Confessions of a closet MasterChef fan

October 18th, 2011

Promotions Recipes

When I first heard of MasterChef, I was apathetic. I remember overhearing people in the office lunchroom excitedly chatting about their favourite contestants and feeling sorry for them. “Poor fools,” I muttered to myself, burying my head in a Dostoevsky novel and congratulating myself on my vast intellectual superiority. “Why should I care about yet another overhyped reality television show?”

The first two seasons were easy to avoid since I didn’t own a TV. But Season Three, well. That was a different story.

I’d just returned from an overseas trip, and was living at my aunt’s house until my bank balance recovered. My aunt (who is, incidentally, a terrific cook) would usually have the TV on at dinner time, which in our household was around 7pm. And like a wayward youth smoking their first cigarette, I shrugged my shoulders, settled in, and reasoned with myself: “Oh, just this once. Can’t hurt, can it?”

Of course, “just this once” soon became every night of the week (except Saturday, which was the one horrible MasterChef-less day) – a commitment I took more seriously than just about anything else in my life. Going to the gym? Optional. Going to work? Optional. Watching MasterChef? MANDATORY.

I became so utterly addicted to MasterChef that I actually regretted spending so much time in Europe – which is what caused me to miss the first few weeks of the show.

What was it about this program that I liked so much? Ask a similar question to any newlywed and you’ll no doubt get some clichéd response like “his eyes” or “the way he makes me laugh”, which is precisely how I sound when I try to articulate the myriad ways in which I love MasterChef. Certainly, there’s the food – who doesn’t like food? Then there’s the dramatic tension, made even more enthralling by the melodramatic sound effects and ad break cliff-hangers. And then, of course, there’s Matt Preston’s eyebrows, which are enough to send any red-blooded woman into a flurry of enraptured ecstasy.

But really, I think what makes MasterChef is truly great is… actually wait no sorry I forgot – my memory is terrible these days. Possibly from watching too much television.

Anyway, you can only imagine my excitement when I found out about the latest promotion from Sunbeam: the MasterChef Kitchen Experience. Anyone who buys a Sunbeam appliance between now and 24th December can go in the draw to win a behind the scenes tour of the MasterChef kitchen, and “gain an insight into the workings of the TV series”.

Which is fantastic because I really do need a new food processor. And sandwich press. And blender. And deep fryer. And milkshake maker.

I’ll leave you with this recipe (courtesy of Sunbeam and MasterChef) for one of my favourite foods: cheesecake. It’s disgusting. …Disgustingly good!

White chocolate cheesecake

Preparation Time: 30mins
Cooking Time: Overnight
Serves: 10

Ingredients:

250g plain sweet biscuits
125g butter, melted
2 teaspoons gelatine
¼ cup water
375g cream cheese, softened
½ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
300ml thickened cream
150g white chocolate, melted Mixed berries and grated white chocolate, to garnish

Method:

1. Grease and line a 22cm spring form tin with baking paper.
2. Place biscuits in a food processor. Process until fine. Add melted butter. Process until combined.  Press mixture onto the base of the prepared tin.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes
3. Sprinkle gelatine over water in a heatproof jug. Stand jug in a small saucepan of simmering water. Stir until gelatine dissolves. Cool slightly.
4. Place cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Using the beaters, beat on Low speed (1-2) until just combined. Increase to Medium/High speed (4-5) and beat until smooth.
5. Add cream. Continue beating until just combined. Add chocolate and gelatine mixture. Beat until just combined. Pour mixture into prepared tin. Refrigerate overnight or until firm.
6. Serve garnished with mixed berries and grated chocolate.