Bedroom Pies

Our December Kitschen Ckaos recipe is Raspberry Meringue Pies. Our 2016 calendar combines our love of food, photography and design. This year our mouthwatering recipes focus on the delicious world of Hors d’Oeuvre, so join us on our gastronomic journey of discovery.

Raspberry Meringue Pies 

Makes 12

Ingredients 
1 cup frozen raspberries, defrosted
1 tablespoon cornflour
¼ cup sugar
12 individual sweet shortcrust pastry cases
1 egg white
2 tablespoons caster sugar 

Process raspberries with a stab blender until smooth. You will need 1/2 cup raspberry puree. Combine cornflour and sugar in small saucepan. Gradually stir in raspberry puree until mixture is smooth. Stir constantly over heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and spoon mixture into pastry cases.

Beat egg whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, gradually add sugar, beating until sugar has dissolved between each addition.   

Pipe or spoon over pastry cases, ensuring filling is covered. Bake at 230°C for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.

Serve.

End of year madness

November was a crazy busy month in (and out of) the studio, and we are not even going to mention "Christmas"...

Oh...

DOH!

Cooking up a storm

Laura and Mitch recently had a lazy weekend up in Sydney where they attended an awesome pasta making cooking class at Salt Meats Cheese, so they could learn how to use their pasta maker.  And we should note that Mitch was NOT on Masterchef, despite having the apron to prove it! 

Alethea's Archibald Journey

Alethea took the journey out to Ballarat to check out the 2016 Archibald prize exhibition. 

Melbourne Music Week

Her Sound, Her Story is the culmination of an exhibition and video series of the same name by photographer Michelle Grace Hunder and filmmaker Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore. The intimate exhibition, which was shown at Emporium Melbourne throughout MMW, profiled over 40 women working in the music industry, including Banoffee, Clare Bowditch and Renée Geyer.

Alethea's short sightedness

We found out this month that Alethea is short sighted, hence why we have photos of Missy Higgans and Temper Trap that are teeny, tiny. Oh no, that's not it...she was just sitting REALLLLY far back!

Emma's Time out

Emma took some time out to hang out in the Grampians, and make us jealous with her beautiful photos!

One Final Thing...

Laura's netball team won the grand final, with only 6 players! She may kill us for posting this photo...

The Colour Purple

Our November Kitschen Ckaos recipe is Raddichio leaves with Orange, Fennel and Black Olives. Our 2016 calendar combines our love of food, photography and design. This year our mouthwatering recipes focus on the delicious world of Hors d’Oeuvre, so join us on our gastronomic journey of discovery.

RADDICHIO LEAVES WITH ORANGE, FENNEL AND BLACK OLIVES 

Makes 12

Ingredients
1 fennel, thinly slice
2 small oranges, segmented  
¼ cup good-quality vinaigrette
12 radicchio leaves  (approx. 1 head of radicchio) 
36 mini black olives
¼ cup toasted flaked almond
micro herbs, to garnish

Method
Combine fennel, orange and vinaigrette and toss until combined. Spoon into radicchio leaves.  Top with olives, almonds and garnish with herbs. Serve.

In case you missed it...

In case you missed the awesome PFD Seafood launch campaign Ckaos has been working on over the past couple of months, check it out here. Ckaos worked closely with the Seafood team at PFD Foodservices on a complete launch campaign for PFD's national fresh seafood range. This campaign was designed to communicate PFD's ability to delivery fresh seafood across the country...from coast to coast.

Green Cuisine

Our October Kitschen Ckaos recipe is Green Pea Soup with Parmesan Custard Sandwiches. Our 2016 calendar combines our love of food, photography and design. This year our mouthwatering recipes focus on the delicious world of Hors d’Oeuvre, so join us on our gastronomic journey of discovery.

Green Pea Soup with Parmesan Custard Sandwiches 

Makes 12

Ingredients 
Parmesan Custard Sandwiches
½ cup pure cream
½ cup milk
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, extra
Green Pea Soup
20g butter
½ brown onion, finely chopped
250g frozen baby peas
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
balsamic glaze, to serve
micro herbs, to serve

Method
In a small saucepan combine the cream, milk and parmesan. Season to taste. Heat over medium-high heat until mixture almost reaches boiling point. Remove from heat and allow to stand for 20 minutes. Whisk in eggs and pour into a 20 x 12cm baking dish. Place dish in a water bath (a larger baking dish half filled with boiling water) and bake at 160°C for 30–40 minutes or until just set. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Chill for one hour.

Increase oven to 180°C. Place a 5cm cutter on a baking tray lined with paper. Drop heaped teaspoons of grated parmesan into cutter and spread until cheese is even. Carefully remove cutter; a perfect round of grated cheese should remain. Repeat to make 16 circles. Bake for 5–10 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and melted. Allow to cool before removing from trays.

Heat butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add onion and cook over heat for five minutes or until soft. Add peas and stock. Bring to the boil then simmer over low heat for three minutes. Process with a stab blender or blender until smooth. Chill for 1–2 hours or until cold. 

To Serve: Using a 5cm cutter, cut rounds of parmesan custard from baking dish. Lift each round out carefully using a spatula or egg lift. Sandwich custard between two parmesan cookies. Pour pea soup into serving glasses and top with droplets of balsamic glaze and serve with parmesan custard sandwich cookies scattered with micro herbs. 

Tip
If your baking dish isn’t exact size — no need to worry. You just need the custard to be approx. 3cm deep in the dish.

Things have been flat out in the studio, so we haven't managed to get out and about as much as usual. We did celebrate some birthdays, checked out dinosaurs and visited Harry (Potter, not the Prince!).

It's Birthday Month!

September is birthday month at Ckaos with Cameron and Alethea celebrating recently with custard doughnuts and a whole lot of love. Not to miss out, Laura's cat Gatsby also turned one, just in case you were wondering!

Dinosaurs Galore

Laura and Emma both checked out Jurassic Park: The Exhibition at the Melbourne Museum recently. Unfortunately it is now closed but here are some pics to enjoy. Ok, so maybe not strictly design related, but... DINOSAURS! ROAR! 

Harry Potter Bar

Alethea got all wizard-y recently... well to be honest, she just went because they had cool drinks. Good Things Bar in South Yarra hosted a Harry Potter themed night which involved Butterbeer and Polyjuice Potion. 

Heirloom for Improvement

Our September Kitschen Ckaos recipe is Salted Toffee Heirloom Carrots. Our 2016 calendar combines our love of food, photography and design. This year our mouthwatering recipes focus on the delicious world of Hors d’Oeuvre, so join us on our gastronomic journey of discovery.

Salted Toffee Heirloom Carrots

Makes about 20 carrots

2 cups caster sugar
2 bunches heirloom baby carrots, scrubbed of excess dirt
1 tablespoon sea salt. 

Heat 1 cup caster sugar in a heavy based frying pan over high heat. As sugar begins to melt, rotate and swirl the pan to ensure the sugar melts evenly. Do not stir. Continue cooking until sugar has turned golden brown. Working quickly, dip each carrot into the toffee, turning to ensure they are well coated. Transfer to a baking-paper lined tray. Sprinkle with salt.

Repeat process again to complete carrots.  Serve.  

Freaky Shakes

So, someone in the studio, (we won't be mentioning any names) has embraced the trend of freakshakes.  We're just going to leave the evidence here...

What a Gas!

Alethea has moved on from her Drag Bingo adventures to a little more sophisticated viewing recently visiting the Degas exhibition at the NGV.

Edgar Degas is one of the most celebrated artists associated with French Impressionism. The art he made over more than fifty years of constant creativity and renewal embraces painting, drawing, printmaking, monotypes, sculpture and photography, and has had an immense impact on modern and contemporary art.

You had better get your skates on the exhibition closes on the 18th September.

A foodies tour of Europe

For all our foodie friends, feast your eye's on Laura's foodie tour of Europe.  Please try not to drool on your screen!

Tarted Up

Our June Kitschen Ckaos recipe is Cherry Tomato Tarts with Green Olives. Our 2016 calendar combines our love of food, photography and design. This year our mouthwatering recipes focus on the delicious world of Hors d’Oeuvre, so join us on our gastronomic journey of discovery.

Cherry Tomato Tarts with Green Olives

Makes 18

Ingredients
18 vol-au-vent or savoury pastry cases
100g soft goats cheese, softened
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
2 teaspoons finely chopped thyme
125g punnet mixed cherry tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped green olives
1 tablespoon olive oil
 baby basil microherbs, to garnish

If required, heat or bake the vol-au-vents according to packet instructions. Combine goat’s cheese, red onion and thyme in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine tomatoes, green olive and oil. Season to taste. Spoon or pipe goat’s cheese mixture into cases and top evenly with tomato mixture and garnish with baby basil. Serve.

Tip
You can make the vol-au-vent cases using good-quality store bought puff pastry. Cut a 5cm round for the base and top with another 5cm round with a 3cm round cutting out the centre. Prick the centre of the circle with a fork. and brush with beaten egg yolk with a dash of water. Bake at 200°C for 8 -10minutes or until golden brown. You may need to push the centre of the pastry down during baking if they become unruly and bake off centre.

Goat’s cheese mixture can be prepared the day prior. Assemble up to 1 hour before serving.

Winter is here & it's exciting times in the studio!

So, we have a bit of a tradition in the Ckaos studio, it happens at the start of winter and the start of summer. It involves everyone moving from one side of our studio desks, to the other. We know... exiting times in Studio Ckaos!! So now everyone is rugged up, away from the front door, which is really cold when it opens, and ready to deliver some delicious winter design.

All the world's a stage

Being a lover of theatre, Cameron recently visited an exciting exhibition at the Melbourne Arts Centre called Stage Presence. 

The creative process behind some of Australia's most innovative productions is brought to life through concept sketches, research files, set models, 'finished' designs and technical drawings, showing the story of performance design in Australia.

This free exhibition is running until the 4th September 2016 at the Melbourne Arts Centre Gallery in Hamer Hall.

A photo journey

Emma recently took a short break to the Phillipines and Malaysia, and made us very jealous with her beautiful photos.