tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191626682024-03-13T20:31:35.351+11:00AT MY TABLEneilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.comBlogger636125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-13836689859889852082012-07-28T16:37:00.000+10:002012-07-28T16:39:08.791+10:00Hashed Potato Pancakes
Silverside or corn beef is one of the most versatile meats. Not only does it make a very satisfying meal, but the leftovers can be put to several different uses; a sandwich of corn beef and piccalilli makes a great lunch and of course there are the well known hash brown cakes.
It was along the lines of hash brown cakes that my thoughts wandered, but wanted something with a bit moreneilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-39971251714511320272012-07-22T16:35:00.001+10:002012-07-22T16:35:29.381+10:00Easy Tomato Soup
With summer long gone, the taste of tomatoes has gone to pot, so to speak. Winter tomatoes are watery and tasteless, with the texture of cardboard. But, if you've been clever enough to preserve the bounty of your seasonal home garden, that sweet rich taste is at your fingertips.
No need to despair if you haven't got your own preserves though, good quality tinned tomatoes are always neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-4982927494904416212011-09-01T22:37:00.003+10:002011-09-01T23:30:09.586+10:00A Matter of OpinionHas someone moved the silly season?
It seems the only explanation after a cursory reading of the list that is purported to be the top 100 restaurants in Australia as published by Gourmet Traveller.
Publishing such a list is always going to be controversial, every restaurateur worth their salt wants to be aboard and some worthy contenders inevitably miss out. Not toneilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-29030625519941488132011-08-20T17:26:00.001+10:002011-08-20T17:26:43.811+10:00Ruby Blood Navel Oranges
Checking out the fruit section in the local greengrocer, a new type of orange caught my eye. Marked as a ruby blood navel, the skin had a hint of the blood orange's blush and intrigued, bought some to try.
Recent years has seen an increase in new varieties of apples, such as pink ladies and fuji, however, there doesn't seem much new in the way of citrus fruit, so it was exciting to see neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-55722734912409932802011-07-02T23:50:00.000+10:002011-07-02T23:50:30.726+10:00Chicken Cacciatora
It was the supermarket pack of on-the-bone free range chicken pieces, drumsticks, thighs and wings, that got me thinking about a long slow braise, something with a tomato's cheery red to colour a dim winter's day.
Cacciatora means hunter style, which in turn means this dish is extremely adaptable, just like all good hunters. Not being in the mood for mushrooms meant neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-58594678455958991792011-06-06T18:43:00.001+10:002011-06-06T21:07:12.364+10:00Goulash Soup
One of our firm winter favourites would have to be goulash soup. Not only very filling but extremely tasty to boot. It's also one of the few soups where we are happy to use just water as the liquid, just as the herdsmen on the Great Plain of Hungary did for centuries.
No doubt, a well made stock wouldn't be wasted, adding another layer of flavour and some body, but hey, sometimes it'sneilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-19238587047438931042011-06-04T07:36:00.005+10:002011-06-06T06:52:47.919+10:00Fennel, Guanciale & Fontina Quiche
It's funny how inspiration can strike.
Someone had produced a quiche Lorraine on the telly, the prince of quiches, a dish that gets a run around these parts from time to time. What's not to love about the combo of cheese, bacon and sweetly softened onions, a French classic.
It got me thinking though. How would an Italian adapt the recipe to display an altogether different heritage? I'm pretty neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-59065579353272319252011-05-22T17:03:00.000+10:002011-05-22T17:03:58.255+10:00Soup aux Bernard Salt
There you go Bernard, I made something just for you.neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-54481590386030117752011-05-05T20:22:00.004+10:002011-05-06T21:43:21.741+10:00Polenta with Cavalo Nero & Borlotti Beans
It was one of those delicious days, a holiday weekday, happily not at work, but ensconced on a couch and watching daytime cooking programs, a rare treat. Even better, one of my favourites was showing, Lidia's Italy.
Sometimes I wonder if more than a few television chefs just want to entertain rather than making you want to cook any of their offerings. There are no such misgivings with Lidia, neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-77315890601239269732011-04-25T11:59:00.001+10:002011-04-25T12:00:30.384+10:00Sorrel Saucephoto Elliot Rubenstein
Fashion: 1. style considered as a standard of taste.
It's ever present in our lives, kind of a way of showing that we belong, especially with others who share our taste, whether in clothes, cars or even the food we eat. For food has long since passed from a way in which to sustain ourselves, into a form whereby we gain pleasure from the wayneilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-37774395289970527762011-04-19T18:15:00.000+10:002011-04-19T18:15:53.321+10:00Butter Braised Carrots
Tell me, have you ever tasted a carrot? I mean really tasted a carrot?
All of us know and love this vibrant root vegetable, which these days no longer just comes in ubiquitous orange, but also the more novel varieties of purple, yellow, red and white.
The carrot is much loved in many cultures and forms an indispensable part of many dishes, from a foundation neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-29797692659940036992011-04-17T18:20:00.000+10:002011-04-17T18:20:08.255+10:00Porcini & Barley Soup
A well known television chef was recounting a visit to a regional restaurant in Italy. When he asked what was in the risotto, the answer was just a little good stock.
All home cooks and chefs alike know the value of home made stock.
It has a flavour and body that no multinational corporation has yet been able to put in a box. No doubt, in a busy kitchen, shortcuts can and do get made, neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-57717653735535851252011-04-13T23:11:00.001+10:002011-04-14T07:27:54.381+10:00Artichokes with Pear
Cooking inspiration can strike in many different guises, you might be reading a food magazine, shopping at the greengrocer or butcher, or perhaps, better yet, your better half had recently visited a farmer's market and come back with a mystery bag of ingredients.
Which is kind of what happened in this instance.
Together they sat on the kitchen table, maybe a little incongruously, but neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-87822505040675688152011-03-27T16:15:00.001+11:002011-03-27T18:05:39.030+11:00Flathead Birregurra Style
Exactly what constitutes Australian cuisine is a conundrum that has exercised the minds of many of this country's finest food writers, bringing about seminal works from Cherry Ripe (Goodbye Culinary Cringe) and Michael Symons (One Continuous Picnic). Even English chef, television star and cookbook author, Rick Stein has had a go at defining our food and is now encouraging us to think about the neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-47165094842656423332011-02-24T17:02:00.000+11:002011-02-24T17:02:07.354+11:00Henry Westons Cider
The increasing interest in cider in Australia over the past couple of years has seen many new entrants into the market, both local and imported, but we have a lot of drinking in front of us to challenge England, the lions of both cider production and consumption worldwide.
Perhaps one of the reasons cider has never really taken off here before is that the big mass producers weren't as neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-82594830733712360392011-02-15T15:47:00.002+11:002011-02-15T16:28:31.993+11:00Maque Choux
One blog I like to follow is Nola Cuisine, which celebrates the food and drink of New Orleans, Louisiana. Danno, who writes it, is a chef who has the happy knack of producing dishes that make your mouth water, things like classic shrimp etouffee and the renowned muffuletta, through to the basic essentials of homemade andouille sausage and tasso.
One of his recipes neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-21031553130038190052011-02-05T16:26:00.002+11:002011-02-07T18:06:01.479+11:00Brine Cured Dill Pickles
There's something extremely satisfying about food preserving, the laying down of produce. It speaks of earlier times when such kitchen husbandry was a necessity to survive long cold winters, but also coincidentally, a means to use up a glut of a particular fruit or vegetable, especially those given to ripening all at once, which would otherwise rot and go to waste.
These days, with our relianceneilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-61641266752765888712010-12-27T14:34:00.002+11:002010-12-27T14:49:52.980+11:00Hazelnut Gateau
This very pretty cake has a special place in my repertoire, being the very first thing I ever baked for my wife. At the time, there was no knowing that one of her favourite nuts was the hazelnut, so proving a fortuitous choice, no?
The funny thing is though, that first one is not the same as the one I bake today, through a simple error of not following the recipe instructions exactly; however, neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-52151365985880344072010-12-22T19:49:00.000+11:002010-12-22T19:49:59.051+11:00Guacamole
There are some dishes I make on a regular basis yet give no thought to presenting on the blog, simply because, to me, they seem, well, everyday. It's not that these recipes aren't tasty, they wouldn't get made if they weren't, but my feeling is, does the world really need another guacamole recipe for instance?
We were at a get together with friends where we had neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-45602447586232160002010-12-20T20:49:00.000+11:002010-12-20T20:49:20.810+11:00The Salad LeafIt was a pub, a pub with fine dining pretensions along with a very positive review by a well respected local blogger.
The interior was definitely upmarket and the food eclectic with many interesting notes.
We ordered and the meals came - in line with everything we'd expected.
Except for one thing, the stowaway hidden in the glistening tangle of my salad.
Fortunately, thankneilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-21435059894420728682010-12-18T23:18:00.001+11:002010-12-18T23:28:22.836+11:00Iced Mexican Mochachino
It kind of happened the stinking hot day I wanted an iced coffee but probably had too much time on my hands while waiting for the freshly brewed pot of espresso to cool - a series of 'what if?' moments.
Like, what if there was some Mexican chocolate...what if there was some KahlĂșa?
Well, there was.
Mexican chocolate is quite a different animal to European chocolate, earthy and funky, spiced neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-79775355768032251672010-12-12T08:08:00.004+11:002010-12-12T20:24:37.331+11:00Swedish Meatballs
Sometimes, I wonder if the allen key was invented solely for the use of Ikea, so ubiquitous a tool it has become in assembling their range of furniture. Ikea, king and master of the flatpack, as you all probably know is based in Sweden and have continued on the ancient Viking tradition of conquering the world, with container ships serving as modern day longboats, sailing to neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-29678482062035631212010-11-27T16:53:00.000+11:002010-11-27T16:53:03.865+11:00Bessara
Sometimes being able to cook brings its own set of problems. Like when someone, your partner for instance, brings home an ingredient and asks you to make something of it.
Like a pack of dried broad beans and being asked to deal with it.
Fortunately, I'd just watched the Moroccan episode of Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes, where he enjoyed a bowl of soup called bessara, neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-7527653353819382962010-11-23T20:36:00.001+11:002010-11-23T20:53:56.097+11:00Stephen Downes Big CallEarly 2009, Anthony Bourdain visits Melbourne and declares that Dan Hunter's food at the Royal Mail Hotel is worthy of Michelin stars, even going so far as to say it's the best food in Australia.
Fast forward to November 2010 and the Herald Sun's food critic, Stephen Downes, writes that the Asian influenced Easy Tiger would win 3 Michelin stars based solely on their dessert neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162668.post-67128509322306330762010-11-07T22:08:00.000+11:002010-11-07T22:08:20.967+11:00Egg Parmigiana
I recently spent some time in the country and ate at a local hotel, The Royal Mail in Birregurra, on a couple of occasions. The first time, on a Saturday night was an altogether elaborate menu, featuring some mighty fine dishes.
Our second visit couldn't have been more in contrast. It was the Saturday's chef night off and the menu was more typical country fare, mixed grill with all the cliches neilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com8