Decided to do some cooking

[pepp77]

So Ive been watching Masterchef Australia recently (definitely the best of them IMO), and it has given me the urge to do more cooking so this weekend I decided I would make Chocolate Brownies, pancake rolls and Sticky BBQ Ribs.

So far I have marinaded the ribs overnight in a selection of spices and other bits, and I have finished making the brownies and pancake rolls.

So some pictures for you.

Brownies - Ended up having to bake them in cake tins and annoyingly overcooked them by 2-3 minutes, so they are still mooist, but just not enough.

Pancake Rolls

Couldnt get any proper wraps, so thought I would try filo pastry (which just doesnt work).

Mix (Noodles, bean shoots, peppers, onion, chili, ginger, garlic and hoisin sauce)

Finished Product -Taste was good, pastry not so much.

Ribs

Uncooked but marinaded

Will be skilleting the ribs off for 3-4 mins each side to get some caramelisation then braising in the oven for 90 minutes with a braising sauce (still to be made).

 

[pepp77]

Okay, everything has now been cooked and eaten, the ribs were fantastic - tangy bbq flavour with a touch of orange and chilli, very sticky and the meat just fell off the bone.

Some pics of the ribs

Ribs covered in the braise just before they went in the oven - 180c for about 90 minutes.

Ribs cooked - Pics not the best as used my phone and light had started to drop away.

Flash

No Flash

Thats me for today - might do a curry tomorrow though

 

[pepp77]

Recipes for Brownies and Ribs


Chocolate Brownies
250g Melted Butter
300g Sugar
90g Cocoa Powder
125g Flour
½ Tsp Baking Powder
5 Eggs
200g Chopped Chocolate, Chopped Nuts, anything else that takes your fancy

Mix the Butter and Sugar until all sugar is dissolved. Mix in the cocoa powder. Then mix in the 5 eggs, one after the other, next fold in the flour and baking powder, finally fold in chopped chocolate and nuts.
Place into baking tin (approx 1.5-2”deep) – then bake at 165c for approximately 25 minutes (you are looking for a slighty crisp edge and a still slightly liquid centre)


Sticky Ribs

For the Rub (Will easily cover 1.5kg Meat)

1 Tbs Finely Chopped Onion
1 Tbs Finely Chopped Garlic
1 Tsp Mustard Powder
1 Tsp Smoked Paprika
1 Tsp Chilli Powder
1 Tsp Cumin
1 Tsp Oregano
1 Tbs Brown Sugar
1 Tbs Salt

Mix ingredients together, rub over meat and marinade for minimum of 2 hours in fridge. Apply olive oil just before grilling/bbqing/frying for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Braising Sauce

1 Cup Malted Vinegar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
½ Cup Bourbon
1 Finely Diced Onion
1 Finely Diced Tomato
2 Tbs Tomato Sauce
1 Tbs Dijon Mustard
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Cumin
1 Tsp Chilli Powder
1 Tsp Smoked Paprika
1 Tsp Mustard Powder
2 Bayleafs
1 Tsp Salt
Zest of one Orange
1 Chilli

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil.

Place grilled ribs in heavy metal oven baking tray.

Pour braising sauce over meat. Cover with tin foil.

Cook for about 90mins-2hrs in oven at 180c until the meat comes away from the bone easily with a spoon.

Turn 2 or 3 times during cooking.

Remove foil for final 10-15 minutes of cooking.

 

[pepp77]

Damn that brownie looks good!

Try making the spring rolls thinner. They crisp up better along the length without the filling softening it again.

Brownie tasted great, next time though I will use a slightly deeper tin and cook for a couple of minutes less.

I also made some smaller pancake ones which I havent cooked yet.

What temp did you fry your spring rolls at? I would have thought they would need quite a high temp of 180/190°C to crisp up well. If you put them in before the oil comes up to heat, they will absorb oil into the pastry before they cook.

I actually cooked them in the oven and used the butter I used to stick them together to brown them off. They came out cooked okay, but filo pastry does not make a good substitute for proper pancake wraps.