Happy Holidays! Merry Christmastime!

It's been a couple of years since I last celebrated Christmas in Australia. Both Sean and I don't have any family here in Melbourne so we decided to have Christmas dinner together at my place. We started off the afternoon with hors d'oeuvres of zucchini chips, salsa and tortilla chips, and a cumin pinto bean dip and rice crackers. Sean also made a French 75 cocktail, but used cognac instead of gin.

For dinner we had a mixed green salad and roast pork with pumpkin and potatoes. Despite the warm weather is was nice to have a roast dish since I am used to a cold Christmas. While digesting all the food we had eaten we indulged in a marathon of Season 1 of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. After a while we finally had room for some dessert, which consisted of snowball cookies and a rosewater and pistachio cake that I had baked (all gluten free). It was a lovely afternoon/evening and a nice way to celebrate the holidays when you do not have family around.

Jam Drop Cookies

Jam drop cookies are easy to make and are pretty popular in Australia.  This recipe is one I got out of Real Living Magazine a few years ago.

Ingredients
- 180g butter
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1/2 cup jam of your choice
- raw sugar for coating

Directions
Preheat oven to 180C/356F and line a baking sheet with baking paper.

In a small bowl mix the flour and baking powder and set aside.  In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy.  Gradually add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture until a soft dough ball has formed.

In batches, roll the dough into small balls about 3cm/1 inch in diameter, roll the ball in raw sugar, and place on a baking sheet 5cm/2 inches apart.  Flatten each ball with the bottom of a flat-bottomed glass, then make an indent in the center of each with your finger.  Fill the indent with jam.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Cook the next batch of cookies.

Morning Tea In The Gardens

I work in a division of people who love to bake, which means we will find any legitimate excuse to hold a morning tea.  Over the past year this has included many staff goodbyes and welcomes as our tiny division of 12 people has had 5 pregnancies (and six babies in total as one was pregnant with twins).  This morning we had a bit of a mother's group going on as four of our five new mothers came in to have morning tea with us along with their babies.  As the weather was nice we also decided to have it outside in Treasury Gardens.  There was our usual assortment of delicious food: pumpkin tarts, mushroom tarts, seven layer dip and tortilla chips, assorted pastries and caramel slice.  It was great to meet the babies and catch up with everyone as they will all gradually start to return to work next year.  This of course means we will have another series of welcome and goodbye morning teas!

Ode To My Food Mixer

Around mid-year I had a leak in my kitchen that unfortunately ruined all my cookbooks, which ended up in a puddle of water.  I managed to salvage some of my favorite recipes but needed to go on a bit of a shopping spree to replace the cookbooks I had lost and get some new ones.  These are all now sitting on shelves above my counter top so they should be safe from any future disasters. 

Since all this occurred around the time of the end of financial year sales I also decided to finally buy a food mixer: the Breville Scraper Mixer Pro, which is awesome.  I usually bake cookies but having the mixer has meant venturing into cakes as well.  The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook and The Baking Collection by the Australian Woman's Weekly have been my biggest sources of delicious recipes.  Having the different mixing attachments has made it easier to make breads as well.  I made bagels for the first time and they came out fantastic, which is exciting because good bagels can be hard to find in Melbourne.  My next foray will be into meringues and finally attempting to make macarons.  It's a good think we like to have morning teas at work so that I don't eat all these treats on my own.

Bagels, vanilla cupcakes, and a pistachio and rosewater cake

Napoleon

I just made a Napoleon dessert for the first time and yes, it tastes awesome. This is also why I will be hitting the gym on Sunday.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Tonight I hosted my second Thanksgiving dinner here in Australia.  Even though I am now an Aussie I was instructed that this would be one American tradition that I need to maintain.  For the past few days I have been busy cleaning my place, shopping for food, and last night I baked a pumpkin pie.

Unfortunately a few people who were invited couldn't make it, but that was okay in the end because it meant that everyone fit at the table.  Also, those who came contributed a dish to the evening, which was nice.  Chantal brought some cheese and dips for appetizers, Ruth and Danny the salad (and a couple chairs to fill out the table), and Clinton and Kevin brought a homemade apple pie.  I was responsible for the main dishes, which were turkey, stuffing, green beans, and mashed potatoes.  The stuffing in particular came out quite well.

After digesting dinner we each had a slice of both the pumpkin and apple pies, and were then all completely full.  It was quite a fun evening filled with of lots of conversation, and time flew by because when I looked at the clock it was after 11 pm all of a sudden.  Thanks to everyone for coming and hopefully we'll do it again next year.  Good luck to all my American friends and family who are cooking and celebrating for the real date this Thursday.

Pumpkin Bread

I made some pumpkin bread last week and it was a big hit at work. Using pumpkin in baking is not a familiar thing for Australians, so after explaining that it's like a spice bread they give it a try and usually like it. Or love it in my case. I'm currently baking a second loaf to use up the rest of the canned pumpkin. Here's the recipe if you would like to make it for yourself:

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350F/180C. Grease a 9 x 5 inch (8 cup) loaf pan.

In a medium size bowl whisk together thoroughly:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground Saigon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Combine in another bowl:
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl beat until creamy:
6 tablespoons butter
Gradually add and beat until lightened in color and texture:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
Beat in one at a time:
2 large eggs
Add and beat until just blended:
1 cup pumpkin puree

Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk mixture in two parts, stirring until smooth. Fold in:
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup raisins

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on a rack.

Baking up a Storm

I have spent the majority of today baking assorted treats with my mom for our Christmas dinner tomorrow. I think we may have too much dessert.

Sugar Cookies


Snowball Cookies


Pumpkin-Orange Cookies


Lemon-Cranberry Bundt Cake


Apple Pie

Making Tamales

Today my parents and I drove up to my brother's house for a lesson on how to make tamales from Simi's parents, who were visiting them. This trip also allowed me to spend some time with my brother, who has been working the majority of the time I have been here, and to see their house fully decorated as I last saw it right before they moved in.

Our tamale lesson began with James and my Dad kneading the shortening and liquid into the masa. Next we became an assembly line of tamale makers as we spread the masa, pork and an olive into the corn husks and then folded the husks to make a tamale. It was a huge batch but we got through the 20 pound bowl of masa fairly quickly. After about an hour and a half of steaming some of the tamales we were ready for our late lunch, which also included rice, beans, and salsa. It was so great to have homemade Mexican food! The rest of the tamales for assorted family members were divided into zip lock bags to freeze and eat later on. Too bad there is no way I could get through customs and bring some tamales back with me to Australia.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I started my Christmas Day at the 10:30 am mass at St. Raphael's Church with my parents. After mass we did last minute preparations for our annual Christmas dinner. My aunt and cousins come over to join the family each year and it's always fun to catch up with them. Unfortunately my brother had to work this year, so it was just his wife Simi and their dog Chloe. Chrissie, Lei and Mei were a bit late arriving as they got caught in traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge from people trying to get into the observation points. Their tardiness didn't stop me from enjoying multiple cups of mulled cider though.

We sat down for dinner around 6:00 pm. My mom loves a festive table and did a tablescape of cranberries and roses as well as individual name cards with cute stickers and stockings with treats. We had a very yummy meal consisting of the following:
- Vegetable soup
- Bread rolls
- Turkey
- Ham
- Dressing
- Potatoes
- Green Beans
It was all delicious as usual. Of course we had a lot of left over food but that will just be eaten in the upcoming days (plus we sent home a tupperware container for my brother).

While we were digesting our dinner and making room for dessert, my cousin Lei gave us a presentation on her summer trip to Europe. Not only did she have photos but props as well. It was great to hear about her travels and see pictures of Switzerland, Spain, France, Italy and Sicily. Next we exchanged presents and then it was on to the dessert table. I had done the majority of the baking the day before having made the pumpkin pie and sugar cookies and helped my mom with the snowball cookies. We also had cream puffs and petit fours. It was sugar overload but very good and we were all extremely full by the end of the evening. I was happy to be able to enjoy Christmas with the family as I only seem to make it home every other year to celebrate with them.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Tonight I held my first Thanksgiving dinner in Australia at the suggestion of my Aussie friends who decided it would be good for me to start a new tradition here. Since I held it at my place it was a small gathering with Tash, Michelle, Ruth and Danny. I spent the majority of the day cooking away in the kitchen. The various dishes that I served were:
- Salad of mixed greens with pear and sugared walnuts
- Herb roasted turkey breast
- Dressing
- Mashed potatoes with buttermilk
- Green beans with glazed shallots and lemon
- Pumpkin pie
- Shortbread cookies

Considering this was the first full dinner I have done by myself it came out pretty well. All the dishes were cooked from scratch and my Mom was very helpful in hunting down some recipes for me. Overall everyone seemed to enjoy the food although I cooked so much that I have a lot of left overs that I will be eating throughout the week. The pumpkin pie was a big hit as that is a bit of a rarity here.

Fake Thanksgiving

One of my requests while I am home was to have Thanksgiving dinner since I will once again miss it at the end of November. Tonight we celebrated "Fake Thanksgiving" with my parents, James and Simi, and Lynne and Jeremy. We started off with appetizers and mulled cider and then headed to the dining room table for the main meal:
- Jello Salad
- Bread Rolls
- Turkey with gravy
- Cornbread Stuffing with Roasted Vegetables
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Pumpkin Pie

It was very delicious and just like a normal Thanksgiving dinner since we had the good china and silverware. I baked the pumpkin pie, which came out well. All in all it was a great night and I got to eat all my favorite dishes.

The Good Shepherd's Circus Pie Classic

You probably never thought that an "Iron Chef" inspired cooking contest mixed with rock music would be a good way to raise money for charity, but that's what happened tonight at the Corner Hotel. The beneficiaries were Good Shephard youth and family services. Ruth, Michelle, Belinda and I were treated to the mad culinary skills of Scott Owen and Andy Strachan from The Living End, Died Pretty’s Ron Peno, Ally Spazzy, Rebecca Barnard, Macromantics, Dan Kelly, Angie Hart, Lindsay MacDougall (Frenzal Rhomb), Candy Bowers (Sista She), Bob Log III, Link Meanie, Lisa Miller, PBS’s Kene Lightfoot, Paddy Donovan (The Age), RRR’s Holly C, Mia Dyson, and Dallas Crane front man Dave Larkin. The food was judged by Epicure’s John Lethlean, Mecca’s Cath Claringbold, and Andrew McConnell from Three One Two and we were given updates from the commentary panel of Helen Razer (774), Clem Bastow (The Age), and Melbourne Food & Wine Festival’s creative director Matt Preston.

There were two 30-minute heats with two teams competing each round, and then the winners took part in a 15-minute dessert challenge. The secret ingredients were mushrooms (heat 1), chicken (heat 2), and bananas (final heat). Some of the dishes were fantastic, others were shocking, but in the end the best (and my favorite) team prevailed: Rebecca Barnard, Ally Spazzy, Ron Peno, Scott Owen and Andy Strachan! We were lucky enough to get to taste test Andy's chicken dumplings from heat 2, and they were delicious. Best band of the night was Little Red- I was impressed with their gorgeous harmonies and songs. One reviewer called them "The Beach Boys meets The Strokes." I think they could become huge and I eagerly await the release of their debut EP.

Merry Christmas

Tonight we had our annual Christmas dinner at my parents' house. I finally got some mulled cider (yay) and my cousin Leilani led us through a wine tasting exercise. She started by having us smell different things that we might find in the wine (50 possible scents!) and then we tasted a variety of red wines. I couldn't really decipher the exact things I was smelling/tasting, which I chalk up to the fact that I'm not a big red wine fan.

Dinner was very delicious, and as you can see we had a wide variety of things to eat. I was happy to have some turkey and stuffing, and the sweet yams with pecans served in an orange were great. After dinner we opened presents and I now have some new gift cards to spend. Then we ate dessert, which included a pumpkin pie and snowball cookies that I had made. Overall it was a top night and one of the main reasons why I wanted to come home for the holidays.

Shopping and Baking

Today my lovely friend Lynne came over to Marin for a visit. We stopped for lunch at High Tech Burrito, and my Ya-hoo! BBQ burrito was delicious as always. We then headed down to The Village for some last minute Christmas shopping. It wasn't overwhelmingly crowded, and I was able to buy those last few gifts I was missing. They have opened an Anthropologie store there, so that was very exciting. I bought a couple tops for myself.

We returned to my house and baked some gingerbread cookies, which turned out well. Lynne stuck around for dinner and we went through some of the wedding stuff she had brought over for my mom. It was a nice night- and also the first time I had seen my mom since arriving home.