Wednesday Girls Dinner - Miss Foodie

Entrée Garlic Tiger Prawns with Peanut Satay Dipping Sauce & Natural Tasmanian Oysters with Asian Vinaigrette
Main Asian Turkey Balls with Rice Noodles, Snow Peas and Radishes
Desert White Chocolate, Mango & Passionfruit Trifle

Tiger Prawns with Peanut Satay Dipping Sauce

 

Ingredients

Fresh Tiger Prawns (tip: if a prawns feelers are long and intact you know they're fresh; once they're frozen they break off you see).

Peanut Satay Sauce. Recipe hmmm yeah well I could make it but honestly it's so easy to head to your local Thai Takeaway and order a small container, its like $4.

Method

Cook your prawns in a hot wok with garlic and a fresh squeeze of lime at the end. Lay out and serve with dipping sauce. Easy!!

Natural Tasmanian Oysters with Asian Vinaigrette

Ingredients

2 tbs light soy sauce
2 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
24 Pacific oysters, in the half shell
2 green shallots, ends trimmed, thinly sliced

Method

Shake all ingredients together in an old glass jar or whisk in a small bowl. Spoon over fresh oysters. Another easy one :)

Asian Turkey Balls with Rice Noodles, Snow Peas and Radishes

Recipe on it's way...

Northshore Riverside Cafe - Hamilton

I was a bit hesitant on telling you about Riverside Cafe because no one really knows about this Hamilton gem yet. I discovered this superb bistro through a close friend of mine. I work in Hamilton and I didn't even know what lay beyond the Hamilton industrial area. Most of us are familiar with the Portside restaurant precinct in Hamilton, but have you delved down Macarthur Ave? Well I recommend that you do.

Every mouthful I have experienced at Riverside Cafe has been sensational. Now you're going to hate me because I guarantee you're going to be hungry once you check out the meals I've had.

Interior of Riverside Cafe

Outside view from the balcony seats

Balcony seat

Beef Ragu Gnocchi with watercress
(this was a special and sadly isn't a regular on the menu)

This one is on the menu and is my absolute favourite!!
Coconut Crusted Tiger Prawns, Mango and Macadamia Salad with a Star Anise Chutney

Roasted Tomato, Capsicum and Walnut Tart with reduced balsamic glaze and micro herbs

Scallop Caesar Salad

DESERT TIME!!

The in house made sweets are always different upon every visit.

Sticky Banana and Caramel Pudding

Lemon Delicious Tart

Do you still love me? You're hungry now aren't you ha ha..... Well you know what to do then. Cruise down to Riverside Cafe soon. They are open from 9am to 4pm everyday and serve breakfast from 8:30am to 11:30am Saturday and Sunday only. If you want to check out the regular menu click here, mind you the specials are always very hard to go past.

When you venture to this neck of the woods not only can you enjoy some fine bistro cuisine, you also have the option to bring a picnic or BBQ lunch along with you. The surrounding grounds include beautiful green lawns which are wonderfully maintained along with BBQ areas.

The below pictures are care of Northshore Hamilton. They're taken when they first built up the area; there are a lot more trees and plants now-a-days.

Wednesday Girls Dinner - Megsie

Entrée Cured Meat with Gorgonzola Figs
Main Home made Mushroom Pizza + Pumpkin Pizza with Salads
Dessert Italian style Chocolate Custard Tart

Recipes are coming and you definitely want to have these. The Gorgonzola Figs were out of this world!!! From memory I think Megsie simply put a piece of Gorgonzola cheece into a fresh fig and wrapped a piece of prosciutto around it.  She put that in the oven until the fig was crispy. Meanwhile melt the remaining Gorgonzola cheese in a pot set at low heat. To serve drizzle melted Gorgonzola over the cooked fig.  My mouth is watering as I type this! Such simple ingredients but such a knock out taste!

2011 Wednesday Girls Dinners are back

After our Christmas break the girls and I are back in full swing with Wednesday Girls Dinners. With all of us living busy lives we've decided to meet up every second Wednesday this year rather than every Wednesday. 

Dear Megsie is getting married in Yamba in exactly 15 days.... wowza so exciting!! Plus owning and running her own Advertising and PR businesses you can imagine what her time has been spent on lately. With Sarah heavy into the third last semester MBBS Bachelor of Med and Surgery degree (yup you heard right she’s going to be a Doctor) this amazing lady is definitely working to the bone. Lovely Alyssa is well into her Education Primary School degree and onto the prac side of things; this woman barely has a moment to herself. And last but by no means least we have our Swedish beauty Karolina. With a recent move to the lovely bayside town of Manly, starting new employment plus caring for her husband and gorgeous little boy Oskar she too is a busy little bee.

As you can see fortnightly dinner catch ups works well for us all. So lets get to our tasty recipes shall we....

Alyssa’s Week

Entrée Tangy Thai Chicken Salad
Main Asian-marinated baked salmon
Deserts Honey-roasted pears with caramel & pecan sauce

Tangy Thai Chicken Salad

Ingredients

1/4 cup (60ml) light coconut milk
2 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs grated palm sugar*
500g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tbs lime juice
4 kaffir lime leaves*, centre vein removed, finely sliced
150g baby Asian salad leaves
1/3 cup canned water chestnuts*, sliced
1 red onion, finely sliced
2 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
1 tsp finely chopped galangal*
1 red chilli, seeds removed, finely sliced
1/3 cup each mint and coriander leaves, plus extra to garnish
50g roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

Method

In a large saucepan, stir together coconut milk, fish sauce and palm sugar over low heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil. Add chicken, cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes or until cooked. Remove from heat and let chicken cool. Remove chicken and reserve liquid.

For the dressing, add chilli sauce, lime juice and kaffir lime to poaching liquid. Stir to combine. Shred chicken and mix in a bowl with salad leaves, water chestnuts, onions, galangal, chilli and herbs. Divide between plates, garnish with peanuts and extra herbs. Drizzle with dressing.

Note – No chilli was used in this recipe.

delicious. - February 2004, Page 149
Recipe by L Bell, Clayfield, Queensland (Reader)

Asian-marinated Baked Salmon

Ingredients 

2 lemongrass stems (pale part only), chopped
1/2 cup (125ml) dark soy sauce
1/2 bunch coriander, leaves thinly sliced, stalks finely chopped
2cm piece ginger, finely grated
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
1kg piece skinless salmon fillet, pin-boned
1/3 cup (115g) honey, warmed
4 spring onions, finely shredded
2 limes, halved

Method

Mixed pea salad (we used fresh peas, snow peas and pea shoots), to serve
Using a mortar and pestle, bash the lemongrass until fragrant. Stir in the soy sauce, coriander stalks, ginger and garlic. Place the fish in a glass dish, then spread all over with the marinade. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a large tray with baking paper.  Place the salmon on the tray, then brush with the honey. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the fish is just cooked but still a little pink in the centre.

Carefully transfer the fish to a board or serving platter, sprinkle with spring onion and coriander leaves, then serve warm or at room temperature with lime to squeeze, and salad.

A lovely side dish to go with this absolutely knock out fish of a dish is wilted pok choi with crushed peanuts.

From delicious. - November 2008, Page 92
Recipe by Valli Little

Honey-roasted pears with caramel & pecan sauce

Ingredients (serves 6)

6 firm pears, peeled, quartered, cored
30g butter
2 tbs honey
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
45g (1/3 cup) pecans
185ml (3/4 cup) thickened cream
60g (1/3 cup, lightly packed) brown sugar
Thick cream, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Arrange the pear, in a single layer, in a medium flameproof roasting pan. Place the butter, honey and cinnamon in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the butter melts. Pour over the pear and turn to coat. Roast in oven, turning once, for 20-25 minutes or until the pear is tender and light golden.

Meanwhile, spread the pecans over a baking tray. Bake in oven for 5 minutes or until toasted. Coarsely chop.

Transfer the pear to a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. Add the cream and sugar to the roasting pan. Place the pan over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is well combined. Simmer, stirring often, for 8 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
Pour the caramel sauce over the pear and sprinkle with the pecans. Serve immediately with the cream.

Good Taste - July 2008, Page 86
Recipe by Alison Roberts