Spectacular!

We had friends around for a BBQ last night, there were five kids all under 6 so I was aiming for something fairly simple but nice at the same time. I made the same old potato bake as usual but used a different brand of tinned soup - I won't be doing that again. I didn't even think about it making that much of a difference but the flavour was completely different and, while everyone else eat it happily, I wasn't impressed. I also made another pavlova but this time I topped the cream with a couple of smashed up Crunchies (choc-coated honeycomb chocolate bar, just in case they go by a different name elsewhere in the world).

It was seriously decadent and absolutely delicious. I wouldn't do it everytime but it was nice for something different. To go along with the meal I decided to try yet another recipe I have been eyeing off for some time. It is a bread recipe, with a slight twist, and although there are quite a few steps and it does take several hours it is absolutely worth the time and effort. Light, airy, delicious and a real crowd pleaser. I will be making this again and I'll be trying all sorts of variations for the filling - I'm thinking ham and cheese, herb and and garlic, and maybe olive tapenade. You could easily do it with Vegemite too but I'm not a big fan of vegemite scrolls so I don't think I'd like it too much in here either. If you have any other suggestions I'd love to hear them.







Onion and Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread.
Madison, July 2007







8g sachet of instant dried yeast (I used a 7g sachet)
2teaspoons, sugar
1 cup (250ml) milk, lukewarm
2 3/4 cups (400g) plain flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
75g butter, melted
25g butter, solid
350g red onions, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan

1. Place the yeast, sugar and 60ml of the milk into a small bowl and leave for 5 minutes or until yeast mixture starts to foam.

2. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, make a well in the centre and add yeast mixture, remaining milk, egg and melted butter.

3. Mix together until a loose dough forms, then turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes or until smooth.

4. Lightly grease a bowl with some oil and add the dough, cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm, draught-free place to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. (I got caught up doing other stuff and mine ended up rising for closer to 2 hours).

5. Melt solid butter in a pan over medium heat, add the onions and cook for 20 minutes or until soft and caramelised, set aside to cool.

6. Knock the down down and knead lightly. Then using a rolling pin, roll the dought into a 35cm x 25cm rectangle. Sprinkle with parmesan and scatter with the onions.

7. Starting with a long side, evenly roll the dought up into a log shape, trim the edges, cut into 11 pieces and place into a greased 20cm pie time. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise a gain for 45 minutes.

8. Preheat oven to 170C.

9. Brush with a little melted butter, sprinkle with sea sat and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.