tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177031312011-12-10T15:42:05.567+11:00... fabulous food, eating, cooking, wine and LUNCH!Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.comBlogger1381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-14532228283092212072011-01-20T11:58:00.002+11:002011-01-20T12:08:22.054+11:00

Hi foodlovers.I've had a VERY long break posting anything on my blog, 1. because I've been doing a job in Australia's capital (Canberra) for the last three years that has taken absolutely all my time away from writing and publishing, and 2. because I forgot/ mislaid/ destroyed/ who knows what, my old email address and passwords to get into my blog.But by chance I found them today. Hooray!Firstly

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1169956926899532612007-01-28T15:02:00.000+11:002007-01-28T15:08:48.986+11:00

When I had Bellinis in Harry’s Bar in Venice it cost about $100 (aussie) for a round of four. But we WERE in Harry’s Bar and I guess you pay for the privilege. Take comfort in the fact that they are cheaper to make at home.I know the health conscious among you will be appalled that I usually need to disguise things that are good for me in elaborate ways. Just like mums grate carrot into pasta

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1168809886276616892007-01-15T08:24:00.000+11:002007-01-15T08:30:35.536+11:00

New Year score card: Week 1 – go back to work after 12 months off (shock); Week 2 – spend nearly all week in bed with nasty summer head cold (sick). Universe 2, Reb 0. Here’s hoping week 3 starts looking better. Instead of having all day to muck around having lunch or deciding what to eat and preparing it, no matter how complicated, the strategy has to change slightly for combining job and

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1168128497516044702007-01-07T11:08:00.000+11:002007-01-07T11:30:04.706+11:00

This Christmas I cooked my way through about $300.00 worth of meat that I ordered from the delectable Anthony at Vic’s Premium Quality Meats in Mascot. Honestly these guys provide THE best meat and it’s become my habit to get my Chrissy goodies from here.Over the season I cooked for 20 adults and six children and my culinary paint pallette included a Thirlmere free range turkey, a boneless

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1168128122433933412007-01-07T11:02:00.000+11:002007-01-07T11:06:54.203+11:00

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find frozen cranberries a week before Christmas? There was more chance of the dust at the bottom of my wardrobe self organising and marching up the vacuum cleaner hose while I was asleep, than me laying my hands on a box of these little puppies. All the clever cooks had bought their frozen cranberries in August and were laughing smugly behind their trolleys

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1167798587322739692007-01-03T15:29:00.000+11:002007-01-03T15:58:04.136+11:00

This was exciting for a girl who rarely ventures any further than the imaginary borders of the CBD’s 2 km radius around Sydney Tower. Besides, I’m still eating my way through the restaurants from Paddington to Pyrmont and have predictably got a bit stuck in Surry Hills. Most things up to and including “R”, but then one closes, another re-opens and there I am retracing my steps to “B”. So to head

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1166648948667615362006-12-21T07:38:00.000+11:002006-12-21T08:09:08.780+11:00

An oldie but a goodie from Larousse Gastronomique, I've rediscovered this as a great way of turning out deliciously crisp potatoes. My research has told me that the original dish - a large layered potato cake cooked in heaps of clarified butter - was created for the 19th century Parisian courtesan, Anna Deslions, by chef Adolphe Dugléré at the Cafe Anglais. All I can say is that Anna must have

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1166400209871897222006-12-18T10:49:00.000+11:002007-02-22T15:26:11.214+11:00

I've been trying to get to this restaurant ever since it opened. So many good reviews coupled with the sort of atmosphere I was sure to love, but I've either been dragged elsewhere, it wasn't open when I could make it, or it was simply too full to get in.So finally, as a last minute decision on a Saturday lunchtime, we made our move to sample the delights I've read so much about.I know I'm not in

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1166386793487967992006-12-18T07:19:00.000+11:002007-02-22T15:28:25.689+11:00

The east coast of the south island continues to reward a traveller with spectacular vistas. Driving from Picton or Blenheim you’ll saunter through endless vineyards of the Awatere Valley and sheep-studded grazing country until unexpectedly, with a gentle rightward turn, you’re wedged within a slim roadway with dramatic volcanic coastline to the left and soaring snow capped peaks on the right.

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1165962523780152972006-12-13T08:54:00.000+11:002007-02-22T15:36:06.228+11:00

The Clock Hotel has been around for yonks.Nestled in one of the most populated restaurant strips in Sydney, it still holds its own in terms of cool atmosphere and good food. Several renovations - probably to keep up with the Joneses in the rest of the street - keeps its look contemporary and the vibe swingng.With a choice of bars, and balcony or indoor dining, it suits most tastes on any day. The

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1165897827806655132006-12-12T15:30:00.000+11:002006-12-13T15:00:49.256+11:00

Menu For Hope III Prize:One place in a Food Writing Course at the Centre for New Writing, University of Technology, Sydney.Course Title: Writing About Food with John NewtonLocation: UTS, SydneyWhen: 30 January - 6 March 2007 (6 weeks), Tuesdays 6-8 pmMore info: click here Menu for Hope Prize Code: AP35Prize value AUD $345.00Sharpen your writing skills and hone your food and taste knowledge in

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1165264926496024202006-12-05T07:28:00.000+11:002006-12-12T15:52:04.023+11:00

Unless you fly, the only way from the North to the South Island is on a passenger ferry that takes commuters, tourists, vehicles and cargo from Wellington to Picton. It’s a three hour trip on an enormous inter-island ferry that has many decks, bars, snack food shops, entertainment – even a movie theatre for those blasé about the magnificent scenery. Wellingtonians are always interested in ‘the

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1164837777930959732006-11-30T08:54:00.000+11:002006-11-30T15:04:18.736+11:00

It may take less time to fly to Wellington than it does to many Australian destinations, and we may recognise many similarities between ourselves and the Kiwis, but the differences are just as entrancing. Speed humps are judder bars, supermarket trolleys are trundlers, thongs are jandles, small or little is wee, and you can still buy and set off your own firecrackers. Left: Oriental Bay, photo

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1164750042232370152006-11-29T08:40:00.000+11:002006-11-29T10:23:50.406+11:00

Anna at Morsels and Musings is creating a festive food fair and compiling posts about pre-Xmas yummy stuff. While this recipe is not necessarily Xmas-y, it is inspired by the season leading up to December here in the Southern Hemisphere. In addition to welcoming the first budburst of grapes in Spring, because that means the next wine vintage will approach post haste, I am always gagging for

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1162283615866532692006-10-31T19:30:00.000+11:002006-10-31T19:33:35.866+11:00

I'm off across the ditch to play in the New Zealand vineyards and eat all their yummy food, so no posts for a while, readers.I'll take lots of food pictures and relive my experiences when I get back.bye for a while!

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1162282902168619132006-10-31T19:21:00.000+11:002006-11-22T08:37:36.210+11:00

The belts have been released a few notches, the elastic-waisted trousers have been retrieved from the drawer, the box of antacid tablets is empty, and the gym looms ominously before the round of Xmas excess. Yes, Good Food Month has come to a close. We’ve lunched and dined our way around Sydney, noodled ourselves senseless, marketed and faired to our hearts’ content, given ourselves sugar highs,

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1162274475884115792006-10-31T16:55:00.000+11:002006-10-31T19:30:39.120+11:00

Left: Kir Royale.Coming in on the last day of the month, our final GFM lunch was everyone's favourite cute French Bistro in Surry Hills, Tabou. Rare roasted duck breast with blood orange, watercress and kipfler potatoes was the menu of the day, so we saved it til a delectable last. I felt like a real stayer fitting in as much as I could right up to the dying light of October.As always with these

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1162077849795393412006-10-29T09:30:00.000+11:002006-10-31T11:26:48.766+11:00

The city has been a hive of activity this week as food soldiers grab the last offerings of GFM. Jen from Milk and Cookies has been a very busy girl fitting in the Spring Picnic, a Sugar Hit at The Four Seasons, Let's Do Lunch at Galileo and a Hands On Ice Cream class at Serendipity.Jen from Jenius dived into the Hat’s Off! Dinner at Forty One and Kathryn ventured to Five Dock for the Mangia

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1161935135089405252006-10-27T17:45:00.001+10:002006-10-27T19:26:01.890+10:00

Left: the bunnyThis restaurant is among the most consistently awarded three hat restaurants in Sydney. Chef Peter Gilmore’s ability to not only win but maintain this rating is legendary and well deserved. And he’s a dab hand with the sweets. Ok, the interior looks like its been refurbished with 70's disco remnants, complete with LSD inspired carpet and mirror ceilings, but in a room with these

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1161935123916298982006-10-27T17:45:00.000+10:002006-10-27T18:35:58.333+10:00

Menu cover at Aki'sI’m going to start with an apology. These pictures are crap. The light was low, beautifully moody with candles, and I hate using a flash if I’m in a restaurant. I don’t want to encroach on the pleasure of other diners because I happen to have a penchant for photographing my food and writing about. I can get away with a great deal at lunch, but sometimes dinner is much more

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1161746251937277632006-10-25T13:17:00.000+10:002006-10-25T14:50:21.873+10:00

Love him or hate him, you can’t ignore him. Having only encountered his screen and print personas I was gigglingly exuberant at the thought of a direct encounter with Rammers. Well direct-ish. Just me and 500 other close Ramsay buddies at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney. An intimate lunch for 500, one of whom was GR. I got in on a cancellation so was seated at a back table far enough away to not

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1161556106873386062006-10-23T08:28:00.000+10:002006-10-26T08:59:19.226+10:00

This week saw the last of the noodle market adventures with the wrap up of the markets on Friday night. My last visit was Thursday and boy was it packed! I couldn’t manage to get a photo without someone walking in front of me at an inopportune moment, but Swee managed to brave the crowds, as did Kathryn who recorded the event when a few of us foodbloggers caught up for a noodle hit. Julia had the

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1161497111712399942006-10-22T16:03:00.000+10:002006-10-23T20:34:28.206+10:00

This is beautiful bread. No, really, exceptional bread. The texture and taste is chewy and sour, crusty, it has a delicious aroma. Hot and warming, straight out of the oven. Satisfying and well crafted, hand made artisan produce for sure. You find this bread at Aria, Tetsuyas, Café Sydney, Bondi Icebergs – and many other great eateries. This bread, pictured left, cost $100. Yep. These

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1161488957420910782006-10-22T13:31:00.000+10:002006-10-22T14:36:11.163+10:00

Billed as a self guided eating tour around one of Sydney’s premier Italian food providore areas, Mangia Italiano takes you at your own pace through pasticceria, delicatessens, fruit and meat retailers. And of course there’s the coffee. Five Dock has long been a Mecca for Italians and Italophiles yearning for the offerings of the old country.Left and next two pictures below: the gorgeous display

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1161487015899720762006-10-22T12:56:00.000+10:002006-10-22T13:26:42.273+10:00

Left and below: the set GFM lunch of ballottine of Glenloth chicken with potato puree, sauté of mushroom and wilted spinach It was with a mixture of delight and trepidation that I approached lunch at Bécasse. Delight because it has been well publicised not only for the fantastic food adored by most critics, but also its recent restaurant of the year award. Delight in that I was fortunate

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1161221541241334792006-10-19T11:03:00.000+10:002006-10-22T13:27:29.443+10:00

To show that I don’t just eat my way through Good Food Month, I’ve also booked into some hands-on classes. This first one at Oh Calcutta in Darlinghurst featured food from Pakistan and Afghanistan.Above: Yellow dahl accompaniments to the dumplingsOur mission was to make Mantu, spiced and steamed lamb dumplings, and Ashak, a poached dumpling full of garlic chives coriander and chilli, both of

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1161215782037542892006-10-19T09:49:00.000+10:002006-10-19T09:56:22.080+10:00

As a testament to the fact that I no longer frequent bars (a habit for a much younger body and organs and formerly larger corporate salary) I was amazed when I walked into Zeta bar at the Sydney Hilton. Miss L, the PoD and my good self had arrived for the launch of Effen Vodka, held at said swank establishment, and we were about to be plied with a range of cocktails, schmoozed to our hearts’

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1160970074094098492006-10-16T13:36:00.000+10:002006-10-16T15:01:37.646+10:00

It’s Italian made, bright red, constructed from metal, and has the brand name 'Ferrari' on it. No, unfortunately it’s not my car, it’s my pizza oven. And for World Bread Day I thought I’d contribute a pizza made from a favourite ingredient: anchovies. A while back I had a discussion with Neil about the merits of this little beastie, particularly about the Rolls Royce anchovy

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1160895913864811932006-10-15T16:58:00.000+10:002006-10-16T12:58:59.566+10:00

Sailing into our second week of culinary pleasure we have quite a few starters. Anna and I both headed off to “Let’s do Lunch” events. Anna has cast a critical eye over Yoshii with some interesting results. I booked in for the same deal at Zaaffran Indian restaurant Restaurant in Darling Harbour. Mmmmmm …. lobster. I‘m a bit worried about the state of Helen’s

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1160686359892640512006-10-13T06:52:00.000+10:002006-10-13T07:07:50.260+10:00

108 Sydney Restaurants are offering special Let’s Do Lunch menus presenting a main course dish, glass of wine and coffee for $35. The menus are all published in a special section of the Good Food Month Guide so you can pick and choose your options.The menu at Zaaffran in Darling Harbour sounded too good to miss: Lobster and prawns glazed in a clay oven, mesclun, spiced potato wedges, beetroot

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1160513324387585562006-10-11T06:48:00.000+10:002006-10-11T07:12:39.573+10:00

Today I’m one.A year ago on October 11, I fumbled through a clumsy post with scant description of the food and dopey fuzzy pictures of lunch at Sugaroom. You gotta start somewhere. When I look at what I’ve written and photographed in the past 12 months I think I can see a bit more organisation and dedication to my task. Although food and cooking have been a lifelong passion of mine, this is the

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1160293401190782022006-10-08T17:43:00.000+10:002006-10-09T18:04:29.503+10:00

As we launch into the first week of GFM, bloggers are limbering up for the marathon of events ahead. True to form, and displaying the tenacity and dedication that has made her one of the most widely respected and read food bloggers in Australia, if not globally, Helen from Grab Your Fork was first post in, sampling the sumptuous delights of the organic and sustainable dégustation at Bécasse,

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1160278543128486482006-10-08T13:35:00.000+10:002006-10-08T13:47:04.363+10:00

I love young goat meat, but strangely enough we don’t seem to warm to it too much in this country. It’s hard to find it to buy, except at specialist butchers. The most memorable goat you will have is probably in Greece, Italy or Spain or slow braised in an Asian style dish.One of the best bits of the produce at the Growers Markets are the people who bring us young goat, or kid, often called

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1160271804205881032006-10-08T11:43:00.000+10:002006-10-08T12:19:48.006+10:00

Fortune favours the brave. The early bird catches the worm … and other go get ‘em cliches.I dragged myself out of bed early with the expectation that the October growers markets would be p-a-c-k-e-d packed, being Good Food Month and all.Armed with cloth bags and determination, I met up with Miss L and walked purposefully down to Pyrmont to arrive a shade after 7am. Already there were many

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1159829657060780262006-10-03T08:45:00.000+10:002006-10-03T09:22:36.580+10:00

My friend Martin (pictured here second from right) has won the amateur section of the Vin De Champagne awards for 2006. He's so clever. To win you have to answer a range of detailed questions about champagne flavour profiles, production, and food matching, and the responses are judged by a panel of experts.The awards dinner was held last week at Glass Brasserie at the Sydney Hilton. Seven amazing

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1159754005276047302006-10-02T11:26:00.000+10:002006-10-02T11:53:25.486+10:00

A while back Neil from Food for Thought was chewing through the gritty question of whether to wash or not wash rice. He seemed to be a ‘not wash’ kind of guy – rice wise I mean – and there were many comments about rice type-specific washing trends around the globe. Food bloggers are nothing if not cutting edge, tackling the tough issues of domestic cookery.I offered the comment that I don’t wash

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1159743522548851522006-10-02T08:58:00.000+10:002006-10-02T09:06:42.320+10:00

Like fat, purple mirrors, aubergines are magnificent right now. I believe nothing complements the flavour of aubergine like the smoky tones of this Mediterranean/ Middle Eastern side dish, especially when served with grilled or BBQ’d lamb. Resist the temptation to chuck the eggplant in the oven, and let loose the inner pyromaniac to do it over a naked flame. It honestly gives the finished result

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1159664876182719132006-10-01T10:42:00.000+10:002006-10-31T19:29:07.530+11:00

(logo and photo from SMH website)For the last nine years the main metropolitan broadsheet newspaper in Sydney has promoted October as 'Good Food Month' (GFM). While I think every month is good food month in Sydney, October is an organised food extravaganza for the eager gastronaut to negotiate. Every day offers a cornucopia of events drawing together producers, growers, restaurants, critics,

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1158875105492687042006-09-22T07:20:00.000+10:002006-09-22T07:45:05.753+10:00

Last year I volunteered for the Sydney Food and Wine Fair - an event close to every food bloggers heart, and the major fundraiser for the AIDS Trust of Australia.Not only did I have a great time doing something useful for a good cause, but met some terrific people and old friends, worked for Vogue Entertaining and Travel and Delicious Magazines, siddled up to a few restauranteurs, and generally

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1158794991513315912006-09-21T09:29:00.000+10:002006-09-22T07:46:35.110+10:00

Sugar High Friday’s theme this month (its 23rd incarnation) is the surprise inside hosted by A Veggie Venture – yummy sweet treats that look deceptively like one thing on the outside and … ta da! … reveal their secret heart on the inside.A whole range of decadent chocolate fondant-y things sprang to my mind, but as we’re just coming out of winter here down under, and the strawberry season is in

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1158707713269008062006-09-20T09:15:00.000+10:002006-09-20T09:36:24.550+10:00

The great thing about the SMH Good Food Guide being published each year is that it gives me fresh enthusiasm to search out the restaurants I either never managed to get to in the previous year, or didn’t know existed. Like I need any more encouragement? I think only dedicated eaters read the GFG like a novel. I make notes and lists like I was reading it for a research article. Sad, isn’t it?My

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1158703364526833642006-09-20T07:57:00.000+10:002006-09-20T08:06:35.503+10:00

On my god - Christmas alert!I've just seen the first Panettone of the season in my greengrocers! Eeeek!

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1158354828601543612006-09-16T06:55:00.000+10:002006-09-16T07:13:48.830+10:00

So when you have fresh eggs, make the most of them, I say. What better way to celebrate the humble egg and fresh spring herbs than by the spectacular satisfaction of the vertiginous triumph of the soufflé. Crusty on the outside, creamy soft and foamy on the inside. There are two important factors to the soufflé: heat and air. The air goes inside, the heat goes outside and makes the air trapped in

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1158273407677003182006-09-15T08:26:00.000+10:002006-09-15T08:36:47.703+10:00

Eggs are wonderful things. Eggs are even more wonderful when you get to meet the chook that layed them that morning and she’s pretty chilled out and happy, or you meet the person who collected them that morning. You can use them whole, you can split them into different parts and put them back together again (as I’m going to do in the next recipe I post) or you can make entirely different things

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1158185887000315872006-09-14T08:18:00.000+10:002006-09-14T08:32:46.696+10:00

I’m not going to get into the debate regarding who invented the pavlova, supposedly named after Anna Pavlova because the meringue represented the fluffy white frou frou of her tutu. Whether it was Australia or New Zealand or Azerbijan, I’m just glad someone thought of it and Australia adopted it. And I’m glad someone thought of putting chocolate in it.4 egg whites¼ tsp cream of tartar1 cup (220 g

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1158102478397945082006-09-13T09:07:00.000+10:002006-09-13T10:37:29.716+10:00

Nothing like lazing about watching re-runs of Gondola on the Murray (12.30pm Saturdays on ABC2) for inspiration. With a mess of produce, not a great deal of time, and a few hungry mouths to feed, this looked failsafe. And like much great Italian cuisine, the whole is always more than the sum of the parts.Political aspirant Snr Pieri cooked this for a picnic, but after a day of planting spring

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1158099304548789922006-09-13T08:15:00.000+10:002006-09-13T08:24:06.080+10:00

This dead easy yet highly impressive pre dinner nibble / snack is a creation of cheese impresario and non-pasteurised cheese product campaigner Will Studd (applause, cheers … without your Herculean efforts I wouldn’t be able to eat Roquefort in this country).Pre heat the oven to 160-170°C.Take a camembert or small brie cheese, a little under ripe is ok. Try to buy one that comes in a little

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1158099282339156422006-09-13T08:14:00.000+10:002006-09-13T08:17:33.016+10:00

Just the thing to herald in Spring.500g seedless watermelon, cubed1 bethonga pineapple, peeled, cored and cubed180 mls white rum or Cachaca90 mls triple sec or Cointreau1 tsp grenadine.Get down the juicer and juice the watermelon and pineapple. Pour the juice and everything else over ice and stir to chill. Serve with a sprig of fresh spring mint.Inspiration comes from September Australian Good

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1158024118723273712006-09-12T11:17:00.000+10:002006-09-12T11:21:58.726+10:00

This luxe drop, distilled in and imported from The Netherlands, recently fell into my basket. (Well, maybe I helped it a little). What a treat. In Dutch, the adjective ‘effen’ means ‘smooth, even, balanced’. How true. A wheat distilled spirit, it’s as smooth as silk with distinct deep cherry notes and a slight syrupy sweetness from the vanilla that lifts it above the average bland vodka taste, or

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1158023509764346242006-09-12T11:03:00.000+10:002006-09-12T11:11:49.893+10:00

Off I went to roam around the countryside for a while on holiday visits, armed with a bagful of produce, a swag of this month’s food mags, and Miss Min the cat in her carrybag strapped into the front seat. Mountains, Spring, fresh air – ahhhh. Something snacky and yummy for that night: a quick dash to fishmarkets on the way and the Hawkesbury calamari stood out as glistening fresh with pearly

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1156909375423986902006-08-30T13:34:00.000+10:002006-08-30T13:42:55.423+10:00

I'm offline for a week or so, readers, but will recount all my food adventures when I can!

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1156651093730989942006-08-27T13:06:00.000+10:002006-08-27T13:58:15.616+10:00

Some meme’s are bigger than Ben Hur.This is one of them.Helen tagged me on Melissa’s project at The Travellers Lunchbox and it certainly has captured the imaginations of food bloggers worldwide.So here’s my contribution, and I’ve tried not to replicate some already mentioned in the growing list, like fresh porcini, dim sum in Hong Kong, the Muffuletta from the Central Grocery in New Orleans,

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1156479730951530902006-08-25T14:22:00.000+10:002006-08-25T14:35:03.113+10:00

I’m going to blame Helen because I have to blame someone. The Essential Ingredient used to be one of my biggest and most frequent shopping indulgences. And because I lived close to its previous incarnation, I went past it so frequently it was very easy to think of something absolutely … well … ‘essential’ that I needed to acquire for my kitchen or pantry. In the cold light of day, I now realise

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1156457310650823142006-08-25T08:08:00.000+10:002006-08-25T08:28:01.416+10:00

This little Surry Hills gem has been one of my favourite restaurants for a few years. Down the increasingly gentrified strip of Crown Street, the bland facades give way to a deep scarlet renovated terrace with a beckoning dark, mysterious, lacquered interior. A couple of outside terraced steps provide some outdoor tables streetside, and the languid shadowy room, heavily decorated in nouveau

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1156116798408760172006-08-21T08:59:00.000+10:002006-08-21T09:45:20.800+10:00

Doyles Restaurant Circular Quay - picture from Doyles websiteLast year Matthew Evans, the Sydney Morning Herald’s former restaurant critic and editor of the Good Food Guide, severely panned Doyles, giving it a single digit score out of 20 and a scathing review. At the time I thought it churlish of him, yet brave, because this was prior to the changes in NSW’s defamation laws. I feel slightly

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1156030869442768252006-08-20T09:30:00.000+10:002006-08-20T09:41:09.473+10:00

Classic dishes are regularly named after something or someone exotic or momentous. There’s Steak Diane (supposedly after the Goddess of the Hunt), Peach Melba (after Nellie the opera singer), Beef Wellington (after Arthur Wellesley the first Duke thereof who trounced Napoleon at Waterloo), Veal Oscar (After King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway), Chicken Marengo (named in honour of Napoleon’s

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1155939514069582452006-08-19T08:18:00.000+10:002006-08-20T09:52:15.546+10:00

This month’s sugar high Friday theme is preserves. I’m not really much of a jam girl, but I do love a good marmalade. Seville oranges are the best for marmalade because of their bitterness and now (in the southern hemisphere) is the best time to make it because the levels of pectin – the substance that makes jam set – in the fruit are at their highest. Bitter oranges were bought to Spain by the

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1155684421542849532006-08-16T09:20:00.000+10:002006-08-16T09:27:02.853+10:00

A cautionary tale. Hubris is the ancient Greek sin of arrogance or excessive pride, the result of which is wanton violence. In literature, it’s usually applied to a protagonist who affronts the gods by flouting moral laws or prohibitions, eventually leading to a downfall as divine retribution. Pride coming before a fall. And such is my sin. One day I’m thumbing my nose at the colder climes

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1155595109205665632006-08-15T08:38:00.000+10:002006-08-16T09:27:54.910+10:00

With what must be one of the most spectacular views in Sydney, Aria also presents some of the city’s most spectacular food.On a faultless Sydney winter’s day (about 22°C, just to make the Melburnians green) you have a soprano’s eye view of the Opera House and a vista of the Coathanger (the Sydney Harbour Bridge) across the sparkling harbour waves. No wonder tourists are breathless at the sight of

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1155257679094029932006-08-11T10:54:00.000+10:002006-08-11T11:06:53.973+10:00

If you live here in Oz, you might have seen this recipe in the food pages of last weekend’s Australian Magazine. The minute I saw it, I drooled. I’ve knocked up a few crème caramels in my time, but this twist looked and sounded just sumptuous. The recipe is the creation of the recently crowned Lexus Young Chef of the Year, Beau Vincent, who rattles the pans at Restaurant Assiette in Surry Hills,

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1153713190039887752006-07-24T13:53:00.000+10:002006-07-24T17:14:22.026+10:00

... or (pilimenes, pelmenis)Growing up in Australia one is most fortunate to have a vast resource of culinary traditions from which to draw . Not just in the formal sense of restaurants from a staggering variety of different countries’ cuisines, but often from the next door neighbours, your schoolfriends’ mums and dads, or someone who takes a fancy to your aunt and marries her, bringing their

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1152835737622527542006-07-14T10:08:00.000+10:002006-07-14T10:44:57.356+10:00

Intrepid. Vanguard. Trendspotters. So next week. Yep, that’s us. Helen and I set off on another adventure to the frontiers of cuisine; (music swells) to boldly go … you know the rest. And this time it really is a frontier in many senses of the word. In Australia we have myriad Asian regional restaurants, but I’d never heard of this one (not even on Food Lovers’ Guide to Australia) which of course

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1152485117143080822006-07-10T08:45:00.000+10:002006-07-10T16:56:33.983+10:00

My friend M who lives in the crisp, wintry Blue Mountains asked me for a recipe for Osso Bucco last week, which was a coincidence because I had just scored myself some stunning examples of the species from DJ’s butchery in the City. It’s a very easy recipe and like most Italian food, the key is to find the best ingredients – in other words excellent veal. It’s also one of the most warmingly

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1151639571545784682006-06-30T13:52:00.000+10:002006-06-30T14:57:57.926+10:00

There’s no dispute that Italian food has made a deep and lasting mark on Australian culinary traditions. Cappuccino is statistically Australia’s national drink and pasta is one of the most common meals eaten at our home tables. You can get blasé about Italian food in most capital cities in this country. There’s everything from cheap and cheerful to full-on silver service with prices to match.

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1151363373915665942006-06-27T09:09:00.000+10:002006-06-30T15:24:42.523+10:00

Some name!, you might be thinking, but read on. This is a lesser known recipe from the Australian gastro supremo Tetsuya Wakuda, he of the slow cooked confit of ocean trout and sublime degustation.But first some translation notes for the Australian idiom. Rather than necessarily referring to sexual mores, this word in the Aussie vernacular has a few other meanings. It can mean ‘considerably’ (as

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1151359367919006422006-06-27T08:02:00.000+10:002006-06-27T08:22:03.446+10:00

“I hope you’re proud of yourself”, came the voice over the phone.It was Miss L.I grunted.“I swear! NEVER on a school night!” she moaned.“Console yourself with the fact that you are sitting within the womb-like confines of a quiet workstation and I have The Wiggles at 60,000 decibels in the background”, I said.“Ok, you get the sympathy this time”, she agreed.You see, our longtime school buddy R

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1151013351383154992006-06-23T07:55:00.000+10:002006-06-23T08:16:25.600+10:00

‘Taco tagged me. Rising to the challenge 5 items in the freezer1. Master stock.2. Vodka.3. Nameless things in perma-frost. Labelling isn’t my forte. My archaeologist mother wants to carbon date them.4. Home made sausages. It takes an afternoon to make them, may as well freeze them.5. Mini Magnums (classic flavour). Excellent for emergency hysterical child situations. I know nothing about kids,

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1150251672988372122006-06-14T12:21:00.000+10:002006-06-14T12:39:01.530+10:00

Or, Why do I buy so many cookbooks?Ok, so these are rhetorical questions, but I’ll give you the answers anyway. No; and because they’re there (and it’s safer than climbing Mt Everest). Actually answer number 2 could almost do for both really.My new cookbook is Off Duty (Harper Collins, rrp AUD$49.95). It has a dual purpose: firstly it has buckets of gorge-isimous recipes penned by super chefs and

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1149137289691638472006-06-01T14:48:00.000+10:002006-06-01T15:03:05.073+10:00

This isn’t so much a complete restaurant review as a rave about the great value lunch boxes and bento boxes at this cute little spot in the Broadway Shopping Centre at Ultimo.The first good thing is that it’s at a food court but isn’t IN the food court. If it was a suburb, it would be called Food Court Heights. But that’s not to say it’s snooty. In Japanese ‘tomodachi’ means ‘friend’ and you can

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1149124570387874852006-06-01T11:16:00.000+10:002006-06-01T11:22:10.136+10:00

Despite best planning for entertaining, we often overestimate the mountains of food people will eat. Well it’s better than underestimating, I reckon. So it was that I was left with a grassy knoll of peas after a recent bacchanal. I could have just eaten them as a side dish to something, but I considered transforming them into an interesting lunch. I had some slices of pancetta lounging about the

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1148776730836797782006-05-28T10:38:00.000+10:002006-05-28T11:05:46.833+10:00

This month's host for Sugar High Friday (Ruth from Once Upon a Feast has declared she isn't making the Lime and Ginger Brûlée from Delicious magazine, but here in Oz we've had the luxury of having already gone there a few months ago in March, coz Delicious is an Aussie invention :). I've already had my say about this recipe and posted my version here, but for SHF I offer yet another variation on

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1148597240601088322006-05-26T08:47:00.000+10:002006-05-26T08:54:51.420+10:00

Miss L’s birthday and my birthday are quite close together. So we planned a little celebration at the half way point between the two. We both share an Irish ancestry – mine through the Doyle’s, her the O’Neill’s, so what better on a cold May evening, dan a wee sumpthin’ ta warm da noight, dat remoinds us a de ‘ol cuntree, ta be shur, ta be shur. Seasoned with the mysteries of Mr Guinness’s creamy

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1148341092114672172006-05-23T09:38:00.000+10:002006-05-23T14:36:07.360+10:00

Duck, orange, pistachio and cognac sausagesCall me a control freak, but I usually like to know what’s in my food. Consequently, one foodstuff that relentlessly causes difficulties for me is the humble snag. Even the gourmet ones you buy at upmarket providores or food halls that boast some ‘it’ chef’s moniker are something of a mystery. When cooked, I usually find them too salty, too fatty, too

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1147989072177308072006-05-19T07:51:00.000+10:002006-05-19T08:26:06.190+10:00

The other day I was in the embarrassing and unenviable position of being told by a waiter I was not allowed to take pictures of my food. My food. The food I’d ordered and paid for. NOT the food on the next table or in the kitchen and NOT with a large tripod, massive Nikon Digital SLR, umbrellas for flashes, professional lighting, and two assistants. Just my little ‘ol plate of food and my lunch

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1147406675794729082006-05-12T14:04:00.000+10:002006-05-12T14:25:31.683+10:00

Right on the water at the end of Harris St. in Pyrmont Point, Sugaroom has proven itself to be a reliable eating place with consistently good food, and reasonable prices. I haven’t lunched here in a while mainly because, well, the menu stays a bit the same and once you’ve eaten your way through the favourites you need a break. The menu is available online here, and in addition to the attraction

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1147389611290514292006-05-12T09:20:00.000+10:002006-05-12T09:40:02.366+10:00

This started out with a net full of little Tahitian limes that were just on the verge of going a little yellow, so I wanted to use the juice and capture that last drop of summer limes before heading into winter. Lime curd is a great way to use lime juice.125 grams butter250 mls fresh lime juice125 grams caster sugar6 eggsMelt the butter in a saucepan on a medium to high heat, add the sugar and

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1147297574091891272006-05-11T07:46:00.000+10:002006-05-11T08:27:36.466+10:00

Some recent chat between myself and Tankeduptaco at Food for Thought has revealed a mutual admiration for cabbage rolls. We come from different traditions, however – his from his good wife’s native Poland and mine from my ex partner’s Mediterranean heritage. But cabbage rolls seem to be a universal comfort food, following in the tradition of many foodstuffs prepared and rolled up in something, to

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1146781025100914542006-05-05T08:17:00.000+10:002006-05-05T08:35:28.160+10:00

Ever since I first sampled Antonio Faccinetti’s version of this dish (back when he owned and cooked at Il Baretto) I have been in love with it. It’s a wonder it’s taken me so long to actually cook it for myself. Despite the proliferation of easy-to-cook duck cuts, like breast fillets, I still think of duck as a special occasion meat. Something that’s not always that straight forward to cook (read

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1146696696670082012006-05-04T08:51:00.000+10:002006-05-04T09:02:07.670+10:00

Pork, Duck and Cognac Terrine de CampagneCrisis. Lunch for six people. MN needed something to serve for entrée. No time. Ahhh! Panic.The benefits of having a foodblogger and culinary obsessive in the family are not extensively documented. Sometimes the down side is more prominent – that you are unlikely to ever have a hot meal in a restaurant again because your dining companion has to photograph

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1146522812420227252006-05-02T08:33:00.000+10:002006-05-02T12:13:32.566+10:00

With so much talk of braises and shanks around the cooking blogosphere, coupled with cooling temperatures, my thoughts have naturally strayed to belly pork.Once upon a time in the bad old days, you could only find it in Chinatown. Now every menu aspiring to gastronomic chic lists it, and every scallop in town wants a date with it. The humble piglet tummy has well and truly ‘arrived’ in

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1146434975864880482006-05-01T08:09:00.000+10:002006-05-01T08:18:26.130+10:00

I first tried this at breakfast at Le Chateâu Frontenac in Québec City. Maybe it was the grandeur of the dining room of this magnificent old Canadian Pacfic Hotel, maybe the cold, sharp late Spring air, but one taste and I was a goner. Theoretically, it was initially an improbable combination to my taste buds. Salty bacon, sweet syrup – no, it will clash and jangle and divide into breakfast and

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1146091946823246242006-04-27T08:52:00.000+10:002006-04-27T09:00:51.976+10:00

There’s something deeply satisfying about making bread. Something about squelching all that dough in your hands and waiting for the miracle of yeast to work its magic … twice. Then the smell and rapture of freshly baked bread, steam rising as the knife crunches through the crust, cleaving the airy centre. Butter or oil soaking into the feathery dough. While any sort of bread is nice to make, and

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1146005472219661262006-04-26T08:51:00.000+10:002006-04-26T08:59:06.780+10:00

A yummy little entrée or finger food type thing, you can top these blini with whatever takes your fancy. I chose one of my all time favourite products – Tetsuya’s Soft Smoked Petuna Ocean Trout – which you can buy from good suppliers, but I tend to get it frozen from De Costi’s at the Sydney Fish Market. You can pretty well rely on them stocking it. I’m a bit fussy with smoked salmon, often

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1145573352066636192006-04-21T08:49:00.000+10:002006-04-21T09:12:38.493+10:00

It’s often said that chocolate and orange are a match made in heaven. It reminds me of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Everyone seems to approve of it, but I think there’s something fundamentally wrong. Jangly. Nervy. Unnatural. Not quite right. But chocolate and MINT – now you’re talking. Maybe it’s Freudian – I must have had a traumatic experience with a jaffa when I was little – but I really have

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1145506994647601962006-04-20T14:23:00.000+10:002006-04-20T14:58:47.386+10:00

I love exotic ingredients. I’d never seen this pastry before (purchased at the Essential Ingredient) so it was an absolute must buy and try. The helpful chap at EI said it was a bit like Asian spring roll pastry to use – which was sort of true – but I think it’s quite different in texture and flavour. It doesn’t need to be frozen and it’s a little more like a stiff crepe, and less pliable or

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1145484655362345222006-04-20T08:10:00.000+10:002006-04-20T08:44:10.710+10:00

I’m going to be right up front about this: I don’t really like Hot Cross Buns. Not until now anyway. I’m also a bit tepid on fruit cake and highly suspicious of mince pies at Xmas. But everyone else likes them, so that’s a good reason to cook them. Also, there’s been a raft of inspiration from Aussie food bloggers over the last week as they enthuse and commiserate over triumphs and, well, ‘

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1144791934112849662006-04-12T07:45:00.000+10:002006-04-12T08:01:11.196+10:00

Family foodMother’s birthday before she goes off on a dig (she’s an archaeologist)Friends for big Sunday lunchProjected menu for 5 days of non-stop, house-party eating and drinking (spread out, not all on one day). I may not do the lot but here’s the plan :* Crème de menthe and chocolate tart* Stracciatella (Italian ‘egg drop’ soup) with cognac and chives* Strozzapretti (in Italian: ‘priest

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1144626168292003672006-04-10T09:42:00.000+10:002006-04-10T09:57:29.886+10:00

I haven’t made this since last winter, so the urge to do it confirms that we are inching inexorably closer to cooler temperatures. Yay to that.I always feel as though potatoes need help. On their own they’re a bit boring unless they’ve been turned into a chip or roasted in duck fat (but see – that’s helping too). Boiled, baked … blah. Salad? Only if they’re supporting something interesting. Mash?

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1144620081195087882006-04-10T08:01:00.000+10:002006-04-10T08:31:46.260+10:00

I'm told that 'Kopitiam' is Hokkien for ‘coffee and a snack’ (or ‘coffeeshop’) but the menu at this little café certainly holds more than simple snacks with its extensive list of Asian and Malaysian dishes. The décor is, well, basic and the two rooms are small. Odd assorted bare tables and chairs, a window through to the kitchen, specials mounted on the walls alongside various pictures of

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1144188246594779192006-04-05T08:04:00.000+10:002006-04-05T08:15:52.696+10:00

A leftover dream of a dessert when you have things lying about the kitchen and pantry. It looks and tastes decadent, and pays tribute to the cooler weather we’re enjoying in Sydney, tantalising the tastebuds with promises of winter puddings to come!4 large croissants, (preferably a day or so old)2 very ripe nectarines (peaches or plums will do, or any ripe fruit)A handful of dark chocolate (63-

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1144018188385598822006-04-03T08:38:00.000+10:002006-04-03T09:01:37.843+10:00

Dazed and confused from an attempt to see the Archibald Prize at the AGNSW, we retreated and re-grouped at Woolloomooloo. It was hell out there in the trenches. Lines of people trailing out the gallery entrance, four screaming school groups throwing ice cream at each other, buses to the left of us, pensioners to the right. Patrons waiting their turn to enter the packed room one by one, frothing

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1143850428214215102006-04-01T11:06:00.000+11:002006-04-01T11:13:48.236+11:00

Every cook is fond of gadgets. We all have kitchen-draw graveyards full of the useless ones, we covet and praise the useful ones, and we lust after the expensive ones, in a never ending cycle of technological consumption.This one costs $4. And it’s really useful. Now before all you Asian dumpling purists drum me out of the regiment (as one of my Chinese friends has already suggested) there are

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1143586521034368062006-03-29T09:55:00.000+11:002006-03-29T10:31:25.156+11:00

When I was in Beijing I was told that some restaurants have had their master stock on the go for centuries, passing the coveted liquid down from generation to generation. I haven’t had mine for quite that long, but it is true that it ages well and can be kept for long periods of time in the fridge or freezer. I love cooking chicken this way because it’s so bloody (opps – apologies to people from

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1143586451988625622006-03-29T09:54:00.000+11:002006-04-05T08:22:25.483+10:00

Find of the week!Tucked away in the busy traffic thoroughfare of Harris St, Ultimo, is a wee converted terrace that’s metamorphosed into a Thai restaurant. I’ve looked at the ultra simple menu and marvelled at the (low) prices and filed it under ‘must try’. It’s now been open about a month, so four of us lobbed in for a test drive.Do you remember Looney Toon cartoons where people would rush into

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1143493653072798532006-03-28T08:07:00.000+11:002006-03-28T08:24:35.020+11:00

Millions of peaches … peaches for meThe other night I had a dream I was drowning in peaches. I can’t stop buying them. I can’t make enough peach pie and bellinis to keep up. Damn these infernal peaches. So…I’m on the preserve trail. $2.50 at the fresh food markets will buy you enough peaches to turn into something you might not want right now, but will relish (pardon the pun) later in the year

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1143423565798963252006-03-27T12:39:00.000+11:002006-03-27T13:14:16.463+11:00

Many people I know have choux phobia. Certainly not in terms of eating these delicate, light-as-air delights, but making them. Something about a little bun whose construction seems to defy gravity breeds fear into most cooks. Some have even been convinced that to make them one has to somehow magically form a hollow sphere from raw ingredients and deep fry it to achieve the crisp empty shell that

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1142556553864596712006-03-17T11:49:00.000+11:002006-03-28T08:31:42.553+11:00

Ultimo-Haymarket, at the southern fringe of Sydney’s CBD, is populated with a never-ending supply of cheap, quick café’s. And there’s good reason: two University campuses, a large TAFE complex, the ABC, and several massive apartment blocks, so there’s plenty of opportunity to provide nosh for the masses of students, workers, and residents in the area. Against this backdrop I went with Helen (you

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1142542342339676132006-03-17T07:52:00.000+11:002006-03-17T07:57:03.980+11:00

It’s always fun finding a new spice blend that you’ve never heard of before. Which if you are a denizen of blogs, food mags, associated cooking columns, food and cooking TV, and have a gazillion recipe books, is a fairly rare and exciting thing. I’ve heard mention of this in the last week in various places and publications, so I decided to check out Baharat.It’s an Arabic spice blend that comes

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1142317489361748592006-03-14T17:24:00.000+11:002006-03-14T17:41:37.300+11:00

Just a little hole in the wall on Sussex St., almost opposite the illustrious (and astronomically more pricy) Golden Century, is this little carbohydrate heaven with photographs of its famous dishes lined up along the glass front and mounted triumphantly on the restaurant walls. Small tables, wooden stools, and a décor that isn’t really intended to make you want to linger over your lightning

Rebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09289578879082221897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17703131.post-1142295242612805172006-03-14T11:14:00.000+11:002006-03-14T11:26:14.256+11:00

A quick Saturday supper for few friends and a reasonable way to use up leftovers:400 g hokkien noodles, blanched in hot water to loosenA few cups of leftover roast chicken from the other night, shredded2 cloves crushed garlicThose leftover lemongrass stems hanging around in the vege crisper, white tender parts chopped1 chopped onion2 eggs½ cup chicken stock, 2 tbsp tomato sauce, 2 tbsp soy sauce,

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