A simple tasty vanilla custard that every home cook can make!

Ingredients:

625ml Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
4 Egg Yolks
30g Caster Sugar
2 Level teaspoons Cornflour

Method:

Place a small saucepan on a low heat, add milk and vanilla essence, then simmer gently for around 5mins or until almost boiling... meanwhile

In a bowl using a balloon whisk, whisk together yolks, sugar and cornflour until fully combined and smooth.

Gradually pour in the hot milk into the bowl with the eggs and sugar, whisking continuously.

Return to the saucepan and simmer over a low heat, gently stirring with a wooden spoon for 10-15mins, or until thickened enough to your liking.

Carefully pour custard into a heatproof jug and serve.

Note: When adding hot milk into eggs, start very slowly adding little bit by little bit, until the eggs have gotten used to the temperature, then you can start adding it in quicker. Otherwise you can get scrambled eggs.
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Jamie Oliver is my biggest food hero and when i got a chance to attend his Ministry of Food Course, i jumped at it! In today's class we learnt to make this pear and ginger crumble. Never have i paired (dont mind the pun) pear and ginger together, but it actually works, really well. This crumble is extremely easy and is a real show stopper. Served with my (well jamie's) simple custard makes any cold night bearable.

Ingredients:

150g Plain Flour
60g Castor Sugar
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
75g Butter, Cubed and cold
For the Filling
100 ml water
4 Ripe Pears
5 Pieces Stem Ginger (in syrup or glace ginger)
50g Castor Sugar
Juice and Zest of 1 Lime

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200ºC 

Sift the flour into a bowl and add the sugar, salt and ginger. 

Cut the cold butter into chunks and rub it into the flour mix with your hands until you get a mixture that looks a bit like fine breadcrumbs. This is the crumble topping. 

To make the filling, boil the water and sugar together, then carefully drop in the pear chunks and simmer gently for a couple of minutes. 

Add the chopped ginger and the lime zest and juice to the pan and stir. Spoon the mixture into one large ovenproof dish or four small ones. 

Sprinkle the crumble topping over the top of the fruit, piling it high in the middle of the dish and leaving space at the edge for the caramel to bubble up. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the pears are cooked and bubbling and the crumble is golden on top. Serve with custard or a dollop of crème fraîche with lime zest grated over, if you like. 

Original Recipe - http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/best-ever-fruit-crumble/#iwLPTpmJkJYCTXfj.99

Whenever i go to an asian restaurant for a meal, i always would order a round of chicken wontons. But $8 for 3 wontons is very expensive so i have created these amazing crunchy chicken wontons that do not break the bank. They are super easy to make and are super juicy and crunchy. Definitely a winner!

Ingredients:

400g Chicken, Cut into cubes 
100g Prawn meat (Raw), chopped into small pieces
1 Spring Onion, chopped roughly
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 dashes fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
3 dashes ground white pepper
25 pieces wonton wrappers (1 packet)
Water, for sealing
Oil, for deep frying
Vietnamese dipping sauce (click here to see which one i used)

Method:

Place all ingredients into a food processor and blitz until well combined and chicken and prawn are minced finely. 

Place one wonton wrapper on the palm of your hand. Add 1/2 tablespoon of the filling in the middle of the wrapper. Dip your finger into some water and trace it on the outer edges of the wonton wrapper. Fold and pinch the edges of the wonton wrapper up and seal the wonton tight so there is no opening at the top and the wonton is securely enclosed. 
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Deep fry the wontons until the wrappers are crispy and bubbled in texture.
Serve hot with dipping sauce

A cheesy, baconey (if that's a word) dip. Perfect for crackers, veggie chips or served over nacho's.

Ingredients:

3 Spring Onions, chopped
2 Cups Cheese, Grated (I used a vintage cheddar)
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 Cup Mayo
1/2 teaspoon Mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
8 Slices Streaky Bacon, cooked and crumbled

MEthod

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and chill in the fridge for 1hr prior to serving.

A tasty dip perfect for dinner parties, bbq's or on crusty bread.

Ingredients:

1 Garlic clove
2 Tablespoons Parmesan, grated
1 Red Capsicum, quartered
150g Semi Sundried Tomatoes, Drained
150g Cashew Nuts
40ml Olive Oil
40ml White Vinegar

Method:

Blitz all the ingredients together in a food processor until its a chunky mix. Serve with crackers or veggie sticks.

These delicious mash balls are a winner for any occasion. Creamy mash with a cube of cheese melted inside will win over any food critic. You can add anything you like to mash mixture to suit your own taste, i've gone for a classic bacon and cheddar.for myself and my husband wanted jalapeno cheese in his. Let me know what creative flavors you come up with..

Ingredients:

4 Cups Cold Mashed Potatoes 
1 Spring Onion, sliced
4 Slices Bacon, cooked and chopped
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Salt, Pinch
3 Eggs
12 Cubes of Cheese ( I used half vintage cheddar & half Jalapeno cheese)
1 Cup Flour
1 Cup Bread Crumbs (I used Garlic and Herb Breadcrumbs)
Oil for deep frying


Place cold mashed potatoes into a large mixing bowl. Add spring onion, Bacon, Garlic Powder, Black Pepper, salt and one egg and mix until well combined.

Flour your hands and place a heaped tablespoon size ball of mash potato mixture in your hand and flatten into a small disc. Place cube of Cheese in the center and wrap the mash mixture around the cheese. Roll into a ball, Repeat until all the cheese is used. (I got 12 balls, but if you didn't coat them in alot of mash you could get more)

In three separate bowls, add Flour, Bread Crumbs, and 2 eggs, whisked. Coat the potato ball in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. (if you want extra crunchy once crumbed, dip back into the egg wash and crumb again.

Deep fry the balls in batches of 2-3 (don't crowd the pot) until browned on all sides and cooked through, this should take around 3-4mins. Drain excess oil off on papertowel. Serve Hot.
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Everyone loves a good prawn toast and these are sooooo good. I first tried prawn toast in Bali in 2007 and fell in love. I'm not usually a seafood person but these changed my mind! This dish is also great for using up any leftover bread.

Ingredients:

375g Deveined and peeled Prawns
1 Egg
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Pepper
1 Spring Onion, chopped roughly
40g Butter, softened
​8 Slices of bread
a few pinches of poppy seeds (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180'c. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Place prawns, egg, lemon pepper and spring onion in a food processor, process for 30secs or until mixture is smooth.
Spread butter over one side of the bread. Spread prawn mixture over the other side. Cut off crusts and cut each slice of bread  into small triangles . Place triangles on baking tray and bake for 15mins or until golden and slightly puffed.
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I made this dish in my Jamie Oliver cooking course and i fell n love. I'm not normally a big curry person but this recipe has converted me. Its aromatic and cheap to make. Jamie is my food hero and one day i hope to cook with him (dream big hey?) Ive attached jamies website to the original recipe at the bottom if you want to explore his wonderful world of food.
I hope you enjoy this dish as much as i did!

Ingredients:

2  onions
4  cloves of  garlic
1   thumb-sized piece of  ginger
2  yellow peppers
1   cube chicken stock
1-2  fresh red chillies
½  a bunch of fresh coriander
1  teaspoon runny honey
1  level teaspoon ground turmeric
2  teaspoons curry powder
8  higher-welfare chicken drumsticks
olive oil
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
1  teaspoon tomato purée
320g basmati rice
1  lemon
optional:
fat-free natural yoghurt    , to serve

Method:

Peel the onions, garlic and ginger and deseed the peppers. Put 1 onion, 1 pepper, the garlic and ginger into a food processor. Crumble in the stock cube and add the chilli (deseed it first, if you prefer a milder curry), the coriander stalks, honey and spices, then blitz to a paste.

Place a large casserole pan on a medium-high heat and fry the chicken drumsticks (pull the skin off first, if you prefer) with a splash of oil for 10 minutes, or until golden, turning occasionally with tongs. Remove the chicken to a plate, leaving the pan on the heat. Roughly chop the remaining onion and pepper and add to the pan to cook for a few minutes, then tip in the paste and let it cook down for around 5 minutes. Pour in 500ml of boiling water. Drain the chickpeas and add along with the tomato purée and a pinch of salt and pepper, then stir well. Return the chicken to the pan, pop the lid on, reduce the heat and simmer gently for around 45 minutes, or until the sauce darkens and thickens.

With 15 minutes to go, put 1 mug (320g) of rice and 2 mugs of boiling water into a pan with a pinch of salt and simmer with the lid on for 12 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Serve the curry in the middle of the table with a few dollops of yoghurt (if using) and a scattering of coriander leaves, with lemon wedges for squeezing over and the fluffy rice on the side.

Read more at http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/pukka-yellow-curry/#IWsFyCHY0phM6rvR.99

My father in law's famous chicken pie recipe. This is a regular treat in our house and my husband had mastered the recipe. Creamy chicken sauce filled with veg and encased in not only 1 type, but 2 types of pastry. Friends and family all love poppy pete's chicken pie and i'm super excited to share his recipe with you all.

Ingredients:

1 cup Plain flour
2 Chicken stock cubes
3 Large Chicken Breasts, diced into cubes
2 Carrots, diced
1 leek, finely chopped
2 Cups Peas and corn ( or 1 cup of each)
1L Chicken Stock
1 Cup Cream
3 Sheets Shortcrust Pastry
2 Sheets Puff Pastry

Method:

Preheat oven to 180'c. In a large ziplock bag mix together flour and stock cubes, add chicken. Shake well to coat all of the chicken. Remove chicken and shake off excess flour.
​Add a tablespoon of oil in a large deep frying pan. Add chicken in batches and cook until all browned. Place all chicken, leek and carrot back into the pan and cook for 2-3mins to soften leeks. Add chicken stock and cook, covered for 20mins or until chicken is tender (add more water if sauce looks really thick). Turn off the heat and stir in the cream.
Meanwhile line a large baking dish with shortcrust party. Transfer chicken mixture to the pie dish and cover with puff pastry, making sure all the edges are sealed. Bake in oven for 30-45mins or until pastry is cooked and golden. Serve hot.