A Polarising Dish.

Growing up, there was one dish that my Mum used to make weekly that was greeted with rapturous applause. Being a single, working Mum with no time, this dish was trotted out frequently as it was cheap, fast and simple.

Even my sister Mrs Ryan, a vegetarian since the age of 6, could not resist it's fishy goodness.

Last night I made the dish for the boys, and it always goes down a treat. I took a photo and whacked it up on the Facebook page, and I was not at all prepared for the comments and divisional nature that it bought.

Tuna Mornay

Now the thing that I like about Tuna Mornay is that all the ingredients can be bought from the service station at 5pm on a Saturday Night when most people are planning elaborate dinners bought from organic markets that they have visited in the morning.

Clearly, I am not one of those people. I had taken my monkeys to the zoo and was not in the correct mindset to prepare anything fancy.

Looking at that photo, I kind of get the revulsion. I mean it is cheese sauce with a tin of tuna, a tin of corn and some rice. It is less about cooking and more about stirring. 

Michelle Bridges would pitch a bitch fit if she was served this, I am sure. And I cannot even imagine what Pete Evans would do.

Tuna Mornay CAN BE FANCY! Click here for Julie Goodwin's version.

But there is something comforting about eating a dish that has such a deep family history ingrained. You stir the whole thing up like it is some sort of risotto, and a big squeeze of lemon and a shit load of black pepper and gobble it up in front of the news.

And to those who sneered at my carby, fishy, cheesy dinner.... OH FOR SHAME! *waggles finger*

Tuna Mornay.... Are you a fan?

What is your secret revolting but comforting childhood dish?

And do you have a mornay making tip?

Oven Slaving with Mrs Woog - Frenchy Chicken

I am calling this Frenchy Chicken because it it vaguely French. I first made it from a French Cookbook which has since escaped my clutches, so now I just go from memory.

And my memory is shot to shit.

So I am claiming it as my own. I also tend to make it while drinking wine, as the recipe calls for it and why should it have all the fun, and normally I am in a filthy mood at that time of day. 

Hence the French bit.

You will need.

• 6 chicken thighs halved.
• 2 gloves of garlic - diced
• 1/2 onion - diced.
• A fuck tonne of butter
• 2 sticks celery - diced
• 1 red capsicum - in strips
• I large leek - sliced
• 1-2 glasses of dry white wine
• 2 cups chicken stock
• Thyme
• Salt and Pepper

Put a heavy based dutch oven type thing onto the stove and chuck in some butter. Don't be stingy. Once it is bubbling away, chuck in your chook and let them be. You want them to get some colour. While this is happening, have some wine. And prepare the rest of your stuff.

Pull your browned chook out and put it in a bowl. You will have goodness stuck all around the pan. This is good. You need that goodness.

More butter. Then stick in your veg apart from the capsicum.

Stir it like a mad woman, sip your wine and yell at your kids...

"Obtenez dans le bain vous remercient svp en ce moment"

Once your veggie are translucent, empty the rest on your glass into the pan, along with another one. With a wooden spoon, scrape at the stuck on goodness at the bottom of the pan. This is flavour central people, and you have a one way ticket!

Pour in the stock, bring the lot to the boil and season with salt and pepper. Chuck in your capsicum.

And then, transfer the rest of the cook back in, making sure that you also include any manky chook juice that might have come out while resting la fowl. Simmer for 20ishy minutes until the sauce reduces.

Whack together some sort of potato situation which will suck up all the delicious sauce.

AND BONJOUR!

A word on mash, if I may. I have enlisted the wisdom of Kim Berry, she of the business All Consuming Food, who advises the following tips!

Start with a floury potato like a desiree. Cook until well and truly soft through. A crunchy potato is a nasty thing. 

When you drain them, really drain them so they look 'dry' and then get down to the business. 

If you want silky smooth mash then you have to use a potato ricer. A hand masher will make decent mash, a ricer makes magnificent mash. So, push your potatoes through the ricer and then give it a good beat. 

In the meantime you've melted an unholy amount of butter with milk - let's say if you're using 1kg potatoes then you're going to use 125g butter and 250ml milk. Or cream. That's right, cream. 

Then add a bit more butter. Just to be sure you're arteries are scared. 

Add that to the potatoes and then you're going to beat the crap out of it so it is creamy and yet almost whipped. 

Then you're basically going to eat it until a soft pant is the only option. 

Thank you Mrs Berry! You can learn more about her heavenly food here.

So what are our thoughts on Frenchy Chicken?

And if you can come up with a better name, I am all écoute*!

*100% sure this is the wrong word

Oven Slaving with Mrs. Woog – I Heart-A Frittata

Sponsored by Coles

Mr. Woog can be described as many things. A gardener. A worrier. A surfer and a wannabe Moto-cross champion. He is also an impressive eater.

He comes from a family of impressive eaters. It is not unknown for Mr. Woog to nuke up leftover “whatever” and eat it from the Tupperware container. Standing over the sink.

So from time to time, I like to surprise him with a thoughtful gesture. Like cooking. 

Today we are turning vegetarian!

Vegetable and Smoked Cheddar Frittata.

I chose this recipe as it is a great meal when accompanied by a green salad and also is a great leftover choice for Mr. Woog’s sink hovering.

You will need the following:

           2 medium Red Washed Potatoes, thickly sliced 

            1 cup small Broccoli Florets

            1 1/2 tbsp. Olive Oil

            1 Shallot, roughly chopped

            100 g Cup Mushrooms, quartered

            12 large Free-range Eggs

            1/2 tsp. Extra Hot Tabasco Sauce

            85 g Smoked Cheddar Cheese (or Cheddar Cheese), grated

            1 Spring Onion, thinly sliced

Now, after 39 years, I have worked out the difference between a Shallot and a Spring Onion, because to tell you the truth, up until now I thought that they were the same thing. Here is a handy guide to help you….

Ok, so we have that sorted. Let us begin.

Put a pan on the boil (with water in it) and slice up 2 large potatoes. Use red ones so you do not need to peel them. Ages ago, I advised you to purchase a mandolin for the Oven Slaving series. If you haven’t got it yet, you can borrow mine.

Bung them into the boiling water for two minutes to soften them. At this point, remember to turn the oven onto 180 degrees or 160 if you have a fan forced oven.

Take the potatoes out. I used a slotted spoon. Then prepare in the broccoli in the manner that King Henry VIII did to his poor wives. Brutally.

Chuck these in the boiling water for a minute or two. Drain.

Now dig around and find a pan that can go from straight the stovetop and into the oven. Heat a little olive oil and add the potatoes, flipping them over after 2 minutes. Add all the other veggies (except the Spring Onions!) and give the lot a good stir.

Cook it off for a while…. Bit of salt and pepper here…

As usual, Chuy will wander in while I am oven-slaving to see if there is anything to eat. Sense a theme in our family?

evil eyes.... not a vegetarian.

I offered him a mushroom and he game me the feline equivalent of the one finger salute. Which is a tail switch and a storm out.

But back to the frittata.

While your veggies are finished off, channel Michael Jackson and BEAT IT!

Season your eggs with salt and pepper and a splash of Tabasco.

Pour your mix over your veggies. Use a spoon and make sure all the veggies are not sticking out. Sprinkle with spring onion and grated smoked cheddar. The grated smoked cheddar needs to get a knighthood. It is the hero here!

Unknowingly outing myself as a BBQ Shape fan here..

Let it sit there on the heat for a bit while you congratulate yourself on this dish. Place her in the oven for 15 minutes and then…….

HELLO SAILOR!

A professional would have wiped that plate. Am not a professional, clearly.

Now it is here that I confess. I really do not like eggs but I did partake in the demolishment of this particular frittata. I am blaming the SMOKED CHEDDAR and CRISPY SPRING ONIONS.

The next day, the remainder of the frittata was gone, stolen away in a plastic container for Mr. Woog’s Lunch.

In conclusion I Heart-a Frittata was;

    Cheap

  Quick

  Easy

  Gone

Let me know if you have a crack at it!

Would you use any other ingredients?

Can we talk about smoked cheddar for a moment?

This post was sponsored by the Coles Feed Your Family campaign.

For more cheap, quick, easy and gone recipes please click Curtis Stone.

He came up with them!

"yeah I did..."