High Wycombe Tavern

We love the Wiki! We've been dining here for a while now and were introduced to the place when my Hubby's Cousin lived in the area. We kept being told this place had cheap pints and awesome food so one day we checked it out and we're so glad we did. We now frequent this place every couple of weeks, usually when we can't decide on somewhere new to eat or we just want a good quality meal.

The High Wycombe Tavern can get pretty busy on the weekends for lunch (the secret is out!), so I'd suggest making a booking just to be sure. Only once, have we been turned away because they were packed but now we know to ring and book most times.

The menu is quite extensive and covers all the bases, pasta, steak, fish n chips, pork belly etc etc. They always have a specials sheet where you'll find a Rump Steak or Fish n Chips with a PINT of beer for just $15 plus daily specials. They also do a 'Beer of The Month' where pints of it are just $4.90 and it's usually either Stella, Becks or Heineken.

These cheaper meals are great and we've both had the Wagyu Roll with Chips & Gravy numerous times.

Sizzling Garlic Prawns often make an appearance and the small size is perfect for 2 people to share for starters.

Last time I had the Seafood Gnocchi special.

And the time before that I had the Pie Special which was a delicious Rich Beef and Gravy Pie.

My Hubby loves their Hellfire Parmy. A thick juicy crumbed chicken breast topped with pork belly pieces, BBQ sauce and Jalapeno Chilli its a pimped up version of the classic, done right!

Kids are well looked after with meals priced at $7.50, with a few choices and come with a slushie drink, ice cream and a kids activity pack!

This place is great for a family/birthday lunch or dinner with the family as its nice and cosy and has something to please everybody's tastes.

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Chilli Con Queso - Mexican Cheese Dip

This recipe is to die for! It's a hot cheese dip with Mexican flavours and is great to whip up when you have a few friends over for some drinks.

I remember as a kid going out with my family to our local Mexican restaurant Acapulco Annie's and ordering this every single time!

Ingredients
3 spring onions, sliced thinly, reserving half for garnish
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Mexican seasoning spice
1/2 tsp chilli powder
Handful of coriander, chopped finely
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 block Kraft velveeta cheese, grated
2 TBSP parmesan cheese
4 tbsp jalapeno chillis, chopped finely, reserving half for garnish
1 cup milk

Method
Place everything in a microwave safe jug and heat on high for 3-4 minutes whisking halfway. Mixture should be thick, hot and combined.

Pour into a serving bowl and garnish with spring onions,jalapeno chillies and cracked pepper. Serve with corn chips and raw vegetable sticks.

 

Leftovers can be refrigerated and gently reheated within 4-5 days.

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Prosciutto Caprese Salad

This salad has the traditional ingredients of a Caprese salad with the addition of D'Orsogna Prosciutto.

It's very simple to prepare and is always a crowd pleaser. It's also a great side salad for a BBQ.

Ingredients
2x 90gm Packs D'Orsogna Prosciutto
3-4 Roma Tomatoes, sliced
1x Tub Bocconcini, sliced
Handful of Basil Leaves
Olive oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Salt and Cracked Pepper to serve

Method

Arrange the Tomatoes, Bocconcini  and Basil Leaves evenly in a pattern on a serving platter and fold the Prosciutto around the salad.

Season with Salt and Pepper and drizzle with Oil and Vinegar to serve.

Serves 4-5 (as a side dish)

Prep Time: 10 Mins

Cook Time: Nil

 

 

You can find this recipe in the La Cucina section of the D'Orsogna website.

 

This recipe was created in partnership with D'Orsogna Smallgoods

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Salame Romano, Jalapeno and Feta Mini Quiches

These mini quiches are delicious to make for parties or just to snack on at home. 

Filled with D'Orsogna Salame Romano, jalapeno chillies and feta cheese, they're very simple to prepare and bake.

If you're making these for kids you can omit the spicy chillies and they will still be tasty.

Ingredients
2 Sheets Shortcrust Pastry
1x 150gm pack of D'Orsogna Salame Romano
2 TBSP Pickled Jalapenos, Chopped
3 TBP Marinated Feta Cheese
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup Milk
Salt & Pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 210C.

Thaw out the pastry sheets and cut circles using an 8cm fluted cutter.

Arrange circles in a muffin tin lined with silicone muffin pans.

Dice 5 slices of D'Orsogna Salame Romano and spread evenly amongst pastries along with the Jalapenos and Feta Cheese.

 

 

Whisk eggs, milk and salt and pepper to taste, in a jug and pour evenly over each pastry being careful not to overfill.

Bake for 15-18 minutes.

 

 

Serves 4

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 18 mins

You can find this recipe in the La Cucina section of the D'Orsogna website.

 

This recipe was created in partnership with D'Orsogna Smallgoods

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ILVE presents Australias Best Home Cook Competition - Noosa International Food and Wine Festival 2015 and Lunch at Print Hall

Earlier this year I received an email congratulating me that I'd been chosen as a finalist for a Competition held by The Noosa International Food and Wine Festival. The competition is ILVE Presents "Australia's Best Home Cook" and its to showcase the rise of the modern, everyday home cook.

After receiving more info about the cook-off it was all coming excitingly clear that I had a 1 in 3 chance to represent WA and attend the Festival In May at Noosa! What a fantastic prize!

The dish I'd chosen is a very easy dish, in fact the recipe is here. It's called Shakshuka and is basically a thick tomato sauce with Moroccan spices, beans and chorizo. Its simmered for a good 30-40 minutes before cracking some eggs around in the sauce and letting the hot simmering cook the eggs to your liking. It is then served with crusty bread to mop up the tasty goodness.

Cook off day had arrived and I headed to the ILVE Showroom in Osborne Park. My Hubby then met up with me at the showroom for moral support and to bring my bread knife that I forgot!

Cooking at home in your own kitchen is fun, comfortable and every appliance you know how to use. Cooking in a foreign kitchen is a quite daunting; not to mention cooking under pressure and the judges watching your every move. The showroom was full of beautiful brand new ovens, gas cook tops and induction cook tops which took a little help from the friendly staff on how to use, but once we knew, it took a bit of stress off.

I was so happy to see that my big heavy based Scanpan pan I brought from home worked on the new induction cook top, so I used that to cook my dish and the heat control was fantastic. Usually at home when I simmer on low I find it catches on the bottom of the pan but this was simmering the whole pan gently and constant.

We had 2 hours to cook off and the ambience wasn't stressful but more calm. We had all obviously cooked our dishes heaps of times before, so we eased straight into cooking mode fast.

My dish was presented, eaten and judged 2nd in line. I gave the judges a brief description of the dish and explained how versatile and easy it was to cook.

The judges deliberated and their decision was final. I was stoked to be chosen as the winner of the WA round!! I now get the chance to cook off in May at the Noosa Festival. I've never been to Noosa but I've been hearing its a lovely place and the Festival is so much fun, I'm really looking forward to it!!

To celebrate my Hubby and I were invited to Print Hall for the media launch the next day along with Jim Berardo and Greg O'Brien, the co-founders of the Festival and a few of the sponsors. Print Hall has been on my list for so long I was excited to try Executive Chef Shane Watsons amazing food. We headed to the function room on the 2nd floor and it didn't take me long to spot the menu folded in the napkins.

Duck Liver Parfait was my Hubby's first course. Generous mounds of lovely smooth and rich parfait topped with salted plum, cherry and a smear of Geraldton wax on the side.

My first course was the vegetarian option; New Season Vegetables which was lovely steamed asparagus and yellow squash, savoury soya milk and a big roasted malt wafer! I love asparagus and the fresh dill paired with the other elements perfectly!

For mains I had the Pan Roasted Barramundi that was topped with Coorong Pippis, courgette and dill. The skin was lovely and crispy and the Barra cooked to perfection.

David Blackmore's Wagyu Beef Bavette was a cracker of a dish! My husband loved the cut of beef which they cooked perfectly medium-rare and it was accompanied with leek, roasted pepper, cornichons, beef tendon and a rich jus. The beef tendon was soft; almost jelly like with a light meaty flavour, quite hard to describe.

The desserts we chose were Sweet Chaos with sweet parfait, honeycomb, mandarin and lavender and The Bittersweet Chocolate Tart which was lovely dark chocolate ganache snaked across the plate adorned with caramel almonds, crumbled caramel popcorn and ice cream. Both desserts were delicious.

Extremely satisfied from our sumptuous lunch we then had a speech from one of the Founders of the Noosa Festival Jim Berardo who gave us a brief history of the event and how its changed and grown over the years. Jim Berardo and Greg O'Brien first started the Festival over a decade ago as a way to thank all the suppliers of the Berardo Restaurant. It's gotten bigger and better each year and now has over 25,000 people attending the 4 day event each year.

Jim then introduced Print Hall's Executive Chef Shane Watson to everyone and he gave a speech about the menu that we just ate and his plans for The Noosa Festival.  If your planning on heading to The Noosa International Food &Wine Festival this year Shane will be in charge of the Audi Asian Food Trail on the Thursday and Friday so get your tickets!

I cannot wait for May to roll around and get a chance to attend this awesome festival and cook off against the other fantastic Home Cooks!

Keep an eye out for my next post: Australia's Best Home Cook Competition Finale!

Visit The Noosa International Food and Wine Festival Website.

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Arancini Balls

Arancini Balls
This recipe is a very basic recipe of Arancini. Please feel free to flavour the risotto, if you prefer, with mushrooms, pumpkin etc.

Risotto
1 Onion, chopped
2 tsp crushed garlic
Salt & pepper, to taste
2 Cups Arborio rice
4 Cups Hot Chicken stock (or vegetable)
Saffron threads (steeped into the Chicken stock)

Sauté the onion and garlic in some oil for a few minutes then add the rice and stir to coat.

Pour over the stock and stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes on low until the liquid is absorbed and the rice soft, stirring every few minutes.

Uncover and stir roughly for about 1 minute to release the starch, then leave to cool in the fridge.
(You can make this the day before)

Arancini
Risotto Mix
1//3 Cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs
1.5 Cups Panko Crumbs
Baby Bocconcini

Lightly mix in the Parmesan Cheese to the Risotto mix.

Scoop up some rice (about egg size) and lightly squeeze into a ball (this helps if your hands are slightly wet). Press an indent with your finger to the middle of the ball and push in the baby bocconcini and cover with a little bit more rice.

Coat the ball in the beaten egg and then into the Panko Crumbs. Place on a plate and refrigerate until ready.

Heat up some oil and fry for a few minutes on each side until crispy and golden.

*I served these Arancini Balls with some Homemade Pasta Sauce but you can serve them with a big salad or some Aioli.

*These can be made ahead and fried on the day. They can also be reheated in a low/med oven for 15-20 minutes.

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Chilli-Garlic Tomato Sauce Recipe

Chilli-Garlic Tomato Sauce Recipe

800gm Can Whole Peeled Tomatoes

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 brown onion, diced

2 TBSP garlic, chopped

1 TBSP small hot red chilli's, chopped

2 tsp salt

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp pepper

1 clove

 

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours and low for 4-6 hours. Blend with a stick mixer and pour into hot sterilized jars, seal and cool.

 

Makes approx. 3 cups. These make great gifts for Christmas etc!

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Warm Potato, Asaparagus & Dill Salad.

I made this lovely side salad to have with dinner last night. Asparagus has just come into season here in Australia and I purchased some from my local supermarket.

This salad would go very well with some grilled fish!

Warm Potato, Asparagus & Dill Salad

A big handful of small chat potatoes (sliced in half)
A bunch of asparagus (ends trimmed, chopped in thirds)
1 Carrot (julienned)
A few red radishes (sliced thinly)
Half a punnet of cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
Half a red onion (thinly sliced)

Dressing:
4 TBSP EVOO
2 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 tsp fresh chopped dill

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well, set aside.

In a salad bowl combine the carrot, radishes, tomatoes and red onion.

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and boil the potatoes for 10-12 minutes until tender. Blanch the asparagus in the water for 1-2 mins.

Add the drained potatoes and asparagus to the mixing bowl and pour over the dressing. Stir

gently to combine.

Enjoy!

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Beef Massaman Curry

I love making Curry pastes from scratch. It makes the whole house smell amazing and is very rewarding!

 



 

 


500Gm Beef Cubes
2 TBSP Cornflour
1 Red Onion
2 Spring Onion stalks
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 TBSP Lemongrass paste (or a couple of stalks)
1 Thumb-size piece of Ginger
1 bunch of Coriander (stalks and roots chopped finely, leaves roughly chopped and set aside for later)
1-2 Long Red Chilli's (depending on how hot you like it, some chopped and reserved for garnish)
1/2 tsp Ground Coriander, Cinnamon and Cumin
2 tsp Soy Sauce, Sugar and Fish Sauce
2 Limes (1 juiced and 1 cut into wedges for garnish)
4-5 medium sized potatoes, cut into large chunks
400ml can coconut milk
3 TBSP Sweet Chilli Sauce
2.5 cups Beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss the beef in the flour and set aside.

Combine the red onion, spring onions, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, coriander root and stems, chilli, spices, soy sauce, fish sauce, sweet chilli sauce, sugar and lime in a food processor or mortar and pestle and process until a paste is formed.

 

 

 Fry off the beef in batches in some oil until browned and set aside. Then fry off paste in some more oil for a few minutes. Add the stock, coconut milk, beef and potatoes and mix until combined. Simmer on very low, covered for 6-8 hours. You could transfer to a slow cooker or cook covered in a low oven too.

Serve with steamed rice and garnish with leftover coriander leaves, chopped chilli and a wedge of lime.

Serves 4-6



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Seafood & Chorizo Paella

 

This recipe is great for dinner parties with friends.....as it's great for feeding crowds and smells amazing! For best results use Medium Grain rice; Bomba or Calasparra Rice is preferred.

1x Brown Onion, Diced
1x Red Capsicum, Diced
2x tsp. crushed garlic
1x Long Red Chilli, Deseeded, Finely Diced
1x Spanish Chorizo, Diced
1x TBSP Tomato Paste
2x cups Medium Grain Rice (Or use Bomba or Calasparra Rice)
2x tsp. ground turmeric and paprika
a good pinch of saffron threads
4x cups chicken stock (hot)
300gm Shelled, Deveined Prawns
300gm Cleaned Mussels
1x cup Frozen Peas & Corn
Chopped Parsley
lemon wedges


Mix Turmeric, Paprika and Saffron threads in the hot chicken stock and set aside to infuse.

Brown off Onion, Capsicum, Garlic and Chilli in some oil in a Paella Pan.

Season with Salt and pepper and add Chorizo until browned. Fry off Paste and add rice followed by the stock mixture and peas and corn.

Cover loosely with foil and simmer on low for about 20 mins until the rice is tender.

In the last 5-10 minutes arrange the prawns and mussels on top in a pattern and cover back loosely with foil.

Once the mussels have opened sprinkle with Parsley and arrange lemon wedges around the edges.

Serve!

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Golden Syrup Dumplings

These dumplings are great for a cold night in and also great for dinner parties as they simmer away on the stove until they're ready.

Golden Syrup Dumplings

Syrup:

2 Cups Water

1/3 Cup Golden Syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 Cup Raw Caster Sugar

40 Grams Butter

 Dumplings:

1.5 cups SR Flour

45 G unsalted butter, slightly softened

¾ Cup Milk

1 TBSP Golden Syrup

Combine all syrup ingredients in a saucepan and heat on low until everything is melted. Simmer on low and then make dumplings.

Dumplings: Sift flour into a mixing bowl and rub through butter until fine crumbs appear. Slightly heat up the milk in the microwave (Just to take the chill out of it) and mix through the golden syrup. Add to flour mixture and stir until a smooth/stiff dough is formed.

Spoon heaped teaspoons of Dumplings batter into syrup and cook for 15 mins simmering until dumplings have expanded.

Serve with custard, cream or ice cream.

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April's Homemade Big Mac Burgers

April's Homemade Big Mac Burgers

Ingredients
Sesame seed buns (sliced carefully into 3rds)
Beef patties (below)
sliced cheese
1/4 white onion, minced
shredded lettuce
Gherkins (pickled cucumbers)
Homemade special sauce (below)

Patties
500g beef mince
1 tsp onion & garlic powder
1 egg
1/3 cup beadcrumbs
s&p to taste

Homemade Special Sauce (Enough for about 4-5 burgers)

1/2 cup mayo
1 TBSP sour cream
3 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dill (fresh, less if dried)
3 TBSP sweet pickle relish
1/4 tsp garlic & onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together.

Assemble like so:
The bottom bun,
Special sauce
Finely sliced lettuce & onion,
Cheese
Beef Pattie
Middle bun, toasted
more Special sauce,
More finely sliced lettuce & onion,
Two Gherkin Slices,
Beef Pattie
And finally the top of the Bun!

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Jelly Cheesecake Slice

Had this recipe given to me recently by a foodie friend and its amazing!!

It makes a lot! so is great for parties, picnics etc.

I've made 2 in the last few weeks, one with red jelly the other with yellow jelly......I like the yellow on better and the passionfruit jelly goes well with the lemon cheesecake filling.

http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/cwfs-jelly-slice-L669.html

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Chocolate Crackles - No Copha (vegetable shortening)

 

A classic childhood favourite, but made without the unhealthy copha (vegetable shortening)!!

1x pack fun size mars bars (216grms approx.)
1/4 cup cream
1 tbsp. cocoa
3 cups rice bubbles

Melt mars bars and cream in a pyrex dish in the microwave in 30 sec bursts and then pour into a mixing bowl with rice bubbles and cocoa. stir until combined and spoon into patty cases. Cool in fridge for 30 mins.
Sprinkle with 100's and 1000's, coconut or edible glitter :-)

Not just for kids parties!! ;-)

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Easy Corn Chip Chicken Nuggets

Half a packet of flavoured corn chips
2 eggs
Chicken breasts sliced into nugget size

Crush corn chips with a rolling pin, or food processor. Whisk eggs into a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces in the egg then press into corn chips. Fry in a fry pan or bake in a moderate oven lightly sprayed with oil.

Serve with tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, or Sweet chilli sauce and Sour cream.

YUM!

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Beef, Guinness & Mushroom Stew

 

Oil
1 Onion, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500gm Mushrooms, Sliced
500gm cubed beef
2 TBSP Plain Flour
1 carrot, sliced thinly
1 large celery stick, sliced thinly
400ml Guinness (I used Guinness Draft brand, comes in a 440ml can)
2 cups Beef stock
salt & pepper to taste
Handful of frozen peas

Toss beef in flour until coated and fry in batches until browned slightly, set aside. Add more oil and lightly fry the onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic for about 2 mins. Add beef and guinness and allow to come to a simmer then add the stock and salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and simmer on low for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Throw the peas in at the last 15 minutes.

Serve with Mashed potato, or spoon into pie dishes and cover with puff pastry.

You can also put this in a low oven (160C) in a casserole dish for the same time or throw all ingredients into the slow cooker for 6-8 hours, just reduce the stock to 1 cup.

Great for a St. Patricks Day dinner!

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Nori Rolls

Nori sheets
Sushi rice
3 TBSP white vinegar and 1 tsp sugar mixed together
Fillings (chicken, tuna, bacon, scrambled egg, shredded lettuce, grated carrot)
Mayonnaise and/or mashed avocado

Cook sushi rice to packet instructions (usually it equal parts rice and water) and leave to cool.

Mix in enough vinegar and sugar mix to loosen a bit (usually about 2/3 TBSP).

Lay your sushi rolling mat and place a nori sheet on top.

Spoon over rice to cover 3/4 of the sheet

Next add your toppings. In my case Tuna, mayo & lettuce.

Roll up tightly and slice carefully with a sharp damp knife.

I serve mine with sweet chilli sauce.

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