I've been having troubles with my internet connection these past few months and a nearby lightning strike, pushed me off the net again. The bigpond people have been out and haven't been able to source the problem. So while I have some connectivity, I would like to wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas and New Year.

I'm having a few weeks off and the home renovations will continue with floorboard polishing. If I get bored with it, you know, watching paint dry, I might post something, but pretty much, there won't be anything for two or three weeks.

Of course there will be the announcement of all the Menu For Hope prize winners on Chez Pim on Wednesday January 9, 2008, so there is something to look forward to. If you haven't donated yet, you need to hurry as there is less than two days to go, good luck everyone.

Thanks to all of you who have dropped by and especially those who have left comments, they always make my day and make writing so much more fun.

Happy Holidays!!!

Edited to add: My partner and I just watched a metre (3ft) of water come down our street, a large rubbish bin or two floated down the flood and one driver stalled his new car right in the middle of the street. The hail, while not the biggest I've ever seen, made me glad I moved my car under cover. There is water flowing through our premises, fortunately, it's not doing any damage.

We are getting near the end of the Menu For Hope and there are a lot of great prizes that will give you every oppurtunity of winning something. Helen from Grab Your Fork has put up a list of prizes from our region and the number of bids that each one has attracted. There is still a lot of value in some of the prizes, as you can see from Helen's list that she published yesterday.


Item, Description, Current Bids

AP02 - $300 dining voucher to Perama, Sydney from Grab Your Fork, 28 bids

AP13 - Degustation dinner for two with matching wines at Interlude, Melbourne (valued at $AU400) from At My Table, 20 bids

AP01 - $200 dinner voucher for two people to Ocean Room, Sydney from Grab Your Fork, 17 bids

AP35 - Global 7-piece Synergy knife block set (valued at AU$610) from Grab Your Fork *new, 15 bids

AP27 - Special Tuesday night Chef's table degustation dinner for two people with wine at Attica, Melbourne (valued at AU$200, valid on Tuesdays only) from Tomato *new, 9 bids

AP37 - RM500 dining voucher to Elcerdo, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Babe in the City - KL *new, 9 bids

AP09 - 500g of organic white peppercorns homegrown by Wena's Granny from Mum-Mum, 8 bids

AP11 - 6-week online diet makeover (valued at AU$295) from Limes & Lycopene, 7 bids

AP26 - Jar of homemade chocolate chip cookies from Babe in the City - KL, 7 bids

AP14 - A day behind-the-scenes with cake and gateaux company Big Boys Oven & Kitchen, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Big Boys Oven, 6 bids

AP08 - One-year subscription to Vogue Entertaining & Travel (valued at AU$53.70) from Food Lovers' Journey, 5 bids

AP10 - Gourmet chef's hamper from Kochi, Japan from Obachan's Kitchen & Balcony Garden, 4 bids

AP03 - 6kg box of Gourmet Terra Rossa Beef Burgers (valued at AU$60) from The Foodologist,
4 bids

AP04 - 6kg box of Gourmet Terra Rossa Beef Burgers (valued at AU$60) from The Foodologist,
3 bids

AP07 - A bag of the world's hottest chillies, homegrown in Nagaland, India from Rambling Spoon, 3 bids

AP18 - Weekend stay at a holiday house in Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula, VIC (valued at AU$500) from A Goddess in the Kitchen, 3 bids

AP05 - Nigella Lawson Kitchen Utensils set in cream worth AU$160 from Not Quite Nigella, 3 bids

AP16 - Nine bottles of chemical-free stout made at Barleycorn Brewers in Melbourne from Tomato, 3 bids

AP19 - Logo design and development by a professional graphic designer (valued at AU$500) from Spicy Icecream, 2 bids

AP12 - AU$100 gift voucher from the Prince Wine Store in Victoria, Australia from At My Table, 2 bids

AP17 - The entire range of handmade shortbreads from The Biscuit Tree (valued at AU$42) from Chocolatesuze, 2 bids

AP15 - Review with Stephen Downes, one of Australia's most experienced restaurant critics (Melbourne) from Tomato, 2 bids

AP23 - 1 bottle of 18-year-old Chivas Regal Scotch Whisky Gold Signature (valued at US$95) from Gut Feelings *new, 1 bid

AP30 - An eating tour of Bangkok with Austin Bush, Thai food expert and Lonely Planet writer plus a copy of the latest edition of Lonely Planet Bangkok Guide (valued at US$200) from Gut Feelings *new, 1 bid

AP06 - Cookbook set: "Sharing Plates" by Jared Ingersoll and "A Year in My Kitchen" by Skye Gyngell (valued at AU$85) from Stone Soup, 1 bid

As of yesterday, the prizes below had no bids at all, you know what to do.

AP32 - One night accommodation at Be Hotel, Siem Reap, Cambodia (valued at US$150) from Gut Feelings *new

AP33 - Market Tour and Cooking Class with Joannes Riviere, Khmer food expert and author of La Cuisine du Cambodge avec les apprentis de Sala Bai (valued at US$200) from Gut Feelings *new

AP31 - One night accommodation in a Deluxe Room at Hotel De La Paix, Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia (valued at US$235) from Gut Feelings *new

AP25 - 6 bottles of 42 Below Seven Tiki Rum (valued at 6000 baht) from Gut Feelings *new

AP24 - 12 bottles of 42 Below Vodka (valued at 12,000 baht) from Gut Feelings *new

AP21 - 10 dinner set vouchers at Zuup Soup Bar at 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (valued at RM180) from Babe in the City - KL

AP20 - Cocoa, vanilla bean and porcini risotto pack (valued at AU$80) from Imbi n Itchy

AP28 - Dinner for two at Bed Supperclub in Bangkok, Thailand (valued at 3500 baht) from Gut Feelings *new

AP34 - Wild Jungle Honey Collecting Tour with Angkor Conservation Centre for Biodiversity Sustainable Bee Program (valued at US$200) from Gut Feelings *new

AP29 - One night accommodation at hip hotel Dream Bangkok, Thailand (valued at US$280+) from Gut Feelings *new

AP22 - All of the advertising on LastAppetite.com for one month (valued at US$350) from The Last Appetite

Thanks to Helen for the list, it is a lot of work to compile.

This comment arrived on an old Portuguese flavoured post, buried deep in my archive, on the weekend.

hi ... I am Portuguese and new in Brisbane. With Xmas around the corner I wondered if any Brisbaners could tell if if/where I can buy bacalhau here???Xmas will not be the same without it ... Thank you!

Does anyone know where to get salt cod in Brisbane?

Ever had a long wait for takeaway?

There is a local Chinese takeaway where we have been going for a few years off and on, actually until the other week, it was more off than on, for no particular reason, though things might be a bit easier if they took cards. Anyway, I placed an order for three dishes and sat down to wait. A few people came to the shop and placed their orders. And I waited. One guy placed his order and went over to the table where they kept toothpicks.

You know how it is when you start watching someone doing something a little offbeat...you know you shouldn't be looking, but curiosity compels you. This guy, who was a little unkempt, long greasy hair, unshaved, picked up the toothpick container, unscrewed the top and shook out a quantity straight into his hand. Maybe he felt someone watching him, or had a quick pang of guilt, he then put a few back, straight from his dirty hand and pocketed the rest. Hmm, no more public toothpicks for me.

Perhaps he had been spotted by the kitchen and anxious to preserve what was left of their soiled toothpicks, had hurried his order through, before mine. Well, that illusion was shattered shortly after, when another two people who had arrived after me received their orders. I must have had quite a look on my face, as the waitress mumbled something about my crispy skin chicken slowing things down. Even then, after they had served three other people, it still took another quarter hour before my order was filled, they knew it was a lot longer wait for me than it should have been, apologised, and gave me a free bottle of soft drink.

I'm not one to hold a grudge, especially if the food is good and it really was. Last Wednesday, we had been to M's school concert and the girls went off to her dancing class after that and we were too fagged to cook. The Chinese shop deserved another chance and there were some menu items I wanted to try, so back unto the breach I went. There were a couple of people already there, I placed my order and sat down to wait.

At one of the tables, there was a young couple, at least I think they were a couple, it was hard to tell from the conversation, because there wasn't any. It became obvious that the young girl couldn't speak and all her talk was in gestures, not the proper signing ones that you see from time to time, but gestures that tried to convey her words to someone who didn't know sign language. The young guy had a spiral notebook and was writing things down, then he would spin the book towards her and she would either nod or shake her head. There was definitely something up with her bag and she kept lifting it up and giving it a sniff then proffered the handbag to him and he seemed to nod in agreement.

I didn't get to find out much more as my order came out...before anyone else already in the shop. Perhaps I passed some sort of a test last time and now have the right to some sort of precedence, I certainly had the right to a large, free bag of prawn crackers.

Back at home, I laid the feast upon the table and we tucked in. M has gone off rice, so I bought a noodle dish with chicken and broccoli for her. One of the dishes I bought for myself and D was sweet and sour prawns. Now prawns are one thing that M turns her nose up at with a loud "eeewwww". That's quite okay by me, plenty of time for her to learn to enjoy their delights. Or so I thought. M saw me take a couple of prawns from the takeaway container and asked for it, inside were about ten or so prawns, cloaked inside a batter case, so she couldn't see the prawness that was staring her right in the face; she pulled one out and put it in her mouth, gave a chew, then expressed her approval by taking most of the prawns and putting them on her plate.

I think I've been cheated, my other daughter, P, was thirteen or so before she took a liking to that sort of thing. There will be a fight back though, a stockpile of chile should do the trick, as in chilli prawns, it will be years before she comes at that. I'm not a bad dad really, just hungry.

Prince Wine Store needs no introduction to regular readers of this blog.

I buy wine from several different stores, but when I want something interesting or special, PWS is where I go. They have all the best local boutique wines and an amazing range of imported bottles from all countries of wine note, not just France.

They are supporting Menu For Hope with a $100 wine voucher, which can also be used against one of their comprehensive wine courses. They run an introductory wine course, a French wine course and an Italian wine course, all of which are worthwhile for anyone with an interest in, or who just wants to learn more about, wine.

Now, I'm going to give you a reason to visit the South Melbourne store tonight. Rose is the new fashion in wine, well, if you are like me, the old fashion, perfect for those warm, lazy summer nights. There is a lot of new interest in this style and in Australia, we are learning to make it much better, it is no longer just an afterthought, or a way to use up excess grapes, this wine is now being made in its own right and is all the better for it, the sugar levels have been tamed. At PWS tonight, there will be a range of fresh, new rose on tasting, free.

Want more?

Okay, how about a gourmet sausage sizzle to keep those blood sugar levels up, while you taste the wines and peruse the shelves. See a bottle or two that you like? Want it a bit cheaper? All right then, just for you, tonight only, PWS is giving a whopping 15% off all red and white table wine! That's right, 15% off their already reasonable prices.

But wait, there's more.

All purchases of the aforementioned wines will entitle you to go in the draw for a $500 shopping voucher for PWS. Oh my, I'm dizzy with excitement. So go on, what's stopping you? Just remember, it's one night only, tonight.

Oh, and don't forget to pop over to firstgiving and purchase a few tickets for the PWS $100 voucher, prize code AP12

Prince Wine Store
177 Bank Street, South Melbourne
Wednesday, December 12, 6pm - 10pm
Free

It's fast coming up to Christmas and that time of the year, in the southern hemisphere, when sour cherries are in their short, glorious season. Every year we buy a number of kilos, never less than ten, to make all manner of things, jams, preserved whole in jars for cakes and of course our famous cherry vodka.

Now sour cherries are not the easiest thing to buy as they don't seem to find their way into the shops. We get ours straight from an orchard that sells direct to the public and I do know that some pick your own orchards also grow sour cherries, so you need to look around to secure your supply, the Mornington Peninsula has a few cherry farms that sell direct.

The other thing that may be a little hard to find is the pure spirit which is 95% alcohol. We are lucky here in Melbourne as a major liquor retailer, Dan Murphy, stocks it and Acland Cellars in St Kilda also have it. It's not cheap about $55 for 500 ml, but what you need to remember is the strength, a little of this stuff goes a very long way.

The rest of the ingredients are easy, sugar and vodka and that's it, there is nothing else apart from a large preserving jar to macerate & marinate the cherries in. Any large jar which can hold a kilo of sour cherries with a bit of extra space would do, but you need to make sure it seals well, not to stop any nasties getting in, rather to stop any precious juices getting out when you shake the jar or jars later on. Preserving jars are good for this job as they come with effective rubber seals.

Cherry Vodka

1 kg (2.2 lb) fresh sour (pie) cherries
1 500 ml (17 fl oz) bottle pure spirit (95% alcohol)*
3/4 kg (26 oz) sugar
350 ml (12 fl oz) vodka (40% alcohol)

Pull all the stems from the sour cherries and place in a preserving jar. Pour on the pure spirit, reserve the bottle, and seal the lid of the jar. Give a shake to make sure all the cherries have some alcohol on them, don't worry that all the cherries might not be under the spirit. Write the date on the jar and leave in a cool, dark spot for four to six weeks, shaking the jar once a week. This process gets colour into the spirit and also extracts flavour from the cherry pits (kernels), don't leave longer than six weeks as this cherry pit flavour becomes too strong.

When the cherries have finished macerating in the spirit, pour the spirit back into the bottle and set aside. Add the sugar to the sour cherries, reseal the jar and give a good shake. Every day you need to vigourously shake the jar to redistribute the sugar and help it dissolve. What the sugar is doing is drawing all the juice out of the sour cherries and as more juice is drawn out, more sugar dissolves. You will need to shake the jar every day for about a month until there is absolutely no undissolved sugar left and the sour cherries are completely shriveled up.

Pour this sweet juice into a large bowl or pot, add the reserved pure spirit and the vodka then stir well to mix thoroughly. We like to filter the cherry vodka at this stage by placing some cotton wool in a funnel and slowly pouring the cherry vodka through, though it isn't strictly necessary as it is with other types of fruit. Pour this cherry vodka into bottles and leave for at least a week for the flavours to mingle, it's better after a month. It also improves with keeping....that is if you can keep your hands off it.

*You might be only able to find 85% pure spirit, you can still make it with this, if you use 95% pure spirit, the finished product will be around 30% alcohol. This post is partly recycled from last year.

It's that time of the year, just as we are contemplating our Christmas dinners, when some people out there, families with children included, have no idea exactly where their next meal is coming from. The indefatigable Pim from Chez Pim felt this was an untenable situation and that perhaps us folk that blogged about food, might step up to the plate and help remedy the situation in some way.

Here at At My Table, I always want to feed anyone who comes to visit and I know that you, dear reader, in some way, feel the same, no one should go hungry. So together we can do something to help. I've asked people that I know to help with prizes, that you, for the sum of US$10 each, can purchase for a chance to win AND help to put food on the table of folk who might otherwise miss out. That's win, win.




First up is the amazing prize of dinner for two, with matching wines, worth $400, at Robin Wickens' Interlude restaurant. This is cutting edge food to surprise and delight the senses; eleven courses that will explore both modern and traditional techniques, which will take your breath away. This is a dining experience that everyone should try at least once. You can check out what last year's winner, Anna from Morsels & Musings had to say about her prize. Prize code AP13.

Next up is a $100 voucher from a friend to this blog, Prince Wine Store. I never tire of writing about the wonderful wines and wine tastings this store puts on. If you are seriously into wine or just starting out, this is a must visit wine shop, where you are able to purchase wines from any wine region of note, anywhere in the world. All the staff are super friendly and have extensive experience with the wines in stock and will guide you to the most amazing bottles that will suit not just the food you wish to serve, but also your budget. The voucher will be sent to the prize winner, who can visit online or in person, but must organize to either pick up the wine/wines, or pay for their delivery. Prize code AP12.

So what to do next? You need to visit Grab Your Fork for a complete list of prizes for the Asia/Pacific region, then head over to First Giving to purchase your tickets and register the codes for whatever prizes you are bidding for. You can bid as many times as you want, or you can mix it up and bid for more than one prize, just remember it's US$10 per pick. Raffle tickets can be purchased from Dec 10-21, 2007 Pacific-Standard Time. The prize winners will be announced on Chez Pim's blog mid January.

The codes once again for At My Table prizes are: Interlude AP13, Prince Wine Store AP12.

Okay, what are you waiting for? Off you go, together we can feed the hungry.

The battle between screw cap and cork is pretty much over in Australia, with the screw cap emerging a decisive winner, even some French wine companies have turned to this closure, though at the top end of the market there is still some resistance. However, not everyone shares our belief in screw cap technology. It came as a surprise when I opened this bottle of Austrian gruner veltliner, to discover that what appeared to be a screw cap, was in fact a protective cover for a glass stopper lurking underneath.





The stopper itself is not very big and the tapered plug only inserts some 2cm (3/4") into the bottle, but it does have an effective seal as it pops ever so slightly when pulled out. The only difficulty lay in the stopper being somewhat stubborn to remove by hand. The Austrians, and I believe some Germans, must have looked at the success of the screw cap in preserving quality, particularly in delicate and aromatic white wines, but perhaps felt they needed something that looked a bit classier, more in keeping with their long and mostly illustrious wine history.





The wine, from the grape variety gruner veltliner, is largely unknown in this country, but enjoys some popularity and a good reputation in its homeland Austria. The nose was flint with a touch of smoke and the aromatic fruit was mouth filling, but fell away quickly, leaving traces of mineral with an extended length. Altogether a pleasing wine that would work well with seafood and has enough weight to cope with spicy sausages.

It's hard to find a good bargain just before Christmas, but here's one for you. BJP International have just landed a pallet of borowik szlachetny, that's Polish for dried porcini (Boletus edulis). As you can see from the pack, it's $13 for a whopping 60g, which is a whole lot better than those small 10g packets for $6, or even 40 g packets for $14.35 from specialist suppliers.




What is also great about them, is the actual size of the dried mushroom pieces. Compared to others, they are thick, chunky slices, with hardly any trimmings or broken bits. Having used Polish porcini, I can say they have a fantastic intensity of flavour and that deep essence that comes from top notch mushrooms. If you fancy a bit of porcini sauce with your Christmas turkey instead of the usual suspects, bread or cranberry sauce, get onto these. At this price you can afford to make a bucketful, you won't be sorry if you do. If you are Polish, you need these to make the traditional mushroom soup for Christmas eve.

Importer: BJP International, 21 Elma Road, Cheltenham, phone 9553 5411.

They sell direct to the public from their showroom or call to find your nearist stockist. They also stock dried bay boletus ( Xerocomus badius) mushrooms in the same size pack, a little cheaper again, as well as all manner of preserved mushrooms in jars.

Having had a bit to say about Heston Blumenthal's method for perfect roast chook, it seems beholden upon me to give some instruction as to how to achieve a wonderful result, without the perceived food poisoning risk. I'm not saying this method delivers perfection, but you will be impressed with the quality of the cooked bird.

Nine times out of ten, I cook a roast chicken about the same as anyone else, season inside, rub with a little oil and because I enjoy a neat bird, a rudimentary trussing is in order. Straight into the oven at 200c (400f) until cooked; with a 1.5kg (3.5lb) chicken, that should take about 1 hour, perhaps 15 minutes more, depending on whether you took the bird out of the fridge early or not. The result is a generally moist roast with a crisp skin.

But when I want to make an impression, I look to the French for their method of roasting, which produces a gloriously moist and subtly scented chicken that will bring a tear to your eye, with the only downside being the skin doesn't crisp up as well. Pay your money, make your choice.

The first thing to do, is buy the best bird you can; there is a remarkable difference between genuine free range and supermarket birds. We always use Glenloth chickens, which if you live near St Kilda, a 1.5kg bird can be bought from Gruner Butcher & Deli for the great price of $16, a nice bargain. The amazing thing about Glenloth is that they start with exactly the same breed of chicks that the supermarket growers use, but all similarity ends there.

When you are ready to cook your bird, it is important to remove it from the fridge for about an hour before you pop it in the oven and leave it in a cool, protected spot. Half an hour before cooking, turn on the oven to 200c (400f), then, remove your bird from the plastic wrapping and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Place a 20g (3/4oz) knob of butter inside as well as two or three sprigs of tarragon* and season the inside cavity very well with salt and fresh ground pepper, a chicken can take a lot of seasoning, but do not season the outside skin, salt here would hinder browning by drawing out juices.

Truss the bird as best you can, I simply take two lengths of kitchen string, twine, not Bridget Jones's nasty blue plastic crap. With the first string, simply tie the drumsticks to each other and with the second piece, run it around the chicken where the wings are to hold them in place against the body. Knot of choice? Granny, what else. It is necessary to truss the bird as you need to move it around in the baking dish.

Next, take about 30g (1.25oz) softened butter and rub all over the bird, you want a fairly thick coat of butter. In a baking tray that will hold the bird snugly, pour in 300ml (1.25cups) of hot, homemade chicken stock. Place the chicken, breast side up on a roasting rack, cover with a buttered baking paper and place in the baking tray with the chicken stock, the bird should not be touching the stock.

Place the baking tray in the oven and roast for twenty minutes. Remove from the oven, turn the chicken on its side and baste with its juices, cover with the paper. Roast for another twenty minutes, remove from the oven and turn it so it's resting on the other side and baste again, cover with the paper. Roast another twenty minutes, remove from the oven, turn breast side up, baste again, do not put the paper back this time, allowing the chicken to brown and return to the oven for fifteen minutes to finish cooking. To test for doneness, pierce the thick part of the thigh, any juices should be clear, if any sign of pinkness, roast for a bit longer. If need be, top up the stock with hot water from a kettle.

After removing from the oven, let the chicken rest in a warm spot for fifteen minutes while you make a sauce from the pan juices, remove any excess butter and oil first.

*tarragon isn't strictly necessary, but it forms a perfect marriage with chicken, you will thank me.

Mauro Marcucci whispering to friend,

"The hitmen are on to us already. How did they find us so fast?"

"Don't worry, the Don is making the call now..."

For those wondering, the Don is Melbourne's, ergo Australia's, leading food critic and food writer. Published with his permission, I'm much too young to die.

A mafia hit man, relaxing after a successful mission. Food of choice, pizza, what else? If you look closely, you will notice that he is hiding his weapon just under the table. Do not disturb under any circumstances.

Food fascist fact: real hit men do eat pizza.