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2012 Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide

admin — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:31:24 +0000

Congrats to Sepia!!! It has been named as the restaurant of the year in 2012!!

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/sepia-dominates-year-of-dining-simplicity-and-maturity-20110905-1jttt.html

Start planning your dining now!

Lemon Meringue Pie

admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:24:04 +0000

Last year for my birthday I was given (upon request ) the Ripailles French cookbook. It’s more of an anthology, filled with beautiful recipes divided into chapters such as meat, eggs, sugar, and with every classic French dish that we Aussies would know, and more. So I tested one of my favourites. I’m not sure if it’s French, but it was yum! The lemon meringue pie. It said it would take 30 minutes prep, and 30 minutes cooking, and I took around 30 minutes more than that. 3 processes. The first – the pie crust. It’s richer due to the addition of almond meal. I just ground my own in the food processor. However, I found that it needed extra water and an extra egg yolk as my mix was too dry and crumbly to mix. Key trick is to chill the pie crust in the freezer first, and prick it with a fork too.

At the time it was chilling, I made the lemon curd. It didn’t make any difference to substitute half the butter for margarine. but you do need the full 3 lemons. It seems like alot but it’s not. I had to add over 4 times the amount of cornflour though, to thicken it to spreading consistency.

As I chilled the curd in the fridge and let the tart case cool, I whipped the egg whites. I used a round tip nozzle to pipe it onto the pie.

So here’s the final product out of the oven.

So it’s a bit uneven coloured because of my grill. I’m sure if I had a blowtorch though it would have been fine.

Next time I might add more butter into the pastry as it was a bit hard, but overall, quite okay for a first attempt. but there’s hundreds more recipes to try as well from that book! It’s an essential for your technical cooking collection as well as just to turn through with a cup of chocolat chaud!

Must Have Cook Books

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:44:17 +0000

If you’re into old fashioned treats such as slices, pies and of course, beautifully decorated buttery soft cupcakes of all manners, then London’s Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook is a must have for you. It’s sure to bring joy to tea time with friends, and cupcakes are always a hit and great bribe to bring blissful silence to kids’ parties. But these cupcakes are so beautiful, you’ll definitely want to make them for yourself too!

Merry Christmas!!!

admin — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:45:14 +0000

What did you get in your stocking? I got a new Zyliss food preparation thingo – I’ve used it twice. very scared that I might slice off my fingers, and the few slices that do come out perfect worked well; but the zucchini got hacked up from the safety guard. Hmm… will give it a couple more chances but may have to be returned that one!

I also got the new Stephanie Reynaud cook book calle Ripailles. It’s a French anthology with recipes classified into chapters such as offal; game; as well as the usual pork, lamb, desserts, etc. As my friend said “it’s great – it’s got pictures, recipes and music”!! No kidding! it’s got a divine soft cover and if you look carefully, you can get it for $55 instead of the RRP of $90. I tried the creme caramel recipe. Too bad the top caramel didn’t work, but the custard was fine. Don’t think I will be trying pheasant anytime soon though!

Rocco Dispirito

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:43:48 +0000

My new favourite “celebrity chef” has released a new book! Having seen him on Season 3 of Top Chef as Hung’s sous chef in the Aspen Challenge, I sought to make myself an expert in this very easy on the eye Italian chef from the US. Very popular in his homeland – he recently appeared in Dancing with the Stars and again in the first episode of Season 4 – Chicago. Can’t wait until his shows come to Australia!!

http://www.roccodispirito.com/

A Day at El Bulli, Ferran Adria

admin — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:20:30 +0000

I am astounded, amazed and in awe of the genious of Ferran Adria, head chef of El Bulli. Last night I went to a lecture at the State Theatre in Sydney where he gave a talk, to launch his book. The stunning video presentations of the intricacy of his art blew everyone away. And it’s astonishing that when set to music – you can truly see how food moves him and now us.

The amazing story of El Bulli is set out in his new book. It’s a work of art, and the most beautiful book I’ve ever seen. At a price of A$75, you get 2.5kg almanac of the essence of El Bulli – behind the scenes from its beautiful location, to the 12 hour shift of the staff and the detailed work that goes into the 35 course meal.

I envy you who live overseas who can go! Otherwise, I will have to be content to read and dream. And dare to try even a few of the recipes in the back?

What was truly surprising was Ferran Adria’s humbleness. So great a status among the food world could bring on such an ego as to not engage fans of his work. When approached for a signature in my book, he indicated and showed me that he had in fact already pre-signed all 1700 copies for each audience member who had it. A truly great chef willing to share all his ideas…and document it for all to see, so that all may share his passion.

Buy it from Amazon.com – it’s only US$32.57!

Magnolia Bakery, New York

admin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:58:06 +0000

What would a trip to New York be without a trip to the famous Carrie Bradshaw hang out, The Magnolia Bakery? (Sorry, I can’t type the name of the show – SATC -here lest I hit some unsavoury weblinks. You know what I mean!). It’s in a very quiet street near Chelsea – kinda hard to find. The shop is actually very unpretentious, with its chequered tiled floor, rustic feel and young urban staff.

The cupcakes sit in melamine boxes and you help yourself. At US$1.75 each, it’s a very guilt free treat (well, on the hip pocket that is!). Choose from chocolate or vanilla cupcakes with various sprinkles and 2cm thick layer of icing (not for the calorie conscious!!). You need to pre-order if you’re going to buy more than a dozen – but the best part is that you can choose your decorations! If cupcakes aren’t to your liking; they also serve other desserts including cherry slice, banana bread; and coffee. There is only 1 little table though, so plan to take out. There’s a small park nearby where you can gobble up your cupcake without being watched by everyone!

I just actually bought the cookbook from the Magnolia Bakery from Amazon. It’s got the recipe for those famous cupcakes, as well as many other delectable traditional baked favourites such as peanut butter fudge cheesecake squares…. better hit the treadmill!

SMH: Breakfast spots in Sydney

admin — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 03:31:26 +0000

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote this handy article about best places to eat brunch in Sydney. I better get cracking as I’ve only been to two of those – and one of those I wouldn’t set foot in again!

http://www.smh.com.au/news/good-living/breakfast-is-the-toast-of-the-town/2007/08/06/1186252595398.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2

Australian Gourmet Traveller

admin — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 07:44:22 +0000

Beautiful pictures of beautiful food. This magazine has a little more on the travel side than its competitors, but without taking away from the food aspect. There is a regular features where readers can request a recipe for a favourite dish from a favourite restaurant. The magazine is a good balance between practical, and entertaining – that is, it’s equally pleasurable to be read with a hot chocolate snuggled under a rug, or propped up in your kitchen to help you with a course or two for your next dinner party. A great coffee table magazine too.

delicious.

admin — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 07:41:33 +0000

This monthly magazine is one of FoodieChat’s favourites. There are numerous recipes which not only look good due to the styling, but also are easy to prepare and offer a good variety. The travel features provide a run down on great places to eat and shop around the place, and delicious. has a good basket of well known chefs which write regular articles and recipes. My favourites include Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, Bill Granger to name a few.

At only $6.50 an issue it is a great value read – you will also be guaranteed to get good use of the recipes, whether it be “Tuesday night cooking” (weeknights), or an internationally themed dinner party.