REVIEW: La Quinta

La coo ca raa cha! La coo ca raa cha! La quinta la la la!

It's been a while since we visited La Quinta so it was high time we got back. La Quinta is the older sister of the American restaurant directly next door, Southern Attitude, which I reviewed early last year. And while usually older sisters are just the warm-up for the smarter, prettier, better at cooking and shut up Tegan for the younger sister, in this case, the original really is the best.

La Quinta is always pretty busy of an evening, so lunch time is the best time to go without making a reservation. Although one time we made a reservation and they didn't have a table for us but for this review, that's neither here nor there.

We went to a restaurant "to celebrate the jobs they hadn't actually performed, with money they hadn't actually earned"

La Quinta have a fantastic ordering system. When you wish to have the attention of the waiter, you place a little flag atop a wooden cactus. The staff are really quick at noticing the flags and the whole system is very efficient. Drinks arrive very quickly. We kicked things off with some ice cold Coronas ($7.50 each) and a frozen margarita ($12) which went down an absolute treat on a steamy hot Saturday afternoon. To see exactly how it went down, check out my flip book on Instagram.

Pro dip combo right there.

We ordered a few starters to go with our icy cold beverages. We choose the Trio of Dips ($16) with Corn Chips and Tortillas, and since we're flipping pros by now at La Quinta, we choose the creamy Guacamole, the cheesy Queso and the LQ Fire Roasted Corn Jalapeños. Can you see how that combination works? Amazingly.

Dang, yo. Mexican food does not photograph well.

Our next starter to share was Smoked Chorizo with Sofrito Paste ($10.50). Sofrito paste sounds pretty unappealing but don't think so hard about it cos it's delicious. It's a tomato based sauce and pro tip: get a bit of the chorizo, with a scoop of the sofrito and pop it in a bit of tortilla and a dollop of the queso. Your mouth is now in party town.

I'm gonna have to do this..."If you like pina coladas..."

A piña colada was now in order to take the heat down and La Quinta's Original Puerto Rican Piña Colada ($12) was simply too good. I smashed it in about 30 seconds. So then we followed it up with more coronas! This was turning into a most enjoyable fiesta!

Those beans look like mice poops.

The first main was two tacos for $15, one taco with Hickory Smoked Chicken, Avocado, Pineapple, Chipotle Mayo and one with Refried Black Beans, Pico De Gallo, Cheese taco. The chicken taco was tasty and full of Mexican flavour however the refried bean taco left a little to be desired, with no cheese or pico de gallo to be seen. So a bit of a miss on the tacos.

They're not the prettiest, but ugly is tasty.

Next up, a serve of Beef Enchiladas, topped with Ranchero Sauce and Jack Cheese ($22.50). Though not the prettiest of dishes, the enchiladas were saucy goodness, wrapped in La Quintas chewy, fresh tortillas. The accompaniments were huge, and went some way to improving the lacking tacos.

Look at those bubbles of crispy goodness. This is by far my favourite dish.

Finally, although my eyes scanned the menu and my mind turned over many options, I returned to my old favourite: The Tostada El Grande ($24.50). It sounds suitably grand, doesn't it. The tostada el grande is a moreish and crispy fried flour tortilla bowl, filled with pulled chicken, lettuce, tomato salsa, cheese, refried beans, rice, guacamole and sour cream. I don't think there's been one occasion that I haven't ordered this, and trust me, if you are at a table with friends, and you don't order this, you'll be very jealous. Luckily, it's so huge, you'll probably end up getting to try some as even I can't finish it.

La Quinta is a great, casual restaurant with a fun vibe and unique ordering system which is a novelty. It's been around for years and it's easy to see why. The food is fresh and generous, I always recommend La Quinta for a casual meal out.

Food: 3.5/4
Service: 4/5
Price: 3.5/4
Atmosphere: 3.5/5

Cake Roundup

Would you believe I still have Christmas posts to do? I do. How terrible of me. I will post them soon and everyone will forgive me because I'm lazy and the posts are awesome. In the meantime, I thought I would slap together a quick cake round up. Here are some of the cakes from the last year or so that I have made. Some of these have been on the blog, some are yet to be posted because of my aforementioned laziness and some are wedding cakes that you may have seen on my Instagram account. So here is my cake round up!

Ahh cheesecake. My Caramel Easter Egg Cheesecake. I thought about whether or not to include this, since it's not a cake-cake but it is so damn good, it would be a crime not to include it. I've made this cake with non-Easter Caramello chocolate and it worked out amazingly. It's interesting to see the quality of the photo too, taken on my iPhone. I might revisit this recipe and take photos with my lovely new Canon 700D. And then I would get to eat another cheesecake!

Oh Eggnog Cake, Oh Eggnog Cake, how pretty is your fondant wreath! This was a great cake with a wonderfully spiced flavour. The decoration was so easy and looked amazing.

This cake was epic. The Chocolate Fudge Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream, Salted Caramel and Dark Chocolate Ganache. Such a descriptive title. Says it all. Literally. I shifted this cake slightly after I poured the ganache and the drips got messed up. Also was the first time I tried moody photography, didn't quite work on an iPhone. The cake sure tasted good though. Sugar. Coma.

This is a photo of a wedding cake that I did for a ceremony on the Tweed Coast. There were flowers that were yet to go on the cake but I wanted to get a photo of the cake before it went down. The gold was edible fine glitter dust and vodka painted on. I wish I had a photo of it with the flowers on, it would have been amazing!

The bubbles cake! The Pink Bubble Strawberry Butter Cake. I made this cake to test out making an ombre cake and also to test out my new camera! Aww this cake will always have a special place in my heart now. A Cassie Cakes turning point.

Here is a teaser for an upcoming post. A Pink OTT Mud Cake I made for my mums birthday, inspired by all the Instagram stars around at the moment.

This pretty layer cake was made for my Grandmothers 90th birthday. I love the light in these photos and can't wait to share the rest of them with you!

Finally, this is a wedding cake I made for a fantastic New Years Eve wedding, officiated by the most talented celebrant, Annie from Celebrant Lady Love. 

This post is like a clip show, which I hate but I should have a post up this week. A Christmas post, cos why should Christmas finish in December? I'll tell you why, cos that's the rule. Laziness trumps rules though.  

Do you need a cake for a special occasion? Get in contact with Cassie Cakes via cassiecakes@live.com.au or Facebook to discuss.

Food Gifts Three Ways

Food gifts to giveaway but make sure you keep some for yourself!

My goodness, we just seem to be hurtling towards the big day now aren't we! With less than 10 days to go, you may be well in to your Christmas shopping with hardly anything left to get or maybe you haven't even started! In either case, these three food gifts may be just the thing for gifting to friends and family. And since they are all mail-friendly, they might be just the thing for those a little further away.

Last Christmas, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and came upon the hashtag '#foodiesecretsanta' - a fantastic food swapped organised by the Brisbane based blogger Claire from Claire K Creations. I signed up at the first chance I got! And I am so glad I did! There is few things more fun in the world than coming home to find a surprise package waiting for you. And it's even more fun when you can eat it! I've received two of my three gifts from my Foodie Secret Santa's, check out my Instagram for the photos. I haven't seen my reciepents get theirs yet but I'm so excited to hear how they like them.

So here are the three foodie gifts that I sent...

Sweet, creamy eggnog fudge.

Fudge with big eggnog flavours! Cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and creamy, sweet eggnog. This fudge is easy, made easier with the help of marshmallows to stabilize it. Because of the high proportion of sugar, fudge will withstand being mailed and will keep for two weeks in the fridge.

Eggnog Fudge

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Total time:  25 mins

Servings: 50 pieces of fudge 

2 cups caster sugar
150ml thickened cream
125g butter, cut in to pieces
¾ cup eggnog
200g white chocolate melts
200g white marshmallows
1 tablespoon spiced rum
1 teaspoon nutmeg - approximately 1/2 a fresh nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Line a 30cm x 20cm tin with baking paper
2. In a large, heavy based pan, place the sugar, cream, butter and eggnog and melt over a medium-high heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.
3. Use a sugar thermometer, bring the sugar mixture to the soft ball stage - 118°C-120°C/235° F-240° F. This can take some time, stay with it and wait patiently.
4. Once it has reached soft ball stage, turn the heat down to low.
5. Add the white chocolate and marshmallows and stir with a wooden spoon. The marshmallows will take some time to melt down.
6. When the marshmallows have begun to melt, turn heat off.
7. Add the rum, nutmeg and cinnamon and continue to stir until the marshmallows have completely melted.
8. Pour mixture in to prepared pan and grate over extra nutmeg and sprinkle with extra cinnamon.
9. Refrigerate overnight.
10. Cut fudge into small pieces and wrap with vellum or baking paper.

Homemade Nutella

Who can resist the combination of hazelnuts and chocolate! This is a chocolate lovers dream. You will be on the top of your friends nice list when you give them a jar full of delicious Chocolate Hazelnut spread!

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread - Homemade Nutella
Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Total time:  20 mins

Servings: 2 cups

250g whole hazelnuts

400g milk chocolate melts

3 - 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

50g icing sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line a cookie sheet with baking paper
2. Add hazelnuts to tray and bake for 10 minutes until skins have blistered.
3. Place the hazelnuts in a tea towel and roll gently to remove the hazelnut skins. Allow to cool.
4. Melt the chocolate in short intervals in the microwave, or over a double boiler, until completely melted and smooth.
5. Place the cooled, skinned hazelnuts in to the bowl of a food processor and process until they form a paste.
6. Add vegetable oil, icing sugar, cocoa and vanilla and pulse until thoroughly mixed.
7. Add the melted chocolate and process until desired smoothness is achieved. Add more oil if necessary.
8. Add hazelnut spread to jars and seal.

Crunchy and delicious!

The American treat gets an Australian makeover with Macadamia brittle. Ludicrously simple and ridiculously delicious, add to ice cream for a taste sensation or enjoy on it's own!

Macadamia Brittle
Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Servings: 2 large trays

500g raw whole macadamia nuts

500g caster sugar

125ml water

100g butter, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line 2 cookie sheets with baking paper 
2. Add macadamia nuts to one tray and bake in the over until nuts are just turning golden.
3. Allow nuts to cool and roughly chop. Divide the nuts between the two prepared trays and spread evenly.
4. Place sugar and water in a large, heavy based pan and melt over a medium high heat until the sugar is dissolved.
5. Cook the mix without stirring for 5 - 10 minutes until the sugar has turned golden.
6. Turn off the heat and add butter, swirling pan to melt.
7. Pour half the sugar mix over the macadamias on one tray then the other half over the nuts on the second tray.
8. Allow to set, then break into portions.

Merry Christmas!

Visit Four Weeks of Christmas Baking past!:2015
Week 1: Chocolate Dipped Vanilla Shortbread

Week 2: Bauble Macarons

2014
Week 1: Christmas Star Cherry Tart with Cinnamon Honey Roasted Macadamia Ice Cream
Week 2: Raspberry Jam Drops
Week 3: Rum Ball Trifle
Week 4: Eggnog Cake

Bauble Macarons

The French biscuit gets a Christmas makeover. Glittery, delicate and festive, these baubles are almost too pretty to eat! Almost!

How darling! Please note, I used glue to make this happen. Those fondant gold loops won't hold your macarons in the tree.

You know what my favourite time of the year is? If this is your first time to the blog, you may not guess that it's Christmas. You probably would guess though because this is quite obviously a Christmas post. What other time of year can you use glitter so liberally and unabashedly! None. No time. Christmas is all about glitter and sparkle and fairy lights and tinsel. Don't use tinsel though. Tinsel is passé.

So few ingredients for so much MAGIC! Hey Santa. (salt and pepper shakers...)

Anyway. Glitter. Originally, I had planned on making candy cane macarons. And that would have been cool. Maybe next Christmas, they'll make an appearance. But when I did a quick google search, there were already so many! My candy cane macarons would get lost in the massive pile of already gorgeous cookie sandwiches. And to be honest, candy canes? Mint buttercream? How would that even work...

The scales is your friend. This goes to..



...these!

But my heart was set on macarons...how could I make them original? Given my predilection for all things loud and flashy, this was the natural choice. Bauble macarons! Covered in glitter with snowflakes, sugar pearls and gold bauble tops, these scream fun!


Start these at least 24 hours before you need them. I could not be bothered making 48 of these. Power to you, if you do! I stopped at 20.

I used my macaron recipe from the Chocolate Cheesecake Macarons and I was a little nervous, as I have read that sometime the first time a person makes macarons, they can fluke it. Then the second time - fail. But nope! They turned out great! I followed the same tips as in the previous post. There are lots of details on the Chocolate Cheesecake Macaron post, but in brief the tips are...

Make a little paste and paint the macarons to make them FABULOUS!

1. Room temp eggs
2. Sifted almond meal
3. Precisely mixed batter
4. Bang the tray with the piped macarons to get air bubbles out.
5. Let the piped macarons sit on the bench for 30 minutes to develop a "skin" and help create the "foot" of the macaron.

 

 

So start with room temperature eggs. Bring cold eggs to room temp quickly by sitting them in warm water if need be. Once the egg whites are beaten and foamy, then it's time for the second tip...

Thanks Mr Cakes for taking this photo! Legend.

Sift the almond meal and icing sugar. Even if the almond meal is store bought, it can have larger bits of almond in it so sift to ensure a smooth cookie. Then add it to the egg whites and add colouring. Since I was making four different coloured macarons, I weighed the egg whites, and then weighed out the sifted icing sugar, to get four equal parts.

Pretty.

They make me think of Mardi Gras. Why is that? It's the Alyssa Edwards in me.

The ambiguous and crucial tip -  do not over mix or under mix the batter. Not the best for the most important step to be cryptic, but fold the batter deliberately and precisely. Assess the batter after each fold. The batter should be thick and flow like molten lava. I found that because some of the bowls of batter had to sit un-piped in bowls, it would need a few more folds before I piped it. So don't be too concerned if the batter thickens up while it's waiting.

SO CUTE!

Once the batter is mixed, pipe out the shells on to the trays, using the template under baking paper then bang the trays firmly 3 or 4 times on the bench to bring the air bubbles to the surface then let the macarons sit to develop a skin, which helps give the biscuits a nice foot.

How amazing is food glitter.

After all the trays are baked and the macarons have cooled, it's time to get glittering! Oh my goodness, it was so much fun to watch the macarons go from drab to fab! Using a bit of vodka, make a thick liquid with edible food glitter. Think nail polish thickness. Then get a painting!

And they taste good too!

Don't worry about alcohol on the macarons, it will evaporate. Which could be a bad thing, depending on who you ask.



Christmas achievement UNLOCKED!



Merry Christmas everyone! Two weeks to go!

Visit Four Weeks of Christmas Baking past!:
2015
Week 1 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Chocolate Dipped Vanilla Shortbread

2014Week 1 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Christmas Star Cherry Tart with Cinnamon Honey Roasted Macadamia Ice Cream
Week 2 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Raspberry Jam Drops
Week 3 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Rum Ball Trifle
Week 4 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Eggnog Cake

Bauble Macarons
Use this template  to ensure your macarons are even and consistently sized. Lie the template under baking paper and pipe the batter on. Make sure the template is removed before baking.

Prep time: 60 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Total time:  75 mins

 

Servings: 48 sandwiched macarons

Fondant Bauble Tops
White fondant - 30g will be plenty
Food colouring - yellow
Food lustre powder - gold

Macarons
6 large egg whites, free range, room temperature
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
100g caster sugar
400g icing sugar
2 cup/240g almond meal
Food colouring -  pink, blue, green
Edidble food glitter
Vodka

Vanilla Buttercream
250g butter, softewned
4 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
White food colouring
Bauble Tops - start at least 24 hours before use

1. Colour white fondant yellow and take pea sized amount, form into a rounded pyramid shape.
2. Flatten the top of the pyramid shape and create a hole on top with a skewer. Add details to the sides. Allow to dry slightly.
3. Roll a small amount of fondant into a long, thin cylindrical shape, then create a loop.
4. Use a small amount of water to affix the loop in the hole of the pyramid shape and allow to dry overnight.
5. Brush with gold dust, if desired.

Macarons

1. Preheat oven to 150°C
2. Using a template to ensure the macarons are evenly sized, line a two trays with baking paper.
3. Beat egg whites in the bowl of a mixer until egg whites are foamy.
4. Add pinch of salt and cream of tartar and continue to beat egg whites,
5. Slowly sprinkle in caster sugar and continue beating for around 8 minutes, until egg whites are stiff, peaks hold and do not collapse.
6. Separate egg whites in to quarters, using scales to ensure each is the same size.
7. Add food colouring to each of the four bowls - pink, blue, green and leave one bowl uncoloured.
8. Sift almond meal and icing sugar in to a large bowl, then seprate in to quarters using scales. 
9. Gently add one bowl of sifted almond meal and icing sugar into one bowl of egg white mix.
10. With a flat spatula, gently and precisely fold the almond meal . Batter should be thick and flow off the spatula - think 'molten lava'.
11. Repeat with each egg white mix.
12. Pipe macarons using a large piping bag and open round tip.
13. Allow piped macarons to sit uncovered on the bench for 30 minutes. A skin will form that feels tacky to the touch and does not leave a fingerprint.
14. Bake for 15 minutes. Bake one tray at a time, on the same shelf to ensure they are baked evenly.
15. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
16. Add edible food glitter to small bowl, then add vodka using a teaspoon or dropper to add very small amounts at a time. Create a thick liquid and paint on to macaron tops. Allow to dry.
17. Melt small amount of white chocolate and pipe snowflake pattern on to desired number of macarons and decorate with sugar pearls. Allow to dry.
18. Use a small amount of buttercream to attach bauble tops.

Vanilla Buttercream

1. In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter and icing sugar until creamy.
2. Add vanilla and white food colouring and beat until combined and mix is smooth and creamy.

To assemble

1. Match each macaron half with another of the same size.
2. Using a round tip fitted on a piping bag, pipe a generous circle of buttercream on one biscuit then sandwich corresponding biscuit, pushing buttercream to edges.
3. Store in an airtight container.

REVIEW: Papparich

Papparich in the Wintrergarden

Food is a massive part of culture, and one of the most enjoyable parts. It's one of the most accessible ways to learn about a country, what the people eat is influenced by trade, by the environment, by climate and so much more. Cuisine evolves, new produce effects trends, new technology's change how meals are prepared and the movement of people regenerates food. Take how the Greek immigrants brought Greek food and café culture to Australia in the 1950's and 60's, or how the classic fish and chips was introduced to England in the 16th century from Jewish refugees. Food is history, food is life and inextricably bound together with culture.

Malaysia is a melting pot and the food reflects this. With restaurants in all over Australia and overseas, Papparich comes to Brisbane, opening a brand new franchise in the Wintergarden. The restaurant has an open kitchen, giving a great view of the flaming woks. We were seated in the open-air balcony area and while it was pretty, I can't deny it was very warm. But this did steer us towards the extensive beverage menu and its enticing range of icy drinks.

Icy goodness

We ordered Mango Mania and Tropical Lime  ice blended drinks. Both were cooling and refreshing, but definitely for those with a sweet tooth. We got straight on to entrees and although I was absolutely DEVASTATED that there were no Pappa Deep Fried Chicken Skins left, we consoled ourselves with the Pappa Fried Chicken Wings. They were moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. If the chicken skins are half as good as the wings, I will be returning for them soon!

Yummy goodness!

We got two mains and shared them and we absolutely agonized over our choices. Malaysia has such a broad range of dishes, with Indian, Chinese, Malay and Indonesian influences. We settled on Vegetarian Char Koay Teow with egg and the exciting looking Roti Telur with Beef Rendang.

The Char Koay Teow took me straight back to hawker markets and hot South-East Asian nights, with delicious silky rice noodles and the charred, fiery taste of the wok. This dish is a Malaysian classic with great flavours and the contrast between the exquisitely slippery noodles and crispy vegetables. A definite winner dish.

Such an exciting dish!

The Roti Telur with Beef Rendang came out on a big silver tray with the roti in the centre and curry and condiments on the outside. The pieces of beef were tender and fell apart. The curry was fairly mild with a sweet taste that paired well with the roti. It was fun to adjust taste with the condiments on the side.

Interesting...

Finally, we decided to get a little adventurous and ordered one of the most unusual items we could find. We decided upon the Steamed Mantau with Kaya, steamed buns with a sweet green paste which was coconut jam. The buns had a generous smear of butter on them too. Now, I have to be honest, I did not like these at all. But my dining companion, while she agreed that they were unusual, ate most of her bun. And I'm glad I tried them.

Papparich offers a wide range of dishes with curries, noodles, soups and fried goodies, it's the perfect place for a weekday lunch or languorous dinner. Affordable and efficient, it's a welcome addition to the city's dining landscape.

Disclaimer: Cassie Cakes was an invited guest of Papparich Brisbane. Opinions are my own and the above review is an honest account of my experience.