Wild Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:
2 cups mushrooms (as many different types as available), diced
2 cups stock
1 cup cream
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

Method:

1. Lightly saute mushrooms in olive oil. Remove.
2. Simmer stock & add diced mushrooms, salt & pepper for 1 hour. Remove & blend coarsely.
3. Simmer & add cream for 15 minutes. Remove & serve.

Serves 4

Peppered Rib-eye

Ingredients:
1 rib-eye (5-6 lbs)
½ cups black pepper corns - coarsely cracked
½ small tin ground cardamoms
1 cup soy sauce
¾ cup white vinegar
1 garlic - minced
1 big tin tomato paste
1 small tin paprika
2 cups beefstock
1 big tin corns starch

Method:

1. Combine pepper & cardamoms & sprinkle over steak.
2. Combine soy, vinegar, garlic, tomato paste, paprika to make marinade. Place steak in shallow dish & cover with marinade. Cover dish & chill for 24 hourrs, basting occasionally.
3. Remove from fridge, drain, & reserve marinade. Stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
4. Wrap meat securely in foil, place in roasting pan & roast at 160°C for 1 hour.
5. Remove from oven. Open foil, drain & reserve liquid. Raise oven temperature to 200°C & brown ribeye uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove, place on serving platter to keep warm.
6. Combine pan juices with ¼ cup of the marinade & add the beef stock. Heat. Mix the corn starch with a small amount of water & add to simmering stock. Simmer 2 minutes until clear. Serve.

Pear & Ginger Upside Down Pudding

Ingredients:
200g Butter
200g Soft brown sugar
3 Pears, cored, peeled and quartered
2 Eggs, beaten
125g Flour
1 tsp Baking powder
2 tsp Ground ginger

Method:

1. Melt 75g of the butter and add 75g of the sugar. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Add the pears and stir gently to coat the pear quarters. 
2. Arrange the pear quarters onto the base of a greased 20cm cake tin and drizzle over a little of the melted butter.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together the remaining butter and sugar to a creamy consistency. Gradually add the egg and the flour, adding a little of each at a time. Add the ginger and baking powder and fold in. Test the consistency of the sponge mixture to see if it drops off the end of a spoon in a big dollop. If it is too dry, add a little milk, until dropping consistency is reached. 
4. Spoon the cake mix evenly over the pears.
5. Place into an oven at 180° C and bake for 40 - 45 minutes, or until the cake is risen and golden. To ensure the cake is cooked, gently press in the middle - the cake should bounce back into shape. 
6. When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring (upside-down of course) to a wire cooling rack.
7. Drizzle the remaining syrup over the cake once it is cool.

Serve with a little creme fraiche. The quantities shown in this recipe make enough for a 20cm cake, approximately 12 servings.