Martha's Coconut Biscuits

Intro

I dunno if I'm gonna get hammered for posting this here because it is Martha's straight recipe but I had to save it here in my blog because these are the best biscuits ever and I definitely don't want to lose this recipe.

Ingredients

• 8oz butter
• 1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tblsps
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1.25 cups flour plus 2 tblsps
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 cups coconut chips

Method

Cream butter and sugars relly well - 10 minutes in an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Switch to a paddle. Add egg. Fold in half the coconut and half the dry ingredients, then the rest of the coconut and dried ingredients.

Roll into balls, squash and cook about 15 mins until golden.  350 degrees Fahrenheit ( about 179c in a fanbake).

Sourdough Crackers

Ingredients

• 1 cup leftover sourdough starter
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 ozs room temperature butter
• 2 tblsps dried herbs

• olive oil
• Maldon sea salt or coarse salt
  

Method

Combine first 5 ingredients into a cohesive, not sticky, dough (I used a dough hook in my mixer).
Divide into 2 and place each on baking paper with plastic wrap on top.  Roll into a thin rectangle. Place in fridge and chill for at least an hour.

Remove top sheet of plastic and place the baking paper with dough on it onto an oven tray. Roll out to 1/16th of an inch thick. Cut into squares, or 1 cm wide 'straws', brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Prick each square a couple of times with a fork.

Bake at 180 deg C for 25 mins changing sheets over half way through cooking. For the last 5 mins watch carefully and remove the crackers from the edges as they brown evenly. The middle ones take longer.

* 1/2 a cup of very finely grated strong cheese can be added to dough or sprinkled on top.

Strawberry, black peppercorn shrub soda

Strawberry black peppercorn shrub

• 16oz (1/2 kg) hulled, quartered strawberries
• 8oz (1 cup) sugar
• 4 teaspoons black pepper - whole but crushed in mortar
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar

Place strawberries in a container with the sugar and finely crushed peppercorns. Cover and let macerate for 1 full day stirring occasionally. Add apple cider and and let sit for 2 full days. Squish the strawberries up and then strain through a fine cloth into a clean container.

Ingredients

• 1.25oz strawberry black peppercorn shrub
• Ice
• Club soda

Hot and Sticky Eggplant

Intro

This recipe is divine - from my favourite recipe book of all time called Feasts by Sabrina Ghayour, Sometimes I'll add mushrooms, or re capsicums, or zuchini - and when I can't find rose harissa a Chinese Chilli oil works well too. Its a great condiment on steak, crackers and cheese, toasted sandwhichs etc.

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil
• 2 egg plants - halved lengthways and sliced about 2cm
• 2 heaped tablespoons of rose harissa*
• 4 tablespoons of honey
• Maldon sea salt

Method

Fry the eggplant slices in oil until they are soft and lightly browned. Remove to kitchen paper to soak up excess oil.

Just before being ready to serve, put eggplant back into the frying pan and add rest of the ingredients. Toss through to reheat the egg plant. Adjust the honey, harissa and salt to taste.

Smoked venison leg

Preparation

Remove connective tissue and fat as you can. For bands of silverskin score them but don't cut into the meat.

Brine

For every  4 litres of water add:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 3/4 cup salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 tblsps pepper
• 1 tblsp black pepper

Soak the venison, covered, for 12-24 hours

Spice Rub

• 1.5  part salt
• 1 part beef stock
• 3/4 part garlic powder
• 3/4 part onion powder
• 1/2 part black pepper
• 1/2 part paprika
• 1/2 part oregano
• 1/2 part thyme
• 1/4 part cornflour

Smoking

Wood chips - soak 1 pound of wood chips for 1-2 hours before smoking

Smoke - fill up water pan, fill wood chip box with soaked wood chips

Keep temperature at 200°F - 300°F

Smoke meat for 1.5 hrs per pound or until meat reaches internal temperature of 140°F. Remove and rest meat for 20 minutes.

Pork Ribs

Intro

Gilmour's wholesale grocery in NZ is the only place I have found that sells meaty ribs that worth the bother of cooking.  These are good to share with friends with a bit of banter to make the faffing around worth it.

Ingredients

• 3-4 racks of pork ribs
• 1.5 - 2 litres of coca cola
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup worcester suace
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tblsp English mustard
• 3 tblsp smokey paprika

Method

Melt all ingredients except the ribs and cola together in a saucepan for 5 minutes or so.

Cut racks of pork ribs into 2 or 3 rib portions. Stack into a slow cooker and just cover with coca-cola. Cook for 3 - 4 hours on high until tender.

Remove from slow cooker, coat on all sides with glaze and layer in a single layer in oven trays in the oven at 180 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes then glaze on each side and turn over, bake another 20 minutes glazing and turning again. After another 20 minutes remove from oven. (You might want to bbq them or grill them if you want a charred edge to them). 

Pork Belly

Spice Rub

• 2 teaspoons cardamom pods
• 1 star anise
• 3 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 3 teaspoons coarse salt

Roast spices in a heavy frying pan for 5-6 minutes. Grind together in a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder.

For the Pork

• Piece of pork belly
• Olive oil
• spice rub above
• veges: eg. approx: 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 sticks of celery, 2 granny smiths

Preheat oven to 220 degrees.

To prepare the pork score pat it dry then score it with a stanley knife or other sharp knife; don't cut too deep. Rub the pork with olive oil, then rub the spice mix generously over the whole piece of meat - all sides and into the score marks if you can. 

Cut the onions in half, carrots into 3 pieces and other veges into large pieces. Place them in a roasting dish along with a cup or 2 of water. Place the pork on the vegetable bed and place in the hot oven.

Roast for 40 mins then drop the oven down to 160 degrees and roast slowly for at least 2 hours. The longer you roast the more fat is rendered out. If the skin is not well crackled well you can turn the oven up high for a while but watch it like a hawk.