Once called a Thermomix Demo the name has changed to a Thermomix Cooking Experience. Just as the name suggests you experience how easy it is to use the Thermomix first hand. You & your 2-3 guests get to cook a dish with your consultant. You will get to use use the guided cooking on the recipe chips for 2 of the dishes. Of course you get to taste the delicious food too, which in my opinion is the best part, seeing & tasting is believing. Cooking from scratch with a Thermomix means you get maximum flavour into your food, enables you to be additive free, while saving you time & money. Plus there are some new menu items (indicated with a *). This Thermomix cooking experience commences on the 1st Feb 2017.
For dessert choose Fresh Fruit Sorbet or *Fruity Berry Dream
(by the way we always eat our dessert first at the Cooking Experience)
Both are quick easy & delicious, the ThermoWOW factors are seeing sugar being made into icing sugar in 10 secs!! See the Thermomix chop ice or frozen fruit in about 1 minute!!
ThermoWOW factors -see how to mill your own flour, the kneading of the dough in 2 mins and we also have fun making different shaped rolls together too!
Pizza bread topped with rosemary & garlic, the ThermoWOW factors are chopping fresh garlic & rosemary in a few seconds & seeing how the Thermomix kneads dough in about 2 mins!
Choose a main dish from these 4 options
*Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
ThermoWOW factors- learn how to make your own mince meat, with this family favourite & versatile meal.
The Mushroom Risotto has the ThermoWOW factors of using the guided recipe, grating parmesan cheese in 5 secs, chopping, cooking & stirring, a quick, delicious & easy meal.
Veloute’ Meal ThermoWOW factors are seeing an all in one meal made, chopping, cooking, steaming & pureeing – you cook a veggie soup, while steaming your protein & veggies. Some of the soup is made into the delicious velvet sauce to go over the protein & veggies.
Being a host is easy & fun, you provide a few ingredients & your consultant brings the rest plus there are some great rewards, choose here.
I remember when a salad used to be quite mundane, maybe some iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber & carrot with a bit of dressing, which is till an ok side salad for a quick meat & salad meal. Salads can be just so exciting, start with the freshest ingredients & think colours, textures; with toasted nuts or seeds, flavour combos, roasted veg, fresh herbs, in season veggies or salad greens & delicious dressings, even adding in amazing protein can lift a salad. Even consider using leftovers from a meal cold grilled or steamed meats or meatballs. You don’t really need a recipe for a great salad but sometimes it’s so good you want to be able to recreate that amazing combo. Here are a few of my favourites in no particular order that I will be continuing to update.
Roast lamb salad (marinade made in the Thermomix) with some roasted veg feta & other salad ingredients.
I used Eloise Emmett’s recipe to pickle my octopus & then serve with either a greek style or green salad – also yummy with a creamy potato salad too.
Guess what? Some salads are better made without the Thermomix you might only make the dressing in the Thermomix – this is a favourite of mine Fennel Salad I love to serve it with confit or steamed salmon. (The recipe is from a great book that includes French style recipes – Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard.)
I’m not normally a fan of coleslaw but even using red cabbage & the fresh apple or pear, red capsicum & some fresh dill & try adding some pecans for extra crunch I prefer my coleslaw dressed with lemon juice & olive oil. Of course it is so easy to make your own mayo in the Thermomix too.- Dani Valent had a peanut butter coleslaw recipe in the In the Mix 2 cookbook.
My take on Mum’s Chicken & Mango Salad – Such a versatile salad great to use up left over steamed chicken breast (after steaming a whole chook) or poaching chicken breasts in the Thermomix. You can use any nuts you like either cashews, macadamia or pistachios. Finely chopped celery for the crunch & fresh element, 1 mango sliced, sliced spring onions. Avocado is delicious in it too. I used cucumber because I had some in the fridge & added fresh parsley & mint leaves. Mum dressed it with 1/2 homemade mayo & half natural yoghurt 1 tsp of curry powder & 1 tabs of tomato relish. I used a honey & seeded mustard vinaigrette to dress it, my sister likes to use an Asian style dressing with soy sauce, fresh ginger & garlic.
I love to make Teressa Cutter’s Massaged Kale Salad in the Thermomix – I stir it on reversed instead of massaging it by hand & then I love to add some Thermomix shredded chicken YUM!!
Warm Sweet Potato Salad or use pink eye potatoes instead either with homemade mayo or serve warm with Thermie made Bearnaise sauce with or without crispy bacon!! Of course you can put it in the fridge & serve it cold too 🙂 (Yes you may have noticed there is a sneaky Brussel Sprout in this one so feel free to add any of you other favourite veggies that are in season I steamed the brussel sprout with the sweet potato.)
I love greek salad but serving it with steamed lamb meatballs really makes it into a special delicious meal that is so easy to prepare 🙂
Nico Moretti’s roasted Cauliflower Salad. You will find the recipe in his Delicious Journeys Cookbook – actually it’s on the front cover too!
The classic beetroot salad from your basic cookbook you can jazz up if you want, serve with feta, pistachios, pomegranate seeds, chickpeas or even tuna. Use any fresh herbs you like.
It’s almost here – again! How on earth did that happen?
So obviously you are wanting to plan for food for the big day & any celebrations with family & friends leading up to Christmas 🙂 So I bring to you some inspiration & ideas to get you through this crazy busy time 😉
The Festive Flavours Cookbook & Chip is really great with some really good ideas for making your own gifts too like flavoured salts or spice rubs or flavoured sugars.
The Festive Flavours Cookbook is one of 4 books currently available to purchase in a book bundle saving you money. There are also lots of other great gifts available from the Thermomix online shop.
One of my favourite recipes from the Festive Flavour Book is the Pork & Chicken Terrine & I am definitely making that again – it was really delicious, it has cranberries & pistachios in it too.
Our family love my Thermie green avocado dip & this year I will be making the warm roasted cauliflower hummus from Dani Valent Cooking – speaking of which, wouldn’t a subscription to this site be a great gift for Christmas – there are already over 40 recipe videos available (index here) with a new one added each week, Dani Valent also has a Christmas ebook available to purchase for $15 or it’s free to her subscribers. See some of her recipes on my post called my addiction to Dani Valent Cooking 🙂 I am almost certain we will be having the Basque Cheesecake on Christmas day too!!
Also don’t forget about the recipe platform now called Cookidoo – what a great way to plan out your dishes for the festive season – if you haven’t signed up yet it is really easy to use with a great shopping list feature too. Here is the link to sign up to Cookidoo & you will get 1 free recipe collection when you sign up.
I am having a fun countdown on my social media pages sharing a different recipe idea each day – I hope you enjoy it & get some great ideas to use for your special day 🙂 Merry Christmas everyone!!
Day 1 recipe is my friend Kelly’s Dutch Spice Speculaas recipe here
Day 3 Thermie Green Avocado Dip This is one of the best dips ever – even if I do say so myself, put it on your Christmas & or entertaining menu this season or maybe just put it in your mouth!! Your taste buds will thank you 😉
The Best Avocado Dip
Day 4: I introduce to you the “Cheesecake” You can put as many or as little layers as you like of your favourite cheeses & I have included a layer of my favourite fruitcake to eat with cheddar cheese. You have to trust me on this it is seriously good – I also made some apple paste to go on my “cheese cake” because I’m all out of my homemade quince paste. I was also toying with the idea of making rounds of homemade crackers to put in between the cake layers so when you dismantle the “cheesecake” you could break the big cracker into a few pieces to serve with the cheese too.
Day 5 inspiration is Smolt’s Lemon Curd You can give it as gifts or serve it on or with your christmas desserts – Like pavlova with fresh berries!!
Day 7: Southern Stars White Christmas Custard – Coconut, White Chocolate, Frangelico & Vanilla Bean – our Thermomix team created this recipe for a custard challenge last Christmas & it is very delicious 🙂
Day 8: My Fruit Mince Surprise – it’s got rhubarb in it!! YUM! You can do so much with this delicious stuff – Add some fruit mince to some cream cheese and serve with fruit for Christmas sweet dip, stir through your ice cream mixture or serve with vanilla or brandy custard. Use fruit mince with thick custard or whipped cream as a profiterole filling, or use in fruit mince pies, pull apart bread or spread onto rectangles of puff pastry or brioche dough and make scrolls.
Use Fruit Mince in profiteroles mixed with cream or thick custard, fruit mince pies, pull apart bread or spread onto rectangles of puff pastry or brioche dough and make scrolls. Add some Fruit Mince to cream cheese and serve with fruit for Christmas sweet dip. Stir through your ice cream mixture or serve with vanilla or brandy custard.
Ingredients
1 orange zest
500 g apples peeled, cored and quartered
200g chopped rhubarb
100 g dates dried
80 g craisins
100 g currants
15 g fresh ginger piece chopped/ minced
60 g flaked almonds
Juice 2 oranges
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cardamon
2 fresh bay leaves
1 tablespoon Cointreau or Brandy (optional)
Instructions
Place orange zest, dates and fresh ginger into mixing bowl and mince for 20
sec/speed 9.
Add apples and chop 4-6 sec/speed 6.
Add remaining ingredients except brandy and cook for 35 min/Varoma/
/speed 1. Cool slightly,remove the bay leaves & stir in cointreau or brandy, set aside
until ready to use.
3.5.3226
Christmas Profiterole – serving suggestion for my Special Fruit Mince
Day 9: Ellie’s Turducken. Yes it’s a chicken in a duck in a turkey!!
Day 10: Spiced Cherry Brioche from the Festive Flavours Cookbook – you can put any of your favourite fillings in 🙂
Day 11: Sarah’s Cheese Biscuits make up a few batches of this & store in the freezer in log ready to slice & bake when unexpected guests arrived or an attack of the munchies! Perfect with a glass of bubbles!
Sarah’s Cheese Biscuits
Day 12: Mum’s Chicken & Mango Salad – Such a versatile salad great to use up left over steamed chicken breast (after steaming a whole chook) or poaching chicken breasts in the Thermomix. You can use any nuts you like either cashews, macadamia or pistachios. Finely chopped celery for the crunch & fresh element, 1 mango sliced, sliced spring onions. Avocado is delicious in it too. I used cucumber because I had some in the fridge & added fresh parsley & mint leaves. Mum dressed it with 1/2 homemade mayo & half natural yoghurt 1 tsp of curry powder & 1 tabs of tomato relish. I used a honey & seeded mustard vinaigrette to dress it, my sister likes to use an Asian style dressing with soy sauce, fresh ginger & garlic.
Day 13: 60 Sec Fruitcake from the Devil of Cookbook – there are lots of other great Christmas recipes in this cookbook – Toblerone cheesecake, raspberry & white chocolate cheese cake just to name a few 🙂
Day 14: Nicole’s Festive Nougat – My friend Nicole makes these very year to give as gifts to friends.
Day 16: Flavoured butters can jazz anything up in a hurry & you can store them in the freezer. Dani Valent has some great butter flavour ideas & video of her making butter in the Thermomix. My friends at a girl, a guy furkids & food have a fabulous butter recipe then add any flavour you like – last year I made turkey skin butter as a variant to Dani Valent’s In the Mix cookbook Chicken Skin Butter recipe.
Day 18: Herb & Garlic Dip can be made into a great canape’ spread on sliced of french stick or sliced veggies with some smoked salmon YUM!!
Day 19: The good old Aussie Pav, you can make in all shapes & sizes with any choice of topping from fruits nuts & sauces, the possibilities are endless. Try the wreath recipe or pavlova stack.
Day 21: Gingerbread or Gingerbread House – I use the recipe from the Festive Flavours Cookbook.
Gingerbread house made by my customer Natalie & her 3 year old daughter.
Day 22: Beetroot Cured Salmon – there is a recipe in the Festive Flavours cookbook but I used the Jamie Oliver one from his new Christmas Cookbook & made the curing mixture with the Thermomix. I have served it here on Blinis – however it is so versatile you could serve it on cucumber rounds or rounds of baguettes – serve on top of a green salad to make it into a dish.
Day 23: Double Chocolate Pretzel Cookies from In the Mix 2 & Dani Valent Cooking – Santa will love them too!
Yes the name of this recipe is a link to one of my favourite childhood books by Dr Suess. After eating this fritatta I’m sure you would say you like to eat green eggs & ham (or bacon) anywhere. This is a recipe that is just in my brain & you can use any vegetables or any cheese, perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner, great for lunch boxes too – See my live face book video of me making the dish here. I’d love to know any of your variations, I sometimes make a fritata with smoked salmon as well .
1 large sweet potato roughly cubed (no need to peel)
4 rashers of bacon
1 red onion sliced
5 sprigs fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic
100g spinach or silver beet leaves
8 eggs
250g cream or greek yoghurt
salt & pepper to taste
200g feta cheese
Instructions
Turn the oven on to 180 degrees & in your baking dish roast your sweet potato, onion & bacon rashers, you don't want to over cook the bacon & the sweet potato should be just cooked through.
Place garlic & parsley into the TM bowl & chop for 2 secs speed 7. Add the spinach & chop roughly for 3 secs speed 5.5 - you may need to use your spatula to help push all the leaves into the blades.
Add the eggs, cream & salt & pepper & mix for 5 secs speed 4. Spread the mixture over the roasted sweet potato & bacon. Crumble over the feta cheese & return to the oven to bake for approx 20 mins or until golden.
This is one of the first recipes I added to the Thermomix recipe community around 6.5 years ago & it has been extremely popular – of course you can add chicken to it if you prefer, it’s great to grow my own lime leaves too. You can store lime leaves, chillies & coriander roots in the freezer, so you have most of the ingredients ready to go for an easy week night dinner packed full of flavour. It’s delicious served with my coconut rice recipe too – if you are making the coconut rice recipe in the Model 5 you need to add more liquid either coconut cream or water to take it up to the 1200g marker & it’s a bonus you can steam more veggies on top of the rice while it’s steaming! Or if you really want to pack in more veggies why not serve it with my roasted cauliflower “rice” recipe. For more great vegetarian recipe ideas click here.
Weekday family comfort food at it’s best & it’s hubby’s favourite dinner too, so I know how to get into his good books -just make this for dinner & some apple pie with custard for dessert 🙂
Family Favourite Lamb Pie topped with Sweet Potato Mash
Author: Arwen Genge
Recipe type: Family Comfort Food
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6 - 8 serves
Comfort food to keep the whole family happy - try different veggies or a combo of veggies for the topping, cauliflower, potato, parsnip, jerusalem artichoke.
TOPPING- Chop parmasean cheese (and garlic) for 5 secs speed 10.
Set it to one side.
Insert the butterfly whisk & add your sweet potatoes, milk or cream (or a mix of both) salt & pepper, cook for 15 - 20 mins 100 degrees speed 1 until cooked completely.
Add the butter & mash for 20 secs speed 4.
Place to one side while you make the filling (or you can make the filling first & then make the topping, your choice!)
LAMB FILLING -Place garlic & herbs into TM bowl & chop for 5 secs speed 7.
Add onion, carrot & celery & chop for 5 secs speed 4, you may need a couple of seconds longer depending on their size.
Scrape down side of the bowl add the oil & saute' for 3 mins Varoma temp speed 1.
Add remaining filling ingredients except the peas & cook for 20 mins 100 degrees reverse speed 1. Add the peas & cook for another 5 mins 100 degrees reverse speed 1.
Pour mixture into a large baking dish.
Spread with your sweet potato topping & cheese.
Bake in the oven at 180 - 200 degrees for 20 mins or until brown.
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