Mick’s Mouthwatering Moussaka, Berry Brulee & Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Cherry Sauce and Hazelnut Praline, Chocolate Cherry Pods
(Click on the recipe to enlarge)
(Click on the recipe to enlarge)
Ice cream recipe I used came from this site.
All images © Katie Quinn Davies
Thankfully we’ve managed to get some respite for the searing heat today… I was going nuts in the humidity and high temps. I can handle a day or three in a row, but five just starts to send me potty, especially when working outside all day, which I was all week.. After a fairly hectic week, I took a trip yesterday to the local farmers’ markets in the morning after brekkie where I found a fab array of aubergines. Big ones, little ones, baby ones et al, so I thought it only fitting I buy a bunch and I give my hubby’s world famous Moussaka a whirl. Actually when I say I gave it a whirl, I should say he did, he cooked it from scratch this afternoon and we enjoyed it for dins along with a bottle of Aussie red – a perfect dinner to accompany the cooler breeze which thankfully billowed its way through Sydney this afternoon with fervour.. a huge welcome relief.
I too was delighted on Friday eve to be given a pile of leftover berries and cherries from the cookbook shoot I’m currently working on. In fairness there’s really only one dessert everyone wants in heat like 42˚C, which is: ice cream, and after making a huge batch last week of vanilla bean in my new Kitchen Aid ice cream attachment bowl (a recent fantastic Xmas pressie), I turned the cherries into a sauce, served with the ice cream and scattered with a super easy hazelnut praline, the combination of the three was a total winner. The remaining berries I decided to turn into a ‘cheat’s brulee’, again very quick and easy to make and a great recipe for a fuss-free dinner party.
All recipes will be uploaded ASAP in coming 2-3 days.
On an extra great note, the holiday to the USA has been decided upon and confirmed, thank you so much to all who emailed me and left comments on the blog here in regards to ideas and recommendations on where to go, see and eat. I have spent a decent amount of time in the States to date (aka NY, LA, Chicago, Vegas, San Fran, towns en-route from LA to San Fran. etc.) and (other than NYC and L.A.), I was hoping this time to see places I haven’t before. The itinerary is to spend a week or so in NYC, then drive to Massachusetts (including the little town The Witches of Eastwick was filmed in = way too excited = LOVE this movie!) and Rhode Island, out to Martha’s Vineyard for a night or two, up to Maine and Boston then hop on a flight to Albuquerque where we’ll grab a hire car and start a 3 or 4 day drive to to the west coast, this is where I hope to get some great old diner shots and vintage signage pics, before hitting Santa Barbara and kicking back for a week in Venice where we’ll hire a house and potter about various parts of So Cal. Finally we’ll fly out of LA back to Sydney. I had to scrap some original areas as we simply just didn’t have the time to do everything we’d ideally want, if we did we’d end up exhausting ourselves and generally running around like headless chickens trying to do too much. Either way I now cannot wait to go – am super excited, I totally need a nice break after a seriously hectic past 9 months and always feel incredibly at home in the US. I really look forward to getting some amazing shots and meeting some great people along the way.
Kx
P.S. Thanks to the ever wonderful and unbelievably talented David Morgan for leaving some of his gorgeous props here over the weekend so I could steal a few for use in some of the above pics. xx
Hi Katie – hope you’re surviving the heat alright! over here we’re in the middle of winter with subzero temps and all, but the ice cream still looks damn good. but it’s the berry brulee that appeals to me the most – looking forward to the recipe (and the berry season!).
Always uplifting to see your beautfiul photography. Love these props especially the scissors with the praline.
And where oh where did you take these photos? A rustic farmhouse in inner Sydney?
I love the look!
Yummy photographs. Hope you survive the heat there.
The photography is so beautiful! It has a wonderful nostalgic feeling.
Katie you are making me jealous with your US holiday! My only consolation is the fantastic pics you are going to share with us when you get back! Have a great trip!
Sooooo pretty!!!!
Can’t wait for the moussaka recipe! It looks incredible. One of my favorite foods.
I love love the pics. I got an ice cream maker recently and this looks like the perfect ice cream to make. Look forward to the recipe!
The photos are so beautiful… I love all of them! And the moussaka is a dish I love: I vas in Mykonos (Greece) last summer and I ate a delicious one in a small “taverna”…
Hi Katie, I recently discovered your blog and must admit to haunting it ever since! Love the photos. And reading your summer-time thoughts in the middle of a Czech winter helps keep warm here!
And kitchen aid has an ice cream attachment?! Had no idea…
Mouthwatering indeed… and now I crave cherries in the middle of my snowy winter.
I love your pictures sooo much, they are gorgeous! Btw, here in Germany it´s still frrrreezingly cold in some areas. A warm Moussaka would be really comforting right now.
Your pictures are awesome (as usual)… What a contrast when you describe your days… Here, it’s snowing,a lot!
Top notch as usual! I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed your blog since I discovered it this past July.
I live in Boston, and am very familiar with Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket…if you need any recs or tips, or need a fun shop to visit (ours is just outside of Boston in Belmont) let me know!
Leigh
Curly Girl Design
http://www.curlygirldesign.com
love to see your beautifull photo’s again.
thank you!
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!
I wish you’d come to Montreal along your way to the US! It’s such a great city and it’s cold and snowy now: everything you need after the Australian heat!
Your moussaka looks divine and I am always in love with your props!
as the kids say….that was sick….you know in the most awesome way….the picture of the cherries literally made my mouth water…
I always love looking at your photos. Enjoy your trip! It sounds fantastic. I grew up near LA but in a rural desert part called the Antelope Valley. Its beautiful there with old abandoned homes and a few movie sets. Definitely photo worthy. Have fun!
We are enjoying a “false Spring” here in No. Cal. and while it’s still chilly, it’s never too cold for ice cream! We’ve been putting brandied cherries from last summer on ours but now I crave some of your hazelnut praline! Looking forward to the recipes… Stay cool!
Incredible pictures!! So beautiful!
Thank you for your beautiful photos. They are such an inspiration to me.
Everything looks absolutely amazing, Katie! You continue to be such an inspiration. Can’t wait for the recipes!
I love the shot of the half eaten cherry, it’s just so cute. The old cutlery and utensils are beautiful too.
That looks soooo YUM!
Thankfully we have some respite from the heat today!
Great work
I thoroughly enjoy the rustic feel of you photos. What a sight to behold!
Palm Springs has some awesome vintage hotels/houses, and it’s in between New Mexico and LA. I have lived here 20 years and could give you some tips if you want. (Other than the over-photographed windmills). Enjoy your trip!
Thanks you so much everyone, I really appreciate all your comments and kind words. The recipes will be up shortly, have been spending all day cleaning up some pics for a client.
Josie, yes indeed they do – check it out: http://www.kitchenaid.com/product/KICA0WH.uts.
Leigh (in Boston) thanks a million, I’ll shoot you a mail if I need any extra info.
Melissa, thanks too for that tip, I might have to meander out to Antelope Valley for a gander with my camera.
Freesparrow, I am familiar with Palm Springs after spending some time there (or at least very nearby in Indio) a few years back, I went over to Coachella the year Rage against the Machine reformed (one of my fave bands
I remember the wind farms on the drive to Indio from L.A., so bizarre how many there are there, almost alien-like, but pretty at the same time. That was such a fantastic trip – hence why I’m going back to see more of the desert and surrounds.
gorgeous! love it all….i would love a plate of that moussaka!…gorgeous pics & styling. dayle
Wow, I can’t wait to try the Moussaka receipe. This is one of my favourite foods. Your photos are just beautiful. It makes food so inviting. I’m much more inspired to cook after reading your blog than watching master chef!
Hey guys, just the last two recipes to go up which I’ll do tomorrow. Apologies for delay, was up at 5am this morning to be in Bondi beach for a shoot at 6.30am, then after a full-on day of work now at 11pm I am utterly beat and very much Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Will post them up in the morn. x
Hi Katie,
If you go to Rhode Island, you have to go to Scales & Shells in Newport and order the mesquite grilled Maine lobster. It is the best lobster you’ve ever tasted.
http://www.scalesandshells.com/
Have a great trip!
Jessica
Fantastically beautiful shots, per usual. I am now in the market for an ice cream maker… looking for input on what’s good and would love to hear more about the details on the Kitchen Aid attachment. Am considering a model with it’s own compressor, but they are pricey.
oh my goodness. these look absolutely divine. i want some!!
absolutely beautiful blog..glad I found it.
Lovely!!! I love the new look for the photos!! the earthiness is fantastic and so becoming for the subjects…
Everything feels just right.
Foodmind = blown.
Gorgeous berry brulee!! Berries in all shapes, sizes and flavors truly thrill me to no end
Love those props especially the scissors with the praline. Very nice photos, thanks for sharing!
Oh how I love the atmosphere of those photos! Beautiful work. The moussaka and berry brulee look divine. Now I’m really jealous about you having summer time and fresh berries. Although I really prefer to stay out of an 42°C heat… Well, just another 5 months or so for fresh local berries
Maybe I can handle that much *sigh*
Bejesuzzz Katie. My mouth is watering and your photos are exceptional on this shoot. I’ll be making that Moussaka this weekend! B:)
Your pictures are so beautiful that it hurts! Lovely!
Wow! Everything looks so delicious. And your photographs are really beautiful. Truly captures the beauty (both aesthetic and taste).I’m a new reader and I’m hooked!
gorgeous pics! i’m waiting for the recipes!
Just discovered your blog. Beautiful photography!
I just visited your blog for the first time – it’s beautiful! You’re photography is so clear, original, and airy. Beautiful!
Katie, you work brings me so much joy! Thank you!!
Hey Katie! Your pics are stunning. The berry brule is ingenious!!
Wow – what beautiful photography – the brulée looks perfectly scrumptious…such inspiring work! Thank-you
really enjoyed your photos
Your photos are truly stunning – it is pure pleasure to read your blog. I’m weighing up whether I am brave enough to give some of your recipes a whirl!