The in-between terrine: brousse de bresis

My boxing partner demanded this morning at 7am: so where exactly is the next terrine? I am just as terrified at failing the blog as my partner's heavy sparring punches, so I have decided to take myself to task and get back on board the terrine train. I haven't exactly been down for the count, but mainly have been a little preoccupied with getting back in the full-time uni groove. Last week we went back pre-semester and to be honest I'm still a little shell-shocked - and not just by the queue for course books at the co-op. Today was the first day of school, and with the typical humanities-type timetable I had a class at midday and my next one is at five. In between I have come up with the goods and my next terrine is: brousse de bresis, or terrine of sheep's curd. Before I hear you groan: oh dear god, can this woman PLEASE make a non-cheese-related-terrine, I have to remind you that the Sydney weather at the moment is simply not conducive to meaty, rich terrines. You may also have realised that I am a cheese-over-chocolate person. Given the choice of eating either at any time of day, the answer is always: cheese please.

I have substituted sheep's curd (didn't have time to dash over valleys to the local shepherds' farmers' market) for a nice quality goat's cheese with a little dill thrown into the mix. I've been craving chilli lately, so I tossed a nice hot one in there. The other major ingredient with this terrine is one of my other favourite foods: zucchini. This is a dead easy recipe and when you see the finished result you will be impressed! Warning: arty shots ahead.

Simply slice the zucchini horizontally (for want of a better word) - thinly. The bottom slice can be thrown away so that the base can stabilise. Then spread the goat's cheese mixture over each slice and re-assemble the zucchini the way nature intended:

It's starting to take shape. And you've only spent approximately seven minutes on this dish so far! It's win-win. Once all slices are stacked and accounted for, scrape the edges with a spatula to spruce up the overall effect:

In fact it was so appealing, someone came running...

This is a more free-form terrine, and does not require any refrigeration or gelatin to prepare. This is a nice, fresh terrine that can be made in minutes, with maximum visual impact. If you like zucchinis, so much the better! Now, friends, I must dash - have to get to my lecture this afternoon on 'Evidence-Based Practice in the Secondary School'. Then I can come home and crash on the couch with this terrine, my mum and the Oscars! Bon appetit....

A cameo guest appearance by...YOU!

I had a lovely email from a concerned friend today - someone who knows all too well my Gemini tendency to juggle ten projects at once (and also my Gemini propensity to drop things and never return to them). As my friend and I are moving from the simple realm of great friendship and former-flatmates to the very grey area of Jedi/Young Apprentice, Potential Employer/Potential Employee, and, oh-okay- Editor/Writer, I am wont to take their advice as kind regard for my mental health and wellbeing. My great friend/former-flatmate/partner-in-crime/Vince-Noir-loving/Editor/Potential Employee/Jedi suggested I do something slightly fabulous. 

Ladies and gents, I am offering you the chance-in-a-life-time, once-only option of guest-blogging a terrine on cinquante-deux terrines. Actually, no. Please feel free throughout the year to suggest a terrine, create a terrine, do it, photograph it, document it and blog it. 


If you would like to volunteer to make a terrine in your suburb, state, or side of the world and contribute to the blog, please feel free to let me know and I can send you some recipes. Or you can search for recipes on the good-old-fashioned-Google-machine. Then we can work out the technicalities of publishing the post etc. Just drop me a line if you want to commit to terrine-making! I'm happy to momentarily pass the mantle...as long as yours doesn't look better than mine! I jest, of course. And just for old-times' sake, here's a pic of Vince Noir:

And because I am the master of this domain, a pic of Howard Moon too....Bonsoir until the next terrine...

The-easiest-damn-terrine-in-the-world

Sometimes things can weigh on your mind. The last thoughts as you drift from drooling wakefulness into sleep (too much information?) can plague you: overdue BAS statements, orientation day for your third university degree (are they letting children into university now??), a dog with snoring issues, neglected facebook friends....and the terrines you haven't made for three weeks running.


My fellow terrine-lovers -  apologies for the length between drinks (err...terrines). The last few weeks have been incredibly busy and always at the back of my mind is the fact that I am falling behind on my terrine mission. Never fear, because I'm back!


When I started this crazy venture, I always had the spare, go-to terrine in the back of my mind. I thought I would pull it out mid-July when things were really hectic, but it seems I've had to call on the big back-up guns in February.


The following terrine is the one of the easiest damn things you'll ever make. I've made it tonnes of times before and the recipe comes from Mr Reynaud's first book Ripailles. To be honest, this recipe and the orange tuille biscuits are the only other things I've managed to conquer from that book (okay, the tuilles were kind of burnt).


All that is required are two of the good things in life: a decent, creamy blue cheese and some celery. Mr Reynaud's original recipe calls for butter...so make that three if you want to add it to the celery mixture.  Given that we're from Gen X/Gen Y, that means we are a generation that don't really use or eat butter anymore so I have eliminated it altogether from this terrine. Frankly, you won't need it!


First, find yourself some good quality blue cheese: I like blue castello for this dish.

Line your terrine with cling wrap and smoosh the first block of cheese into base of the terrine (I checked - smoosh is a technical term used for the re-shaping of cheeses. Truly.). Smooth it out so that cracks can't occur. Then add a very fine layer of chopped celery stalks - this will be the middle layer of the terrine.

Then grab your second block of cheese then smoosh and layer over the layer of celery. Wrap the whole thing in clingwrap and then pop into the fridge until you need to eat/deliver it to a barbeque.


The beauty of this terrine is that it can be made in under ten minutes (if you don't count the quick drive to the shops, avoiding the old-timers trying to back their Honda Sonatas into small car spaces, fighting the mothers with toddlers at the checkout, jumping back into said car and into the cool confines of your own kitchen).


This is what I call the easiest-damn-terrine-in-the-world. And the best part is: the wow-factor when you rock up at the barbeque you're taking it to.

Et voila! This lovely looking thing survived another thirty-degree day in Sydney and was chowed down by a wonderful coterie of very learned and well-travelled types who had congregated in Paddington. What they secretly didn't know was: I barely did a thing.

Apart from being able to impart my growing terrine-wisdom, I learned some very interesting facts at this unique gathering:


- Micronesia is in fact a country, and its capital is Pohnpei (not Pompei, as I repeated for the entire gathering)
- Guam has the largest Kmart in the entire world;
- apparently Honiara, Solomon Islands, has an awesome book club.


You guessed it, the barbie was an interesting gathering of types that had lived and worked all over the Pacific (a reunion of sorts for Australian Youth Ambassadors, of which I am not; I was a hanger on). I was more than happy that I could contribute my little knowledge of Hawaiian culture, I'm pretty sure that qualified me. Three months and apparently I'm an expert.


Next up: I'm working on a terrine with a tropical theme.