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.

Dinner at home

We had the Langenfelds and Friedlaenders over for dinner last night. Lynne made a lovely winter soup and we all had far too much to drink, mainly Tower Estate wines from the Hunter Valley. Here are some pics.

Jessica

Last week Jessica got her car license, so she can now drive us around! I took a few pics of her just before she went to the test.

Celebrating Johan's graduation

After the graduation we went to a restaurant in Crows Nest called MuMu. Great food, excellent barman who made delicious cocktails.

Johan's Graduation

Our oldest son Johan graduated last week. B. Com in Economics and Applied Finance from Maquarie University. Great day! Lynne and I went with Johan and his girlfriend Josie. Here are some pics.

New Camera

Today I bought a new camera, a Canon EOS450D. It's a great new toy and I'm starting to get used to using it. Taking lots of pics wherever I go. Now if I can work out how to upload it to this site I'll do so.

I think I have! This is our Rhodesian Ridgeback Udade. Isn't she beautiful?