Stuffed Mushrooms

I made this recipe up one afternoon in a little kitchen in Melbourne a few years ago and it went down a treat. I had mushies, fresh ricotta, some prosciutto and some herbs. I can't remember now the exact ones I made that day, but I recreated the recipe for 2007 New Year's Eve and every last mushroom was eaten without delay. I am also using approximate quantities - so go for gold in terms of amounts and variations!

16 mushrooms
150g prosciutto or bacon, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
250g fresh ricotta
50g grated parmesan cheese
1/2 chilli, chopped
handful fresh herbs, chopped
100ml fresh basil pesto
handful pinenuts or breadcrumbs

Remove stalks from mushrooms and chop finely. Saute with bacon, garlic and chilli till well cooked and fragrant. Set aside to cool.
Combine sauted mix with cheeses and herbs. Arrange mushrooms on tray with bottoms down. Place half a teaspoonful of pesto in each mushroom cap, then spoon the ricotta stuffing on top. Sprinkle pinenuts or breadcrumbs evenly over the mushrooms and place in a hot oven for approximately 25 minutes or until ricotta is nicely baked and mushrooms are tender.
Leave to cool for a few minutes and then serve.

Source: Jules

Mango Lime Cheesecake

One day about ten years ago, my sister and I had an impromptu dinner party. We had an abundance of mangoes and limes and so I adapted a standard chilled lemon cheesecake recipe I had learned at school to create this sublime summer dessert.

250g biscuits, crushed
125g butter, melted
500g cream cheese, softened
¾ cup caster sugar
¼ cup lime juice
2 tsp grated lime rind
2 mangoes, peeled, chopped and pureed
¼ cup milk
2 tbsp gelatine, dissolved in ½ cup hot water
½ cup cream, semi whipped

Combine butter and biscuits, mix well and press into springform pan, refrigerate. Beat cream cheese on low til smooth and creamy. Add sugar, lime juice and rind and milk. Fold in mango pulp. Add gelatine and blend well. Fold in the cream. Pour into crumb crust and refrigerate until firm (at least four hours, preferably overnight). Decorate with fresh cream, slices of mango and lime rind curls.

Variation: substitute ginger snaps for the plain biscuits for some added zing.

Source: Jules