New York Cheesecake

Mark loves cheesecake, and while we were in New York, he particularly loved New York Cheesecake. So when I asked him for a dessert suggestions, that was what he said.

I used a recipe I found on taste.com.au - here is the link http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/19621/new+york+cheesecake

It was really lovely and also quite simple to make. As the picture suggests, it was very much enjoyed!

Good Friday Feast

Our friends Renee and Todd were coming over for dinner on Good Friday. I therefore wanted to create a delicious, and different, meal that they would enjoy. After much thought, I decided on the following menu.

- Caramelised Onion and Haloumi Tarts
- Twice Baked Feta and Chive Souffles
- Spiced Crumbed Flathead with Cauliflower Puree, Salsa Verde and Sauteed Spinach

I also made a New York Cheesecake, but we were all full, and not really dessert people anyway, so we skipped dessert. I served it the next night - the blog will be updated with that menu shortly.

This menu allowed me to prepare a very large portion of the food in advance so that I could sit and chat to our friends rather than be stuck in the kitchen. So, during the day I prepared the following.

1. Made the salsa verde and stored it in the fridge.
2. Prepared the souffles and baked them once. They were then stored in the fridge until I was ready to cook them again.
3. Crumbed the fish. Crumbing the fish early and storing it in the fridge also ensured that the crumbs stayed on.
4. Caramelised the onion for the tarts.
5. Cut the haloumi.
6. Washed and dried the baby spinach.
7. Trimmed and washed the beans I served as a side dish.
8. Made the pureed cauliflower and kept it warm in a bowl placed in a large saucepan of simmering water.

Caramelised Onion and Haloumi Tarts

I have seen a lot of recipes around for onion and goat's cheese tarts. As I am not keen on goat's cheese, I decided to try one and use haloumi instead.

With respect to the caramelised onion itself, I wanted to use a combination of spices in order to enhance the flavour. I decided to use a combination of coriander seed, lemon myrtle, wattleseed and akudjura (bush tomato). Once combined, these spices were so deliciously fragrant I decided to use this same combination with the crumbed flathead I was serving as the main meal. The caramelised onion tasted wonderful - I had to quickly put it in the fridge to stop myself from constantly eating bits of it. It would also be lovely served with steak.

These tarts are easy to prepare. I caramelised the onion in advance and then stored it in the fridge until I was ready to put the tarts together. Just before Renee and Todd arrived I cut out the pastry rounds and placed them on the baking tray and then a bit later topped the pastry with the onion and haloumi and popped them in the oven. Very simple!

Ingredients (Makes 18)

Olive oil for frying

3 brown onions peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon lemon myrtle

1 teaspoon wattleseed

1 teaspoon ground akudjura (bush tomato)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 sheets puff pastry thawed

250g haloumi cut into 18 slices

Olive oil for drizzling

Method

Combine the spices in a mortar and pestle and grind to combine. Set aside.

Cover the bottom of a medium sized saucepan with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the onion and stir to cover with the oil. Add the garlic. Cook for 30 minutes or so until the onion is very soft and has caramelised. The quantity will look quite a lot smaller.

Add the spices and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Close to serving time, preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Use a cookie cutter to cut 8-10 cm round from the pastry. Use a slightly smaller cutter to cut partway through each round to that a border is formed.

Use a teaspoon to divide the onion evenly among the rounds. Top with a piece of haloumi. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden. Serve immediately.

Twice Baked Feta and Chives Souffle

I was hesitant to serve a cheese based souffle as an entree when we were having a fish main. It just didn't seem to "match" to me. But, Renee told me that she had never had a savoury souffle, and I knew how much she would love it given how much she loves cheese, so I decided to make it anyway. And I take it back - it did "match".

Because souffles are made with whisked egg whites they normally cannot be made in advance. When entertaining I like to make as much as possible in advance, so decided that a twice baked souffle would be the best option. This recipe is really very easy, and very tasty.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

15g butter (as well as extra butter for greasing)

30ml milk

55g plain flour

5 eggs separated

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

150g creamy feta (such as Danish feta) cut into small cubes

100g parmesan cheese grated

1 bunch chives chopped

150ml thickened cream

Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Grease 4 ramekins with butter. Place the milk, flour and butter in a small saucepan and heat slowly, whisking, until the mixture thickens and boils. Let the mixture simmer for about a minute and then remove from the heat. Beat in the egg yolks, feta, 3/4 of the parmesan, dijon mustard and chives. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stir about a third of the egg whites into the milk and cheese mixture. Carefully fold in another third of the egg whites until combined and then repeat with the remaining third.

Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins. Place the ramekins in a roasting tray and half fill the tray with water. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

After cooking, remove the ramekins from the roasting tray and allow to cool on a wire rack. The souffles will fall - this is normal. Once cool, the souffles can be placed in the fridge until ready to serve.

About half an hour before you want to serve, preheat the oven again to 200 degrees. Run a knife around the edge of the ramekins and remove the souffles. Place each souffle in a baking tray. Sprinkle with parmesan and thickened cream. Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden. Serve immediately.