Tips- Buying Pots and Frying Pans

When you decide its time to shop for pots and frying pans and you go to a store this is where it seems a little tricky???

So many choices, make buying any kitchen equipment a little daunting.

My first tip for buying pans is always buy one with a metal handle, this means you can use it in the oven.  

This also means you don't have to buy extra oven trays.

Secondly make sure you get one with a good solid base, and is made of a solid metal.  The pot/pan should have some weight to it.

Thirdly a metal lid also means you can use it in the oven as well

-Remember you don't have to purchase a whole set, one frying pan and a good size pot is a great start to your kitchen!!!!

-Also talk to the people you are buying them from, most of them have tried the products.

-Go to a kitchen store as they will have a better range and are more likely to sell products individually

Meat- Lamb cutlets with mushy peas

Ingredients- 
1 1/2 cup of water
1 teaspn of table salt
olive oil spray
3 lamb cutlets
1 1/2 cup of frozen peas
Salt and pepper to season the lamb

1.Put water and table salt in a pot and put on the stove on high
2.Preheat oven at 180'c
3.Spray a frying pan with oil then put on high heat
4.Season the lamb cutlets with salt and pepper
5.Seal the cutlets in the frying pan then cook in the oven for 5 min

6.When the water is boiling it is time to cook the peas. Cook for 4 min then remove from the heat
7. Remove the cutlets from the pan
8.Put 3 TBLspns of the water from the peas into the cutlet pan 
9.Strain the rest of the water from the peas, then put the peas into the cutlet pan
10.Now put the peas and water into a blender then blend for 60 sec
11.Plate up and enjoy 

Salad- Prawn and Avocado Salad

Ingredients- 

7 cooked king prawns
70g spinach leaves
1/4 continental cucumber 
1/2 small capiscum
8 mixed cherry tomatoes
1/2 avocado
1/4 red onion
1/2 lemon
1 tea tomato sauce
1 tea aioli or mayo
1/4 tea salt
1/4 tea pepper

1. Remove the head from the prawn, then remove the shell from the tail and last remove the vein 
2.Wash the spinach leaves and then remove the stems from the leaves
3.Slice the cucumbers, capsicum, cherry tomatoes
4.Small dice the avocado and the onion

5.Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a bowl
6.Add the tomato sauce and the aioli to the juice and mix together for the dressing
7.In a bowl put all of your ingredients, add the salt and pepper, and then add the dressing
8.Mix lightly and then place in the bowl and eat :)

Meat- Roast Lamb with roast sweet potato, asparagus and tomato and onion sauce

Ingredients- 

300gr small roast lamb butterflied (not rolled) or 300g saddle bag of a lamb
6 sprigs of thyme
1/2 teaspn of salt and 1/2 teaspn pepper for meat
1 1/2 TBLspn olive oil for the meat and veg
1 small sweet potato
1/2 red onion
1/2 tomato
1/4 teasp salt and 1/4 teaspn pepper for veg
1/3 cup of water

1. Preheat oven at 200'c
2.Heat your frying pan with 1/2 of the olive oil
3.Chop up the thyme then combine with salt and pepper for the meat the rub all over the meat
4.Seal the out side of the meat so it is a light brown, then remove from the heat
5. Cut the sweet potato in half length ways then score it(only cut into the sweet potato 5mm)
6.Cook the sweet potato in the microwave for 120sec on high heat

7. Remove the meat from the frying pan
8. Cut the tomato in 1/2 making it a wedge
9. Slice the onion into 4 pieces
10.Put the tomato, onion and the sweet potato in a baking dish (or you can use the frying pan that you sealed the meat in, only if it has a metal handle)
11. Drizzle the remaining oil over the veg 
12.Season the veg with the salt and pepper
13. Put the meat on top of the veg
14. Put into the oven and cook 27 min for medium or 35 min for well done

15.Let the meat rest with the sweet potato on your chopping board
16.Put the meat juices with the tomato and onion in a blender and blend
17.Put a frying pan on high heat
18. Cut off 1 1/2 inch of the bottom of the asparagus
19.Put the asparagus in the hot frying pan add the water and place the lid on for 30 sec then remove from heat
20. Slice your meat up arrange on the plate with the vegies then spoon your sauce over the meat 
21. Enjoy!!

Salad- BLT with avocado

Ingredients-

1 sml washed baby coz lettuce
9 mixed cherry tomatoes
1/2 avacado                   1 hotdog roll
1 1/2 bacon rasher cut into 1 inch pieces
Garlic oil see tip 1
Salt and pepper
1 teaspn aioli- today I found the Birch and Waite brand in the fresh fruit section in Woolworths above the mushrooms.  If you can not get this brand try Paul Newmans 
1teaspn water
3 sprigs thyme

1.Preheat oven to 170'c
2.Panfry the bacon pieces when you flip over to cook other side remove from the heat

3. On a angle cut the tip and tail of the hot dog roll then cut remaining into 3 even slices
4. Place in bacon pan, drizzle with garlic oil, sprinkle the fresh thyme leaves on and salt and pepper the crutons (bread slices)

5. Cook bacon and crutons(bread) for 15min in the oven, then set aside to cool

6.Cut the cherry tomatoes in half
7.Put 1 tea of aioli and 1 tea of water in a bowl and mix this will thin the aioli as it is too thick

8. Using a dessert spoon remove the avocado from its skin then dice

 9.Lay the coz, tomatoes, avocado and bacon into a bowl and drizzle the aioli over the salad

 10. Place crutons on top and enjoy :)

 

Tips- Garlic

 One of the most annoying aspects of cooking at home is when I go out and buy ingredients that I don't use all in one go then eventually I through the leftover out.  Garlic cloves are one of these ingredients, by the time I get to using the remaining cloves they are dry and nasty.

So to prevent wastage I roast the leftover cloves in olive oil and store them in the fridge until I need them again.  If I have herbs kicking around I pop them in too.  

When I have used up the cloves I now have yummy garlic oil to use :)

Breaky- Cinnamon French Toast

Ingredients-

 2 eggs                                 1/3 cup of milk
1TBLspn butter                    2teaspn brown sugar
1teaspn vanilla essence       Maple syrup
1teaspn cinnamon ground    1 rasher bacon
2 slice of sour dough bread (can use any type of bread)

 1.Preheat oven to 130'c
2.Panfry bacon then keep warm in the oven
3.Put eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl and mix together

4. Soak one side of your bread in the egg mixture
5. Place butter in a pan and put on a high heat
6.Flip bread over allowing the other side to soak up the mix
7. When the butter starts to become golden colour add the 2 slices of soaked bread and turn the heat to medium
8.When the bottom of the toast is golden flip over

9.When the bottom is golden brown plate up and serve with the bacon rasher and lashings of maple syrup

You can also serve this plain with only the maple syrup :)