TWD BWJ - Pecan Sticky Buns

You can probably tell from the photo that my sticky buns aren't quite as 'sticky' as they should be. That's because I could feel my arteries clogging just reading this week's recipes and decided to cut the butter somewhat.

I made the brioche but didn't laminate it and I used just a tablespoon of butter in the topping for each tray of buns. The results were absolutely delicious so I can only imagine how amazing the original version would have been!

I've never made brioche before and was really pleased with how it turned out. I'm already planning on making more and turning it into french toast one weekend. Yum!

Overall these were wonderful. I don't regret cutting the butter out because now I don't feel so guilty sneaking one for afternoon tea :)

Our hosts this week are Lynn of Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat and Nicole of Cookies on Friday. They'll have the recipes up and you can decide whether I made the right decision to go low(er) fat with these!

Mothers' Day Dinner

It's become a tradition in our house that hubby will cook something spectacular for Mothers' Day. Considering he doesn't usually cook much at all this could have potentially disastrous consequences! This year he decided to make Beef Wellington and Creme Caramel. Yum!

We may have ended up eating a little later than planned but he did a really great job and we had a delicious dinner. Thank you sweetie! xx

Creamy Mushrooms with Rice {Gourmet Garden Blog Off/Cook Off}

This is such an easy weeknight dinner and a great vegetarian option if you are a usually meat-eating family. Mushrooms are meaty and filling and when combined with cream, herbs and Parmesan, they are simply divine!

Creamy Mushrooms with Rice

Serves 4

2 tbs rice bran oil

500g mushrooms, sliced

1/2 brown onion, finely sliced

3 ts Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic Paste

2 ts Gourmet Garden Thyme Paste

2 ts Dijon mustard

150ml cream

30g Parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

Handful fresh parsley

1/2 cup rice per person, cooked in your usual way

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Cook the onions until they start to soften then add the mushrooms. Toss the mushrooms in the onions and oil and cook, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms collapse and all the liquid has evaporated.

Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the cream, mustard, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer and about 5 minutes. Add the salt and pepper, cheese and half the parsley and stir through. Serve on top of fluffy cooked rice and sprinkle with extra parsley. Enjoy.

Mothers' Day Baking - Basic Scones

Happy Mothers' Day to all the mums out there! Hope you are all having a lovely day with your special people.

Scones always remind me of my mum. Partly because neither of us really had the knack for making them! And partly because we would always order scones with jam and cream at every cafe we went to.

I've tried dozens of different recipes and although I've come close to great scones, they were mostly just good. This recipe may not be 100% perfect but they were seriously the best scones I've ever made. Light and fluffy and beautifully risen. And they were made with the help of my 3 yo son who absolutely loved rubbing the butter and flour together and making as much mess as possible!

Basic Scones
Recipe from Taste.com.au

3 cups self-raising flour, sifted
80g butter, cubed
1 to 1 1/4 cups milk
plain flour for dusting
Milk for brushing

Preheat oven to 200°C and lightly dust a baking tray with plain flour.

Sift self-raising flour into a large bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add 1 cup of milk and then mix gently with a flat-bladed knife until mixture forms a soft dough, adding a little more milk if required.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently just until the dough comes together. Pat dough into a 2cm-thick round. Using a 6cm round cutter, cut out 9 rounds. Press remaining dough back together and cut out another 3 rounds.

Place scones onto the baking tray, leaving about 1cm between them. Brush the tops with milk. Bake for approx 20 minutes or until golden and well risen. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes 12.

While jam and cream is traditional, I like mine hot from the oven with butter and golden syrup. Delicious! And a perfect treat for mothers' day.

Gourmet Garden Blog Off/Cook Off!

After nearly missing the deadline (that'll teach me for not checking my email more often) I have registered for the Gourmet Garden Blog Off/Cook Off! A fantastic competition for bloggers/cooks with great prizes including the chance to cook off at Food and Wine Shows around the country, a bloggers' week in Noosa and a major cash prize. 

All of that sounds very exciting but I was actually most excited about getting some wonderful free Gourmet Garden products to cook with! I assume everyone got the same pack of herbs, but here's what I received:

Chunky Garlic

Basil

Thyme

Coriander

Hot Chilli

Thai

Keep an eye on the blog from next week as I will be posting my recipes using these herbs between the 14th and 20th May. Wish me luck!