Nigella's Pecan-Plus Pie

My friend Miss T had a craving for pecan pie and so sent this recipe my way Nigella's Pecan-Plus Pie. Now, I have never made pecan pie before although do love eating it so figured that must count for something. This was really easy to make and tasted absolutely delicious, especially teamed up with a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Be warned, it is super-filling so go easy on the portion sizes! Mi xo

MiNa's Thursday Lunch: Pot Pies & Pudding

Lentil (centre) and chicken (top right) pot pie with sweet potato mash and peas.

Every Thursday at our workplace, we have what's called "Thursday lunch" where we take turns cooking lunch for all our work buddies. It's been a long standing tradition and is a great way to bring everyone together. Soon it was our turn and for weeks leading up to the day we dreamt up all these fabulous dishes that we would make...then we stopped and realised that we had to make it for 30 odd people and suddenly we decided to re-think the plans and make something that is easy to upscale yet still delicious. This is when Jamie Oliver came to the rescue! We are both big fans of his cookbook Jamie's 30-Minute Meals, so turned to this for inspiration. What would people want to eat on a cold winter's day? Steaming hot pot pies with a side of mash and peas topped off with soft-centred chocolate puddings, raspberry coulis and double cream! Perhaps this was also inspired by our recent trip to the Pie Tin.

The Pie Tin

Mi and I recently went on a lunchtime adventure in search of the perfect pie. Having heard so many good things about The Pie Tin in Newtown, we knew we had to try it out. There's nothing better than a hearty pie on a cold winters day and these pies sure did put the roses back in our cheeks! There is a wide selection of savoury and sweet pies, as well as delicious side dishes. Mi ordered a lamb and rosmary pie and I got a roast pork pie with apples. We also shared some sweet potato mash and mushy peas. We smothered our pies with tomato sauce and gobbled them down. They were delicious and the pastry was PERFECT! Word to the wise...they do not provide knives here, only sporks and eating with your hands is encouraged! 

After we ate our savoury pies, we could not leave without trying a sweet one. The display cabinet was way too tempting. There was so much choice! It took us a while to decide but we finally settled on a slice of coconut and lime cream pie, which was amazing! Next time I would like to try a slice of the apple pie, which is probably the biggest apple pie I have ever seen in my life! Next time you're in the mood for a pie, try one from The Pie Tin but I insist that you treat yourself to a sweet one as well!

The Pie Tin is located at 1 Brown St. Newtown, NSW. Enjoy! Na xo

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

What do you get when you mash together a cake with a cookie? Whoopie pie! I came across this recipe from one of my favourite food blogs, Not Quite Nigella. The first time I tried this recipe, I used rock salt thinking somehow that the granules would dissolve...well it didn't! So, second time around I just decided to omit the salt and instead of the marshmallow filling I made a peanut buttercream. I also made them much smaller, using a teaspoon instead of an ice cream scoop. They rise and expand quite a bit in the oven, you have been warned! I used Na's buttercream recipe with some slight modifications:

Peanut buttercream recipe

• 125 g unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter
• 1 and 1/2 cup of pure icing sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp milk

1. Beat the butter and peanut butter with an electric whisk
2. Add the icing sugar, vanilla and milk
3. Beat until smooth and creamy

I love peanut butter and while I thought this buttercream was pretty good, I think I would add more peanut butter next time. Enjoy! Mi xo

Walnut Whoopie Pie with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Monchichi loves whoopie pies! Thanks R.E. :) Mi xo