Oscar & Hawkas 7th Birthday Sleep Over Party

  Saturday 5th June 2010, North Caulfield

 

 

  

          

Lachlan's Tigger & Friends 2nd Birthday Party

Sunday 15th August 2010 - Nhulunbuy

 

invites made by mummy - stampin up

twisted.junior-apprentice spring (term 3) school holiday cooking program

 friday 24th september 2010

tuesday 28th september 2010

 

wednesday 29th september 2010

  

 thursday 30th september 2010

friday 1st october 2010

twisted.tales - Peter Gilmore, CRAVE 2010

peter gilmore, quay

crave, sydney international food festival 2010,

contemporary creative showcase program

sunday, 10th october 2010 written by sally  t. ridden

Peter Gilmore is well deservedly one of the most celebrated chefs here in Australia. His philosophy is about less structured new Australian cuisine showcasing fantastic ingredients such as obscure flowers, buds and seeds as well as sea and land produce, with an emphasis on quality of produce, the breed and location. His 2 week old Quay cook book focuses on nature, textures and Heaven, his signature deserts. Read on for secrets of his mouthwatering demonstrated three dishes!



Tapioca (a gluten and protein free extracted starch with thickening agent), sous-vide, (cooking in a controlled low temperature bath in a air tight plastic bag to maintain ingredient integrity) and seafood reductions were all similar themes at this years event, resulting from a combination of reactions, global communications, trends as well as the diversity of nature. A concern of Peter’s is the currently homogenised generic produce with no choice at retail stores, instead Peter recommends local farmers produce markets.

People eat with their eyes and to achieve this Peter captured the essence of a visually intricate vegetarian beetroot salad.

Peter first spooned a mixture of 2/3 fresh goats curd 1/3 crème fraîche onto a plate, swirled into rounded shape. Next he sprinkled heat dried olive pasted sourdough bread crumbles capturing the olive flavour with a different texture. Pickled beetroot was centred over the curd and crumbles – paper thin sliced beetroot, 1 litre rice wine vinegar, 400g sugar, dissolved and marinate overnight and dressed with olive oil to season.

An array of stem cut radishes, blanched and raw, were strategically placed, baby red onions, extra virgin olive oil and salt seasoning, the ends had been cut for more option to work with the bases. Next the placement of the dehydrated deep fried thinly sliced baby beetroot chips that had been heat lamp dried to intensify flavour and remove the moisture then fried in oil at 160° so as not too hot to burn.

To complete the plating of this “simple basic humble salad”, were the mini goats curd cigars which had been individually piped into each of end of the miniscule tubes. If you wish to have the recipe completely gluten free simply remove the goats curd cigars. Micro herbs were dropped, and of course as demonstrations would have it, they fell ever so artistically exactly where they belonged, some bulls blood chard leaves were dressed and for finishing pretty touches a variety of sweet perfumed and colourful violets - pink, purple, violet and white if you have your own experimental test garden.

The Lobster Velvet with tapioca and lobster cream was another organically presented dish you wanted to eat on sight. Begin with his consommé (a clear, clarified rich in flavour soup) consisting of fish heads, cuttlefish, scallop trimmings, egg protein and white fleshy fish. Tapioca, a popular ingredient due to its textural element was cooked for 20 mins in the consommé, until transparent and a white dot appears in the middle. Every leaf of a butter leaf lettuce minus the last tiny 1 at the heart or core was pulled off. The base of the core cut, the sides trimmed, the core dressed in oil and seasoned.

To make the lobster cream, simply 3 dozen oysters infused with milk added agar agar (heat, strained and set). The Lobster Velvet Mousseline, of egg whites is traditionally hand blended in a copper bowl due to the copper elements creating soft tips, added just prior to serving, giving a light airy consistency. Incorporate the lobster cream with gentle finishing smooth folds. To finish the velvet in a steamer of controlled 85-90° heat, a combination of the thickened lobster cream and chicken stock. Quenelle or spoon the Velvet mixture into the steamer of stock, put on lid, steam for 2 minutes, retaining the velvet.

Put micro slices of squid (fast frozen for tenderness) into ginger and spring onion infused grape-seed oil for 10 seconds, drain. Add the oyster pearl meat, similar to scallop or abalone. Then the iced, cooked, sliced lobster medallion, which was poached in thickened lobster stock 80-90° for 20 secs, again until transparent.

To plate Peter started with a spoon of Lobster Cream, followed by the Lobster Velvet, next add the Lettuce Heart, layer with the squid, the Lobster and Pearl Meat. Drizzle the translucent tapioca, dress with Pea Flower and garnish with a Wasabi Flower, fresh from Tasmania. Giddy from the pace? There’s still more to be demonstrated!

And now for a peace of dessert heaven, only the ying-yang dark light crumbles represent soil! There were only 8 components to this desert, with so many elements it is exhausting to even list.


1. Choc cherry sorbet - with cherry juice replacing the water.


2. Vanilla Cream - custard with double cream and vanilla


3. Caramelised Puff Pastry - rolled out with icing sugar not flour


4. White Choc Caramelised Almonds – roasted, caramelized and coated in Verona Almond Hazelnut Praline


5. Dark Chocolate Daiquise Crumble - Peter endorses Italian Amedei Chau chocolate combine


6. White Crumble Milk Biscuit - liquid glucose and 1 litre of milk, frothed and dried in oven. Plus the “accidental” time and labour intensive miniature piped macaroons, (you can just crush macaroons if doing at home)


7. Sugar Crystal Jewels - ice malt sugar is only available from a professional supplier, with a maltose content it is a colorless transparent thick liquid, sweet in taste with an enzyme technique fragrance. Cooked at a high temperature (just below caramelisation) so as not to colour Peter heats then dries. Sprinkle lightly onto a tray so as to flake, not sheet.


8. Cherry Piquant Compote - wild Italian preserved pitted cherries and cherry jam, heated to a reduction.


And how to plate this you ask? Start with a bed of vanilla cream, the sprinkled layers of miniature macaroons then crushed white choc caramelized almonds. A scooped layer of cherry compote, cover again with vanilla cream. Spoon ½ side with dark crumble and the other 1/2 side with white crumble. Sprinkle over both crumbles the sugar crystal jewels. Finish with quenelle choc cherry sorbet.

 

If you can’t get to Quay for a unique dining experience, buy the simply beautiful and inspiring book.

twisted.tales - Sean Connelly, CRAVE 2010

  sean connelly, seans kitchen

crave, sydney international food festival 2010,

contemporary creative showcase program

sunday, 10th october 2010 written by sally  t. ridden

 

Over the last 6 years Sean Connelly’s career catapulted into an astral phenomenon. Born in Yorkshire 43 yrs ago he learnt early on he was interested in cooking and when politely asked to leave college, he started in a kitchen of cooking creatives – testosterone, tattoos and toothless chefs. Working on the QE2 for 18-20 months, traveling he fell in love with Australia and has been here for 23 years with his wife Jo (nicknamed the longest suffering Jo) and now has 3 kids.   Anything Sean does at home in his kitchen, he brings into the restaurant kitchen.

 

Sean created a simply beautiful Lobster Burger, with buns purposely baked to fit the brightly hued cooked lobster. Without politically offending the audience by first naming or numbering the lobster, the luxe burger was all inclusive of equal portions of indulgent ethical foie gras and french butter, a true heart stopping dish with only 180g of each. The piled high watercress, the preferred leaf of choice by Sean, with its pepper light flavour highlighting the dish is dressed in chardonnay vinaigrette.  The few lucky audience members who got to sample the end result, did not allow us any photo moments whilst they devoured the burger. You can order the burger from the menu at Sean’s Kitchen.

The King Salmon (which was actually ocean trout), is preferred to Atlantic Salmon, unfortunately it has not been readily available to the public over the last 18 months.  The trout had been marinated overnight in a light consommé stock, and a good chardonnay for a rich creamy velvet mouth fill along with one of Sean’s favourite spices, Star Anise and a little bay leaf, so as not to overpower.  The tasting sample dish, had been smoked with an appliance that looks very similar to illegal smoking paraphernalia.  The trout had sat wafting in the smoke for approx 3-4 mins, along with the blanched translucent sago pearls (an extracted starch which can be interchangeable with Tapioca)  infused in Simon Johnson chamomile tea, preferred due to its hints of orange, and the lemon crème fraîche topped with pretty sweet pea tendrils was presented to us each with its own smoking cone.   A total sensory experience, visually exciting, smoke wafting into your face, glistening delicate trout, a mouth fill of layers of rich creamy velvet, black salt, butter, sweet and lemon.

                

twisted.tales - Paul Cunningham, CRAVE 2010

paul cunningham, the paul (dk)

crave, sydney international food festival 2010,

contemporary creative showcase program

sunday, 10th october 2010 written by sally  t. ridden

  

    

“Anyone that says their job is their life, it’s bollocks! Cooking is still a job, I love my job.  My family and my wife are my life, I love that I have been flown over to show Australians how to cook!”

The non-conforming “modest” British chef Paul Cunningham lives in Denmark with his Danish wife Lene, where he is TV Chef Royalty.  The Paul, his eponymous restaurant in Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens showcases his contemporary    modernist artistry within its kitchens for it’s 8^th consecutive year. Welcome dear delectable ones.  Prepare yourselves for “c” & “f” words; we definitely saw no hint of his famous silent treatment.

The dynamic dishes manifest from changing seasons.  His high profile restaurant is both taste revelation and            revolution, having two decisive elements – field to table and lightness in cooking aka raw-natural.  Technology works together with the humble kitchen equipment, developing side by side, not replacing.  His kitchen staff currently sits on 6, it used to be 11 now staff just has to work faster, thinking smarter, this way the kitchen has been trimmed to be ready, the shields and guards are up, prepared, for whatever comes. 

The trend for cheaper cuts in restaurants was apparent throughout all demonstrations at this year’s event, such as cheeks, rumps and “lamb bum”.  For everyone, it’s no longer about expense due to the financial crisis backlash. Is this why he does not use bowls or boards unless necessary, only the stainless steel bench top instead?!

Paul believes in taking the edge off fine dining. Lay out your business cards and purposely spill coffee all over them, rip and tear the edges or sides off your menus, splatter and lose the pretense. Paul doesn’t like his dishes to look             orchestrated, nothing designer, a natural plating presentation.  Modern techniques are used for control.

Apparently Princess Mary eats at The Paul, and not yet made it to his bestie’s (Renè Redzipi) haunt, Noma. Ten years ago chefs used to steal each others customers, nowadays they recommend each others restaurants or work together in respective restaurants.  Pretty much gone are the days of ego driven society of chefs at this level they are decent and respectful of each other. 

Be inspired by technology and techniques to evolve and stay excited but know your classics and basics first and       foremost, sauces, bouillabaisse, consommé.  To start his Red Snapper, Protein Emulsion Piment L’espelette demonstration Paul had a vacuum tight plastic bag filled with red snapper thyme, bay leaf & lemon marinated overnight. If you don’t have a vacuum apparatus just use a freezer bag, suck the air out quickly and tie, extracting the air and     impurities, just do NOT breath into the bag! Using the sous-vide low temperature water bath technique for control and saving on washing up time, he drops the bag in at 45˚C raising the bath temp to 50˚-60˚ C.  If you don’t have a water bath, steam in oven, cooking for 10 minutes with a thermometer until fish pearlescent to white.  Remove fish from bath then rest allowing fish to be “taken down”. Always rest everything after roast, relaxing the food.  “It’s the land of relax here in Australia, anymore you’d be asleep”.

His fish stock of filleted red snapper, washed snapper heads with insides and eyes removed, as both full of impurities causing bitterness and a cloudy stock.  For 20 minutes boil and skim, reducing stock so overnight it sets until a  gelatinous lump of pure natural protein forms. (You can do this with beef or chicken).    

  

For the fish mayo or protein emulsion, use neutral flavoured grape-seed oil, placed into a blender with the gluten fish stock, acting as egg would in a mayonnaise. Add red wine vinegar, lots of garlic and mustard. Season with salt, add more water and lemon to reduce the stock and blend.  Finally add olive oil at final blend for rich flavour and some smokey pepper paprika pimentos.

He used yet another plastic bag (you can use a glass jar) to create his infused oil overnight, filled with  grilled peppers/capsicum, roasted whole chilies, garlic and (Joseph’s) olive oil.

His final demonstration, Macleay Valley Rabbit, Crystal Bay Prawn, Fennel & Sultana, Mussel Emulsion was entertainment as its squeamish best, assisted by Sean Connelly who had just arrived from the  “Picnic on the Bridge” event who served as “his bitch”.  Start with a marvelous mussel reduction stock with crystal bay prawns and a whole lot of butter.

 

 “In this wobbly-gooly-land you cannot get langoustines” so next he grabbed a live Marron, which instantaneously bit him, placed a knife in the back of  the “little sods” head, he made a cross and chanted “Now you are going to die,” and, “Teach them for biting me,” and, “F-bom me”. With the nerve endings quite clearly twitching away he comments “Oh he’s still moving”, all the while being filmed live, he then states, “Let’s go get his little brother…”  Finishing with, “Now I am going to pull his bum off, no don’t turn off the camera, don’t be so squeamish!”

 Rabbit Saddle was tenderized and again marinated overnight then grilled rare over coals.  Paul considered what        rabbits eat, so naturally he served the rabbit with these items - lavender and fennel.  A chutney of apple, tomato,        sultana, eschalot and fennel seed.  A lemon fennel aioli with its enhancing aromas, lastly a simple rocket and raw fennel bulb sliced just like a coleslaw for crunchy salad.

Paul currently has 5 books published, the 6^th will ave a part of Australia in it and as Sue Bennett moderator of this    demonstration said, “You are fun and you’re funny, we loved having you here”, I could not agree more.