Recipes

ARIA’s Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

April 24, 2013

We recently celebrated our first wedding anniversary and took the opportunity to reminisce about our wedding day. There was all that stress in the preceding 3 months, and the Co-pilot is quick to remind me that I did at times transform into a fire breathing nightmare dragon lady.. But all the stress seemed worthwhile when [...]

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Jamie Oliver’s Italian bread and cabbage soup

July 16, 2012

Cold wintery nights cry out for warm crackling fires, steaming cups of mulled wine and hearty, belly warming comfort food. That’s exactly what’s on the itinerary when the Co-pilot and I head up to Wollombi, a sleepy little town south of the Hunter Valley for a few days of sorely needed relaxation. We’re staying at [...]

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Foraging for abalone and a recipe for abalone and chicken congee

October 9, 2011

Foraging is the new black. No longer solely a pastime of individual or community hippies, herbalists, naturalists or ethnic groups – foraging is going mainstream and from the highly specialised and exclusive kitchens of Noma to local commercial kitchens, foraged food is finding its way onto menus and plates everywhere. It’s encouraging but not entirely [...]

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DIY black Perigord truffle feast

September 7, 2011

“A friend of mine owns a truffle farm – do you want some truffles?“ So said the Chi Master, a good friend and former colleague that I’d worked with for about 2 years. Did I want truffles – what sort of stupid question is that? And more importantly, what’s this about a truffle farm? Two [...]

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Getting reacquainted with my old friend Tequila

August 9, 2011

I’m reminded that at the beginning of the year, I declared it was to be one of learning and new experiences. And I’m reminded also that you should be careful of what you wish for, as just before we went to New York, an opportunity presented itself to overcome my long standing rivalry with my [...]

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The Impatient Cook’s Corned Beef Reuben Sandwich

July 30, 2011

Having a Reuben on rye in New York, the city where the delicious sandwich of layered meat heaped with tangy sauerkraut, creamy sauce and molten Swiss cheese was first concocted is special; having it at Katz’s Deli was just inspirational. That Reuben was so hypnotically good and left a lasting impression on us. I think [...]

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Risky business: on copper pots, Teflon pans and exploding ovens

June 4, 2011

On my Paddock to Plate degustation post, one reader, Alex, left me an interesting, albeit totally unrelated comment to the post topic: “…Teflon contains a chemical called per-flouro-octanoid-acid also known as PFOA, which can cause cancer. If you over heat teflon coated pans, to 260 degrees Celsius, you get the risk of releasing that chemical…and [...]

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Paddock to Plate: Pulled beef and pine mushroom cannelloni

April 8, 2011

There are plenty among us that have heard of mock meat or the more “appealingly” named, meat analogue where things like soy protein, wheat or vegetable protein are moulded, flavoured and transformed into the likeness of your everyday meaty goodies. My intriguing local mock meat store sells a mind boggling array of curious meat phonies [...]

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Fair Dinkum barbequed prawn dumplings

April 3, 2011

What do we consider Australian? What’s fair dinkum Aussie? For the uninitiated, “fair dinkum” is Australian lingo for “genuine”. It is a term probably lost of the current urban and multicultural generation, but one still stereotypically associated with farmers, the older generation, and folks born and bred in the country – generally those characters we [...]

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Foraging for pine mushrooms and yabbies in Belanglo State Forest

March 19, 2011

For most people when a stranger makes contact and invites you to Belanglo State Forest, it sets off alarm bells at orifice-damaging decibels. And… you might consider my decision to accept the invitation a sure fire bet to win me a Darwin award. For those unfamiliar with the infamous Belanglo State Forest, it is a [...]