tangerine eats

Spicy Lamb Leg with Pumpkin & Couscous Salad

2011-11-19T10:38:00.000+11:00

Lamb leg has everything I want in a piece of meat. It's tender, juicy, easy to cook, inexpensive and has an appropriate amount of fat. When you roast it, every part of it is delightful to eat. It's not fidgety like other cuts where you have to cook it in several pots and pans and you end up spending more time cleaning than eating. The fat renders off beautifully in the oven and it all melts in your mouth.

I love a roast with an intense spice rub. There's a lot of meat on that bone so you need a lot of flavour. This rub is so delicious and a great example of using spices for their flavour rather than heat. When it mixes in with the lamb juices, it's a marriage made in heaven.

A couscous salad is the perfect way to soak up those beautiful juices, not to mention it's dead simple to make. I also put in some roast pumpkin (tossed in those lovely spices) for colour and sweetness.

Spicy lamb leg

You'll need:

Lamb leg (mine was 1.5kg)
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
Birdseye chilis (to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon salt

Combine turmeric, paprika, cumin, garlic, ginger, chili, olive oil and lemon juice in a mixing bowl.

Wash and pat dry lamb leg with paper towels.

Rub the spice mixture onto the lamb.

Marinade in fridge for at least an hour. The lemon juice tenderises the meat so the longer the better.

Preheat oven to 170°C.

Roast lamb on a wire rack for 1 hour 20 minutes for every 1.5kg. (I know my oven is pretty slow so I left it in for an extra 10 minutes.)

Rest for at least half an hour.

It should be beautifully pink medium-rare, so juicy and tender it will hardly hold onto your fork.

Pumpkin & couscous salad

You'll need:

500g pumpkin, diced
1 cup couscous
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt
Juice of one lemon
½ cup red onion, finely diced
½ cup raisins
Handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped

Toss the pumpkin in any left over marinade and roast with lamb for 1 hour on a baking tray in a single layer.

Combine couscous, olive oil, salt and water in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes.

Separate couscous with a fork and mix in pumpkin, lemon juice, onion, raisins and mint.

Enjoy!

Homemade Banana Ice Cream in Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwiches

2011-11-04T13:57:00.000+11:00

I never understood the appeal of a frozen banana until I tried it myself. I knew that vodka and gin stayed nice and unfrozen in the freezer - but putting a piece of fruit in there? Surely it'd come out rock hard (don't mind the innuendo). Somehow, it doesn't. It's creamy and chewable, kind of like... ice cream! Mix it with a bit of cream and voila - creamy, smooth, scoopable ice cream!

The best thing about this is it's much healthier than store-bought ice creams. There's no preservatives, you can control how much sugar you put in (or even substitute sugar with honey, maple syrup or agave nectar) and most of it's fruit. Plus, you're not spending hard earned money on packaging.

What better way to have it than to serve it with peanut butter and jelly - an unbeatable combination. You've got the salty P, the creamy B and the sweet J (there's the innuendo again). Squish it between two layers of crunchy cookie and you've got yourself one hell of an ice creamy sandwich.

Banana ice cream

You'll need:

2 bananas
200ml thickened cream
½-1 cup castor sugar, depending on how sweet the bananas are

Peel and puree the bananas. You can use a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, like me, you can use a potato ricer.

Combine cream and sugar and whip until soft peaks form.

Gently fold the two together and place in an air-tight container.

Chill in freezer overnight. (It takes longer to set than other ice creams.)

Sandwich with cookies, peanut butter and strawberry or raspberry jam. Easy.

Enjoy!

Char Siu Pork and Roasted Fennel

2011-10-29T17:48:00.000+11:00

I remember the good old days when I'd walk to Hurstville shopping centre late in the afternoon in pyjamas and pick up a box of end-of-the-day char siu pork for $2. I like to think I've evolved and matured since I was 17 but that char siu pork is still something I'd happily eat every afternoon.

This recipe is super, super easy. It does cost a little more than $2 but you can definitely wear your pyjamas while preparing it. I used to have this with cabbage, but since I was using the oven, I decided to roast some fennel with it. When roasted, fennel loses its anise flavour and becomes really sweet.

You'll need:

500g pork (I used pork belly rashers but if you don't like fat, you can get a loin fillet)
3 tablespoons char siu sauce (it's a deep red jammy sauce)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ fennel bulb
Vegetable oil

Combine char siu sauce, sesame oil and pork and marinade for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Slice the fennel and lightly toss with vegetable oil and a bit of leftover marinade. Bake for about 30 minutes.

I grilled the pork on a griddle pan (on the highest heat) for a minute on each side to get those delicious char marks but you can also put the pork straight in the oven.

Bake pork on a wire rack. How long will depend on how thick your pork is. Check it every 10 minutes and if it's not ready, baste it with the leftover marinade and pop it back in.

When done, rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Slice and serve with rice, spring onion, chili and cucumber.

Enjoy!

Macadamia & Vanilla Poached Meringue

2011-10-23T16:18:00.000+11:00

Light, fluffy meringues poached in a vanilla and macadamia infused milk, served with macadamia and strawberry jam

You'll need:

2 eggs
100g castor sugar
400ml milk
15 raw macadamia nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberry jam to serve

Ground 10 macadamia nuts until it's a rough meal.

Combine milk, macadamia meal and vanilla in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and remove from heat. Infuse for half an hour and strain.

Beat egg whites until medium peaks form.

Slowly add the sugar. Beat until stiff and glossy.

Place strained milk back into the saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Spoon dollops of the meringue into the milk. Turn when the meringues expand. (You'll inevitably get milk skins on the meringues but you get remove them later.)

Remove and drain on paper towels. (Wipe off any bits of milk skin.)

Serve with finely chopped macadamia and strawberry jam. Check out my strawberry jam recipe here.

Enjoy!

Gnocchi with Creamy Pumpkin & Prosciutto Sauce

2011-10-10T20:49:00.000+11:00

I remember when I was a teenager I made gnocchi from a packet and I found it revolting. I could have just accepted that I didn't like gnocchi and let it go, except it really bothered me that everyone raved about gnocchi. How could anyone like this? I thought. Was I missing something or was it the most overrated pasta? So I cooked it again and again hoping that I'd like it. I didn't and I gave up on it for years.

It wasn't until two years ago that I tried fresh gnocchi in a restaurant and it all made sense to me. It's not supposed to be tough, chewy and gluggy! It's meant to be soft and silky. Because there was such a big difference between bad gnocchi and good gnocchi, I figured that the recipe must be really difficult or the chef must have added some secret ingredient - otherwise, why didn't they have good gnocchi in packets? I was wrong again. Turns out, it's ridiculously simple to make but the key to really good gnocchi (other than a good potato-flour ratio) is freshness.

Click here for a simple baked potato gnocchi recipe. Baking the potato removes excess moisture and makes the gnocchi less gummy.

Keep in mind to use as little flour as possible. You only need enough to hold the gnocchi dough together (between 1 and 2 cups). Otherwise it won't be silky.

My batch stayed perfectly soft and silky in the fridge for two days.

For the sauce, you'll need:

300g butternut squash, diced into 1.5cm cubes
3 slices prosciutto (I used Serrano), plus more for garnish
Olive oil
25g unsalted butter
Salt, to taste
2 French shallots, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sage leaves, finely chopped, plus more for garnish
Handful of parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon cream
Parmesan cheese

Blanch pumpkin cubes in simmering salted water for 2 minutes. Remove and place into a bowl of iced water.

Fry prosciutto in a bit of olive oil until fragrant and crispy. Remove and leave to rest.

Add half of the butter into the pan. Fry a few sage leaves in the butter until crispy. Remove and leave to rest.

Fry pumpkin in the same pan on as many sides you can be bothered until brown. Season with salt. Remove and leave to rest.

Add the rest of the butter and saute shallots, garlic and sage until the shallots are translucent.

Add pumpkin, prosciutto, parsley and cream. Remove from heat when combined.

Cook the gnocchi in rapidly boiling salted water. It's ready when it floats to the top of the water.

Place gnocchi and a little bit of pasta water into the sauce and stir together.

Garnish with a slice of prosciutto, more parsley, fried sage leaves and parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Lavender Panna Cotta

2011-10-06T21:09:00.001+11:00

There's a lavender bush in a small lane near my place and it gives off the loveliest scent. Even though I felt a little bit naughty about it, I had to bring some home. I've always wanted to make a lavender-infused dessert so I decided to make lavender and honey panna cotta with passionfruit syrup.

This recipe is adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's elderflower vanilla panna cotta recipe on River Cottage Every Day. (Incidentally, HFW makes me want to move to the country, grow my own vegetables and raise a family of lambs.)

So creamy and florally...

You'll need:

100ml milk
250ml double cream
30g castor sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Some lavender heads (I used 8)
2 teaspoons gelatine powder
150ml natural yoghurt

Place milk, cream, sugar, honey, vanilla and lavender in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat as soon as it bubbles. Leave to infuse for half an hour.

Strain through a sieve and place back into saucepan. Warm over low heat.

Mix gelatine in with a third of the mixture. Stir into the whole mixture. Cool completely.

Stir in yoghurt.

Pour into 4 moulds. I used ramekins, lightly greased with vegetable oil.

Set in fridge for at least 2 hours.

When you're ready to serve, dip each mould into hot water for 10 seconds and then flip out onto a plate.

Drizzle with passionfruit syrup (combine 1 passionfruit, ¼ cup sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a saucepan over low heat and simmer for a few minutes).

Enjoy!

Apple Pie

2011-10-02T20:02:00.004+11:00

I always find myself with an obnoxious surplus of apples in the fruit basket. Dan loves having them in the house and will bring bags of the stuff home. Me, I'm a slow eater and I can never finish an apple before it turns brown. So at the end of the week, instead of letting it go to waste, I make something with it that I can eat as slowly as I want.

Sometimes I put slices of green apple into cocktails and sprinkle with sugar; sometimes I cover diced apple with custard; but apple pie is the most gratifying. It's so simple to make as well. All it takes is a bit of love and some handiwork.

Check out my post on The Curry Tiger (a curry beef pie with mash, peas and gravy) for the pastry recipe.

Apple filling

You'll need:

5 large apples
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (never essence!)
1 teaspoon cornflour

Peel and cut apples into 1cm thick slices.

Place apples, sugars, water and vanilla in a small pot over low heat.

Simmer until the apples are just cooked through.

Remove apples and mix cornflour into the syrup.

Place apples and syrup into a shallow dish and cool completely in the fridge.

Put the filling in the pastry and create a lattice lid.

Fold down the edges to make a crust.

I glazed the top of the pastry with a ginger sugar syrup (thinly slice a 2cm knob of ginger and simmer gently in ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup water for half an hour) and sprinkled it with demura sugar for a nice little crunch.

Bake at 220°C until golden brown (my oven took 40 minutes again).

Enjoy!

The Curry Tiger

2011-10-01T10:42:00.004+10:00

Every Tuesday, I have the pleasure of volunteering at a legal centre in Woolloomooloo, located fortuitously opposite the original Harry's Cafe de Wheels. All I have to do is sigh, "Pie," on a Tuesday and Dan will know what I'm talking about: chunky beef, spicy curry, pastry with a perfect balance of flaky and soggy, mash, peas and gravy. Thus is the Curry Tiger for $5.80. Genius.

I decided to make it at home with some personal touches: shredded slow-cooked beef, creamy curry, homemade pastry (the best!) and lots of creamy, buttery mash.

Pastry

250g plain flour
200g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
½-¾ cups iced water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Dice the butter and chill in the freezer for a few minutes.

Combine flour, salt, sugar and butter in a large bowl.

Cut the butter into the flour until you have pea-sized pieces of butter (these will melt in the oven and make the pastry light and flaky). You can use a food processor or a pastry cutter for this step. I have neither so I used a mezzaluna and it worked a treat.

Add the water little by little and mix in with a plastic pastry scraper. Stop when the dough just comes together.

Turn out onto a floured surface and split the mixture into two (one for the base, one for the lid). Mould each dough with your hands and knead two or three times so it all sticks together. Wrap with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for at least half an hour.

You can keep the dough for up to two days in the fridge, which is great because you can make the dough and the filling the night before.

Curry filling

500g osso bucco, washed, dried and salted generously
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion
5 cloves garlic, peeled
5cm parsley or coriander stalks, roughly chopped
Chilis, halved (add as many as you'd like)
1 litre water
400ml coconut milk
Curry powder (add to taste)
2 tablespoons plain flour

Heat oil in a deep pot over a medium-high heat.

Sear the meat and remove from pot.

Reduce heat to medium and saute the vegetables.

Add water, coconut milk and curry powder (the instructions on mine recommended 4 tablespoons to a litre of water). Bring to a boil.

Place meat into liquid and simmer gently for at least three hours.

Remove meat and shred with two forks.

Add flour to the liquid and stir in. Strain so you get a smooth sauce.

Place the meat and 500ml of the sauce in a container and chill in the fridge. If you're making the pie on the same day, wait until the filling is completely cool. Otherwise, you can fridge it for about three days.

Note: You'll have a lot of curry sauce leftover. It's infused with delicious marrow and beef fat which you can enjoy with rice or bread.

Making the pie

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Technically you don't need to line the pan because there's so much butter in the pastry, but I like to be safe. I lined a 20cm springform pan with butter then baking paper.

Roll out the first piece of dough on a floured surface until it's about half a centimetre thick. Gently line the pan with the pastry.

Fill the base with the curry filling.

Roll out the second piece of dough and cut out a circle about 3cm bigger than the pan.

Place the lid on the pie and trim the edges.

Fold down the edges and cut a few holes in the lid to let the steam escape.

Bake until golden brown (my incredibly slow oven took about 40 minutes).

Rest for at least 20 minutes before taking it out of the pan to avoid the pie collapsing.

Serve with mash, peas and gravy.

Enjoy!

DIY Barbeque

2011-09-18T20:39:00.002+10:00

Lamb, lebanese eggplant, yoghurt and parsley

I am very into DIY lately. It started as a way of killing time while I was at home sick for a few days - I bought fabric and hand-sewed a dress. It was a great success, except for one little detail: I couldn't sit down in it. (Not a big deal, I've worn it to two parties, who needs to sit down anyway?) I have learnt my lesson though - don't make a short, tight-fitting dress with a non-stretchy fabric like silk.

I've since upgraded to my mum's old sewing machine and have made two more garments which I would proudly wear. I like to think I've mastered the skill of picking the right fabric for the desired style. So why not expand into bigger projects? Surely Dan and I could concoct an amateur DIY barbeque on our balcony. Guess what? It totally worked!

It's not difficult at all to make a small barbeque out of things you can find at home. We used:

Two bricks to prop it up...

A tray from our oven with a wire rack (incidentally, I also use this to cool baked goods on)...

Firelighters...

And firewood, chopped into small bits.

Place firewood and about four firelighters in the centre of the tray and carefully light. It will take a while for the firewood to set on fire, give it about 20 minutes. Spread the firewood out into an even layer.

You can cook with flames or wait until the flames go out and use the residual heat. We used the flames for a chargrilled taste.

Place the wire rack over the fire. You can prop it up with oven-proof dishes. We used two ramekins.

"Please, feed us..."

Meanwhile, prepare your food.

I tossed diced lamb and onion in a Masterfoods herb rub (it tastes good, shoot me) and olive oil and arranged them on wooden skewers (soaked in water for half an hour). I also cut some lebanese eggplants lengthways and rubbed the marinade on them.

Meat touching flame, caramelising, fat dripping off into the fire and cooking back into the meat...

It got dark pretty quickly so I had to take a crappy nighttime photo, but my god it tasted good. Slightly crunchy chargrilled crust, tender medium-rare meat inside, smokey-woody taste - need I say more? It was pure rustic heaven and a fucking delicious spread.

Of course, use your common sense and be very careful with fire. We brushed away anything flammable from the corner we put the barbeque in, brought out a jug of water with us and used oven mitts. You also need to think about the surfaces around the barbeque (i.e. I wouldn't do this on a wooden floor or next to a tree). Otherwise, happy barbequing!

Krispy Kreme Strawberries

2011-08-26T12:00:00.001+10:00

I had an ambitious morning in the kitchen and decided to make Krispy Kremes wrapped around strawberries. Thanks to a really easy batter recipe by the 99 Cent Chef, it was a great success. The doughnuts were light and fluffy and, in my opinion, even better than real Krispy Kremes. The strawberry inside was just soft and really juicy. With the glaze, it was like eating strawberries and cream.

For the batter and Krispy Kreme glaze, check out the recipes here.

To make a Krispy Kreme strawberry, you'll need:
Strawberries (just ripe)
Wooden skewers

Poke skewers into the tops of the strawberries. Place on a plate and freeze for one hour. Wrap thin semi-circle layers of doughnut dough around the strawberries. Rest for 10 minutes (the strawberries will cool the dough).

When the oil is hot enough, dip the strawberry into the oil so that it covers half the dough. Cooking the bottom first ensures that the doughnut sticks to the strawberry. Turn the strawberry on its side and carefully cook the top, turning the skewer slowly.

Dry on paper towels and glaze.

If you're impatient, like me, you can fry the rest of the batter in globs and roll in sugar for a classic doughnut hole.

Salt

2011-08-22T13:59:00.001+10:00

The lovely Felicity at Arbon Publishing recently sent me a copy of The Salt Book (Gubler, Glynn, Keast). Aside from being a glossy book I'd drool over and caress my cheek with in a bookshop, it's also a very intriguing read. It contains everything you need to know about salt, from the health implications of eating salt, to how to use salt wisely and great recipes that make salt an exciting ingredient to experiment with.

I tried some recipes over the weekend and I was blown away at how simple and inexpensive it is to make really impressive dishes.

Melon & Prosciutto (recipe extracted from The Salt Book)

You'll need:
1 ripe rock melon or honeydew melon
6 slices prosciutto (I used Serrano)
Persian blue or other finishing salt (I used fine Himalayan pink salt)

Using a melon baller, scoop out the flesh of the melon. Slice the prosciutto into small strips, slightly larger than the circumference of the melon balls. Wrap the prosciutto around the melon and secure with a toothpick. Lay the melon balls on their side and sprinkle each with an attractive finishing salt such as Persian blue salt.

Salty, smokey, thinly sliced Serrano prosciutto

Chicken in Salt Crust

You've probably seen something similar on Masterchef. Basically, you wrap a whole chicken in a dough of flour and salt, bake until the dough is rock hard and rest to slowly cook the chicken. The final product is really interesting. I've never tasted chicken like this. Obviously, it's salty. It's also incredibly juicy and chickeny.

Himalayan natural pink salt, hand-mined from deep inside the Himalayan Mountains

I absolutely fell in love with Himalayan pink salt. It goes really well with lighter foods like fruit or pasta and pesto because it's more subtle and mellow in flavour. Also, it's high in minerals and iron and is super pretty.

Sticky Spicy Prawns

2011-02-23T17:43:00.002+11:00

When you don't have a lot of time, you need to find creative ways to cut corners. For me, I slash my television time in half by recording shows and watching them in bulk with the handy technology of the fast forward button. For example, with Jamie Oliver's "30 Minute Meals", if I skip the ads and the last 2 minutes of his family eating, and watch the rest on x2, I can watch a whole episode in 5 minutes. Sometimes I slow it down to listen to his voice, but the thing that instantly makes me press play is when he's cooking prawns.

There's something beautiful in the way Jamie Oliver takes a few prawns, rubs herbs and spices on them and throws them under the grill. Not only does it save time, which is what I'm all about these days, it makes for the most tantalising snack or entree. The best part is, no peeling of the prawn! You can eat every part of the prawn - the head's the best part because you get the gooey brain liquids (mmmm).

I tweaked his recipe based on what I had at home, and even though in my head it tastes better with paprika, this is one tasty little crunchy-shelled delight: sticky and sweet with a kick of chili.

You'll need:
8 king green prawns, raw
Zest of one lemon
Juice of half a lemon
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
½ tablespoon olive oil
½ tablespoon honey
½ tablespoon chili flakes
Handful of parsley, roughly chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped

Preheat grill to 200°C.

Combine all of the ingredients in a baking pan. Whack it under the grill until the shells are orange and there's some browning happening on the heads and tails.

Garnish with fresh parsley.

Enjoy!

Pepper-seared Sashimi Tuna

2011-02-20T11:29:00.001+11:00

I finally understand the difference between a $3 roll at Sushi World and a $20 artisan roll at a nice restaurant. The latter most likely uses sashimi grade fish, which, I found out yesterday, does not come cheap.

We bought this beauty at Wellstone Fresh Seafood in Willoughby. I'd read online that they supply seafood to some of the best Japanese restaurants in Sydney. There, I learned that sashimi grade tuna is not the same as a regular tuna steak. In fact, it's twice the price (approx. $20 for 300g) and much deeper in colour. I went home and Googled what makes sashimi grade fish special and it's actually in the way it's caught. Sashimi grade fish is individually caught by hand and killed instantly before chilling. No wonder you rarely see raw tuna at takeaway joints.

This tuna was so tender that the pieces almost fell apart while I was slicing it, and, like most things good in the food world, it melted in my mouth. I have to give credit to Nigella for the pepper crust recipe. Served with a salad of red cabbage, cucumber, spring onion and a soy and wasabi dressing and steamed rice, it was the perfect combination of textures and flavours for a light Summer dinner.

This dish is also an entertainer's dream. You can prepare the tuna and vegetables in the morning and set them aside in the fridge. Then when your guests arrive, you only need to spend 10 minutes searing the tuna, dressing the salad, slicing the tuna and prettying up on a plate.

You'll need:
Sashimi grade tuna
1 teaspoon English mustard
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Peppercorns, lightly cracked
¼ red cabbage
1 cucumber
3 spring onions
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
½ tablespoon sesame oil
½ tablespoon wasabi
1 teaspoon castor sugar
Juice of half a lime
Sesame seeds (optional)
Steamed rice (optional)

Serves 4.

Combine English mustard and sesame oil and rub on tuna.

Roll tuna in pepper, coating well on 4 sides (leaving the ends bare).

Julienne the vegetables and dress with soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, wasabi, castor sugar and lime juice.

Sear each peppered side of the tuna in a hot pan (it should be smoking) for approximately 1 minute or until you can see 1mm of cooked meat. Be careful to not cook any further than that as it will continue cooking off the heat.

Rest tuna until cool.

Slice thinly and arrange on a plate. Garnish salad with sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Osso Bucco Ragu

2011-02-13T20:52:00.000+11:00

There’s much to love about osso bucco. For starters, it’s really fun to say. Secondly, it’s a cut of meat that’s high in collagen, which, when broken down by slow-cooking, becomes rich and gelatinous between the meat fibres so that the meat melts in your mouth. You can buy two pieces of osso bucco from a good quality butcher for less than $10 and this recipe makes 6 servings (that leaves you more money to spend at, say, Country Road). What you end up with is a rich tomato sauce that’s been infused with delicate and meaty veal and bone marrow.

For this recipe, I used a pre-made pasta sauce by Latina, which cuts down the prep time to about 10 minutes. The sauce isn’t the greatest on its own, but when it’s cooked down with meat and veges, it’s brilliant.

You’ll need:
2 portions of osso bucco
3 tablespoons canola oil (or any oil with a high burning point)
2 Spanish onions
6 carrots
¼ green cabbage
5 cloves garlic
500ml beef stock
1L pre-made pasta sauce
Thyme leaves from 2 sprigs
Basil to garnish
Pasta

Roughly chop onions, carrots, cabbage and garlic.

Wash meat and pat dry with paper towels. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a large pot on high heat. Add oil.

When hot, brown the meat (approx. 1 minute each side). Remove from heat and set aside.

Cook the veges in the same pot for about 10 minutes to release all the lovely juices.

Deglaze the pot with beef stock.

Add pasta sauce and thyme and bring to the boil.

Place the meat back in and turn the heat down to low. (I have a fidgety electric stove so I used a thermometer to keep track of the temperature. According to Heston, shin cuts are best cooked at at least 70°C in liquid, so I kept it at 75°C).

Leave for 4 hours.

Cook pasta according to packet instructions. Drain but keep some pasta water.

Remove meat and shred with a fork while hot.

Scoop out veges from the sauce. To thicken the sauce, stir in pasta water or flour.

Add the shredded meat back and basil leaves to the sauce.

Serve with hot pasta.

Enjoy!

Skittles Vodka

2010-12-31T18:07:00.001+11:00

Where has 2010 gone? It's hard to believe that nearly a year ago I started this little blog. I've learnt more about food this year than I have in the twenty before it and I've met the loveliest like-minded and supportive food bloggers. Thank you for making food blogging so enjoyable (even if I only update sporadically!). Anyway, as a last hoorah for 2010, I want to share with you... Skittles vodka!

Skittles are fun but this is no family activity!

You'll need:
1.5L vodka
600g Skittles
5 small drink bottles
Paper towels

Sort the Skittles by colour and put them in separate drink bottles.

Cover with vodka.

Shake.

Leave overnight.

Strain through a paper towel over a sieve.

Mmm Skittles innards...

Wash bottle and pour back in.

Enjoy your NYE! Much love,

Turducken!

2010-12-26T21:11:00.000+11:00

As a meat-lover, my philosophy is this: Why have one meat on Christmas when you can have five? Turducken was the perfect answer: chicken and pork stuffed inside a duck, stuffed inside a turkey, covered with prosciutto. But don't too many cooks spoil the broth? you ask. Nope. Isn't stuffing animals inside each other a bit gratuitous? Sure. Won't you be constipated just eating meat for the day? Worth it.

It didn't stay this pretty for long!

Making turducken in Sydney really is a path less traveled. I was hard-pressed to find reliable recipes online, let alone a butcher that sold pre-made turduckens. So I paved my own way. Many stressful hours went into the preparation of this beast but in the end, if nothing else, I can proudly say "challenge accepted". Instead of doing the whole birds, I used breast meat. Instead of roasting, I braised at a lower temperature. The end result was delicious. The duck fat had cooked into the turkey, it was sweet and sage-infused and the stuffing was phenomenal. However, because I couldn't find any recipes for braising turducken, I had to guess when it was cooked through and I overcooked it slightly. But now that I know, I can share with you all and hopefully next year it won't be so much of a mystery.

You'll need:
1 turkey breast, skinned
2 duck breasts, skinned but fat in tact
1 cup chicken mince
1 cup pork sausage meat
½ cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
½ cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons sage leaves, roughly chopped
1 red onion, finely diced
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
150g prosciutto
750ml apple cider (I used Strongbow's sweet apple cider)
1L chicken stock
Kitchen string

Preheat oven to 140̊C.

Line a roasting pan with baking paper, just to stop the meat from sticking.

Sweat onion over medium heat in some olive oil until just browned. Remove from heat and cool.

Combine chicken mince, pork sausage meat, cranberries, breadcrumbs, sage and cooled onion with your hands. Season with salt and pepper. (Never make stuffing ahead of time for safety reasons. Always cook moist stuffing immediately.)

Using a meat tenderiser, flatten the turkey breast until it's even in thickness.

Lay the duck breasts, fat side down, on the turkey.

Mould a log of stuffing on top.

Roll tightly and layer prosciutto slices on the top.

Carefully secure with kitchen string.

Place in roasting pan. Pour in all of the apple cider and enough chicken stock so that the liquid comes up halfway on the meat. You can put vegetables in the liquid.

Cook for 1½-2 hours, until core temperature is 75̊C. If you don't have a meat thermometer (like me), test by putting a knife through to the centre for 5 seconds and feeling if the knife is warm. As soon as it's ready, take it out of the oven, remove from liquid and rest for 10 minutes.

Make a gravy with the liquid by whisking in around 5 tablespoons of flour, simmering for 5 minutes, and pushing through a sieve.

Serves 8-10 people.

Enjoy!

My top tip is to call your butcher a week in advance and ask if they'll have all the meats. Most places will let you place an order to pick up right before Christmas day. You should only store poultry in the fridge for one to two days, otherwise freeze it.

Hope you guys had a fantastic Christmas, I know I did!

Homemade Jam: Fig, Strawberry & Ginger

2010-12-26T20:01:00.001+11:00

Jam is one of those things you have to keep in the house. When you think of good foods like turkey sandwiches, scones, toast, trifle, spongecakes, jam really ought to be a food group in itself. This year, I decided to make a few batches of jam and give them to family as gifts. Unlike with biscuits or cake (foods that don't make it past Christmas day), every time your loved ones stick a knife in your homemade jam, they'll think of you.

Jam is surprisingly dead easy to make. If you find good quality fruits that are more or less unripened, you really only need 3 ingredients: fruit, sugar and lemon juice. You can add spices or infuse your jam with things like citrus zest or ginger. You can even play around with consistency by putting in some ripened fruit or simmering for shorter or longer.

I decided to make two batches: fig jam, and strawberry and ginger jam. You need unripened fruit because they contain a higher level of pectin, a natural setting agent. Figs are really ripe this time of year so I used the firmest ones I could find. Somehow they made a nice, thick jam. Both jams were delicious and all up took around a day to make.

Fig jam

You'll need:
1kg figs
500g castor sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Glass jars

Preheat the oven to 110̊C.

Place jars in the oven to sterilise. Place the lids in too if they're oven-safe. Otherwise, put them in boiling water while you make the jam.

Quarter the figs and coat well with caster sugar in a large bowl. Keeping the excess sugar, cover and place in fridge until the juices come out (at least 6 hours).

Transfer to a deep pot and place on a medium heat.

Once the sugar is melted, remove the fruit and simmer the syrup for 10-15 minutes.

Return the fruit to the pot and simmer for about half an hour, stirring occasionally.

When it is thick and jammy, take your jar out of the oven and spoon the jam in while the jar is hot. Put the lid on immediately and leave it to cool. Once cool, store in fridge.

Makes around 1 litre.

Strawberry and ginger jam

You'll need:
1kg strawberries
1kg sugar
2 tablespoons ginger, sliced lengthways
Juice of 1½ lemons
Glass jars

Preheat the oven to 110̊C.

Place jars in the oven to sterilise. Place the lids in too if they're oven-safe. Otherwise, put them in boiling water while you make the jam.

Halve or quarter them and place in a deep pot.

Place sugar and ginger in the pot.

Place the pot on a medium heat and stir until the sugar is melted.

Once melted, bring to the boil and gently simmer for about half an hour, stirring occasionally. During this time, taste it regularly and take out the ginger when it's infused to your liking.

Add lemon juice.

When it is thick and jammy, take your jar out of the oven and spoon the jam in while the jar is hot. Put the lid on immediately and leave it to cool. Once cool, store in fridge.

Makes around 2 litres.

Enjoy!

I'm back like original Vegemite on toast

2010-11-20T12:38:00.011+11:00

It has been a while, hasn't it friends? In fact, this hiatus was almost as long as one my toilet breaks at work. The last 3 months have been crazy but I've survived the semester, we've well and truly settled into our new place, I've triumphed over our precarious conventional oven and I have time to blog again! Life is good.

Most of you will know that Dan and I have moved out. I could not be happier with the location and 3 months later we're still discovering cool little places to grab a bite. Here are some of our favourite places to have a casual meal (for those busy nights when you want to be in and out like you mean business).

Ryo's Noodles, Crows Nest

A friend of mine hailed the noodles at this place "the best ramen in Sydney". I still think the best ramen in Sydney is from Ichiban Boshi opposite Kinokuniya in the city, but Ryo's comes really close. The servings are generous, service is fast and the gyoza is killer. Be wary of the Friday night queue that starts around 6pm and opt for no makeup as it gets pretty stuffy with no air con and hot soup.

The Counter, Crows Nest

You know those children's books that have alternate endings and you choose your own adventure? This American franchise lets you choose your own burger adventure. You get to customise every part of your burger on a neat clipboard and a short wait later you get to eat your delicious creation. The burgers are huge so wear your eating pants if you're shy about unbuckling. You have to try the apple pie shake (with real chunks of apple pie) and cheesy fries.

Guzman y Gomez, Crows Nest

I flipped out when I found I lived 2 blocks away from a GYG. Whoever thought up the concept of Mexican fast food and tequila daquiris in the one place must have been a demigod. The only disappointing thing is you can't takeaway alcoholic drinks. I'm still dreaming of the perfect world when we can walk down the street with a drink in one hand and a burrito, taco, quesadilla or nachos in the other.

Thai Emerald, Crows Nest

We get so many Thai takeaway menus in the mail and being the junk mail fiend he is, Dan brings them up to the apartment and hoards them in case we need to order Thai from 30 different places. I'm so glad I let him though because during exams, we did need those menus, and yes, I had prawn pad thai every night for 2 weeks. Thai Emerald did the best prawn pad thai in terms of taste and price. For $11.90, it's by far the cheapest pad thai in Crows Nest, the taste is almost perfect and the prawns are impressively succulent.

I also wanted to share with you guys some pictures of our new place just because it's so darn cute. I like to think of it as 1950s Californian housewife.

Hopefully I'll have a chance to pop down to Harris Farm next week and work on some recipes I've been brainstorming. Very excited!

Lunch Special @ Restaurant Balzac

2010-07-25T12:59:00.009+10:00

141 Belmore Rd, Randwick
French and English restaurant
Book online or call 02 9399 9660
$35 pp for a set menu each Friday

My first impression of Restaurant Balzac (awarded 2 Chef's Hats since 2008) is that it's about the food. The restaurant is tucked away modestly on the busy Belmore Rd in Randwick. The decor is simple, French countryside, and during the day it's bathed in natural sunlight. The service is professional but not snooty. It is perfect for a quiet meal, maybe with a few friends, but there is nothing quiet or understated about the food.

This menu is from a few weeks ago. I thought it was an elegant combination that was perfect for the middle of Winter. The flavours were hearty and complex yet balanced and fresh. Everything was cooked to perfection, the textures were distinct and I cannot rave enough about how good it all tasted.

On top of that, the service was flawless. I had no complaints about this experience. For $35, this is a great way to try what Restaurant Balzac has to offer.

Baked tomato soup with feta arancini

Slow roasted leg of lamb with bean and lentil ragout

Poach quince and almond tart with Chantilly cream

Kam Fook, Chatswood

2010-07-23T16:33:00.003+10:00

Level 6, Westfield, 28 Victor St
Yum cha
Book online or grab a number on the day

Many of my Asian friends will know that I was very deprived of Chinese delicacies growing up. I have few memories of going to yum cha and only know the food by their taste. It was probably for the best because now, as an adult with a bit of disposable income, I can fully appreciate the experience and go as crazy as my stomach will allow.

Dan and I spent a lovely Sunday afternoon at Kam Fook. With my broken Chinese and vague memories of what things were called, we ate our little hearts out. I won't bore you with descriptions, I'm sure you're all familiar with yum cha (what with all food bloggers being Asian and all). As expected, everything was delicious (though not all chopstick-friendly) and doggy-bag-worthy.

Har gao

Pork dumplings

BBQ pork buns

Pork spring rolls

Mixed seafood dumplings

Chicken feet

Dao fu fa

I may not have done this much as a child but I'm thinking I will be a yum cha frequenter from now on because this was really good value! For the both of us, we spent around $50 and doggy-bagged a few things for dinner. In the words of George Costanza, this is like discovering plutonium by accident!

Perfect Pan-Fried Steak & Potato Mash

2010-07-13T22:52:00.003+10:00

The other night, I was in a Nigella mood: I wanted my food fast without the tediousness of cooking things the “proper way”. Only, I took short cuts that would offend chefs and quite frankly, I appalled myself.

You see, instead of thawing frozen meat, I just put it in a bowl and poured boiling water over it. To make it worse, it was steak. By the time it had defrosted through, the outside had started to cook. I was really irked out but I continued cooking it like normal. I wanted to cry, thinking that I’d ruined a perfectly good piece of meat.

That is, until I tasted it.

It was the juiciest, most tender and meatiest-tasting steak I’d ever cooked on the pan! I can’t explain it – all my culinary knowledge about meat points against boiling steak – but it was almost perfect. I do know that kosher meat is boiled to draw out blood and impurities and supposedly this leaves a more refined meat taste. Also, I guess gently cooking the outside of the steak means that it won’t seize up on contact with a hot pan. Either way, this is a fool-proof method for making an excellent steak at home (without a grill or woodfire oven).

So juicy...

Inspired by Heston Blumenthal’s way of cooking, I fiddled around a bit to find the best way to parboil steak before pan-frying. Took a while to fine-tune but I’m very happy with this recipe.

1 steak (make sure it’s a cut that’s suitable for grilling or pan-frying)
2 cloves garlic
Fresh rosemary
Fresh thyme
Olive oil

Put steak in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Slowly bring to 55°C and simmer at the same temperature for 15 minutes. (This is the temperature commonly used for a sous-vide and the idea is to make it hot enough to draw out the blood but not hot enough for the meat to tense up.)

Remove and rest until cool.

Dry well with paper towels, pressing on the steak to soak up excess blood.

Rub olive oil, 1 clove crushed garlic, salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat pan to a very high heat and cook steak for 3 minutes on each side.

Remove and place on a plate or chopping board and immediately dress with olive oil, crushed garlic and chopped rosemary and thyme.

Rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Of course, you must have steak with mash. I never really felt the urge to blog about mash until I saw Heston Blumenthal make the ultimate potato mash on “In Search of Perfection”. The recipe was so ingenious and well thought out that I must share.

1 kg potatoes
300g unsalted butter, cubed
Salt
Cream

Wash, peel and slice potatoes into even pieces (about 1 inch). Cover with cold water in a pot. Slowly bring to 70°C and simmer at the same temperature for 30 minutes. (This locks in the glutens so that the mash isn’t gluey.)

Drain and place potato slices in iced water.

Wash the pot, refill with water, add salt and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and add potatoes (and 3 cloves of garlic if you like garlic in your mash). Simmer until potatoes are tender.

Drain and place potatoes and garlic back in the pot. Shake the pot gently over a low heat to completely dry.

Push potatoes and garlic through a potato ricer into a bowl with butter.

Push through a drum sieve for a finer consistency (optional).

Put back into pot, adding salt and cream to taste. Whisk well over a low heat until light and fluffy.

Enjoy!

Thyme Pancakes

2010-07-07T15:13:00.003+10:00

I believe that after this life, there is a pancake cloud where people eat Canadian style pancakes every morning and then sleep on pillowy pancake pockets every night. In this life, starting the day off with pancakes and bacon is a blessing. I've also been blessed with a few lazy days lately, which is when food ideas come to me.

I like my pancakes light and fluffy. I like a thick batter (lumps don't bother me, Gary and George!) and lots of butter. Fresh garlic and thyme, crispy bacon, garlic mayo and a bit of maple syrup makes this the ultimate savoury pancake breakfast.

1 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1 egg
¾-1 cup milk (depending on how much the flour absorbs)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Fresh sprigs of thyme
Garlic cloves, halved
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
Maple syrup

Place dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well in the centre.

Add egg and whisk flour in from the sides.

Gradually add milk, then butter, while whisking.

Heat pan over medium heat. You want the butter to sizzle (so the pancake doesn't just soak up the butter) but not burn, so lower the heat after the first pancake.

Melt a tiny knob of butter in the centre and lay down a sprig or two of thyme.

Spoon pancake batter over the butter and thyme and spread out with the back of the spoon. Turn over when bubbles form on top or when the edges are brown.

Remove from heat and gently rub the cut side of a garlic clove on the pancake.

Repeat! (This recipe will make 5 pancakes.)

If you love your garlic like I do, crush half a clove of garlic and mix with the mayo. If you don't like the strong hit of garlic, fry it gently in the butter before mixing with the mayo.

Serve with crispy bacon and maple syrup.

The mayo is really rich so the maple syrup provides the perfect balance to each bite (I really, really enjoy sweet and savoury in the same dish). I'm also obsessed with fresh thyme right now - so aromatic and so pretty in the pancakes. This is the kind of meal that warms up my winter days.

Glass Brasserie, Sydney CBD

2010-07-05T21:31:00.002+10:00

488 George St, level 2 of the Hilton
Buffet breakfast
Book online or book as part of a Hilton Mini Break

Most deals don't rope me in. Two for the price of one? I could do without the calories. A 5 year extended warranty for only a little bit extra? I'm sorry - you want more money on top of the purchase price that should ensure that the item works? Likewise, the words "complimentary buffet breakfast" don't wow me. But breakfast at Glass Brasserie is the exception to the rule that buffets mean a ridiculously disproportionate quality to quantity ratio.

Our table looked out onto the QVB; round one (continental breakfast, fruit cocktails, prunes in tea, carrot shot, fruit smoothie)

From the continental section, you've got the usual choices: scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes, hashbrowns, bacon, mushrooms, quiche and sausages. Amazingly, everything tastes great! There's also really cute fruit juices (including the most adorable beetroot and orange sunset), all the condiments you could ask for (I love tomatoes with mustard seeds) and fruit yoghurts.

Round two: fresh fruit, rhubarb compote, more fruit cocktails, sparkling water, quiche

On the same table are sliced deli meats, cheeses, olives and an impressive assortment of fresh fruits. Again, everything tastes great and just when you realise you're almost full, there's still a whole table of pastries to get to!

The highlights are the filled donuts (we took some for the road, of course) and the honeycomb for fresh honey (I wish I could have packed this in my bag like I did with the Crabtree & Evelyn soaps in our room).

A few things are telling that this is by far the best buffet breakfast I've ever tried (and I've been around the block with buffets). For starters, Dan and I were stuffed and we hadn't even tried everything yet. There's nothing worse than having to do rounds of the same dish in order to get full. Also, service was great and the experience is worth the forty-something dollars they charge for non-guests. If not for the food, the wow-factor, ceiling-to-floor windows and plush leather chairs make breakfast on a Sunday a fun-day...time. (Breakfast is not restricted to Sunday, I just wanted to pun.)

I realise this is my first post in a month and the crappy phone photos don't exactly make up for it. I'm still a bit traumatised by the horrendous 3-hour law exams I've had to sit so it's taking me a while to get back into the swing of real life. Bear with me, please?

Oprego Burger Deconstructed and Deep-Fried Cheese

2010-05-17T13:44:00.007+10:00

It was my boyfriend Dan's birthday yesterday and I'd say his two big loves (after me!) are fast food and gaming. And so on the eve of his birthday I made him a fun little dinner combining the two. I present to you the Oporto Oprego burger deconstructed... and invading space!

This little baby has chicken drumsticks, bread wrapped with lettuce, chili and coriander sauce and Oporto's "legendary Prego sauce". It doesn't have tomato and mayo like the genuine Oprego burger but it's finger-lickin' goood! The idea is, you grab a bread and lettuce cube, dip it in the Prego sauce and eat it with a bite of chicken. And unlike a regular burger where the juices soak into the paper wrapper, you can lick every drop of flavour from the plate!

Bread, cut into cubes
Lettuce leaves
6 chicken drumsticks
1 bottle Oporto's Prego sauce
1 large red chili
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons coriander leaves
Lemon juice
Olive oil

Wash and dry drumsticks. Season with salt and cook in butter (in the oven at 180°C for roughly 45 minutes or in a pan on medium-low heat with the lid on until cooked through).

Wrap strips of lettuce around the bread cubes and secure with a toothpick.

Finely chop up chili, garlic and coriander until almost a paste. Place in a bowl and add enough olive oil to cover. Add equal amount of lemon juice. Drizzle over chicken.

Serve with Prego sauce.

I know you're wondering, "Where's the cheese, yo?" Don't worry, I would never ever skimp on cheese. That's why I also made these bad boys!

Deep-fried camembert with fresh tzatziki

I tried these at Mizuya during a food blogger meetup in Sydney and I remember thinking that my boyfriend would love them. This recipe pretty much replicates the ones I had that night and the batter is perfect.

1 wheel of camembert
1 egg
¼ cup plain flour
Bread crumbs (fresh is better)
Vegetable oil for frying
200g Greek yoghurt
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon chives

Using a wet knife, cut camembert into 8 triangular slices. Carefully cut the white casing off. Insert a toothpick into the wide end.

Whisk egg and flour together in a shallow bowl.

Holding the toothpick, dip the cheese into the egg batter. Be careful to coat it all, including part of the toothpick, so the cheese doesn't ooze out in the pan. Allow the excess to drip off.

Coat in breadcrumbs and place on a plate. edit: Coating this batter in breadcrumbs is essential as it inhibits the batter from rising and forming the texture of really bad bread.

Freeze for 2 hours.

Deep-fry until brown.

Combine yoghurt, garlic, lemon juice and chives in a bowl for a dipping sauce.

Serve immediately!

Dan would probably like it if I mentioned that he doesn't actually play Space Invaders. He plays cool games like Modern Warfare 2, that also happen to ruin girlfriends' lives.

I'm kidding. I love you baby! :) Happy 22nd!

Longrain Restaurant & Bar, Surry Hills

2010-05-16T06:42:00.007+10:00

85 Commonwealth St
Call 02 9280 2888 for lunch bookings only

Kids, remember that time when I went to this event called Taste of Sydney and I really wanted to try the yellow curry from the Longrain but was too full? Well, back in 2010 when your father and I and Uncle Tom were poor students, we decided to splurge on an expensive Thai meal in the trendy warehouse part of town. The maître d’ had told me on the phone that no bookings were taken for dinner, so we turned up a bit before dinnertime and had a drink in the bar.

Left to right: Pear and Cinnamon Sour ($16), Bloody Longrain ($16)

While the cocktails were delicious, there were a few let-downs from here on in. For a restaurant with a Chef's Hat, there was no mystique, no great attention to detail and most importantly, no pampering of the patrons. The staff were friendly enough but the way the restaurant was organised did nothing but make us feel unimportant. We had to get there early and line up (I hadn't done this since Ticketek wasn't online), we were seated on a long row of communal tables and we were served by a different waiter each time. I understand that this could be valued as unpretentious dining but it came at the expense of good service. At this point, we were willing to shrug this off because we were here for the food.

Clockwise: freshly shucked oysters with red chili, lime juice and deep fried eschalots ($4 each); red curry of organic grass-fed beef with green peppercorns and Thai basil ($41); eggnet with pork, prawn, peanuts, bean sprouts and sweet vinegar ($28.50); caramelised pork hock with five spice and chili vinegar ($29.50)

For the most part, I wasn't impressed with the food. The oysters were amazing, but the flavours in the eggnet salad were confused. The caramelised pork hock was meant to have a crispy outside but for me it was like eating extremely overdone pork. The red curry sauce was nice, but the way the beef was cooked did not do grass-fed beef justice.

Salad of crisp organic duck breast, sweet fish sauce, green mango and holy basil ($38?)

This was my favourite dish of the night. Unfortunately, this isn't what we ordered. I remember reading from the menu "salad of braised duck" and that's what I ordered. Braised duck isn't on the online menu, but a salad of crisp organic duck breast is, so I guess that's what we had because the duck wasn't braised. Only, we paid $44, not the $38 it says on the online menu?

It's a shame that Longrain didn't live up to my expectations, because I really wanted to love the place, but I think exceptionality and consistency are nothing short of requisites for restaurants of this price level. If this were an architecture and design blog, I would have plenty to rave about, so it wasn't a wasted evening at all. However, I can't help but think I'd find better at a Thai restaurant in the West for a fraction of the price.

So kids, I'm telling you this story because my very well-fed wallet and I can laugh about this now, and even though I didn't really notice back then, this was the beginning of my very own Chef's Hat adventure.

Mother's Day Vegetarian Banquet

2010-05-10T10:43:00.003+10:00

Cooking up a feast for my mother is no usual challenge. You see, she is vegetarian and doesn't eat onion or garlic. This year, I didn't want to just bake a cake or make something bland tasting. So I took a leaf from the MasterChef book (so to speak) and looked back to my childhood.

Growing up, my mum often served tofu, eggplant and lotus root at dinner. It's funny how foods I used to take for granted I now find really interesting and fun to cook. The best part of the banquet was that I got to teach my mum new flavours for vegetarian cooking as well as it being an homage to the food of my childhood.

I decided to make an entrée of agedashi tofu with a red papaya salad, a platter of lotus root, eggplant and cucumber salad, and a soy and sweet ginger soup for dessert.

Agedashi tofu with red papaya, chili and sweet spicy Asian dressing

This was so amazing. The tofu had a light crispy outside and an almost silkened inside. The freshness of the papaya perfectly set off the sweet, spicy and salty dressing. I would've been happy if this was the only thing I'd made!

1 packet momen tofu
½ cup potato starch
Vegetable oil for frying
½ red papaya
½ carrot
1 long red chili
1 long green chili
Luke Nguyen's Vietnamese dressing (I took out the garlic)

Heat oil in a deep-fryer or a deep wok to roughly 170°C.

Cut tofu into 16 pieces and coat with potato starch (try to pack on as much as possible for extra crispiness).

Drop each piece gently into the oil down the side. Fry until lightly brown. Drain on paper towel.

Thinly slice papaya and chilis and julienne the carrot. (I julienned mine very roughly!)

Arrange tofu and salad on plate and drizzle the dressing over.

From top to bottom: caramelised lotus root, eggplant salad and cucumber salad (recipes courtesy of Kylie Kwong)

An interesting ingredient used in the first two recipes was the shao xing wine. I had never heard of it but when I smelt it, I recognised it from my grandparents' cooking. It's a very pungent rice vinegar wine, used in dishes affixed with the word "drunken". When cooked, it has a very unique sour flavour that goes incredibly well with vegetables. I did have a bit of trouble finding this in the Asian grocery store though. The bottle doesn't actually have "shao xing" written on it - it's all in Chinese! I would suggest either looking on the little shelf tags in the vinegar section or asking someone.

Eggplant is great for such intense flavours because it soaks it all up. I stir-fried my eggplant (instead of steaming) and I added chili and coriander. The end result was a piece of eggplant that was so delicious and firm enough for it to feel a bit meaty.

Caramelised lotus root

I'm not too sure how readily available fresh lotus root is in Sydney. Kylie Kwong recommends Randwick Oriental Supermarket in Kingsford for fresh Chinese ingredients, and they do stock lotus root. I remember that my mum sometimes used pre-sliced and frozen lotus root, so that's what I got from my local Asian grocery store.

Lotus root has the most interesting texture. I would liken it to water chestnut, but less smooth. The strange and robust texture goes really well with the sweetness. Because it's cooked on high heat for about 10 minutes, it creates this brown, sticky and caramelised sauce.

Cucumber salad

I love how simple and refreshing this is after sweet, sour and spicy. Even though the dressing is hot and sour, the juicy cucumber cuts through it all and balances out the flavours.

For dessert I wanted to make a tofu pudding (dao fu fa). I used to love it at yum cha. It's meant to be a really wobbly pudding (wobblier than panna cotta) in a sweet and warm ginger soup. However, my pudding didn't set in time so I served it as a rich soy milk soup with the ginger syrup swirled through. It was still really cute (especially in my new pink Marie Claire ice cream bowls!) and YUM, so I wasn't too bummed about it not being perfect. But not to worry, I'll try it again and share the recipe next time.

I hope everyone enjoyed Mother's Day!

Gooey Rocky Road Soufflé

2010-04-23T12:13:00.008+10:00

I'll let you in on a secret: when it's late at night and there's no one else on the road, I will more than likely drive over roundabouts. Of course, I also avoid my boyfriend's glares and then sheepishly explain, "I don't like moving my arms." I'm not an inactive person, I'm actually quite athletic. It's just that at the end of a long day of driving - granted curves and bends are fun - my arms are tired and roundabouts are just too much.

Likewise, some things like rocky road involve too much chewing. It tastes great, don't get me wrong, but after 3 bites my mouth is just in mastication overkill. This is why I decided to make a gooey rocky road: the same great taste but with 95% less chewing required.

To a chocolate soufflé, I added pink marshmallows, white chocolate bits and macadamia shortbread. The white chocolate and marshmallow melt into the soufflé and you end up with a rich, intensely chocolatey soufflé with gooby bits on top. The macadamia shortbread is dense and crumbly and it all just melts in your mouth. This is exactly the kind of lazy eating that's needed for a long weekend.

Gooey Rocky Road Soufflé
Adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Chocolate Soufflé recipe

Unsalted butter for greasing, softened
6 squares dark chocolate, finely grated
20g cornflour
200ml milk
200g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids), chopped
80g egg yolks
200g egg whites
150g castor sugar
Pink marshmallows
White chocolate bits
Macadamia shortbread

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Grease the sides of 8 small ramekins with butter in upward strokes. Refrigerate for 5 minutes and grease again. Sprinkle grated chocolate on the sides evenly.

In a small saucepan, combine cornflour with a bit of milk and create a smooth paste. Gradually mix in rest of milk. Bring to the boil on low heat, whisking continuously. When the mixture thickens after around 30 seconds, add chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and whisk egg yolks in. Cool in a large bowl.

Beat egg whites with an electric beater. When medium peaks form, gradually add castor sugar. Beat until thick and glossy.

Carefully fold egg whites into chocolate mixture, one third at a time, until just combined.

Pour into ramekins and level off with the back of a knife.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the soufflés have risen well past the rims of the ramekins.

Serve immediately with marshmallows, white chocolate bits and crumbled macadamia shortbread.

Raspberry Sorbet, Toffee and Lime

2010-04-20T17:31:00.013+10:00

When I think about foods like blue cheese or even something simple like meringue, I always wonder how people came to invent these recipes. How did someone know to leave cheese to age for a few years or beat egg whites for a long time and then bake it? Well a few nights ago I had a similar revelation: I stumbled across how to make a really great sorbet.

It started with a long day of uni work, coming home spent and having to push on into the night. I needed a raspberry smoothie. Bad. I blended raspberries, ice cubes, icing sugar and fruit juice together and found that it had the texture (if not a bit softer) of sorbet. Then I remembered from an episode of The Naked Chef that sorbet is essentially frozen sugar and water. Man am I glad I made a smoothie that night, because I never knew making sorbet was this simple!

So now that I don't have back-to-back assignments, I decided to make it again tonight with some adjustments. I added a thick sugar syrup with glucose so that it'd hold and it'd have that lovely thick texture of mango sorbet. I've got to say, I am really happy with this recipe so I hope you guys enjoy!

Raspberry Sorbet

2 milk glasses of ice cubes (smoothie measurements!)
1 milk glass of raspberries
½ cup sugar
¼ water
1 cinnamon quill
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon glucose
Icing sugar to taste

Place sugar, water, cinnamon, vanilla extract and glucose in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, take out the cinnamon quill and cool completely.

Place ice, raspberries and sugar syrup in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Depending on the sweetness of the raspberries, you may want to add icing sugar for extra sweetness.

Set in a shallow dish in the freezer overnight.

Toffee Shell

½ cup sugar

Lightly grease the backs of metal tablespoons.

Heat the sugar over medium-low heat until the it liquifies and colours slightly. Remove from heat. Cool until you can make ribbons on the surface.

Drizzle over the spoons in criss-cross patterns.

Cool the spoons in the freezer for a minute and gently remove toffee from spoon.

Set aside at room temperature.

Mould the sorbet with two tablespoons and fit the toffee shell onto one side. Serve with creme fraiche and candied lime zest. It's creamy, sweet, fruitily refreshing and the toffee adds a crunch to it.

Spice Temple, Sydney CBD

2010-04-17T08:59:00.017+10:00

10 Bligh St, next to Rockpool Grill & Bar
Modern Chinese restaurant
Reservations taken online and on 02 8078 1888 3 weeks in advance

A 2009 addition to the Neil Perry empire, Spice Temple gives a modern twist on old world China and its cuisine. The whole experience carries an air of mystique. The entrance is neatly tucked away like a secret nightclub - only if you look closely do you realise that the electronic billboard is a hidden door that opens up to reveal a dimly lit stairwell. The spiral stairway is shabby chic, like an old warehouse, with odds and ends placed haphazardly on landings.

Yellow Gold Oolong, $5

At the bottom we are led to our table, walking past evocative portraits of Chinese women and into the main dining area enclosed in wooden vertical venetian blinds. Each table has a low-hanging pendant lamp concocting the feel of candlelight and secrecy. The decor exudes Chinese glamour circa 1960 (I feel as though I could be Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love with red lipstick and a cheongsam) and New-York-esque trendiness.

Hunan meringue: citrus vodka, limoncello, grand marnier, mango mousse and vanilla lemon foam, $17. Consume quickly before the meringue settles.

Steering away from typical "Cantonese fare", the menu is a hit for me. I am reminded of my grandparents' cooking and eating at family friends' homes but there is a pronounced difference: the flavours are sharper, more distinct, and the ingredients are incredibly fresh. We decide to go the banquet menu ($69 per person) between the three of us and see how the night unfolds.

First up was cabbage and radish pickle cucumber with smashed garlic (unfortunately, the photos are too blurry to post) - clean, crisp flavours.

Tofu and preserved egg with soy chili dressing

This was beautiful. I love, love, love slippery tofu with chili. The preserved egg was surprisingly light and had a jelly texture.

Steamed eggplant with three flavours: garlic, coriander and sweet pork

The eggplant was actually served with the garlic, coriander and sweet pork on top, separated, and the waiter folded it all together for us at the table. This really was a nice touch - we got to see what was in the dish and appreciate that each dish was served fresh.

Fried squid with whole five spice and dark chili paste

Steamed Blue Eye fillet with salted chili black bean

Hot, sweet, sour and numbing pork: chili, sugar, black vinegar and Sichuan peppercorn

We were wondering why it was called 'numbing pork' and we soon found out why - it numbs your tongue! However, this dish was so much more than just spicy pork. It had an initial crunch like caramel popcorn (it was even as sweet as caramel popcorn), it melted on the tongue and the flavour of the pork came through and finally, the spicyness gradually set in.

Stir fried David Blackmore's wagyu brisket with baby eggplant and chili

Stir fried amaranth with garlic

Watermelon granita with ginger syrup

This was so lovely. The granita tasted like really fresh and sweet watermelon, then at the bottom were fresh pieces of watermelon in a sweet ginger syrup.

The portions may look small but don't be deceived like we were! The dishes were aplenty and accumulated to about two hours of non-stop eating. For $69, this was really great value. Also the service was amazing. The waitstaff were very attentive and helpful with the dishes. After dining like this, it's hard to walk back up the stairs and rejoin the real world.

African Food Safari: Doro Wat

2010-04-15T16:55:00.010+10:00

Doro wat served with fufu

Doro wat is a wonderfully earthy and sweet red chicken stew originating from Ethiopia. It's cooked long and slow, like many African dishes, using onion as a base flavour. The method is very particular and interesting - it calls for 3kg of onions cooked over medium-low heat for an hour with no added liquids. Oils and spices are added, then chicken that has been soaked in vinegar and lemon juice, more ground spices and finally, hard-boiled eggs. The result is a rich, thick and dark stew that looks like a North Indian or Nepalese curry. The texture is very close to dhal and madras but it is much sweeter than any curry I've ever tasted.

This took me almost three hours to make. First I made the niter kibbeh. I love that I was confident about making it a second time 'round and I didn't have to stress over a pot of hot butter. Next I chopped the onions in a food processor and cooked it for an hour until reduced. To that I added olive oil, niter kibbeh and berbere.

I found the next step interesting because I'd never done it before. I soaked chicken pieces in 2 parts vinegar and 1 part lemon juice for 15 minutes before cooking. This keeps the chicken tender and juicy even after the long cooking process and you can't taste the vinegar or lemon in the finished dish. (This is a fantastic little trick for stews and pies!)

Look how succulent that piece of chicken is

Cardamom seeds, nigella seeds, ajowan seeds, black peppercorns and salt are ground in a mortar to a powder and stirred into the stew. When the stew has reduced and the chicken is cooked through, hard-boiled eggs are added before removing from the heat.

Fufu

Doro wat is traditionally served with injera but since I couldn't get my hands on any, we had it with fufu, an African starch staple made from dried and ground plaintains. The flour is mixed with water until a thick paste forms, then it's kneaded over heat with a wooden spoon and moulded into a ball by hand. It tastes like a dry and starchy potato mash and is great with stews and soups. I loved ripping little bits off with my fingers and eating it with mouthfuls of chicken.

Recipe by Karim Degal from the Food Safari cookbook.

The Royal Easter Show 2010

2010-04-14T00:49:00.008+10:00

Sydney Showground, Showground Rd, Olympic Park
April 1-14
Book online or buy tickets at the door

I love the Easter Show for two reasons and two reasons only: glorious carnival food and small, fluffy animals. And because we're only allowed to come so close to the animals and taking them home is out of the question, the food is a much more satisfying exploit. I especially love my once-a-year conjugal visit with the hot dog on a stick - you seriously can't get ones like these anywhere outside of the Easter Show (not since Muscle Beach closed down years ago, sigh). The best part is how cheap all the food is! My mission was to always have something munchable in my hand.

So here are the highlights of our day...

Chicken shaslick, $8

Baby back pork ribs, $10

My lover, hot dog on a stick, $4

Cheese on a stick, $4

I'm havin' a Gouda time

Fresh lemonade, $5

Pacific oysters, $9 for half dozen

I love an oyster so fresh that you can eat it au naturel with a bit of lemon juice. So yum!

Caramel and fig gelato and mango sorbet from Art of Gelato Michelangelo, $6

Kransky hot dog from Wagners German Gourmet Sausages, $8

Fairy floss bucket, $10

I love saying "Hang on a second, let me close my bucket of fairy floss," like it's the most natural thing in the world.

Okay that's all for now. Hopefully I'll get some more free time to do some cooking in the next few days (yay!).

Easter Egg Mousse Cups

2010-04-06T23:47:00.008+10:00

It's no secret - I am a very busy lady. I wish I could say it's because I lead an exciting life, but I can't. No, that's not true - today I cracked open a double-yolked egg. Anyway, spare time is hard to come by and over the four day Easter long weekend, I could only find four consecutive hours to shop for ingredients and cook. This really put a kibosh on my dream of making something extravagant like a simnel cake (oh cake with balls of marzipan, fate will bring us together one day).

So I decided to turn something simple into something exciting: chocolate easter eggs, filled with chocolate mousse, filled with a choice of toppings.

I used my chocolate mousse recipe with white chocolate.

Even though it sounds dead easy, there was a little drama. After buying two easter egg moulds from Wheel & Barrow ($6.95 each), I got home and realised they were useless unless you wanted giant balls of solid chocolate. I cheated and drove back to Chatswood Chase to buy pre-made chocolate eggs, but if you want to make easter eggs yourself, opt for thin and flexible plastic moulds and use lots of oil.

The fillings were the most fun to make, and Dan even helped out! After the beautiful Easter dinner Dan's mum prepared for us, Dan and I served up these babies while everyone picked which topping they wanted.

Butterscotch sauce (recipe courtesy of smitten kitchen)

¼ cup butter

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup heavy cream

½ teaspoon sea salt

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Melt butter over medium heat and add sugar, heavy cream and salt. Combine well. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. You can add more salt to taste. I love the contrast of sweet and salty in dessert.

Lime and tapioca pudding

100g white chocolate

½ cup heavy cream

Zest of 1 lime

Juice of ½ a lime

2 tablespoons tapioca seeds

Simmer tapioca seeds in water for 15 minutes or until they turn translucent. Heat chocolate, cream and lime zest over low heat. Combine well. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in lime juice (like you would when whisking lemon juice into hollandaise sauce). Drain tapioca and stir in. This has the wonderful texture of rice pudding and tastes heavenly.

Raspberry with vanilla almond praline

1 punnet raspberries

1¼ cup sugar

Handful of candied vanilla almonds

Heat raspberries and ¼ cup of sugar over low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Push through a fine sieve and you have a raspberry coulis. Set aside. Heat 1 cup of sugar over low heat until it caramelises. Place the almonds in a ziplock bag and crush with a mallet or rolling pin. Lay out in a flat layer on a baking tray, lined with greaseproof paper. Pour caramel over and set in the fridge. Score the praline and break into pieces to serve.

Salted duck egg yolk

I was most excited about this one purely because I was so curious about whether or not it'd taste good with chocolate (it works with moon cake, so why not other desserts?). You can buy salted duck eggs from Asian grocery stores or you can make them yourself by preserving duck eggs in salt water for 3-4 weeks. I love the texture of salted duck egg yolk, it's so unique. It's not as dry as chicken egg yolk (when cooked through), it's firm to the touch but it melts in your mouth. As I suspected, it worked amazingly well with the chocolate mousse. It was slightly sweet, slightly salty, and with the mousse it was like eating moon cake ice cream.

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter weekend. I cannot wait for the carnie food at the Royal Easter Show!

Duckfest 2010 @ MUMU Grill

2010-03-27T00:49:00.022+11:00

70-76 Alexander St, Crows Nest
7 courses of duck prepared by Craig Macindoe (MUMU Grill) and Ben Cooper (St Ali)
$95 pp including wines

It's hard to pare down my favourite foods to a top 5, or even top 10. But if I were served duck, cooked any which way, for my last meal, I would die a happy woman.

When it came to the day of Duckfest, I made it a point to not eat until I got to the much loved MUMU Grill so that I was armed with a clean palate and a spacious belly.

The night starts off with a glass of 2007 Polin & Polin Verdehlo, duck liver pate and a quick chat with Craig. The food is mostly prepared, just awaiting some final touches. All is calm here, not a hint of stress or doubt in sight. He tells me that there is such a long waiting list that a second Duckfest has sold out in Melbourne. By this point I'm gushing like an excited schoolgirl because I know that dinner will not disappoint.

Duck consommé

The rich flavour of the duck stock is cut through with the freshness of the spring onion. Imagine the deliciousness of duck juices trickling down your fingers when eating roasted duck. Now imagine a whole cup of it. Yum!

Duck breast with deconstructed XO

Served with a 2008 Little Yerring Pinot Noir. Crispy deep-fried duck breast and scallop are coupled with a hot and sour XO sauce.

Duck sang choi bao - flash-fried duck leg with kim chi and oyster in lettuce leaf

Served with a 2008 Bass Strait Pinot Noir. The duck is so tender that it reminds me of really smooth gow gee filling. It goes well with the pickled ginger and mushroom in the kim chi and oyster.

Twice cooked duck with bok choy and poached pear

Served with a 2003 Parker Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. The meat just falls off the bone as I plate myself up a small portion. The fattyness of the duck is complemented nicely by the sweet acidity of the pear.

"Turducken" - turkey stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken, stuffed with a guinea fowl

Served with a 2003 Ada River Cabernet Sauvignon. I can't tell you how excited I was for this, and it definitely lives up to my expectations. An amalgamation of turkey, duck, chicken and game bird flavours, each layer juicier and more tender than the last.

Duck egg caramel with pineapple and papaya

Served with a Pink Muscato by Innocent Bystander. This is by far my favourite. You can taste the duck fat in the sticky caramel on top. Underneath is a custard that tastes of sweetened duck egg yolk. It is a dessert of complex flavours and the fruit and fresh mint tie it all together.

By the end, Dan and I were just in awe of how amazing the food was and how gracefully the night unfolded. I love it when a menu is creative and it's executed beautifully, especially with a food that is notoriously difficult to cook. Kudos to Craig and Ben for an unforgettable night!

Hopefully this is the first of many Duckfests to come. Craig tells me there's a Porkfest just round the corner, so keep your eyes peeled.

African Food Safari: Kulwha

2010-03-22T18:07:00.014+11:00

I hate humid and sticky days. I hate the sluggishness, the way ice creams melt in your hand before you can eat them, getting splashed incessantly at the pool because everyone's cooling off the frugal way. In fact, the only two things that thrived in the heat yesterday were my cats and the amazing fragrance of freshly ground spices in my kitchen. But if you could have smelt it, you'd agree that sweating over a stove isn't a bad way at all to start off a stinking hot Sunday morning.

Nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds and cardamom pods ground with a mortar and pestle

To make kulwha, you must first make niter kibbeh, a spice-infused clarified butter. 500g of unsalted butter is gently simmered for half an hour until it separates, at which point, you infuse the oil with spices and discard the milk fats. Allow to cool and you can use this as a wonderfully aromatic cooking oil.

Curdling butter

Niter kibbeh

The niter kibbeh is then cooked with olive oil, green chili, onion, tomato, an African spice mix called berbere and diced lamb over high heat to make the Eritrean stir-fry kulwha. Put this in the fridge for a few hours for the flavours to stew and then serve with injera or rice.

I love how quickly and simply this all comes together. It only needs 3 or 4 minutes in the pan so that the tomato and lamb retain their juiciness. The flavour is again surprisingly mild but delicious. It's spicy but not hot, the tomato and onion are sweet, the lamb is juicy and meaty and you can taste the distinct flavour of the niter kibbeh, which tastes as beautiful as it sounds. If you're a fan of earthy and understated spices, this is definitely worth a try.

Recipe by Rahel Ogbaghiorghis in the Food Safari cookbook.

Macarons Part I: Basic French Macaron Shell

2010-03-19T14:15:00.024+11:00

They say that making macarons is an endeavour best left to the French. After several failed attempts, I realised that there is a lot of wisdom in that adage.

Except that when I want something, I will not stop until I succeed. Maybe it's the law student ambition in me; maybe it's my passion for food that doesn't let me shy away from a challenge.

Using David Lebovitz's blog as a starting point, I read and read about the meticulous method of making macarons. As Lebovitz explains in "Making French Macarons: Instructions & Recipes", making macarons is more about technique rather than following a recipe. For tips on macaron shell technique, I found David Lebovitz, Duncan Markham at Syrup and Tang and Corry at Bake It Off to be the most useful sources on the internet.

I tried out two recipes: Duncan Markham's recipe for a basic French macaron and Pierre Hermé's recipe for hot sugar syrup macarons. These recipes were by no means fool-proof or simple to master because they didn't involve the use of cream of tartare or lemon juice to aid the formation of stiff peaks in the egg whites. It took me about 15 eggs, almost 1kg of almond meal and 3 whole days in the kitchen to make a decent macaron shell. There were tears, tantrums and the spontaneous shouting of "Why!" and "It's not fair!" in my sleep. But imagine my joy when I'd made a bona fide French macaron!

However, it was a long learning process. My first few attempts came out porous and deflated. I couldn't understand why - I'd followed the recipes to the T. Dan's mother Barb suggested that I start from basics, beating an egg and making meringue. It made sense, getting to know the science of how the ingredients interact with each other, taking one step at a time. So that's what I did - no colouring and no added flavours (my ambitious strawberry syrup did not work with the macaron batter). I focused on the 4 ingredients used in Duncan Markham's recipe: egg whites, almond meal, icing sugar and castor sugar.

Working with the 4 ingredients

Egg whites

Using 1 egg, I tested how far I could beat it without curdling it. This gave me a better grasp of what soft, medium and stiff peaks looked like. The best way to test which stage you are at it is to stop beating every minute or so and lift the beaters out to see. When it reaches soft peaks, the egg whites will look like a sudsy foam with visible bubbles. Medium peaks means that the bubbles are barely visible and when you lift the beaters out, it will rise up and flop back down. I couldn't actually reach stiff peaks without castor sugar (as it helps bind egg whites). You will know you've got stiff peaks when the mixture is glossy, has obvious ripples and when you lift the beaters the peak will stand up on its own. Edit: Between medium and stiff peaks, the castor sugar will make the egg whites increase in volume. If it decreases in volume again, you've overbeaten it. However, it is salvageable. Bake at a lower heat for longer so that you don't get a hollow shell.

Beating egg whites is finicky enough but with macarons there are about 4 other fronts you have to worry about:

(1) Fineness and dryness of almond meal
Whether you use whole almonds (raw, not blanched) or packaged almond meal from the supermarket (which I found doesn't work that well anyway) you need to prep it before using it in macaron mix. Fineness isn't crucial but creates a smoother shell so that it's nicer on the eyes. Dryness, however, is key because excess moisture will cause the egg whites to collapse. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Blitz the almonds or almond meal in a food processor for 1 minute. Remove lid and use a spatula to loosen all the ground almond at the bottom. Blitz for another minute. Spread into a thin layer on a baking tray. Put in the oven for 5 minutes. Cool completely.

(2) Dryness and temperature of egg whites
As egg whites contain water, you want to dry out that excess moisture for perfect macarons. To do this, separate your eggs 2 days in advance. Place the egg whites in a shallow bowl and let stand at room temperature. You can cover it, but use something that'll let it breathe, like a tea towel. Egg whites beat better at room temperature, so don't fridge them during these 2 days!

Just piped

Rested for 20 minutes

(3) Speed of incorporation
One of the most important things I learnt during my mistake runs is that you need to be fast when incorporating the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. If you work too slowly, the egg whites will deflate and your macarons will be firm and chewy. When folding the dry ingredients into the egg whites, scrape the edge of the bowl in a semi-circle, then fold into the middle. You want to get rid of the excess air so use a bit of force.

(4) Prepping your utensils
For beating egg whites in general, always beat in a clean glass bowl, making sure that the bowl and the beaters are completely dry to begin with. Use the smallest bowl you can so that the egg whites will get maximum beatage. When baking, use thick baking trays, or stack two together (with no gap in between), lined with baking paper. You can stick down the baking paper with blobs of macaron mixture in each corner.

Macarons au blanc monté (French meringue)
Recipe courtesy of Duncan Markham ("La Macaronicite 2: basic technique and simple macaron recipe", Syrup and Tang)

1 part egg white (50g)
1.3 parts almond meal (65g)
1.6 parts icing sugar (80g)
0.8 parts castor sugar (40g)

Blitz almond meal and icing sugar in a food processor for 1 minute.

Beat the egg whites on a medium speed until medium peaks form. Gradually add castor sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Sprinkle half of the dry ingredients over the egg whites and fold in with a spatula. Fold in remaining dry ingredients. This is also when you would add food colourings.

When done, you should be able to make a ribbon on top that takes at least 30 seconds to disappear.

Prep baking trays and spoon batter into piping bag with a 1cm wide nozzle.

Holding the nozzle close to the baking paper, pipe your macarons about 4cm apart. Try to make them round and flat (you can dip your finger in water and smooth out the tops if needed).

Tap the tray on a flat surface to get rid of excess bubbles.

Preheat the oven to either 120°C (baking time: 20 minutes) or 180°C (baking time: 9 minutes).

Rest the shells after piping for at least half an hour in a dry place.

Bake for 18-20 minutes in the middle shelf. If doing more than one tray, bake one tray at a time.

Remove baking paper from tray and cool on a wire rack. Gently remove macaron shells from baking paper and continue cooling face up on the wire rack.

Refrigerate in an air-tight container for at least 1 day before filling.

9 minutes at 180°C

20 minutes at 120°C

Stay tuned for the hot sugar syrup recipe and ganache filling!

Herbie's Spices, Rozelle

2010-03-16T17:13:00.013+11:00

745 Darling St
Specialty spice store
Shop online or check here for opening times

Owned by "one of Australia's foremost culinary herb and spice experts" Ian Hemphill, Herbies Spice's stocks a comprehensive myriad of exotic and hard-to-find spices, as well as locally sourced everyday spices. It's easy to understand why this store is highly sought after by foodies and chefs in Sydney.

"Tetsuya was in here on Friday. I was gushing!" the shop assistant laughed when I told her how much I loved the store.

I came here on a Sunday afternoon after a sunny stroll in Balmain. As soon as I walked in I was greeted by the most wonderful aroma of spices and herbs. By the window were tall sticks of cinnamon in vases (1m for $3.60 or 30cm for $1.20) and brightly packaged spice kits (including Asian, French Provincial and Moroccan, $30 each). The adjacent walls were literally covered with spices and herbs from around the world, from aniseed to cassia bark, grains of paradise (or melegueta pepper) to whole saffron. I was in spice heaven!

You can find almost any spice or dried herb you'll need (ground as well as in their original forms). Most useful for everyday cooking are the specialty mixed spices like the gucamole mix which I picked up (it was fantastic with nachos!). Can't find what you need? Talk to the knowledgeable staff about what to use in certain dishes and where to pick up additional ingredients for whatever culinary adventure you are on.

As you know, I'm cooking African food from the Food Safari cookbook this month. I was surprised to find that Herbie's stocked almost all of the spices and herbs I had trouble finding, including ajowan, fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds, berbere and cardamom pods. I was well chuffed.

For the kitchenware buffs, there are spice-related utensils through the Moroccan-inspired archway, including mortars and pestles and ginger graters. I personally loved the neat little Herbie's jars the spices come in. There are even empty jars for sale for you to extend your collection.

Herbie's Spices is open 7 days a week (Monday to Friday 10-5, Saturday 9-4 and Sunday 10-3) and is located on the Lilyfield end of Darling Street.

Telephone: 02 9555 6035

Website: http://herbies.com.au/

Taste of Sydney 2010

2010-03-14T02:29:00.002+11:00

Brazilian Fields, Centennial Park
March 11-14 - tomorrow's the last day so get down there!
Book online or buy a ticket at the door

You know the feeling you get when you've eaten so much that it pains to walk? I've only ever felt this twice in my life - once after eating at the Crown Casino buffet in Melbourne and once again tonight at the highly anticipated food festival, Taste of Sydney.

This was my first Taste experience (the festival is now in its second year) and I was so blown away that not even rain getting on my silk skirt fazed me. Just as live music is made doubly as enjoyable by a crowd sharing the same taste as you (I'm still friends with the guys I met at a Bjork concert years ago), the atmosphere tonight was fantastic being surrounded by top quality food and drink and people who really appreciate their food.

Here are my favourite picks of the night...

The Gourmet Traveller Taste Kitchen

Matt Kemp (Restaurant Balzac), Warren Turnbull (Assiette) and Colin Fassnidge (Four In Hand) doing a live demonstration on cured beef. It's always great fun to watch how professional chefs prepare their food and then plate it up ever so effortlessly.

The dishes

Everything I tried was heavenly! I got a mix of my favourite foods as well as things I don't eat very often (especially wagyu beef and panna cotta, yumm). I really wish I could've kept going into the night (the yellow curry from Longrain Restaurant smelt so good I was drawn to it from a stall away) but my stomach would only allow me to ingest so much in four hours. Guess I have to save up to visit each of the restaurants then!

Saddle of sucking pig with garden peas and smoked bacon jus, Restaurant Balzac, $12

Crispy wagyu beef with wild mushroom and truffle foam, Restaurant Balzac, $10

Sydney rock oysters with Vietnamese dressing, crispy shallot and baby coriander, Assiette, $10

Fig and Heilala vanilla ricotta tart with honey ice cream, Assiette, $8

Beef ribs smoked in watermelon with a watermelon and avocado salad, Danks St Depot, $12

Yellow fin tuna with sweet pork crackling and ruby grape fruit, Flying Fish, $10

Vanilla panna cotta with lavender honey and fresh pomegranate, Jonah's at Whale Beach, $12

Longrain Cocktail Bar

Fantastic cocktail to wash it all down with: Ping Pong (lychees and passion fruit shaked with 42 Below Vodka and fresh lime juice), $12. The fresh lychee flesh and passion fruit pulp is DE-LISH.

The VIC Tourism wine, beer and cheese stall

For 2 Crowns ($2), you can try all the wines, beers and cheeses in this stall. The wine that really caught my attention was the Rutherglen Topaque. Topaque (formerly Tokay) is an intensely sweet and syrupy fortified wine. Some people would classify it as a dessert wine, but it is so indulgently honey-like (due to its slow maturisation process) that I would drink this as dessert!

I also bought some pistachio macaroons from the Guillaume at Bennelong stall ($8) and a pistachio and cardamom cupcake from the Sparkle Cupcakery stall ($4.50). Will eat them tomorrow as soon as my stomach makes room for them!

Electrolux Cooking Class @ Fratelli Fresh, Waterloo

2010-03-11T00:20:00.003+11:00

7 Danks St
A free class on Italian cooking
Call 02 9699 3161 on the third Tuesday of the month to book

Located on the trendy Danks St in Waterloo, this Fratelli Fresh fresh market is set up in a naturally lit warehouse space, exuding a rustic, minimalist and modern vibe. The focus is the food: fresh produce that's in season. Here you'll find your basic fruit, veg and meat staples, as well as luxuries such as pomegranates, figs (fresh and as a jam!), Italian oils, olives and cheeses (the gorgonzola is amazing!). Supplying to some of the finest restaurants in Sydney (Tetsuya's, Buon Ricordo, Marque) and to Cafe Sopra upstairs, Fratelli Fresh is the Mimco of grocery shopping.

The cooking class is geared towards beginners, but it's great fun for people of all levels. The class I took today was full of regulars and for good reason too. Just taking a glance at the menu for today got me excited. Stuffed field mushrooms with Roman beans (which had an unbelievable effort to yummyness ratio) and poached peaches with amaretto and mascarpone (poached fruit + moscato + mascarpone = yuuumm).

The class was very hands-on. We were shown quickly how to make each dish and then off to our stations to cook it ourselves. This is my best friend Justine stuffing the mushroom (yay, I knew you could cook!). I love learning by doing - you pick up so much more like how to tell when the peaches have been poached to perfection.

Stuffed field mushroom with Roman beans

Poached peach with amaretto biscuit and mascarpone

What can I say, the food was as delicious as it looks, and then some. The mushroom was buttery which went well with the intense flavour of the gorgonzola and the salad (dressed with a garlic-and-onion-infused mayonnaise). Somehow the peach was just the right sweetness to work perfectly with the mascarpone (if it was too sweet it could have brought out the sour in the mascarpone) and the amaretto gave it that crunch.

Electrolux classes are held every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Classes are taken in small groups so places are limited. Call on the third Tuesday of each month to secure a place a month in advance.

tangerine eats...

2010-03-07T16:54:00.000+11:00

...is getting better.

I've been sick at home the last few days and I've used my time wisely by writing out the recipes for some of my previous posts. Have a look around the blog and check out the newly added NOMs.

Don't worry, it's just a cold and bronchitis. I was ~~bedridden~~ delirious for a few days and for a while I lost my sense of smell (it ran away with my sense of taste), but you know what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder... I'VE MISSED BEING ABLE TO TASTE FOOD! I'll be better in a few days, which is great timing..

March for tangerine eats is going to be so much fun. Just to name a few things that I'm doing this month: a cooking class at Fratelli Fresh, Taste of Sydney, Manly World Food Markets, Duckfest and more African food (popping into Herbie's first thing next week)! So stayed tuned, stay very tuned.

Olive Bread

2010-03-07T16:24:00.004+11:00

Who doesn't love a beautiful, warm piece of fresh bread? If you've ever made your own bread, or have bought bread from Brasserie Bread, you'd know that store-bought sliced bread does not come close at all to a fresh loaf made with love. This olive bread with potato slices and fresh rosemary on top is a taste sensation. A crispy potato crust, melt-in-your-mouth soft and fluffy bread on the inside, pieces of olive and the aroma of roasted rosemary... DELICIOUS!

Adapted from the olive bread recipe on Taste.com.au

2¼ cups plain flour
2 teaspoons dried yeast
2 teaspoons castor sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup warm water
1 cup pitted kalamata olives, dried and roughly chopped
2 teaspoons milk
1 small potato
Fresh rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
Melted butter for brushing

Sift flour into a large bowl. Combine with yeast, sugar and salt. Make a well in the centre and add water. Mix well until dough forms and knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes. Kneading not only helps the bread rise, it's my favourite part of the process. Show it a bit of love, get to know your food.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and place in a warm place for one hour.

Preheat oven to 170°C.

Punch the dough with your fist to get rid of excess air.

Place on a flat and floured surface. Knead olives in. The juices from the olives may come out and separate the dough slightly, that's okay. This is what makes the lovely pull-apart bits inside the bread.

Roll into a flat oval and place on a greased baking tray.

Brush lightly with milk to create a crust.

Wash and peel the potato. Slice the potato thinly with a vegetable peeler. Place the ribbons of potato on top of the dough. Brush with butter and sprinkle with rosemary.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Rest for 5 minutes before serving.

I love how rustic this feels with my homemade bread on a chopping board my boyfriend made himself.

Fantastic with butter (butter, not margarine!), dipped in olive oil and freshly-cracked pepper or toasted with grilled gorgonzola and prosciutto. Enjoy!

Beer & Beef Masterclass @ MUMU Grill

2010-03-02T14:12:00.005+11:00

70-76 Alexander St, Crows Nest
Classes are run bi-monthly, check here for dates
Call 02 9460 6877 to book

They say good things come in threes. Well MUMU Grill has pared it down to two in a neat little package: for $85, chef and owner of MUMU Grill, Craig Macindoe, teaches you everything you need to know about beef and Dan the (self-proclaimed) Beer Snob gives you the low-down on boutique beers.

The beef

Craig starts off by telling us in the kitchen why he's so passionate about organic grass-fed beef: it tastes better, it contains fats that the human body needs (with its healthy omega 6-omega 3 ratio), it is better for the environment and it is chemical/preservative-free. Ageing (air-drying) beef for 6 weeks is all it needs for its flavour to intensify and become tender. For premium organic beef, Craig recommends Hudson Meats (Cammeray, Surry Hills and Lane Cove).

We're then run through the 'sweet cuts' of beef that make up the 20% of the cow we eat. These include the eye fillet, sirloin, scotch fillet, rump and t-bone. The thing that surprised me the most is they're so simple to cook! To season, sprinkle with rock salt (to bring out the flavour in the mouth) and pepper, and lightly coat with olive oil (less is more as too much oil builds a layer of char on the beef). To sear, cook the beef on one side for 2½ minutes, rotate 90° (so that you create a criss-cross pattern on the steak) and cook for another 2½ minutes, flip and repeat. Cook until desired doneness.

One recipe I was especially intrigued by was Craig's Tagliata t-bone: sear, slice into strips, drizzle with garlic and rosemary in olive oil and place in a woodfire oven for 10-15 minutes. The result is a juicy and garlicky, melt-in-your-mouth piece of beef. I'm definitely trying this at home in my conventional oven (set at a low heat, roughly 120°).

The beer

Before Saturday I was never big on drinking beer. I've tried very hard to like it (my friends call it an acquired taste, so if you can learn to like wine, why not beer?) - I've even gone to Lowenbrau and the Belgian Beer Cafe hoping that it'd change my life and I would have an in in the world of beer. But Dan the Beer Snobhas enlightened me. Turns out, mainstream beer is different to boutique beer.

Dan tells us the three tell tale signs of a good beer: colour, clarity and carbonation (the three C's). We tried five different beers, starting with the palest (Murray's Pilsner) to the darkest (Moo Brew Dark Ale). I've got to say, I am convinced. Beer snobbery is the way to go

All in all this was a fantastic class, geared towards cooks and drinkers of all levels. I've always loved MUMU Grill, Dan's family and I have been a few times now and the love only keeps growing. Next up is Duckfest!

Roasted Lamb Rack

2010-02-26T23:36:00.005+11:00

This roasted lamb rack is cooked with Jamie Oliver's homemade barbecue sauce (from his Jamie At Home series) slowly in the oven and served with potato chips and guacamole.

I bought this beautiful rack of lamb from the butcher this morning (smaller racks, around 4 cutlets, are usually readily available at butchers). I love this cut for its tenderness and its outer layer of fat that seals in all the juices during cooking. Best served rare to medium rare, lamb cutlets are deliciously pink and juicy on the inside. With the barbecue sauce, the lamb is smoky and fragrant with a hint of sweet and hot. Homemade potato chips and a tangy guacamole dip make this a fantastic meal to share between 4 (or an epic meal between 2!).

Jamie Oliver's Homemade Barbecue Sauce

1 heaped teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
5 cloves
Salt and pepper
1 bunch fresh thyme, leaves picked
1 bunch rosemary, leaves picked
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 bulb garlic, peeled
4 heaped teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ cup organic tomato ketchup
8 tablespoons olive oil
10 bay leaves

Grind cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cloves, salt and pepper in a mortar and pestle.

Chop thyme and rosemary leaves, orange zest and garlic together finely.

Combine with herbs in a large bowl and add all other ingredients.

Roasting the lamb rack

Using a large zip-lock bag, place in the lamb rack and half of the barbecue sauce. Rub the sauce into the meat.

Add jalapeño peppers for some heat.

Seal and marinate in fridge for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C.

Roast for 40 - 60 minutes, depending on how rare you want your lamb. Baste the rack with the remaining barbecue sauce halfway through.

Rest for at least 15 minutes so that the meat relaxes and retains maximum juiciness.

Carve and serve!

Homemade potato chips

1 potato
1 sweet potato (optional)
Oil for deep-frying
Salt to season

Heat the oil in a wok over medium high heat.

Cut the potatoes into thin slices (about 2-3mm).

To find the perfect temperature for deep-frying, place a thick piece of potato in the oil. When it turns golden brown, the temperature of the oil is just right.

Drop potato slices carefully down the side of the wok. Cook the potato in batches to keep the oil at the right temperature.

When golden brown, remove from oil and dry on paper towels.

Salt lightly.

Guacamole

1 avocado
½ brown onion
6 - 8 yellow grape tomatoes
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon chopped chives to serve

Blitz the avocado, onion, tomato, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor to your desired consistency.

If you can't find yellow grape tomatoes, finely dice 1 red tomato and mix in by hand.

Garnish with chives.

Enjoy!

Pastabella, Glebe

2010-02-26T01:14:00.002+11:00

89 Glebe Point Rd
Italian restaurant
Call 02 9566 4488 for bookings

Known to locals for the best homemade pasta and a passion for fresh ingredients, Pastabella is an intimate corner of Glebe with a lovely candlelit courtyard out back. My friend Nini and I had a girl-date here tonight and I was very taken with the place. Simplicity and freshness are key to its menu, with all pasta made on the premises and a different risotto and ravioli each day depending on what's in season. I generally don't order lasagne when I eat out - what is it about lasagne and bolognese that make them so easy to stuff up? bad wine? bad tomatoes? - but the lasagne was so fresh you could taste the sweetness of the full-bodied tomatoes.

Lasgna di casa ($18)

Prawn ravioli, served with asparagus and tiger prawns, $26

The prawn and asparagus were fantastic with the sweet and smoky sauce. Naturally, the texture of the pasta was smooth and perfectly al dente.

Unfortunately, Pastabella is BYO but there is a bottle shop just down the road.

Vietnamese Chicken Roll

2010-02-26T00:05:00.002+11:00

Chicken and dim sim roll from King's Hot Bread Hurstville, $5.30. The very best Vietnamese chicken roll in Sydney! I like mine with lots o' chilli and coriander. Best eaten in the plastic bag to catch all the beautiful soy juices that leak out. This is the proper way to succumb to fast food.

Garlic and Butter Pork with Creamy White Wine Sauce

2010-02-24T23:19:00.004+11:00

Garlic and butter pork loin chop, served with spinach and mushroom in a creamy white wine sauce. I love days like this in the kitchen!

75g butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
400g pork loin chops
100g button mushrooms, stalks removed and sliced
200g baby spinach leaves
White wine
3 tablespoons cream
Salt and pepper

Serves 2

Cook pork chops, half the butter, olive oil, onion and garlic in a pan over medium, careful not to burn the butter. The pork will take 3-5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the chops.

Remove pork, onion and garlic from the pan, leaving the oil and juices.

On low heat, add a bit more butter and sautée mushrooms for a few minutes.

When the mushrooms are soft and silky, turn up to medium heat and add just enough white wine to cover the base of the pan. Wait till the alcohol is cooked out.

Add remaining butter, cream, spinach and the onion from earlier and stir until the spinach has wilted.

Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Shitto

2010-02-24T23:02:00.001+11:00

Shitto (a Gharaian chilli and fish paste) with rice, chopped basil, orange zest, ground cardamom and raisins.

I bought this shitto pre-made from an African food store last week. I was very lucky to get my hands on a small jar, packed personally by the woman at Mokola African Market. It smells of fishy, oily and richly spicy goodness and the taste is beautifully intense. I would liken it to belachan (a South-East Asian shrimp paste) or tom yum without the sour. Making shitto involves a long process of drying and grounding fish and cooking slowly in oil with ingredients such as cayenne pepper, tomato and garlic. Make it incorrectly and the fish rots, but make it with care and it keeps for months in an airtight container in the fridge. For this, I admire that Ghanaians eat this every day as a household condiment.

I wanted to learn about African food and what a fascinating way to experience it.

African Food Safari: Mahindi Ya Naz

2010-02-20T20:26:00.002+11:00

Translating to mean 'corn in coconut sauce', this Swahili Coast dish is made of up three parts: mahamri, a deep-fried coconut and cardamom bread; corn slowly cooked in coconut milk, onion, tomato puree and turmeric; and suqaar, a stir-fry of lamb, onion, capsicum and tomato puree.

The first thing I noticed while looking at this recipe is that it's easy on the spices and cooking time. Nonetheless, it took quite a bit of labour to make (around 2 hours).

The mahamri was the most fun to make. Making the dough was simple enough (combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients) but because of the coconut and cardamom, it instantly smelt like no bread I've ever tasted. I'm just a little disappointed that I used desiccated coconut instead of coconut milk powder and my mahamri didn't rise as much. In any case though, it turned out fragrant and delicious.

The corn and suqaar were surprisingly mild in taste. The corn and onion were juicy and sweet, complemented nicely with the smooth and creamy coconut sauce. The natural flavour of the lamb is the focus of the suqaar, slightly sweetened by the onion, capsicum and tomato. When combined with the corn and mahamri, each mouthful was strangely delightful - sweet, mildly spicy, meaty. In other words, exotic yum!

Recipe by Shukri Abdi in the Food Safari cookbook.

In Search of Exotic Spices

2010-02-20T02:34:00.002+11:00

This month I am going to cook everything in the Africa chapter of the Food Safari book. As it is my objective to learn everything I can about the food I cook and eat and the food of other cultures, I find African cuisine incredibly interesting and exciting. Copious amounts of onion are cooked slowly, without oil, for up to an hour to start off the long cooking processes to soups and meat stews; spices are used to build flavour rather than heat; curries and spice mixes are sometimes made a few days in advance to let the flavours intensify. In short, I will be spending long, long periods of time in the kitchen.

Today I paid my not-so-local African food store (Mokola African Market, Fairfield) a visit in search of spices and traditional starch staples in African cuisine. I couldn't find everything I needed but I picked up some shitto (a chilli and fish paste, served with soup and fish or plain rice), fufu mix (a thick, starchy porridge), red palm-fruit oil (used as a base for cooking) and some African dried fish (cooked in soups). I still need to track down some berbere (a red spice mix), cardamom seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, dried African basil and African mint.

For now, my mission is to find a specialty spice store. I have a feeling it'll be as difficult as finding an African grocery store. If anyone knows where I can get these ingredients, please, please, please feel free to leave me a comment! (In fact, that's not a request, it's a demand.) Otherwise, wish me luck and stay tuned for African cuisine!

Holy Basil, Canley Heights

2010-02-20T01:59:00.002+11:00

233A Canley Vale Rd
Laos & Thai restaurant
02 9727 7585

I don't venture out West in Sydney too often, so when I planned a trip to an African grocery store in Fairfield, I was set on making the most of it. Tom Mai excitedly suggested a Thai place he loved: "Are you ready for the best Thai of your life?" Can't say I wasn't told. Holy Basil is caught between Vietnamese restaurants and fresh fruit markets on the quaint and bustling end of Canley Vale Rd. At first glance it is exotic chic, with just the right amount of kitsch to make it trendy, but relax a while at a table that looks out onto the street and chat to the friendly staff and you'll be pleasantly surprised by how laid-back the space is.

The menu is distinctly Lao with a Thai-fusion touch, using lots of spices, herbs and fruits to flavour the food: chilli, kaffir lime leaves, tamarind, sweet basil, papaya and currants to name a few. With so much to try, I easily resisted the urge to order a pad thai. No regrets either, because everything was delicious!

Sticky rice, $3; khao pad sapparot (Thai fried rice with fresh pineapple), $12.90

Nok tod (deep fried crispy marinated quail), $10.90

Traditional Laos pork sausages, $9.90

Gang dang (red curry) with beef, $10.90

On a Friday night this place fills up by seven, though it still retains its quiet and relaxed atmosphere. The prices are very reasonable, perfect for ordering many dishes and sharing it with friends. Enjoy your meal with a classic cocktail or fresh fruit juice (I recommend the jackfruit smoothie).

Quick Seafood Salad

2010-02-19T00:47:00.002+11:00

A quick seafood salad after a late night at work. Calamari, Atlantic salmon and prawns marinated in olive oil, parsley, garlic and cracked pepper. Pan-fried on medium-high heat for 4 minutes. Served with green coral lettuce, watercress, bean sprouts, red onion (soaked in lime juice, à la Nigella) and pomegranate seeds, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

Ridiculously Rich Chocolate Cake

2010-02-17T01:42:00.002+11:00

I received this set of Simple Essentials cookbooks by Donna Hay for my birthday last year (thanks Barb!). When every recipe in this chocolate edition is absolutely drool-worthy, there's only one thing to do: combine 3 of them to create a monster of a cake! With almost one kilo of chocolate and half a kilo of butter in it, this is by far the most indulgent cake I've ever had.

Chocolate mud cake

375g butter, softened
1⅓ cups brown sugar
3 eggs
2 cups plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
⅔ cup cocoa powder, double sifted
200g melted dark chocolate
¾ cup milk

Preheat oven to 160°C. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric beater for 8-10 minutes, or until the mixture is light and creamy. Gradually add eggs and beat well. Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa powder, then fold into the butter and sugar. Fold melted chocolate in. Spoon mixture into a 22cm round cake tin (I used one with a removable base), lined with baking paper. Bake for 1¼ hours. Cool in tin.

Wrap the cake in plastic and place in freezer for at least 2 hours. Using a bread knife, level off the top of the cake. Turn upside down so the base is the top. Cut the cake in half, horizontally.

Chocolate mousse filling

2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
2 tablespoons water
200g dark chocolate, chopped
75g butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
4 eggs, separated
1 cup single or pouring cream
3 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted

Place water and gelatine in a bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes. Melt chocolate, butter and cocoa in a saucepan over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in gelatine mixture until dissolved. Pour mixture into a bowl. Add egg yolks gradually, beating well. Set aside. Whisk the cream with electric beater until soft peaks form. Set aside. Whisk egg whites with electric beater until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar. Whisk until thick and glossy. Gently fold egg white mixture with chocolate mixture. Fold the whipped cream through.

Place bottom layer of chocolate mud cake back in the round cake tin. Pour chocolate mousse filling on top. Wrap up top layer with plastic again. Fridge for 2 hours. Remove from cake tin (this is where the removable base comes in handy) and put top layer on. Set aside in fridge.

Chocolate truffles

400g dark chocolate, chopped
¾ cup single or pouring cream
Cocoa powder, sifted

Melt chocolate and cream over low heat until smooth. Pour mixture into a 15x18cm dish lined with baking paper. Fridge for 2-3 hours. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls. Dust with cocoa powder. Fridge for another hour.

For a nice touch, decorate the top of the cake with chocolate truffles around the edge. If you're not serving it immediately, I suggest serving the chocolate truffles on each plate as they will melt if left out of the fridge for too long.

Chocolate mud cake, chocolate mousse filling and chocolate truffles recipes from Simple Essentials: Chocolate by Donna Hay.

Enjoy!

Garfish, Kirribilli

2010-02-15T01:37:00.001+11:00

1/21 Broughton St
Seafood restaurant
02 9922 4322 (No reservations for after 6:30pm)

As a very thoughtful gesture, my boyfriend Dan made a reservation at Garfish Kirribilli for Valentine's Day. That made the day exciting for two reasons - I got to put on a nice dress and visit a restaurant whose objective is to serve 'the freshest fish available'. Even after a little dress drama with the drycleaners, I was still psyched about dining here because I love, love, love seafood. We ate from the Valentine's Day menu - 3 courses and a glass of wine for $85pp.

Sydney rock oysters, fresh with mignonette dressing

Sydney rock oysters, grilled with bacon and worcestshire sauce

Roast barramundi with colcannon and sauce nantua

Grilled snapper with sweet corn risotto

Mango crème brûlée with spiced tuile

The seafood was amazing. The oysters were fresh and seasoned perfectly. The snapper and barramundi were tender and juicy and their natural flavours were brought out beautifully. I did have tiny gripes with the food though - the colcannon (Irish mashed potato) and risotto were too much like the texture of baby food to be served with tender fillets of fish and the crème brûlée didn't crack and was served half lukewarm, half cold. All in all, Garfish know their fish. Whether you've loved fish long time or you want to get into fish, Garfish offers variety and freshness.

Nice restaurants aside, love is staying up late to watch the food channel together. Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day.

Balsamic Glazed Chicken and Bacon with Roasted Beetroot

2010-02-11T23:33:00.002+11:00

As promised, here is the recipe for my balsamic glazed chicken and bacon, roasted beetroot and warm garlic and leek dressing. It's a simple and dynamite combo - not to mention a vibrant celebration of what's in season.

You'll need:

2-3 medium beetroot bulbs
6 cloves garlic
150g thick rindless bacon
2 chicken thighs
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 leek stalk
Juice of a quarter of a lime
2 tablespoons cream
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Serves 2

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Lay down 2 layers of aluminium foil. Place beetroot and garlic cloves (skin on, crushed) in the centre and wrap up foil, sealing tightly.

Roast in oven for 1 hour.

Sauteé leek slices in olive oil over low heat. Remove from heat when the leek is translucent. Place in a measuring cup or deep bowl.

Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes and bacon into strips. Wrap bacon around chicken in an S-shape, put on metal skewer.

In the same pan used for the leek, heat olive oil on a medium heat. Place skewers in. Brown on all sides. 15 minutes will give the chicken enough time to cook all the way through (metal skewers will cook the chicken from the inside too).

Remove skewers from pan and deglaze pan with balsamic vinegar and sugar. Put skewers back on, coating them with the glaze. Remove from heat and set aside.

To the leek, add the roasted garlic, lime juice, leftover oils and juices from the pan, more olive oil if desired, cream and salt and pepper. Blitz to a pureé.

Peel beetroots. The skin should come off easily by lightly pressing it. Cut into eighths.

If you want the dish to look gourmet, remove the meat from the skewers. Arrange the meat in the middle of the plate and place beetroot slices around. Dollop dressing on top.

Enjoy!

The Deck, Milsons Point

2010-02-11T02:13:00.002+11:00

1 Olympic Drive
Mediterranean cuisine
Book online or call 02 9033 7670

Just a few steps away from the Harbour Bridge, The Deck is located on the waterfront and quite fittingly serves modern mediterranean cuisine. With its trendy interior, minimalist and chic booths and ambient lighting, this place is great for an elegant and understated dining experience. I would suggest going on a weeknight to make the most of the atmosphere. The menu is inventive and exciting, playing with the flavours of unusual and fresh foods. If you are sick of paying $20 for bland and predictable dishes, The Deck is two steps up.

Mussels cooked with white wine, cream and fresh herbs, served with crusty baguette, $14

Warm Barbary duck breast salad, walnuts, pomegranate, sour plum chutney and radicchio, (main) $27.50

I've got to say this was a very fun dinner. I like to think I'm a seafood connoisseur but I have never had mussels as silky and tender as these. I was really excited about the bold choice of flavours in the duck salad. The walnuts and sour plum with the duck didn't really do it for me, but the fresh pomegranate and duck was a genius combination. I've decided I'm going to have the parmesan gnocchi with roast pumpkin, rocket, toasted pine nuts and parmesan cream (Bracken, 'picked it!') when I take Dan here next time.

PS: Just up the road and through the tunnel on Broughton St is a lovely cafe called The Mad Italian where they do a mean pistachio gelato.

Marshmallow and Fig Jam Slice

2010-02-06T13:39:00.001+11:00

This was inspired by my newfound love for figs and a tip-off from my friend Tom Mai that Rockpool is doing passionfruit-flavoured marshmallows in cocktails (definitely on my to-try list!). A layer of biscuit, a layer of fig jam and a layer of marshmallow (melted in a double boiler) combined with passionfruit pulp. Yum! Tom Mai had doubts about this experiment but I'm having the last laugh (and the last bite).

You'll need:

1 packet Monte Carlo biscuits, cream scooped out
50g butter
St Dalfour's Royal Fig jam
250g white marshmallows
Pulp of 3 passion fruits

Combine biscuits and butter in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. Pour into a shallow round dish like a flan. Flatten with the bottom of a glass. Set in fridge for an hour.

Melt marshmallows in a double boiler over low heat. When it looks like melted ice cream, remove from heat and stir in passion fruit.

Spread a thin layer of fig jam on the biscuit base. Pour marshmallow over. Set in fridge for 2 hours.

Enjoy!

How To Lose a Day in the Kitchen

2010-02-01T15:45:00.001+11:00

It's been one of those days where I've spent the whole morning and afternoon thinking about and making food. I can spend hours in a fresh food market and be fascinated by the wonderful colours and shapes. My favourite part is ripping apart herb leaves and smelling and tasting them (while no one's looking, of course).

These holidays I've been putting more thought into what I cook. Time and patience make cooking a cathartic experience. From the creativity of putting flavours and textures together (it's amazing how we can imagine the visuals and tactility of food) to the humdrum of chopping vegetables (when we get to really know our food), cooking is an all-consuming experience. It gives me peace of mind, time to think. I plate things up and I'm a better person.

Today I decided to try out an oldie of mine (chicken and bacon on skewers, glazed with balsamic vinegar and sugar) with something I'd never tried before (roasted beetroot in a salad of beetroot leaves, cos lettuce and raw leek). To that I added a dressing of pureed roasted garlic and sauteed leeks, olive oil, lime juice, cream, salt and pepper. The skewers of meat were smoky and sweet, which went together beautifully with the creamy, garlicky and slightly acidic dressing. And the mellowed beetroot was surprisingly delightful (I'm not one who enjoys beetroot in burgers, but this I loved).

The best part of today? I've come up with a new dish to add to my repertoire, I've learnt how to improve it (for one, the raw leek has to go) and I've had a long, enjoyable day in the kitchen.

I'll be putting up a vlog for this recipe soon, very soon, so keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, keeping cooking and expanding your comfort zone, and please feel free to comment with suggestions!

Rice Pudding with Honey and Cinnamon Roasted Fig

2010-01-31T16:52:00.007+11:00

Recipe adapted from Sweet Food, published by Murdoch Books.
Rice pudding
20g unsalted butter
3 tablespoons Arborio rice
3 eggs
¼ cup castor sugar
1¾ milk
½ cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon and nutmeg for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 160°C.
Grease an ovenproof dish with butter.
Cook the rice in a saucepan of boiling water for 12 minutes or until tender. Drain well.
Beat eggs lightly in a bowl.
Add sugar, milk, cream and vanilla essence and combine well. Stir in rice.
Make a bain-marie in a deep roasting tin by pouring in enough hot water to cover half the greased ovenproof dish.
Pour mixture into the ovenproof dish. Sprinkle a light layer of cinnamon and nutmeg on top.
Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.
Rest for 5 minutes out of the water before serving.
Honey and cinnamon roasted fig
2 tablespoons honey
1 cinnamon quill
4 fresh figs, quartered
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
⅓ cup water
Preheat oven grill to moderately hot.
Place honey, cinnamon, vanilla essence and water in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 6 minutes.
Place figs on a shallow baking dish.
Pour honey mixture over figs and grill until the fig juices just start to come out.
Enjoy!

Smoked Salmon Salad

2010-01-31T15:58:00.002+11:00

Smoked salmon with avocado, baby spinach, red onion, feta and fresh mint, dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lime juice. Garnished with fried ginger strips. I foodgasmed. Twice.

Peanut Butter and Jelly

2010-01-29T16:06:00.005+11:00

Toast, peanut butter, strawberry jam and pan-fried banana. My keyboard is sufficiently sticky and loved up now.

1 banana
1 teaspoon flour
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Knob of butter
Peanut butter, for spreading
Strawberry jam, for spreading
1 piece of toast

Peel banana and cut into quarters.

Place flour and sugar in a shallow bowl. Coat banana in mixture, pressing gently to make it stick.

Fry in a pan on a low to medium heat until golden brown.

Spread a layer of peanut butter and a layer of strawberry jam onto a piece of toast.

Place banana pieces on top and squish down with a fork.

Enjoy!

Pan-Fried Salmon

2010-01-29T12:51:00.003+11:00

As much as I love poached salmon in restaurants with fancy creamy sauces, my favourite way to eat salmon is with fresh herbs and crispy skin. Don't be afraid to buy salmon with the skin on, even if it means having to scale it yourself. After that messy affair, you've truly earned that delicious fillet of fish.

You'll need:

Salmon, preferably tail portion
Spring onion
Coriander
1 small chili
Bok choy
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger

Make deep scores along the salmon. Rub spring onion, chili and half a teaspoon each of garlic and ginger on the fillet and into the scores.

Marinate in soy sauce, fish sauce and a squeeze of lemon juice in the fridge for half an hour.

Pan-fry for about 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.

I like to serve this with some gently smoked bok choy and a wedge of lemon. The crunchiness and freshness of the bok choy goes beautifully with the tender and salty flakes of the salmon.

Enjoy!

Japanese Food in Sydney

2010-01-22T23:48:00.002+11:00

Tokyo brings back memories of sushi and bloody marys for breakfast, chocolate truffles and bento boxes from Mitsukoshi, gyoza at every ramen house, ramen at every ramen house and copious amounts of fish. Once you have the real thing, you can't go back to Sushi World. I've only been to a few places in Sydney that come close to real Japanese food. My girlfriend Justine and I love Fujiya on George St for a casual dinner. Zushi and Kobe Jones are great for contemporary Japanese sushi. For the taste of authentic ramen, nothing can compare to Ichiban Boshi. And for fast sushi, Hokka Hokka makes their sushi fresh and with love.

Where do you go for Japanese food?

Chocolate Mousse Trifle

2010-01-21T16:39:00.003+11:00

When I think Summer, I think pastel sundresses, straw hats and fun-shaped popsicles. However, since chocolate cravings transcend seasons and I love the way the blood pink of cooked strawberries looks under the sun, this chocolate mousse and strawberry trifle is a fitting way to kick off this blog on a fine Summer's day. It is so simple to make and so, so delicious.

You'll need:

100g milk chocolate, melted
100g dark chocolate, melted
6 egg whites
230ml thickened cream
¼ cup icing sugar
1 punnet strawberries
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup water
8-10 Butterscotch Fingers
Kahlua

Serves 4-6

Place strawberries, sugar and water in a saucepan and simmer over low heat until the syrup becomes a deep red. Cool in fridge.

Melt chocolate in a glass bowl above simmering water. Use the lowest heat. Remove from heat right before the last pieces melt completely.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.

Fold the melted chocolate into the thickened cream. Fold in egg whites and icing sugar.

Layer strawberry coulis, biscuits (drizzled with Kahlua) and mousse mixture into martini glasses.

Set in freezer for 3 hours.

This mousse is ridiculously rich and indulgent. It's intensely chocolatey, velvety and thick - well worthy of the attention a main course demands. Enjoy slowly!

I am going to write it as simply as Defoe did the autobiography of Robinson Crusoe. And she has and this is it.

2010-01-21T15:03:00.001+11:00

When I was 11 I cooked on my own for the first time. I thought to heat oil in a covered saucepan on a high heat. When I lifted the lid 10 minutes later, a burst of flames and smoke flew up in my face. While I like to believe my technique has vastly improved, I'm still learning. That's what's great about cooking: food is a generative source of interesting textures and flavour and colour combinations. We are all creators and cooking is about tapping into the endless possibility.

So join me on my journey of eating ludicrous amounts of good food and sharing recipe ideas with all of you!

Also, Dan, Madz and Lionel (who has an awesome photo blog, http://spineiro-photos.blogspot.com/) thank you guys so much for helping me set this thing up. I don't know where I'd be without family and friends like you.