Spinach Balsamic Blueberry Grilled Cheese


Date Published: July 24th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 24th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, quick and easy, < 30mins
Serves: 2 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 25 mins

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Blueberries and spinach in a grilled cheese makes this sandwich healthy, right?? This sandwich works with a lot of different types of cheeses but my favourite would have to be white cheddar or havarti. The syrupy blueberries paired with the ooey-gooey cheese is just too good to not try.

Grilled cheese (or toasties in Australia), are THE ultimate comfort food. It’s quick, easy, and indulgent. Nothing beats the ooey-gooey cheesiness of a good crisp grilled cheese.

Making 4 grilled cheeses for lunch!

This post is a continuation of the grilled cheese lunch marathon we had last week. You can read more about it in yesterday’s sriracha butter apple grilled cheese post.

We made:

I came across this recipe back nearly 5 years ago from Amanda k. by the Bay and it’s still as delicious as ever! I’ve since experimented with different cheeses and my favourites so far are a sharp white cheddar or havarti. I tried it with mozzarella recently and although still good, I felt that the bold flavours of the balsamic blueberry overpowered the subtlety of the mozarella.

Unlike my other recipes, I didn’t make a video for these sandwiches since the instructions are fairly straightforward (let me know in the comments if you’d like me to make a video). I was also a little too excited when making these sandwiches and forgot to take some photos of the process 😅. I’ll update this post with more photos the next time I make them again (which probably won’t be long).

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 2 Tbsps balsamic vinegar
  • 3 Tbsps brown sugar
  • Mayonnaise for spreading – this is the secret to a crisp golden grilled cheese! Mayo gives a nicer crisp and colour compared to butter.
  • 4 slices of white bread (I like to use sourdough, but whatever white bread you’ve got works)
  • 1 cup of baby spinach leaves
  • Enough cheese for 2 sandwiches – white cheddar, coon, havarti…etc

Directions:

In a small saucepan on medium heat, combine the blueberries, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Let it come to a slow simmer and cook until the blueberries have started to soften. Gently crush some of the blueberries with your spatula (don’t crush all of them too flat or else you’ll lose some of that delicious blueberry flavour). When finished, strain your mixture through a sieve and set aside to cool. Keep the drained juices as an option to drizzle with later.

Spread mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread (this will be the outside of the sandwich that you will toast to get that crisp golden colour).

Please use more spinach than in this photo. I forgot to buy some and scrounged up these ones from the garden last minute 😦

Assemble your grilled cheese with the mayonnaise side facing the outside. Add a layer of your cheese, then top it with the balsamic blueberries, spinach, more cheese, and then the other slice of bread (again, mayo on the outside).

(Incase that sentence was confusing, your layers should be: mayonnaise + bread + cheese + balsamic blueberries + cheese + bread + mayonnaise).

Make sure you grill this sandwich right away or else you risk the bread going a little soggy from the blueberry mixture.

Get a pan on the stove on medium heat and once your pan is heated, place your sandwich in the pan (you don’t need any oil in the pan because the mayonnaise on the outside of your sandwich will act as your oil base).

Toast your sandwich until the bread is a beautiful crisp golden brown and the cheese is melty (~3-5mins), then carefully flip your sandwich over and toast the other side. (Tip: if your sandwich is quite tall, you can gently flatten your sandwich as your cheese melts. This will help compact your sandwich and make it less messy to eat.) Once your second side is toasted and your cheese is melted, repeat with your second sandwich and serve immediately! Optional: drizzle your sandwich with a bit of that reserved juices strained from the balsamic blueberries. Enjoy!!

If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section. You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Summarized Recipe:

Spinach balsamic blueberry grilled cheese

Date Published: July 24th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 24th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, quick and easy, <30mins
Serves: 2 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 2 Tbsps balsamic vinegar
  • 3 Tbsps brown sugar
  • Mayonnaise for spreading – this is the secret to a crisp golden grilled cheese! Mayo gives a nicer crisp and colour compared to butter.
  • 4 slices of white bread (I like to use sourdough, but whatever white bread you’ve got works)
  • 1 cup of baby spinach leaves
  • Enough cheese for 2 sandwiches – white cheddar, coon, havarti…etc

Directions:

  1. In a small saucepan on medium heat, combine the blueberries, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Let it come to a slow simmer and cook until the blueberries have started to soften. Gently crush some of the blueberries with your spatula (don’t crush all of them too flat or else you’ll lose some of that delicious blueberry flavour). When finished, strain your mixture through a sieve and set aside to cool. Keep the drained juices as an option to drizzle with later.
  2. Spread mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread (this will be the outside of the sandwich that you will toast to get that crisp golden colour).
  3. Assemble your grilled cheese with the mayonnaise side facing the outside. Add a layer of your cheese, then top it with the balsamic blueberries, spinach, more cheese, and then the other slice of bread (again, mayo on the outside).
  4. Get a pan on the stove on medium heat and once your pan is heated, place your sandwich in the pan. Toast your sandwich until the bread is a beautiful crisp golden brown and the cheese is melty (~3-5mins), then carefully flip your sandwich over and toast the other side. Once your second side is toasted and your cheese is melted, repeat with your second sandwich and serve immediately. Enjoy!!
  5. Optional: drizzle your sandwich with a bit of that reserved juices strained from the balsamic blueberries.

AbbyLeave a comment

Caramelized Onions Mushroom and Fig Goat Cheese Grilled Cheese


Date Published: July 23rd, 2020 | Last Updated: July 24th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, quick and easy, < 30mins
Serves: 2 | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 25 mins

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This grilled cheese is insane. It’s PACKED with flavour. I love pairing savoury and sweet flavours together and this sandwich does just that. The sweet syrupy caramelized onions and mushrooms sandwiched between fig jam and goat cheese is ridiculously good. Although the goat cheese won’t give you that ooey-gooey grilled cheese texture, the flavours of this sandwich will blow you away that you won’t even miss it!

Grilled cheese (or toasties in Australia), are THE ultimate comfort food. It’s quick, easy, and indulgent.

Making 4 grilled cheeses for lunch!

This post is a continuation of the grilled cheese lunch marathon we had last week. You can read more about it in the sriracha butter apple grilled cheese post.

We made:

Don’t worry, I’ll be posting the recipe to all 4 grilled cheeses above – just give me a little time 🙂

Unlike my other recipes, I didn’t make a video for these sandwiches since the instructions are fairly straightforward (let me know in the comments if you’d like me to make a video). I was also a little too excited when making these sandwiches and forgot to take some photos of the process 😅. I’ll update this post with more photos the next time I make them again (which probably won’t be long).

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe!

This recipe takes a little more effort than the other grilled cheeses posted so far because caramelizing onions and mushrooms can be a little time-consuming – but definitely worth it for those flavours!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 1 small onion (~1.5 – 2 cups), sliced
  • 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
  • Mayonnaise for spreading – this is the secret to a crisp golden grilled cheese! Mayo gives a nicer crisp and colour compared to butter.
  • 4 slices of white bread (I like to use sourdough, but whatever white bread you’ve got works)
  • 4 Tbsps fig jam (2 Tbsps per sandwich) – you can replace it with most jams that aren’t too overly sweet. I’ve tried it with apricot jam before and it worked really well.
  • Goat cheese, enough to spread on two slices of bread – you can either keep it as a slice or if your goat cheese is soft and crumbly, then use it as a spread. My favourite is Meredith Dairy goat cheese in olive oil.

Directions:

In a skillet on medium heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, add in the onions and mushrooms. Cook until the onions become brown and syrupy (~5-8 mins). Set aside.

Spread mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread (this will be the outside of the sandwich that you will toast to get that crisp golden colour).

Assemble your grilled cheese: spread mayonnaise on two slices of bread. On the other side of these two slices of bread, spread one with fig jam and the other with goat cheese. Sandwich caramelized onions and mushrooms between the fig and goat cheese bread slices (with the mayo on the outside).

(Incase that sentence was confusing, your layers should be: mayonnaise + bread + fig jam + caramelized onions and mushrooms + goat cheese + bread + mayonnaise).

Get a pan on the stove on medium heat and once your pan is heated, place your sandwich in the pan (you don’t need any oil in the pan because the mayonnaise on the outside of your sandwich will act as your oil base).

Toast your sandwich until the bread is a beautiful crisp golden brown (~3-5mins), then carefully flip your sandwich over and toast the other side. (Tip: if your sandwich is quite tall, you can gently flatten your sandwich as your cheese melts. This will help compact your sandwich and make it less messy to eat.) Once your second side is toasted, repeat with your second sandwich and serve immediately! Enjoy!!

If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section. You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Summarized Recipe:

CARAMELIZED ONIONS MUSHROOM AND FIG GOAT CHEESE GRILLED CHEESE

Date Published: July 21st, 2020 | Last Updated: July 21st, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, quick and easy, <30mins
Serves: 2 | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 1 small onion (~1.5 – 2 cups), sliced
  • 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
  • Mayonnaise for spreading
  • 4 slices of white bread (I like to use sourdough, but whatever white bread you’ve got works)
  • 4 Tbsps fig jam (2 Tbsps per sandwich)
  • Goat cheese, enough to spread on two slices of bread

Directions:

  1. In a skillet on medium heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, add in the onions and mushrooms. Cook until the onions become brown and syrupy (~5-8 mins). Set aside.
  2. Spread mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread (this will be the outside of the sandwich that you will toast to get that crisp golden colour).
  3. Assemble your grilled cheese: spread mayonnaise on two slices of bread. On the other side of these two slices of bread, spread one with fig jam and the other with goat cheese. Sandwich caramelized onions and mushrooms between the fig and goat cheese bread slices (with the mayo on the outside).
  4. Get a pan on the stove on medium heat and once your pan is heated, place your sandwich in the pan. Toast your sandwich until the bread is a beautiful crisp golden brown (~3-5mins), then carefully flip your sandwich over and toast the other side. Once your second side is toasted, repeat with your second sandwich and serve immediately. Enjoy!!

AbbyLeave a comment

Bacon Brie Apricot Grilled Cheese


Date Published: July 22nd, 2020 | Last Updated: July 24th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, quick and easy, < 30mins
Serves: 2 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 10 mins

Jump to recipe |

Ohhhhh boy. Does it get any better than bacon in a grilled cheese? This sandwich is a must-try. The savoury salty bacon with the sweetness of the apricot jam, all brought together by the ooey-gooey brie.

Grilled cheese (or toasties in Australia), are THE ultimate comfort food. It’s quick, easy, and indulgent. Nothing beats the ooey-gooey cheesiness of a good crisp grilled cheese.

Making 4 grilled cheeses for lunch!

This post is a continuation of the grilled cheese lunch marathon we had last week. You can read more about it in yesterday’s sriracha butter apple grilled cheese post.

We made:

Don’t worry, I’ll be posting the recipe to all 4 grilled cheeses above – just give me a little time 🙂

Unlike my other recipes, I didn’t make a video for these sandwiches since the instructions are fairly straightforward (let me know in the comments if you’d like me to make a video). I was also a little too excited when making these sandwiches and forgot to take some photos of the process 😅. I’ll update this post with more photos the next time I make them again (which probably won’t be long).

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe!

Like the sriracha butter apple grilled cheese recipe, this one is also quick and easy to put together, but it does take a little more time because you need to fry up the bacon – but it’s definitely worth it.

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 4 slices of bacon (2 slices per sandwich) – you can use whatever type of bacon you like. In Australia it’s a little harder to get the typical fatty bacon like from back home (called ‘streaky bacon’ here) so I used short cut bacon here. It’s not as fatty or crispy as streaky bacon, but it’s still delicious.
  • Mayonnaise for spreading – this is the secret to a crisp golden grilled cheese! Mayo gives a nicer crisp and colour compared to butter.
  • 4 slices of white bread (I like to use sourdough, but whatever white bread you’ve got works)
  • 4 Tbsps Apricot jam (2 Tbsps per sandwich)
  • Brie cheese, sliced (you can choose a different cheese if you like. Brie takes a bit of a backseat in this sandwich and lets the bacon and apricot takeover but still provides the ooey-gooey goodness)

Directions:

Fry up your bacon on a skillet on medium heat. If you’re using streaky bacon, you won’t need any oil and just cook on both sides until crispy and set aside on some paper towel to absorb extra grease. If you’re using the less fatty short cut bacon, then you might need a little oil in your pan so your bacon doesn’t stick. Cook on both sides until fragrant and you get some light brown colour. Set aside.

Spread mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread (this will be the outside of the sandwich that you will toast to get that crisp golden colour).

Assemble your grilled cheese with the mayonnaise side facing the outside. Spread apricot jam on the other side of the bread, then layer with brie, two slices of bacon, a little more brie, the other slice of bread (again, mayo on the outside).

(Incase that sentence was confusing, your layers should be: mayonnaise + bread + apricot jam + cheese + bacon + cheese + bread + mayonnaise).

Get a pan on the stove on medium heat and once your pan is heated, place your sandwich in the pan (you don’t need any oil in the pan because the mayonnaise on the outside of your sandwich will act as your oil base).

Toast your sandwich until the bread is a beautiful crisp golden brown and the cheese is melty (~3-5mins), then carefully flip your sandwich over and toast the other side. (Tip: if your sandwich is quite tall, you can gently flatten your sandwich as your cheese melts. This will help compact your sandwich and make it less messy to eat.) Once your second side is toasted and your cheese is melted, repeat with your second sandwich and serve immediately! Enjoy!!

If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section. You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Summarized Recipe:

bacon brie apricot grilled cheese

Date Published: July 21st, 2020 | Last Updated: July 21st, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, quick and easy, <30mins
Serves: 2 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

  • 4 slices of bacon (2 slices per sandwich)
  • Mayonnaise for spreading
  • 4 slices of white bread (I like to use sourdough, but whatever white bread you’ve got works)
  • 4 Tbsps Apricot jam (2 Tbsps per sandwich)
  • Brie cheese, sliced (see the notes above)

Directions:

  1. Fry up your bacon on a skillet on medium heat until cooked (see notes above depending on which kind of bacon you use).
  2. Spread mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread (this will be the outside of the sandwich that you will toast to get that crisp golden colour).
  3. Assemble your grilled cheese with the mayonnaise side facing the outside. Spread apricot jam on the other side of the bread, then layer with brie, two slices of bacon, a little more brie, the other slice of bread (again, mayo on the outside).
  4. Get a pan on the stove on medium heat and once your pan is heated, place your sandwich in the pan. Toast your sandwich until the bread is a beautiful crisp golden brown and the cheese is melty (~3-5mins), then carefully flip your sandwich over and toast the other side. Once your second side is toasted and your cheese is melted, repeat with your second sandwich and serve immediately. Enjoy!!

AbbyLeave a comment

Sriracha Butter Apple Grilled Cheese


Date Published: July 21st, 2020 | Last Updated: July 24th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, quick and easy, < 15mins
Serves: 2 | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 10 mins

Jump to recipe |

Grilled cheese (or toasties in Australia), are THE ultimate comfort food. It’s quick, easy, and indulgent. Nothing beats the ooey-gooey cheesiness of a good crisp grilled cheese. Nearly a decade ago I came upon an article on gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches – this was before I had an interest in cooking and was still in the world of processed Kraft cheese for my toasties. My world was forever changed when I read about the different types of cheeses and flavour combinations that people use with sweet and savoury ingredients. It amazed me how many different ways you can make a grilled cheese! I’ve since been experimenting with different ingredients for different types of grilled cheese and also stumbled across some really great recipes.

Making 4 grilled cheeses for lunch!

Since being in lockdown (thanks to ‘rona), Toby and I have been making lunch everyday for ourselves and his parents. Last week after a few big laborious cooks, we decided to take it easy and make a simple lunch with grilled cheese. Of course knowing me, if given the opportunity I always like to go all out and make everything ‘extra’. So instead of a quick and easy lunch, we ended up making 4 different flavours of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches served with a roasted pumpkin soup (which also turned out amazing and I should remind myself to post the soup recipe later). We all stuffed ourselves silly, but there’s no room for regrets when eating grilled cheese.

We made:

Don’t worry, I’ll be posting the recipe to all 4 grilled cheeses above – just give me a little time :). Our grilled cheese marathon made me think that I should have a separate section on this website just for grilled cheeses because there’s no doubt going to be a lot recipes on them here – thoughts?

Sheldon stalking us in hopes of some food falling on the floor

Unlike my other recipes, I didn’t make a video for these sandwiches since the instructions are fairly straightforward (let me know in the comments if you’d like me to make a video). I was also a little too excited when making these sandwiches and forgot to take some photos of the process 😅. I’ll update this post with more photos the next time I make them again (which probably won’t be long).

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! I’m starting off with the sriracha butter apple grilled cheese because it’s the easiest (and my favourite) out of all 4 of them and you can quickly put it together.

This grilled cheese is one of my favourite and most frequently made fancy grilled cheeses because not only does it packs a punch, it’s also so easy with minimal “cooking” required. The heavy cheese and kick of the sriracha butter is offset by the refreshing crisp apple to balance it out. If you’re a fan of sriracha and grilled cheese, you’ve got to try this sandwich!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 1 Tbsp (14g) butter, softened – you can use melted butter as well, but be sure you toast the sandwich soon after or else the bread might get a little soggy
  • 1 Tbsp sriracha hot sauce – or to taste. I aim for a 1:1 ratio with the sriracha and butter, but occasionally I like a stronger kick and will ramp it up. Make it to your preference.
  • Mayonnaise for spreading – this is the secret to a crisp golden grilled cheese! Mayo gives a nicer crisp and colour compared to butter.
  • 4 slices of white bread (I like to use sourdough, but whatever white bread you’ve got works)
  • Cheddar cheese – shredded or sliced (I prefer a stronger tasting cheese in this sandwich like an aged cheddar or parmesan so it’s not lost amongst the other strong flavours in this sandwich compared to a lighter tasting white cheese like mozzarella)
  • 1 apple, sliced and cored – I usually slice them into 2mm thickness so I’m not overwhelmed by too much apple crunch vs cheesiness.

Directions:

Make the sriracha butter: combine the butter and sriracha together. Adjust to your taste, but I prefer a 1:1 ratio. Add more sriracha if you want a stronger sriracha flavour in your sandwich. If you’re unsure, you can also add sriracha to your sandwich after you make it. Set aside.

Spread mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread (this will be the outside of the sandwich that you will toast to get that crisp golden colour). Spread the sriracha butter on the other side of the bread.

Assemble your grilled cheese with the mayonnaise side facing the outside and sriracha butter on the inside. Layer with cheese, then sliced apples, then more cheese, then your other slice of bread. (Incase that sentence was confusing, your layers should be: mayonnaise + bread + sriracha butter + cheese + apples + cheese + sriracha butter + bread + mayonnaise).

Get a pan on the stove on medium heat and once your pan is heated, place your sandwich in the pan (you don’t need any oil in the pan because the mayonnaise on the outside of your sandwich will act as your oil base).

Toast your sandwich until the bread is a beautiful crisp golden brown and the cheese is melty (~3-5mins), then carefully flip your sandwich over and toast the other side. (Tip: if your sandwich is quite tall, you can gently flatten your sandwich as your cheese melts. This will help compact your sandwich and make it less messy to eat.) Once your second side is toasted and your cheese is melted, repeat with your second sandwich and serve immediately! Enjoy!!

If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section. You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Summarized Recipe:

Sriracha Butter apple grilled cheese

Date Published: July 21st, 2020 | Last Updated: July 21st, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, quick and easy, <15mins
Serves: 2 | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp (14g) butter, softened
  • 1 Tbsp sriracha hot sauce – or to taste
  • Mayonnaise for spreading
  • 4 slices of white bread (I like to use sourdough, but whatever white bread you’ve got works)
  • Cheddar cheese – shredded or sliced (or any strong cheese – see notes above)
  • 1 apple, cored and sliced to 2mm thickness

Directions:

  1. Make the sriracha butter: combine the butter and sriracha together. Set aside.
  2. Spread mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread (this will be the outside of the sandwich that you will toast to get that crisp golden colour). Spread the sriracha butter on the other side of the bread.
  3. Assemble your grilled cheese with the mayonnaise side facing the outside and sriracha butter on the inside. Layer with cheese, then sliced apples, then more cheese, then your other slice of bread (again mayo side facing out).
  4. Get a pan on the stove on medium heat and once your pan is heated, place your sandwich in the pan. Toast your sandwich until the bread is a beautiful crisp golden brown and the cheese is melty (~3-5mins), then carefully flip your sandwich over and toast the other side. Once your second side is toasted and your cheese is melted, repeat with your second sandwich and serve immediately. Enjoy!!

AbbyLeave a comment

Maple Salmon


Date Published: July 17th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 17th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: mains, healthy, easy
Serves: 2-4 (serves 4 if you have sides) | Prep time: 35mins | Cook time: 25mins

Jump to recipe | Watch the video

If you ever need a quick and easy dish to impress, this is it. Seriously. This recipe always gets rave reviews and it’s so SO easy and there’s minimal clean-up – perfect for a last minute dinner party or a fancy night-in! Serve it with whatever sides you want. The sauce is sweet-savoury (kind of like a teriyaki sauce, but not?) and a little on the heavy side so I tend to pair it with a lighter side dish such as a salad or some steamed veg and mashed potatoes.

This recipe is easy and cooks up quickly! You can watch the video below to guide you through the recipe.

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 tsp salt (or garlic salt if you’ve got some)
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1kg salmon fillet – this would serve about 3-4 people with side dishes (or two people because Toby and I LOVE this salmon so much we would devour it every time). If you’re not planning on serving any sides, then I’d probably double it. The fish doesn’t shrink much when cooked, so you can just eyeball how much you think each guest would eat and shop accordingly

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients (except the salmon) into a bowl to make the sauce and mix well.

Place the salmon flesh side down into the sauce (try to submerge as much of the flesh into the sauce as possible). Refrigerate for half an hour to marinate the fish.

After half an hour, take the salmon out of the fridge and place it skin side down on a baking tray and pour the sauce over the salmon.

Bake the salmon at 200˚C for about 20-25 mins (cooking time will depend on how big and thick your fillet is) until the salmon is easily flaked with a fork. You can spoon the sauce over the salmon halfway through cooking.

Once the salmon is cooked, serve it immediately and drizzle the sauce over it. Alternatively, if you like your sauce thicker, you can put the sauce back in the oven (minus the fish) and let it simmer until it thickens then drizzle it over the fish. Serve!

Ta-da!

If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Watch the Video Tutorial!

Summarized Recipe:

Maple Salmon

Date Published: July 17th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 17th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: mains, healthy, easy
Serves: 2-4 (serves 4 if you have sides) | Prep time: 35mins | Cook time: 25mins

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp salt (or garlic salt)
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1kg salmon fillet

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients (except the salmon): maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, salt, black pepper. Stir well.
  2. Place the salmon flesh side down into the sauce and refrigerate for 30mins to marinate.
  3. Preheat oven to 200˚C.
  4. Once the salmon has marinated, place it skin side down on a baking tray and pour the sauce over it.
  5. Bake for 20-25mins until the flesh is easily flaked with a fork. Spoon the sauce over the fish halfway through cooking.
  6. Once cooked, serve immediately with sauce drizzle, OR alternatively, to thicken the sauce you can take out the salmon and set aside and put the sauce back in the oven for another 5mins until it thickens (you can do this over the stove in a saucepan as well). Enjoy!

Abby1 Comment

Halloumi Cheese Pie


Date Published: July 14th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 2nd, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, vegetarian, breads
Serves: 8 pies | Prep time: 25 mins (without dough) | Cook time: 15 mins

Jump to recipe | Watch the video

Halloumi cheese pies are a common item in many Lebanese bakeries around Melbourne. I was first introduced to them by my partner Toby on one of our first few dates. He took me to a small little bakery in Werribee called ‘A1 Bakery’ that was the size of a two-car garage with only three tables and some chairs. They sold a few common Lebanese grocery items on a small shelf in the back. Toby told me that he used to get cheese pies and ‘oregano pizzas’ (which I later found out was a za’atar manakish) all the time back at home with his parents. I had never heard of either until that day.

I’ll be honest, I never even knew what halloumi was until a few years ago. It was the greatest find ever. It’s got a subtle taste like many white cheeses and it’s squishy – similar to Canadian cheese curds in poutine. My mind was blown the first time I had it grilled. When Toby told me that this bakery makes a pocket of halloumi, I knew I had to have it. It was amazing! It was like eating a pizza pocket but with glorious halloumi cheese. ❤

Back to present day in isolation from the pandemic, on a whim we decided to try remaking the delicious pies and the ‘oregano pizzas’ aka manakish. The results were spot-on and surprisingly easy! All you need is a basic dough and some halloumi cheese. I’ll post the manakish recipe too shortly so keep your eyes peeled.[Edit: The manakish recipe is now uploaded! Click here for the recipe.]

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! You can watch the video below to guide you through the recipe. If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Basic dough – a full dough will make 8 cheese pies. If you don’t want to make that many, you can halve the dough recipe or freeze half the dough for future use. I frequently make 4 cheese pies and 4 za’atar manakish with one basic dough recipe. Or alternatively, Toby likes to freeze the divided dough balls individually and just defrost one or two a few hours before making a quick late night snack. If you’re feeling lazy, you can also make this with store bought pizza dough.
  • Halloumi cheese, shredded – amount will depend on how full you want it. I usually use about 3/4 cup of shredded cheese per cheese pie.

Directions:

Start off with a ball of basic dough (after it has risen and you’ve kneaded it a couple of times).

Divide the dough ball into 8 equal portions. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for 15mins to go through a second rest and rise (don’t worry if it doesn’t rise too much during this process). If you don’t have a warm place, you can use the proofing method in my how-to section.

Note: If you don’t want to make 8 cheese pies, you can wrap up the balls individually in cling wrap and freeze them for future use.

After the balls have rested, take each one out and knead a couple times (to release any new air bubbles that may have formed) on a lightly floured surface, then roll it out until about 3mm thickness. This dough does rise quite a bit so make sure your dough isn’t too thick.

Add shredded halloumi to half of the dough. Leave about 1-2cm away from the edge so you have enough room to seal the pie.

Fold one half over the other and seal the edges together. It doesn’t really matter how you seal it, as long as there are no holes. I pinch my dough edges and fold it upwards (you can see how I do it in the video).

Put your pan on a baking tray and bake at 200˚C for about 15 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Ta-da! Serve immediately. 🙂

Let me know in the comments if you tried this recipe! I’d love to hear from you.

Watch the Video Tutorial!

Summarized Recipe:

Halloumi Cheese Pie

Date Published: July 14th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 14th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, vegetarian, breads
Serves: 8 pies | Prep time: 25 mins (without dough) | Cook time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

  • 1 basic dough (or store-bought pizza dough)
  • 6 cups Halloumi cheese, shredded (or to taste. I use about 3/4 cup per pie)

Directions:

  1. Get your basic dough (after it’s risen the first time and kneaded to release air bubbles) and divide it into 8 equal portions.
  2. Cover the 8 balls with a tea towel and set in a warm place for 15 mins (you can use the proofing method if you don’t have a warm place)
  3. After 15 mins, knead each dough ball a few times to release any new air bubbles and use a rolling pin to roll it to 3mm thickness.
  4. Cover half of the dough with halloumi cheese and fold the other half over it. Pinch the edges to seal it.
  5. Bake at 200˚C for 15mins until golden brown. Enjoy!

Note: if you don’t want to make 8 cheese pies, you can make only half of the basic dough recipe or just use half and freeze the other half for later or in another recipe. I frequently make 4 cheese pies and 4 za’atar manakish with one dough ball.

Abby2 Comments

My Go-To Basic Dough


Date Published: July 13th, 2020 | Last Updated: Dec 22nd, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: basics
Serves: 1 large pizza/flatbread or 6-8 small personal pizzas
Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 90 mins to proof

Jump to recipe | Watch the video

I used to hate making dough. Any kind of dough. No matter how hard I tried, it never turned out perfectly right – either my arms were tired from kneading or the dough would never rise properly. These days I’m singing a different tune. I’ve discovered the easiest way of proofing dough that always gives me fool-‘proof’ (hah!) results (click here to see how I proof my dough) and my awesome mother-in-law has been letting me use her stand-mixer which has made my life infinitely easier.

Apart from the stand-mixer and easy dough-proofing, this basic dough recipe is my easy go-to dough for almost everything from a quick snack to a main meal. I’ve used it for flatbread, pizzas, cheese pies, pizza pockets, wraps…etc – the possibilities are endless!

Do remember that this is just a BASIC dough. There’s no doubt hundreds of other fancier dough recipes out there, but this one was designed to be quick and easy. You can also easily customize it by adding spices, herbs, garlic…etc. to the dough for more flavour depending on what you’re making (be careful not to make it too heavy or wet) but I usually just keep it simple and then decide on my flavours later on when I’m making the dish rather than incorporating it into the dough.

Rolling the dough out thicker will give you a fluffier bread consistency great for pizzas and flatbreads, whereas rolling it out thinner will result in a crispier base (which is usually how I prefer some of my mini flatbreads).

This recipe is pretty straight forward but becomes a little wordy when I type it out so it seems like a lengthy recipe – I promise it’s easy. Watch the video below to guide you through it and you’ll see how quickly it comes together.

Ingredients:

You only need 6 basic ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry:

  • 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
  • 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (250ml) warm water
  • 3 cups (432g) all purpose flour + extra for dusting/kneading
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil

This recipe makes enough for one big flatbread or pizza, or you can divide up the dough into 6-8 balls and make small personal pizzas/flatbread.

Directions:

First, activate the yeast by mixing it in warm water with the sugar. Stir until combined and make sure you have no clumps in your mixture. Leave this aside for about 5-10 minutes until it becomes frothy at the top. (If your mixture does not become frothy, your yeast may be too old or your water is too hot.)

1 Tbsp active dry yeast + 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
+ 1 cup (250ml) warm water, mix until sugar dissolves
Set aside and wait 5-10 mins until it froths
Ready when you see the tiny bubbles/frothiness

In a stand-mixer bowl (or regular bowl if you’re doing this by hand), add the yeast mixture and knead on a low/knead setting and slowly add in the salt and flour. Then slowly drizzle in the olive oil and continue to knead until you get a smooth moist ball of dough and all the ingredients are incorporated. (You can add a bit more flour if your dough is too wet.)

3 cups (432g) all purpose flour + 1 tsp salt
Knead and slowly add the flour/salt mix to the yeast mixture
Drizzle in 1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil while kneading
Continue to knead until your dough ball forms
Fresh out of the stand-mixer, slightly moist

Take your dough ball out of the mixer and knead it on a lightly floured surface for a minute until you get a smooth non-sticky soft dough ball.

Knead a few times by hand on a floured surface until no longer sticky
Dough ball ready to proof

Place your dough ball in a bowl and rub a little olive oil over it (this will help it stretch as it rises). Let the dough rise in a warm place covered with a damp tea towel until doubled in size (~1.5 hours) OR alternatively try out my favourite way of proofing dough here in the oven.

Rub oil to the bowl and the dough ball
Set aside to proof in warm place or proof in oven with hot water
Proof until dough doubles in size (~1hr)

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch and knead it for a couple minutes on a floured surface to release the air bubbles. Your dough is now ready to use! 👍🏼

Turn proofed dough onto a floured surface again
Knead until any bubbles have released – one basic dough ball, ready to use!

If you aren’t using the dough right away, you can freeze it by wrapping it in cling wrap. Be sure to freeze it asap before the dough expands more. Just let it thaw out to room temperature before using it. I like to divide my dough into 6 portions and defrost a portion at a time for an easy late night snack by making a quick flatbread or Nutella pizza. Mmmmm. There are seriously SO many things you can do with this dough.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Recipes that use this dough:

Watch the Video Tutorial!

Summarized Recipe:

My Go-To Basic Dough

Date Published: July 13th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 29th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: basics
Serves: 1 large pizza/flatbread or 6-8 small personal pizzas
Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 90 mins to proof

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
  • 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (250ml) warm water
  • 3 cups (432g) all purpose flour + extra for dusting/kneading
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 (125ml) cup olive oil

Directions:

  1. First, activate the yeast by mixing it in warm water with the sugar. Stir until combined and make sure you have no clumps in your mixture. Leave this aside for about 5-10 minutes until it becomes frothy at the top. (If your mixture does not become frothy, your yeast may be too old or your water is too hot.)
  2. In a stand-mixer bowl (or regular bowl if you’re doing this by hand), add the yeast mixture and knead on a low/knead setting and slowly add in the salt and flour. Then slowly drizzle in the olive oil and continue to knead until you get a smooth moist ball of dough and all the ingredients are incorporated. (You can add a bit more flour if your dough is too wet.)
  3. Take your dough ball out of the mixer and knead it on a lightly floured surface for a minute until you get a smooth non-sticky soft dough ball.
  4. Place your dough ball in a bowl and rub a little olive oil over it (this will help it stretch as it rises). Let the dough rise in a warm place covered with a damp tea towel until doubled in size (~1.5 hours) OR alternatively try out my favourite way of proofing dough here in the oven.
  5. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch and knead it for a couple minutes on a floured surface to release the air bubbles. Your dough is now ready to use! 👍🏼

If you aren’t using the dough right away, you can freeze it by wrapping it in cling wrap. Be sure to freeze it asap before the dough expands more. Just let it thaw out to room temperature before using it. I like to divide my dough into 6 portions and defrost a portion at a time for an easy late night snack.

AbbyLeave a comment

Proofing Dough in the Oven


Date Published: July 12th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 12th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: how-to

I used to hate working with dough. No matter how hard I tried, when it came to the proofing stage where you leave your dough to rise or “double in size”, mine never did as it was supposed to no matter how closely I followed the recipe. Perhaps it was because I grew up in Canada where it was difficult to find a warm place for my dough to rise (central heating made sure we’re always at perfect room temperature) or maybe the humidity conditions were never right. Whatever the reason was, it was always disappointing to see the dough I spent half an hour hand kneading prior to still be a flat ball after even 2 or 3 hours of resting time.I avoided breads and pastries at all costs, until I stumbled upon this method of proofing dough. It’s so easy and fool-proof and best of all, it doesn’t matter what season or temperature your home is! All you need is some hot water and an oven.

Directions:

Get your dough ball and place it into a glass bowl. Put your bowl in the middle rack of the oven (make sure there’s enough room above your rack for the dough to rise).

Fill a flat baking dish halfway with boiling water and put it on the bottom rack of your oven. (The size of the tray doesn’t matter too much as long as it’s not too small since it’ll decrease the surface area).

Close the oven door and let the steam and heat from the hot water proof your dough for you. You do NOT need to turn your oven on at all during this process. That’s it! Easy, huh?

Leave your dough in the oven for the specified proofing time in your recipe. For proofing times more than an hour, I’d recommend refreshing the hot water in the pan after 1 hour.

Try not to open the oven while the dough is proofing because the warmth and steam will escape and will slow down your proofing process. If you must open your oven, do it quickly or just refresh the hot water after doing so.

Note: you do NOT need to cover your dough with a moist tea towel with this method. The tea towel usually prevents your dough from drying out when proofing your dough the traditional way. However, since we’re keeping the dough in a concealed oven with plenty of humidity, there’s no chance for it to dry out.

Ta-da! Beautifully risen aerated dough.

I haven’t made a recipe video for this but if you’d like me to make one, let me know in the comments! If you have any other comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Abby2 Comments

Spicy Asian Tuna Salad


Date Published: July 4th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 4th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sides/salads, <15mins
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 10mins | Cook time: 5mins

Jump to recipe | Watch the video

Last weekend Toby’s dad took us deep sea tuna fishing with a fishing charter in Portland, Vic. My fishing experience is fairly limited but thankfully the charter set up all the rods for us, so all we had to do was wait until a tuna caught on and we take turns reeling them in. Luckily mine didn’t put up too much of a fight but Toby’s gave him a good workout. There was a limit of two tuna per person. We drove around for hours and caught some here and there, but alas we were two fish short of our max. We were on the boat for roughly 6 hours total. We took 4 fish home in total, ranging from 10-15kg (good thing Toby’s parents have a big freezer back on the farm). We youtube’d how to fillet a tuna and we filleted one tuna that night and have been eating it ever since. I’ve been scrambling to find some good tuna recipes and came upon some asian-inspired ones and played around with them. This recipe is the result of it! (I also used up some tuna in the salmon chowder recipe and subbed out the fish type – turned out delicious!)

This recipe has asian-inspired flavours. Some ingredients aren’t very traditionally asian (like the cranberries and raw carrots), but they have their role to play and I promise the overall flavour packs a punch! You end up with a mildly spicy, kinda sweet, crunchy, sesame tuna salad in the end. This recipe is easy and comes together quickly! You can watch the video below to guide you through the recipe.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Dressing:
    • 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
    • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
    • 2 tsp light soy sauce
    • 2 Tbsp asian chilli paste or sambal (I like to use the Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli oil (drained), but any chilli paste should do – you may want to adjust the proportions if your chilli sauce is very spicy). You can even use sriracha.
    • 1 1/2 tsp honey
    • 1/2 Tbsp ginger, grated
  • 200g cooked or canned tuna, flaked and drained well
    • You can use canned tuna, but for my purposes I was trying to use up the tuna fillets from our fishing trip so I quickly cooked the tuna in the oven at 180˚C for 10mins and flaked it for this recipe.
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 3 Tbsp green onions, chopped (~2 stalks)
  • 1/3 cup carrots, chopped finely
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice

I was quite conservative with the spice level in this recipe – just spicy enough to leave your mouth with a slight tingle. You can choose to omit the chili powder altogether if you’re not into spicy or even double it if you’re a spice fiend. The spiciness of your chili paste will also determine how spicy your tuna salad is.

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients: mayonnaise, sesame oil, light soy sauce, asian chilli oil, honey, ginger. Set aside.

In a bigger bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients: tuna, cranberries, green onion, carrots, sesame seeds, chili powder and lemon juice. Once combined, add in the dressing and mix until incorporated. Serve!

You can serve this as a snack or appetizer or side dish. My favourite way to serve this is in some lettuce leaves as wraps. The crisp and freshness of the lettuce cuts through the heaviness of the salad. You can also have it with crackers or spread in a tortilla to make a burrito or even between some bread to make an easy tuna salad with a punch. I also like to serve it with lemon wedges for extra zing!

Watch the Video Tutorial!

Summarized Recipe:

Spicy Asian Tuna Salad

Date Published: July 4th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 4th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sides/salads, <15mins
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 10mins | Cook time: 5mins

Ingredients:

  • Dressing:
    • 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
    • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
    • 2 tsp light soy sauce
    • 2 Tbsp asian chilli oil (I like to use the Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli oil (drained), but any chilli oil/sauce should do – you may want to adjust the proportions if your chilli sauce is very spicy)
    • 1 1/2 tsp honey
    • 1/2 Tbsp ginger, grated
  • 1 1/2 cups (200g) cooked/canned tuna, flaked and drained
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 3 Tbsp green onions, chopped (~2 stalks)
  • 1/3 cup carrots, chopped finely
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

  1. In a bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients: mayonnaise, sesame oil, light soy sauce, asian chilli oil, honey, ginger. Set aside.
  2. In a bigger bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients: tuna, cranberries, green onion, carrots, sesame seeds, chili powder and lemon juice. Once combined, add in the dressing and mix until incorporated. Serve!

Notes:

  • You can serve this as a snack or appetizer or side dish.
  • My favourite way to serve this is in some lettuce leaves as wraps. You can also have it with crackers or spread in a tortilla to make a burrito or even between some bread to make an easy tuna salad with a punch.

Abby3 Comments

Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette


Date Published: July 4th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 4th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sauces/dips
Serves: enough for 4 big salads | Prep time: 5mins | Cook time: 30 seconds

Jump to recipe | Watch the video

Since moving onto Toby’s parents’ family farm a couple months ago, we’ve been cooking nearly everyday. They have an amazing small greenhouse here that has been booming with lettuce. As a result, we’ve been making salads nearly everyday! I usually don’t make much salad as part of our normal meals because I find it hard to keep fresh for long enough in the fridge and I also find it hard to pack for lunch and dinners when you have to keep the dressing separate (but maybe that’s just an excuse). Now that we have so much time off, I actually quite enjoy experimenting with different salads and toppings.

This balsamic vinaigrette is my go-to salad dressing. It’s super easy and comes together very quickly. The only real effort you need to put in is to mince a garlic clove (unless you’ve got a garlic crusher). The rest of the work is just to mix it all together which takes less than 30 seconds. The beauty of this recipe is that you probably have nearly all the ingredients at home already and you can tweak it to your liking depending on what kind of salad you’re making (ie. if you have sweeter ingredients in your salad like fruit, you can increase the amount of vinegar to offset the sweetness and vice versa if you have saltier or sour ingredients, you can increase the amount of honey). You can also make this dressing as fancy as you like by whisking in other ingredients (ie. crushed raspberries). My favourite variation is to mix in a tablespoon of softened goat cheese. 🙂

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! You can watch the video below to guide you through the recipe. If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • salt & pepper to taste

Remember, this is enough dressing for 4 big salads. If you’re making small side salads, I’d recommend halving the recipe.

Directions:

In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients together until combined. Done!

Drizzle over your favourite salad. You may not need the full amount depending on how big your salad is. Taste as you mix until it’s enough. As mentioned above, you can tweak any of the ingredients to suit the flavours of your salad to make it more sweet, sour or salty.

Watch the Video Tutorial!

Summarized Recipe:

Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Date Published: July 4th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 4th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sauces/dips
Serves: 4 big salads | Prep time: 5mins | Cook time: 30 seconds

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients together until combined. Done!

Abby1 Comment