Is this worth a trip to Sydney???

http://adrianozumbo.com/v8cake

Double Happiness

Great bar in Liverpool St, tucked away in the top end of Melbourne's CBD - yes it's almost impossible to spot, and yes it's in a laneway.  Seems to be a cliche in Melbourne.  However it's worth the effort for the funky vibe and unreal cocktails.

Try the Great Leap Forward - lychee vodka, mint, lime and ginger, topped with a lychee, served in a tall glass and decorated with a couple of chopsticks.   It was sublime.  Especially after the friendly barkeep jazzed it up with some extra freshly sliced ginger muddled with the lime, and finished with some tabasco sauce.  Zingy and refreshing.  Also try the Paper Tiger and the Mr Foo.  A note for the wary - too many of these and you too could end up with one of these on your kitchen bench on the morning.....

Double Happiness

21 Liverpool St

Melbourne

Pesto, prosciutto and caramelised onion tartlets

These were a bit of an experiment - we had some leftover homemade pesto, and caramelized onion jam and the fridge and I wanted to use it up.  Little tarts sounded like a good idea (when are they not??) and this was the result.

I simply cut some pastry rounds, added with the pesto, onion jam, and topped with some quality prosciutto.  How did they taste - good surprisingly!  A little rich - they packed a lot of flavour!  But they were good.  Next time - maybe the pesto OR the jam.  

Photos from the archives

Awesome burger with chilli sauce:

Nachos:

The Palmerston Hotel, South Melbourne

We had a craving for a great parma, and headed towards the cty in search of parma nirvana. First of all we tried the Leveson in North Melbourne - no free tables.  Then The Mint on William street - private function.  So we had no choice but to check out a 'parmie at the Palmie'.

Walking in, I thought we had stepped into a time machine, or at least a parallel universe.  Here we were not ten metres away from ridiculously busy King street, yet it was like we had stepped into a pub that you would normally find about 100km north of Melbourne.  Everything about it, down to the friendly experienced staff reminded me of a country pub.

We started off with a few South Melbourne Market dimmies - I'm not sure what went wrong with them but I guess they had been sitting in the steamer for a while - they were very tough in the middle.  They were however still of course very tasty.

The parmas came out not long after that.  Did it satisfy my parma craving?  Almost.  The parma was huge, no complaint there.  It had good sauce, just enough cheese, and the requisite ham, so it ticked all those boxes.  However the underside was a tad soggy.  Overall, I guess it was pretty good.  I have had much worse chicken parmas.

The service was very quick and friendly, with full table service, including drinks.  Prices were reasonable, and the meals were a good size.  So would I go back for another parma?  Probably, however I am not in a great rush.

The Palmerston Hotel

42 Palmerston Cres

South Melbourne 3205

Easy noodle soup (or pantry pho!)

I really felt like pho, or tom yum soup, however we didn't really have many of the ingredients, and I couldn't be shagged going down the street.  So I came up with soup based on what was in the fridge and the pantry.  I think, but I can't be sure, that it contained the following:

Pork and noodles

1 pork fillet
1 tbsp chinese five spice
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp smokey paprika

Rub the above ingredients onto the pork, and brush with olive oil.  Gently pan fry until crisping up and browning/blackish on each side.  Put in a very low oven to keep warm.  It doesn't matter if it's not cooked through as it will cook very quickly in the hot soup.

I had a pack of singapore noodles in the cupboard, and preparing them was as simple as standing them in hot water for a few minutes.

Broth/Soup

Place some dried chinese mushrooms in a bowl of water, and leave to stand for around 10 minutes.  Carefully wash 1 bunch of pak choy (make sure you get rid of all the grit), and take leaves apart.  Place in a large saucepan with around 1.25L of chicken stock, 3 crushed garlic cloves, a knob of peeled ginger sliced into matchsticks and 1 tbsp soy sauce.  I also added 2 star anise, 1 cinammon stick, 1 tsp szechuan peppers, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 finely shopped kaffir lime leaf, and 1 tbsp black peppercorns.  Squeeze the liquid from the mushrooms and add them to the soup.  Simmer this for around 15 minutes.

Thinly slice the pork, and arrange with the noodles in bowls.  Add the soup, and serve with sliced spring onions, deep fried shallots, and lemon and lime juice.  If I had bean sprouts, they would have been on the table as well.  I also added some chilli to my bowl, seeing as Kara is a bit of a wimp when it comes to the spicy stuff!

Even without the chilli, the ginger and the lemon and lime gave this soup a great freshness and zingyness, and certainly cleared the sinuses out - the aroma was amazing!

Andada - Gertrude St

Tucked away in quiet little Gertrude Street, nestled amongst the hairdressers and other restaurants, is Anada.  Before you say 'not another tapas bar', read on, because this one is different.  It seems to be that every second restaurant/cafe/bistro is offering some form of 'tapas' on the menu.  Recently, for us, this has ranged from itsy bitsy scraps of food, to full entree sized meals - and mostly not in the true spirit of the word tapas.  According to the legend, tapas should be designed to pair naturally with an accompanying drink.

The tapas here and the accompanying drinks list were superb.  The wine list was extensive, covering Spanish and Australian wines, the beer selection was more that passable, and the list of Spanish sherries seemed comprehensive - however I am no expert on this last one.

We selected a couple of freshly shucked Tasmanian oysters to start with.  What can I say - they were oysters presented simply with some lemon - but they were some of the best I've ever had.  We followed these with soft boiled eggs, topped with black garlic and black truffle - probably the dish of the night.  Perfectly boiled egg halves, adhered to the plate with some tasty garlic aoli, and topped with some black garlic, and shaved tasmanian black truffle - these were divine.  We bravely ordered crumbed lambs brains atop shredded pork belly and red lentils.  We need not have worried, they were cooked to perfection, and the pork belly and lentils accompaniment was perfect.

At this stage, after these tapas, the beautiful housemade bread and a glass of spanish grenache I was actually getting surprisingly full!  So we looked to the raciones (larger plates) and ordered one to share - Echuca Berkshire pork belly atop fennel seed and smoky aubergine.  Before this arrived we also snuck in some manchengo cheese with quince paste (perfect) and ordered a potato tortilla to go alongside the main.  When it arrived, the pork belly was perfectly crunchy on top, and had a surprising amount of tender flesh beneath.  The egglplant and fennel seed mixture matched perfectly with the pork.  The tortilla (spanish style) was superb, and sent out with some more of that tasty garlic aoli.

I did not dare look at the dessert menu - even though I felt like I hadn't eaten much at all I was fairly full.  I should eat like that more often.  I finished off the meal with a fino sherry - it was quite good, although next time I think I would order one as an aperitif, especially as it was served somewhat chilled.

The fit-out of the restaurant was inviting and cosy, without being too cramped.  The staff were that perfect mix of attentive, but then out of the picture and not hovering while you enjoy the food and the company.  All in all it was a great night, and I would happily go back again anytime.

Anada

197 Gertrude Street

Fitzroy

9415 6101

Yarra Lounge - Yarraville

Situated across the road from the beautiful Sun Theatre in Yarraville, this venue seemed like the perfect place for some pre-movie food and drinks.  Aside from the somewhat brusque service, it probably was the perfect place. The menu offers a kind of Mediterranean menu, including a selection of 'tapas' (some decidedly spanish, others not so much), wood fired pizzas, and souvlakis.

We went for a bit of a mix, which included saganaki with a fig syrup.  The kefalograviera cheese was cooked to perfection, with some crispiness on the outside while still being soft on the inside.  I thought the fig and syrup topping was a little disappointing, a bit light on the flavour side, and it also had a light, runny consistency.  I guess I was longing for the richly flavoured, unctuous, stewed figs atop the saganaki at Hellenic Republic.

Chorizo stewed in balsamic vinegar with onions was amazing.  Spanish chorizo with a little bit of heat was sliced up and served in a tasty balsamic reduction.  As were the patatas bravas (fancy chips) with home-made aoli.  The chips were light and fluffy, with a great seasoning.  The salt and pepper calamari was a huge surprise, considering usually when you order this you get some kind of soggy excuse for seafood from the freezer.  This was cooked to perfection, with good seasoning, and a fantastic aoli.  The open souvlaki, while tasty, was just bleh - maybe I was expecting more after the fantastic starters.  There was nothing wrong with it, it was just very standard.

Little creatures on tap, good coffee, and a great wine list were other bonuses.  The staff seemed knowledgeable about the wine - in fact it was about the only time we were able to get any interaction from the staff - when talking about the wine.  And they also offered a couple of samples of wines I was unsure about.  Overall, the service wasn't anything out of the ordinary, especially when they forgot one of the serves of saganaki and bought it out after everyone had finished their mains!

Would I go back - yes, just for the tapas.  Pity about the movie though!

Yarra Lounge

7 Ballarat St,

Yarraville

Request - Beef and Guinness Pie #1

Senor Collins requested a steak and Guinness pie, as apparently the establishments of Melbourne are not delivering for him.  He also suggested that I make a practice pie, to perfect the recipe, before it is tasted before himself and the esteemed critic, Mr Stow.  So this is the first attempt, based on a recipe by Jamie - see here - I did tweak it a little, and I was very pleased with the results.  I omitted the mushrooms, and most of the cheese.  Normally the thought of extra cheese in a dish wouldn't put me off, but I didn't know about all that cheese inside  a pie.  After filling the pie dish, I just added some grated cheese on top before topping with the pasty.  This was enough, and the top of the pie had a few gooey chunks of cheese which were delicious - see below.

I also added about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and 1/2 a tablespoon of soy sauce for some richness.  And once I had added the guinness, I also added 1 cup of beef stock, and then enough water to cover the meat.  Also, instead of adding flour directly into the sauce, I tossed the beef (I used chuck steak) in flour seasoned with salt, pepper and smokey paprika.  Instead of chopping the carrots, I grated them as I'm not sure that I like big chunks of vegies in pies.

Free Chocolate - no really!

Today I received in the mailbox a block of Nestle Dark Chocolate!  And the best part, it was totally free.  All you have to do is click here, enter a competition with Nestle to win a trip to Italy, and the first 7500 people to enter will receive a free block of chocolate in the mail.  The only catch is you can only have 1 block delivered at each address.

Home made pizza - yum!

For dinner last night we made pizza, which is such an easy way to feed a few people at once - although a second oven would be handy.  Or even better, a pizza oven (one day!).

Potato, caramelised onion and anchovy (top) and margareta

I used the same dough recipe I always use, courtesy of Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie at home' - recipe here.  I used my own tomato sauce recipe, which is simply to gently cook 3 crushed cloves of garlic in about a tablespoon of olive oil.  Add 2 tins good quality crushed tomatoes, 1-2tsp sugar, some torn basil leaves, and a good pinch of dried oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cook over a very low heat, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens.

Potato, onion and anchovy pizza

Drizzle base with olive oil, and scatter a small handful of mozzarella.  Spread some caramelised onion (see below for recipe), thinly sliced potato, and rosemary on top.  Finish with panchetta, and a tiny bit more cheese.  Cook at 170 deg celcius for approx 15 minutes or until you think it's done!  Once cooked, top with white anchovy fillets and rocket.

Margareta 

Spread tomato sauce around base.  Top with some torn basil leaves, torn or thinly sliced mozzarella, and bake at 170 deg celcius until starting to brown (around 15 minutes).  Top with prosciutto and rocket leaves once cooked.

Pork and Fennel sausage pizza

Pork and fennel sausage pizza

Prepare and bake as per margareta pizza, however before baking top with some crumbled or sliced home-made pork and fennel sausage, diced tomato, and shaved parmesan.  See below for sausage recipe

Salami and mushroom pizza 

Prepare and bake as per margareta recipe, however before baking add sliced mushrooms, and shaved salami slices.

Margareta (left) and salami and mushroom

Margareta again

Caramelised onions

Slice 1 large brown onion and 1 large red onion into thin rings.  Cook over a low heat in 1-2 tbsp of olive oil for around 15 minutes.  The onion should be very soft and dark.  Add 1 tbsp brown sugar and cook for a further five minutes or so.  

Turn any leftovers into onion jam by adding some balsamic vinegar and beef stock, and reducing gently until you get some gooey, sticky, jammy goodness.  

Pork and fennel sausage

1kg Pork shoulder (or another fatty cut of pork)

1 tbsp fennel seeds

3 garlic cloves

1 egg

1 tsp all spice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp red wine

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp smokey paprika

2 tsp fine sea salt

Load of cracked black pepper

Mince the pork in the medium hole of a grinder (or process in a food processor).  Dry-roast the fennel seeds in a frying pan over medium heat.  Mix the fennel seeds and pork mince with the other ingredients, and prepare sausages using your sausage maker instructions.  Alternately, for the pizzas you could simply fry the meat in the form of burger patties, then crumble over your pizza. 

If you have made sausages, place in a frypan and fill with COLD water (otherwise the sausage skins will burst).  Bring to a simmer and cook for around 5 minutes.  Remove from the pan, pat dry with paper towel.  Preheat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat in a frying pan, and add the sausages.  Cook until browned on each side.  

Baked Cheesecake - Raspberry and White Chocolate

As we hosted the fortnightly family dinner this weekend, and it was Sean's birthday this week, we made the requested birthday cake, which was baked cheesecake.

I had never made a baked cheesecake before, only 'death' cake (see photo here).  It turned out pretty well, except for a Grand Canyon sized crack that appeared while it was cooling in the oven.  I'm not too sure about why this happened, but after googling for apparent answers, I discovered that it's fairly common.  Maybe next time I'll try baking it in a water bath, although apparently it's not needed when you cool the cake down in the oven.  Anyway, it gave me an excuse to add even more unhealthy goodness to the cake.  This came in the form of a white chocolate and sour cream glaze, which filled in the cracks, and covered the surface of the cake.  I also finished it off with some raspberry coulis for good measure.

The cake went down extremely well with everyone, and I would definitely bake it again.  There is still half left in our fridge, however I am unsure as I feel about this, as I may just have to eat it!

The recipe was from taste.com.au - click here to go to their recipe

Mediterranean Feast Dinner

After an afternoon making the impossible to pronounce Sfogliatelle (see previous post), I thought I would make something that was easier to pronounce - so I chose Hobz biz-zejt!  Okay so maybe it wasn't easier to pronounce, however, it was about 100 times easier to make!  It also was the perfect starter to the osso bucco main that I already had in the oven, and the sfogliatellle dessert that I was in the process of making to complete the Mediterranean feast.

Hobz biz-zejt, described as a Maltese open sandwich, and translated as bread with oil, makes a quick, but impressive starter to any meal.

Hobz biz-zejt

Spread some thickly sliced, crusty bread with good quality tomato paste.  Sprinkle with salted capers.  Lay some white anchovy fillets on top of this.  Make sure you use good quality white anchovies in vinegar and oil, not the regular salty ones.  Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Garnish with some continental parsley, and finish with a drizzle of good quality EVOO.

Although it was incredibly easy to make, the hobz biz-zejt really let the individual ingredients shine, whilst still tasting good altogether.

I love cooking 'set and forget' type meals like Osso Bucco, where you can do some basic prep, and then pop it in the oven and let it slow cook for a while, allowing you to do something else (and clean)!

Osso Bucco with risotto and gremolata
Adapted from Food Safari by Maeve O'Meara
Serves 2




Ingredients

2 Osso bucco pieces (veal or beef)
2 large brown onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250mL red wine (good quality so you can drink the rest)
2 tins of good quality crushed tomatoes
2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 cup of beef stock
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra virgin Olive oil

Preheat oven to 160 deg celcius.  In a large heavy based dutch oven, heat a tablespoon of oil, and gently brown the osso bucco.  Remove once browned, and add the onion, anchovies, garlic and herbs and sweat for around five minutes.  Turn heat to high, and deglaze the pan with the wine.  Reduce until there almost all the wine had boiled off, and add the tomatoes and stock.  Bring to the boil, season to taste with salt and pepper, and add the shanks.  Place the lid on and place in the oven for approximately three hours, or until the meat is tender and can be broken apart with a fork.

For the gremolata:
Finely chop 2 cloves of garlic, 2 good quality anchovy fillets, 2 tbsp continental parsley, and 1 tsp lemon zest. Combine well.

Serve the osso bucco on top of risotto, topped with the gremolata.

Sfogliatelle

Well I thought macarons were tricky to get right until I tried to make these bad boys.  Sfogliatelle (I don't even know how to pronounce it) looked so unbelievably tasty on Food Safari Italian a few weeks ago, I had to try them.

See the recipe - somewhat unfinished - over here.  The amount of sugar to be added in the second step of the filling isn't mentioned.  I added 1/3 of a cup as a guess.  The filling didn't come out overly sweet, but I think they tasted pretty good.  Getting the pastry to the point you see below was fun, however pushing the discs out into a shell shape was extremely difficult to do neatly.  Adding more and more lard seemed to help.  I hate to think what the final fat content of these things was.  Also, keeping the window open and a cold breeze blowing in made the pastry easier to work with.

The pastry before pushed out into the shell shape

The filling

The filled shells waiting for the oven.  

The finished product! 

Fresh out of the oven, the pastry was so crisp, and the filling gooey.  However the next day, the pastry had lost all the crispiness, and they were generally disappointing!  Next time I think I'll try baking only a few and freezing the un-cooked ones.  I think a trip to Brunetti in Carlton is also warranted, just so I can see what the real thing is supposed to be like!

Macarons - Attempt #1

These things are tricky.  I spent hours studying recipes, and reading tips on the net for making these, and still the results were not what I had hoped for.  Yes, I let the egg whites rest, yes I tapped the tray on the bench, yes I rested the macarons before baking, yes I didn't over-beat the mixture.... and so on, and so forth.

I used this recipe from Gourmet Traveller - http://gourmettraveller.com.au/macarons2.htm - after sifting through many others.  Even though they are not the prettiest macarons, they still tasted pretty damn good!  I would have been happier if they were a bit taller - I'm not sure if this means I piped them incorrectly, or the mixture was not thick enough.  I was happy with the overall look, and much talked about 'feet' on them.  Next time I think I will flavour the actual macarons with cocoa or vanilla, and go for a plainer filling.

A few notes - they don't work when you bake them on foil (I ran out of baking paper!), and they don't take very well to the fridge!