Assiette stuffed chicken breast, sticky rack lamb, twice cooked pork belly

Assiette twice cooked pork belly in spicy star anise and pan juices reduction, served on jasmine and wild rice with slivers of green apple. Sticky rack of lamb with red currant jelly, black pepper and balsamic reduction served with oven roasted cherry tomatoes. Chicken breast rolled with freshly chopped basil, macadamia nuts and double brie, wrapped in prosciutto and cooked till crispy, served with a creamy asparagus sauce.

For bookings please phone 0423 303 884

or see our website

http://www.bonappetitdining.com/

Bon Appetit!

Hand Made Pasta, fettucine, lasagne, cannelloni, gnocchi

We really enjoy making our pasta by hand, it's such a tactile thing. There are limitless possibilities with flavours and colours and the finished product is a delight to eat, so fresh! Combine this with fresh produce in a sauce or pesto and you have such a delicious meal which really is easy.

There are advantages for our gluten intolerant guests too in that we can make pasta specially for them.

Here's the recipe for Spaghetti/Fettucine/Lasagne/Cannelloni/Ravioli

• 2 & 1/2 cups plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 4 eggs

1st make a sand castle on the bench with your flour, make a dip in it and pop your eggs in....

Break the eggs up a little wtih a fork then mix them through the flour until the mixture is dough like then cover it and cool it for half an hour or an hour...

To make coloured/flavoured pasta you can substitute one of the eggs for some pureed cooked beetroot or sun dried tomatoes or basil, maybe pop in some saffron or tumeric for bright colour or some chilli powder for a spicy surprise.

Roll the dough out flat with a rolling pin then put through your pasta machine.

Let it sit for 10-15 minutes over a rack. You can then cook this straight away or store for later.

If you don't have a pasta machine you can still use this recipe and make delicious ravioli filled with anything your imagination and taste buds could possibly dream up!

We particularly love our mud crab and king prawn pasta parcels

Roll your pasta dough out then cut into circles. Put a spoonfull of your filling in the centre of the pasta then run a brush of egg around the edge, fold over and crimp.

Cook these off as you would any pasta, in rolling boiling water then toss through your favourite sauce.

Gnocchi recipe.

About equal parts mashed potato and flour, mix to a dough consistency, add whatever herbs or spices you desire.

Roll into a snake then cut into equal portions. Roll each of these into a ball then press a fork into them, fold them backwards. Cook in rapid boiling salted water until they float to the top.

Tonight I made some with basil pesto. So tasty. I also made and amatriciana with chorizo, tomatoes, capsicum, garlic, chilli and shallots

Bon Appetit!

Dinner for 18

Menu

Turkish Bread with Dukkah and Olive Oil

Beef Wellington - Whole aged, eye fillet beef seared in a hot pan then wrapped in a crepe with pate and duxelle (mushroom, onion and parsley) It's then wrapped in puff pastry and cooked off until golden brown.

Sides:

• Sweet potato wrapped in prosciutto
• Potato Wedges
• Green salad with fetta and pepitas

Dessert Duo of Raspberry and White Chocolate Gateau and Girdle Buster Pie

Cheese Platters, espresso coffee, tea


A lovely time was had by all. The house was gorgeous, their children were adorable and really well behaved and their guests were so appreciative.

Do not read this if you're dieting. Nigella Girdle Buster Pie Recipe

I can't imagine how many calories this one has but its saving grace is that a little goes a LONG way. It's so rich, it's like eating a melted mars bar over ice cream with biscuits. Make these in tiny ramekins as it is a messy, gooey, gloppy, lovely, caramel dream so cutting it to serve would be outrageous.

You must try this dessert once in your life, the recipe is by Nigella Lawson the Goddess herself, I made it tonight and it is obscenely gorgeous.

Makes 6

Ingredients
INGREDIENTS FOR THE BASE

375g digestive biscuits
75g soft unsalted butter
50g dark chocolate pieces or chips
50g milk chocolate pieces or chips

FOR THE ICE CREAM FILLING
1 litre coffee ice cream

FOR THE TOPPING
300g golden syrup
100g Castor sugar
pinch of table salt
75g butter
2 x 15ml tablespoons bourbon
125ml double cream

Process the biscuits with the butter and chocolate pieces or chips until it forms a damp but still crumb-like clump. Press into a 23cm pie plate or flan dish. Form a lip of biscuit a little higher than the plate or dish if you can. This process takes patience as you need ideally to form a smooth even layer. Sorry. Freeze this biscuit-lined layer for about an hour so it gets really hard.


In the meantime, let your ice cream soften, just enough to be scooped, in the fridge. Spread the ice cream into the hard-biscuit-lined dish to form a layer. Then cover in clingfilm and replace in the freezer.

Put the syrup, sugar, salt and butter into a saucepan and let it melt over a low to medium heat, before turning it up and boiling for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and add the bourbon, letting it hiss in the pan. Add the cream and stir to mix into a sauce, then leave to cool. And once the sauce is cool, but not set cold, pour it over the pie to cover the ice cream layer and then put it back in the freezer. Once frozen, cover with clingfilm again.


Here is the proof in the picture...


Press the biscuit mixture into the ramekins. I used vanilla ice cream because I felt there were just so many flavours going on that it didn't need coffee.

Boil up your gooey, sticky dreamy butterscotch sauce, add bourbon then let it cool slightly before mixing the cream through... after which, pour into your ramekins, top with whipped cream and serve immediately

Nigella serves hers cool but I served mine with the butterscotch still hot and gooey. It was divine

OH MY GOODNESS!

Bon Appetit

Raspberry and White Chocolate Gateau

Recipe by Leah

Ingredients:

• raspberries
• sponge fingers
• white chocolate
• cream
• cream cheese
• zest of 1 lemon
• vanilla extract
• icing sugar

Method:
Crush your raspberries with a fork to release plenty of juice then dip your sponge fingers on both sides into the lovely tartness. Make one layer of this in the bottom of whatever container you may have. You can make these in individual ramekins or make a large one to slice up. Vary your quantities accordingly.

Whip your cream 2 parts to 1 with your cream cheese. Add vanilla, icing sugar to taste (the sweetness of the cream to contrast the acidity of the berries) the zest of 1 lemon and plenty of coarsely chopped white chocolate. You need two layers of this so divide your mixture in half then spread one half onto your sponge finger first layer.

Another layer of sponge fingers then drizzle left over crushed raspberries over that layer. (not too sloppy though)


Final layer of cream then top with crunchy toffee crumbles, these are made by laying a piece of greaseproof paper on your bench, heat up a little sugar on a medium heat until it's all dissolved. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until it starts to set when you lift your spoon up and twirl it around a few tims.


Go crazy with lots of swirls and zig zags on your paper, let it set then pick it off the paper, give it some taps with a rolling pin to crush it up, sprinkle over your gateau along with some fresh raspberries.

Simple Heart Garnish
It's easier if you put your chocolate topping, condensed milk and strawberry topping into squeeze bottles.

Start with a blob of chocolate......

Then carefully put a smaller blob of condensed milk as close to the middle of the chocolate as you can.

Same again with the strawberry, this time just a tiny drop...

Run a skewer through the white and red blobs

To form a simple heart shaped garnish for your dessert plate.

This looks really effective if you run a thick line of the chocolate around the plate then white blobs then red drops, run the skewer around the lot in one go to form a circle of hearts.

Bon Appetit

Beefing it up

This week has been a meaty one with two hearty winter favourites:

Beef Wellington

Filet Mignon

Beef Wellington - Whole eye fillet with pate, mushrooms, onions and parsley wrapped first in a crepe then in puff pastry and cooked until golden brown.

The flavours and textures of this meal are fantastic, the crispy, crunchy pastry reveals rich pate and beef.

Filet Mignon is french for "dainty fillet" but there is nothing dainty about our hearty version. A thick 250g steak of aged eye fillet beef wrapped in bacon served with a mushroom and pan juices reduction.

Suggested sides with these two dishes:

Potato Mash
Hand Cut Potato Wedges
Prosciutto Wrapped Sweet Potato
Herbed Baby Potatoes
Crunchy Cubed Potatoes
Fresh Green Salad to cleanse the palate after the heavy flavours


For bookings please phone

Leah: 0423 303 884

Daniel: 0415 904 693
Jason: 0421 415 053

http://www.bonappetitdining.com/

Crunchy Potatoes

Recipe by Leah

For the crunchiest potatoes coat your cubes in a mixture of semolina, black pepper and rosemary.

Spray with olive oil then bake them off at around 200 deg, check them after 15 minutes, shake the baking tray and put them back in until they're golden brown.

Sticky Rack of Lamb

Sticky rack of Lamb glazed with red currant jelly, balsamic and black pepper jus.

Served with steamed brocollini, garlic roasted cherry tomatoes and crunchy semolina and rosemary potatoes

Palate cleanser of tiny cubed apples with mandarin and passionfruit jelly cubes

White chocolate souffle with pears poached in port and star anise

For menus or to make a booking please see our website at

http://www.bonappetitdining.com/

Bon Appetit!

Assiette of chicken snobbery

The first time I tasted organic, free range chicken I knew that I could never again be satisfied with supermarket chicken.

The difference is not just some ethical/moral satisfaction - there is a marked improvement in both texture and definitely flavour.

Try it, I believe you will see what I mean and while you're salivating over the delicious morsel you may cheer yourself with the thought that you're not putting all those chemicals and hormones into your body with each bite and the meat you're enjoying hasn't come from a sad, miserable caged creature who never knew a day of freedom to scratch his little chicken feet in the dirt......

I digress....

Here, from a self confessed chicken snob is a delicous assiette of organic, free range chicken prepared 3 ways:

- Wrapped in prosciutto, stuffed with freshly chopped basil, cashew nuts, parmesan and King Island double brie, served on steamed asparagus.

- Crusted chicken strips marinated in buttermilk, served with blue cheese and sweet chilli dipping sauce.

- Chicken Wellington rolled with freshly made pepper pate and dry duxelle, wrapped in pastry.

Here are a couple of links to organic chicken in Australia.

http://www.inglewoodfarms.com/products.html

http://www.freerangechicken.com.au/

Tonight's Vegetarian Dinner Party for 6

Menu:

Canapes
zuchinni pastries

Starter
Garlic and herb bread with hommus

Entree
Vegetable stack served with crispy spiced carrots

Main
Char-grilled eggplant rubbed with African spices, served with coconut rice and sweet potato sauce

Dessert
Cherry ripe gateau (pictured yesterday)

Cherry Ripe Gateau
Recipe by Leah

I made mine in a clear plastic take away container 900ml and it would serve 6.

Ingredients

• 12 sponge fingers
• half a cup of cherry liqueur brandy
• 250ml cream
• 200g dark chocolate 85%
• 24 cherries, pitted
• 1 cup of McKenzies moist coconut flakes (try to get these because dessicated just won't cut it)
  
  First put half your chocolate into a metal bowl over a saucepan of boiling water or use a double boiler if you have one.
  
  While that is melting, line the bottom of your container with sponge fingers that you have dipped briefly into the liqueur. Sprinkle half of the coconut over the sponge fingers.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Next place your cherries evenly onto the coconut, top with more coconut then drizzle half your chocolate over this cherry/coconut mixture.
  
  Leave that to set in the freezer while you whip the cream.
  
  When the cream is whipped, add a thick layer followed by another layer of sponge fingers dipped in cherry liqueur.
  
  Finally drizzle the other half of your chocolate over the sponge fingers and top with the rest of your moist coconut.
  
  
  
  Put the lid on the container then leave to refrigerate for at least an hour.
  
  When it's set, tip upside down and remove your container then melt the rest of your chocolate and drizzle it over the whole gateau. Slice using the sponge fingers as your size guide.
  
  
  
  I can't even imagine how many calories there are in this dish but once you taste it, you might forgive yourself just every so often to let this amazingly delicious treat into your life.

Hi, well busy busy busy.

Here was the menu for our first function, dinner for 4.


Starter: Turkish bread with freshly made dukkah
Entree: Miniature pumpkins stuffed with chilli beef risotto
Main: Seafood pasta parcels filled with mud crab and king prawn served on a bed of hand made fettuccine with a creamy garlic sauce.
Dessert: Raspberry and white chocolate gateau


all went well and lots of praise was showered upon us as we left. :)

Hi,

we are a family of hospitality workers ....

Dad: Jason (chef)
Mum: Leah (Event Planner/Hostess/Pastry Chef)
Son: Dan (chef/waiter)
Son: Matt (barman/barista/waiter/kitchenhand)

We owned a hotel for 9 years and an Italian restaurant for 7 years, in between which we all worked at various dining establishments around Australia.

We recently started our own personal dining service on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria called 'Bon Appetit'. (see website http://www.bonappetitdining.com/)

I plan to blog the emergence and hopefully the success of the business as it grows.

Bon Appetit!