Kipfler Potatoes With Roasted Garlic & Tarragon

I had never tried kipfler potatoes until a few years ago when I stumbled upon this recipe by Donna Hay in the weekend newspaper.  A little harder to come by, they are well worth tracking down for this side dish where they are paired with the sweetness of roasted garlic and the aniseed-like flavour of tarragon.

I made them the other night to go with our evening meal so thought I would pop the recipe up on my blog for anyone wanting to try a dish with simple ingredients that combine together to deliver maximum taste...


Roasted Garlic & Tarragon Potatoes

800g kipfler potatoes, halved
1 head garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt and cracked black pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
¼ cup tarragon leaves, chopped


Preheat oven to 200°C.  Place the potato and garlic on a baking tray, drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for 40 minutes or until golden.  Squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins and place in a bowl.  Add the mustard, vinegar and remaining olive oil and mix until well combined. Place the potatoes, tarragon and garlic dressing in a bowl and toss before serving.

(Serves 4)

Apple Blossom Pie - Dorothy's Recipe

Of all the recipes that have been handed down in our family from generation to generation, the one of my Nanna's I've always been especially fond of is Apple Blossom Pie. And so a few weeks back, as I flipped through my recipe books and came across it, I decided to recreate that little bit of history... I brought it as dessert when we had dinner at my Mum's one night and between four adults and two little girls, we devoured the entire pie.

Here's my Nanna's recipe (with my adjustments) for you all to try...

Apple Blossom Pie

1 baked pastry case (shortcrust)

2 large (or 3 medium sized) apples

¼ cup sugar

½ cup water

pulp of 2 passion fruit, strained to remove seeds

½ tin sweetened condensed milk (approximately 200g)

juice of 1 lemon

yolk of 1 egg

1 level dessertspoon gelatine

juice drained from cooked apple made up to ¾ cup of liquid with apple juice 

1 egg white

pink food colouring

whipped and sweetened cream

Peel, core and slice the apples. Place in a saucepan with the water and sugar and simmer until the fruit is soft. Drain the syrup away - reserve it for the 3rd layer, adding apple juice to make a total of ¾ cup of liquid. Add gelatine, stir well and set aside. Puree the cooked apples until smooth, add passionfruit pulp (I strained mine to remove the seeds, although the recipe did not state to do so). Cool. Once cold, place in pastry case and refrigerate. For the 2nd layer, combine the sweetened condensed milk with the egg yolk and lemon juice and beat in an electric mixer on medium speed. Spread over the apple and passionfruit layer and refrigerate. For the 3rd layer of apple blossom topping, wait for the fruit syrup/gelatine mixture to cool and become partly set. Add a pinch of salt to the egg white and beat until stiff in an electric mixer on high speed. Colour a pale pink. At the same speed, add the partly set apple juice and continue beating until thick. Pile on the pie and decorate the edge with sweetened cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I used a pre-bought shortcrust pastry case above.  However, this recipe definitely better suits a home baked one.  

Donna Hay's Chicken Nicoise Salad

It's been a little while since I've shared a new recipe with you all so today I thought I'd post one I've been making a fair bit recently. It's from a Donna Hay magazine and was given to me by my sister-in-law. Unfortunately, I haven't managed to take a photo on the numerous times I've made this dish as it's always been gobbled up very quickly but take my word for it, served with some fresh bread, this is a great salad for a quick, light meal that can be prepared ahead.


Chicken Nicoise Salad

2L chicken stock
4 chicken breasts
250g green beans (sliced lengthways)
⅓ cup kalamata olives (pitted)
150g baby Roma tomatoes (halved)
70g rocket (I also add some baby spinach)
4 hard boiled eggs (halved or quartered)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
⅓ cup olive oil

Combine the garlic, lemon juice, mustard and oil and set aside. Heat the stock on high and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to low and add the chicken for 14 mins. Add beans for another few minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the beans tender. Cool chicken and shred. Put in a bowl with remaining ingredients and drizzle over dressing.

(Serves 4)

Image above from Donna Hay website

Last Week's New Recipe

Each week I try and choose a recipe we haven't used before in ourweekly meals. I have a huge pile of recipes that have been torn out of magazines and this is a good way of making a dent in that pile. Last week's new recipe was a Donna Hay recipe - Lemon Thyme and Feta Chicken Patties. Served with a fresh salad, it made a nice light summer meal. Here is the recipe...

Lemon Thyme and Feta Chicken Patties

500g chicken mince

2 tbsp chopped lemon thyme leaves

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 egg white, lightly beaten

100g feta, roughly chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

4 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced

2 lebanese cucumbers, sliced

1 cup basil leaves

red wine vinegar and olive oil, extra, for drizzling

cracked black pepper and lemon wedges, to serve

Place the chicken, lemon thyme, garlic, egg white and feta in a bowl and mix to combine. Using damp hands, divide the mixture into 12 patties. Heat oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook the patties for 3-4 minutes each side or until cooked through and golden. Place the tomato, cucumber and basil in a bowl, drizzle with vinegar and extra oil and toss to combine. Top salad with patties, sprinkle with pepper and serve with lemon. Serves 4.

Delicious Chocolate Fudge

Each year around Christmas, I like to make a batch of Chocolate Fudge. It’s so lovely to sit down at night with a piece to enjoy with my cuppa. I’ve posted the recipe below. Next week I’m hoping to make a batch of Christmas biscuits. Who else is doing some Christmas cooking?

Fast Chocolate Fudge

125g dark cooking chocolate (chopped)
125g copha (chopped)
2 tbs icing sugar
1 tbs cocoa
½ x 395g can sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp vanilla essence

Line the base of an 18cm square cake tin with greaseproof paper. Oil lightly. Melt together chocolate and copha over a low heat, stirring until smooth. Add icing sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Quickly stir in the condensed milk until blended (mixture will begin to firm immediately so work quickly). Pour at once into prepared tin and smooth the surface. Chill until firm. Cut into squares to serve.

New Potato Salad

Image from here

We dragged out the barbecue for the first time in a while during the week so I tried a new potato salad. It made a nice change from the usual one I make. I've posted the recipe below. Hope you all have a lovely upcoming weekend. We are in for an extremely busy one...


Warm Potato, Bacon & Mushroom Salad

750g chat potatoes, halved
1 eschalot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbs white wine vinegar
2 ½ tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 bacon rashers, trimmed, roughly chopped
12 button mushrooms, halved
4 cups (120g) baby spinach leaves
1 tbs chopped chives


Cook the potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 10-12 minutes until just tender. Drain. Meanwhile, whisk together the eschalot, garlic, vinegar and 1 tablespoon of oil in a large bowl. Add the warm potatoes, toss to coat, then set aside to absorb while you cook the bacon and mushrooms. Heat a non-stick frypan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and dry-fry for 2 minutes or until crisp. Remove and add to the salad bowl. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and cook the mushrooms, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Season well, then add to the salad bowl with the remaining ingredients. Toss to combine, then serve warm.

Malteser Biscuits

Hope you have all had a fabulous weekend. We spent Saturday tidying up our patio as our new paving is now complete (will post ‘after’ photos once I get my new pot plants) and yesterday I made a batch of Malteser Biscuits (recipe below). The flowers on my desk Double Delight roses which are blooming beautifully in our garden at the moment. It is so nice to be able to pick fresh flowers every few days to brighten up our house and these ones have the most beautiful fragrance too. Hope everyone enjoys their start to the week…


Malteser Biscuits

250g butter, softened
⅓ cup white sugar
⅓ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
165g packet Maltesers, roughly chopped
2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
½ cup plain flour, sifted

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line baking trays with baking paper. Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale. Add condensed milk and vanilla and beat for a further 1 minute. Add Maltesers and flours. Stir with a large metal spoon until well-combined. Roll mixture into small walnut-sized balls. Place onto prepared baking trays, allowing room for biscuits to spread. Gently press biscuits with a fork to flatten slightly. Bake 2 trays at a time, for 12 to 15 minutes, swapping trays halfway through. Stand for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Coconut Chicken

Tried out this recipe last night from Real Living’s Summer Cookbook. It was a nice simple meal and didn’t take long to prepare or cook. Has definitely made it into my recipe folder. I served ours with steamed vegetables.


Chicken & Beans with Coconut Sauce (Serves 4)

4 single chicken breast fillets (about 800g total)
Vegetable oil, for brushing
2 tbsp green curry paste
375ml coconut milk
200g green beans, trimmed
½ cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat pan on medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 4 minutes each side or until cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes to rest. Meanwhile heat frying pan over medium heat. Brush with oil. Add curry paste and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. Stir in coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Add beans and simmer for 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. Stir in half the coriander. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Divide beans among plates and top with chicken. Spoon over coconut sauce and sprinkle with remaining coriander to serve.

Afternoon Tea Scones

Made a batch of lemonade scones for afternoon tea on the weekend. I’m sure you all have the recipe already but for those of you who don’t, I’ve written it below. They are super easy to make. The tablecloth in the photo was passed on to me by my Nanna several years ago. At the time I remember thinking it was ‘old and Grandma-ish’ and that it would probably sit in the linen cupboard. Now, I love nothing more than setting the table with it and have a real appreciation for embroidered linens and all the hard work that has gone into them. Hope you all had a lovely weekend too.



Lemonade Scones

3 cups Self Raising flour (sifted)
250ml lemonade
250ml cream

Mix to a firm dough, 2cm in thickness (the trick is not to overwork the dough – do not knead it, just bring it all together). Use a scone cutter dipped in flour to cut out scones. Brush with milk. Bake in a 200°C oven until light golden.

Citrus Coconut Cake

Made this delicious cake this morning. It's even better with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting on top...


Citrus Coconut Cake

125g softened butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
1 tbsp finely grated lime rind
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup self raising flour, sifted
3/4 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Add lemon and lime rind. Add eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition. Fold flour and coconut into the mixture, alternating with milk. Spoon into greased loaf pan and bake for 45 mins. Dust with icing sugar (or add cream cheese frosting as I did).

Pink Ribbon Day Fundraiser

Next weekend, I am hosting a Pink Ribbon Day morning tea. I have had so much fun gathering ideas for what to cook and how to decorate things. Here is what I’ve come up with so far…

These are the invites I made in keeping with the pink theme…


I made these Mini Raspberry Melting Moments as a trial for the day. They definitely passed the test and have made it onto my ‘menu’. I love that the icing is naturally coloured by the raspberries!



I am hoping to have a main table decorated mainly in pink and white to display all the food. Amy Atlas’s dessert tables have provided lots of inspiration for this. I’ll post some pictures of what up come up with after next weekend.