returning to the table

It is time for me to return to Blog world to share my passion for food and the other finer things in life again!  It has been too long, and I miss the whole blogging experience!

I have seen some spectacular places over the past couple of months and eaten some (slash way too much) delicious food.  Can't wait to share these experiences with everyone!

Keep an eye out over the next couple of weeks for some new dishes that have consumed my time in the kitchen during my hiatus.
 

Can't wait to see you all back here soon.

Happy eating!!

Sam

I'll just have a salad

 

Ok and some pork.... 

 

The secret is the dressing - made from crushed marinated feta, rather than the traditional mayonnaise... Thanks mum.

You'll need this:-

1 x half green cabbage, finely shaved

1 x half red cabbage, finely shaved

1 x red onion, finely sliced

3 x sticks of celery, finely diced

1 x carrot, grated (this is an optional extra - not a favourite of the family on the east, but well received by newfound friends in the west)

Large handful of walnuts, roughly chopped

1 x green apple, chopped into fine match sticks

For the dressing:-

400g marinated feta

2 tablespoons of olive oil marinade from the feta

large glug of white balsamic

You'll need to do this:-

Add all prepared salad ingredients to a large salad bowl.  You'll need to be careful with the apple.  Only cut / add this at the last minute otherwise it will brown.

Prepare the dressing by adding the feta to a bowl and crushing with a fork to form a smooth paste.  Then gradually mix in the left over marinade and balsamic. 

Add dressing to vegetable mix and gently toss.  Sprinkle with some left over walnuts and serve.

I was going to add some mint and basil, but the not so trustworthy local supermarket was completely out of fresh herbs this afternoon.  Those of you lucky enough to have access to a 'normal' greengrocer, I suggest you add a handful of roughly chopped herbs to add some more depth to the salad.

We had the slaw with barbequed tandoori pork and veal cutlets.  Patak's tandoori paste is a life saver when you are strapped for time! To form the marinade, mix one jar of paste with 500ml of plain yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon.  Add meat and leave to marinade for a minimum of one hour.  Cook on a BBQ until ready and serve with another squeeze of lemon.

Another simple recipe- but the end result will always be well received....

Only two weeks until I am back on the east coast to spend some time with family and friends and to pack up my life for good.  Can't wait to see everyone, not least of which my young nephews!  I hope they remember who I am!!

Happy eating!

Sam

family favourites

Family Favourite # 3 - Gourmet Traveller Magazine's Annual Cookbook

I can't believe it is already that time of year again!!! At the supermarket last night I saw that there was a new edition of Gourmet Traveller and naturally I grabbed it from the shelf and threw it in the basket.  As I did so, I became even more excited by the fact that it was the double edition containing the Annual Cookbook.

The Annual Cookbook is a compilation of the best recipes from Gourmet Traveller throughout the year and is always an absolute cracker!  This year's edition is no different - especially the pasta section!  The first thing I will be checking when I call Mum tonight is to see if she has managed to get her hands on a copy....

Any Aussies out there who love to cook - I suggest you hop off to the local newsagent and pick up a copy.  You will not be disappointed!

Tonight it is seafood on the BBQ and oysters kilpatrick, before heading off to Broome for a long weekend. Should be a heap of fun!

Hope everyone has a cracking weekend!

Sam.

full as a goog!

Last weekend I dusted off the apron and finally rediscovered my cooking mojo - it has been a while since I actually had the time and occasion to cook anything of real substance. 

Given a small window of opportunity, I decided to make the most of Mum's care package and try out some of the recipes (with my own spin of course). 

I chose to cook Cafe Hanoi's Chicken Salad and the Caramel Pork Hotpot, followed by an adaptation (by adaptation I mean slightly overcooked, slash oddly shaped version) of Donna Hay's coconut cakes with dark chocolate glaze.   The food was amazing, as was the banter at the table.

The first hurdle to overcome with the Chicken salad was the fact that Cafe Hanoi's version of the dish is based on papaya.  I currently live in in the Pilbara.  Papaya is not the most readily available fruit in any main supermarket in Australia.  Need I have held any hope to find some here?? Certainly not. 

Anyway, I based mine on been sprouts and bulked the salad up with red onion and a couple of types of Chinese cabbage / greenery.  I also poached chicken breasts only and added star anise and a stick of cinnamon to the poaching broth to add some extra flavour.   I think I also used a fair bit more chilli.  

The dressing was so tasty and would be perfect for any fresh Asian salad.  Palm sugar, rice wine vinegar, chilli, lime juice, soy sauce and fish sauce.  I could drink the stuff!!

 

For main, we had crispy caramel pork belly served with Asian greens stir fried in ginger and garlic.  This was the first time I had cooked with pork belly, and it certainly will not be the last.  Such a rich meal though and if you do have a crack at this recipe, make sure that you stop yourself from going for seconds (or, in fact, thirds). 
 

Such a simple recipe this one.  Rremove the skin and roughly cut about a kilo of pork belly into 3-5cm cubes.  Marinate in a couple of large glugs of fish sauce, a large piece of ginger (finely sliced into match sticks) and a generous sprinkle of coarsely ground black pepper.  Marinate for a couple of hours.  Then add a cup of castor sugar to a pan on high heat and cook until browning starts to occur.  Add 2 cups of water to the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Add pork and cook for approx. 1 hour.  I left the pan on medium heat for about half an hour and then turned the heat up for the second half an hour to make sure the pork crisped up suitably.

The Asian greens where subtle and finished things off perfectly.

SO GOOD!  I loved this recipe - I reckon it has to go close to being the best thing I have cooked in a long while. 

Finally, we battled through the coconut cakes for dessert.  I attribute the struggle through dessert to the 74 helpings of pork belly, others blamed it on the salad.

This was my first foray into cakes without mum's watchful eye looking over my shoulder and providing advice. Slash directing.  Not a bad outcome but certainly some room for improvement!  Great recipe and I will definitely have another crack in the next couple of weeks to try and perfect.


It turned out to be a bit of a feast, with a range of fresh, crisp, rich and subtle flavours alike.  I think we all gained at least a couple of kg's over the course of the night but had a fantastic time doing so.  Spending time cooking, having a kitchen party, listening to great music and talking crap with friends.  It's hard to beat nights like this.

Anyway, enough ramblings from me.

Happy Eating!!
Sam.

suggestions please

Now that I am a token Western Australian I feel like I need to get up to speed with the local foodie scene (outside of Hedland that is, because up here there isn't much on offer), which is difficult when you don't know too much about the place you are visiting. I have to fly to Perth tomorrow for work and have been scouting for a laid back restaurant / bar where I can occupy my time after work tomorrow night.    I have trowelled through the Gourmet Traveller lists, but all I can find is fine dining options....  Can anyone suggest a place (bearing in mind I love Italian food and red wine!)???  Falling short of that, I guess I will just have to walk the streets, the old fashioned way!  What did people do before they had the internet?!

Thanks!

Sam

care package

Today my kind and wonderful mother sent me a care package containing the latest edition of Cuisine Magazine.

The highlight for me was the spread on Auckland's Cafe Hanoi (especially the Beef Noodle Salad and the Caramel Pork Hotpot) as well as the feature on rustic Italian cuisine (who would have guessed!).   I am definitely going to have to get motivated and try some of these recipes out over the weekend.

Mum and Dad are lucky enough to be heading to Auckland in the next month or so and Cafe Hanoi will be the first choice food destination.

When you are on the opposite side of the country, isolated from your family by one of the biggest deserts on the planet, it is such a nice feeling to receive something to let you know that they are thinking of you too.

Thanks heaps Ma!!!!

Happy eating!

Sam

the hunter and gatherer

Another week in the desert and more new experiences to report.  Yesterday we headed off into the wilderness to do man things.  Four wheel driving.  Fishing.  Crabbing.  Beer drinking.  General exploring.... Being the city slicker that I am - I was well out of my depth!!

About an hour and a half out of town is a secret fishing spot which I was lucky enough to be introduced to.  The journey out was interesting to say the least... Travelling along a 5 metre high levy that is only just as wide as our car with a sheer drop to water on either side was enough to have me holding my breath for the entire trip....

We caught bucket loads of fish, I was introduced to a bunch of great people and had an absolute ball!  The countryside in this part of the world is simply magical.  The natural beauty is so impressive!

Given we returned late and were extremely exhausted, we simply cooked some of the fish fillets on the BBQ in butter and served with a squeeze of lemon.  You just can't beat fresh fish pan fried in butter!  We plan to cook the left over fillets during the week.  I am thinking of trying something new - poaching in a bath of soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil.  Will let you know how I go.

Another big weekend had me struggling to find the motivation to cook something exciting for Sunday dinner.  I turned to the latest Gourmet Traveller for some cues and found what I needed.  I decided on a simple pasta - my take on pork and fennel sausage meat pasta.

You'll need this:-

1.5kg of italian sausages (pork, fennel and italian herbs), skins removed - you only want to use the meat of the sausage

1 x white onion, diced

2 x red chillies, finely chopped (seeds included - I like a bit of a chilli hit to this dish)

2 x cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 x cup of dry white wine

1 large handful of green olives (marinated in chilli and garlic)

750ml tomato passata

1 x handful of torn fresh basil leaves

Fresh baby rocket leaves to serve

1 x large bag of dried rigatoni

Grated darmesan to serve

Olive oil

You'll need to do this:

Add olive oil, garlic and onion to a pan and cook on medium-high heat.  Once onion is translucent, add chilli and the sausage meat.  Using a wooden spoon, break up the sausage meat.  Allow to fry for approx. 10 minutes.

Add white wine to the sausage mixture and then allow to reduce (approx. 3 minutes).  Once the aclohol has reduced, add passata and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the roughly chopped olives and then remove from heat and allow to rest.

Meanwhile, add pasta to plenty of boiling water and cook as per instructions on packet.

Combine pasta with sauce and stir through the basil. 

Serve with baby rocket, a drizzle of olive oil and parmesan cheese.


Another busy week ahead and I can't wait to see what new experiences are in store. I hope everyone has a cracking week.

Happy eating!!!

Sam