Title: CASSEROLES Post by: Kiwithrottlejockey on June 11, 2009, 05:17:59 pm Casseroles cheap but choice By JAN BILTON - The Marlborough Express | Thursday, 04 June 2009 (http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo92/RasputinDude/Food%20Story%20Pix/2472590s-04Jun09.jpg) NO HURRY: Moroccan chicken and spinach casserole. The Moroccan seasoning provides good colour and flavour. — JAN BILTON/The Marlborough Express. Warm up winter and keep a tight rein on the food and power budget by making the most of your oven with inexpensive meat and seasonal veges. Casseroles are the delight of anyone who wishes to serve delicious meals that don't require either constant supervision or a flurry of last-minute preparation. In these uncertain economic times it can be difficult to balance the household budget and still create meals that please the whole family. The casserole is a nutritious, satisfying answer because cheaper choices of ingredients can be used to produce a dish that tastes like a gourmet treat. Of course, the savings do not end there. Fuel costs can be lowered by using the oven only to cook the whole meal. Vegetables can either be wrapped in foil or placed in casserole dishes and cooked at the same time as the meat. A key to obtaining the best flavour is to brown the meat in oil first especially beef and lamb until it takes on a good colour. Make sure you brown the meat in small batches otherwise it will `stew' in the oil rather than brown. And when cooking the casserole in the oven, keep the temperature low slow cooking ensures tenderness and a rich mingling of flavours. Most casserole recipes lend themselves to a slow cooker. This method of cooking requires less moisture reduce it by one-quarter. Cuts of meat suitable for casseroling or slow cooking are: • Beef: shin, gravy beef, chuck, skirt, thin flank, thick flank, blade and topside. • Lamb: boned forequarter, flap, round neck chops, shoulder chops, leg meat. • Pork: belly pork, pork pieces, foreloin chops, foreloin and leg meat. • Chicken: whole chickens and chicken portions can be casseroled. ————————————————————————— MOROCCAN CHICKEN & SPINACH CASSEROLE There is no need to brown the meat first the Moroccan seasoning provides good colour and flavour. Ingredients:
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Serves 4. ————————————————————————— SWEET CURRIED LAMB CHOP CASSEROLE Ingredients:
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Potatoes, kumara or pumpkin could be baked at the same time. Serves 6. ————————————————————————— COUNTRY CASSEROLE OF VEGETABLES An unusual, delicious, vegetarian casserole. Canned beans could be added for extra protein. Or the casserole could be served alongside roasted or casseroled meat. Ingredients:
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Serves 4. ————————————————————————— TAMARILLO & ITALIAN SAUSAGE CASSEROLE Ingredients:
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Potatoes can be baked at the same time. Serves 4. http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/lifestyle/2472381/Casseroles-cheap-but-choice Title: Re: CASSEROLES Post by: Kiwithrottlejockey on June 29, 2009, 12:49:14 am Steak of origin By GRAHAM HAWKES - The Southland Times | Saturday, 20 June 2009 (http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo92/RasputinDude/Food%20Story%20Pix/2529225s-20Jun09.jpg) WINTER COMFORT FOOD: Beef and Invercargill Brewery Pitch Black Casserole. Having to check the country's 20 best steaks for their tenderness, taste, juiciness and texture was no easy job, but that was the role I found myself in recently along with rugby great Colin (don't call me Sir) Meads, and the Honorable Minister of Justice Mr David Carter. With better than 350 entries, this year's Steak of Origin competition proved to be the best yet. The competition run by New Zealand Beef & Lamb involved all the porterhouse (strip loin) cuts from all the entries firstly go to Professor Roy Bickerstaffe of Lincoln University who put them through their first series of paces, testing each sirloin for pH, percentage cooking loss and tenderness, as determined by a tenderometer, which is calibrated to mimic a human's bite giving a shear-force reading. The top 20 per cent in each of the five classes best of European breed, best of British breed, best of crossbreed breed, best of brand/retail, and best of brand/ wholesale and foodservice then went through to a semifinal at Cafe Valentino in Christchurch where a panel of ten judges comprising chefs, dietitians and meat industry personnel critiqued the steaks on aroma, texture, tenderness and taste to choose the top four in each category. The top four steaks in each class were again tested, this time being tasted by the public at Countdown Church Corner in Riccarton, Christchurch, with the public score contributing 10 per cent of the final mark with the grand champion announced at the final during a Beef Expo dinner. At the final, a local chef cooked the country's 20 finest beef steaks during pre-dinner conviviality for all to see. All the steaks were cut to the same thickness and trimmed to the same specification then brushed with a non-flavoured oil and cooked to "rare to medium" and rested for five minutes before being presented to the judges. It was then we had the onerous (but enjoyable) task of taste testing these 20 great steaks for their tenderness, taste, juiciness and texture. And my, what a test it was. I would have been proud to serve any one of these steaks at any time. What was interesting this year was none of the finalists struck us as the outright winner during the actual tasting. They all had great qualities but also subtle points of difference. This year the New Zealand Steak of Origin Challenge Grand Champion was a steak produced by Catherine Withers, of Rotorua, from a piedmontese-cross friesian and interestingly enough the Supreme Brand Award also went to a piedmontese-cross from the farm of Don Buchanan in Taumarunui. Let's have a look at a great comforting winter dish using New Zealand Quality Mark beef. ————————————————————————— BEEF and INVERCARGILL BREWERY PITCH BLACK CASSEROLE Ingredients:
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Bon appetit! http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/features/food-wine/2524632/Steak-of-origin |