Treatment day is here again. He is booked in for 815am, so this is an early start!

Yesterday I made some Anzac biscuits to take out to the nurses at the oncology ward.

Do you prefer your Anzac biscuits chewy or crunchy?

Personally I like  them a little bit chewy, so I made that recipe. Both recipes are with some of my other recipes if you click here you will get the crunchy one, or here for the chewy one.

I chose Anzac biscuits for a few reasons. One – because they taste great. Two – because they are so easy to make and don’t need a mixer or any other equipment. My kitchen here is very limited. Three – because they are Australian soldier food – and Dave is known at the oncology ward as the ‘man from the Army’. No, he doesn’t wear camouflage to treatments but they have already got to know him pretty well!

I still have polenta in the cupboard so last night served it with chicken wrapped is prosciutto, steamed vegetables, and a garlic cream sauce. It’s actually a meal that the 4 of us all like so the kids will be disappointed they missed out. I wrapped the chicken in thin slices of prosciutto, pan fried them to seal them off, then put them into the oven until they were cooked through.  This is actually a very common technique for chefs – you get the colour, flavour and ‘sealing’ from a hot pan or grill – then its nice and easy just to finish in the oven. There’s much less risk of overcooking and you can time things to be ready simultaneously by putting items in the oven when required. For example you would seal 2 steaks, put a well done one straight in the oven and the medium rare one in the oven 10 minutes later. you might have noticed commercial kitchens usually have pans that can go in the oven. (no plastic handles)

In this case it also provides a pan to cook sauce in, which has a little flavour from the prosciutto and chicken that has been sealed in it. Last night I then added some freshly crushed garlic, sautéed briefly, then a splash of white wine or stock, some cream, some freshly chopped herbs and reduced until it was sauce consistency.  You don’t need a lot of sauce – just a tablespoon or so per serve, it’s just there to add some moisture and flavour – not to overwhelm the dish. The same technique can be used for veal or seafood dishes as well. Just adapt to what you have on hand. You can add tomato passata rather than cream, different herbs or other flavourings. So easy!