food & gardens

from in the ground to on the table...

Making Pralines

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I recently discovered a bag of Pecan nuts that I'd received as part of a Food Connect veg box some time ago. Alton Brown recently taught me that nuts keep for up to a year in their shells. Well, these nuts were at least that old, but on cracking one or two I discovered they were still pretty tasty. Maybe not at their best but still very edible, and too good to throw away/feed to the possums.

So, what to do with them? Well I always felt that, in the world of ice-cream, Baskin Robbins Pralines & Cream was pretty hard to top. So, I thought I'd see how hard it was to make those crunchy vanillary gems, and it turns out it's not hard at all. I only made a few, but basically I followed this recipe.

Pecan Pralines

1 cup Pecan Nuts

1 cup Soft Brown Sugar

35ml Evaporated Milk

35ml Water

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

20g Chilled Butter (cubed)

1. Combine sugar, milk, and water in a pan. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously.

2. Continue to boil until mixture reaches soft ball stage.

3. Remove from heat, stir in pecans, vanilla, and butter.

4. Once mixture has cooled to a thick liquid pour on to greaseproof paper.

5. Cut once cooled.

Note: This mixture could probably take a cup and 1/2 of Pecans, or even two cups, if you don't mind a thinner coating of praline mix.

These taste really good!

 

Gnocchi

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I recently bought some fresh gnocchi from the farmer's markets in Stone's Corner. I was persuaded to purchase for two reasons. Firstly because it was super fresh, sitting in a big box of semolina scooped out and bagged on request, and secondly because I overheard the stall owner describing a gnocchi dish to the buyer in front of me that sounded too good not to try. So try it I did that very night, it was delicious, and here it is.

Stones Corner Gnocchi

(serves 1)

1 cup gnocchi

1 cup tomato based pasta sauce (I just blend tinned tomatoes with salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and herbs)

1/2 cup chicken stock (homemade)

1. Combine the pasta sauce and the chicken stock in a saucepan and bring to the boil

2. Simmer sauce for a few minutes, and then add the gnocchi

3. Continue to simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens up

4. Serve with lots of grated parmasan

I've always heard that Italians don't use much sauce on their pasta, so this recipe surprised me as it is very saucy! The pasta guy was definitely Italian though, so I'm guessing it's fairly authentic from somewhere. Anyway, it was delicious!

(Image is of a Macaroni seller in Naples, details: http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/4754577183/)

Here we go again

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So, I've been thinking about it, now I'm attempting to do it. I'm bringing back my blog.

They'll be minimal restaurant reviews (let's face it there's plenty of them already), but there will hopefully be lots of food and drink related stuff, and the occasional garden item.

So, without further ado, here's a cocktail I created this evening using the sour cherry cordial I purchased from Stones Corner this morning (find it at your local Persian grocer).

The Horatio Sour

(serves 2)

In a shaker 1/3rd full with ice combine the following:

1 shot lemon juice

1/2 shot sour cherry cordial

2 shots vodka

Shake vigourously and pour into small tumblers and top with tonic water

Enjoy!

 

Enjoying my Holy Goat Pandora

(download)
Completely liquid inside, eaten with beadsticks, and tastes like a cross between a Chevre and a well ripe Camembert. Delicious! Available from Richmond Hill Larder Cheese Club.

Jam

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Recently, I have been making Jam. Not quite on the scale depicted above (which is of a Mrs Gus Wright of Greene County, Georgia, circa 1941: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nypl/3110584464/), but I'm happy with the results none the less.

Specifically I've been making Strawberry Jam. I made a couple of batches last year and they went down very well with everyone who tried them, so I felt it only right to make use of this years crop. It must be a decent crop too, as I managed to snap up a box of 2nd class fruit from the Mount Gravatt markets last weekend for a mere $5. That gave me just on 2kg of fruit once I'd rejected the duds, and at that price how could you not!

I ran into a problem pretty quickly after preping the fruit though, in that I couldn't find last year's recipes. After a half hour of hunting I gave up and decided that I'd wing it (with the aid of various other recipes I'd ofund whilst on the hunt). I'm pleased to say this worked out very well, proving that jam is not at all hard to make. If you're thinking about it my advise is just buy the fruit and sugar and get stuck in! Here is my bastardised recipe to help you.

For 6 jars Strawberry Jam:

2kg strawberrys, washed and sliced
1.8kg sugar (half raw, half caster)
400ml(ish) fresh lime juice
Knob of butter
Lot of jars

1. Place the strawberrys in 2 baking trays to a depth of about 4cm. (Should be 1kg in each tray).
2. Cover strawberrys in each tray with equal amounts of raw and caster sugar (so 900g in each if using 2 trays). 
3. Leave in fridge for anywhere between 3 hours and 2 days (mine were in for 2 days).
4. Pour resulting fruit/syrup/half melted sugar mixture into a large pan/s (I used 2 3-litre stockpots).*
5. Add in the lime juice and butter (the butter stops the jam catching during cooking, and gives it a nice shine when cooked).
6. Bring the mixture to the boil slowly, stirring constantly (this will take a while, and you need to stir it or the sugar will catch and burn).
7. Once the mixture has started to boil turn up the heat and boil rapidly for around 20 minutes.**
8. Once boiled for long enough, turn of the heat completely and let the jam cool for 10 minutes.
9. Transfer to sterilised jars, seal, and leave to cool overnight at room tempurature.***

* The trick here is to leave plenty of room in the pan for the mixture to rise up the pan when cooking (no more than half full before cooking).
** The time for boiling is really the art for jam making, and it's all about setting point. The jam needs to reach a certain tempurature in order for it to set when cold. Technically this is 104.something degrees centigrade. My thermometer tops at 100, so I don't know if I reach the magic temp for sure, but I find 20-25 minutes boiling results in a nice, but not overly firm consistency).
*** I sterilise my jars by running them through a long hot cycle in the dishwasher - easy :)

The Laneway

 
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The Laneway has been top of my list of Brisbane bars to test out for as long as I learned it had opened as part of The Great Urbane Redevelopment of 2009. So it was great joy that I realised a catch up with an old workmate meant I could get a look at the place at last.
 
I had been to Urbane once for lunch before the big reno. At the time I guess it was still considered one of Brisbane's better resturants, but it was in the old days, and I thought it reflected the conservatism of the (then) Brisbane fine dining scene rather perfectly - all white walls, starched linen, and 'Modern Australian' que-zine. All the better then, when the old Urbane transformed into the new Urbane/Euro/Laneway combo which screams I Am Different!
 
The evening started well with a rather un-Brisbane entrance. I say this with all seriousness, there's nothing I like more than a walk past some rubbish bins in a dark Alley to get to a drinking establishment! It just adds to the drama when you walk through the door to a beautifully landscaped interior. Once in side, the excitment increases as you wonder, am I in the bar or the resturant? Then you catch a second of noisy crowd coming form the top of a very unassuming staircase and think, well I don't know what's up there but I'm checking it out! So, then, finally you find yourself in the bar proper, which is also beautiful. Aside from the high stool/tables which I don't love, there are nice low seats, and some great views down onto the resturant and lane below. As you see by the photo, it is dark, but there are some nice visuals projected onto a far wall to give just enough Blade Runner background to read the menu by. (I will never tire of large projected moving imges in bars!).
 
So, to the drinks. Well, the cocktail list is divided into three Acts: Seasonal (currently Winter), House, and Classics. Then there is a smallish wine list (only two sparkling options?), a good selection of local bottled beers, and a great selection of spirits. I was delighted to see Hendrick's Gin available (at a price), but I really got excited when I noticed they serve Aspall Cyder (also at a price). Now, I may be biased as it's my local brew (my mum used to pick apples for Aspall when I was a kid), but I reckon it's hard to go past this for apple-based alcohol.
 
While I got stuck into the cyder, my drinking partner attacked the cocktail menu, and was suitably impressed with what she got. Her one criticism - a lot of egg white on the menu - rather an aquired taste (texture?) she thought, and I guess I'd agree.
 
This was not a long night, just a few drinks after work, and it was a Tuesday, but we were the last people in the bar at 7:40pm. This didn't really bother me, but I'd have thought a few more bums on seats would have helped the atmosphere along. Another friend of mine said she couldn't even get in the place last time they tried, so I guess I can't make too much of a point about it. if anything I felt a little disappointed that her was for em the nicest bar I've been to in the city, and it was empty!
 
I for one shall be frequenting it as much as I can from now on!

The Canvas Club

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On Tuesday night (with it being a holiday the next day), we ventured out for a few drinks on a school night. Not wanting to get too crazy we elected to check out the Canvas Club - the newly opened bar on the increasingly fabulous Logan Road at the Gabba.

I've been wanting to check this place out for a while, for two reasons. One being that it bills itself as a bringing a little of Melbourne's laneway culture to Brisbane (I really love Melbourne's laneway bars), and the other being that I saw from a picture on their website they are down with the large block of ice thing. This is the first place in Brisbane I've seen using top shelf ice like this, so I really wanted to see what the place was like. I was not disappointed!

It was pouring with rain the night we went, and so it was nice to walk into a warm and welcoming ambiance. It was quiet though! Just a few couples huddled like they were in a theatre bar waiting for the show to start, and some suitable mellow jazz drifting out of the stereo. We joked that anyone under the age of 30 would walk straight past Canvas, dismissing it as a bar for 'grown-ups', but it was just what I had hoped for - a quiet bar in Brisbane!

Layout wise it is almost exactly a miniature Bowery Bar complete with booths - which we managed to just squeeze five people into. Then it was straight into some to tipples, courtesy of our super attentive host (my friend described her as an enabler, which I'm told is good). This is the second time in a month that I've been able to enjoy mulled wine in Brisbane (the other being Libertine), and I have that the Canvas version was hands down the winner - a fabulous example in fact - sweet, spicy, and with that wonderful alcoholic hit on breathing in the warm vapors - perfect!

Other highlights from the drinks we sampled were a vodka espresso, and two drinks whose names I have unfortunately forgotten - one with a strange lavender after taste, and one (made with rum, and served in a tin mug) which tasted exactly like a ginger nut biscuit - top notch stuff!

Drinks were accompanied by some nibbles from the snack menu - lovely triple cream brie, mild mini green olives, and spectacular grilled artichokes. We were there for long, as we had a dinner appointment at Crosstown over the road, but I think we all enjoyed the visit to Canvas. I even got a demo on how to use the tools for dealing with the giant ice block!

Image is of a Seattle soda bar (date unknown), from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uw_digital_images/4476959082/

Southbank Surf Club

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Had lunch at the Southbank Surf Club on Sunday. It was absolutely rocking down at the Breaka Beach (is it still called that?), and consequently we had to wait a good 45 minutes for our table for five. Not that this was a problem though, as we were quite content enjoying a couple of Fat Yaks and some chips (that came out about 30 seconds after ordering, take that McDonalds!) in the bar while we were waiting.

Then it was on to the main event. Now, I am not a native, but I have been in Oz long enough now to have been to a few surf clubs and beachy cafes and had some great times. The Pacifc Hotel at Yamba for example, or Bistro C at Noosa. The Southbank Surfclub definately references though kind of laidback, relaxed eateries, and it really works at such a touristic location, even as a local I felt like I was transpoted out of the big city to some sleepy coastal town.

The menu is pretty minimal, and three of our party of five went for the fish and chips, myself included. The others went with the healthier option of Seared Kingfish, and the Steak Sandwich without the steak (vegetarians have limited options at this club).

I was pretty hungry, and it took another 1/2 hour at least for our food to finally arrive (did I mention they were busy?), so when our food finally arrived I was glad to see the portions were of a good size. Maybe not classic surf club hugeness, but fair. I'm only going to comment on the Fish and Chips as I didn't try anything else, and I'll say they went from being incredible to a bit average throughout the eating. Initially the batter was about the best I've had in Australia, but sadly (due I'm assuming to kitchen business) that batter was not drained of its cooking oil well enough, and slowly leached oil over the entire dish as I ate. This coupled with bog standard frozen chips left me and my fellow eaters feely a bit disappointed with our grub. I wonder if hand cut chips (for some classic examples try Burger Urge) will every become the norm here?

That said, I will go back, and have something other than fish and chips. Next time I'll try and go when it's a little less busy, and hopefully this will be a fairer test f the kitchen's output.

Image is of Noosa Beach circa 1952 from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryqueensland/3770876886/

 

Google Slut?

Ads
So, I'm back from holidays. No posts from my travels I realise, although I have been tweeting a bit. There are lots of pics from my culinary adventures to come soon, but in the mean time something a little different. Today I think I finally experienced the full power of Google's ad machine (at least I assume it's them behind it).

The picture above is of two ads lifted from a recent viewing of Silverbrow on Food (a great blog from the UK). So, I have recently been looking at buying a soundcard for my laptop, looking a lot at Amazon and the maker's website. Imagine my surprise when I see an ad for the exact same soundcard sitting on an entirely unrelated foodie blog! Better still, the image in the ad is of a takeaway burger meal with the soundcard replacing the burger - nice!

Surprised by this I went back to the same site using another browser that I don't use much, and funnily enough I get a generic ad for New South Wales! So that's it, I am now officially a slave to Google/Amazon/unknown other Interweb giants. Is it time to start browsing anonymously? For now I don't think so - I can ignore the ads no problem.

One thing though, I wonder when these guys will be smart enough to figure out that I am also not a fan of fast food - in fact it pretty much represents everything I feel is wrong with modern food production. Once they figure that out they will presumably realise that putting my object of desire inside a burger in the hope I'll buy is failed miserably. Put it inside a loaf of organic, stone ground, wood fired bread and you might just have me make that purchase people.