Potato Röschti with Egg, two ways!

So I finally broke my healthy spell with one of the greatest foods in the world. My serious weakness is the humble potato...

And what better way to enjoy potato than make up a freshly cooked potato Röschti (or Rösti in German).

I guess some would argue that this is more like a hash brown or even similar to a Jewish Latke (minus the flour) but I'm going to call it a Röschti just because I feel like it.

Anyway, the other night I had some potatoes getting slightly old and also some eggs in the fridge that I wanted to use up, so I googled Röschti & egg and stumbled across THIS recipe from 'Food is my Life' and decided to go along with her idea of cracking the egg on top of the Röschti and mixing it through, but I also decided to make one more where I simply cracked the egg on top and let the egg whites set before dishing it up so the yolk was all runny.

Click below for the recipe :)

Cooking Scouse like a Scouser!

I had never heard of the dish 'Scouse' before my boyfriend and I moved to Liverpool in 2009 and was always terribly intrigued to find out what it was and to try it.
So what I did find out quite quickly that Scouse is a beef or lamb stew that was very popular to eat among sailors throughout Northern Europe and especially in Liverpool.
The name originally came from the word 'Lapskaus' which is Norwegian for 'stew' and eventually got shortened to 'Skaus' and now 'Scouse'.

The dish was very common among working class Liverpool as it was a cheap meal to make. The original recipe called for lamb or mutton (usually the cheapest cut available) however my boyfriend and I made it with beef as now it is cheaper than lamb and we wanted to keep it as working class as possible. (Actually, we probably needed to save a few pennies ourselves!)
The recipe also called for chopped onions, carrots and water with stock. Then 'as many potatoes as possible' were added to the dish. And many potatoes we did add!
You are supposed to eat the finished stew with white crusty bread with butter, red cabbage and beetroot.

Anyway, unfortunately Scouse is almost impossible to photograph without making it look like a big bowl of sloppy mush but I can assure you if you take the afternoon to make Scouse it is absolutely SO worth it! So please, please don't judge it by its looks and have a read of the recipe below :)

I should probably warn you of the many photos and stories of Scouse under the cut.

Bangers and Cheesy Mustard Mash.

The other night I was home alone and was tempted to just have something quick and easy like toast, but thought i'd make a little more effort and make some bangers and mash which turned out to be super easy and quick anyway.
I had some things to get rid of in the fridge and pantry so decided to make a rustic cheesy mustard mash so I didn't have to waste any food.

It turned out really nice, but quite rich so I didn't actually need to make as much as I did. It is definitely not one of the healthiest mash recipes but great if you need some comfort food once in a while :)
I'll put the recipe below.

Christmas Dinner.

At Christmas Jai and I went down to Egham to see my lovely sister Melissa and my brother in law Jason. We had the most lovely Christmas dinner and it was my first time in trying a few different things. Im used to having a pork roast for Christmas in Melbourne, so this was the first time that I could ever remember that I had a whole roasted turkey for Christmas.
We had loads more yummy things too. It was a FEAST!

Appetizers:
Blinis with Smoked Salmon, Creme Fraiche and chives (recipe below), and
Pear, Parmesan and Rocket wrapped in Prosciutto. (recipe below)

Starter:

Jason's Prawn Salad.

Mains:

Roast Turkey stuffed with Orange and Herbs,

Roast Potatoes with Polenta, cooked in Goose Fat,
Stuffing Balls,
Pigs in Blankets,
Mel's Winter Coleslaw,
Roast Parsnip, Carrot & Onion,
Brussel Sprouts,
And last but not least, gravy!

Desert: Christmas Pudding.

Easy Sunday Lunch.

On the menu is:
-Pimms or sparkling wine.
- Dips and an asortment of crackers.

- Rosemary roast potatoes,
- Chicken, fish parcels or burgers on the bbq, &
- Pick n Mix platter.

- Start off by making sure all your Pimms ingredients are chilling in the fridge so you can prepare it just before your guests arrive so it is still lovely, cold and refreshing.

- I started my potatoes which my sweet boyfriend Jai has named 'Baby Aimee Potatoes' well beforehand so I wasn't rushing to get them cooked when everyone arrived.

For the potatoes you will need:

- 1kg of baby potatoes (adjust this according to how many guests you have, or how many potatoes you'd like to end up with!)

- Rosemary flavoured sea salt to season,

- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped,

- 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, OR

- 3 tsp of mixed dry herbs,

- 1tsp of oil,

- 4- 5 tsp butter, or enough to coat your potatoes.

1. Wash potatoes and chip any bigger ones in half.

2. Par- boil potatoes until soft.

3. Transfer potatoes to baking dish and put in oil, butter, chopped garlic, fresh rosemary or dried herbs.

4. Sprinkle over enough sea salt (preferably rosemary flavoured) to coat potatoes.

5. Put into a preheated oven at 225degrees and cook until golden and crispy which should be anywhere inbetween 45- 60 minutes.

6. Make sure to turn potatoes to coat in butter and herb mixture every 10- 15 minutes to avoid burning.

World food: Berlin.

In June of 2009 my boyfriend Jai and I decided to visit Berlin in Germany.

We ended up going for a week and it was well worth it. I've never done so much walking in my entire life as we just walked all over the city seeing various sites and we ended up going on a number of different walking tours which were also well worth the money.

The food overall was quite nice. I am sure if we had have searched around more we could have found some really amazing places to eat at but alot of the time we just stopped at the first food place that had an english menu.

I thought the food would be very rich, heart and big and I guess it kind of was in a way. I would have liked to have tried some more traditonal dishes but I went with one goal and that was to eat a potato kartoffelpuffer in Germany, and Jai's was to find a plate sized giant schnitzel. While I happily ate my kartoffelpuffer, Jai did FIND a giant schnitzel but it was unfortunate we both got colds and never ended up going back to the restaurant to try the schnitzel.

Food Review: Balsamic Lounge.

Balsamic Lounge.
Shop E1, L3, Eastland Shopping Centre,
Maroondah Hwy, Ringwood,
Vic 3134, Australia
Tel: +61 3 9870 4888
www.balsamic.com.au/

I have been out to Balsamic 3 or 4 times. The very first time I went I didn't have a good experience as my sister, sister in- law & I all ordered some form of noodles and they just wern't any decent at all.
I went again with my lovely mother, then my boyfriend & then the photos from this post are from when I went with my friend Stacey.

After realising the noodles wern't any good at all, I stuck with pizza the next 3 times I went and had no problems!
Although the pizza is quite plain they are still quite tasty & a decent sized portion.