Moroccan night out at Robyn's

Sorry no food in the photo but a nice group shot, Natalie and Gabby missing this month. Great night, our latest yet!

Dukkah for dipping

Part of the entree for the March 2010 dinner.

Ingredients
2/3 cup hazelnuts (buy dry oven roasted ones this will save you some time)
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon flaked sea salt (I used Murray River)
Extra virgin olive oil to serve
Crusty bread (warm Bazaar Turkish Pide)

Method
Preheat over to 180 degrees.

Spread hazelnuts over a baking tray and cook in oven for 3-4 minutes. Rub the toasted hazelnuts in a clean tea towel to remove as much skin as possible.

Blitz the nuts in a food processor or chop as I did as I am not lucky enough to have a food processor.

Heat fry pan over medium heat, add sesame seeds and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Add to hazelnuts.

Place coriander and cumin seeds in frying pan over medium heat, cook, stirring for 1-2minutes or until aromatic or seeds begin to pop. Transfer seeds to mortar and pestle and pound until finely crushed. Adds to hazelnuts and sesame seeds.

Add pepper and salt and mix well.

Serve dukkah with some extra virgin olive oil and crusty bread.

Note
Store dukkah in an airtight container at room temperature.

Flourless chocolate hazelnut cake

Our first recipe contributed by Brigid from our March 2010 gathering.

Ingredients (serves 10)
200g dark chocolate, chopped
150g butter, chopped
6 eggs, separated
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 cups hazelnuts, blitzed until it is meal with a few lumpy bits for texutre
1-2 cups dried dates or dried figs
Creme de cao or any liquor to soak the fruit in

Chocolate icing
300g dark chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup pure cream

Method
Preheat oven to 170 degrees (150 for fan forced). Grease a big round cake tin.

Combine chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

Place date or figs in a saucepan with liquer and simmer gently until fruit is very soft. Set aside to cool slightly.

Place eggs yolks and sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until thick and creamy. Add chocolate mixture. Beat to combine. Add hazelnuts, beat to combine. Add fruit and liquer, mix well.

Place eggwhites in a bowl, using electric mixer beat until soft peaks form. Using a metal spoon, stir one third of eggwhites into chocolate mixture. Gently fold remaining eggwhite through chocolate mixture.

Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre has moist crumbs clinging. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Icing
Place chocolate and cream in a saucepan over low heat. Cook stirring constantly for 3 - 4 minutes or until smooth. Spread over top and side of cake . Stand for 10 minutes or until icing has set. Serve with double cream or icecream.

Now I know why I didn't need breakfast today!

Just email your recipes to me and I'll post them on our blog so we can all cook up some treats for our own families. If you want to copy any of the recipes from this blog just highlight all the text you need and photo if available, right click, copy it and then you can paste it onto a Word document and either save or print it out for yourself.

Late winter feast

Tracy cooks the best lamb shanks................we need this recipe Tracy.....................please!

Jenni and Natalie tucking into this great winter meal

Creme brulee to die for and caramel tarts whipped up by the dozen by the very talented Gabby................we need these recipes too!

June 2009 our first meeting

The very alarmed Food Technology teacher Tracy with our very relaxed hostess Lizette,

introducing the flamboyant drama queen of the group Jenni,

Robyn the pastry perfectionista,

and Karen and Lizette playing ladies at the end of a great night out!

We have these two to thank

Last year these two gorgeous girls stole an idea from their national capital sisters and decided to start their own Gourmet Club at the beach. I'm not sure whether we were all delighted when we were invited to join this little group......................the thoughts were flying through my head about my cooking skills or lack there of! Anyway last June we met at Lizette's home and enjoyed our first meal together and the rest is history.......................the weeks fly by and then it's the last Friday of the month and we get to sit down with some great friends, good food and a glass or two. Thank you Lizette and Brigid!