Dining with a Stud

July has been a busy month. With my birthday on the 6th, my family get together (for my birthday) on the 14th, a dinner with my friends (for my birthday) on the 20th and the finale birthday present dinner at Flying Fish (post to come) thanks to my amazeballs cousins. So yeah, I’ve managed to drag this baby out – for an entire month! And I’ve loved every minute of it Now however, it’s time for some home cooked meals. Some down time in our home, with our fur baby. Me in the kitchen and Stud playing Fifa, while Bonnie naps away on pretty much every surface in the house. Life is back to normal. Thankfully, I had been given some Corningware to try. Thanks ladies, my bakeware was looking a little sad. So as soon as I received the baking dish with lid (way back when), I knew...

Read more »

July is a pretty big month here at Dining with a Stud. It’s not only the month in which I was born some mumble mumble mumble years ago, its also the month in which this very blog was born. Today, is my 2 year blogiversary Last year with wedding plans galore, my poor little blog got slightly neglected on its birthday, so this year I’m making cake! This cake originally came about because the amazeballs chickies at Impact had sent me some Bakers Secret goodies – a Swiss Roll Pan to be exact. With the challenge of making something 80’s inspired. Unfortunately, I was away at the time, but never one to back down from a challenge, I have been wracking my brain trying to come up with something. Easy I hear you say? Well no, not really. Although I’m a child of the 80’s, I was born in...

Read more »

My grandmother used Pyrex. My mum uses Pyrex. I use Pyrex. I was in desperate need of new Pyrex actually. Not that my old stuff had worn out, it was still going strong – but you know how it is with these damn food bloggers, they use a lot of stuff. At once. And wash up last. It gets annoying. By some random twist of fate, the fabulous ladies at Impact sent me a measuring jug, and an Easy Grab loaf pan. My mum picked it up from the post office for me. She was jealous. Just saying. Brainstorming recipes to use my spanking new toys, I thought back to a bread recipe I’d seen on Pinterest – A cheesy pull-apart bread. Of course, I wanted to put a spin on it. I was a little reluctant to use the glass as a bread tin but Pyrex is pretty...

Read more »

It’s amazing what one can do in a pinch. This is one of those times. I’d originally wanted to do a hazelnut dessert for this month’s Sweet Adventures Blog Hop – Nuts about Sweets. I’d bought some beautiful roasted hazelnuts from the farmers markets in Mudgee, and thought they’d be perfect for it. As usual, leaving things til the last minute, I emptied my hazelnuts to start taking the skins off, not realising that they were actually still in their shells. I know, I know! I don’t have a nutcracker. Insert minor heart attack here. So, frantically searching the pantry for any nut I could find, I came across some chopped peanuts that I usually use for my choc chip cookies. They’re not fancy, but they’ll do! I don’t know about you guys, but to me peanuts either mean Reese’s (duh) or peanut brittle. After much debate, I settled...

Read more »

I love making dessert. Actually, I love cooking in general (duh), but in our house dessert isn’t something we eat often (contrary to my recent posts :/ let’s just say, my co-workers are happy campers). But there’s just a certain satisfaction that you get when people make their “dessert face”. You know the one. You can’t really get that face from a savoury dish. I find that most people have different food faces between both savoury and sweet. The sweet face is usually something along the lines of an oh-wow-this-is-SO-delicious-but-I-know-that-it’s-SO-naughty-but-I-DON’T-CARE-beacuase-its-SO-damn-good! That face makes me happy. After the fabulousness that was my hen’s tour was over, the very gracious Merna from Home Made Finefoods asked if I would like to join one of her “Master the Mousse” classes. Ummmm YES, yes I would!  Having made mousse once before, I knew the basic process but was really excited to see how...

Read more »

Back in October of last year, I went to a little convention called Eat Drink Blog. Ok, it’s not so little, if you’re a blogger that is. But it’s quite possibly the most enjoyable blogging experience I have had to date. Sessions on writing, cooking, photography, styling, the list is pretty endless. Plus of course, lots, and LOTS of food. One of the cooking classes that actually took place on the day was a crab class with Lars Svensson (Kinglsey’s head chef ) and as soon as I’d seen the days’ timetable, I knew I wanted in. I’d always wanted to cook crab and I was about to learn how. By the chef at Kingsley’s no less. Check. Me. Out! Lol. Lars was a great teacher and a clearly passionate chef. It was literally bang, bang, bang, and I present to you…..chilli mud crab. Shut up! It’s not that...

Read more »

Let’s face it, I’m a little nuts. You can be honest with me. I can take it. I feel like in our own way, we’re all a little nuts. So its pretty fitting that on the month of my birthday (my sixth 25th birthday no less), I’m hosting the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop, and its NUTS!! I understand that although some of you may be a little nuts, you may also be allergic to nuts. Don’t fret, in this instance you can totally use seeds The hop (also known on Twitter as #SABH) will be open for your posting, linking and viewing pleasure 9am (Sydney time) Monday 16 July 2012, and will remain open for a week and a day until 10:59pm (Sydney time) Monday 23 July 2012. Feel free to link up at any time during this week. Blogs will appear in the hop list in order of submission. **Please note the revised closing time,...

Read more »

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally doing my wedding post! Yup, that’s how backlogged my posts are After 6.5 years together, Stud and I tied the knot at The Tea Room, Gunners Barracks in Mosman on 12 January. It was a super awesome day that absolutely flew by, but was the most special day in both of our lives. The staff at The Tea Room are an absolute dream team. A professional pleasure to work with and the day (and the lead up) really was seamless. Now for the food, because lets face it, it’s one of the reasons people attend weddings and a major thing that everyone remembers. These photos weren’t taken on the day, but at our pre-wedding tasting. Entrée Salmon ceviche, pomegranate, coriander, ginger and soy *wedding choice* Prawn cannelloni, spiced calamari, sauce vierge Crisp pork belly, crushed peas, mint, apple chutney *wedding...

Read more »

Although it’s been a cold week in Sydney, it hasn’t rained (touch wood) which Sydneysiders are pretty glad about. Me, I’m on the fence. I have conflicting opinions of rain depending on which body part you speak to. My hair for example, hates rain. Hates it! The girly part of my brain also hates rain, I think just by association (from my hair), but also as it went to all the trouble of GHDing my hair and fringe, only to have it ruined by a mere couple of drops. It’s just frustrating really. My feet on the other hand, love rain! Well, they love rain in my wellies. They can walk through shin height puddles with the greatest of ease and they snicker (quietly of course) at other wet Sydney feet thinking to themselves “I bet they wish they had wellies like us”. This in turn, makes the childlike...

Read more »

We don’t eat much pie at home. With trying to be healthy and pastry not being overly healthy, we normally stick to some kind of pastryless pies like shepherds or cottage. I have to say though, I was pretty excited that we decided to do pies because I never make them. I’m more of a cake kinda gal. Its been quite some time since I wanted to make David Chang’s famous Crack Pie. I mean really. Crack Pie. A pie soo addictive and all-consuming that its likened to one of the most addictive drugs the world has seen. Yeah. I want in. In an effort to keep this Crack Pie a little less calorific (at a whopping 432 calories per serve), I used low fat marg and low fat cream. So actually, it may very well have changed the flavour of the overall cake. But may I say……It. Was....

Read more »