Margarita-Rama: Cocktails with a Twist

Throwing a party, big or small? If you remember your days at university you may remember those delicious margaritas you used to make. Do away with the cheap, nitrous-fuelled tequila you used to use and prepare these refreshing drinks: you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Hawaiian Margarita:

This cocktail is brightly coloured and has strong strawberry and pineapple flavours.

What you need:

ñ  1 cup of ice

ñ  45 ml tequila

ñ  15 ml triple sec

ñ  56 g strawberries, fresh or frozen

ñ  A hint of sour mix

ñ  Strawberry and/or pineapple, for garnish

Pour ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the contents into a chilled margarita glass. Put finishing touches with a few slices of strawberries or a chunk of pineapple on the side.

If the mix is too thick, simply add more sour mix or triple sec. If too thin, blend in more ice.

Midori Margarita:

Lend sweetness to your margarita with this Midori margarita recipe.

Midori is the original melon liqueur that spawned the popular cocktails Midori Illusion and Japanese Slipper. In this recipe you'll taste a refreshing honeydew flavour. Coupled with a vibrant green colour, it's the perfect margarita to serve in a chilled margarita glass.

What you need:

  ñ  45 ml tequila

  ñ  60 ml sweet and sour mix

  ñ  30 ml Midori melon liqueur

Blend together the ingredients and crushed ice in a blender. Garnish with a lime wedge. If desired, subtly salt the rim of the chilled margarita glass.

Hints and Tips:

1. Margaritas have a wonderful citrus kick, which goes with Mexican snacks such as tacos, burritos, quesadillas and nachos.
2. The staples of margaritas include tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. You can mix and match other variations of these ingredients to taste.
3. Always use fresh lime where available.

For more hints on how to make a great margarita, have a look at this article from the Sydney Morning Herald - it's packed full of great information.

Classic Chocolate Cake Pops

Classic chocolate cake pops: A no-fail, kid-pleasing recipe

Cake pops started to make a buzz a few years ago, thanks to Bakerella and Starbucks. It has become so popular that almost every day we see a new 'latest and greatest' cake pop recipe.

Basically, cake pops are bite-sized balls of cake and frosting (if you haven't read the basics on cake pops, we suggest you read an old post of ours here). They're cute, have different adorable designs, sweet, and are a favourite among cake decorators and confectionery artists.

These treats work well for special occasions, especially children's parties. You can make your own cake pops with either homemade or store-bought cakes and frosting. The best thing about cake pops is you decide what they look like and what decorations to use; the possibilities are endless.

Here's a recipe for classic chocolate cake pops - an ideal place to start if you're new to the exciting world of cake pops.

Chocolate cake pops

Serving: about 16 cake pops

Ingredients:

ñ  Chocolate mix

ñ  1 can of classic chocolate frosting

ñ  About 2 cups of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

ñ  Sprinkles and other decors (optional)

ñ  Lollipop sticks

1.      Bake the chocolate mix according to the package's directions and let it cool.

2.      Set aside half of the cake in the fridge. The remaining half is enough for our cake pops. Crumble in a large bowl.

3.      Mix frosting with the crumbled cake using a spatula. Add only a few tablespoon of frosting, just enough for it to hold the cake together.

Tip: You can also make your own frosting using blended powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla extract, and water.

4.      Shape the cakes into golf-ball-sized balls using your hands. Place the balls on a baking sheet covered with plastic wrap in order to prevent sticking. Cover with more plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 3 hours or more to firm up the balls.

5.      For the coating, put the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat just until melted. Stir until the coating is smooth.

6.      Dip the lollipop stick halfway into the chocolate chip coating and gently insert into the ball. Then, dip the ball into the coating. Rotate the stick to allow excess coating to drizzle down. Sprinkle with your choice of decorations. Place in a styrofoam, poking holes using a stick, or put in colander holes. Allow to dry. Do the same with the remaining cake balls.

7.      When the coating is completely dry and the sticks are firmly stuck you can serve the cake pops. You can also refrigerate them for up to 3 days.

In some cases, the balls might fall off the stick. To prevent this, don't make the balls too big and always put them in a refrigerator; this ensures the ball will stay moulded together.

Try to be whimsical and imaginative, adding decorations such as chopped nuts, chocolate sprinkle, sugar crystals, or coconut. The cake balls will not only look amazing but also taste amazing. Whip some up on birthdays, for a baby shower, or other special events - your friends (or kids) will adore them! Here's some creative examples of cake pops:

Easter Egg Cake Pops

Snowman Cake Pops

To purchase Wilton cake pop accessories, moulds and decorations visit Kitchenware Direct.

Essential Tips for Making Great Paella

Ask people who've been to Spain, and they will tell you that paella is on top of the list of traditional Spanish dishes you shouldn't miss out on. This savoury rice dish is cooked with various green vegetables, meat, beans, and seasonings and is as colourful as it is delicious.

From Valencia, Spain, paella has made its way to modern cuisine. However, few restaurants cook it right (the way Spanish cooks get it just perfect). Somehow the taste isn't right, or it's crammed with too many extras.

Cooking paella is easy, you just need to keep it simple. Whatever recipe you choose, if you want to make a great paella then you should follow these 4 essential tips:

1. Use the right rice. Paella cooks will tell you that, ultimately, it is good rice that makes a great paella. 

Use short-grain rice only; it absorbs liquid and flavour easily and will stay firm during cooking. The most prestigious choice would be Spanish bomba, although there are other varieties that will do as well, such as valenciano, arborio, or Japanese sushi rice. Long-grain rice is not an option.

            Paella's cooked rice must be slightly moist but separate, not creamy like risotto, so absolutely no   stirring is necessary.

Tip: Paella is about the rice. One of the common mistakes in cooking paella is overloading with other ingredients. Allow just enough to give flavour, but not too many to smother the rice.

2. Use a real paella pan. Also called paellera, this type of pan is wide, round, and shallow. Valencians agree that the cooked rice must only be as thick as the width of one finger. A paella pan ensures that the rice is cooked in a thin layer. It's also wide enough to accommodate more paella. 

            Put only the amount of rice the size of the paella pan calls for. Overloading will result in the rice   tasting steamed and fluffy. Also, you might notice that a paella pan doesn't come with a lid. This is because placing a cover will merely give you steamed rice.

Tip: The flavour is in the bottom of the pan, so it's best to maximise the amount of rice that touches the bottom.

3. Heat source is important. Traditionally, paella is cooked outdoors in a fire pit with orange tree branches or other aromatic woods as heat source. This gives the rice a light smoky taste. However, this is not always possible and it's perfectly fine to stay in the kitchen. Just keep in mind that while cooking, the heat should be evenly distributed on the entire bottom surface of the pan. Use a large stove burner. If the burner is smaller than the pan, push the pan around when cooking to cover all areas and ensure that all the rice is cooked. 

4. For flavours, use sofrito and good stock. Sofrito is a sauté of aromatics that provides the flavour base of the paella. The contents of the sofrito vary by region. A popular trio includes tomato, onion, and garlic, although others include paprika, fresh herbs, and pepper as well. 

Also, a lot of Spaniards believe that a great paella calls for a flavourful homemade stock, preferably low salt, rather than store-bought one. The amount of liquid should be double than that of rice.

Lastly, instead of artificial colouring, stick to the tradition and add saffron, a spice included in every paella recipe. It not only gives a gentle yellow colour but also adds flavour and aroma.

Finally, you know you've made a great paella when it has the prized soccarat, the crispy, golden caramelised rice at the bottom, which also adds texture and flavour. Cover with aluminium foil and let stand for at least 5 minutes. Eat paella communal style and serve from the pan.

A lot of mistakes in cooking paella are fairly simple, like using too much rice, cooking with the wrong pan, or adding too many ingredients. If you know these beforehand, rest assured that you can make a delicious paella easily; perfect for gatherings or just something to enjoy on a cool late afternoon with a cerveza in hand.

We've hand selected a few of our favourite paella recipes - enjoy!

1. Ultimate Paella by Jamie Oliver
2. Traditional Paella by All Recipes
3. Paella by Taste (although we recommend using short-grain rice instead of medium-grain rice)

Green tea ice cream: A unique, healthy dessert

Photo from Passionate Mae

You've seen the usual: strawberry ice cream, vanilla bean ice cream, even banana ice cream. Well, if you'd like to get a little more out of your ice cream maker (and green tea just happens to be a personal favourite of yours) try this recipe - we promise you'll love it. This green tea ice cream recipe uses green tea powder, also called matcha, an essential part of Japanese green tea ceremony and found in certain supermarkets, notably Japanese ones. It brings out the flavour of green tea in what would otherwise be plain ice cream.

You only need a few ingredients and an ice cream maker to make this delicious green tea ice cream. Go on, give it a try!

Green tea ice cream

Serving: about 1 litre

Ingredients:

ñ  375 ml. of heavy cream

ñ  375 ml. of milk

ñ  A pinch of salt

ñ  1 1/2 tbsp. matcha

ñ  5 eggs

ñ  65 grams of sugar

1. Put cream, milk, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a bare simmer.

2. Add the matcha and let it dissolve.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until thickened.

4. Combine the egg mixture with a cup of the heated cream mixture and pour into the saucepan. Constantly stir using a wooden spoon.

5. Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly until it thickens such that it coats the back of the spoon.

6. Do not overheat to avoid curdling; remove immediately from the pan.

7. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve onto a medium bowl to leave off the solids. Leave to cool completely. You can also place it in a larger bowl with ice water.

8. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process as per manufacturer's instructions.

9. Transfer to an airtight plastic container and refrigerate until completely chilled and ready to serve.

This ice cream recipe has a lovely, surreal green color and a distinctive taste. You can serve by itself or pair with topical fruit slices such as oranges.

Photo from Wanderlust

It doesn't hurt that it's healthy too, since the concentrated green tea powder retains the antioxidant content of real green tea leaves, and not the diminished nutrients in brewed green tea. Just make sure though that the matcha that you buy is pure, not mixed with sugar or milk powder. The key to making good green tea ice cream is in the quality of the matcha.

Amazingly easy to make, this green tea ice cream recipe is a real treat to green tea fanatics. It's also perfect for a hot summer day or as a dessert to delight any unexpected visitors.

Delicious Home Made Bread - Perfect for Cosy Winter Dinners

Bread is everywhere. We see it and eat it on a daily basis, perhaps without even really noticing it – dinner rolls, hamburger and hotdog buns, crackers, cakes, bagels, sandwich loaves, croissants, muffins, you name it. And though largely considered a breakfast item or perhaps a snack, bread is an omnipresent food.

This seemingly humble food staple was considered an important part of ancient cultures. Bread was seen as a sign of fertility and abundance, and was offered to gods and goddesses during feasts. From its flat and unleavened form baked by the early Egyptians and Mesopotamians, it has now evolved to become the many shapes and sizes it takes as displayed on fancy bakery store windows.

The best part about bread making is that it has now become so much easier to feign a baker's expertise in the comfort of your home. The invention of the bread maker has seen to this; with its wonders, you can now truly claim to have made your perfectly light and crusty loaves from scratch!

So if you want to channel your inner Martha Stewart and are up to the task of bread making the easy way, here are two easy recipes perfect for that little evening get-together or for a classy party you're throwing.   

Breadsticks

Total preparation and cooking time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Served in a basket, breadsticks are excellent starters for a meal. If you really want to go the distance, you can even add in bits of dried onions, sesame seeds or herbs to leave your guests with a superb impression of your culinary skills.

Dough:

330 ml water

15 g butter

22.5 g sugar

22.5 g salt

540 g bread flour

1 ½ teaspoons yeast

Glaze:

1 egg white

1 tablespoon water

Put all of the ingredients for the dough into your bread maker in the order they were listed. Start the dough cycle. When ready, remove dough onto your countertop or bread board. Dough should be tacky but not sticky; when you touch it, no dough should come off on your fingers.

Cut the dough into circles the size of a small saucer. With lightly floured hands, roll and stretch each circle into ropes about 6-8 inches long and an inch thick. Place the breadsticks on an ungreased baking sheet. Cover the bread with a towel and allow it to rise for 20 minutes.

Mix the egg white and water to form a glaze. Brush this mixture over each breadstick after they have risen. You may add whatever toppings you wish to at this point. Bake the breadsticks at 204C for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Dinner Rolls

Total preparation and cooking time: 3 hours

There's nothing quite like a basket filled with warm, golden dinner rolls to begin a wonderful meal. Amaze your friends and family with such, courtesy of your bread maker.

Dough:

250 ml water

1 egg

30 g softened butter

50 g sugar

1 teaspoon salt

440 g bread flour

2 ½ teaspoons yeast

To top:

Melted butter or margarine

Place all ingredients in the bread maker in the order given, or as recommended by the manufacturer. Start the dough cycle – don't select the delay cycle. When ready, remove dough and place on a lightly floured countertop or bread board. Cover with a towel for 10 minutes.

Grease a cookie or baking sheet. Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Place each ball 5 cm apart on the sheet. Cover the dough and allow it to rise for 30-40 minutes. The dough is ready when an indentation is seen if you touch it.

Bake the rolls at 190C for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush melted butter or margarine over the top of each roll.

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