8 journalers for this copy...
|
Journal Entry 1 by Mundoo from Hindmarsh Island, South Australia Australia on Friday, September 17, 2004
 Indulge to excess and go for maximum fulfilment. No holds barred.
indulgeit will sate and satisfy your every chocolate-whipped, cream-laced fantasy. Everyone deserves a little pampering, so go on, wallow in it!
Bring out your inner child and evoke youthful memories of Blueberry Cheesecake, Rich Chocolate Shakes, and very blue Blueberry Muffins. Picnic in style with indulgeit's range of teatime treats including exquisite scones, cookies and muffins, plus sweet bread and pastry recipes that will gratify every craving. Get the hots for Passionfruit Cake and then cool it down with mouthwatering Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. Get steamy with a Hot Rum Savabon Sauce, or dark and mysterious with Mocha Gateau aux Noix.
With over 60 seductive recipes, if you don't have a sweet tooth now, you will have when you've seen indulgeit
|
|
|
Journal Entry 2 by Mundoo from Hindmarsh Island, South Australia Australia on Friday, September 17, 2004
This book is just too good to keep to myself. I have to spread it around. LOL.
'Rules of the Ring'
(Please see the next journal entry - below - for the FAQ)
Please make a journal entry when you receive the book (so we know it’s safe) and another when you’ve finished cooking/making.
When you’ve baked/made, eaten and posted a journal entry to make us all salivate with envy, send a PM to the next person on the list asking whether they’ll be able to cook within the next two weeks or so. If they’re not ready (on holidays, too busy), PM me and I’ll change the mailing order. If they are ready, ask them for their postal address.
|
|
|
Journal Entry 3 by Mundoo from Hindmarsh Island, South Australia Australia on Friday, September 17, 2004
How does this cooking bookring thing work?
There are 60 recipes and hopefully 60 participants - it would be nice if everyone picked something different to make but that's not necessary. Feel free to make more than one.
Please journal how it went - successes as well as failures! And most importantly how it tasted.
Have fun!
|
|
|
Journal Entry 4 by Mundoo from Hindmarsh Island, South Australia Australia on Saturday, September 18, 2004
Participants
Flitterby
Hillcat
KiwiKat
Boreal
Special-K
Fushmush
Celestewa
Mundoo
This ring has now finished
|
|
|
Journal Entry 5 by Mundoo at by hand in Controlled Release, Given to a fellow bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Released on Wednesday, December 22, 2004 at about 2:30:00 AM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at by hand in Controlled Release, Given to a fellow bookcrosser Controlled Releases.
RELEASE NOTES:
Started on its cooking bookring journey. Given to flitterby.
|
|
|
Journal Entry 6 by flitterby from Reynella, South Australia Australia on Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Received from Mundoo during our annual Christmas dinner get together. I have a recipe all picked out, but just need to get the ingredients for it. There are lots of yummy recipes to try out, but I have chosen one that will allow me to indulge in one of my favourite foods that I haven't had fresh since coming to Australia. The recipe is Chocolate Ganache and Berry Tart. It has a chocolate pastry base and calls for mixed summer berries, but I will be using Raspberries. I am really looking forward to trying it out!
|
|
|
Journal Entry 7 by flitterby from Reynella, South Australia Australia on Monday, January 10, 2005
My choice: Chocolate Ganache and Berry Tart
First of all, a great big Thank YOU to Mundoo for starting this bookring. It's been a really fun adventure!
When I told a friend about the recipe I chose and the various steps it required, they said I must have a lot of patience as they wouldn't have the patience to do all that. I kept thinking, how is it an indulgence if I don't follow through and make it the most decadent thing of the century? I'm so glad I did!
I have learned a few things while creating my masterpiece. The first thing I learned is the meaning of the word ganache. Basically, it's chocolate melted with cream. Sometimes butter or liquors are added too. I'm not sure if it's an Australian/Brit thing (I'm an American), but I also learned about castor sugar. It could be I've never tried a recipe that called for it in the past. But I happily learned it can be made from regular sugar in a blender. I've also never made pie crust before but as this was a CHOCOLATE pie crust, I figured if it didn't turn out, it would still probably taste great anyway. Lastly, this was the first recipe I've ever used that called for a mix of weighing ingredients and measuring them. It wasn't that difficult to adjust, but it did throw me off a bit at first.
A few days before starting this project I went out and bought ingredients I would need. I found that many of the items called for amounts that didn't quite fit what was available at the store. For instance 550ml Double Cream was called for, but I only found 500ml. Same with the berries. It called for a smidgen more than what the Sara Lee berry packages contained. This had no effect on the results. Like the book's motto, it's not what you have, it's what you do with it. Another ingredient I didn't have on hand was raspberry liquor. It only required 4T, and I couldn't find a bottle of it, and my next step was going to be taking a container to the pub and asking for some, but instead I bought some vodka and mixed some sugar and mashed/strained raspberries with it a few days before starting the recipe. You can find instructions for this on the web. Mine only 'brewed' a few days but turned out very nice anyway.
Let me at the Chocolate!!
One of the frustrating things was making the chocolate pie crust first. I really wanted to play with melted chocolate and the berries, but of course, I had to make the pie crust first. I wish I had used a tiny bit of water as the mix was very crumbly and hard to work with. It needed to be chilled for an hour before rolling, and when I pulled the mix out of the fridge, some of it fell out of the plastic wrap all over the floor. Baking should not involve sweeping, but there we go. Yes, I threw away what fell on the floor. Fortunately there was plenty enough still to work with and I was able to fill a 9in pie dish plus two small dishes. These needed to chill for another hour, and then baked. The recipe called for dry beans on tin foil on top of the pastry while baking, but I was reminded that dry rice will also work for the purpose and it did the job well. I was a little worried I'd spill rice everywhere when removing the foil, but luckily I didn't have to sweep the kitchen again!
 A little bit of the baked pastry fell onto the counter when I shifted the pie dish onto the cooling rack. I had a taste and was surprised that it tasted like a very rich chocolate biscuit. Sort of like a TimTam on steroids. MMM! The finished pie crust wasn't very visually glamorous as I'd had to patch and piece, but I remember my mother baking pies in ugly pie shells and she used to say that once the filling was in, no one cares how the bottom looks as long as it tastes good. And yes, she was right!
 Finally, after the pie crust cooled, I could FINALLY get to the good / easy chocolate part. The ganache was a heavenly mixture of a little bit of seedless raspberry jam cooked and melted into about 300ml of double cream, and once that was hot and bubbling the chocolate pieces were added. The recipe called for plain chocolate, but I compromised and used milk chocolate to keep a family member happy. This is then poured into the pie shells and allowed to set.
 Meanwhile, I mixed a little more raspberry jam with the raspberry liquor and poured this over the berries. I used one package of Sara Lee Raspberries and one package of mixed summer berries. The mixture caused them to have a slightly glazed look, and the juice was very nice.
 After the chocolate was cooled, I put the berries on, and took a few photographs. Were I to make this recipe again, I would keep the berries separate and then put them on the tarts just before serving, just to ensure the visual effect of the masterpiece stays consistent.
 I chilled it overnight and then the last touch was to whip the last of the double cream with some sugar and a couple tablespoons of the raspberry liquor. This created a very nice pink fluffy whipped cream.
My first taste
 "OH!" I said aloud as the individual flavours of a rich chocolate biscuit-like base, light fluffy chocolate, fresh berries and pink whipped cream with rapberry liquor cascaded over my tongue... Indulgence never tasted so good.
 My husband said the berries were a nice touch but could be skipped, but I beg to differ. The berries add a tart taste in combination with the rich choclatey base and the wonderful ganache. And I've been hungry for the taste of real raspberries for years but haven't indulged in having any for so long. This recipe made it worth the wait!
This is a very rich recipe. It wasn't at all easy to prepare, but it wasn't as difficult as it first appeared either. It did involve a fair amount of time in between various steps of the project, but the end result was just amazing.
I still have the 9in tart in my fridge. We only tried the two smaller dishes this evening. I am going to have to find some worthy people to share this with. as I sure don't want it to go to waste but it is so rich that one slice will do for a long while.
Again, many thanks to Mundoo for starting this ring, and I'm so glad I was able to be the first on the list. Otherwise I would go mad reading the lucious descriptions!
I am sending this book on to Hillcat later this week. Enjoy!
|
|
|
Journal Entry 8 by hillcat from Melbourne, Victoria Australia on Monday, January 17, 2005
received in the mail today.
YUM!!
But there are so many gorgeous things to make - I don't know how to choose!
|
|
|
Journal Entry 9 by hillcat from Melbourne, Victoria Australia on Monday, February 14, 2005
Ok I have been incredibly slack. However I have managed to make (drum roll....)
Brazilian coconut manjar
But I had some problems ; first of all actually choosing just one recipe (hubby wanted me to make them all).
Next problem was getting all the ingrediants.
Started to make chosen recipe and discovered that I had forgotten to get coconut milk.
Eventually remembered to get coconut milk at shop; but by that time fresh coconut had gone mouldy.
Ok. Got more fresh coconut. Discovered I had picked up sour cream instead of normal cream.
Think I have everything now. Can't work out how to grate the coconut effectively so end up using dessicated coconut.
Anyway it seems to have worked. Tasted yummy but there is a whole heap of it and hubby has 12 hours to eat it all before I have to throw it out (we are going on holiday). It didn't look exactly like the photo in the book (and I don't have a camera to show you). Hubby did say he got a stomach ache from it but I think that was cos he ate too much of it (and it is quite rich).
Thanks so much mundoo for sharing. Off to NZ this arvo.
(the book not me)
|
|
|
Journal Entry 10 by KiwiKat from Blenheim, Marlborough New Zealand on Friday, February 25, 2005
YUM!! Received this in the post today. Will carefully select a recipe over the next couple of days, make it, photograph it (if it is a success) and then send this book winging its way down the coast to 'boreal'. Thanks for starting the ring 'Mundoo'. Deeeee-licious!
|
|
|
Journal Entry 11 by KiwiKat from Blenheim, Marlborough New Zealand on Wednesday, March 02, 2005
In a word...YUM!! Uncharacteristically, I didn't chose anything with chocolate, but made the Lemon Tart and Basic Sweet Pastry (instead of cheating and using frozen). It went down quite well with some friends that had just arrived from the UK. They all suggested that further samples would be required to make sure I perfect the recipe, though. ;-)
I had quite a few egg whites leftover, so I made a pavlova, as well. I didn't have time to do the recipe in the book, so opted for a plain one, which I think is the best of the three I've made so far (still learning to make pavs). The consensus was that I needed to keep working at perfecting that one as well, but everyone was willing to assist with the taste tests. LOL!!!
This book will be on its way to 'boreal' tomorrow morning (Fri 4 Mar)! Thanks for starting the bookring 'mundoo'.
|
|
|
Journal Entry 12 by boreal from Dunedin, Otago New Zealand on Sunday, March 06, 2005
I came home from a few days in Central Otago visiting my parents to find this waiting on the bench. I have had a quick flick through but haven't decided what I will attempt Maybe something that contains peaches, nectarines, plums or pears as I brought plenty of those home with me -yum!
|
|
|
Journal Entry 13 by boreal from Dunedin, Otago New Zealand on Sunday, March 13, 2005
After much deliberation (and consultation with the family) I decided to attempt the Chocolate Banoffee Tart.
First of all I had to make a chocolate pastry, and like flitterby I found the pastry too crumbly to work easily and ended up adding a little bit more butter to it. The only flan dish I own is bigger than the 23cm one recommended so I was a bit worried that I wouldn't have enough pastry, I needn't have worried, the only problem was that the plastic wrap that I had to roll it on was not wide enough, so transferring the pastry (on the plastic wrap) to the pie dish proved difficult as bits fell off. Never mind, I managed to carry out first aid and patch the holes! The next step was the blind baking and again like flitterby I used rice but here I had my next problem, the foil that went in before the rice sprang a leak and as a result, I had to pick grains of rice out of the half cooked base with a pair of tweezers.
At last I got to put the filling in, first of all came a layer of melted chocolate, then a layer of caramelized condensed milk, then sliced bananas and finally a white chocolate cream. This all seemed to take ages as things had to be chilled between each stage and the milk took a couple of hours to caramelize and then had to cool.
There was too much filling for my pie-dish, even though it was wider in diameter it was obviously not deep enough, as a result not all the white chocolate cream would fit on the top.
It still looked delicious though. And we couldn't wait to try it!
|
|
|
Journal Entry 14 by boreal from Dunedin, Otago New Zealand on Sunday, March 13, 2005
Serving: When I went to serve it I found it much runnier than the picture in the book -the problem I think was with the caramel layer, I suspect it was supposed to be much firmer, and probably needed longer than 2 hours cooking. It looks more like soup than pie I must say.
The verdict: Well I still haven't finished my plateful, it is very rich and definitely not a dish for dieters. Everyone else enjoyed thiers though despite the fact that it hadn't set. Although there are 5 in our family 3 of whom are young adult males with large appetites there is still enough left for at least another meal.
As someone who usually sticks to simple and quick recipes this has been an interesting exercise but I don't think I would go to the trouble of making this again.
|
|
|
Journal Entry 15 by boreal at on Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Released 7 yrs ago (3/15/2005 UTC) at WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Posted to Special-k in Australia on a sunny Dunedin afternoon.
Happy baking!!
|
|
|
Journal Entry 16 by Special-K from Carseldine, Queensland Australia on Thursday, March 31, 2005
Arrived just in time for the weekend :-) I haven't decided what to make yet but I'm sure it's going to be delicious!!!
|
|
|
Journal Entry 17 by Special-K from Carseldine, Queensland Australia on Tuesday, May 10, 2005
I've finally decided what to make - Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread. Sorry about the delay, work has been flat out and I've been sick for over three weeks :(
I'll do the shopping tomorrow and cook it tomorrow night of on the weekend :) Yum!
If I'm delayed I'll just take a photocopy and send the book on ASAP.
I'm trying to upload my pics but keep kepping errors...stay tuned :)
|
|
|
Journal Entry 18 by fushmush from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Received in the mail today.
Decisions, decisions! I can't decide what to make. It all looks so delicious and it's making me very hungry.
|
|
|
Journal Entry 19 by fushmush from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, October 25, 2005
I have been a very bad fushie. Sorry for keeping this one so long. I've finally finished and I made, with some success, the chocolate coconut cake. I will provide a link to my cooking experience shortly.
Update: No word from Celestwa. Will PM Puppymummy.
|
|
|
Journal Entry 20 by celestewa from Perth, Western Australia Australia on Tuesday, December 20, 2005
The book has arrived in Perth. I have a few days off over Christmas, will try and get to it then. Stay tuned.
|
|
|
Journal Entry 21 by Mundoo from Hindmarsh Island, South Australia Australia on Monday, May 29, 2006
This book has been returned to me from celestewa
|
|
indulgeit - It's not what you've got, it's what you do with IT
