the informal foodie

Mum's Chocolate Chip Biscuits

2011-10-18T02:35:00.000-07:00

These biscuits were something I loved eating when I was a kid. A simple recipe that is easy and quick to cook, and taste sensational. A good tip would be to make a double quantity as they get eaten pretty fast!!!

I guess 'technically' these are actually cookies and not biscuits, but we always called them biscuits as the term cookie sounds so awfully American!! Just before we get into the recipe, don't message me asking why the weights are so ridiculously specific....they have been converted from ounces to grams!! Also you could replace dark with white chocolate and add some macadamia nuts....You are only limited by your imagination....although I would steer clear of gherkins!!

Ingredients

114 g (4 oz.) Dark Chocolate [Old Gold, Lindt 70%] chopped roughly, leaving some good chunks

2 Tablespoons sugar

170 g (6 oz.) self raising flour

114 g (4 oz.) soft salted butter

2 Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

Method

Cream the butter, sugar and condensed milk. Add the self raising flour and chopped chocolate and combine. Roll into balls, about the size of a small golf ball, put onto a baking sheet and press down with a fork allowing some space for them to grow!

Cook at 180ºC for about 12-15 minutes, but be guided by them being just golden at the edges.

Bucatini

2011-07-16T22:24:00.001-07:00

454 Whitehorse Road

Mitcham

(03) 9873 0268

Having recently moved into the area we though we would try one of the local restaurants. I had eaten at this place years ago, and it was a 'La Porchetta' style suburban Italian place. Very casual and inexpensive. We decided to walk up and try it. Dressed in jeans and t shirts we walked in to find the place had changed. It was a bit 'fancy'!!

The waiter gave us a funny look and asked if we had reservation...It was a Tuesday night at about 6.30pm and the place was pretty much empty so it was an interesting question. I said no, and he found us a table. Service was quick and efficient, an the meals were good. Chicken Parmagiana and Lasagne were both good, but not amazing, The salad was fresh and the Garlic Focaccia from the adjoining take away pizza bar was great. Meals were less expensive than the Mitcham Hotel, just down the road, and the service was much better, the ambience was good, and it had the feeling of a bit of a special occasion restaurant that served non special occasion food!!

On returning on another night it was pretty busy and again we had good service and the meals were good, although the duck risotto with olives was a little weird. Unfortunately the duck flavour was overpowered by the olives, however the vegetable risotto we tested on the same night was very good.

Overall a good find in the suburbs, with fast service, and an over attentive owner, who was wandering around looking like he owned the place.... but I guess he does. His intent was good, but sometimes unnecessary and to be honest a little distracting.

Rating: 11/20

Roast Chicken

2011-07-10T00:12:00.001-07:00

I tried to capture the essence of a classic Sunday Roast Chicken, but with a little more finesse and a few extra ways of cooking the roast to normal. The added pea puree and light chicken jus rather than a thick gravy added a delicate element to what is usually a rustic dish. Plus it tasted great!!

Ingredients

2 Free Range Chickens

4 slices of prosciutto - Baked in oven till crisp.

4 cups peas

4 carrots

1 cup white wine

2 cups good chicken stock

handful of thyme

olive oil

butter

4 potatoes

2 lemons

2 Garlic cloves

Salt

Pepper

Method

Make sure the chicken is dry, cut off the wings, cut the tips and first joint off the wing and reserve for the sauce. Using a knife push the meat down the bone of the wing until it looks like a meat lollipop!!! Set them aside in the fridge. Now cut the thigh and legs from the chicken and separate the legs from the thigh. Thighs can be frozen for use on another day! In saucepan cover the legs with oil and heat it to 85ºC, and cook them for about 40minutes. Turn heat off and leave them in the oil for another 1/2 hour. Then refrigerate. The breasts, still on the frame of the chicken will be roasted on the crown. Stuff the cavity with thyme and lemon, and push butter, thyme, salt and pepper under the skin of each breast. Start cooking in a large pan on the cooktop, browning each breast and then sit up in the pan and put into the oven at 180ºC for about 20 minutes. Throw the garlic and reserved wing bones into the pan to roast as well.

Cut carrots and potatoes into small triangular wedges, or squares if you like! Make sure you choose a nice waxy potato that will hold its form! Boil Potato and carrot. Put potato in first and once cooked take out and throw carrot into the same water.

Boil peas until tender, reserve 1 cup, puree the rest in a blender, Season as required. Take the Chicken out of the oven and cover. Reserve the roasting pan with its juices!! In another frying pan brown the confit chicken legs and the potato pieces and on a griddle pan grill the wings. Once the legs and potatoes are browned put them into the oven to heat through.

Using the roasting pan, deglaze with white wine and add stock, turn the heat up and reduce until it thickens a little. Strain and add some butter and season as required [you might get some extra juices while carving the breast and removing it from the frame, add these to the sauce]. Heat the reserved peas with the carrots and strain.

Plating just requires you to lace all the elements as you see them in the photo above. Smear the puree, put the three pieces of chicken across the plate, and scatter the peas, carrots and potato. Drizzle over the sauce and scatter with fresh thyme sprigs. Don't forget the crispy prosciutto!

It sounds pretty complex but it is worth it....

Vue de Monde

2011-07-09T23:40:00.001-07:00

Dining at Vue de Monde would simply have to be the most exciting and complete culinary experience available in Melbourne. The whole experience from being seated to leaving the restaurant lived up to every expectation I had in my mind. We ate the Degustation Menu with matched wines, and it was not only delicious and perfectly cooked and presented, but challenged your concepts of food, and especially of wine matches. The Sommelier has done an extraordinary job of finding some amazing matches for some challenging dishes.

I cannot start to describe every dish we ate, or try to explain it on this blog. It would simply not do it justice. You must go. It is not cheap, for four of us it was about $1600.00, but it was awesome. We were taken on a tour of the kitchen, and on leaving were presented with take home bags with the makings of eggs on brioche for breakfast, along with some of their own tea blend, and home made cookies.

I have listed below the menu we ate along with the wines to match.

Rating 20/20

AMUSE BOUCHE

Lettuce & crayfish & Blue fin tuna & Vegetable terrine

BABEURRE, POMMES, FENOUIL, FLEURS

Buttermilk, apple, fennel, flowers

2007 Benjamin Leroux Puligny Montrachet AOC Cote de Beaune Burgundy, France

anguille fumÉe, pomme, chocolat blanc

Smoked eel, apple, white chocolate

FROMAGE DE CHÊVRE, PETIT POIS, LARD

Goat’s cheese, peas, bacon

OEUF DE CANARD,RIS D’AGNEAU, ASPERGES

Fried duck egg, lamb sweetbreads, asparagus

2006 Boekenhoutskloof Semillon Coastal Region WO Western Cape, South Africa

JARDIN DE LÉGUMES

Heide vegetable garden

1999 Leroy Bourgogne Blanc, Burgundy France

SORBET AU CELERI

Celery sorbet, elderflower granite, lime

ÉCREVISSE RÔTIE

Roasted marron, crab, radish

2009 Francois Labet Bourgogne AOC ‘Vieilles Vignes’ Burgundy, France

PORC, CHOCOLAT BLANC, POMME, THYM

Pork, white chocolate, apple, thyme

VENAISON

Venison, rosella, coffee, chocolate, lightly smoked at the table

2008 Achaval Ferrer Malbec Mendoza, Argentina

BŒUF DE BLACKMORE ET BETTERAVE

Blackmore wagyu beef cheek, beetroot, smoked marrow

2008 Battely Durif Beechworth, Victoria

FROMAGE

Maffra cloth matured cheddar, plum, rye bread

NV Ruinart Rosé Brut Reims Champagne AOC, France

ENTREMET SUCRÉ

Frozen lolly, popping candy, homemade lemonade

noix de macadamia, yahourt, canneberge

Macadamia, yoghurt, cranberry

2008 Michel Torino Don David Torrontes Reserve Cafayate, Argentina

mangue, ananas, soufflÉ À la noix de coco

Mango, pineapple, coconut soufflé

2009 Framingham Riesling ‘Noble’ Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand

NOTRE SÉLECTION DE CAFÉS, THÉS, INFUSIONS ET PETITS-FOURS

A selection of coffee, teas, infusions & petits-fours

The Boathouse - Lakes Entrance

2011-01-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

Lakes Entrance is a beautiful part of the world, and with the esplanade looking out onto fishing boats at their moorings, you can't help but crave some local seafood.

The Boathouse, on the esplanade, looks out from it's large glass windows onto the fishing boats, and at sunset there is no better place to sit and look forward to a local, fresh seafood feast in a stylish and modern dining room.

The large sign outside the restaurant boasts that it is rated in the top 10 seafood restaurants in the state. This was according to a list compiled by the Herald Sun, and I would strongly disagree with this rating.

Their website boasts a fine dining experience, however on arrival I was called mate [which I don't mind at all, but is counter to their suggestion of a fine dining experience], and I was seated at a chair that was in bad need of respringing.

On looking at the wine list I was stunned that not one of the wines had the vintage listed, and even more perplexing was the page listed as for the 'discerning' customer. This was a list of higher quality wines from some of our great winemakers, including Penfolds 'Grange' and 'St Henri'. Again there were no vintages listed....surely the discerning customer would demand these details at what they themselves are calling a 'fine dining' restaurant.

In asking what vintage the Narkooje Reserve Chardonnay was, I was asked to wait while she checked. She came back and said it was the 2008. On it's arrival it was the 2009 vintage, already open.... luckily this was also a good vintage and was a sensational wine, however the way it was handled was hardly 'fine dining'.

Entrees were excellent, however the oyster foam on my WA scampi added little to the dish, and the accompanying vegetables were underseasoned. The Wagu Beef Salad was also excellent, however was listed as being accompanied by a green and tomato salad with a horseradish dressing. There were no tomatoes present, and on looking at their website the menu listed no tomatoes....maybe a 'fine dining restaurant should ensure the menu we are ordering from is the same as the one the chef is cooking from!

Main course was also well conceived. The Flat Head Tails cooked three ways with three accomapanying sauces was excellent, and the Blue Eye Filet served on Prawn and Creme Fraiche risotto was also good. The accompanying seared scallops were some of the smallest I've seen, but were sweet and well cooked. The fish itself was overcooked and had several small bones. Again this dish was underseasoned.

Now came the fireworks. I wanted to have the cheese course instead of dessert, and the menu listed 3 cheeses from Tarago. Each was a seperate dish. I asked the waiter of I could have a selection of all three cheeses, or at least two. He said NO. It was "...against the rules". His excuse was that the chef had the pieces precut in the kitchen and could'nt make smaller versions. I asked then to have all three cheeses, but since they would all come together, maybe at a reduced price. The cheeses were$15 per dish. Maybe 2 for $25 seemed fair... NO...the waiter explained...."this is a fine dining restaurant where you can't change the menu" Now I would have thought the opposite. Surely changes are more possible in a fine dining experience, trying to please the customer. Not long ago we ate at Vue de Monde, and any change was quickly and effortlessly made with a smile. At the Boathouse...NO was their favourite answer. I went ahead and ordered all three, at the price of $45. The most expensive cheesboard in Lakes Entrance! or perhaps even Victoria It arrived and we waited for the other dish to arrive, a chocolate tart..we waited and waited. Finally it came with some half baked excuse.

If a restaurant suggests to its diners that it is fine dining, tells them at the dining table and plasters it on the sign out the front, they had better follow through with some great food and excellent service. The Boathouse does not. We had to ask constantly for our water to be filled, and the table next to us had their empty beer bottle from before dinner, still cluttering the table at the end of their meal. The diners too were unhappy with the service they were given. At the very beginning of the evening when it was quite empty the phone rang and a customer was enquiring for a table for the evening. The waiter spoke loudly and firmly that there was no chance of a table for this evening, however by the end of the evening there were at least 4 tables that were never sat at. If I owned this restaurant I would be furious that the waiter turned paying customers away.

Rating: 5/20

Christmas Lunch

2010-12-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

Christmas Lunch is always a challenge. Lots of mouths to feed, often a tight time line, and coordinating everything so it is on the plate at the same time...Our menu this year was....

Roast Whole Turkey with stuffing

Ham

Green Beans with Onion, Bacon and Almonds

Crushed potatoes

Roast Butternut Pumpkin

Turkey and stuffing

This recipe came from my mum, and I'm pretty sure that it was the way my grandmother prepared Christmas dinner. My brother and myself have both used this with great success on various Christmas days. [This recipe feeds about 14 people] Dinner time is set for 1.30pm.

Ingredients

1 Whole Turkey [we used an 8kg fresh Turkey]

20 rashers middle bacon

Stuffing Ingredients

1 1/2 cups chopped ham

3 cups breadcrumbs

salt and pepper

3 spoons melted butter

750g sausage meat

3 beaten eggs

2 slices of white bread

Method

8.45am

Wake up and go straight to the Kitchen. Preheat the oven to 160ºC on the Fan Forced setting.

Firstly make the stuffing. Mix together all the ingredients above and place inside both cavities [front and back] Once stuffed cover the cavities with a slice of bread to hold the stuffing in place. Tie the turkey legs together and string the wings close to the body of the bird. Cover the outside of the turkey, including the legs, with the bacon rashers. This helps keep the turkey moist throughout it's lengthy ordeal in the oven!

9.15am

Grease the roasting an with a little oil and place the turkey in the oven

12.00pm

Remove the bacon from the outside of the turkey and return the turkey to the oven. I normally chomp on some of the crispy bacon bits while I start to get the vegetables ready.

12.30pm

Remove the turkey from the oven and wrap it n foil and a blanket.

1.30pm

Carve. I like to remove the breasts from the turkey in two whole pieces and then slice them into individual large medallions. This keeps the meat warm during serving and maintains its moisture. Plus it's easier.... and looks great.

Gravy is made with the nice cooked on bits in the bottom of the pan with some stock, flour butter and wine.

Serve the turkey in the centre of the plate with the sliced stuffing and leg ham along with a good slosh of piping hot gravy. Put your vegetables [beans,potatoes,pumpkin] in a couple of bowls and put them on the table for the guests to serve themselves. Not only does this add to the festive food sharing environment, it also makes your job easier as you don't have to divide everything up in the kitchen.

'Unfried' Chicken

2010-06-03T04:37:00.000-07:00

This dish is a winner on so many levels. It's low fat but tastes high fat. It's easy, but looks like it took you ages. It's cheap but you'd pay good money for it. It's delicious hot for dinner and even more delicious cold for a picnic.

Ingredients

8 pieces of chicken, legs and breasts (cheaper option joint a whole chicken)

2 cups Bread crumbs

Herbs and spices

(you can choose anything like thyme parsley pepper and lemon rind.

I really like cajun spice mix with some fresh parsley)

No Fat Yoghurt

Iced water

1 cup Flour

Salt and Pepper

Spray oil

Method

Take the skin off the pieces of chicken and immerse in a big bowl of water full of ice blocks. You cannot miss this step. Mix about 2 cups of crumbs with 1 cup of flour and add your herbs and spices. You will need a good handful of chopped fresh herbs if using these. Add dry spices to taste. Also add 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.

Have your breading in a bowl and your yoghurt in a bowl. Take the chicken out piece by piece from the water, pat dry, and dip in yoghurt to cover. Then gently roll in the bread mix and place on baking paper on an oven tray. The chicken must be cold or the yoghurt will not stick to the chicken flesh! Once all of the chicken pieces are coated and on the tray, spray them lightly with the oil and put them in a 200ºc oven. You need to turn them every 15 minutes and repeat the spraying with oil until they have been in for about 60min and golden brown.

Take them out and sprinkle with a little sea salt. They are great served with lemon cous cous and a spinach salad.

Kermonds Hamburgers

2010-06-03T04:20:00.000-07:00

Most of my blogs are descriptive and detailed, however I don't think there are words to describe why these burgers are just so good. The shop is just a shop, but the burgers are more than just a burger.

It's sounds like a long way to for fast food.......but it's worth it.

You must eat one of these burgers. The end!

Rating: 20/20

Mercer's Restaurant

2010-06-03T03:24:00.000-07:00

732 Main Road

Eltham

03 9431 1015

Mercer's has been a constant on the restaurant landscape in Melbourne for over ten years, and in 2010 was awarded one hat by the Age Good Food Guide.

Driving past this restaurant it always looks inviting, warm lights radiating from it's homely windows, and surrounded by lush gardens. On entering the restaurant you have a feeling of being welcomed into someone's home. On a crisp Autumn evening the temperature was perfect inside and the aroma's wafting from the kitchen were mouthwatering.

The menu read well. Options of a la carté or degustation were both inviting, and the descriptions on the menu were well written. Degustation menu for food matched with wine was a very reasonable $128. The a la carté menu was 2 courses for $58 or 3 for $72 for food only. A combination of imaginative modern Australian food was on offer. An interesting mix of French techniques with some influences from Asia, Britain, Europe and even the Middle East.

The wine list offered good selections from Australia and around the world, with many choices available at very reasonable prices.

Entrees included Tandoori Marinated Quail, Onion Soup with Cognac, Crisp Pork Belly with Scallops and Black Beans and A Roma Tomato Tart Tatin. The Pork belly and scallops was fantastic. The striking plating showcased the jet black bean puree and the scallop was cooked perfectly. The menu promised crispy skinned pork, however the crackle was more chewy than I was hoping for. The quail was well cooked however didn't really taste like it had any tandoori marinade treatment at all. Having said this it did not need the marinade to be a successful dish. The onion marmalade was fantastic however the whole dish was upstaged by the accidental hero.... The potato bourek! This potato fried pastry originating from eastern Europe was so delicious I could have eaten a whole plate of them.

Main course offered dishes like Kangaroo fillet with braised tail, Hapuka Fillet with lentils, Duck Breast with Khmer style Curry and Black Angus Scotch Fillet with Guinness braised beef and mushy peas. All meals were plated beautifully. The Beef Fillet was cooked to perfection and was well matched with the braised beef and peas. The accompanying salad of roasted vegetables with Persian feta was almost a meal by itself.

The service throughout was well paced and attentive. Dessert plates were well presented, displaying good modern styling combined with classic winning flavours. The raspberry brulleé was light and not too sweet, and had a good crunch on top. Cheese selections were enticing with choices from Normandy, Holland and Gippsland winning my attention.

Overall a great place to enjoy good food and wine in a warm and cosy environment.

Rating: 15/20

Della Nonna, Kew

2009-12-29T22:24:00.000-08:00

844 Glenferrie Road

Hawthorn Vic

03 9819 6444

Last night I visited a relatively new restaurant in the suburbs of Melbourne. Della Nonna is on Glenferrie Road in Hawthorn, near the corner of Barkers Road. I had read a review in the Age by Matt Preston and decided I'd try it some day.

Well, that day was yesterday. I had looked on a couple of other blogs at customer reviews, with a range of 1/10 to 10/10, I figured it probably came down to what the person writing the review expected from the place.

I had no expectations, other than a good Italian meal in a local suburban restaurant. On arrival we were seated in the courtyard. Walking through the restaurant proper, it was very loud and crowded, and considering the warm weather we are having I was happy to be seated outside. The courtyard was interesting...only big enough for about 16 diners, and sharing the space with the entrance to the toilet (not so cleverly disguised behind a curtain) and surrounded by two storey walls of neighbouring shops. All of this aside, once it was dark and the tea light on the table shone, it was kind of OK. Not somewhere you would say, 'Wow that courtyard was great', but it was...OK.

Now, the food and service. We were quickly offered drinks and had our water filled. Good sour dough bread and excellent EVO and balsamic was served. The pizza menu looked good, boasting a woodfired oven and crispy thin bases, we ordered the meatball pizza, and it was fantastic. Not too much sauce, crisp base and great meat balls. If anything it was little underseasoned, but a very good pizza nonetheless. We also snacked on the warmed baby olives with rosemary and almonds which were excellent.

The menu is very large, and traditionally laid out offering all of the pasta, pizza, fish, meat and chicken dishes you would expect, but up one level from your typical Italian eatery. The penne with pork meatballs was rich and delicious.

The special risotto for the day was Salami, Panchetta, Olives and Tomatoes. It was well presented, spread wide on a big plate. It was creamy and rich and tasted of everything you would expect, however on two of three plates served at our table there were no olives. Ooops.

Dessert offerings were Zabaglione with stone fruit, Strawberry Calzone and Affogato to name a few. But the Tiramisu was screaming to be eaten. Served at the table from a big bowl, it was light and fresh.

Overall, the experience at Della Nonna was very good, offering a little more than most local suburban restaurants deliver in good Italian cuisine.

Rating: 13/20

Masterchef Dessert. Lemon Curd Layer Cake

2009-12-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

Stephanie Alexander created this cake and it was used as test for Masterchef Australia. Click here for the link to the recipe. This is the second Masterchef dessert cooked in theinformalfoodie kitchen.

It is a fantastic dish. I think the thing I like most about it was it was not too sweet. If you are a sweet tooth, this dish is probably not for you, as it is quite tart. But the lemon and passionfruit flavour drives right through it, and the softness of the layered crepes offers a really different and interesting texture. If you prefer a sweeter dessert just add sugar to the cream and jelly mixture.

Although there are many elements involved in preparing this dessert, overall it is not as complex as it looks. Probably the trickiest bit was getting the crepes the right size, however the layering between the lemon curd and cream hides most imperfections. Without a blast chiller you need more time for the fillings to set, preferably overnight.

Chicken with Thyme, Leeks, and Bacon

2009-12-22T19:41:00.000-08:00

This is a great everyday meal, but is also a fantastically easy dish for a dinner party. The combination of flavours is perfection, and it is easy and quick to cook and prepare.

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken breasts

2 medium sized leeks

250g piece of bacon/kaiserflaiche/speck

1 cup wine

1/2 cup chicken stock [if required]

70g butter

1 handful of fresh thyme

Salt

Pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 190ºC.

Prepare the chicken fillets by pressing the thyme onto each side along with some salt and pepper. In a moderately hot open pan big enough to fir four breasts, heat a little oil and add the bacon lardons, cooking them until they just start to crisp. Turn the pan up to high and add the breast, browning one side for about 5 minutes. Turn, splash over the wine and put into the oven to cook for about 10 minutes.

Now chop the leeks into fine rounds, wash thoroughly and cook in a closed saucepan with the butter over a low heat, stirring occasionally until leeks are soft. Season with salt as needed. Keep warm with the lid on.

By now the chicken will be cooked and there should be a little reduced wine in the pan along with the bacon and other pan juices. If it looks a bit dry add a splash of chicken stock to deglaze and using the back of a spoon work into a sauce.

Serve the buttery leeks on the plate topped with the chicken and served with the sauce. Little baby boiled potatoes are an

excellent accompaniment to this dish. Enjoy!

Utsav Indian Restaurant, Heathmont

2009-12-22T19:17:00.000-08:00

UTSAV

indian restaurant

155 Canterbury Road

Heathmont

03 9876 8664

Utsav is a new restaurant in the Heathmont Village shoping centre on Canterbury Road. In an area not known for its great restaurants, Utsav is a shining light, offering great Indian cuisine, at a good price, along with excellent service.

On arrival it was clear that the waiter understood that for a new restuarant to succeed in an outer suburb, every customer needed to be treated as a local, and potential regular. Without this sort of clientelle, a restaurant like Utsav would suffer a slow death. Swiftly seated and offered an Indian beer, we sat and looked through the menu. No suprises on the menu, classics like Onion Fritters, Samosa, Tandoori Chicken, Butter Chicken, Beef Vindaloo, Kormas etc etc.

Now at some Indian restaurants you think 'here we go again', and the dishes are unexciting and run of the mill. However the food arrived in good sized portions and obviously prepared with care and skill. Lamb curries with generous amount of meat, and meat cooked slowly to perfection. The bread was might and fluffy and not too oily, and rice was plentiful and well cooked.

The presentation was banquet style and the service was fantastic. Water was always full and the waiter made sure drinks were offered throughout the meal. Overall a fine version of good classic Indian cuisine.

Rating: 13/20

The Beachhouse, Barwon Heads

2009-12-22T18:45:00.000-08:00

B E A C H H O U S E

b a r w o n h e a d s

No doubt, Barwon Heads is a great place for a summer break. Only about 1 hour from Melbourne, the beaches, shops, restaurants and general feel of the place is relaxing and low key.

One of the retaurant in the main street in town is Beachhouse. With an open deck at the front and high ceiling inside, the feeling is open, airy and summery. On the Friday night we were there the deck was in high gear, packed with holiday makers enjoying the sun and the cold beers. With big windows that fully open to the street the restaurant had a good busy feeling.

The restaurant menu started with a list of tapas, including prosciutto wrapped prawns, house made dim sims, thai curry spring rolls and oysters just name a few. The dim sims were great however the spring rolls filling was a little too runny to allow tapas style eating [with the fingers] The banana mayonaisse they were accompanied by was good by itself however added little to the spring rolls. If anything the mayo detracted from the experience.

For main course the menu offered dishes like paella, duck, fresh seafood along with a selection from the grill. The rib eye looked appealling, served with gratin potato and green beans. On arrival the steak was served medium, however I had ordered it rare. The waitress quickly offered to have it replaced, and in about 20 minutes my steak arrived perfectly cooked. The wine list included many local wines from the Bellarine Peninsula, and the cocktail list offered some very tantalising summery options.

Overall the restaurant delivered everything it promised, and even with a poorly cooked steak the first time, the service in dealing with this was without fault.

Rating 12/20

The Convent Bakery Bread Making Workshop

2009-12-22T17:39:00.000-08:00

The Convent Bakery

Abbotsford Convent

1 St Helliers Street

Abbotsford

03 9419 9426

Recently my brother organised for both of us to go to the Abbotsford Convent Bakery to tale part in a Bread Making Workshop.

On arrival you sit down to a freshly made latte, and wait to get into the full day of kneading, baking, eating and more.

The convent bakery uses the old ovens the nuns used to run in their day to day lives cooking for the convent and all of it's inhabitants. Although the ovens were not specifically made for the baking of bread, the results we encountered on the day were amazing.

Our instructor for the day was chef Dan Thyer, and the course started with making scones for our morning tea, and they were magnificent. The secret to a good scone is not to overwork the flour. we sat down and ate these with whipped cream, jam and another coffee at a big table with all the other particpants.

Scones

400 gm self raising flour
30 gm sugar
pinch of salt
40 gm butter
250 ml milk
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and with clean hands. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch (1cm) cubes. Rub the butter through the flour mixture until you get a consistency like bread crumbs. Add the milk. Don't over mix, just gently bring it all together otherwise you will over-develop the gluten in the flour and the scones will be tough. At this point you can add other flavourings like fruit or spices. Divide the mixture i

nto 10 portions and roll each portion in to a ball. These can be rested for up to half an hour if you don't want to bake them straight away. Bake for 12 -15 minutes.

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Next was pizza dough! I decided to make half white/ half wholemeal and result was great. One of the best tips I received from Dan in making the pizza was sprinkling a fine layer of semolina on the tray underneath your dough. Not only does it stop the pizza sticking, it gives an extra crunch to the base.

Pizza Dough
500 gm plain flour (or wholemeal flour)
10 gm salt
25 gm sugar
60 ml olive oil
15 gm instant yeast (25 gm for wholemeal)
320 ml cold water
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. With both hands, mix it until it forms a ball of dough. Take the dough from the bowl and place it on the bench. Knead the dough for a further 15 minutes until the dough is developed. Place the dough back in the bowl and cover it for a further 2 hours so it can proof. Split the dough into 2 or 3 pieces according to what size pizza/calzone you are making. Flatten the dough to fit the shape of your tray. Baste the dough with garlic flavoured olive oil then pizza tomato sauce, leaving a half inch border around the edge. Cover the pizza with your choice of toppings (I used pepperoni, fresh tomato, artichoke, marinated red peppers and olives) then sprinkle over cheese. Don't over-do it with the topping or you will have a soggy pizza. Bake at 230°C for 12 - 15 minutes.

For the calzone, only cover half of the dough with topping. Fold the unfilled half over the filled half and press the edges together. Cut 3 to 4 slits in the top of the calzone to let the steam escape and bake as for pizza above.

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Now down to the serious business of baking a real loaf. I have had some success with this at home already, and had put the limited success down to an inferior oven. However during the course I realised that the kneading, proofing and shaping techniques I had been using were the problem. Firstly finding the right balance of moisture in the mixture is vital. While the amounts in the recipe are correct, you need to go by feel. If it is too dry, the dough will not knead as freely, and if it is too wet it will be too hard to handle. If in doubt wetter is better!

The other thing that helped the bread taste fantastic was using a real sourdough culture [levain] The starter we used at the class was the convents own culture that has been alive for about 10 years. There is apparently a bakery in San Fransisco that has one that has been alive for over 100 years!

To make your own starter culture click here. This link is pretty good and offers sound advice. I have yet to make my own culture but I plan too very soon.

The final difference I discovered in making great bread was how you shape your loaf. Once it has proofed, you roll it out into a rectangle and then fold it over on itself like you were starting to make a paper aeroplane, then roll it up, turn it on its side, and push the sides down to make one join at the bottom. The shape it and leave to proof. finally you can cut the top to add shape and also to control the cracking that is inevitable.

---------------------------------

White Sourdough
500 gm baker's white flour
10 gm salt
85 gm levain (sourdough culture)
30 ml olive oil
10 gm instant yeast
1 small pinch vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
300 ml cold water
Mix and form dough then place on the bench and knead for 15 - 20 minutes. Place the dough into a bowl sprayed with olive oil and cover for 2 hours for proofing. Your dough should double in size during this time. Place the dough on the bench and give 10 minutes to rest before molding into shape then final proofing for 45 minutes. Bake at 210°C for 30 - 35 minutes.

Rye Sourdough
700 gm white baker's flour
300 gm rye meal
20 gm salt
200 gm rye levain
70 ml olive oil
20 gm instant yeast
1 tiny pinch vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
650 ml cold water
Mix and form dough then place on the bench and knead for 15 - 20 minutes. Place the dough into a bowl sprayed with olive oil and cover for 2 hours for proofing. Your dough should double in size during this time. Place the dough on the bench and give 10 minutes to rest before molding into shape then final proofing for 45 minutes. Bake at 210°C for 30 - 35 minutes.

---------------------------------

Overall I would highly recommend this workshop.

Urbanspoon Rocks

2009-12-22T17:31:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have an iPhone, UrbanSpoon is a great App. It has reviews of restaurants and helps find good places near your location.

Click here to go visit the iTunes store to download for free!

You can also read all of theinformalfoodie reviews at UrbanSpoon as well.

The Apartment

2009-09-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

401 Little Bourke Street

Melbourne CBD

(03) 9670 4020

Last week I was asked by some friends to come along to hear the Daryl McKenzie Jazz Orchestra. A great Melbourne big band [formerly the Australian Show Band]. $10 cover charge or $35 with a two course dinner? That was a pretty easy question to answer, not only do I get to eat, but I get a seat....

The venue is stylish and slick, nice big dining chairs, lots of soft furnishings in browns and dark red, and retro style lamps hanging into the sunken restaurant below street level. I'm not sure why it's called The Apartment, because it doesn't feel or look like one, for a start it would

be the only apartment in Melbourne without one window, but it is a cool name!

The set menu was small, and included three choices of each course. The Escabeche of seafood looked very pretty on the plate and was a good size for what can be a rich dish. Unfortunately the waiter had trouble explaining to our table what an Escabeche was. His explanation was it was raw seafood in oil.. sounds yummy... when in fact it is, and was on the night, a mixture of cooked and poached and pickled seafood marinaded in acidulants like citrus and vinegar. At least the chef knew what it was! I think the waiter was thinking of Cheviche, which is a raw seafood dish treated in a similar way. Another entree, the fig and rocket salad was small but effective, however was screaming for some cheese to be added somewhere on the plate.

Mains were well sized and prepared. The pasta of mushrooms in beurre blanc was good, however was underseasoned. The Braised beef was served with a good dollop of mash, however with only a small portion of meat it was a shame that in my piece there was a big, beautifully braised piece of fat. Now I like fat, but this was too much. The Chicken roulade, wrapped in prosciutto was beautifully presented, however the risk with this style of presentation [chicken in a small tight roll] is that it is difficult to cook without drying, and the chef managed to extrude every drop of moisture from the flesh. You could see before it was even cut. Simply overcooked. With all this said, the service was fantastic. Waiters were attentive at all times, with my water glass never allowed to empty.

The band is amazing. Made up from all the best players in Melbourne coming together on their one night off from theatre shows and tour concerts to play music they want to play. You can buy their album here. It is great.

At the end of the night I was desperate for a coffee and what arrived at the table was burned and cold...however the head waiter saw my twice sipped coffee sitting there and asked if it was OK. I explained and he offered to make a new one for me. Why not. The next was at least palatable, and again reinforced the level of service at this establishment.

Overall it was a great environment, and a fantastic place to hear the big band. I normally only give one rating, but I am going to give three this time.

Rating

Food 11/20

Service 18/20

Band 20/20

Braised Pork with Sweet Soy, Cinnamon and Star Anise

2009-09-23T16:06:00.001-07:00

This recipe was easily the best dish I cooked at the Sticky Rice Cooking School. It has amazing flavour, and is tender and morish. Simply put, you must try this, it is so easy....

Ingredients

2 tblspoons vegetable oil

4 red shallots (finely sliced) normal french shallots work as well

2 small red chillies (finely chopped)

750kg pork shoulder or neck (cut into 2cm cubes)

4 tblspoons ginger (peeled and finely julienned)

*informalfoodietip - use a teaspoon to peel ginger.. it works so easily,

just scrape with the blade of the spoon!

3 tblspoons kecap manis

2 tblspoons light soy

1 tblspoon dark palm sugar

1 cup chicken stock

1 cinamon stick

2 star anise

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 long red chilli (finely julienned)

2 green shallots/spring onions (finely julienned)

Method

Heat the oil and fry the shallots, garlic and small chillies in a large wok or cast iron casserole for a few minutes until starting to brown. Then add the pork and cook over high heat until sealed.

Now add all remaining ingredients except the julienned large chilli and spring onions. Simmer genty on the stove top for about 1 1/4 hours. Add more stock if it looks a bit dry, but the final sauce should be reduced and sticky!

Stir in half of the reserved chillies and spring onions and cook for 15 more minutes. Serve garnished with remaining chilli and onions with rice.

Helenic Republic

2009-09-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

Hellenic Republic

434 Lygon Street

BRUNSWICK

(03) 9381 1222

The latest restaurant I was interested in visiting in Melbourne was the recently opened, Hellenic Republic. The restaurant is another venture started by George Calombaris of Masterchef fame.

It was a late seating at 8.45, but the restaurant was still humming. The setting was fantastic, big tables with little wooden chairs, an open kitchen, and a feeling of light earthy colours was a great mix of informality and occasion at the same time.

Service was swift and efficient, with our cargo pant clad waitress quickly seating us and taking our drinks order. On looking at the wine list there was a good selection of inexpensive Greek wines. The one recommended to us was fantastic. It was about $50 for the bottle. I think it was Paraga, a light red blend.

We decided on a banquet, or as listed on the menu a Trapezi Beta. It was about $60 per head. We started with an entree of small tastes including Saganaki with figs, some cured meats and a seafood croquette that was amazing. This was followed by salads including a beetroot and yoghurt salad, various dips and breads. The salmon from the grill was cooked to perfection and the lemon yoghurt sauce it came with was served in little bottle sitting in an ice bucket with flowers. I guess they were trying to set the feeling of home style country Greece, however it felt a little contrived considering I wasn't sitting in a whitewashed seaside retreat on one of the Greek islands, rather at the very untrendy end of Lygon Street.

The flame grilled meats were tender and well flavoured and were accompanied by a beautifully creamy Tzatsiki, and some handcut potatoes that you could not stop eating. At this stage I realised that the Trapezi menu, while giving you a taste of everyting, was actually too much food, even for me!! We still had dessert and fruit to come.

Overall the experience and Hellenic Republic was excellent. Service was good and the food was amazing. I would recommend that you make some careful choices from the menu, and not order the banquet. Maybe 5 mixed Mezethakia(small tastes) and a salad, followed by the meat or seafood, and a plate of fruit to end.

Another positive is that there is nothing else around, so parking is simple.

Rating: 15/20

Stuffed Baby Capsicum with Tallegio Cheese Sauce

2009-08-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

This is a fantastic entree for vegetarians, but could be a main using a full sized capsicum. It is inspired by a dish I ate at Stefano's in Mildura.

Ingredients

4 baby red capsicums

1 cup cooked lentils (if running out of time use canned lentils, but be careful of salt levels)

1 cup of fresh bread crumbs using day old bread (just tear or cut it roughly)

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 egg

1/2 clove garlic (minced)

Extra virgin olive oil

freshly chopped basil and parsley

1 handful of pine nuts

Salt and pepper

150g Tallegio Cheese (Italian soft cheese)

3/4 cup cream

1 1/2 cups cous cous

equal quantity of vegetable stock

1 handfull of chopped silverbeet

Method

First, cook the lentils in salted water until just tender. Drain them and let them cool.

Cut the top off each baby capsicum and using a teaspoon clean out the insides of the pepper including seeds and membrane.

Mix all the remaining ingredient together and stuff the capsicums to abut 1cm overfilled. Replace the lid loosely and bake in an oven at 180ºC for about 20 minutes.

While they are cooking place the cheese in a pan with half the cream and melt until a sauce consistency. Add more cream to taste, depending on how strong you like the cheese sauce.

At the same time pour hot stock over the cous cous, give it a stir in a bowl and cover. After about 5 minutes add the chopped silverbeet and stir in with a little olive oil and replace the cover.

To serve place cous cous on the plate, topped with the baby capsicums, and dress with the sauce.

Masterchef Final Dessert

2009-07-25T01:05:00.000-07:00

Last night we decided to cook the dessert in the final from Masterchef. The Aria Chocolate Tart!!

I had to cook 6, not just one, and serve main course, drinks, clean the house, all after coming home from work. Plus I had a real estate agent visit from 5 till 5.30 to appraise our house, just as I was rolling the base for the tart!!!

Maybe that could be on next years final as part of the test!!

I do have to say that the recipe was not specific in many ways. I followed it to the letter and many of the ingredient measurements are incorrect. For instance the amount of 'Glacage' the recipe yields would be enough for probably 40 desserts, thus wasting copious amount of very expensive chocolate. As the recipe stands from the Masterchef website, all the ingredients cost $85.00. I am pretty sure I only used about half or a third of the total ingredients in creating the dish, and ended up throwing out large amount of left over mixtures etc...

At some stage I will post a more accurate recipe to serve four people [all recipe's on this site are for 4].

I have to say the result was fantastic and the chocolate taste was unbelievable, not sweet, but a genuine cocoa hit... The balance of sweet and bitter was great and the different textures in the dish was a highlight.

I made the chocolate tubes using rolled up gladbake. [I made 6 tubes of glad bake with sticky tape holding them into a tube, then used a small strip of gladbake to smear the tempered chocolate onto. Then I slid this into the tubes and it set beautifully] It even had that 'crack' they were so fussy about on the final..

Overall, it was great fun to cook and serve, and my guests definitely enjoyed the dish. We ate it with a bottle of 2004 De Bortoli Noble One, which balanced perfectly with the sweetness of the wine against the bitter cocoa notes of the tart.

The Spirit House - Yandina, QLD

2009-07-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

20 Ninderry Rd

Yandina, QLD

(07) 5446 8994

This restaurant is about 1 hour out of Brisbane, and is well worth the visit. The food is exceptional, and the setting is even better. The restaurant is nestled in an asian rainforest setting, with lizards and birds all around you. You'll be happy to know that none of them are dangerous and most don't eat your food. The restaurant has won many awards and is graced with the skills of some exceptional chefs. Amongst them is chef Katrina Ryan, former Head Chef in Neil Perry's Rock Pool restaurant and personal chef for such starts and Tom Cruis and Nicole Kidman.

On our visit to the Spirit House, we encountered some amazing food that truly displayed the restaurants claim of contemporary asian cuisine in a serene setting. Entrees of fried sweet potato and ginger noodle balls with an amazing tamarind dipping sauce along with a salad of ginger chilli caramel chicken with crispy noodles. While the chicken sald was cooked to perfection, the fried noodle balls were a little underdone, with the the sweet potato batter remaining a bit pasty and floury.

Main course we tasted were the signature dish, whole crispy fish and then wagu beef red curry. The fish was extraordinary. So crisp and beautifully presented. The beef was tender and braised to an amazing consistency, however it was almost too rich, with the combination of the wagu beef and the rich creamy sauce.

For dessert we ordered the tasting plate which included such flavours as gingerbread icecream, pineapple and palm sugar crumble and a pink peppercorn meringue topped with saffron fairy floss. Truly modern and truly delicious.

Overall the experience at the Spirit House was fantastic. A must do if you are in area, or even worth going up just to experience the setting. The best time is in summer with more wildlife about, but with Queenslands mild winters, any time of year is great for this outdoor eating experience.

Rating: 16/20

Fillet of Beef with Prosciutto and Porcini Mushrooms

2009-07-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1kg whole fillet of beef

10-12 slices of Prosciutto

3 garlic cloves (peeled)

1 handful of dried porcini mushrooms soaked in 300ml of boiling water

3 knobs of butter

Lemon juice

Salt and pepper

3 handfuls of fresh thyme and rosemary

150ml red wine

Method

This is a great dish by Jamie Oliver.. Can't remember which book it came from but it is a cracker!! Preheat your oven and an appropriately sized roasting tray to 230°C.

Lay out the prosciutto, ensuring there are no gaps between the slices. Chop one of the garlic cloves and fry with the pre-soaked porcini in 1 knob of butter for about 1 minute. Then add half of the soaking water (make sure it is grit free). Simmer slowly and reduce for around 5 minutes before stirring in a squeeze of lemon, the remaining 2 knobs of butter and seasoning.

Spoon the mushroom mixture across half of the laid-out prosciutto. Season your fillet of beef and roll it in the herbs. Place it on the mushroomy end of the prosciutto and slowly roll up the meat. Once the beef is rolled up, pull off the paper and push in the ends of the prosciutto to neaten. Lightly secure with string.

Place the fillet in the hot roasting tray with a couple of cloves of garlic and cook for 23-30 minutes (rare), 40 minutes (medium), 50 minutes (well done) or 60 minutes (cremated!). Half way through, add the wine to the tray. When the meat is done, remove it to a chopping board and leave it to rest for 15 minutes. Pour any juices back into the roasting tray. Simmer the juices on the stovetop, scraping all the goodness from the sides of the tray. Remove from the heat and serve as a light red wine gravy. Slice the fillet as thick or as thin as you like and serve with some mashed potatoes or some wilted greens.

Kanteen, South Yarra - Review

2009-07-09T21:49:00.001-07:00

150 Alexandra Avenue

South Yarra

(03) 9827 0488

Kanteen is in probably the best spot in Melbourne to sit and a have a coffee. Easy to park, easy to find, great view. Unforunately everyone else in Melbourne thinks so too... which means it's always busy!! On the weekend there is nothing better than to jump on your bike and ride along the Yarra and stop in for a quick coffee hit. The place is completely unpretentious and is obviously driven by the proprietors passion for great coffee and food.

As far as I'm concerned this cafe makes the best coffee in Melbourne. Always served exactly as you asked for it, not too hot and never bitter. Having said it is always busy, the best time to visit is on a weekday. Try to get away from work for a little time out by the river. You always get a seat and the service is much faster than on the weekends.

Their egg speciality is poached eggs on a cheese melt [ham, cheese and tomato on rye bead]. On my last visit I had the spanish baked eggs. This was just about the best breakfast dish I have ever eaten!!!! Designed to perfection it encompasses a small baking dish with a layer of bread in the bottom, with eggs, chorizo, goats cheese and chives. The eggs were cooked to perfection and the chorizo added just the right amount of heat. All finished off with the tart creamyness of the goast cheese. Fantastic.

Rating: 15/20 [19/20 for the coffee]

The remains of my Spanish Eggs!

Chicken with Potatoes and Oregano

2009-07-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

This dish has been adapted from a recipe I saw Jamie Oliver cook on one of his shows. It has evolved a little from his version. I hope you like it. The best thing about this dish is using just one dish, and from it you have your meat, vegetables and sauce. It is a great everyday meal, but lated with care it can be used at a pretty special dinner.

Ingredients

6 Chicken thigh fillets

1 punnet of cherry tomatoes

12 smallish potatoes

1 handful of fresh oregano

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

4 cloves of garlic

Sea salt

Pepper

Method

Set oven to 200ºC. Boil the potatoes till almost tender [a little bit under done]. Just before you take them out, use a sharp knife to prick each cherry tomato and drop them into the water with the potatoes. Let them cook for about 1 minute, then drain tomatoes and potatoes. To save on washing up I use a large cast iron casserole dish or roasting tray, about 10 x 20cm. If you don't have one, buy one! Or use a fry pan for the next step. In the cast iron dish (I'll assume you bought one), brown the chicken thighs in a little oil, seasoning with pepper and salt. Once browned turn the heat off. Slip the skins of the tomatoes and add to the pan and using the heel of your hand gently 'crack' each potato and add to the dish, scattering evenly amongst the chicken along with the smashed garlic cloves. Then using a mortar and pestle, beat the fresh oregano into a pesto style mash, and add 1/2 cup olive oil and the red wine vinegar. Once combined drizzle over the dish and roast in the oven for about 30-40 minutes or until it looks browned

on top.

Before Cooking

After Cooking

Once roasted, serve on the table and get into it. Alternately, for a more formal dinner, serve by plating it in the centre and spooning over the sauce that has been created by the combination of tomatoes, oil, herbs, and vinegar.

Stefano's @ The Grand, Mildura - Review

2009-06-10T00:46:00.000-07:00

Driving more than 500 kilometres to eat dinner may seem a little out of the question to most of us. How about flying? Do you come up with the same answer? No way! Well, all I can say is I would drive 1000 kilometres for the meal I ate last week at Stefano's.

For those of you who have not made this culinary pilgrimage, I will try and describe the whole experience, although in this case words can't completely explain what I feel is some of the most extraordinarily exciting food available in this country. Stefano's slogan or mantra is "Esse Quam Videri", latin for "To be, rather than to seem to be". This could never be a truer phrase as Stefano's food is unpretentious, rustic and beautifully cooked. No dust or foam or smears to be seen on his plates.

You arrive to an understated doorway at the side of the hotel. The only way to walk is down a narrow winding stairway into what used to be the cellar of this old hotel by the Murray River. As you enter the cellar you are in a narrow hallway with tiny tables with small candles, and a bar made of old wine cases. Service is always amazing at Stefano's. On this, my third visit, I was not disappointed.

The menu Stefano had devised for us was sensational. Starting with fresh Harvey Bay scallops in their shells with truffle oil, and followed by a fantastic dish of stuffed baby capsicum on a bed of cavalo nero and fregola sarda [an italian larger style cous cous made by rubbing wet semolina into balls and allowing to dry and then toast]. Inside the capsicum was fresh bread crumbs mixed with garlic, pine nuts and a mixture of fresh and dried herbs. All of this was swimming in a Tallegio cheese sauce. Amazing.

Following this was butternut pumpkin gnocchi served with porcini mushroom sauce. The mouthfeel of this dish was like a dessert, and the sauce actually looked like a butterscotch sauce. The gnocchi was light and soft, and the whole dish was topped with a drizzle of burnt butter and sage leaves.

The meal was evolving beautifully, gently awakening all of my taste buds, not with a shock or a shout, but gently and with balance through the fantastic understanding Stefano posseses in food matches and his selection of amazing produce. Next to arrive was a piece of rolled Kurabuta pork belly with braised cabbage and poached quince. An earthy and peasant like dish that offers both fantastic flavours and textures.

Throughout this amazing cullinary journey the staff at Stefano's offered just the right level of attention, keeping water topped up and delivering wine at the perfect pace. No meal wuld be complete without a dessert, and for this Stefano delievered the staple chocolate tortino with vanilla anglaise and cream The waiter suggested a spanish sherry, 'El Candado' to match which was the perfect partner for this final dish of the night.

Overall the experience was almost faultless with service and food quality coming together perfectly. If I was to mention any flaw in the whole experience it would be the cost of wine. The mark ups are extreme, however the advice offered is all part of the cost, and for this I was happy to pay. The meal itself is a set price of $99.00 which is excellent value for the quality of the meal presented. Please visit Stefano's and discover for yourself.

Rating: 19/20

Stefano's Restaurant

Mildura Grand Hotel

Langtree Avenue, Mildura

Victoria

(03) 5023 0511

Thai Riffic, Mildura - Review

2009-06-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

35 Langtree Avenue

Mildura, Victoria

(03) 5021 5225

Thai Riffic is situated in the heart of the restaurant area of Mildura, and although the name may seem a little contrived, the food was far from it. Just while I'm on the name, why do Thai restaurants feel the need to play on the name. Bow Thai, Thai Time, In Thai Sing, Appethaizing, Thai Tanic, Thai Pod and the list goes on!! Perhaps a new restaurant could try 'Thai Hard with a Vengeance', 'Thai me Kangaroo Down Sport' or 'Bridge over the River Thai'.....

The restaurant was full and bustling. While waiting for our table we sat at the bar and had a drink. Unfortunately the bar man could not locate any tonic water for our drink, then couldn't find any mineral water or in fact any soda water, so we decided on one straight from the tap.

On sitting down the atmosphere was great, busy but not so noisy that you couldn't hear the other people at your table. The waiter, and owner, was attentive and well humoured, and explained the menu and made some excellent suggestions. Classics like Pad Thai and the Green Chicken curry were excellent, and showed an amazing understanding of the balance required to cook Thai food. The waiter suggested a taste plate for entree which included fish cakes and satays, and was an excellent suggestion. The chef is all the way from Bankok and is definitely raising the bar for other restaurants attempting food in this style.

On opening about a year ago, Thai Riffic was given a buddhist blessing. Phra Maha Boonsom Uttan, Head monk of the Melbourne Buddhist Temple performed the blessing to ensure good luck and prosperity.

On the night we ate there the blessing seemed to be working, with every table full and a dining room full of very happy customers.

Rating: 14/20

Cricket Club Hotel, Charlton - Review

2009-06-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

92 High Street

Charlton, Victoria

(03) 5491 1604

Charlton is a small and attractive rural town of tree-lined streets, situated on both banks of the Avoca River. Huge grain silos give the visitor a clue the main local industry, although in addition to this industry Charlton is the largest beef producer in Victoria. Charlton has a population of around 1300 people and is located 250 km north-west of Melbourne on the Calder Highway.

The Cricket Club Hotel is one of two hotels in town, and the crowded 'bistro' or dining hall looked busy enough to assume that the food here was going to be OK. We sat at the laminate table in the corner, trying to sit as far away from the Space Invaders machine that was being plundered by a pack about 5 young children.

Beer prices were impressive. At only $3.30 for a pot of Carlton Draught, Charlton was shaping up to be the place to drink in this Global Financial Crisis.

The menu was typical of your country pub, grilled steaks with chips and salad, chicken parmagiana, deep fried calamari and a roast. The Chicken Parmagiana was excellent. Obviously prepared on site and not bought in frozen, the chicken was well flavoured and excellently cooked. The salad was fresh and crisp and the chips crunchy, slaty and plentiful. The Scotch Fillet - Surf and Turf was also a good solid country meal. The prawns were clearly frozen and not fresh, and the creamy sauce was a commercialy produced prepackaged product. Despite these problems the beef was well cooked and the accompanying vegetables were not overcooked and tasted fresh. Now drinking my second recession busting Carlton Draught, I realised that the meals were not as well priced as the beverages. Mains were all about $22.00, about the same as you would pay in an outer suburban hotel bistro.

Overall the experince at the Cricket Club Hotel was good, and I would recommend it as good place to stop for a bite on your way up the Calder

Rating: 11/20

Sticky Rice Cooking School, Adelaide

2009-06-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

96 Mount Barker Road

Stirling SA 5152

(08) 8339 1314

The Sticky Rice Cooking school in the Adelaide hills is definitely worth a visit. I travelled from Melbourne for the experience, and I can safely say there is nothing quite like it here in Melbourne. Most cooking classes or course are very much 'sit back and watch', while at Sticky Rice you are completely involved in the process.

I was lucky enough to have Katrina Ryan from 'The Spirit House' as my chef for the day. There were about 8 of us in the class. Most were from Adelaide and thought a drive to the hills was a huge journey. It only took us 25 minutes drive from the Adelaide CBD! The setting is beautiful. It is in a town called Stirling, a little reminiscent of perhaps Sasafrass in the Dandenongs.

The kitchen was set up as professional setting you might see in a large city hotel, with one large workspace in the centre where we each had our own space. We were sous chefs to Katrina, doing whatever she asked, and following her direction to create each set dish. As Katrina Ryan is from the Spirit House, the food was all Thai inspired, and the recipes included basic pastes used in various dishes, Prawn and Cuttlefish with Chilli Paste, Braised Pork with Sweet Soy, Cinnamon and Star Anise. (see recipe)

The class was run with precision. In the middle of the class we a had a small break, and were supplied with thai beers and nibbles, giving us the chance to meet the others in the class and chat about food and why they were here. One of the class members was a local lady who helped the chool by purchasing all the ingredients at the market. She explained that when they started the school many thai ingredients were not easily found, however now it was much more available, even in Coles and Woolworths!

Overall the class was fantastic, providing knowledge on new ingredients, techniques and thai food culture. As we finished cooking the last of the dishes we were shown to the dining room where we sat and enjoyed the banquet with the other guests along with some fine local wines.

The Brasserie @ Adelaide Hilton Review

2009-05-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

As you step into from the foyer of the Hilton Hotel into the entrance of The Brasserie, you move from your typical swish hotel foyer into a bustling and infomal bistro style eaterie that has no air of pretense or stuffyness. You are walking into a place that is about the food.

The head waiter is efficient and friendly, and the following waitress is knowledgeable and informal, making great suggestions without being pushy.

After drinks have been ordered the waitress suggests the Coopers Sparkling Ale bread, made from stone ground organic flour, and served swiftly in the terracotta pot it was baked in, with EVOO from Lucilla. From this first moment it was obvious that the food was driven by the local produce and the history of Adelaide, and all of this driven by the chef Simon Bryant.

The menu was as much fun to read as it was to sample. Every course features local produce, often mentioning the owners of the businesses, and always explaining the connection with Adelaide and the dish being offered. Producers like Coopers Brewery (Beer), Buzz Honey, Fleurieu Milk Co. and Haigh's Chocolate are but a few of the local, and sometimes iconic Adelaide producer's showcased in the menu. As well as these Maggie Beer gets a few mentions in the menu, as she is of course Simon's co star in the ABC show 'The Cook and the Chef"

Entree's were interesting and adventurous. The classic twist on the Adelaide icon called the Pie Floater was fantastic. A tiny pie filled with Maggie Beer's Porcini mushroom pate floating on sea of green mushie peas, topped with candied tomato and grape seed mustard. An amazing dish that continues the tradition of the pie floater, but brings it out of stodgie late night street food, into the realms of a delicate and grown up classic. The duck liver parfait, confit and seared breast was a great trio. The breast cooked perfectly, the parfait rich and creamy, and the confit rilette adding just the right zing to the dish. Just as you though the duck dish was too much and too rich, in came the watercress salad on top that gave a fresh and lively top note to the dish.

Main courses were featuring big, strong flavours, including miso coated kingfish and crispy chicken with green chilli jam and rice. The Rabbit, produced by Adelaide's first commercial rabbit farm, Bushmin, was braised and served with a Haigh's bittersweet chocolate sauce, local prosciutto and soft white polenta. The concept was good, however the rabbit was overcooked and a little dry. Had the meat been softer and retained more juices, the chocolate sauce would have been a a closer match, but as it was the chocolate sauce overpowered the rabbit flavour.

The Kangaroo dish, featuring bush foods like bush banana salad, quanding and desert lime glaze and crispy saltbush was a dish that had an amazing amount of zing, but that needed some balancing element. The pepperberry and bush tomato rub on the roo took it over the edge, with such an array of flavours that the taste buds had nowhere to hide. The zing of the desert limes, the super sweetness of the quandongs and the amazing saltyness of the saltbush were all too much for me. In addition to the balance problems that I felt were present, one or two of the bush bananas were undercooked and leathery. All this said, I like the concept of bush food on our city hotel restaurant menus, and I hope they keep appearing.

Desserts were fantastic, the creme brulee was fantastic, and the accompanying honeycomb stole the show. The Haigh's chocolate and water mousse, chocolate dirt, latte foam and caramel sauce was a plate of decadence, that despite the amount of chocolate on the plate, managed to maintain a sense of balance and interest in mouthfeel and texture.

Overall the experience at The Brasserie was fantastic. Good efficient service, great food driven by a passion for local produce. A must for anyone interested in good local Australian produce being used creatively and with mastery.

Rating: 16/20

Piccadilly Restaurant @ Mount Lofty House - Adelaide - Review

2009-05-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

Mount Lofty House was the original home of Arthur Hardy and was built in the 1850's as his family's summer retreat. In the 1980's a young couple purchased the delapidated mansion only to have it burn to the ground two weeks later in the Ash Wednesday fires. With only the stone walls standing, the couple sold what remained and the house was later rebuilt and extended to be used as guest house/hotel.

Piccadilly Restaurant boasts a menu rich in local produce, with particular focus on organic foods. On arrival the restaurant was nicely lit, mildly busy (Friday night) and decorated in the style you would expect of a rambling country homestead.

As I was seated I soon realised the chair was a bit wobbly. It was so bad I had to ask for another. The defective chair was whisked away with a minimum of fuss and replaced with a smile. If this had been the end of the situation none of this would have made the review, however the second chair was similar if not worse, with visible cracks to the timber on both legs. I've been in restaurants where the "wheels fell off" in terms of food quality or service, but never where the actual legs fell off! Once rectified by a very embarrassed waitress, my water was filled and as the bottle was placed on the table, the whole table rocked back and forth. The table top was not actually attached to the base, plus the whole surface was warped... Not a great start to my experience at Piccadilly!

Once the food started arriving things went decidedly better. The house baked ciabatta dinner roll was warm and fresh, and the local Pinot Noir from the Adelaide Hills was a fine inclusion on the wine list, all of which were listed at reasonable prices.

Main dishes I tried were the Salmon served on a salad of rocket, preserved onion, lemon and chickpeas, served with rosemary baked potatoes, and Chicken Breast roasted with Lemon and Thyme served with green beans and kipfler potatoes. While the Salmon dish was well designed and executed, the Chicken dish was swimming in reduced stock jus that was too highly flavoured for the delicate flavours of the thyme. The salmon was particularly well cooked and offered robust salmon flavours highlighted by the lemon and onion accompaniments.

Desserts sounded big and hearty, with a specials of Apple Crumble or Bread and Butter Pudding. Both classic country style dishes that sounded like just the thing to be offered on a cold night in the Adelaide Hills. The crumble topping was almost bready in nature, and whilst differing from your classic crumble, did offer good flavour on top of well cooked apples and excellent house made vanilla bean ice cream. Along with this came a jug of ice cold pouring cream. Perfect! The Bread and Butter pudding, however, missed the mark by a long way. It was very stodgy, flavourless and SMALL. The custard it was served with was well made, however it needed cream or ice cream or something. I was definitely left wanting!

Overall the experience was satisfactory, with some good main meals being created by chef Craig Graves, however service and ambience let the whole thing down. Even after the chair and table fiasco, service was lack lustre, with meals being plonked on the table like I was at school camp. The Chicken dish, which was served in a stock reduction, and obviously plated with care and finesse by the chef was then slammed on the table, sloshing the suace up the sides on the bowl and knocking the chicken into the pool off the stack of beans and kipflers. Ooops!

Rating: 11/20

Caesar Salad with Roasted Chicken

2009-05-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

This a quick and easy meal on a summers day that needs very little preparation, and tastes fantastic.

Ingredients

4 Eggs

4 Chicken breast fillets

I large Cos lettuce

1 tomato

4 slices of Prosciutto

Parmesan cheese

Homemade mayonaisse (from Stephanie's Cook's Companion)

2 anchovie fillets

1 spoonful of capers

1 dash of worcestershire sauce

Lemon

1 finely sliced shallot

Tabasco

Black pepper

Method

To make the dressing combine 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise with chopped anchovies, capers, finely diced shallot, worcestershire sauce, tabasco and pepper to taste.

In a hot frying pan sear the chicken fillets for 4 minutes, and then turn, add the slices of prosciutto to the pan and roast in an oven at 200C for about 10 minutes depending on the size of the breasts. Check by feeling for 'springyness'. If unsure pierce with a skewer and look for clear juices escaping! Once cooked remove and keep warm. Meanwhile poach an egg for about 6 minutes so that the yolk is runny!

Chop the lettuce, deseed the tomato,slice and toss together with crumbled prosciutto. Dress with flavoured mayonnaise and serve on a plate. Top with sliced chicken breast and finally the poached egg. Grate over parmesan and season with black pepper. It shouldn't need any salt with the salty prosciutto, anchovies and capers.

Baby asparagus bundles

2009-05-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

These are so cute and look really great served with roasted anything, or steamed fish. Or even as a garnish on top of an asparagus risotto!

Ingredients

32 baby asparagus shoots

Chives

Butter

White wine

Lemon

Salt

Method

Trim the ends of the baby asparagus and tie up into bundles of 8 with the chives. Steam in a steamer or if need be covered in a microwave with cling film until tender, but still vibrant green.

In a pan add white wine till bubbling, add butter and lemon juice. dress the bundles and season well with salt before serving.

AgroDolce Review

2009-05-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

agrodolce

Finding great, rustic Italian food, cooked with skill and finesse is a challenge even in Melbourne. Restaurants like Matteo's in Fitzroy, The Italian or Florentino in the city spring to mind as the benchmarks in this style of food.

If you were searching for something like this in the suburbs! could it be found, or more to the point is there somebody out there who thinks they could do it!!

I decided to venture well away from the safety of Brunswick and Lygon Streets, and even further from Collins Street to Springvale Road in Forest Hill...If that wasn't enough to challenge my hopes of finding a great italian meal, I was in store for another shock when I drove past the restaurant. That's right I drove past because I thought the restaurant was actually a house, and a pretty ugly house at that. It was the kind of house you would see in a 1970's outer suburban housing estate. Brown brick, arches everywhere, exposed brick feature walls and an entrance door and hall that made me feel like I was visiting my bogan aunt.

On arrival I was greeted by a very posh and almost arrogant waitress, who efficiently showed me to my table. Walking through the dining room I was impressed with the space and the aroma in the restaurant, as well as the crowd. The restaurant was pretty much full. A good sign.

Thankfully the young lady who showed me in was replaced by a waiter who was matter of fact and unpretentious. Now I felt like I was in Springvale Road. After ordering drinks and viewing the menu I was served and appetiser compliments of the chef, a shot glass of French Onion Soup which was rich and thick and unctuous. It was well seasoned and a good beginning to the meal.

The menu read well, with many dishes that appealed to my sense of adventure and flavour. the wine list was extremely highly priced with most wines slapped with a 220% mark up. The restaurant does offer BYO at & $6 per bottle. Very good value and not much a a choice..."will I pay $60 for a bottle I could buy down the road for $16". Even with the $6 corkage I'm $38 ahead and that pays for the main!!

The entree home made pasta served with slow cooked poached egg and parmesan was easily the stand out dish. So simple and so well done. The pasta was perfect and the egg was delicate and rich at the same time. Other dishes that looked great were the honeycomb tripe or the wagu rump.

Overall the experience at Agrodolce was interesting but confusing. The food had shades of brilliance and simplicity, while the ambience and service were less that amazing.

Summary

Innovative and exciting Italian food served at a good price with overpriced wine and unfortunate ambience and service. The name Agorodolce means 'bittersweet' and it pretty accurately describes my experience here. All of this said it is still well worth a visit if you are a local.

Rating: 12/20

Stephanie Alexander's "Cooks Companion"

2009-05-16T22:54:00.001-07:00

This is easily my favourite cook book of all time. Stephanie Alexander's "The Cook's Companion" is as much a resource to learn about about food, as it is a recipe book. It is particularly good for Australian cooks, as it is specific to our seasons and produce. It is not an encyclopedia of food, but it is an amazing collection of vital information for anyone serious about cooking great dishes.

The book is organised in order of indredients. For example, if you wanted to cook a lamb dish, go to the lamb section and Stephanie talks about seasons, cuts of meat, ways to cook different cuts, foods and flavours that complement the ingredient etc.

There is also the 'Basics' section where she gives direction to create all the basic techniques you need to start most dishes, like stock, pastry, Beurre Blanc, Mayonnaise etc...

Home Made Crusty Bread

2009-05-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

Making bread is dead easy. Whether it is for a pizza base, foccacia style flat bread or dinner rolls, this recipe works and is really easy and quick.

At the end of the recipe I have listed the changes to the method depending on what sort of bread you are making and some ideas on variations to the basic idea.

Ingredients

1 kg flour [preferably strong bread making flour. It is often labelled as pizza or bread flour, or sometimes as strong of high protein four]

Table spoon Salt

2 Tablespoons olive oil

~600ml of luke warm water

3 x 7g sachets of dried yeast [you purchase these in packs of 10 x 7g sachets]

Method

The easiest way to make the dough is using a dough hook in your mixer. My Kenwood chef does an amazing job of this. You just put all the ingredients in the bowl and turn on to lowest speed and let it go for 10-15 minutes until it is smooth and not sticky. If you don't have a mixer put the indredients in a bowl and mix. Then tip out onto a floured bench and knead with your hands for about 10-15 minutes.

Place the dough in a very large bowl and cover with cling film and a tea towel and leave in a warm, draught free spot until it has doubled in size [about 1- 1 1/2 hours]

Uncover and knock down and knead for a minute and then return to the covered bowl and allow to rise again for 30 minutes.

Following this form into whatever shape you like. Small dinner rolls, large loaves, flat foccacia etc etc... I normally slash the top with a sharp knife. This adds a little more texture to the final result as it rises.

Cook in a preheated oven at 220˚C on a hot baking tray for about 15 minutes depending on the size of your loaf or rolls. Check by knocking/tapping the bottom and when done they should make a hollow sound.

Variations

For pizza dough only on rise is required and if pressed for time even 10 minutes rise will be OK.

Another option is rolling the dough flat and lay something like parma ham, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil, close the parcel of bread over the filling and bake. Let it cool a little once cooked and slice up for a great snack or entree.

Another option is to add some unprocessed bran to the original mix for a more country style loaf, and brush the loaf with oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper or herbs.

Trio of Capsicum Soup in 1 Bowl

2009-05-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

This soup is pretty easy and is a great looking

dish that tastes fantastic.

Ingredients

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 medium onion onion

1 small garlic clove

500 ml of chicken/vegetable stock

1 sliced fennel bulb

Splash of Pernod

3tbs good olive oil & chilli oil for garnish

Method

Deseed and roughly chop the capsicums [peppers]. Roughly chop 1/3 of the onion, fennel and garlic. Sweat off in 1tbs of olive oil for about 5 to 10 minutes

Add 1/3 of the stock and simmer a further 10 minutes. [see photo] When cooked place in blender for about 1 minute. Only use half of the liquid in each pan to the blender with the vegetables, and add liquid to reach even consistency. Then add 1/3 of the Pernod.

Repeat the above process for the green and yellow peppers. All the soups need to be of the same consistency.

To serve place a 2½in metal ring or scone cutter into centre of bowl and fill with one of the soups. Then pour the other two soups - simultaneously - between the ring and rim of the soup plate. Remove the ring.

Finally add a couple of drops of chilli oil and serve with home made dinner rolls. [see recipe in previous blog]

Enoteca Richmond Review

2009-05-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

Enoteca Richmond is the reincarnation of the original Duttons Enoteca, the restaurant attached to the iconic classic car showroom which closed some years ago. The restaurant has remained under new ownership, and I feel has continued to deliver great quality high end italian cuisine.

On arrival we were quickly seated and the sommelier suggested an Italian Prosecco sparkling which was as excellent as she promised. And at only $11 for a small bottle which easily satisfied two it was an excellent beginning to the evening.

The menu at first glance appeared busy, with every course comprising of a complicated and wide range of ingredients. My first feeling was, can the chef pull this off? After being served the antipasto selection and the ox cheek gnocci as entree, I can safely say that he got pretty close. The antipasto was on the main part excellent. Deepfried olives stuffes with veal were salty and delicious, the cured kingfish was fantastic, however a few of the other morsels were under seasoned and lacking refinement. The gnocchi was light and the baby peas added a fresh bite to the braised ox cheek.

Next we ordered the salt crusted char grilled King Island rib eye. Having visited King Island on many occasions, and having become quite familiar with the style of meat they produce on the island, I was looking forward to the intense flavour and velvety mouthfeel that this dish should deliver. I wasn't dissapointed. The beef was well cooked and charred, and remained true to the King Island tradition of simply cooked great quality meat. The accompanying mash was a little overworked and the spinach was under seasoned.

The stuffed duck breast with mushrooms and black pudding was an exciting looking dish, well plated and executed in its

presentation, however the duck was a little undercooked.

I like my duck well and truly pink, but this was in some areas almost

completely raw!

The wine list was thorough and well explained by the sommelier and the ambience of the room was pleasant. The service was attentive and good humoured providing a fantastic place to enjoy a great italian meal despite some of it's shortcoming.

Summary

With mains at about $35 and entree and dessert at about $20, Enoteca is not an inexpensive restaurant, however with the level attention to preparation and presentation it would be hard for any establishment ot deliver these at any lower cost. It is a shame however that the cooking of the food did not receive the same high level of attention.

Rating: 16.5/20

King Island Beef with Lighthouse Blue and Smashed Potatoes

2009-04-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

If you can find a whole Scotch Fillet from King Island, south of Victoria in Bass Strait, you have a couple of options. With this cut of meat it doesn't matter what you do it will be fantastic. Raw as a carpaccio, roasted as whole piece slowly or cut into steaks and char grilled. Well done, rare or medium, this beef is good no matter what...

With this fillet I decided to cut it into 8 very large steaks and cooked them on the BBQ at a very high heat. The marbling of fat keeps the beef very moist and adds to its richness and high level of flavour.

Ingredients

2kg piece of KI scotch fillet or similar!!

12 new potatoes

1 small wheel of KI lighthouse blue - it's a creamy mild blue cheese

Olive oil

no sauce required.....

Parboil the potatoes till just tender, allow to cool and then using the bottom of a cup or glass slightly squash them on a baking tray till they are about 1cm thick. Brush with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. Bake in an oven at 180C for 40min or until golden.

Get your BBQ or grill plate as hot as possible and just the second before you put the beef on season each steak with salt and pepper. the salt aids in the caramelisation and gives the steaks a great crust.

6 minutes on the first side and 4 on the second should have them cooked about medium rare. A good tip is to turn them when you see little blood or juice coming to the uncooked side of the steak. Once cooked to your liking let them rest for 10min. If you are cutting your own staeks from a fillet, a good idea is to cut them in thicknesses depending on how the person want it cooked. Thin for well done, thick for rare. You can take the tick ones from the tapering end and the thin ones from the fat end of the fillet and most people will get about the same size steaks.

To plate, stack three smashed potatoes on the plate, the steak drizzled with pan juices and little extra virgin olive oil and a thick slice of the blue cheese. Maybe a chiffonade of rocket or baby spinach to make the plate look a little healthy and away you go....

Bucatini with Italian Cacciatore Sausage, Red Wine and Tomatoes

2009-04-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

This is a fantastic classic Italian pasta dish, and using Bucatini - a fat tubular spaghetti - makes all the difference in the mouth feel this recipe provides.

Ingredients

1 Hot or Medium Cacciatore Sausage [purchase from a good Italian deli]

400g tin Cherry Tomatoes

1/2 bottle good red wine

Bunch of fresh Basil

Reggiano Parmesan cheese

1 pack of Buccatini pasta

Extra Virgin Olive oil - for dressing

Salt and Pepper

Slice the cacciatore into 5mm pieces [as in photo] or cut and cube the sausageinto 1cm lardons. The small 'lardons' of sausage are actually a welcome change if you cook this dish as often as I do.

Fry the sausage in a heavy bottomed pan for 5min on a medium fire. then add wine and tomatoes and half the basil - you can chop the stalks of the basil as well. Lower the heat to low and simmer uncovered as your pasta cooks.

If you sauce has become too thick you can thin it down using water from the pasta pot. This is great technique to thicken or add to pasta sauces of all kinds.

Toss the buccatini with the sauce with the rest of the basil leaves. Let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving. It won't get cold...but will let the flavours get into the pasta. Top with shaved parmesan, salt, pepper and olive oil.

Lamb Fillet Tornedos with Prosciutto, Spinach, Mushroom and Tomato

2009-04-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

This dish is easy, quick and tastes fantastic. It is also a great looking meal that can be prepared well in advance. All recipes in this blog are for 4 good sized servings.

Ingredients

4 Lamb fillets - backstraps can be used as well

8 cherry tomatoes, halved

100g baby spinach leaves

100 g mushrooms - any type

Sundried tomato pesto

8 slices of Prosciutto

8 toothpicks

50g butter

Olive Oil

3/4 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup beef/veal/lamb stock

Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 200C. First slice the mushrooms and fry in butter and oil till soft. Season with salt and pepper. Let them rest for 10min then drain excess moisture.

Using a rolling pin or bottle of wine..beat each fillet to about 5mm thickness. Once this is done, spread some pesto, lay the prosciutto along its length, then 1/8 mushroom mix, some spinach leaves and finally some tomato halves. Season and roll up, closing with a toothpick.

Saute in a large fry pan on very high heat. Just before you put them into the oven add 3/4 cup of dry red wine and 1/2 cup stock. Roast in the oven for about 10minutes. Remove tornedos and cover. Add butter to the sauce in the pan.

Serve with baby beans and potatoes along with the the jus from the pan.

Welcome to The Informal Foodie

2009-04-23T04:07:00.000-07:00

Hi and welcome to a new and exciting blogspot dedicated to food and the love of cooking at home.

Starting today this is the place to access exciting new recipes created and devised by a passionate and creative home chef like the millions of others out there reading sites like this one.