A Magic Ingredient – Smoked Paprika

Tonight saw the last of the weekends butterflied leg of lamb disappear.

On Sunday it was served with creamy mashed potato, which I deliberately made twice the quantity of.

Yesterday we had slices of the lamb with potato cakes. Mix the mashed potato with a beaten egg and some plain flour, shape into disks about 2cm thick and then gently fry. For a slight difference I added some chopped Rosemary which worked really well with the Lamb.  They were served with broccoli and braised onion gravy, delicious.

Tonight I had some lamb left and wanted to do something completely different as it was the third day in a row. The lamb is beautiful, sliced and lightly fried, but if you do much more it would go tough and chewy. So I chose to do a risotto to go with it. Using Arborio rice (it has to be) I lightly fried it with finely chopped shallot, celery and red pepper (capsicum.) Adding some vegetable stock, a bit at a time, I also used some powdered smoked paprika. The resulting dish gave a totally different slant to what was the same meat served three days in a row. The smoked paprika is fantastic for adding a new dimension to a dish. Just don’t use it too often.



Freezer R.I.P. - Help!!!

Not technically a cooking disaster but potentially a huge waste of food - What can you do if your freezer fails?

• Don't Panic!
• Keep the door/lid of the freezer shut.
• Check that it is switched on at the mains.
• Replace the fuse.
• Check with friends and neighbours to see if they can store your frozen food.
• Call an engineer - if the engineer is likely to be prompt keep the freezer door closed.
• Depending on how full the freezer is, food can remain frozen for 24 hours or more. The fuller the freezer, the longer the contents will remain frozen.

After the repairs have been made do the following:

• If the frozen foods have defrosted, remove them from the freezer and check their temperature close to the surface of each item. If it is warmer than 4°C discard the products now and check your household insurance policy or any freezer warranty you have, you may be covered. Take this opportunity to thoroughly clean the surfaces according to the freezer manufacturers instructions. Allow to dry with the door open and the freezer switched off, prior to restocking the freezer.
• If foods have thawed but are still colder than 4°C store them at the bottom of a refrigerator and use within 24 hours. Once fully cooked many foods can be frozen to be used within one month. Foods intended to be consumed frozen (such as ice cream) should be discarded.
• If foods are still frozen and have not softened, turn the freezer to its maximum setting for 24 hours, before restoring to a setting which maintains a temperature of -18°C.

After the recent floods in Australia cut power supplies the locals had a street party. In true Aussie style, what else do you do when disaster strikes – Barbie Time. A great way to get something good out of a nightmare situation and use up the food that would otherwise go to waste.