Christmas Eve 2008

Christmas Eve 2008

We had a wonderful Christmas celebration last night with our family and Sophie. Here are a few pics:

For starters we had salmon sashimi, smoked salmon and cream cheese on fresh sourdough rye bread, and fresh Sydney Rock Oysters with Johan's concoction of soy sauce, tobasco, chillies and whatever else he found!

We had a few great wines too, including this French red.

Our main meal was roast turkey with Lynne's stuffing, as well as cauliflower/broccoli with white sauce and roast potatoes. Delicious!

This was followed by Lynne's Christmas pudding and vanilla custard, as well as Jessica's strawberries dipped in white and dark chocolate - Yum!

Santa also arrived and we were thoroughly spoiled! Even Udade got a present!

Lynne's Christmas dinner

Lynne's Christmas dinner for the buddies!

Last Friday we had 10 friends around for a pre-Christmas dinner. Lynne did it all and it was wonderful as expected! I have taken a few pics of the starters, which consisted of anti-pasto and Scallop & prawn kebabs with a beautiful tomato & herb dressing.

Ravioli Caprese

Ravioli Caprese

Jessica and I made a Ravioli Caprese last night. I saw the recipe on a Food Network TV show hosted by Giada de Laurentiis. Her recipe is as follows:
Ingredients
Dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup very hot water
Filling:
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta
1 egg
1/2 cup finely shredded store-bought rotisserie chicken
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tins Roma tomatoes
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the dough:

In a large bowl combine the flour and the water. Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine into a large ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.

For the filling:

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine.

To form the ravioli, cut the dough into 4 evenly sized pieces. The dough should be slightly sticky. Add extra flour as necessary for rolling, but use only a little as necessary. Form each piece into a 2 by 6-inch rectangle. Recover the dough with the plastic wrap. Lightly dust the work surface and a rolling pin. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into a 4 by 19-inch rectangle. Place 9 rounded teaspoons of filling about 1-inch apart down the center of the dough. Fold the dough over the filling. Use a boiled eggholder and press out one round ravioli per filling. Place the finished ravioli on a baking tray and continue forming the remaining ravioli.

Heat tomatoes in a pan. Add the basil, lemon zest, salt and pepper and reduce by 30%.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add half the ravioli and cook until the ravioli float stirring occasionally, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain into a large bowl and cook the remaining ravioli.

Pour the olive oil over the cooked ravioli. Add the tomato sauce. Gently toss to coat and serve immediately.

Lynne's birthday lunch

Yesterday we were invited to join our mate Ernst to celebrate his birthday with his wife Sue and friends Dirk and Val. We had a wonderful lunch at Echo Point restaurant on the water under the Roseville Bridge. This shot was taken of Ernst and Lynne having a good laugh over a glass or two of wine to celebrate the "old" man's birthday!

Grimauld Fish Bake

Grimauld Fish Bake
Earlier this year we were in France and spent a night at a small hotel in Grimauld, which was owned by one of the top chefs in Provence. He made a fish dish which I thought was one of the best dishes I have ever tasted.
I have no idea what it was called or what the recipe for it was, so I tried to re-create it last night for guests of ours. It turned out really good even though I must admit that my sauce wasn’t as good as the one we had in Grimauld. Here’s how I made it:
· Prepare mash potatoes without making it too runny. I boiled the potatoes and then baked them for a short while to dry them a bit. Then I mashed it with butter only.
· Steam a soft fish like John Dory for a few minutes till nearly cooked.
· Form a mound of mashed potatoes around the fish (do in round dish with plastic wrap and invert on baking pan).
· Grate parmesan cheese liberally over each mound.
· Bake in oven till mound is nice and brown.
· Prepare the broth:
o In a saucepan over medium heat brown half an onion and two cloves of crushed garlic in olive oil till soft
o Add mussels and a cup of white wine and cook till shells open
o Strain, reserve liquid and mussels.
o Heat chopped fennel bulb, mushrooms, onion and garlic in olive oil till its soft.
o Add prawn shells and heads and cook till soft
o Add saffron soaked in hot water for 5 minutes, 100ml vermouth and a cup of white wine and simmer till reduced by a third.
o Add two cups of chicken stock plus reserved mussel liquid and reduce by a third
o Strain and add 300ml cream – At this point you could mince the prawns, mussels and vegetables used in making the broth and add it to the sauce to thicken it.
o Season with salt and pepper and simmer gently for a while
· Once mash and fish is baked, place in middle of large plate, and spoon broth around it.
· Sprinkle some chopped dill and serve hot.

Chocolate Honeycomb Pot

Sunday evening we were treated to another one of Andre and Sophie's "low calorie" deserts. This time a Chocolate Honeycomb Pot, a recipe they found in the Sydney Morning Herald. The recipe is:

• 100ml bitter chocolate


• 100ml whipping cream


• 50g honeycomb


• 3 eggs


• 50g castor sugar


• 1 tbsp whiskey or rum

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof dish over a pan of boiling water till its melted. Lightly whip the cream and crush the honeycomb, leaving a few bigger bits for serving. Beat the eggs and sugar for about 5 minutes until thick, pale and creamy. Gently fold in the cream, chocolate and whiskey/rum. Then fold in the crushed honeycomb. Fill 4 ramekins or pots and chill for 1 hour or so. Put in the extra shard of honeycomb and serve. Enjoy!

Barker Sports Awards

We went to the Barker sports awards evening last night where Jessica got an award and made a speech as she was the Swimming team captain. Here's a pic I took of her despite being warned that I'm not to take any photos of here while she's speaking!

Grimauld amazing meal

Restaurant in Grimauld.

We spent a night in a small hotel in Grimauld, just up the hill from St Tropez on the French Riviera where we had what we rate as the best meal in our life. Here are some of the pictures. They are unfortunately not in order as I don't know how to rearrange them on this page.

We started with some canapes which we light, fresha and delicious. Then Lynne had the cold tomato starter which consisted of blanched and peeled cherry tomatoes filled with cheese and placed on a slice of toast with a beautiful sauce on the plate. I had the cold tomato soup with a hot langoustine in it. This was served with fresh vread and rolls which were magnificent in the way only the French can bake breads.

Next Lynne had the most wonderful kind of bread/meat loaf which tasted like an onion bread filled with sausage and Provencal vegetables and then sliced thinly and topped with a light salad. Really great. I had the best dish of the trip next. It was a fish and potato/cheese bake with the most delicious creamy dill sauce. The taste of this was incredible and I wish I knew how to make this!

For the main meal Lynne had the rabbit (which, if you know her is a very unusual choice for her to have!). She loved it. The grave added so much to the flavour as it was a salty reduction of the pan sauces. I had a seafood soup which was the best fish I have tasted. Not sure what it was but the was a combination of a white fish, langoustine, calamari and another red fish in a wonderful consomme with fresh vegetables.

Next came the cheeses. Lynne had the cheese board and I had the goats cheese with green and black olive pastes. And finally Lynne ordered the cauflauti which was good but not as good as the one she makes at home. All of this was completed with a coffee and biscuits/chocolates. And I mustn't forget the wines. We had the chef's recommendation as an aperatif which was a mixture of some wine he makes mixed with Champage. Delicious. Lynne then had Rose from the region whereas I had the wines as part of the degustation menu. My wines were a Chablis and a white Bordeaux followed by a red Bordeaux. The whole meal cost just under Euro 170.

Afterwards we walked into the main village where we saw the second half of the European Cup Final which Spain won over Germany. So it was a very special evening for both of us!

Food Market in Frankfurt

Food market in Frankfurt

On our recent trip to Cannes we had a day stop-over in Frankfurt where we discovered one of the best markets we've ever seen. The food was fresh, beautifully presented and had a great German flavour to it with the meat sections serving great German sausages. Here are some pics we took. The breads were varied and baked to perfection. We both wishes we could buy a loaf or two but as we didn't stay over in Frankfurt it would be a waste. In the pics above you can also see the wonderful selection of fresh mushrooms they have. And the fresh pastas were better than anything we've seen even in Italy! It's well worth a visit if you're ever in Frankfurt.

Tizzana Winery

Day trip to Tizzana Winery

Yesterday we joined our good friends Ernst and Sue on a trip to find mushrooms in the Blue Mountains just west of Sydney. It turned out too cold for mushrooms so that part of the journey was quickly given up. Sue took us on a journey through the foothills of the Blue Mountains to a small winery in Ebenezer called Tizzana. What a delightful find! It reminded me of a small winery in the Russian River area of Sonoma where I once found a fantastic Pinot Noir.

The vineyard runs along a lake that feeds the Hawkesbury River and the old sandstone building that houses the winery must be over a century old.
The Auld family have owned and managed this for over 40 years, and they also run a Bed & Breakfast from ere, serving a degustation menu for dinner. They set a table for us outside in the warm winter sun, and we had a delightful cheese and cold meat platter with a bottle of their rose wines.
What made it extra special was that we were the only ones there. None of the usual crowds one finds on a wine trip.
This part of New South Wales is not known for its wines, but the wines weren’t too bad. We tasted a Semillon, an off-dry Rose, and a couple of Italian varieties of red wines. Their specialty was some old fortified Shirazes which were very unusual, something like a White Port.

Penfolds Grange release

Penfolds Wines Luxury & Icon Release.

Last week we attended the Penforld Wines release of their top-of-the range wines. The event was at Bel Mondo restaurant in the Rocks, Sydney and the chief winemaker, Peter Gago was there to introduce the wines. When we arrived they served Chardonnay and Riesling, and then we sat down for the "serious" stuff.

First up were two Chardonnays - the Reserve Bin A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay and the Yattarna Chardonnay. Both were sourced from Adelaide Hills only which is a first for Penfolds, and they were outstanding, especially the Yattarna. Tip from Peter Gago: Any Chardonnay that they source from all over Australia that doesn't get used in Yattarna, as well as what's left over from the Bin A goes into their Thomas Hyland Chardonnay. So at just over $20 per bottle this is excellent value!

Then on to the St Henri Shirazes. We tasted the 1998 and 2004. 98 was rated as one of the best years ever, and the wine is great. No wood (other than well used Sherry vats which impart very little flavour) and made from grapes sourced from the Barossa, Padthaway and McClaren Vale, I thought the 98 was brilliant. The 04 was also great with 4% Cabernet added and sourced from Barossa, Langhorne Creek (which gives it the earthy flavour), Adelaide Hills, McClaren Vale and Padthaway.

The RWT's we tasted next were the highlight for me. We had the 2005 and 2001, both from Barossa and it was the first time that I really completely got the chocolate flavour especially in the 05. That's what excites me about wine - that a grape can be transformed into something so great and it delivers the smell of chocolate! Great wines if you can afford to pay close to $150 per bottle!

Cabernet is something which I personally have always found takes the back seat to Shiraz in Australia, but the two Bin 707's we tasted didn't disappoint. We had the 2002 and 2005. Apparently some of the fruit is sourced from their Koonunga Hill vineyards (not to be confused with the wines with the same name) which is becoming better than the more famous Kalimna vineyards, according to Peter.

And then on to the star of the show - the new release Grange. We had the 2003 and tasted the 1996 as well. Beautiful plum colour and spicy nose, and a length appropriate to the best wine in Australia. The 96 is rated as one of the best ever vintages and was great.

The evening ended with a glass of Grandfather Port, and we left for a cleansing ale and some food at a local German restaurant. Great evening with my mates Chris and Dirk!

Great book

There is a wonderful bookshop in Melbourne on St Kilda Road, called Chronicles. Last time I was here I asked the owner whether there was anything he'd recommend to read. He recommended this book and it turned out to be probably the best book I have ever read! The way the book is conceived, using a combination of interesting text and pictures with a brilliantly told story makes it a must read.

Long Reef

Early morning at Long Reef Beach. This is the best time of the day!

Sydney Fish Market

Last Tuesday was Josie's birthday, and since she loves seafood we decided to do a Bouillabaise, from a French Cookbook. We did everything from scratch including the stock, and it tasted awful! So I won't give you the recipe, but what was good was the fish I bought at the Sydney Fish Market. Have a look at the pics!

Best Ever Lasagna

Last week we made a lasagna for the ABC Delicious magazine which claims to be the "best ever lasagna!" It was great although I do think that Lynne bolognaise sauce is better. But what made this great was the boccochini and parmesan cheese in each layer. I'll add the recipe over the weekend. Here are some pics. Enjoy!

Sunday Dinner at home

Sunday. It seems like Sundays are always eating and cooking days in our home. It started off with Andre and Sophie making the best pancakes we've ever had! And then I made a recipe from Tessa Kiros' book (Falling Cloudberries) called Tava (Cypriot baked lamb and potatoes). We took a few pics as the dish progressed. And we added a pea recipe which I found in today's newspaper by Karen Martini. Both were delicious and all agreed we can make it again. Sjoe!!!
And we toasted Lynne's Dad - Derick's birthday - a mere 80 years old today. Happy birthday Granpa!

For those interested in the recipes, here goes:

TAVA by Tessa Kiros is a Cypriot baked lamb and potatoes with cumin and tomatoes dish.

• Put 2 red onions, 1,2 kg potatoes, 1kg lamb (cut into chunks) into a deep baking dish.
• Add parsley, 3 heaped teaspoons cumin seeds, 125ml water and about 125ml olive oil to the dish.
• Place 5 ripe tomatoes - quartered) on top and season with salt, pepper and a blob or two of butter.
• Cover with foil and bake in a hot oven (180 degrees) for 2 hours.
• After 2 hours, remove the foil and gently turn the lamb and vegies before returning it - uncovered - for another 45 minutes.
• Serve hot. It is also delicious cold the next day.
  

BRAISED PEAS courtesy of Karen Martini in Sydney Morning Herald's Lifestyle supplement.

• Cook 8 baby chat potatoes in lightly salted water until tender. Drain, peel and cut into slices.
• Heat olive oil (120ml) in a large pan and cook the 8 anchovy fillets for a minute.
• Add 3 cloves of crushed garlic and 4 chopped eschalots and cook till lightly browned.
• Add 4 cups frozen peas and 2 tablespoons water and cook for 4-5 minutes.
• Season and add potatoes.
• Simmer for 2 minutes and serve with 5 sprigs of mint and the juice of half a lemon.