Rose Petal & Prosecco Punch

When it comes to drinks, be they hot or cold, alcoholic or not, I'm pretty much a straight-up kind of a girl.  As far as hot beverages go, I'll drink coffee (either a flat white or a short black, depending on my mood at the time), green tea, or some kind of fruit or herbal infusion.  When it comes to a non-alcoholic, cold beverage, tap water is my tipple of choice - fruit juices and sodas generally don't appeal.  And in the alcohol department, I would normally opt for a glass of wine, a gin & tonic, or a blizzardly cold beer on a hot day.  Cocktails don't particularly interest me, though I can on occasion be tempted by a margarita or a martini.

Why am I telling you this?  Well, this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, our theme is "Raise Your Glass", sharing and posting the Donna Hay beverage of our choice.  Whilst I know that there are many of you out there who are always looking to try out a new beverage or tipple, I have to admit that in any new cookbook the drinks section is usually the one I skip right over.  So I really agonised this week over what to share with you, but with romance in the air this week and Valentines Day just passed, this pretty Rose Petal & Prosesso Punch from the Donna Hay 10th Birthday Collector's Edition magazine seemed like a natural choice.  This was refreshing & lovely and would be perfect for a summer celebration.

Rose Petal & Prosecco Punch Recipe

Adapted from recipe by Donna Hay

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup rosewater

1/2 cup gin

2 cups prosecco (or other sparkling wine)

2 cups soda water

To serve:

ice cubes

pink rose petals (make sure you use spray-free roses)

Put sugar, water and rosewater into a small saucepan.  Set over low heat and stir constantly until sugar has dissolved.  Increase heat, bring to a boil, and continue to boil for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened and syrupy.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

Put plenty of ice into a large jug.  Add the rosewater syrup, gin, prosecco and soda water.  Stir to combine, and top with the rose petals.

If you would like to get to know Donna Hay a little better, and to see all the fabulous dishes my friends have come up with, then do go visit I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links.

I will also be submitting this post to Sweet New Zealand.  Inspired by Alessandra Zecchini, and hosted this month by Frances at Bake Club, Sweet New Zealand is an event for all Kiwi bloggers (whether living at home or abroad), or all foreign bloggers living in New Zealand, to link up their sweet treats.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the lovely Michelle at Ms. enPlace, Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollam.

          

Chargrilled Artichoke Hearts on Pea & Feta Crostini

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, we're "Getting Saucy" with Donna Hay, and whilst the Pea & Feta Puree I bring you today, atop crunchy sourdough crostini, is not exactly a sauce or dressing, I figure it's near enough.

I was inspired by this recipe from Donna's website, but made a few simple changes ... I adjusted quantities a little to suit my tastes and needs;  I decided to add some goat feta to the puree instead of finishing with shaved parmesan;  and I also added a few capers.

This made a delicious light meal, or would also be great for an appetiser.  The pea puree has a wonderful balance of flavours and texture - sweetness from the peas, brightness and freshness from the lemon, some salty tang from the feta, and a little brininess from the capers.  A little mint would be a nice addition too if you have some on hand.  You could use this in a multitude of ways:  serve as a dip with fresh vegetables or pita crisps;  instead of artichokes hearts, top the crostini with some smoky chorizo or sweet scallops for a fabulous appetiser;  or even as a side dish with some grilled salmon.

Chargrilled Artichoke Hearts on Pea & Feta Crostini Recipe
Inspired by recipe from Donna Hay
Serves 2 as a light meal or 4 as an appetiser
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

4x slices sourdough bread
extra virgin olive oil
1x clove garlic

1 cup frozen peas, thawed
grated zest of 1/2 a lemon
75g (3 oz) goat feta
1x clove garlic
1 teaspoon capers
freshly ground black pepper
4x chargrilled artichoke hearts, cut into quarters
extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F).

Brush slices of bread lightly with olive oil, both sides, and place bread on an oven tray.  Bake bread in the preheated oven until toasted and golden.  Remove from the oven and rub both sides of the bread with garlic clove.  Set bread aside to cool.

Put thawed peas, lemon zest, feta, garlic, and capers in the bowl of a small food processor, and pulse a few times until ingredients are combined but still have some texture.  Season liberally with freshly ground black pepper.

To assemble, spread toasted bread liberally with pea puree.  Top each one with a couple of pieces of artichoke, and finish with another grind of black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

This was quick and easy to put together, and I will definitely be making this again.  I hope you'll give this a try.

If you would like to get to know Donna Hay a little better, and to see all the fabulous dishes my friends have come up with, then do go visit I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the lovely Michelle at Ms. enPlace, Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollam.

          

Double Chocolate Raspberry Brownies

When it comes to cookies, cakes, bars and slices, my all-time favourite treat, hands-down, is a brownie. And that applies when it comes to making them as well as eating them.  You know that I'm not the most enthusiastic baker on the planet, so I love that making brownies is beyond simplicity.  There is no dexterity required to separate eggs and, consequently, no separate bowls or beaters for whisking egg whites, and no creaming of butter and sugar.  One pot to melt some butter and chocolate, and one bowl to mix everything together.  Doesn't get much simpler than that.

The other thing I love about brownies, apart from the obvious decadent chocolatey fudginess, is the fact that if you aren't making these for a crowd, they freeze really well.  Frozen in individual serving size pieces, this is a great way to ensure portion control - perfect for those of us who have no self discipline and would never be able to leave a tin full of brownies alone.

So I was pretty excited that our theme this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs was Blondies and Brownies.  Donna Hay has a multitude of brownie recipes available - I think I found at least one in every one of her books that I own, as well as many others in her magazines and websites.

I had actually decided several weeks ago that I was going to make these Brownie Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting for this theme.  It's a recipe that's been on my radar for a couple of years now, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to indulge.  But as it turned out I've been a bit swamped with work lately and I was feeling tired and overwhelmed.  So keeping it simple was the order of the day.

I decided to run with the Classic Brownie from the 10th Birthday Edition of Donna Hay magazine, and I tricked it up a little with the addition of some raspberries and chunks of white chocolate.  The end result was delicious, and I'm sure there will be no complaints from my friends at work when I bring them in for morning tea, but I have to admit these are not the brownies that will bring you to your knees.  My personal preference, and whose wouldn't be really, is for a brownie which is intensely rich and fudgy - I found this lacking a little of the richness, and dense fudginess that I was hoping for.  Don't get me wrong ... this is a good brownie, and the addition of the raspberries and white chocolate definitely made it more interesting, but this is probably not the brownie that is going to earn the title "best brownie I've ever eaten".

Double Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Recipe
Adapted from a recipe by Donna Hay
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

280g (10 oz) butter
200g (7 oz) dark chocolate, roughly chopped
2 cups brown sugar
6 eggs
1 cup plain flour, sifted
1 cup frozen raspberries
200g (7 oz) white chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).

Place butter in a small saucepan over low heat until melted.  Remove from heat, add the dark chocolate, and stir constantly until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.  Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs and flour, until thoroughly combined.  Stir in the chocolate-butter mixture and mix well.  Add the raspberries and chopped white chocolate, and stir to combine.

Pour mixture into a 20cm x 30cm (8in x 12 in) tin, lightly greased and lined with baking parchment, and bake for 30-35 minutes (I suggest you test after 25 minutes).

Remove from the oven and cool in the tin, before cutting into squares to serve.

If you would like to get to know Donna Hay a little better, and to see all the fabulous brownies and bars my friends have come up with, then do go visit I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links.

I will also be submitting this post to Sweet New Zealand.  Inspired by Alessandra Zecchini, and hosted this month by Frances at Bake Club, Sweet New Zealand is an event for all Kiwi bloggers (whether living at home or abroad), or all foreign bloggers living in New Zealand, to link up their sweet treats.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the lovely Michelle at Ms. enPlace, Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollam.