Chocolate Ice Fudge

Fudge is a soft, finely grained candy made from sugar syrup, cream, and butter. Making sure the sugar forms small fine crystals is essential to producing the right texture. Most traditional fudge recipes require patience, timing and quick action to produce the right sized crystals. This recipe produces a confection that looks like fudge and tastes like fudge. This is an extremely quick method to make sweets at home and people with a sweet tooth will love the result.

Chicken Caesar Salad

The original Caesar salad is a combination of romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce and black pepper. The dish has so many variations and this one is an addition to Bernie’s chicken recipe book.

Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate pudding is a group of dessert with chocolate flavours. There are two major kinds, one is boiled custard with starch and served chilled, the other is steamed or baked, similar in texture to cake. This one is baked and more resembles a cake and I often use this for bigger functions during the winter months.

Pasta Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara is an Italian pasta dish usually including spaghetti, fettuccine, rigatoni or bucatini mixed with eggs, cheese, bacon and black pepper. This recipe I received from an Italian chef and I prefer it as a starter.

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil

Bruschetta is an appetizer from Italy consisting of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Topping variations may include red pepper, tomato, vegetable, cured meat and cheese. The most popular recipe involves basil, fresh tomato, garlic and mozzarella. I love the simplicity of this recipe and maximum impact. I always use Italian sourdough bread such as Ciabatta that has a crisp crust and a fairly soft porous texture.

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns are a traditional Good Friday sweet, yeast leavened, spicy bun eaten at breakfast time hot from the oven. They are made with dried or candied fruit such as currants, sultanas, raisins or orange and marked with a cross on the top. I have over the years produced an abundance of hot cross buns at my bakery for satisfied customers and this is my recipe for home kitchens.

Banana Bread and Butter Pudding

To speed up the ripening process place the banana in a paper wrap with an apple. While you should not keep green bananas in the fridge, it is actually a good idea to store ripe bananas there. Their peel will become progressively brown; however the pulp will not be affected. To improve the flavour, it is best to keep bananas at room temperature to mature. Sweet overripe bananas are ideal for making aromatic banana breads and cakes. Peel brown bananas and place them in a plastic bag. Store ripe bananas in the freezer and defrost in the fridge overnight.

This a my banana version of the classic bread and butter pudding.

Toasted Turkish Bread

We all like the crunch in a toasted piece of bread so try Turkish Bread (Pide) with dips as a starter. Pide is flat sourdough bread that can be eaten as an accompaniment to any meal. Tear it, slice it, fill it, fry it, bake it, toast it, grill it, barbecue it and use it as a scoop, a mop or a palate cleanser.

Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin is a member of the Cucurbita family which includes squash and cucumbers and is a good source of protein, potassium, dietary fiber, Vitamin A, B and E. Chunky soups are great for kids and the creamy sweet flavor of pumpkin is very appealing to them. Chilled pumpkin soup is an efficient summer appetizer which can be prepared beforehand. A hot pumpkin soup can also be sophisticated especially with cream swirled on the top and a few snipped chives or a dash of gourmet pumpkinseed oil.

White Chocolate and Malibu Parfait

Parfait is a French word meaning "perfect" commonly employed to describe a kind of frozen dessert. Parfait is really a broad term used to describe many different types of layered foods served in a dish. It is a popular dessert in fairly upscale restaurants who want to offer something a bit more casual than the heavier traditional French desserts. This recipe is more tropical in flavour and is a favourite of mine in the hot summer months.

Smoked Salmon on Turkish Bread

Turkish bread (Pide) is a traditional stone baked type of flat bread similar to Italian Focaccia. Oily fish such as salmon that contains omega 3 are always excellent and is consumed on a regular basis in the Mediterranean diet. This is my preferred way to have a healthy salmon sandwich.

Celebrating 1000 hits

I would like to thank everybody for your support in following my blog and the feedback I have received which is all very supportive and encouraging. With now over 1000 hits from all over the world and more than 50 posts since I started my Culinarian journey on this blog in January 2011, I feel it has been an immense success.

The all time five most observed recipes are Frikadeller, Beef Curry, Chicken Mince Patties, Irish Stew and Hungarian Goulash. This month’s top five look at recipes are Chicken Mince Patties, Pork Fillet Medallions with Mushroom Sauce, Fried Pork with Parsley Sauce, Burning Love and Blue Whiting Fillet in Spinach Sauce.

I have recently started featuring other people’s culinarian stories and recipes that will bring a broader selection of recipes with the way we cook today both professionally and at home. People are telling me that the recipes I display on the blog are helping them in the kitchen which is my aim to make cooking easier, understandable and most important of all enjoyable!

Once again I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to all of you who have supported and continue to appreciate my blog.

Alex Petersen

Featuring Eric Foulkes's Chicken Stroganoff

I was born in Sydney and later moved north to Coffs Harbour. During my school holidays I worked as a kitchen hand and discovered I had a passion for the food industry and the buzz surrounding it while preparing food. I completed my fourth year apprenticeship and am currently the daytime chef at Coffs C.EX Coffs Harbour. It is incredibly fulfilling to be a part of people’s life particularly when they enjoy the food I make and especially when they return to experience new dishes.  

I take pleasure in producing food and my working hours really fit in with my social life. It is an immense feeling meeting new people all the time. One of my regularly comfort meals is steak and chips with salad and my favourite classic dish is Spaghetti Bolognese. In addition I also love stews with tender meat and aromatic flavours. A dish I am really content with is Thai Chicken Curry. Salt and olive oil are essential items to have in the pantry and Red Turmeric is a newly discovered ingredient for me. Akin to all chefs the knife is my most important tool.

I see a lot of premade food ready to serve and that is why I acquire inspiration from chefs like Jamie Oliver with his use of fresh ingredients and I especially like the idea and philosophy around the “Ministry of food”. Therefore it is all about learning from mistakes and seeking advice from one’s peers. I recall one time while catering for a wedding and just before serving the electricity went out, we continued to serve by candlelight that certainly added ambiance to the occasion.

Ecca’s Chicken Stroganoff

One of my recipes I repeatedly cook at home and the whole family value. This is the portion I cook however if you require a lesser amount you can half the ingredients or freeze the leftovers.

Lemon Chicken with Tarragon Sauce

Lemons effectively detoxifies our body because they have a high source of bioflavonoids and are also an excellent diuretic. During fasting, lemon juice has a tremendous ability to dissolve the mucus and clear toxins from the cellular tissue. Lemon has a big role in cooking and works as a substitute for vinegar in recipes. It enhances the taste and makes them deliciously sour and also cuts the heaviness associated with vegetable juices. Lemon is also added to make non-vegetarian recipes such as lemon chicken.

Vanilla Panna Cotta

Panna cotta is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin and letting it cool until set. It is eaten all over Italy where it is served with wild berries, caramel, chocolate sauce or fruit coulis. This treat has over the years evolved into what is now a gelatin dessert, flavoured with vanilla and topped with fruit or spices, and served chilled. This one is often used on the dessert menu.

Banana and Coconut Slice

Bananas are wonderfully sweet with firm and creamy flesh; they come prepackaged in yellow jackets and are available throughout the year. When bananas turn ripe they are perfect for sweets. At this stage I peel and place them in a plastic in the freezer. When I make banana cake I defrost them bringing a nice banana flavour to the cake. This is a lovely banana slice with a crunchy topping. This recipe I have effectively used as a cake slice in my profession and as a dessert at home.

Lemon Chicken with Basil Sauce

Lemon chicken is the name of several dishes found around the world all of which feature chicken and lemon. A dish from Italy is called Pollo al Limone and in this dish a whole chicken is roasted with white wine, lemon juice, fresh thyme and mirepoix. If the dish is from Spain, it is called Pollo al Romero. It is a whole chicken with lemon sauce, pine nuts, rosemary and ham sautéed together. Made in France it usually includes Dijon mustard in the sauce and is accompanied by roasted potatoes.

Baked Barramundi Fillet

Barramundi has gained a reputation as one of Australia's finest eating fish. It is a brilliant table fish and specimens captured from estuarine waters are delicious, with firm, white, fine-grained meat. The fish is suited to all kinds of cooking, steaming, pan frying, etc. complimented with a few herbs, a little lemon or lime, a splash of white wine is always enjoyable.

Lamb Liver with Thyme Mash

Liver is a great source of protein and one serve contains 45% of the recommended daily intake. It also contains a high level of iron, niacin, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, riboflavin, selenium, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, zinc and vitamin A. That means it is all good for you in moderation. Lamb’s liver is called lamb’s fry in Australia and it is customary to serve it with bacon. The most important thing is not to overcook liver which makes it tough and dry. My brother in law likes his cooked liver in whatever form it is made as long as it tastes good. So whenever Peter comes to visit I cook liver in a variety of ways. This recipe works well with both pork and veal liver.

Chicken Schnitzel

Chicken schnitzel is a very popular dish in Australia and generally accompanied by boiled, mashed or fried potato, on some occasions served with sauerkraut. It is also used as a  filling for sandwiches layered with lettuce and mayonnaise between slice bread or a bread roll.

Dory Fillets in Beer Batter

John Dory is a well known and highly regarded fish for its distinctly sweet taste. It is a high-priced finfish and mild with a delicate flavour. This fish is succulent, white with a sweet and finely textured flesh that can be baked, grilled, barbecued, fried, steamed or poached. Be careful to not overpower its delicate flavour. If baking or steaming whole, use the complementary flavours of tarragon, dill, parsley, thyme or chives. Herbed butters or oils are suitable for grilled fillets. A salad of fresh dates and orange with parsley is complementary. Roll smaller fillets around prawns or Atlantic salmon, poach and serve with a light, lemon beurre blanc. Dory fillets are delicate and often best coated or wrapped in foil for cooking.

Pork Fillet in Puff Pastry

This elegant presentation of pork tenderloin will have an impact on the family with its taste and impress the cook with its ease of preparation. Tenderloin in Puff Pastry is an elegant main dish recipe perfect for entertaining and it is absolutely one of my favourites.

Pizza

“A pizza parlor waitress asks a customer if he wants the pizza cut into four pieces or six pieces or eight pieces. The customer declares that he wants either four or six pieces of pizza “because I can’t eat eight.” The size of the pie is unchanged the eight slices are merely smaller.”

Pizza originated in Neapolitan cuisine and is an oven-baked flat round bread topped with a sauce, cheese with various toppings. A pizza crust offers the perfect canvas for creating your own personal pizza from your favorite ingredients and we can celebrate this flat sandwich on February 9^th International Pizza Day. Pizza is versatile and can be baked in an oven of stone bricks above the heat source, an electric deck oven, a conveyor belt oven, in a wood or coal fired brick oven. On deck ovens, the pizza is slid into the oven and baked directly on the hot bricks. Pizza can be baked on a pizza stone in a regular oven to reproduce the effect of a brick oven. Another option is grilled pizza, in which the crust is baked directly on a barbecue grill.

Calzone

Calzone is a pizza with toppings on half the dough and the other half folded over to form a half moon shaped pizza pocket. A typical calzone is filled with the same fillings as for a pizza or the various leftovers mixed with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Calzones made as single servings are a very popular street food in Italy and are a great food source eaten hot and cold like.

Focaccia

Italian flat savoury bread with an almost cake-like texture frequently flavoured with herbs such as rosemary, sage or basil, topped with olives or tapenade. Bakers often puncture the bread with a knife to relieve bubbling on the surface of the bread. This creates multiple wells in the bread by using a finger or a utensil to poke the unbaked dough. Olive oil is spread over the dough by hand or using a pastry brush prior to rising and baking to preserve moisture in the bread. Lard will sometimes be added to the dough to give a softer, slightly flakier texture.

The sweet Focaccia contains eggs, honey, raisins, anise, sugar and lemon peel.

Pizza dough

I have been using this reliable Pizza dough recipe for years, which can be used to make Pizza, Calzone or breads like Focaccia. It is best to use Italian 00 flour or baker’s strong flour.



Avocado sweet chili and cashew salsa

This healthy salsa with an appealing coarse texture is made from fresh produce suitable with crackers, tortilla and breads. Avocado dips are best freshly made as they turn brown with oxidization.

Chocolate Mousse

A mousse is a stable prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. Depending on how it is prepared it can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick. Chocolate mousse is a classic French dessert full of decadence. It is quick and easy to make.  Our friends the Culson family loves this dessert, they always asks for more or when can we have it again!!



Pork Fillet Medallions with Mushroom Sauce

Pork loin recipes are a good idea for a luxurious meal or a Sunday roast. Tenderloin, loin and belly pork are said to be the best meat for roasting, particularly when served with crisp pork crackling. Pork fillet is a lean and flavoursome meat that can be used for a healthy meal in a variety of ways and this recipe is one of our favourites. It is quick and easy to make and can make up the main course of a really nice home cooked dinner for your guests.