Aussie_Gusto

Kangarool, good luck with finding an unpickled piece of brisket, but can I give you a warning? Have something else on the menu as well, as there are many Aussies, including myself who do not like the taste of brisket unless it is pickled. I think its an either you love it hate it dish. Many also do not like the heavy sweet rubs and sauces on meats as is done in the USA. This is one dish that many avoid. Best to check with them ahead of time and explain the food you are cooking. Good luck with finding the right cut. Have fun at the Footy!

From child hood and still favourite or favourite memories: Roast Lamb and the timmings Lamb shank pearl barley and vegetable broth is top of the tree. Tomato and onion sangers.(sandwiches) Dripping on toast (yep some of us loved it!) Bonox with a piece of bread dunked in it Fish and chips,potato cakes ( yes a slice of potato is used) ,FLAKE (fish) Poons chinese in Footscray (home made dim sims)and Hoy Heng in Williamstown, we used to take a saucepan into the shop with a note for number 17 and number 23 etc. till I graduated to Little bourke street hahahahhaha The Classic Cafe in swanston street and their pineapple doughnuts (now gone) Chicken patties on Flinders street station (now gone) Melbourne Pizza late 60's nice and oily and rich with garlic. Little milk bars who sold home made salamis in the Western suburbs The doughnuts at the Vic market been there since the 1950's Vanilla slices - snot blocks The cafes near the Vic Market who used to sell hot brekkys and the Holbrooks was always on the table - they are all now gone I think Now living overseas almost 3 years I crave: Meat pies, pasties, sausage rolls FISH AND CHIPS dim sims, Australian chinese food (cos its not SWEET) ahhh the list is so long. Most things I make myself or made 'do' till I get home. actually would sell all my jewells (if I had any) for some Chinese from Little Bourke street right now I won't even START on the lollies.......*sob* think I may just have to have a lie down with a nice Bex and a hot cup of tea.

My measurements may be out as I tend to do the slurp, dash and toss thing! But: Chinese Style wings: You will need: Honey, Soy sauce, Sesame oil, Sesame seeds (some toasted is nice), ginger, garlic, chinese five spice (if desired), garlic, and peanut oil or Olive Oil. Lay the wings into a marinade dish (and large dish will do) Use about 3 tablespoons honey and drizzle over all the wings. Sprinkle with soy sauce, and some of the peanut oil to coat lightly. Start to toss, and see how they are being coated. I then add 2-3 cloves finely chopped garlic, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, good sprinkle fo sesame oil. Toss the wings and thoroughly coat them. Add extra soy if required. (Or to be safe, mix all these ingredients except the peanut oil into a bowl and mix well to get the true flavor) lastly sprinkle with raw sesame seeds. Stir the chicken pieces around. Marinade for at least 2 hours but the longer the better. Put the wings into a baking dish with some extra peanut oil drizzled over and bake the wings at 350 till cooked (they will darken and test with a fork) when ready, serve on plate and sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds over the top. To toast the sesame seeds: Either lay the seed out on an oven tray and pop into oven on medium heat for few minutes or on a paper towel in the microwave about 1 minute - unitl golden brown. ******************************************************************** The addition of Chilli to the mix for those wanting some extra heat is nice. Soy Plum Wings Half a jar of dark plum jam/jelly, soy sauce, 2-3 cloves garlic, sesame oil, ginger (1/2 teaspoon) peanut oil. Heat the plum jam/jelly slowly in a sauce pan, add soy (about 2 tablespoons, add the garlic and ginger and heat till the jelly has melted. Allow to cool. ** Add more soy if required to taste** Sprinkle chicken lightly with sesame oil, and peanut oil. Pour the sauce over the wings and bake at 300-350 degrees till the wings are ready. (Use this same recipe on pork ribs)

Try wrapping nice plump prunes in the bacon, held with a toothpick and broiling them - we call them Angels on Horseback. They are out of this world. Also try Smoked Oysters wrapped in bacon - called Devils on Horseback. Both lovely as a nibble and nice with wine or a beer. They can be grilled also, but watch the bacon does not burn, keep them on the move a bit.

I have tried the Corn syrup and not liked it. But found Cane syrup in many supermarkets. Not really like Golden Syrup but a good replacement. I would rather use honey instead of corn syrup/ The corn syrup gives the cookies a very sickly sweet taste.

If you happen to have any apples (granny smith or some tart ones are best but any will do) I core the apples and fill each one with a mixture of dab of butter then golden raisens, sprinkle brown sugar, coconut, any nuts, honey..just keep filling and squishing the stuff in the hole. Top with sprinkle brown sugar, and drizzle honey over it and sprinkle with coconut, In a dish (pie dish or casserolle base) grease with butter, put some dots of butter around, sprinkle with brown sugar and drizzle honey around, place the apples on the plate, and put in oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until soft -preparation timeis about 10 minutes and Voila! It makes its own caramel honey sauce. serve with Vanilla ice cream or cream Sprinkle the ice cream with toasted almonds

I have made a cobbler mix for tinned fruit. the one I have used most for quick desserts is any of: cherries, peach, apricots, pineapple, apple, berries, rhubarb, plums crumble Alter the amount of butter etc depending on size of dish,but usually I use: 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 cup oats 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup coconut 1/2 cup weeties or cornflakes (for crunch) 1/2 cup golden raisins 1 teaspoon cinnamon pinch nutmeg More butter may be needed if too dry Mix it all together in bowl and sprinkle over the tinned fruit. If you want a crustier top, maike it very moist and press firmly down, for a crumbly mix, just loosley sprinkle all over Serve with whipped cream or ice cream (even custard is nice)

Hillvalley where are you living? I am in the States and there are areas where you may be able to get some of the foods mentioned. (Tim Tams, Vita Wheats etc) I would make the Anzacs - for the syrup try to find the British Lyles or and find a darker golden sugar cane syrup (available in the south), and if you can find a bakers, get some dessicated coconut, the sweetened stuff over here is not the best but at a pinch will be ok..(they will be very sweet bikkies - cookies) warn the kids that the cookies are crunchy and not soft - thats always a shock to Americans hahaha. Lamingtons would be best with the packet white cake mix, not angel food. I think they would enjoy the damper as someone suggested. A sandwich made with vegemite won;t taste very nice with supermarket bread as the American bread is sweet and the two (bread and vegemite) are very much at odds. I would also as someone suggested try a dry cracker such as Carr's or go to the Mexican section of the supermarket and get their saladasa's which are nice and dry, and suitable for butter and Vegemite (thats been my main meal of Vegemite living here. The children in Australia take their lunches to school and usually a sandwich, piece of fruit, and a drink,. Though when my kids were young, they often had cold chicken and salad, Pita bread filled with goodies, and cheese with crackers, They also have a school canteen or Tuckshop where they can order a lunch. usually its a meat pie, a Pastie, Sausage roll or sandwiches, they also can purchase an ice cream at lunch time. We dont have cooked lunches as they do in the States. Kids in Australia eat a lot less sugary foods for Breakfast such as dougnuts, (Though they like things like Fruit loops etc! hahaha)and we tend to not have maple syrup with our breakfasts. We eat pancakes and Waffles as a dessert or a treat rather than a breakfast food. Peanut butter is mainly used for sandwiches or on toast and not spread as thickly as over here, we also butter the bread first. Our peanut butter is not as sweet either, its more salty. We tend not to eat peanut butter candies. Our Lemonade is more like Sprite too, though we have many brands avaliable. Cinnamon is used a lot more over here in foods and Candies which is not used as much in Australia. We mainly use it in some cakes and in Asian cooking. The cheese in Australia is generally white, and we have Kraft foods but the cheeses are vastly different. The closest to Australian cheddar is those from Vermont area. The ham in Australia is usually salty not sweet., more like country style Virginian. Hopefully you may find some passionfruit for the kids to try, as its something they generally do not eat over here (though its expensive in most places, you may be lucky where you are) The closest you will find to Australian tastes in manufactured cookies would be if your supermarket has British foods, they have similar cookies to us. This has been a rather long reply but, as I am living in the States, felt I would be able to help a bit with the contrasts. It should be a terrific class, and I am glad that there are people out there examining other countries! I will put some items below to help you with the baking etc 1 Tablespoon Australia = 1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons USA Icing sugar = Powdered sugar / confectioners sugar Caster sugar = Superfine and put it in the blender to further grind it Coconut = unsweetened bakers coconut or powdered coconut from asian stores Syrup = Lyles Golden Syrup or dark or golden cane syrup Cream = Heavy or whipping cream Bi Carb Or bi carbonate soda = Baking soda Copha = No food like it in USA have to get the actual Copha from Aussie on line store Shortening = butter Jelly = Jello Jam = Jelly or Jam or preserves Conflour = Cornstarch Plain flour = All purpose flour Self Raising flour SR = Self Rising flour Let us know how you get on. I am sure there willbe many more helpful hints too. Good luck from and Aussie in Mississippi

For a different stuffing I sometimes get my stale (french or wholemeal) bread and break it up into small pieces, coat with milk (not too much - just enough to have the bread wet), I add a small to medium chopped onion,, chopped garlic (to taste) I use about 2-3 cloves, a chopped tomato. herbs (either thyme, provence, etc - strong flavored) and a crumbled stock cube or cut back on the milk and add some liquid home made stock. (check for salt and pepper as needed) Good helping of chopped parsley. Squeeze and mush it up with hands till nice and well mixed. ** Sometimes add good red pepper (cayenne) or a creole/cajun type seasoning. Stuff into the cavity and cook as usual.

Yes try the Tim Tams! hahahaha I will completely understand about the Vegemite though! This store also has dessicated coconut, Golden Syrup (superior to Lyles), Australian honey,. They also organize functions on dates such as ANZAC day (25th April) and Australia Day. They usually arrange for Aussie meat Pies,Sausage rolls, Lamingtons, Pavlova etc, so if you get the chance, have a try of these classic yummies. Nice chatting!

Spoonbread, thanks for the reply. San Antonio is a marvellous city - love the river walk. I Used to enjoy a trip there (3 hrs from Houston) and also stopping on the way to get some nice smoked sausage (similar to a sausage in Australia called Kabana or Cabana). If your are searching for any good recipe books or need any packaged or tinned Australian items, pop into a store in the Alamo Plaza called About Australia. Souveniers, books, sheepskin, Travel Agents, Aussie foods etc - Paul and Veronica (real Aussies) run the store. They are most accomodating and will order in for you. If Passionfruit is exhorbitant to get (as I usually found) they do have the tinned John West which, though not as good as a fresh piece of fruit, will suffice in dessert preparations. Try some of the biscuits (cookies) they stock such as Tim Tams etc hahahahaha The measurements ugh! hahahha The tablespoon will get you every time...What you call a Tablespoon here we call a dessertespoon in Oz.. I think the calculations 1 and half to one, but I adapt as I go, depending on the recipe. Cup is a metric cup but in the old Aussie classic recipes (of which I still use a lot, it was a breakfast cup). Bon Appetit!

Movies: Big Night About the brothers who open a restaurant and invite the neighbourhood and the HEAD of the neigbourhood. The food was entrancing as they prepared, and suffered agonies over the preparation..The serving of each course was an important part of the movie. My salivary glands were working overtime! Babettes Feast.....mmm wonderful! The Party - when Peter Sellers Character is trying to eat his spatchcock/or chicken and it flies off the plate and lands on the high hairdo of the woman opposite, then the drunken waiter tries to get it off her head.

oops! Somehow I posted twice.......must be the blonde hair????hahhahaha

Spoonbread in Texas: Wonderful that you are cooking up some lovely Australiana foods, but am mystified and intrigued how you have found suitable ingredients to match the recipes. I lived in Houston for 2 years and it was difficult to find the correct ingredients to prepare dishes I had made for many years. Items such as dessicated coconut - finally found some in Indian stores, the sugar quality and grain size, icing sugar (very different taste) suet, brown malt vinegar, dried peel (not sugared!) and some of the dried fruits, copha and many other items. Our search for many items took us far afield. The Central Market would have some items, Sandy's Organic had others (they stock the cheapest white pepper) and have wonderful oats. I often found that Fiesta had some items in their Spanish and British sections which could be used or easily adapted to the Australian recipe. Of course, most of the supermarkets stock British foods, including the vinegar, Lyles Golden syrup, etc. Though the cheapest British foods is found in the Indian/Pakistani/General Asian stores. Keep cooking though! Let us know how your family etc enjoy the foods from these books. (No longer in Houston, now in Biloxi Mississippi - very few shops of note here - may have to drive to New Orleans for our Indian groceries) ** have you worked out the equivelant of the measures? i.e. Tablespoon also the metric? Just holler if you need any help.

Youneed to find out what he is wanting..A meringue for a pie, is baked and soft in the middle yet the pavlova is baked in a 'cool' oven and cooled in the actual oven. You will attain a crispy shell, with a marshmallow centre (once the exterior of the centre is cracked - it willbe a fluffy type of light mallow (not the traditonal mallow)- I would callit a sticky sot melt in the mouth mallow! hahaha One of the secrets is to add some brown vinegar to the whites but cool oven to cook and cool it in the oven.