Chocolate Mud Cake

 

I enjoy a good moist chocolate mud cake. This was taken when I was at the Scarborough Hotel using natural light and with a 50mm f/1.4G Nikkor lens. The Scarborough Hotel is situated on a cliff on the  Lawrence Hargrave Drive near Wollongong. It is such a nice pub with great ocean views, though the food can be hit and miss. Last time I was there I ordered the lamb shanks and the flavours and presentation were nice but my food was not as hot as it should have been. Food can be a bit expensive but I guess it is the view that you are paying for. It get's very busy on the weekends and it is definitely worth a try with the outdoor seating and bungalows. 

Orange and Black Pepper Pâté

I bought this orange and black pepper pâté from the David Jones Food Hall. It actually was not the best pâté I have ever had. It was not smooth or soft but actually quite firm even at room temperature. In the end I decided to photograph it because despite the bad taste and texture it still looked nice.

I really like pâté especially in a Vietnamese pork roll!!!

Rainbow Trout

 

The photograph of the fresh rainbow trout was also for a photography assignment I had to do. This was shot using natural light on a wire rack in a baking tray. I loved the colours of the scales and how shiny it looked.

After photographing the trout I cooked it with only a few ingredients to keep it simple. I had the fish gutted and scaled to make it easier for me even though it is very easy to do yourself. I sliced a lemon and lay the slices inside the cavity of the fish with knobs of butter, fresh sprigs of dill and Maldon Sea Salt Flakes. I then wrapped the fish up in baking paper and aluminium foil so any juices would not leak.

Cooking times depend on the size of the fish but generally rainbow trouts you buy in your local fish shops are not that big anyway and are perfect for one to two people. I cooked my trout for about 10 minutes in a pre-heated oven at around 180 degrees celcius. This fish would be great with a beurre blanc sauce accompanied with some roast garlic kipfler potatoes and steamed greens. Remember not to cook the fish for too long as it will continue to cook through once you have removed it from the oven or barbeque.

I like to use Maldon Sea Salt when cooking because you do not need alot, it has a nice flavour and it is natural. You can buy a box of Maldon Sea Salt Flakes at your local supermarket for about $10.00 and to check out some other of their other products like their smoked salt, click on the link http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/index.html

Basket of Duck Egg's

I love how white duck egg's are. This photo was taken in my kitchen for a photography assignment in 2008. I was not sure at first how to photograph the egg's that were just sitting in a plain bowl on the table. With some searching around the house I found a nice basket that was covered in dust and webs. I placed a blue tea towel underneath and arranged them. I used natural window light that was perfect and made the duck egg's glow.

Preserved duck egg's are delicious. I like to eat just the yolk because it is not as salty as the egg white and has a rich flavour. I boil them for about 30 minutes so that they become very rich and have a natural deep orange oil in the yolk. I usually eat them with plain jasmine rice for a quick snack. Otherwise you can combine thinly sliced red onion, freshly chopped bird's eye chilli, fish sauce, lemon juice and mint together with chopped preserved duck egg and serve that with rice.

You can find preserved duck egg's at Asian supermarkets for around $6.00 for half a dozen.

Butter Cake

 

I took this photo while making a cake some time ago one afternoon. I liked the natural light coming from the window and the brown and cream colours together.

Frankie Magazine - Home

Frankie Magazine - Home

I love Frankie Magazine. The Frankie Photo Album Volume One has some great pictures.

Fresh Raspberry & Mascarpone Cream Stack

This is a perfect simple summer treat that would be great for a dinner party dessert or even afternoon tea with the girls . Sandwiched between each butter puff pastry circle is a sweet rich mascarpone cream, fresh raspberries and raspberry sauce. Finally it is dusted with icing sugar and finely grated lemon rind.

For quality pastry products and butter puff pastry check this site out http://www.caremepastry.com/sitepages/products.asp?MainMenuID=4&SubMenuID=3