The Proof is in the Pudding

I was shown on the night of Thursday Auguat 11, 2011 that I may need to start biting my tongue and believe that my Sister Kylie has begun to develop herself in the culinary world. 


A 2 course dinner was made from scratch of Chilli con carne with parsley dumplings and an pistachio and apricot cake. I truly was surprised that she has been able to step away from claiming those packages products of her own to prove to me that she is able to make dishes of her own under the guidelines of recipes of which she spent time from her busy day at work to print off some appetising dishes (if only your bosses really knew what you were doing on work time).


Here I am a sister who remembers her telling me of her cooking experience of burning the crumbs of a chicken schnitzel and still not partly cooking the meat, but opportunity knocked as I visited for a stay whilst in recovery from an operation.


I laid there listening to the hustle and bustle from the kitchen whilst my Mum Kerrie assisted in the beginning steps of preparation and listening to the organisation of Kylie telling Mum what steps she needed help with. The smell of frying onions is always a great step in any savoury dish combined with cummin and chilli just fills any home with fantastic aromas.


Amendments for the main dish had to be made as the original recipe said coriander dumplings of which both my Dad Tom and myself are not overly fond of coriander, so replacement of parsley had taken place. I would have still eaten it Kylie but as for my Dad, well it was chosen that the hidden figure of Matt Preston did not present himself so to make sure he is happy parsley was the better choice.


A small disaster rose when the recipe asked for chilli flakes of which Mum thought they had but when making the dish could not find them so off to the wholesome Vegie patch to gather some fresh chilli. Ensuring it is not too spicy/ Hot small amounts were added (Dad doesn't like things too spicy), but unfortunately the heat did not break through the dish but sustained a slight hint of chilli which was suffice, but a good fixture for next time Kylie is to fry off some paprika with the onions and cummin to get that hint of heat that you may have been looking for. Other than that a very nice holesome and hearty dish, especially on a winters evening.


Dessert was all left to Kylie alone of which turned out to be a delicious end as all desserts should be. A very moist and light cake based with a peach half and sugar crust. Now to have had pistachios is a rare thing in my book as I am not a fan of this particular nut, but broken down into the mixture was surly a disguise and a delight. Fantastic by itself or with a dollop of cream or yoghurt perhaps. I would highly recommend this recipe to come with me into my future cafe, so that must be saying something.

So As they saying goes "THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING" - The end result or finished product is determines success or failure. The true value or quality of something can only be judged when it's put to use - the results are what counts.  In this instance Kylie to show me that you too can cook is a SUCCESS in my book.