Lunch at Vue De Monde

Just a very brief post of the lunch we were served at Vue De Monde. The service, food, wine & atmosphere were all excellent! We now know why it is one of Australia's best restaurants.

We decided on five courses (it was lunch after all), with wine perfectly selected for each course.
Starting with an appetiser of Lobster Mousse with Sea Urchin Air; Cauliflower "Risotto"; a palate cleanser of crystal clear Tomato Gazpacho (that looked like a science experiment from high school); Slow cooked Kingfish; Lamb done Three ways; and two desserts: a Passionfruit Souffle with Berry Dust; and a Deconstructed Pina Colada, we were left very satisfied.

I only had my phone camera to take pictures so the quality doesn't do the food justice (I didn't take many pictures anyway, I was enjoying the food too much!).
I'm not going to ramble on much more, just to say that if you're in Melbourne, you'll have to try the Vue experience for yourselves. Truly amazing!

The Passionfruit Souffle, Berry Dust and with Rasberry Sorbet

Deconstructed Pina Colada

and yes, this is Tomato Gazpacho!

Duck Fat Potato Chips

It was a wretched day, today. The skies were dark and purple with heavy rain, making the day unpleasantly cold. I love winter but I dislike the way the rain keeps us trapped in our homes and offices. But saying that, I like the way it brings us together too. Huddled inside for warmth, eating for reassurance and drinking red wine to keep our bodies warm.
For some eccentric reason, one food, which I crave to eat on days like these, is potato chips or French fries (as they are known in America). A good chip will be feathery and white on the interior, with a golden brittle exterior. Most people will associate potato chips with fast food chains and hamburgers. I don’t necessarily-although I must admit that most chips I do eat, are those mass-produced by the fast-food industry. However, I am also aware that one can produce first-rate chips at home. My mother often cooked them when we were children to accompany roast lamb, preferring to cut the potato into cubes. And as a young boy, my grandmother often treated us to a grand feast of potato chips and nothing else, save for that hideous red sauce known as ketchup. As a child, I loved this red sauce, pouring it all over everything I ate. Now I hate it. The thought alone makes me want to gag! Its funny the way our tastes and palette change, as we become older and learned.
The way I prefer to eat my homemade fries is just like my grandmother served them- as one grand solitary feast. And rather than you- know- what, I much prefer to build a creamy and voluptuous mayonnaise, to dip each crispy potato slice into. Fat on Fat. I know it sounds like too much but it works. Adding a touch more vinegar (or lemon juice) to your mayonnaise than usual will help to cut the all-prevailing fattiness (I am assuming everybody knows what mayonnaise is and how it is made. If you don’t, I suggest you pick up a classic cookbook from somewhere, or do a google search. You wont learn it here today, but if you ask politely I will post my own receipt. The stuff you buy in jars does not in the slightest resemble true mayonnaise. Make and savor your own and you will discover a new world of eating).
Your choice of potato and oil is of utmost importance. I am very lucky to live close by to Prahran Market, where I do most of my food shopping. There is a stall, which specializes in potatoes. The man who runs this stall has helped me on a number of occasions, to choose the appropriate type of potato for the type of dish I happened to be making (in fact this lovely man is like a potato, very friendly, humble and down to earth). For fried potato chips he recommends the creamy white Trent potato. If you don’t have a potato man like I do, then you had better do some research and find out which potato in your area is most suitable for frying, before you begin. Some people like waxy potatoes; others prefer the floury variety- ultimately the choice is yours. Unfortunately I haven’t cooked potato chips enough times to know the difference, although I have a feeling the waxy variety may be prone to sticking together.
Whereas I cannot inform you enough of potato varieties, I can on fat. Do not even think of reaching for your bottle of extra virgin olive. It will be wasted here because of its assertive flavour and its inability to reach the right temperature without burning. Instead I recommend either peanut oil or rice bran oil. Both are popular in Asian cuisine for deep-frying. They have a clean and light nutty taste and are able to withstand the high temperature needed for deep-frying. Apparently grape seed oil is good too (that’s another recommendation from Mr Potato). To this oil I would also add a very generous amount of duck fat or beef dripping. The addition of an animal fat here is for a couple of important reasons. It will provide a comforting background flavour and aroma that oil alone cannot provide (duck fat especially- its smells a bit like when you roast meat and that’s always comforting in the dead of winter). It will also enable your potatoes to fry to a wonderful state of golden crispiness. I don’t think I need to tell you how dreadful soggy, sodden French fries are to eat.
The whole operation will require a careful hand and watch. Have lots of paper towel at the ready and be prepared to clean up an oily stove- unfortunately this is unavoidable if you wish to make good fries. Also be aware your home may smell like a fish and chip shop for a day or two- make use of your exhaust fan, if you have one. I would also have a safety plan in mind, just in case your oil should catch fire (there is always the risk). And while I am on the subject, you may lightly burn yourself a couple of times from the fat spitting, and for this same reason- wear black when frying. Oil stains are hard to remove from your tailor made silk garments (keep dreaming).
Hindrances aside, you will be greatly rewarded for making your own chippies. Once they have all fried to perfection, pile them onto a plate, and sit on the couch with your mayonnaise and a cold refreshing drink close by (apple cider works here) and leisurely consume each golden crispy potato chip. I can assure you; you will have a big grin on your face as the cold rain plummets to the ground outside.

Ingredients
1 kilo Trent potatoes or other suitable potato
200 g duck fat or beef dripping
750ml peanut oil or rice bran oil
Sea salt
Homemade mayonnaise, to serve

Method
Peel your potatoes and rinse the starchy surface in water. Cut and trim your potatoes into chips about 1cm thick. Throw away any that are very different in size and shape than the rest. Unfortunately there is no room for the nonconformist chip- oddly shaped potatoes chips will require different cooking times, making the operation too stressful. From 1 kilo of potato you should get about 700g of perfectly cut chips. Lay them out on a couple of clean tea towels and allow them to dry thoroughly. The drier the potato, the less the oil will spit.
Frying chips is done in two stages.
Take a deep saucepan and heat your oil and fat together over a low heat. You need to heat the oil over a low heat to avoid “cool” spots. Give the fat a gentle stir to make sure it has heated evenly. Then turn your heat dial to medium/high. Fry the chips in batches for about 5 minutes. Do not allow them to colour at this stage. They should be pale but cooked through. Drain them on plenty of kitchen paper. Repeat until all your chips have been fried for the first stage. You may do this step in advance, and it is perfectly fine for the chips to become cold.
When you are ready to eat, heat your oil to high, again making sure the oil has heated evenly. The second frying is done at a higher temperature. Lower your chips in, again in batches. This time fry them until they become golden and crisp. It should not take more than 2 minutes. Drain them on kitchen paper and season with good quality salt.
Eat immediately with your homemade mayonnaise for dipping. This amount of potato should make a sufficient feast for two people.

Reconstructed Lamb Roast Deconstructed

Rebuilding or recreating an object that has been deconstructed sounds impractical. Especially when you intend to pull it apart into smaller pieces again. Complicated? There is method to my madness- trust me on this one.
Mike brought home some very fine lamb chops from the market, this weekend. The chops were from the loin and cut thicker than usual. My original plan was to remove the small bone and tie them with string to turn into “noisettes”. Which is what Mike did to them, upon my request.
But then, I became uninterested with the idea, and I couldn’t get the motivation or find enough inspiration to carry out cooking them. I had decided already to roast some red skinned potatoes, fennel wedges and rosemary stalks with duck fat to serve along side. I also planned to put together a lemony salsa verde to accompany the lamb. Both of those ideas still appealed to me. What wasn’t appealing to me was cooking the noisettes “a la minute”. What I was really craving to eat was a succulent lamb roast, not pan fried noisettes.
So, that’s exactly what we did. Well actually, it was Mike’s idea and he did all the butch construction work of tying together the individual noisettes to reform a loin roast. It was my idea however, to anoint the slices of lamb with salsa verde before rebuilding them together. It worked unexpectedly well. The outcome was juicy and moist lamb meat infused with citrus herbaceous-ness. The fat surrounding the meat was particularly excellent to eat- slightly crisp, meltingly tender and with an unpredictably clean flavour. I have to admit that of all the animal fats, lamb is not a favourite of mine- I often find it overpowering and pungent. But not the fat from this young creature.
I am aware this does sound ridiculous. Why would you buy individual lamb noisettes to then put back together, when you can buy a whole loin etc to roast? This was just one way out of a culinary predicament and it turned out to be an excellent solution. I am not one to usually play about with food. In fact, I hate fiddly kitchen tasks but this is an exception. I would be very pleased to do it again if the outcome was the same.

Reconstructed Lamb Roast with Herbs, Lemon and Nutmeg

Ingredients
5 lamb noisettes, about 600g (of course you can use any amount. That’s just what I had)
Cooking string
300ml rich, homemade meat stock
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice, to taste
A combination of the following fresh herbs, all finely chopped
Mint, Parsley, Rosemary, Rocket
Dried Greek oregano
Lots of freshly grated nutmeg
Sea salt
Freshly ground peppers, both black and white
A pinch sugar

Build your Salsa Verde. Combine the garlic with your chosen herbs. Use the proportions that feel right to you. You can use other herbs. I used this particular combination, because that’s what I had in the fridge and in the garden. Add an appropriate olive oil. It must be green and fruity and of excellent quality. Don’t use an aggressive, peppery oil- this oil is good for other dishes (like bean soups) and it will clash with the herbs in this receipt, making the sauce disagreeably bitter. Again let your taste buds guide you- you can have a thick paste or a fluid sauce. I prefer the fluid kind. Whisk in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt, two peppers and plenty of nutmeg. I like to add a pinch of sugar to my salsa verde. This is not usual practice, nor is the addition of nutmeg. But as the entire dish is a reconstructed /deconstructed affair, you may as well break the rules.
Preheat the oven to 220c.
Anoint the noisettes of meat with spoonfuls of salsa verde. Reconstruct the lamb roast by placing the noisettes together and tying with string. Spread salsa verde all over the reconstructed roast as well. The acidity from the sauce will help the fat to become crispy. Set aside any remaining sauce.
Weigh the roast and calculate the cooking time. For every 500g, roast for 15- 20 minutes. Add a splash of water to the baking dish before placing the meat into the oven.
Remove from the oven. Double wrap the roasted lamb with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
While the meat is resting, combine the juices from the baking dish with stock, and reduce until you have a syrupy jus. Strain into a small jug or a sauceboat.
Unwrap the meat and cut the strings. Obviously the will be no need to cut the meat. Serve with the “jus gras” and reserved salsa verde. Enough for 2 or 3 serves.

Red on Red

It took a while for me to warm to rhubarb. Coming from a Latino background, I did not grow up eating it like the Aussie kids did and for quite a few years I thought the idea of cooking red sour stalks as a dessert, was just absolutely bizarre.
But I did eventually come to the rhubarb party, and now I wouldn’t say I love it, but I do enjoy it from time to time. During the wintertime, it’s comforting to have some in the fridge ready to go, to combine with apples and bake as a crumble.
This recipe came about as a way of using up some pomegranates, which were very ripe, and in immediate need of use. Red on red - it works for me. The result was deliciously tart and sexy.

Rhubarb and Pomegranate

Ingredients
1 bunch of rhubarb
Caster Sugar
Juice of 2 very ripe pomegranates
1 cinnamon stick

Method
Wash and trim the rhubarb. Cut the stalks into about 5 cm lengths.
Place them into a baking dish in one layer.
Pour over the pomegranate juice, plenty of sugar to taste and the cinnamon stick.
Bake at 150C for 30 minutes. Baking the rhubarb prevents it from turning into an unappetizing mush. Try not to stir the produce.
Cool and eat with rich cream to balance the acidity, or cinnamon infused crème anglaise.
Keeps for about 1 week, in the refrigerator.

Jamón vs Prosciutto

For my own pleasure more than anything, I thought I would hold a culinary competition.
Thankfully there was no appallingly dressed Japanese host biting into a yellow pepper with a demented stare, though Mike did try hard. Nor was there a line up of B grade Asian celebrities to critique. Nothing as ostentatious as “The Kitchen Stadium”.
Only some raw hams- Jamón Serrano and Prosciutto di Parma.
Yes, Spain versus Italy.
I also thought it would be a fine idea to accompany each ham with olives from their appropriate nations. Jamón Serrano with plump and juicy pimento stuffed green ones, and Prosciutto with a small and succulent black kind.
So, who’s pig reigned supreme?
I found “el jamón” to be saltier, sweeter and more concentrated in piggy-ness. The slices were smoother, almost oily. The Spanish ham was also firmer and more compact in texture than its Italian cousin. You can see the diffrence in texture in the photos, below. The scent was reminiscent of fresh pork with a yeasty overtone. This is going to sound terrible, but the smell remindered me of stock cubes (and yes, stock cubes contain yeast extracts). I wasn’t expecting this, as jamón is considered to be a very fine ham and can fetch up to $350 (or more) a kilo at retail prices. This one was only $160 per kilo and probably not the finest. Mike could not pick up on the hint of fermentation. He was suffering with the “flu”, so perhaps his sense of smell was not at its best. Possibly it was natural, but I couldn’t stop thinking that maybe this pig had been injected with a flavouring agent.

Now “il prosciutto”. The Italian version was less salty and slightly sour. It wasn’t as intense as the Spanish version, but it felt fuller in the mouth. The notes I wrote in my book at the time read “you can feel the grain of the meat against your tongue”. This is definitely true, and I am beginning to drool as I write this. I loved the rounded, supple feel of this particularly gorgeous prosciutto, which was priced at a slightly cheaper $120 per kilo. Prosciutto tends to be aged for a shorter time than jamón so perhaps this can explain the variation in saltiness and texture.

Even though the two hams were both very tasty, I preferred the milder tasting prosciutto because of its superior fleshy, buttery consistency. And also the fact that the jamón had a vague synthetic scent, won the prosciutto extra points. Oh, I wish I had some of that prosciutto right now! But who knows? As, I said previously, perhaps the jamón in this particular assessment wasn’t of top class. Unfortunately when I quizzed the shop assistant, he couldn’t really tell me much about either product. I was a little disappointed in the lack of knowledge. Especially as these two hams are imported luxury food items and are expensively priced.
I will keep my opinion open on this one- the game is far from over.

Chicken Story 3 - Spices and Chickpea

It being winter in my world also means influenza season is upon us. And unfortunately Mike was violently struck down last week. With the flu that is…

Which means one grumpy gay guy and another bitchy gay guy stuck in an apartment together, all day long. One is grumpy because he is sick; the other is bitchy because the grumpy one is getting on his nerves. And so the bitchy one just gets bitchier and bitchier. Get the picture. It’s a vicious circle. But, they love each other. Immensely.
The bitchy one decides to make a restorative chicken soup in the hope that the grumpy one will get better, and go back to work, leaving the bitchy one in peace. After five long and intense days, during which the bitchy one goes on several solitary shopping expeditions to escape the all prevailing grumpiness, the ailing grumpy one recovers and he returns to the workplace. The bitchy one is convinced the recovery had something to do with his delicious and magical broth. The grumpy one knows better, and pretends to agree. At last, all is well again…

I promise this to be the last installment of “The Chicken Trilogy”. There will be no “Revenge of the Supermarket Chicken”.

Spicy Chicken Broth with Chickpea Dumplings

Ingredients
For the broth:
1 kilo corn fed, free range, organic chicken wings
1 onion, peeled, cut into chunks
1 carrot, peeled, cut into chunks
1 celery stalk, cut into chunks
1 garlic clove, peeled but kept whole
Peppercorns- black and white
Cardamom pods
Cumin seeds
Fresh ginger, cut into slices
Saffron threads, a large pinch
Turmeric
Whole dried red chili
Sea salt
Fresh lime or lemon, juice and zest, finely chopped

For the dumplings:
I small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
250g minced chicken
100g chickpea flour
All of the spices above

Method
Place all of the ingredient (except your chosen citrus) for the broth into a stockpot. I used about 5 grams of each spice, more or less. Find the balance you like. I also crushed the spices very lightly to release the aromas, with the mortar and pestle.
Cover with cold water. Bring just to the simmer, and cook very slowly for 2- 3 hours. I never boil my stock; I keep the temperature below a simmer. This keeps the stock crystal clear.

Strain when you are happy with the flavour and discard all the solids. You can season the broth with chicken stock cube instead of salt. There is nothing wrong at all with this practice- my grandmother does it, and so do restaurants I have worked in.
In the meantime, you can prepare the dumplings.Sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil gently, for about 15 minutes to soften.

In a bowl mix together with a wooden spoon, the chicken, chickpea flour, the softened onion and garlic.

Add to the mixture, all of the same spices that went into the broth. Use only pinches of each one and make sure they are finely ground. Again find the balance you like. Season well with salt.

Roll them into small meatballs.

Poach them in simmering water for 15- 20 minutes or until cooked through. Drain them using a slotted spoon.
To serve: place the hot meatballs into a soup bowl, however many you like. Top with the boiling chicken broth. Sprinkle the citrus zest over each bowl and add a squeeze of the juice too. Delicious. Makes about 4 –6 serves.

Chicken Story 2 - A Sinister Stew

My recipe today is based on the classic French dish- Coq au Vin.
However, I shall refrain from calling it such out of respect for tradition. My adaptation deviates from the genuine formula on a few essential qualities. I have chosen to name mine: The Sinister Stew, after a divine inspiration from the late Jennifer Paterson, of “The Two Fat Ladies” fame.
My version is not made with a “coq”, which is French for rooster. I use the superb chicken of which I am currently obsessed (see my previous post). I am assuming roosters are unobtainable in this country, although I have never asked. You could use pieces of wild rabbit leg. I have a feeling their taste may be comparable.
Nor do I use the proper “vin”. The true recipe originates from Burgundy. Therefore one should use a wine from this region in France. I have utilized Australian Pinot Noir. Use whatever wine is appropriate to your country and personal taste. When I come to think of it, this dish may be good done with rosé wine. Pink meat with pink wine sounds good to me.
To thicken the stew, the blood is drained from the coq and added to the stew. I find this creepy practice too vampire-esque for my liking. Instead I take lead from acclaimed French chef Paul Bocuse, and use a puree of chicken livers to thicken and enrich the stew. Do not skip this step. It makes a considerable difference to the end result, both for flavour and texture.
I have been cooking this dish since I was a teenager. It appealed to me then, just as much as it appeals to me now, 20 years later. I read recently in the current issue of an Australian food magazine that this particular dish has come back into style after an extended hiatus. Really? I think this is nonsensical. Does anyone really care for food trends? I certainly don’t. The only trends I care for are ones to do with beauty and fashion. When it comes to food, the only thing, which matters to me, is how it tastes. A sinister stew, but a classical one.

Ingredients
1 kilo corn fed, free range, organic chicken (use thigh and leg, skin removed and cut into smaller pieces)
750ml Pinot Noir
Bay leaves, parsley and thyme
Flour, for dusting
100g pancetta, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 tbsp duck fat
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
50g chicken livers, cleaned
50ml cognac (I use brandy)
Fresh black pepper
10 pickling onions, blanched for 5 minutes in boiling water and peeled
50g unsalted cultured butter
1-2 tsp brown sugar
10 small shitake mushrooms (or use swiss browns)

Method
Firstly, you need to marinate the chicken pieces for 24 hours. Simmer the entire bottle of red wine for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the bay leaf, thyme and parsley stalks. Allow the herbs to infuse the wine, and cool. Pour the cooled marinade over the chicken pieces. I use a plastic container or a glass bowl. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Select a braising pan that will be able to accommodate all of the above ingredients. Over a low heat, fry the pieces of pancetta with the duck fat for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Add the finely chopped onion and garlic and continue to cook for another 10- 15 minutes until they too have gilded.
In the meantime, remove the chicken pieces from their wine and herb bath. The chicken pieces will be stained a dark shade of burgundy. Pat the pieces dry, dust the lightly with flour. Strain the marinade and reserve. Discard the herbs.
Remove the pancetta, onion and garlic to a small plate, and set aside. There should still be some fat left in the pan, if not add more duck fat. Seal the chicken and livers on a higher heat, about 1 minute each side or until lightly golden. Remove the livers once they are golden. Puree the liver with the reserved marinade in a food processor or blender.

In a separate pan, begin to caramelize the pickling onions in the butter. Do this slowly; it is vital the butter does not burn. The process should take about 30 minutes. When the onions are tender, add 1 tsp of sugar (towards the end). Set the caramelized onions and their golden fat aside. You can do this step earlier if it saves you hassle or stress.
In a tiny saucepan, gently heat the cognac or brandy. Set it alight and pour the flames over the chicken pieces. Return the reserved pancetta and onion mix to the chicken and brandy. Pour over the liver and wine mixture. Add more bay and thyme. Put in the mushrooms too. Season with pepper. Simmer gently until the chicken is tender, and beginning to fall of the bone. Towards the end, add the pickling onions and all their fat. It may seem like an excessive amount of fat to add to a dish, but it balances the acidity from the wine. Add more sugar if you think it needs it. The end result should be succulent chicken pieces in a dark and rather ominous looking sauce. Do not be deceived by the sinister appearance; the aromas and flavors are divine. Sprinkle with parsley to brighten the dish.

I don’t serve this dish with anything but crusty bread. I find the flavours too dominant and complex to go with anything else (even potato puree). Serve with the same wine, as used in the braise. Serves 4.

Chicken Story 1 - Wild Chook Run

Up until last week, there was no sympathy in my kitchen for the provision we humans know as “chicken”. It was prohibited from my table. Why, you may ask? Because it is unexciting, ordinary and I am appalled by the manner it is reared for commercial consumption. And as a young boy, I ate the fore mentioned fowl too many times. Boring! Yuk! Gross!
Yet, I often read in the work of well-known English food writers, of how lovely the bird is to roast and eat. I have attempted it. Who hasn’t? Is there anyone in this world who hasn’t roasted a chicken? My roast chickens have always been edible but of bland flavour and disappointing texture. I suppose they are okay, but never extraordinary as described by Nigella Lawson, Simon Hopkinson and Nigel Slater. My attempts have not been worth writing about. According to the culinary grapevine one must chose his bird wisely- corn fed, free range or organic. So, being an interested gourmet, I decided to go on a wild goose, I mean chicken, chase…

On a particular shopping trip to the supermarket, I discovered a raw and packaged chicken labeled “corn fed”. Golden, and at a weight of 1.2 kilos, it was a perfect feast for two. It appeared authentic. Into the shopping basket it went, to be roasted that evening. Whilst I waited in line to pay for my selected items, I became bored (as one does in queues). As I reached for the nearest issue of “Gourmet Traveler” magazine, I become aware of a listing of ingredients on the avian creature. It read, upon other things- 89% chicken. Now, I am not a mathematical genius but what was the other 11% (132 grams of foreign matter, to be precise)? Maybe it was yellow food dye? Or perhaps the bird was diseased, and it was hepatitis vaccination fluid? That would explain the yellow colouring. At that moment I became rather alarmed and ran, in a state of terror back to the chicken section, to dispose of the jaundiced beast.

Since the supermarket incident I have experimented with free-range specimens and organic varieties. All have been okay, but nothing to write about. I was beginning to think that maybe English chickens are more genetically advanced than their Australian cousins. Until my discovery last week, that is. There is a stall at Prahran Market in Melbourne, which specializes in game birds. I mentioned previously of those qualities, which are thought to promise a superior bird- corn fed, free range or organic. Now until this time I had never come across a chicken, which was all three. This particular stall happens to trade poultry which possess all three attributes, and what a splendid surprise these chickens are. It is difficult to express their taste in words. Simply, the pale flesh is sweet and rich, with a firm but tender, luscious texture. This bird is so very delicious.

Spatchcock and roast the fine hen at a high temperature, smothered with an enormous amount of excellent butter. Add to the butter, lemon- both juice and zest. Include small amounts of garlic, tarragon and thyme, too. Serve the glorious bird with the natural “jus gras” from the baking pan and of course, the essential roasted vegetables. Carrots, fennel, mushrooms, pickling onions, King Edward potatoes, cherry tomatoes and turnips all work well. This is truly a feast for the gods. At last the ban has been lifted.

Ice Queen

I had every intention of writing today. However I am keeping my narrative short because of the extreme weather conditions here, my fingers are ice covered and I can no longer type…
As I sip a glass of red wine, Mike is preparing a roast loin of pork, stuffed with porcini, garlic and rosemary. Ideally, I would have preferred it full with Australian black winter truffles, but alas our supplier has not delivered the merchandise. He assures me, via email, the prized black diamonds of the earth will be obtainable next week.
Besides I should not whine, Mike bought me a fur jacket (upon my request) to keep me warm from the Antarctic freeze, yesterday (pictured right). I am sure our feast will be as exquisite as the jacket. I am so very spoilt…

Polenta, Hazelnut, Walnut and Mandarin Cake

Last month, I decided to host a birthday feast for a precious friend of mine. This is a rather novel occasion for a person such as myself as I do not usually have company and when I do so, my parties tend to be of an informal nature. But for this episode, I wanted to impress my dearly loved comrade- it was his birthday after all.
So the for the first installment, I decided upon homemade pumpkin and white truffle ravioli, served in a crystal clear beef consommé. Twice-cooked duck followed the first course. The fowl was first poached in a red wine stock, glazed with sugar and balsamic vinegar and roasted. The result was crispy bronzed duck, served with a red wine jus and cumin roasted carrots. Very chic. To close the palate, the main dish was followed by a cold, cannellini bean, coriander leaf and lemon salad. For dessert I created my own cake for the occasion. No cookbook formulas or recipes, just my imagination and personal performance. Uncomplicated and triumphant, it consisted of polenta, nuts and mandarin. The birthday cake was served with cointreau infused Crème Chantilly.
Now, you may be thinking “How remarkable!” The only problem is that by the time the guests had arrived I was ready to overdose on Valium, jump off my balcony, or simply run far, far away and never return (probably to a mental institution). I am not used to cooking for a crowd, only for two people. Or three at the most. And entertaining a stylish three course meal was just too much for my pretty little head.
The moral of the story is: I will never host a dinner party ever again in my life. Luckily, my sane and levelheaded partner saved the night, simply by throwing me out of my kitchen and taking control!
Once again, thank you for saving me, I love you Mike.

Ingredients
225g cultured unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
110g ground hazelnuts
110g ground walnuts
1 vanilla pod, seeds only
3 free range eggs, lightly beaten
Juice from ½ mandarin
Zest from 1 mandarin
115g yellow polenta
5g baking powder
pinch sea salt

Method
Remove the butter from the fridge and leave it at room temperature to soften.
Preheat the oven to 160C.
Cream the softened butter, sugar and vanilla seeds until fluffy.
Add the nuts and eggs in an alternating fashion.
Mix in the zest, juice, polenta, baking powder and sea salt.
Spoon the cake mixture into a paper lined, greased and floured round cake tin (1.3 litre capacity). I did not keep in mind the amount of time the cake took to set- I was performing other traumatic dinner party tasks at the same time. I am guessing it ought to take about 30 minutes to bake to an appealing golden brown.
Dust with icing sugar & serve with cointreau flavoured Crème Chantilly.
You should get about 4- 6 slices from this quantity. It all depends on how gluttonous you are!

PS. Happy Birthday Glenn.

Mushroom, Sausage Meatballs and Potato Gnocchi

Australia does have a winter, and it has finally arrived. It is currently 9am and 8C, here in the metropolis of Melbourne, Australia. It is glacial! Well not quite arctic, but it is bloody cold! Citizens from other countries imagine that Australia is a tropical paradise with kangaroos hopping about in our backyards. I blame the Australian tourism industry for selling such a bullshit image of my charming country to the rest of humankind. Yes it is true, that Northern Australia is a steamy territory, but here in the southern state of Victoria and Tasmania, we definitely experience the four seasons.
Anyway, for today’s recipe I have chosen a true winters day dish. Well actually my partner in life and food blogging chose the subject for me. You see he decided to write of his grandly successful gnocchi yesterday, and as I made the sauce for those delicate little potato pillows, I have no choice now but to write about my delectable accompaniment. Thank you Mikey! I would also like to mention that Mike has an innate gift for producing superior homemade pasta of all types- tagliatelle, tagliarini, ravioli and gnocchi. For an individual who did not grow up eating home produced pasta (Mike is of Russian descent), he is doing very well indeed. I guess he has a wonderful instructor (myself!).
I must warn you- this is very rich. I would only make this dish for a chilly winters evening and then enjoy it in small quantities.

Ingredients
50g unsalted cultured butter
50ml extra virgin olive oil
50g pancetta lardons
15 small Swiss Brown mushrooms, halved
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced
300g pork and fennel seed sausage meat
150ml meat stock
200ml porcini stock
200g Béchamel sauce
1 tsp white truffle oil
Grana Padana cheese, finely grated
Fresh black pepper
Freshly grated parsley
1 quantity Mikey’s gnocchi

Method
Over a low heat, gently cook the pancetta, mushrooms and garlic in half the butter and oil, for 20 minutes. The mushrooms and pancetta should brown lightly.
In a separate pan melt the remaining butter and oil and caramelize the onion slices for about 30 minutes, over a low heat.
Whilst the onions are gilding, roll the sausage meat into little balls, the same size as the gnocchi.
Once the onions are done add them to the pan containing the mushrooms.
Brown the sausage meatballs in the remaining fat used to fry the onion.
Add the browned meatballs to the mushrooms.
Deglaze the pan used to brown the onions and meatballs, with the meat stock.
Add the reduced meat stock and porcini stock to the mushrooms, onion and meatballs. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Mix the teaspoon of truffle oil into the béchamel sauce.
Turn the oven to the highest temperature.
Gently mix the gnocchi with the mushroom and meatball sauce.
Place into a baking dish and dot with the truffle scented béchamel sauce.
Drizzle over with grated Grana cheese.
Bake in the oven until the dish is a lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes. Scatter with chopped parsley and black pepper. Eat at once. Serves 4.

Mikey's Gnocchi

This is my first food post! And what did I decide to do? Gnocchi. Something easy. Simple. Yet intriguing. After looking through various cooking books and seeking words of wisdom from my partner, I settled on a recipe based from “Made in Italy” by Giorgio Locatelli.
And they worked! Not perfectly shaped cookie cutter, mirror images of one gnocchi after another but a huge number of individuals. Like us. My better half tells me that gnocchi in Italian means “little lumps” and mine certainly were! But what lovely soft delicate lumps they were.

Ingredients
500g Desiree potato
1 egg
160g flour tipo 00
Pinch of salt.
Pinch of ground nutmeg

Method
Pack the unpeeled potatoes into a steamer and steam for about 30 minutes. They are done when a skewer slides easily into the potato. They should be tender. Do not over cook the potato, otherwise they will become water logged and you may as well start again.
Remove the potatoes from the heat and peel them using your fingers. Please be careful as they are hot. The Gourmand may have cast iron hands, I do not.
Pass the potatoes through the finest disk of a mouli.
Add the egg and about ¾ of the flour. Combine the mixture quickly so that it comes together. Work the mixture swiftly but lightly so that you don’t overwork the gluten. The dough should feel slightly tacky like the sticky surface of a Post-it note. Add more flour if needed. You have to be careful with the amount of flour: too much and the gnocchi will end up as dry lumps, not enough and they will disintegrate.
Using your hands, roll small amounts of the dough on a floured surface into the form of a rope. The thickness should be about 1cm (1/3 inch for the non-metric population). With a knife cut the rolls of dough into 2.5cm sections (1 inch). Lightly flour the newly formed gnocchi and place on a floured surface till you are ready to cook them.
Bring a large pot of water to a gentle simmer and add plenty of salt.
Poach the gnocchi in batches. They are ready when they float to the surface. This will take seconds. Do not allow the water to boil rapidly as this will destroy the delicate gnocchi and you will be left with a rather insipid potato soup. Remove them with a slotted spoon to a buttered serving dish. Combined with a sauce that The Gourmand made, this will serve about 4 or 5.

Wild Rabbit Braised with Vinegar and Thyme

Do you ever have days when you simply do not have any idea what you wish to cook or eat? Yesterday was one of those days for me. As I wondered the market place rather aimlessly, I finally decided on rabbit legs, to braise slowly. And when I say rabbit, I mean “wild” rabbit. Oh how I adore wild game meat! And of course winter is the perfect time for all things wild of the culinary nature.
Now wild rabbit isn’t exactly what I would describe as tender meat. The farmed variety is, but not its wild relative. However where it lacks in tenderness, it makes up for in flavour. People, I think, are too obsessed with having tender meat all the time- boring veal and intensely farmed chicken. Leave those meats to infants and the geriatrics! I don’t mind meat to be on the firm side as long as it has a good flavour. Of course, I don’t want to eat meat with the texture of leather boots, but a little chew factor I am absolutely fine with. After all, that’s why God gave us teeth. Use them!

Ingredients
700g wild rabbit legs, back only
20g unsalted cultured butter
20 duck fat
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1 tbsp brown sugar
50ml vinegar (I used balsamic)
Rich brown stock- 1 or 2 ladles
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper

Method
Ask the butcher nicely, to cut each leg in two pieces.
Rinse the rabbit and pat dry.
Melt the butter and duck fat over a medium heat and sear the pieces of rabbit, until lightly golden.
Add the garlic cloves, thyme and sugar.
Splash in the vinegar and a ladle of stock.
Cover the pan, turn the heat to low and braise very slowly for 1 hour. Check from time to time the juices are not drying out. Add a ladle of stock if need be.
At the end of the hour the rabbit will be well done, but still firm. This is the nature of the beast.
Check the seasoning and enjoy it with parsnip puree to which you have added sour cream and nutmeg.
Serves 2 on a cold winters night.

Cheesy Onion and Cumin Soup

It is currently 9 am and 9 chilly degrees as I write this story in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Hello winter!
For the first time in my life, I decided to make the very famous French onion soup. And what a great choice it was. Making a wonderful appearance from a hot oven, like a cheesy volcanic eruption, this soup is perfectly suited for the cold season.
Of course, me being me, I couldn’t make this classic dish without giving it my own touch. As I gently sautéed the onions for this golden soup, I had a flash of divine inspiration from the culinary gods, somewhere from the faraway heavens. They whispered to me to add a smidgen of cumin to the onions, helping to round out the flavours and to complement the molten cheese in the finished soup. Thank You!

I have 2 points of importance in preparing this potage:

1. You will need to make your own brown stock. I say this, not because I have anything against stock cubes and their convenience, but only because this soup is made from a very basic flavor profile, which includes onion, stock, cheese and bread. In other words, there isn’t really much there to begin with, and using stock cubes just wont cut it. Stock cubes lack body. If you make this soup from stock cubes you will be very disappointed- it will taste of salty onion water. Making stock isn’t very hard at all and for this dish you need not worry about keeping it crystal clear. Just cook some beef on the bone (beef shin is perfect), with onion, celery, carrot, parsley stalks, bay, thyme and peppercorns, covered with water, very very gently. Do not boil and keep it under the simmer. The water should barely move. It should be ready after about 3 hours, but if you are low on time, 1 hour is fine.


2. The bread used is of great importance. Buy a real loaf of bread from a real baker. Not from Brumbys, or Bakers Delight. And certainly not from a Vietnamese bakery. You will need a dense, heavy white bread, with a solid crust. Phillipas bakery makes superb bread in this fashion- I used her Pane Francese Naturale. If you use bad bread, your soup will have the texture of glue, and the taste of cheap bread mix. You have been warned…

Ingredients
50g unsalted cultured butter
1 kilo brown onions, peeled and thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 –2 tsp ground cumin
300ml dry white wine
1.5 litres homemade stock, rich and brown
Bouquet of herbs (fresh bay, thyme, parsley)
4 slices European style bread, crusty and dense
200g gruyere cheese, grated
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Fresh chopped parsley, to garnish

Method
You will need a wide saucepan able to accommodate the onions. Over the lowest heat cook the onions, garlic, sugar, cumin and cumin for 1 hour. Stir from time to time.The onions should be golden brown, sweet and aromatic after this time.
Transfer the onion mix to a soup pot.
Deglaze the saucepan you used to cook the onions with the white wine and then pour into the soup pot also.
Add the stock and bouquet of herbs and simmer for 30minutes (or longer if you wish).
Turn the oven to 200c.
Place a slice of bread into 4 deep oven proof soup bowls. Place the soup bowls on a baking tray.
Season the onion soup and ladle over the pieces of bread.
Sprinkle over the cheese and bake until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown.
Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.
Nothing else is needed with this soup, it is so delicious and satisfying. Serves 4.