Whats been cooking

As I mentioned a couple of blogs ago, we have been really into My Kitchen Rules this season. It had drama, cattiness, juries oh...and there was some cooking too. I don't know why, but watching Auzzies on this show just cracks me up. It was really cool having some New Zealanders in this season too. And don't get me going on the two judges/hosts.. Gotta love hearing Manu's french accent. 

I was hoping the guys would win, but alas it was the girls in the end. Both were worthy contenders.

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Of course watching the show has been inspiring me to try a few new recipes. None of which turned out particularly fantastic...but it was fun none-the-less

The first was  Moussaka. The greek contestants Steve and Helen inspired me to try this one. Its a layered egg plant and mince dish (usually Lamb...but I just used beef). And then covered in a Bechamel Sauce with plenty of cheese. I never used to be a huge fan of egg plant as a kid...but my tastes are evolving and I am starting to enjoy it. And in this dish the mince and cheese flavour masks it a bit. 

The eggplants are sliced length ways into 3cm slices then "salted" for 20 minutes then spread out on a baking tray. Sprinkled with bread crumbs they are then baked until the eggplant is cooked and breadcrumbs are golden (20min). I used Panko crumbs here.

Layers are made with the mince sauce (similar to a bolognaise sauce) and the pre-baked egg plants similar to a lasagne. 

Place the layers so there is a little room on the sides of the dish. Cover in a bechamel sauce with a little more cheese on top. And bake until golden. 

 A nice hearty delicious meal.

Nic and Rocko got my cravings going for macarons. This is my second attempt...and needless to say, I might need some one on one lessons from Rocko for these. They sucked...but they still tasted yum, in their own special way. Maybe I could just invent a completely different cookie because they were nothing like the real thing. I think I know where I'm going wrong...

These were Passion fruit and white chocolate flavoured. 

The finished product looked like a cross between a "Yo-yo" and a macaron!

And lastly I had a go at making my own ravioli. Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with a tomato and basil sauce.  

Wow these little guys were super fiddley.  But I took the advice of contestants Nic and Rocco, dubbed the pasta kings, and used a kitchen whizz to mix up the dough instead of kneading it by hand. It worked a treat. Overall my pasta making skills are improving slowly. The first time we made home made pasta, the whole ordeal took us 2 hours! Now its more like an hour. 

Totally worth the effort though. 

Quite Delicious!

Between browsing on Pintrest and watch cooking shows, theres a million things I wanna try and make, but never get around to doing it so much. Are you a fan of trying new dishes?

Note: I haven't left any recipe here....because I googled them and tweeked them...as per usual :)

I need one of these signs in my kitchen!

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