The Merrywell - Crown Perth

Decided to head on out to Crown Perth today, a lovely Friday with my Hubby to have a few bets at the Casino and have lunch at The Merrywell.

We've dined here before and love the casual vibe and American style menu. The Merrywell won WA's Best Steak Sandwich Competition in 2013!! I wish I could have eaten one of these but the portion sizes are very generous and I think I would have had to be carried out after one of these and a beer or 2!

My husband stuck to his usual 'Really a Reuben' Burger, with salty pastrami, sauerkraut, swiss cheese and a nice dressing, served with potato crisps. What really makes it special for him is that we can order the El Pacifico Clara Mexican beer ($10.50) that we can't find ANYWERE else in Perth....only Rockpool and The Merrywell. If anyone can help us find this particular beer in Perth that'd be so helpful!!

We had the 'Jalapeno Pepper Corn Dogs' for starters, and they reminded me of a Dagwood dog you get from the Royal Show but so much tastier. The corn batter was crispy, tasty and I ended up eating more then I expected.

Finally my mains, which was the 'Meryywell Macho Nachos', they had 2 options Angus beef or BBQ pulled pork, so I chose the latter and as I said before the portion size was great value! I left half on the plate.

We will definitely be back to The Merrywell very soon, very keen to try the Alaskan King Crab on the Dinner menu and have a few drinks from the huge variety on tap.

Also, next month they will be launching a Food Truck bringing all the American "dude food" they create at Crown to Festivals, Markets, Beaches etc, you can also book them for private or corporate functions! Awesome!









The Merrywell - Crown Perth
Great Eastern Highway, Burswood WA
http://www.crownperth.com.au/restaurants/casual/the-merrywell/about

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Dark Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients
200G Dark Chocolate
25G unsalted butter
120G raw caster sugar
2 eggs
1/4 tsp baking powder
35G Plain flour

Method

Oven at 180C. Melt chocolate & butter together. I use a pyrex jug in the microwave.

Beat eggs & sugar until thick and pale.

Pour chocolate into egg mixture and add flour and baking powder, stir gently, don't overmix.

Scoop big tablespoons full onto baking paper. Mixture will be very wet like cake batter, but its all good! Just leave enough space for spreading.

Cook for 10-15 mins.

These taste like a brownie!

makes about 12.

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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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Lawley's Bakery & Cafe - Mt Lawley

Met a friend at Lawley's for breakfast this morning. Situated along bustling Beaufort Street I was surprised to find there was only a few people inside. Mind you, it was a Tuesday!

I scoured the beautiful cabinet full of cold pastries, tarts, cakes etc. with my daughter and she chose a small cream filled lamington and a small choc hazelnut tart to go with her babycino.

I ordered a cappuccino for myself - I'm a cappuccino kinda gal; and then noticed they had CRONUTS on the bench, and promptly asked nicely for one of these along with Poached bacon & Eggs.

The coffee is a Lawley's blend and it was amazing! I had 2 cappuccino's all up, but my friend had a mocha and found hers a bit bitter.......perhaps it was the chocolate?!?

Our breakfasts and sweets came out and one of my eggs was a bit overdone, but overall it was yummy and I ate the whole thing!

Once we finished we had another browse at the fridge cabinet with an awesome array of gourmet rolls, sandwiches, salads, frittatas and plenty more, and I chose a turkey, bacon and cranberry roll on rye bread for my lunch later.

I also picked up a fresh sliced loaf of bread, a cheese bagel, a sultana bagel, plain bagel, raspberry tart and 2 profiteroles to take home.

Love Lawley's for the fact I had breakfast, coffee and bought some lunch and dessert whilst there too!

Ill be back!!

Lawley's Bakery & Café - Open 7 Days
618 Beaufort St, Mt Lawley
http://www.lawleys.com.au/StoreLocations/MtLawley.aspx

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The Herdsman - Blogger of the month December 2013!

The Herdsman

9 Flynn Street Churchlands WA
DECEMBER BLOGGER 2013

Hi there, I’m April and I’m so excited to have been asked by The Herdsman to be their December Blogger! I’m a passionate foodie who loves cooking with fresh, local produce and believes in keeping food simple.

I was first introduced to The Herdsman a few years ago when I tagged along with my sister, who regularly shopped here. Then once I walked in, I knew I’d found foodie heaven!

Inside the Herdsman you’ll find everything. Fresh flowers from the florist as you walk in, local fresh fruit & vegetables. A big section with Pre-made salads, fruit salads, flavoured yoghurts, potato, bean & pasta salads, , fresh meat & salad lunch trays, sandwiches, rolls & sushi. If you don’t feel like cooking they stock house-made stews, soups, casseroles & pizzas made with real ingredients ready to heat and eat. They also make and sell a few desserts, choc mousse& sticky date pudding to name a couple.

The deli is stocked with antipasto items, dips, olives, marinated Fremantle prawns etc. You can also have sushi, sandwich and meat & cheese platters made to order. These looked amazing, I snuck a peak when a customer picked some up that day! Hot beef/pork n gravy rolls, hot roast dinners & chicken schnitzel burgers are also available from the deli too for a hot, quick lunch.

The Herdsman cheese station is a cheese lover’s paradise. Local and imported cheeses line the big refrigerator with lots of accompaniments, which would complete the perfect cheese platter.

I love the bakery, heaps of gourmet loaves and sweet & savoury pastries to choose from.

The Herdsman has an independently run Butcher and Fishmonger on the premises too.

So I went along on a Friday to scour the massive range and figure out what I would take home. As I walked in I noticed their Calypso Mangoes for $2.99 each, which is great and cheaper than my local supermarket at the moment, so I put them in my basket along with some peaches, yellow flesh nectarines, cherries and a punnet of beautiful smelling strawberries. That’s my fruit platter all sorted, and I love new-season stone fruit! Then I picked up some house made Passionfruit Yoghurt to go with, Yum!

Back to the fresh premade section I grabbed one of their supreme pizzas, great reasonable price and an easy dinner. The house-made Pesto would go great with the pizza so in the basket went the Rocket Pesto.

With my dinner and dessert all sorted I headed to the Deli and grabbed a small container of The Herdsman’s famous chicken chilli mango meatballs. These are so yummy, they never last the day I bring them back!! Then I ordered a hot roast beef and gravy roll for my lunch and the beef was so tender and melt-in-the-mouth, filled the gap for sure.

If you’ve never been The Herdsman then I suggest you check it out. Why not purchase some pre-made salads, platters and some beautiful fresh fruit for your next BBQ or Picnic. Or just to have a browse, but I doubt you’ll leave empty handed!

Thanks, The Herdsman, I’ll be back!

April

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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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Coventry's Seafood Bar & Grill- Morley WA

We visited Coventry's Seafood Bar & Grill at the Coventry Village Markets in Morley last weekend.

The place was big with plenty of seating but only had a handful of families dining, mind you this was on a high 30 degree day, though it was quite comfortable inside.

What initially drew us inside was the '$14.95 seafood lunch special', which sounded very reasonable in price and looked very filling!

Ordering from the drinks menu we saw all bottled beers including imported names only $5, plus cocktails $9, half price then the majority of bars around Perth!

I ordered a Mango & Strawberry Daiquiri and my hubby chose a Mojito. They were both fantastic and just what we needed on a hot sweaty day.

OK now back to the seafood special, we had the option to have it 'fried or grilled', I chose grilled, hubby chose the latter.

Turned out to be amazing! Snapper, chips, onion rings, calamari rings, cold cooked prawns, prawn nori sushi roll, half an oyster served with sweet chilli and garlic aioli sauce.

How good was that for $14.95!!

We have plans to return in a few weeks with friends.

Coventry Village
243-253 Walter Road
MORLEY WA 6062
http://www.coventryvillage.com.au
Open to 7pm daily* and 9pm on Thursdays*
Restaurants open to late – *Individual shops may vary

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Prosciutto wrapped lamb cutlets & Massive salad with candied bacon & soft boiled eggs & Ranch Dressing

Lamb Cutlets

Are basically cutlets wrapped in prosciutto. Once you start to cook them the prosciutto sticks to the meat, there's no need to salt because the prosciutto is salty as is.

Massive Salad

Fry a few rashers of bacon sprinkled lightly with sugar until cooked. set aside to cool.

Soft boil 4 eggs by placing them in cold water, bring to the boil on high heat. Once boiling , boil for 3.5 mins. Drain off hot water and replace with tap water. Leave to cool slightly.

Mean while Mix together:
Lettuce, shredded
Tomatoes, diced (seeds removed)
Celery, sliced thinly
Carrot, sliced thinly
Gherkins, chopped
Pickled onions, Sliced
red onion, diced
cheese, cubed
 Arrange salad mix on to a serving plate, quarter or halve the eggs and arrange on top then chop bacon and sprinkle on top also.

Aprils Ranch Dressing

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 lemon's juice
garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, salt 1/2 tsp each
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

mix together and drizzle over salad!!

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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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Potato Gnocchi & Mushroom Chilli Tomato Sauce

3 Large all purpose floury potatoes (800Gm approx.)
3 egg yolks
1-2 cups flour (its always different)

Boil potatoes until tender, when warm to touch peel skin off.

Place peeled potatoes in a sieve over a mixing bowl and press through with the back of a spoon.

Mix in yolks, salt & pepper to taste and incorporate flour 1/2 cup at a time, (I used 1 & 3/4 cups this time) until its not sticky. Flour a surface and cut dough into 4, then roll each quarter into a log 2 cm diameter and cut 3cm lengths.

Place on a floured plate until cooking.
To Cook: Bring a pot of water to the boil add salt and add gnocchi, boil slowly until they float then after 2 mins scoop them out to drain.

I put mine straight from the water into a simmering pan of tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms, chilli, onion, passata, basil and parsley. Then served sprinkled with cheese.

TO FREEZE: I put the left over gnocchi on a floured plate spaced out and froze until hard then transferred to glad bags. These can be boiled straight from frozen until they float as above.

You can add parmesan cheese, spinach puree and parsley for flavoured gnocchi too!

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