Oysters Kilpatrick, Snapper Poached in Garam Masala and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

This Oysters Kilpatrick recipe was on http://www.taste.com.au/, http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/14122/oysters+kilpatrick and differed from the usual recipe in that the bacon was placed under the oyster meat and the oysters were topped with a mixture of cream and worcestershire sauce, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and baked in the oven. They were meant to be cooked until the bacon was crisp but this didn't really happen due to the fact the bacon was under the oyster meat. The recipe also didn't specify how hot the oven should be so I went for 180 degrees and don't think you would want it any hotter or the cheese would burn before the oysters were cooked through. I cooked mine for 12 minutes. The oysters were still nice and moist and the flavours were delicious.

Rating 8 out of 10.

When I saw Neil Perry cook this dish on Masterchef I was very keen to try it. To prepare for this dish you need to make a garam masala spice mix (I already had one which I had made for a Rick Stein dish so didn't make the one in the recipe). You can use bought garam masala if you prefer. You also need to prepare a tomato and chilli base which is made by slowly cooking onion, garlic, turmeric (fresh if possible), green chillies and ginger for 30 minutes or until the onions are caramelised and then adding chopped fresh tomatoes and cooking for a further 10 minutes until soft. This mixture smelt great while it was cooking!

I bought snapper fillets rather than a whole snapper so I only needed to remove the skin. The fish is poached in a curry sauce made by combining the garam masala, the tomato and chilli base, coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, ginger, fish sauce, palm sugar and water. This sauce is bought to the boil, then you add the fish fillets, turn off the heat, cover and leave for 6 minutes to poach...very simple! Once the fish has cooked you add a little lime juice, coconut milk and some basil leaves. The fish and curry sauce is served with spaghettini (a thinner version of spaghetti) and snow peas and garnished with basil leaves. Neil Perry made his own semolina noodles which I would like to try one day but I didn't have time to go searching for the semolina flour this time. This was a very simple dish once you had made the garam masala and tomato and chilli base. You could easily serve this at a dinner party as most of it can be prepared in advance. The recipe can be found at www.masterchef.com.au/fish-poached-in-garam-masala.htm however I was unable to get this link to open. A version of it can also be found at www.lifestylefood.com.au/.../fillet-of-bar-cod-poached-in-a-pot-with-garam-masala-and-coconut-milk.

Rating 8-9 out of 10.

To finish off this delicious meal I made a chocolate dipping sauce from melted toblerone, thickened cream and kahlua, which is a coffee flavoured liqueur. Once you have melted the chocolate you remove from the heat (or you can melt it in the microwave) and add in the cream and liqueur. You can use plain chocolate or bars such as Mars Bar and add any liqueur you like to this sauce. It is delicious served with strawberries, marshmallows, almond bread or any other fruit.