From the category archives:

Recipes

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 [...]

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Musa Dagdeviren’s eggplant and lentil stew with pomegranate molasses

February 23, 2011

Once upon a time I had a love affair with far away Turkey. I was intrigued by the exotic silhouettes of domed mosques with proud minarets; cafes alive with chatter, the smell of coffee and the curling wisps from bubbling hookahs. I had long romanticised the idea of exploring the cave dwellings in Cappadocia with [...]

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Chinese New Year and a recipe for Zhaoqing diced pork and green mango

January 31, 2011

With another Chinese New Year peering around the corner, it seems ripe for reflection again. With the recent publication of Amy Chua’s controversial book: “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” and the arguably even more inflammatory publicity in the Wall Street Journal, Chinese parenting has taken a hard knock in the media in recent times. [...]