Attempt #47: Baked Cod with Avocado, Shrimp, Cream and Cheese

The combination of cod, prawn and avocado is already fantastic to begin with. The recipe calls for baking this mouth watering combination with cream and cheese.
 
The result:

 

It does look very appetizing. However, I find that the cream and cheese was just too strong for Cod. Cod by itself is already a very smooth, creamy fish and I feel that we should enjoy its natural flavour and texture without the zing and zang of all the cheese and cream.

 

Ingredients (Serve 2):

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 8oz cod fillets, skinned and pin boned

1 small handful of fresh basil, ripped

1 Avocado, peeled, pitted, halved and sliced

5 1/2 oz good peeled shrimp, cooked or uncooked

½ cup plus 2 tablespoon heavy cream

5 1/2 oz good Cheddar cheese

 

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425F. Rub a baking dish or roasting pan with a little olive oil, season the cod on both sides and palce in the dish. Sprinkle the fillets with the basil, avocado and shrimp. Drizzle over the cream and grate over the cheese. Cook at the top of the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Season to taste with dea salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve simply with a green salad.

Attempt #46: Sesame Seed Toffee Snaps

Before attempting this recipe, I would not have known that making this sweet caramel munchy would be this simple.

However, while it may be simple, it can get a little tad tricky if this is your first attempt. The tricky part lies in the process of cooking the sugar syrup and the spreading of the sesame seed caramel.

The result:

 

Overall, pretty awesome munchy to go with ice-cream or hot chocolate or tea or coffee or pudding or just on its own. Pretty much anything. J

The nuttiness of the sesame seeds tames the sweetness a bit. Plus, by making this on our own, we can manage the amount of sugar being used.

 

Ingredients:

1lb sugar

7oz pack of sesame seeds

Method:

Put your sugar and 8-10 tablespoons of water into a pan on medium heat. Sue a spoon to stir together - a few times until it comes to the boil and it will become a syrup. Carry on cooking until light golden (but dont stir too much or sugar crystal will form in your syrup.

When the syrup reaches a light golden color, pour in the sesame seeds. Swirl the pan around a bit so that the seeds get coated, but remember not to stir. Continue to cook until the color is dark golden. Immediately pour out onto a silpat (or a nonstick pan that has been oiled). Use a palette knife to spread it out until it is ~¼" in thickness...or even thinner, if you can. Let it sit and cool for ~15 minutes. Now you one big slab of brittle ready to break into shards and bits.