The other week I was asked to do a team building class for Roche who were in Hamilton for a conference.  I hired Greenspace a lovely venue on Te Aroha St and created a great 3 course meal that the team could get hands on to create.

With cocktails sorted we split into teams, each responsible for a component of the meal.  With recipes in hand, each team had to choose their ingredients and equipment to create their piece of the meal.  Chaos, laughter and more drinks ensued but somehow we managed to bring it all together.

Next was a lesson in wrapping Beef Wellington before everyone got their own to do.  I’m not sure if the brief was who listened and learned most or who was the most creative with their pastry.  Beef Wellingtons in the oven to cook and we get to try the entrees, pork and chicken wontons and fresh spring rolls with a Thai dipping sauce.

With the Wellingtons cooked it was time to judge the best one, that is, if you can remember which one was yours.

The meal was capped off with three different types of tarts all hand made from scratch.  What a great effort team!

Tonight I am off to help judge the first round of Farro Home Cook challenge which is part of the Hamilton Food & Wine festival on the 25/26th Feb.  I think it take a lot of courage for these contestants to put themselves forward and think they should be congratulated.  So make sure you get along to the Hamilton Gardens on Sat the 25th to watch them cook off and see who is crowned champion.

My duties at the Food and Wine festival don’t end there as I will be cooking up a storm at the Kitchen Things stand.  Make sure you stop by and say hello and check out some of the great F&P kitchen technology – it will make you drool.  Kitchen Things and I have some great cooking events lined up this year including a series of classes with local chefs.  First up is Adrian from Cafe Suburbia on the 27th March, followed by Chris at Zinc in April and David from Pumice in May.  For more information on how to book for these see us at the Food and Wine festival, email me (vicki@feast.net.nz) or “Like” Kitchen Things on facebook.  www.facebook.com/KitchenThingsHamilton

And speaking of food and wine festivals, Nourish have sponsored a cooking competition in the Bay of Plenty Times’ Flavours in the Bay food and wine festival (on Sat the 10th March).  Yet again I will don my judges hat and try some of the inventive cooking going on out there.  I hope all this judging of peoples cooking talents doesn’t make people even more nervous to invite me round to dinner!  Trust me, I’m more a “Paula” than a “simon”

But I walk the walk too and have been busy in the kitchen.  Nourishes Autumn edition is due out in early March and as usual will be full of beautiful seasonal recipes.  Think passionfruit, pumpkin and pears…  I am back demonstrating at Farro Fresh every second Tuesday at 1pm from next week (21st Feb), Plus I will be there at 3pm on Fridaty the 23rd cooking a beautiful Apricot, praline and custart tart.  Ray McVinnie will be there too from 1pm kicking off a wonderful market day, so make sure you get there.

On the first weekend in March I am at the Motorhome and Caravan Expo at Claudelands.  If camping is you things make sure you go to this great show.  I’ll be there demonstrating some great recipes you can cook anywhere!  I mean just because you are camping doesn’t mean you need to eat baked beans!

All this before the middle of March!  Then in April Nourish and Healthy Kitchen are bringing Sally Falllon, arthour of Nourishing Traditions to Hamilton.  This will be an extremely interesting talk on nutrition which will challenge many of our firm beliefs.  So mark the 4th of April in your diary and I will keep you posted.

Happy cooking everyone
Vicki

First up was cup cakes.  Made from scratch and then iced with a heap of imagination (and a few lollies ).  We had Hello Kitties, Cookie Monsters, Transformers and even a birthday cup cake for a lucky Dad.

With the dishes done, benches wiped and floor swept we started again.  This time is was homemade pizza and M&M cookies.

A big THANK YOU to the team at Kitchen Things Te Rapa for letting us invade their kitchen!

Ingredients

• 1&1/2 cup Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1&1/2 cup Milk
• 1  Lemon
• 1 Egg
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
• 1 cup
  Blueberries
• Extra Butter

Heat heavy pan over medium low heat.
In a bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix milk, juice of  lemon and lemon zest. Allow to sit for five minutes, then add egg, vanilla, and melted butter. Mix to combine.
Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine. Splash in more milk if mixture is overly thick. Stir in blueberries.

Melt butter in heated skillet. Drop batter by 1/4 cup measures and fry pancakes on both sides until golden.
We served ours with lemon curd and vanilla syrup, but banana and maple syrup is just as good.

Sorry only action shots as they went too fast for us to take a photo of the actual pancakes.

Every Saturday @ 11am I am at Kitchen Things on Maui St, Te Rapa cooking a great new recipe.  This week it was a twist on traditional risotto as I used barley.  Barley makes a rich nutty risotto with loads of texture.  It’s also a great way to introduce more wholegrains into your diet and it’s cheap!!  $1.30 a packet.

1 cup Barley
Olive oil
White wine (optional)
1 finely diced onion
Crushed garlic
Chopped mushrooms
3-4 cups Chicken stock
Parmesan cheese

In a pot heat the chicken stock with a few dried mushrooms.  In another pan sweat onions in a little olive oil, then add garlic and barley.  Stir for 2 minutes till barley is well
coated.  Add a dash of white wine and stir until evaporated.  Add in chopped mushrooms & cook through adding a little stock if needed.  Ladle at a time add the hot chicken stock, allowing the barley to soak up the liquid before adding another.  Just before the barley is al dente you can add in some baby spinach & the last ladle of stock.  Finally stir through parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper and serve.

This is perfect with steak, or as a meal on it s own.

Keep up to date with the where I am cooking by becoming a fan of Feast on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/feastnz

We also got hands on and made a chocolate cake, caramelised onion and fetta quichettes and fresh spring rolls.

 Kitchen Things Maui St, Te Rapa – every Saturday at 11am
JoinVicki each Saturday in Kitchen Things fantastic showroom.  You will see thelatest technology in action, get some great recipes and ideas to try at home
and of course sample what’s cooking.

Farro Fresh, Te Awa Mall – Every second Tuesday at 1pm
Every second Tuesday Vicki will show you some great recipes using the wonderful array of ingredients available at Farro.  Come along, ask some questions,
discover a new ingredient and recipe

School Holiday Classes
Tuesday 18^th October – book for both classes for only $40 per child

Cupcake Fun – 10 -11.30am ($20 per child)
We will have a fun filled morning baking and decorating cupcakes.  Don’t forget to bring a container to take home the fabulous creations we don’t manage to eat. (children 6-12yrs)

Pizza & Cookies – 12.30 – 2pm ($25 per child)
In this session we create gourmet pizzas from our own dough.  We will create a fun salad to eat with our pizza and then cookies for dessert. (children6-12yrs)

Teenagers in the Kitchen – Friday 14^th October 11am-1.30pm ($40)
Got a teenager that wants to learn to cook.  This is the perfect class!  We will make homemade burgers, a chicken satay stir fry, quick Thai curry and will even fit in a dessert.  This is a good taster class for those interested in doing the first time cooks series in November.

Perfect Pasta
Saturday 29^th October, 1pm ($40pp)
Learn to make some delicious, quick and easy pasta dishes.  This class will show you you don’t need a jar of sauce or a gallon of cream to create yummy pastas everyone will enjoy.

Brilliant Brunches
Sunday 6^th November, 10am ($40pp)
This is always a popular class.  Learn the tricks for perfect poached eggs, anddelicious hollandaise.  A Brunch is a great stress free way to entertain and this class will give you heaps of tips and ideas, you will wish it was Sunday everyday!

Gluten Free Cooking for Everyone and Thai Cooking if you are keen for either of these classes register your interest and we will schedule a date.

First Time Cooks   (4-6pm)
Thisseries of classes is designed for teenagers or first time cooks who want to learn some basic cooking skills.  This series is designed to give you some great basic recipes which will form the building blocks to gain confidence in the kitchen and create a range of dishes.

Week one – Wed Nov 2^nd
We learn to make a ragu and basic white sauce, from this we can create lasagne, spag bol, mac n cheese and more!  We will also create a perfect salad and homemade dressing to accompany and a delicious dessert.

Week Two – Wed Nov 9
Take one chicken and create 4 or more dishes (risotto, schnitzel, soup and pie).  In this class we will learn about proper handling practices when dealing with chicken as well as how economical it can be to buy a whole chickenas oppose to chicken breast…

Week three – Wed Nov 16^th
Breakfast and Lunches.  From eggs bene to pancakes, we will bake friands and create some great light meals including baked ricotta.

Week Four – Wed Nov 23^rd
We get a little fancy.  Our last class means we can get a bit adventurous and create a 3 course meal to impress!

I designed this dessert for our latest Entertaining with East class at Kitchen Things on Wednesday night.  It is a gorgeous dessert for autumn or winter using beautiful pears that are in season.  The pears are poached in ginger wine giving this cold dessert a warm flavour.  And because chocolate goes so beautifully with both pears and ginger my quick chocolate mousse goes perfectly.  Then for a bit of texture we have added a brandy snap.

Poached Pears
4 pears, peeled & cored
2 cups water
1 cup Ginger wine
2 Tblspns brown sugar
1 Cinnamon quill

Place all ingredients in a pot and simmer gently (with a lid on) for 45 minutes.  Remove the lid and continue to cook for another 15 minutes till the pears are cooked through and the syrup has reduced.  Remember to turn the pears often during the cooking time.

The Quickest Chocolate Mousse
300ml cream
250g of dark Chocolate
3 egg yolks
a dash of vanilla essence

Heat the cream until just before boiling.  Put everything in a food processor or blender and whizz till the noise dies down and it is smooth.   Pour the mousse into little cups or glasses to set (min 3 hrs.  Preferably overnight.)
You can use this same recipe with white, milk or dark chocolate.  Set the mousse into shot glasses as a great way to end a cocktail party.  Just remember to get tiny teaspoons otherwise all you will have is frustrated guests!

Brandy snap baskets
50g butter, chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup golden syrup
1/3 cup flour
1 tspn ground ginger

Melt the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup in a saucepan.  Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Allow to cool for a few minutes before mixing in the flour and ginger.
Drop teaspoon s full of mixture onto an oven tray lined with baking paper (aprox. 4-6 per sheet as they will spread).  Cook in a preheated (160C) oven for 5 minutes.  Take out of the oven and allow to cool slightly (1-2  minutes) then remove from oven tray and place on your mould.
For baskets grease an up turned glass or jar, for curls lay the biscuits over a rolling pin.

Everyone is always looking for inspiration in the kitchen.  Whether you are a beginner cook or someone who has been feeding the family for 20 years Feasts Mid Week Meal Magic classes are always a hit!
Quick easy and uncomplicated dishes that are always delicious but also disgned so you can tweak them for the season, what’s in the fridge or freezer and personal taste that’s what makes these classes so popular.  Apparently most of us have only 8 or 9 recipes in our repitoire and we simply rotate them around.  This class adds a few more to that repitoire but also gives you that much needed bit of inspiration.
A glass of wine and a yummy meal you haven’t had to cook or clean up for also makes it a great mid week treat.

In this class at Kitchen Things on Maui St we cooked a Laska, Salmon cakes served with stir fried bok choy, Lamb Koftas on Tabouleh with tzatziki and finished it off with an apple and caramel pudding.

We have more great classes comming up at Kitchen Things so check out http://www.feast.net.nz/cookschool/feast-classes/  or pop instore to Kitchen Things on Maui St in Te Rapa