Merde! I forgot some links and I’ve opened as can of worms here. Huguenots, Bourbons…religious wars and bad French. Several regional dishes were planned but a late night meant an unexpected demand from J (avec a hangover) for steak au frites avec sauce béarnaise. Actually, she wanted a steak haché or probably a royale with cheese, but I’m a fascist and I’m cooking for IMBB23 over at Cucina Testa Rossa. Although the origins may be obscure they are attributed to […]
Cooking
This simple life: tomatoes, figs, proscuitto and herbs
Busy writing for money rather than blog kudos and dealing with the new monkey. But still wonderful food isn’t far away, inspired by Kalyn’s Weekend Herb Blogging. Over ripe tomatoes are baked in the oven drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with Murray River salt crystals and fresh cracked pepper. Served on toasted sourdough with nothing else but freshly torn leaves of basil and oregano. The simple ripe toms combined with fresh flavours and the crunch of toast can’t be beaten. […]
Simplicity is the best
I have planned a debate on good vs bad ingredients, my position being that the secret is knowing what to do with the bad ones. This entry is the opposite because the better the ingredients, the better this dish. First the tomatoes, handpicked off the vine warmed to blood temperature by the sun. Tear some leaves from a nearby basil bush (tomatoes and basil thrive together). Slice buffalo Mozarella into soft creamy discs. Assemble alternate layers of tomato, basil and […]
Caesar Salad with the old camera
Shot with the old camera. I’m a bit of a purest when it comes to certain recipes. I do sometimes, however, break the rules and surprise myself. So it was with surpise that I found myself ordering a Caesar Salad with chicken at Langtons (annoying music) 61 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (03 9663 0222). I like the fact it’s hidden in a basement down a laneway. It’s something that reminds me of the clubs such as the Somali and the Silver […]
Shepherds pie for a cold night
This is a favourite, perhaps because I’m crazy on both Worcester Sauce (Lea & Perrins, of course) and creamy mashed potato made with loads of butter. You can make this with lamb mince or beef. The latter is really a cottage pie and reminds me of some pretty nasty examples at school ( as well as having crumpets toasted between my buttocks). The point of this dish is leftovers from a roast. They should be ground up. I usually have […]
Kitchenhack: spread hard butter
My breakfast lifehack: Trouble spreading hard butter from the fridge? A cheese slice produces thin sheets that can be easily spread. Banal but effective.
Sorrell risotto: the comic
Please let me know if you think these comic file sizes are too slow to upload – they are about 300kb. Cheers
Zany with Zucchinis: chocolate cake
Chocolate and Zucchini cake. Photo: Christina Simons INGREDIENTS 180g dark chocolate 200g plain flour 125g caster sugar 1tsp baking powder 1/2tsp bicarbonate soda 1/2tsp salt 2 large eggs, beaten 6fl oz veg oil 225g peeled courgettes 60g chopped walnuts We start to get creative as our zucchini plants create a supply that could seemingly feed the 5000 or at least most of the Vegout community garden in St Kilda. And so it was that we unearthed Mama Tomato’s unorthodox recipe […]
Fresh mushrooms and herbs on toast
Photography: Christina Simons The northern autumn is arriving and in damp forests and field mushrooms are starting to sprout. We had our Mushroom picking season back in May and June but they are still around. There is something uplifting about picking them yourself.