Yummy Chocolate Brownies

115 g butter
200 g white sugar
2 eggs
5 ml vanilla extract
30 g unsweetened cocoa powder
60 g all-purpose flour
2 g salt
1 g baking powder
Icing and Maltesers to decorate

Icing:
125g icing sugar
2 tsp cocoa
1 Tbsp horlicks or malted milk powder
60g softened butter
1 Tbsp boiling water

Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease and line with baking paper a 20x20cm square tin.

Melt the butter in a saucepan on the stove. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 mins or until still slightly gooey in the centre.

Cool in the pan then ice with malteser icing and decorate with maltesers.

For the icing: Mix together all ingredients except the water in a bowl. Gradually add the boiling water until desired consistency is reached.

Slow cooking activity with Kelly and Tim

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Yield: 6-8 servings

3 rashers of thick cut bacon
3 pounds beef chuck cubed
1 bottle red wine
1 pound onions chopped
1 pound celery chopped
1 pound carrots chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Brown the beef and bacon in batches in a frying pan and add to the
slow cooker. Discard the fat from the pan. Deglaze the pan with some
red wine and put in the slow cooker.

Add vegetables and enough wine to cover the everything in the slow
cooker. Add bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low for 8
hours.

We served it on top of thick, wide flat pasta. (YUM)

Grublover comment
Also try: BEER BRAISED PORK AND BLACK BEAN SOUP

For St Pat's day Tim is making GUINNESS STOUT BEEF STEW

Let us know how it goes Tim! Happy St Pat's day!!

Chicken in red wine and tomato sauce...recipe by Winsome

Serves 4


















olive oil
4 skinless chicken thighs, bone in
2 brown onions, cut into six wedges
8-10 cloves of garlic, peeled
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup diced tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Dust the chicken with salt and pepper.
Brown the chicken on all sides in olive oil in a pan big enough to take all the ingredients. Remove the chicken from the pan.

Turn down the heat and then add the onions and garlic and saute until golden.
Return the chicken to the pan and turn up to high.

Pour in the red wine vinegar and let it sizzle until reduced by at least half.

Add the stock and tomatoes. Make sure the chicken is fully covered by liquid, if not add a bit more stock or water. Bring back to a simmer.

Put a lid on the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 25-30 mins or until the chicken pulls away from the bone. If the sauce is looking a bit thin, remove the lid for part of the cooking time.

Season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle generously with chopped parsley and salt and pepper to serve.

Serve with mashed potato/rice/pasta and a green vegetable or salad - delicious.

Grublover comment
This is an adapted stephanie alexander recipe from her much loved book - The Cook's Companion.
I made this for the first time tonight, and it was simple and easy.
Most people would have these ingredients in the cupboard - so all you would need to buy is some chicken. Feel free to use different parts of the chicken, or a whole chicken, jointed. My favourite part is always the thigh, so that is why i used it here. It always gives a tender and juicy result, without much fuss about cooking times

Spiced lamb racks

1 Tbs fennel seeds

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp black peppercorns

1/3 cup greek style natural yoghurt

4 x 4 cutlet french trimmed lamb chops

Pound spices in p&m until ground.  Combine with yoghurt.

Season lamb racks with salt and coat with yoghurt mixture.  Chill for at least 2 hours (or overnight).

Prehead oven to 200 C.  Heat oil in a large frypan and seal the lamb for 2 minutes each side.

Bake in oven for 10 minutes for medium.

Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Serve with a crisp salad.

Strawberries and cream cheesecake

Serves 6-8

Begin this recipe a day ahead

250g shortbread biscuits

100g unsalted butter

4 gold-strength gelatine sheets

500g cream cheese

395g can sweetened condensed milk

300ml thickened cream

200g white chocolate, melted, cooled

2x250g punnets strawberries

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthways, seeds scraped

Grease and line a 23cm springform cake pan.  Place the biscuits in a food processor and process to fine crumbs.  Add the melted butter and process to combine.   Press into the base of the pan and chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, soak gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes (check packet instructions).  

Process cream cheese and condensed milk in food processor until smooth.

Heat 100ml cream in a saucepan over low heat.  Squeeze gelatine leaves to remove excess water, then add to the warmed cream.  Stir off the heat until the gelatine dissolves.

Stir cream mixture into cheese mixture.

Beat remaining cream with electric mixers to form soft peaks.  Fold into the cream cheese mixture with the cooled chocolate.  

Pour over the base.  Chill overnight until set.

Hull and halve the berries.  Place sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, 1/3 cup water in a heavy based saucepan over low heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.

Simmer, without stirring for 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens slightly.  Add berries and cook for a further 1 minute.  

Cool completely, then pour over cheesecake just before serving.

Delicious and really easy beer bread...recipe by Winsome

3 cups SR flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
450mL beer
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 200C. Grease and line a loaf tin.

Mix together flour, sugar, salt. Slowly add beer. Mix together gently, being careful not to overmix.

Pour into loaf tin then sprinkle over cheese then sunflower seeds. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until the base sounds hollow when tapped.

Enjoy!!!! We are having it tonight with carrot soup.