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June 2004
 

 

Chardonnay from local area vineyard, can't remember name, though they do bottle a port that is produced a thousand km away in Victoria so as to satisfy the passing wrinkly tourist buses. 

 

 

*this being the coriander/ coconut paste mentioned previously

 A Food shoppers Guide To Sydney is a very useful, though over cross and multi-referenced guide book to acquiring nosh in said city. A good write up for Terry Wrights, a butcher in Randwick was enough, and the trip yielded some very fine fennel, pork and veal sausages, though three times the price of the meaty buggers from Cabramatta! The rump was darned good too.  Both these were done al fresco on bbq's whilst travelling up the coast to Myall lakes region. 

Whilst driving along the curvy roads that follow the lake edges, I spotted a fishmonger out of the corner of my eye, immediate hand brake turn. The spot was a good one- we picked up some cooked school prawns and blue swimmer crab, as well as a smoked Tailor. The school prawns were similar to the wee brown shrimp back home and were equally lovely. We cooked some plain boiled potatoes and green beans, smearing the whole lot with copious 'green shit'*, sitting under a palm whilst an uncommon  drizzle fell. Oh yes.

Last night on this trip we spent in a youth hostel in Newcastle, cool building and nice to have drivers let you cross the road. There was a free food night for hostel residents at a local pub. Great booze marketing since the food was dire and barely enough to keep young back-packing bodies alive. However, we did meet Maarten, a lovely Dutch guy who we met again in Sydney, and supplied us with chairs, a tent, a lamp and a great wee wok- many thanks.

 
 

Heidi gruyere with Seppelt fino, not a bad fino imitation.

 We picked up some oysters from Latimore's in Karuah, Port Stephens, giving out advice on clothing to one of the affable slow talking redneck workers who was due to brave the elements at Wimbledon. Bizarre. We had some in the park next to the oyster shed and saved some which we finished off a couple of days later at home where we also had a quick snack of potato, garlic and rosemary ravioli from pasta vera, which were excellent.
*shock, horror, not really a cheddar at all, but v nice all the same. The Seppelt fino wasn't bad at all, though not quite as dry and 'minerally' as the real Jerez. It went very well with Pyengana 'cheddar'* and Heidi Gruyere.
Mgt river cleanskin cabernet 02 A bit of a Middle Eastern theme from Shona, with lamb cubes marinated in cumin, garlic, chili and lemon juice. I'm not a big fan of marinating which is probably  just a reaction to it's excessive application out in menu world. Anyway, these babies worked a treat, and Shona made a lovely yoghurt, garlic and tahini sauce, very nice lubrication with the lamb. Some tabouleh on the side which I'm afraid isn't really tabouleh i.e. a parsley salad with a few grains of bulgar wheat, but more a couscous salad with tomatoes, cucumber, mint and parsley. Oh yes we also had bbq'd aubergine and courgette.
Almost a recipe I think Shona did SH's chicken rice a while back, but I am unable to find where. Anyway, actually it is similar to the chilau method described later in the year. First, toast some fennel/ corriander and cumin seeds (SH specifies 1dsp each) in a dry  frying pan, then grind in a mortar. He browns the chicken thighs (8, or a jointed chicken) in butter and oil. I feel that if the chicken is well padded, then the fat will render whilst being slowly fried. Infact, I think I later prepared this dish by frying the skins separately to do just this. I then served them as a crispy garnish- delish. So, remove the thighs and fry a chopped onion and 4 garlic cloves in said fat. When softened, add the spices, the rice (400g basmati), ensuring all coated with fat. Stir saffron (1tsp) and salt, some chopped chili (try dried for interest?) and return the chicken. Cover with stock if you removed the bones and made one- or else just water- 600ml. Bring to the simmer, cover with a lid and bake in a low oven or very gently on a heat diffuser. If possible, place a seal of a tea towel or newspaper btw the lid and the pan to retain the aromas. Lifting off at the table gives an extra burst if they have been kept restrained in the pan. Served with a cucumber salad (grated, salted and squeezed. Then mixed with yoghurt, spring onion and mint, a little sugar).
Everything is big here And Bar cod included, huge bloody things, so much so, Shona was rendered acopic with the proportions and ordered 2 steaks which weighed 800g, enough for 4. I simply covered this steak with a Thai sauce from a bottle (basil and chili plus something else??). I served it with some fine beans also smeared with a delicious prawn/ soy paste- great combination. Served with rice of course. The fish reminded me of shark, but not quite as rubbery! Very firm indeed and very dense. The 800g was a little much, and it was actually very good cold next day. 
Chalk hill sangiovese- excellent food wine I can't remember where we got the calves liver from. I think it was a pound or so in weight and I asked for it in the one piece so that I could bake it whole. I made a sage and shallot crust, using melted beef marrow as the fat agent- most appropriate I thought. A couple of tomato halves around the edge and served with mash- yum. 

Bunny curry

 

Arneis 2002 Kingston- never heard of this grape before, so had to give it a go- quite floral.

 Madhur Jaffrey recipes call for very complicated spice preparation and a sous chef is a must, ouch!- (Shona). A flick through 'An Invitation to' and Murgh Mussallum caught my attention for its outrageously complicated creation. Now this is intended to be for chicken, but flopsy had outstayed her welcome in the freezer, and since most Indian recipes call for de-skinned chooks, it seemed appropriate, as like most rabbits, she was flayed. The recipe is about 3 pages long and I do not have the patience to re-iterate what is essentially a very workable recipe for which I only changed the animal aspect thereof, so I implore you to get a copy yourself, head down to an Indian supermarket and stock up on spices and rice. It is so worth the effort of using freshly prepared spices, curry powder is definitely never to be trusted again.

 To summarise, I marinated the rabbit in an aromatic yoghurt based sauce for 2hrs, browned the rabbit and then simmered it in an onion based puree, which added to it, has a stunning blend of ground spices. It is served with hard boiled eggs which are warmed in the sauce after to take on the flavour and colour. A revelation. To accompany, Shona made cabbage with onions also and carrots with ginger and coriander both recipes from 'An Invitation'.
 


Jervis Bay Whale watching trip