Category Archives: Pork

Significant Birthday Dinner

08 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by in Duck, Party, Pork, Prawns

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IMG_1577A month has gone by since the very special dinner by Mr MWCED for my birthday treat.  Spoilt by the friends who came great distances to share the day (and week) I was a lucky woman.  Mr MWCED and i spent some time planning the menu, it was a small plates dinner and we had 8 courses planned.  Fortunately the numbers were intimate, there were a lucky 13 of us, so it was manageable – though at some times of the evening my dear son had to work as gatekeeper to the kitchen so Mr MWCED wasn’t overwhelmed with helpers.  It was a mammoth task, everything was made either a day or so before or on the day/night.  Food made with love, what more could one ask?

The menu consisted of:
Prawns with Tamarind on Watermelon

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I was immediately attracted to this when I saw it in a Taste magazine (NZ, December 2009) and thought it would made an ideal start to the dinner.  It definitely had the wow factor, and for a lot of the guests it was an introduction to using watermelon with prawns.   Here is the link to that recipe:

http://nz-recipefinder.ninemsn.com/article.aspx?id=999759

Haloumi, Beetroot and Pomegranate Molasses

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I just loved all these flavours, and the addition of a few pinenuts sealed the deal.  No real recipe,  just a delicious combination of fresh ingredients – rocket from the garden, fresh sour dough from the local bakery, lemon off the tree.  Mmmmmm……….

Pork Dumplings

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OMG, Mr MWCED went all out here.  Making the wrappers and experimenting with the best way to serve, the end result was perfection.  The filling was slightly spicy and oh so more-ish.  These were boiled then pan fried.  Definitely a repeater.   These were made taking inspiration from a number of recipes across the net.   Search for dumplings, pot stickers………

Champagne Sorbet

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The theme of the party was ‘Champagne’, so this was perfect.  Made with Champagne, of course, and stressed Mr MWCED to the max as it just wouldn’t freeze up to his expectations – so was more slushy than sorbet.  Who cared?  Not me!

Oops,  only remembered to take a photo after the sorbet had been out for awhile,  so also looking a little melted here?  Well, we had imbibed a few champagnes by this time….

Duck Terrine with Pistachio 

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Well this dinner was all about me,  so I got to choose one of my favorite meats, duck.  Not a favourite of Mr MWCED’s, so I felt spoilt that he made this for me.  it was simply delicious – and even had homemade flat bread to accompany.  The recipe was another one from December 2009 Taste magazine:

http://nz-recipefinder.ninemsn.com/article.aspx?id=1001950

Fried Ravioli Caprese Stacks
IMG_2890I saw these on domesticfits.com and just knew I wanted them.  A very hard time to convince Mr MWCED that they would work.  I think we got there in the end.  They were definitely different, but not 100% sure I would use again.

Thai Beef Salad 

By this time of the evening it was getting late,  kitchen tensions were high, so the chef made an executive decision not to plate this one up.  Damn,  I was looking forward to it,  but I trusted his choice.

Butterscotch Brulee

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After having a creme brulee on Boxing Day this was top of my list of requests for the dinner.  And it didn’t disappoint.  The salted caramel/butterscotch complemented the creamy brulee perfectly.   Ahh, totally spoilt.

Pork Belly Skewers

26 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by in Pork

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Before you read any further absolute apologies for crap photo.

Had no idea what I was going to cook when I put some pork belly in my trolley at the supermarket. Figured something inspirational would happen in between then and the following day. Mr MWCED isn’t usually too fond of pork belly so knew I had to find something that would at least get a pass mark. And then I found this great recipe on http://thepaddingtonfoodie.com/2013/09/06/another-offering-from-the-japanese-izakaya-butabara-grilled-pork-belly-skewers-with-green-spring-onion/ and I just knew it was going to taste great. I didn’t have exactly all the ingredients, so had to make a few changes:

1/2 cup Japanese soy sauce
1/4 cup dashi or chicken stock – I used chicken stock
1/4 cup mirin
4 tablespoons sake – no sake in the cupboard so I used White wine which was very handily placed beside me
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon white pepper- yikes what kind of Cook am I, no white, subbed black
1 kg slab pork belly – our piece was about 800g, plenty for 2 of us!
8 long green spring onions, trimmed, cut into 4cm lengths – no spring onions, subbed shallots, which I liked but Mr MWCED says try spring onions next time. Whatever….
20 bamboo skewers – I made about 16skewers

SOAK skewers in cold water for 15 minutes. Drain.
REMOVE skin from the pork belly and slice thinly into 1.5cm – 2cm thick rashers. Then slice each rasher into 4 cm wide strips.
MEANWHILE, combine soy sauce, stock, mirin, sake (or wine), sugar and pepper in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. at this stage I tasted the marinade and added a little hoisin and sweet chilli sauce, which just toned it down a little, probably because I had used dark soy sauce.
Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. Allow to cool completely.
PLACE sliced pork in a glass or ceramic bowl. Coat with half the cooled sauce. Cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
THREAD pork and spring onions – or shallots or anything that takes your fancy – onto skewers. Place onto a paper lined tray. no paper lined tray for us, as you can see, straight onto the BBQ plate .Brush with some of the reserved sauce.
PREHEAT bbq or grill on medium-high heat until hot. Grill skewers, basting with sauce, for 6 to 8 minutes or until cooked through.

Now you could make crackling from the pork skin, but I’m trying to reduce fats, so ours is not going to be all yummy and crispy and salty and heavenly. ‘Sigh’

We lucked out with a warm still night so BBQ was perfectly timed. Added some BBQ zucchini (yep still picking plenty from the garden) and crispy potatoes which had already been parboiled, together with a fresh salad. And Mr MWCED approved.