When you live on the northern beaches of Sydney, the restaurant choices are fairly limited in the ‘casual but excellent food & great vibe’ category. Manly is really the closest option for an exciting night out but the distance to drive means 2 glasses of wine is the absolute maximum and the baby-sitting costs mean this is probably all most of us can afford! The predicament had been getting me down until we discovered Mexicano in Narrabeen, a short drive from Avalon. Of course, you still need a designated driver and it is even more important given the quality of the Margaritas!

This post was inspired by a great night out at Mexicano with some close girlfriends – a recipe for my favourite Guacamole.

Simply combine 4 ripe avocados, 1 diced spanish onion, a punnet  of diced baby roma tomatoes, dashes of  Tabasco & Worcestershire sauces to taste, the juice of a fresh lime, sea salt & pepper, and to finish loads of chopped coriander. If you want to add a jar of salsa rather than fresh tomatoes, go for gold.

To make it more decadent (and therefore caloric) you can add 2 tablespoons of sour cream
or creme fraiche. Friends of mine have even added chopped crispy bacon as a garnish – something different to try if you’re in the mood.

Photos by Briar Stanley from the blog Sunday Collector.

I went to a lot of effort to make an apple and blueberry strudel this week and it was a complete flop. Said to be in the “Swiss” style, the pastry wasn’t flaky, but a dough and oh, it was doughy! We had some German friends staying and they couldn’t understand why you’d mess with such a good thing (changing the pastry style). Clearly I won’t be divulging the name of the chef to commit this sin!

With no other food photographed, I’ve decided to post a few taken by amazing food stylists out there in blog-land. You may want to while away some time immersed in beautiful food and discover some amazing recipes of your own (where I’ve failed this week!) They’re all a little Easter-inspired.

Enjoy ~ Fleur x

~ Various treats & Chocolate Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting from One White Apron

~ Chocolate Ganache, Raspberry & Pistachio Crepe Layer Cake from What Katie Ate
If you’ve seen the latest Real Living magazine, this amazing woman looked after the wonderful Easter Tea Party shoot. She’s also featured on the Martha Stewart Living ipad app in a little ‘behind the scenes’ story. Go Aussie Gals!

~ Crispy Easter Pops discovered on TasteSpotting which will lead you to may more foodie blogs…

~ Spiced Bundt Cake with Orange Butter from Shared Sugar…two friends bake & share.

~ Salted Caramel Popcorn & Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Biscuits from Butterfly Food

Shame on me, I know, but I have never made my own bread, nor pasta and very rarely pastry. I’ve always sought out the best on offer from the fancy food stores, however until now I didn’t know how good the result could be at home.  Oh, and shame on me that I haven’t posted a recipe for several weeks!  I know Caterina’s dear friend Mima has been disappointed, I heard recently that she cooks everything I post

On the weekend I trialed pizza from scratch and I have to say I feel like a goose. It’s so easy and so tasty! This Bill Granger recipe makes 2 pizzas, each serving 3 people so it’s great for a crowd.

Ingredients:
3 teaspoons dried yeast
2 tablespoons extra vigin olive oil,
plus extra to brush & drizzle
500g strong plain flour (00 flour)
2 teaspoons salt
polenta, to sprinkle

To Assemble:
simple tomato sauce (see below)
proscuitto & rocket
flaked tinned tuna & olives
or your preferred toppings

Tomato Sauce:
2 x 400g tins chopped toms
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Pour 300ml tepid water into a bowl, sprinkle in the dried yeast and whisk with a fork until dissolved. Add the olive oil and set aside.

Put the flour and salt into an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. With the mixer running on a slow speed, add all but 2-3 tablespoons of the yeast liquid. Add this remaining liquid to incorporate the last of the flour. Knead (still on a slow speed) for 15-20 mins until smooth and elastic. Turn onto a floured surface and knead by hand to form a smooth ball. (Alternatively, mix and knead the dough entirely by hand).

Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and brush the top with a little olive oil to prevent a crust forming. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave the dough to ‘proof’ or rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 230 degrees. Brush two large baking or pizza trays with olive oil (and here’s the special touch) dust with polenta. Dust the work surface and your hands with flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and divide into two equal pieces.

Flatten one piece out with the heels of your hands to form a rectangle or circular shape, about 1.5cm thick. Lift the dough onto the prepared tray then, working from the centre outwards, gently stretch and press the dough into the final shape. The base should be roughly 3mm thick and the edges a bit thicker, to form a rim. Repeat to make the 2nd base.

Spread each pizza with tomato sauce, using the back of a spoon, then top with slices of mozzarella. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 15-20 mins or until the base has puffed around the edges and the dough underneath is golden and crisp. Add your favourite toppings (no need to put the pizza back in the oven) and cut into slices to serve.

To make the tomato sauce:
Tip the tomatoes into a saucepan and cook over a medium heat for 15 mins, stirring occasionally until reduced and thickened. Add the remaining ingredients, cook for 1 minute, then remove from the heat.

Enjoy x

Well, it may not be a secret anymore (after I’ve posted this blog), but I’m sure you’ll appreciate that our recipe is entirely original.

At ALEX&ANT HQ we throw everything we have at a collection, inspiration from our journeys in life & love. Ideas are plucked from our minds, not the minds of others nor the pages of a magazine. We chat, we laugh, we sketch (we drink wine) and the process is honest and fun. It’s children’s wear, after all!

To source the ingredients, we select textiles for their beauty and functionality. These fabrics and trims are handled by our experienced pattern maker and company-owned manufacturing team as they work their magic to refine the recipe. Nothing is lost in translation, only enhanced by the interaction of our team, who evidently love their jobs. (We even have a creche in our factory). And so the idea for the ‘dish’ is taken to the stage of testing.

We usually find that our samples are better than we’d envisaged and it’s very rare that anything is ‘sent back to the drawing board’. The thrill of seeing a sketch come to life as a garment or accessory is never lost on us. If anything, we remove elements to pare things back and remain true to our ethos of simplicity. Our lives are busy and complicated enough so we don’t want to overcook the dish! Most of the pleasure in wearing a garment is derived from the fit and the handle, so we never compromise on these basic elements.

Of course, our final product is presented beautifully and our aesthetic is as vital as the quality of the ingredients and method. Each garment is the culmination of a lot of wonderful people working together. It’s why Caterina doesn’t like to be mentioned by name as she believes her role is to draft and adapt the recipe with the input of the team, not to take the credit for the whole process or product. Her European decent means that there is a little of Italy in everything we do, but so many other cultures blend together in our melting pot that no one trend is evident.

We love what we do, we love to create, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously! There are lots of talented people out there and we’re simply very happy to have found a niche. We’re happy you’ve found us too.

Love Fleur x

At my house, a Summer sausage sizzle just isn’t complete without a crisp coleslaw. I know it’s a very retro dish and most people associate it with an unsanitary salad bar at a suburban eatery with outdated decor, or the KFC version which consists of mayonnaise with a little limp cabbage added…but please, put your prejudices aside! This recipe will enlighten you to the taste sensation of fresh coleslaw or your money back (conditions apply). All claims to Nigella Lawson, thank you!

1 head white or savoy cabbage
1/2 head red cabbage
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
2 spring onions

200g best-quality store bought mayonnaise (preferably organic)
4 x 15ml tablespoons of buttermilk
2 x 15ml tablespoons of maple syrup
2 teaspoons of apple or cider vinegar
100g chopped pecans
salt & pepper to taste

Trim and shred the cabbages, by hand.

Peel and grate the carrots and finely slice the celery and spring onions.

Whisk together the mayo, buttermilk, maple syrup and vinegar and coat the vegetables with this dressing. How amazing is this dressing?!

Season and toss through/over the chopped nuts. I’ve also caramelized the pecans on occasion, YUM!

Enjoy. Love Fleur X
P.S. I had more red cabbage in my fridge than green, so yours should look better balanced (and from the present day! Love this 1960′s photo effect).

Don’t you just love the fact that you can botch your pastry attempt, but it still comes out of the oven looking lovely and ‘rustic’?  How did this word (in the culinary sense) actually come to mean something so appealing, I wonder.  At any rate, it works for me as I always seen to struggle even with the frozen stuff.  I hope you’ll agree that my pies look yummy, if indeed “provincial; lacking in the sophistication of the city”!

Really great for school holiday picnics as they can travel in the tin.  Make sure you allow the 25mins in the oven plus time for the tin to cool.

Chicken & Mushroom Pies

10g dried porcini mushrooms
500g skinless chicken breasts
60g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
25g butter
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
150g fresh mushrooms, sliced
80ml white wine
125ml cream
1 tablespoon chopped sage
300g ready-made butter puff pastry
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten, to glaze

Soak the dried porcini in 250ml just-boiled water for 30 minutes.

Cut the chicken into 2-3cm dice or smaller for kids. Combine the flour, cayenne, salk & pepper in a bowl.
Add the chicken and toss to coat, shaking off excess.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over a high heat.
Add the chicken and stir-fry until lightly browned and sealed, but not cooked through.  Remove and set aside.

Add the onion, garlic and fresh mushrooms to the pan and cook over a medium heat for 5 mins or until the mushrooms are coloured. Add the wine and let bubble for 1 min. Chop the porcini and add with their soaking liquid and the cream. Simmer gently for a further 5 mins. Add the chicken and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat and let cool before stirring in the sage.

Pop the oven on now at 180 degrees to pre-heat.

Lay out the pastry sheets on a floured surface and cut rounds large enough to line the muffin pan, then smaller rounds for the lids. I got these sizes a bit wrong but my pastry still sealed around the filling and that’s good enough for me! Line the tins with the larger pastry rounds and spoon in the filling – don’t be shy or too heavy-handed. Brush the edges of the pastry cases with egg yolk. Place the pastry tops on the pies and press the edges together to seal, then crimp with a fork. Make a slit in the top of the pie using a sharp knife.

The pies can be refrigerated or frozen in advance at this stage. If cooking now, brush with egg yolk and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

To cook after freezing, allow the pies to thaw in the fridge for several hours, or overnight, then brush with egg yolk and bake as above.

Serve with a fresh, crisp salad & enjoy with countrified gusto!

Fleur xo

Welcome to our blog in this new & exciting year for ALEX&ANT.  Before we launch our Winter 2011 ranges, let’s take some time to savour the current season.  The fashions may be on sale or sold out (in the case of most of our collection), but the sun is only just getting into the groove…

Summer holidays are the best and this is THE best recipe for banana bread that I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.  It’s an easily transportable snack to take for brunch at the beach or to enjoy anytime of the day, anywhere.  All you need is two ripe bananas so there’s no need to wait until you have a stash of several bad nanas!  Keep it in mind for school lunches too.

Bill’s Melt & Mix Banana Bread
45g brown sugar
30g almonds, chopped
255ml sour cream
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
100g unsalted butter, melted
230g caster sugar
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
250g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
250g mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium bananas)

Preheat the  oven to 180 degrees.  Grease and line two 10 x 18 cm loaf pans with baking paper.  In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar and almonds, then set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the sour cream and the bicarb of soda and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the caster sugar, melted butter and eggs.  In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon then gradually fold in the sour cream mixture (wet).  Now add the mashed bananas and don’t over-stir.

Divide the mixture equally between the two prepared pans and sprinkle over the brown sugar mixture. Bake for 50-65 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle of each loaf comes out clean.  Set aside to cool in the tins for about 20mins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Slice and serve alone or with fresh fruit (no need to butter or toast it).  Delicious!  Lucky you’ll have another loaf on hand…I wouldn’t bother freezing it but you could, of course!

Fleur xo

Panforte is a traditional Italian dessert containing fruits and nuts bound together with honey and sugar, literally meaning “strong bread”. Documents from 1205 show that panforte was paid to the monks and nuns of a local monastery as a tax which was due in February of every year. This must by why the New Norcia bakery, in WA, is a renowned producer of this delectable confectionary.  The bakery was originally founded in the Benedictine Community of New Norcia, 133kms north-east of Perth.  Before our family relocated to Sydney we lived quite close to the inner city outlet of New Norcia Bakery so I’ve never bothered to make the treat myself.  Up for the challenge?  It’s really not that difficult and I’ve done the hard part by finding a fairly simple recipe – there are MANY and most of them contain oodles of spices that need to be roasted and ground etc…etc…

Ingredients ~ you can vary the fruit & nuts if you like

Confectioner’s rice paper (available from specialty food stores, it’s only $3.50!)
1/2 cup (75g) plain flour, sifted
2 tablespoons Dutch cocoa, sifted
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 cup (150g) chopped dried figs or apricots
3/4 cup (120g) roasted almonds, halved (you can roast blanched almonds or buy almonds already roasted with the skins on)
1 cup roasted hazelnuts, halved (skins off if you prefer)
200g dark good cooking chocolate
2/3 cup (230g) honey
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
1/4 cup (45g) brown sugar
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Grease and line a 20 x 30cm slice tin with baking paper, then lay the rice paper in a layer on the base.  Trim as needed and leave a little overlap between the two pieces as the paper can shrink & move.  You could also use a 22cm round springform tin without the rice paper if you’d like wedges of panforte rather than squares.

Place the sifted flour, cocoa, spice, nuts & dried fruit in a bowl and mix to combine.  Set aside.

Place chocolate, honey & sugars in a saucepan over low heat and stir until the chocolate as all but melted.  Pour immediately into the flour mixture and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon so that the mixture is all chocolatey and there is no flour showing.  The mixture becomes quite stiff so work quickly and use those muscles!

Spoon into the baking tin in small piles, being careful not to shift the rice paper around too much.  I find that holding the paper with a couple of fingertips whilst spreading the mixture works okay.  Run a metal spoon under hot water and use the back of the spoon to squish the piles together and flatten. Place the rice paper sheets on the top making sure to leave an overlap as this can be trimmed when the panforte comes out of the oven.  This process can be a bit frustrating as the mixture is NOT pliant and the paper does move around, but don’t worry your sins can be hidden with icing sugar.  An option is to use the rice paper on the top only.

Cook for 30 mins or until the centre is just firm.  Be careful not to overcook or you’ll have to cut the edges off and waste precious panforte! Cool in the tin then cut into bite-sized squares.  Dust liberally with icing sugar (I’ve alternated with “Vittoria Chocochino”) and present in a beautiful (airtight) vessel or wrapping.  I bought this fabulous snow scene vintage tin from ebay but jars are great too.

If you’re fussy like me and cannot eat gingerbread that is too much like cake, or the polar opposite, teeth-breaking kind, then read on for the perfect mix.  I make this Donna Hay recipe year after year and the little gems are actually consumed, not thrown away with the horrible hamper items (don’t get me started on bad hampers).  Have some fun with the decoration and don’t be afraid to hand the piping bag over to the kids!

Gingerbread Mix

1/4 cup (90g) brown sugar
2 & 1/2 cups (375g) plain flour, sifted
2 teaspoons ground ginger, sifted
1 teaspoon bicarb of baking soda.

Place all of these dry ingredients in a bowl and mix.  For a unique gift, store the mix in a Chrsitmas-themed airtight jar and give the jar plus the remainder of the recipe to a friend.  It can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 1 month.

Gingerbread Men

1 quantity Gingerbread mix, as above
125g butter, chopped
2/3 cup (230g) golden syrup

1/2 cup (80g) icing sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons hot water

Preheat the over to 180 degrees.  Place 3/4 of the gingerbread mix, butter and golden syrup into the bowl of a food processor and process until a smooth dough forms.  You want quite a wet dough so add the dry mix in stages.  It’s hard to describe, but you want the dough to be only just coming together rather than rolling around your food processor in a big ball.

Divide the dough into 2 pieces and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 30 mins and DO NOT wander off to start another job and come back to the dough hours later – it will take forever to relax.

Roll out the dough either between two sheets of baking paper or the old-fashioned, flour-covered rolling pin way.  It will want to be about 4-5mm thick.  Use floured gingerbread man cutters to cut shapes from the dough.  Place on baking trays lined with baking paper and bake for 8 mins or until golden.  If you have a fan-forced oven like me, check on them at 6 mins.  Be attentive, this is make or break (your teeth) time.

Allow to cool before adding the icing decoration.  Mix the icing sugar with the water and place in a piping bag with a very small nozzle.  Pipe away!  I’m a piping novice so mine look rather plain and I didn’t add any cachous etc…for fear of my 2-year-old choking (Olive inhales her food!)

Enjoy x