey (I use dark nz manuka)
1T fresh grated ginger
METHOD:
Cut the chicken into strips add lemon juice, grated fresh ginger and generous t of honey with a dash of soy sauce.
Mix so that chicken is coated then cook on low-med until all liquid has dried up and the chicken is cooked and black with seasoning (not burnt)
On one piece of the walnut bread spread some mayo, on the other cover with avocado.
Lay fresh spinach leaves, red pepper and 5 or 6 strips of freshly cooked chicken onto avocado. You can also add some Red Leicester Cheese if you like.

* I often cook up a couple of chicken breasts at a time and refrigerate the rest for using over the week.

With my sandwiches in tow I head to the theatre knowing very well that I have far too much food and won't be able to eat much at my cast mates birthday dinner.

Starting simple (I think I know what that means) choc chip pancakes with cinnamon honey syrup and tequila sunrise recipe

29.4.2012

Waking up to a stunning spring day in Tokyo and With a fair few hours to kill before my call time I, like any normal person decide to try out a new recipe for breakfast.
Cranking up Joss Stone I make the most of waking up 5 hours early...

CHOC CHIP PANCAKES with CINNAMON HONEY SYRUP:
SCRIPT:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips
CINNAMON HONEY SYRUP SCRIPT:
1 cup honey
1/2 cup butter or margarine, cubed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
METHOD:
In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Combine eggs, milk and oil; add to dry ingredients and mix well.
Stir in chocolate chips. Pour the batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased frying pan.
Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown. Keep warm.
Combine the syrup ingredients in a 2-cup microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave, uncovered, on high until butter is melted and syrup is hot, stirring occasionally.
Serve with pancakes. (or anything else... sooo yummy )

Since I very rarely cook let alone eat without company I send the usual "I'm cooking" mass text...
While still wearing our pjs my gorgeous talented German dancer neighbor and I devour our first plate of these awesome fluffy pancakes drenched in the even more awesome syrup.

My German dancer leaves for Yoga and I am joined by a blood shot eyed Actor from LA wearing a 'chip n dale' onesie...  the night before need not be discussed.
This plate of pancakes obviously needs to be accompanied by a 'hair of the dog' beverage and what better on a sunny morning than a


TEQUILA SUNRISE
SCRIPT:
OJ
Grenadine Syrup
3Tbspn Tequila
Ice
Tall glass
METHOD:
Fill glass with ice add Tequila. Pour orange juice just bellow full and give a quick stir.
Pour a dash of Grenadine syrup down the side of the glass and leave to rise.
Enjoy.

After educating my Actor friend by playing Jim Breuer's 'party in the stomach' YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g0AJPqKybs
I still have time to spare and start thinking about preparing lunch for eating at the theatre...