Monday, April 18, 2011
Andy’s Yummy Cream of Cauliflower Soup
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
½ cup of cream
1.5 litres of good chicken stock, warmed
1 potato, chopped into pieces
Cook cauliflower and potato in stock until soft, seasoning with just a little salt (be careful the stock may have salt in it) and plenty of ground white pepper
Blitz the softened vegies in the food processor until almost a puree but not quite (u don't want baby food)
Add the soup back into the pot with the cream and warm gently
To serve:
In a bowl ladle the soup and top with fresh chopped chives and chopped crispy fried bacon to garnish. Drizzle with good quality olive oil
On the side: toasted cheese sandwiches (grilled on a oiled griddle) for a lovely Autumnal lunch...
Friday, April 8, 2011
Andrew’s Yummy Beef Stew with Baked Cheesy Dumplings
Ok the dumplings are basically a savoury scone, but they are quite light and nice with a little butter and dipped in the gravy. They make a nice alternative to pastry
750g Oyster Blade steak, cut into 2cm cubes
1 medium carrot, cut into a small dice
1 medium onion, cut into a small dice
1 medium stick of celery
1/2L or so of beef stock
1-2tbsp seasoned flour
Olive oil
Method
In a good heavy fry pan, cook veg in oil for 5 minutes until soft
Take out of pan
Chuck steak into a plastic bag, with the flour
Add a little more olive oil, brown meat in batches
Add veg
Add stock
Cover tightly and simmer gently for 1.5 hours stirring occasionally.
You might need to add a little more stock or water if the meat sticks
Baked Dumplings
2 cups Self Raising Flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
½ cup butter
Small pinch salt
¼ cup milk
Pinch pepper
Pinch mixed herbs
½ cup grated tasty cheese
Rub butter into flour, until it resembles breadcrumbs
Add other ingredients
Mix together
Turn out onto floured bench and cut into 4 cm rounds, about 2cm high
Bake for 15minutes at 225Deg C
Serve with the stew, and a knob of butter in the middle, a glass or 2 of red
750g Oyster Blade steak, cut into 2cm cubes
1 medium carrot, cut into a small dice
1 medium onion, cut into a small dice
1 medium stick of celery
1/2L or so of beef stock
1-2tbsp seasoned flour
Olive oil
Method
In a good heavy fry pan, cook veg in oil for 5 minutes until soft
Take out of pan
Chuck steak into a plastic bag, with the flour
Add a little more olive oil, brown meat in batches
Add veg
Add stock
Cover tightly and simmer gently for 1.5 hours stirring occasionally.
You might need to add a little more stock or water if the meat sticks
Baked Dumplings
2 cups Self Raising Flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
½ cup butter
Small pinch salt
¼ cup milk
Pinch pepper
Pinch mixed herbs
½ cup grated tasty cheese
Rub butter into flour, until it resembles breadcrumbs
Add other ingredients
Mix together
Turn out onto floured bench and cut into 4 cm rounds, about 2cm high
Bake for 15minutes at 225Deg C
Serve with the stew, and a knob of butter in the middle, a glass or 2 of red
More Italian Simplicity
Spotted this recipe in the paper* the other day, it's by Karen Martini, head chef at various Sydney and Melbourne eateries and TV presenter on Better Homes and Gardens here in Australia.
I've adapted it to suit what is available out here in country New South Wales. Like most of her recipes, it is pretty easy: the method involves making a delicious chicken broth, then adding chicken balls and noodles with garden peas and italian parsley for freshness. I would serve this with a crisp white wine, somefing like an early drinking Hunter Semillon, or if you are in the Northern Hemisphere, a crisp dry white wine from your local area..
Mushroom, Chicken Ball, Pea and Noodle Soup
The stock
using a leftover roast chicken carcass and bones, simmer in about 2 litres of fresh water with an onion, carrot, celery, coupla parsley stalks, 2 bay leaves, a couple of peppercorns and 1tsp sea salt.
u can halve the carrots and onion and chop the celery into large pieces. U can use a packaged chicken stock instead, but this soup really needs a good freshly made stock. It tastes so much better then cardboard and msg. Simmer the stock for about 45minutes, thats all, turn off stick a lid on it and go out for a while. The house will be smelling devine when u return.
Drain the stock thru a seive, into a clean saucepan, and bring back to the boil, simmer and skim any skum off the top (this helps clear the stock, stockmakers usually do this sort of thing)
The chickenmeatballs
salt/pepper
olive oil
2 or 3 french shallots (éschallots) little brown onions
2 or 3 thyme sprigs, or 1tsp dried thyme
4 buttom mushrooms, or swiss brown mushrooms sliced and diced or
30g dried porcini mushrooms revitalised in a little boiling water & dice them up
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
500g minced chicken or u can mince your own in the food processor, just don't overwork it or u will get rubber.
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Fry up the french shallots, thyme, garlic and mushies in the olive oil. Let it cool for 5 minutes
Combine all the ingredients and make into small meatballs about 3cm round. use water on your hands to shape and make round.
To make the finished dish:
Put a good handful of broken spaghetti into the simmering stock and cook for 6 minutes, stirring
Add the chicken balls and cook for 5 minutes
Add 2 eggs (adds richness, cheap protein, and thickens it), juice of 1 lemon, check seasoning and add roughly torn parsley leaves, and a good handful of frozen peas. Give it a stir and leave for 5 minutes to rest while u cut up some bread and chat with your friends.
* as seen in Sunday Life magazine
I've adapted it to suit what is available out here in country New South Wales. Like most of her recipes, it is pretty easy: the method involves making a delicious chicken broth, then adding chicken balls and noodles with garden peas and italian parsley for freshness. I would serve this with a crisp white wine, somefing like an early drinking Hunter Semillon, or if you are in the Northern Hemisphere, a crisp dry white wine from your local area..
Mushroom, Chicken Ball, Pea and Noodle Soup
The stock
using a leftover roast chicken carcass and bones, simmer in about 2 litres of fresh water with an onion, carrot, celery, coupla parsley stalks, 2 bay leaves, a couple of peppercorns and 1tsp sea salt.
u can halve the carrots and onion and chop the celery into large pieces. U can use a packaged chicken stock instead, but this soup really needs a good freshly made stock. It tastes so much better then cardboard and msg. Simmer the stock for about 45minutes, thats all, turn off stick a lid on it and go out for a while. The house will be smelling devine when u return.
Drain the stock thru a seive, into a clean saucepan, and bring back to the boil, simmer and skim any skum off the top (this helps clear the stock, stockmakers usually do this sort of thing)
The chickenmeatballs
salt/pepper
olive oil
2 or 3 french shallots (éschallots) little brown onions
2 or 3 thyme sprigs, or 1tsp dried thyme
4 buttom mushrooms, or swiss brown mushrooms sliced and diced or
30g dried porcini mushrooms revitalised in a little boiling water & dice them up
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
500g minced chicken or u can mince your own in the food processor, just don't overwork it or u will get rubber.
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Fry up the french shallots, thyme, garlic and mushies in the olive oil. Let it cool for 5 minutes
Combine all the ingredients and make into small meatballs about 3cm round. use water on your hands to shape and make round.
To make the finished dish:
Put a good handful of broken spaghetti into the simmering stock and cook for 6 minutes, stirring
Add the chicken balls and cook for 5 minutes
Add 2 eggs (adds richness, cheap protein, and thickens it), juice of 1 lemon, check seasoning and add roughly torn parsley leaves, and a good handful of frozen peas. Give it a stir and leave for 5 minutes to rest while u cut up some bread and chat with your friends.
* as seen in Sunday Life magazine
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Vintage Progress @ Cowra
So far we have had 39 degree heat, humidity, cool nights, warm days, heavy showery rain, wind, what strange weather! The last week has yielded milder weather with heavy dew some mornings and sunny skies during the day which is helping finish the ripening process.
The vines appear to be mostly holding up; there is the inevitable powdery mildew in the vineyard. Some blocks, particularly the Cabernet crop are affected by botrytis as well.
It's shaping up as a year for the patient and clever (?) winemaker, but am confident the end result will be quite good. Already some of the whites are coming along in tank, sparkling bases are getting there and looking forward to shiraz and tempranillos which are both looking good on the vine still.
The vines appear to be mostly holding up; there is the inevitable powdery mildew in the vineyard. Some blocks, particularly the Cabernet crop are affected by botrytis as well.
It's shaping up as a year for the patient and clever (?) winemaker, but am confident the end result will be quite good. Already some of the whites are coming along in tank, sparkling bases are getting there and looking forward to shiraz and tempranillos which are both looking good on the vine still.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Tyrrells Brokenback Shiraz 2009 Review
The Brokenback Range is the sandstone mountain range that runs along the southwestern fringe of the Hunter Valley, you can see it from Cessnock and Broke and pretty much all around the lower hunter. Vineyards border the range, and according to Tyrrells, fruit is sourced from those vines for this little beauty.
Upon opening, it delivers a mild dose of pong which blows off quickly in the glass, followed by fruits of the forest (raspberries, boysenberries and blackberries) and upon airing, a touch of oak. On the palate it's medium bodied with good concentration of blackberry and dark plum fruit sitting aboard quiet vanillan oak, with the finish becoming distinctly sour cherry from good acidity. Tannins are soft, rounded and unobtrusive. Sulfur from bottling is evident, but no more then necessary.
This is an intriguing wine, at just 12.9% alcohol, it drinks well, with well judged acidity that sets it apart from many bigger Australian shiraz. I see it as a worthy interpretation of Hunter red wine and as such have no hesitation in highly recommending it. There are no airs and graces, just good cheap drinking - and at just $13.99 from Irish Dan's, a 6 pack of these would not go astray in the cellar.
Food suggestion: Baked sweet spring lamb with rosemary and roasted garlic.
Upon opening, it delivers a mild dose of pong which blows off quickly in the glass, followed by fruits of the forest (raspberries, boysenberries and blackberries) and upon airing, a touch of oak. On the palate it's medium bodied with good concentration of blackberry and dark plum fruit sitting aboard quiet vanillan oak, with the finish becoming distinctly sour cherry from good acidity. Tannins are soft, rounded and unobtrusive. Sulfur from bottling is evident, but no more then necessary.
This is an intriguing wine, at just 12.9% alcohol, it drinks well, with well judged acidity that sets it apart from many bigger Australian shiraz. I see it as a worthy interpretation of Hunter red wine and as such have no hesitation in highly recommending it. There are no airs and graces, just good cheap drinking - and at just $13.99 from Irish Dan's, a 6 pack of these would not go astray in the cellar.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Wolf Blass Limited Release Yellow Label Cab/Shiraz, 2008
Spotted this wine at the local Woolies liquor store; it attracted me with the Wolf Blass platinum like label, you know the one, it has the three vine leaves emblazoned with medals. Unfortunately at $10 this was Yellow in colour, not platinum.
A limited release, not much info on the bottle, but they say it is limited.
From the ripe 2008 vintage; I thought it worth trying:
Undeniably ripe, plush style, full of fruit sweetness, but there is a lingering acid finish that completes the palate, finishing just a fraction hard. The nose is dark fruits and a good whiff of oak; that oak is carried through as a vanilla, caramel sweetness, rather then detracting from the wine aids the wine.
Tannins that are there, are ripe, round and well hidden by the oak and the fruit. Time will tell the quality of this wine, but for $10, who can really complain?
I do wonder however, if there will come a time when sub $20 wine is about savouriness rather then sweetness.
A limited release, not much info on the bottle, but they say it is limited.
From the ripe 2008 vintage; I thought it worth trying:
Undeniably ripe, plush style, full of fruit sweetness, but there is a lingering acid finish that completes the palate, finishing just a fraction hard. The nose is dark fruits and a good whiff of oak; that oak is carried through as a vanilla, caramel sweetness, rather then detracting from the wine aids the wine.
Tannins that are there, are ripe, round and well hidden by the oak and the fruit. Time will tell the quality of this wine, but for $10, who can really complain?
I do wonder however, if there will come a time when sub $20 wine is about savouriness rather then sweetness.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
A Week of Simple Home Cooked Italian Food
Working in the wine industry during vintage can be a 24/7 affair: early morning starts, late night finishes with weekends thrown in for good measure. Simple, fresh wholesome food with plenty of vegetables helps restore the energy levels, especially when it has been hot. Food such as Mediterranean food, that is wholesome and restorative, food that is filling without overdoing it. Avoid the buttery French and northern European food, base your diet instead on good olive oil, vegetables small amounts of meat and fish and you are there. No wonder Italians are so healthy, they work hard and eat extraordinarily well.
I stayed the first week with my boss, the Head Winemaker, Anthony in Canowindra New South Wales. If you throw a dart at the map of NSW, the bulls eye would be Canowindra.
Anthony is Italian descent, and has a passion for Southern Italian food, food from his parents' birthplace in the region around Naples. You could call it peasant food, as it certainly is not sophisticated, but it sure is tasty, economical and healthy. His partner Katie, together with their twin baby girls Sofia and Lola, and Pishta the jack russell make excellent company.
All vegetables and herbs are straight from Anthony's 1/2 acre garden which also includes an orchard of citrus, apples, figs and stone fruits. A couple of free range hens, a duck and 2 quails complete the lifestyle.
Monday night: Pre Dinner Drinks and Chicken Cacciatore
Tanquary Gin and Tonic over ice, cucumber assisting with the flavouring in this delighfully refreshing (sour) drink
The Chicken Cacciatore, or Hunter's chicken, is cooked for several hours in the oven until the meat falls apart. The large ceramic baking dish is simmering gently; at the table it is oily (not greasy), dotted with green and black olives, and the sauce is all tomatoes and fresh herbs, served with a simple penne pasta. An introduction to Italian cooking simplicity. Served al-fresco with oranges raining down from the over-loaded tree.
I feel like a well fed winemaker-hunter.
Tuesday night: Pork with Peas, Phillip Shaw no.11 Chardonnay
After a hard day in the heat, this dish of pork and peas was devoured with a good local chardonnay
Pasta with Peas and Pork ribs, again cooked for several hours on the stove top. Tomato based sauce with the garden peas adding freshness. Pork ribs flavour the sauce and are served as a second course. Fresh garden salad of rocket, raddichio, leaves with a red wine and olive oil dressing
The mid weight chardonnay goes down adequately, although a wine higher in apparent acid would probably work better though - like a lightly oaked chardonnay or semillon.
Wednesday night: Zucchini Slice, tomato and cucumber salad
Zucchini slice: garden fresh zucchini, 4 eggs, a cup of flour, grated cheese and baked in a moderate oven until browned. Served with tomato/cucumber salad. It's filling without fattening, the salad is light and refereshing counterpoint to the slightly denser baked dish.
No wine tonight, just water.
Thursday night, my turn in the Kitchen: Rissotto of leak and peas, served warm with sliced chicken breast
Leak rissotto with garden peas, olive oil and topped with pan fried chicken breast (caramelised in a hot fry pan with olive oil and sea salt, finished slowly in the oven) and fresh flat leaf parsley. Accompanied with a salad of basil, rocket, raddichio, lettuce. Anthony loved it and proceeded to add a fig and pecorino cheese. This salad became the second course, washed down with glasses of quality soft drink, thirst quenching from the heat.
Dessert was a couple of icecreams from the local service station!
Unfortunately no Friday night dinner as I headed home for the weekend, but leftovers were eaten for lunch!
Saturday night: Back at home in Griffith, Italian Style Sardines in oil with green beans. See recipe here'tis
Happy eating!
I stayed the first week with my boss, the Head Winemaker, Anthony in Canowindra New South Wales. If you throw a dart at the map of NSW, the bulls eye would be Canowindra.
Anthony is Italian descent, and has a passion for Southern Italian food, food from his parents' birthplace in the region around Naples. You could call it peasant food, as it certainly is not sophisticated, but it sure is tasty, economical and healthy. His partner Katie, together with their twin baby girls Sofia and Lola, and Pishta the jack russell make excellent company.
All vegetables and herbs are straight from Anthony's 1/2 acre garden which also includes an orchard of citrus, apples, figs and stone fruits. A couple of free range hens, a duck and 2 quails complete the lifestyle.
Monday night: Pre Dinner Drinks and Chicken Cacciatore
Tanquary Gin and Tonic over ice, cucumber assisting with the flavouring in this delighfully refreshing (sour) drink
The Chicken Cacciatore, or Hunter's chicken, is cooked for several hours in the oven until the meat falls apart. The large ceramic baking dish is simmering gently; at the table it is oily (not greasy), dotted with green and black olives, and the sauce is all tomatoes and fresh herbs, served with a simple penne pasta. An introduction to Italian cooking simplicity. Served al-fresco with oranges raining down from the over-loaded tree.
I feel like a well fed winemaker-hunter.
Tuesday night: Pork with Peas, Phillip Shaw no.11 Chardonnay
After a hard day in the heat, this dish of pork and peas was devoured with a good local chardonnay
Pasta with Peas and Pork ribs, again cooked for several hours on the stove top. Tomato based sauce with the garden peas adding freshness. Pork ribs flavour the sauce and are served as a second course. Fresh garden salad of rocket, raddichio, leaves with a red wine and olive oil dressing
The mid weight chardonnay goes down adequately, although a wine higher in apparent acid would probably work better though - like a lightly oaked chardonnay or semillon.
Wednesday night: Zucchini Slice, tomato and cucumber salad
Zucchini slice: garden fresh zucchini, 4 eggs, a cup of flour, grated cheese and baked in a moderate oven until browned. Served with tomato/cucumber salad. It's filling without fattening, the salad is light and refereshing counterpoint to the slightly denser baked dish.
No wine tonight, just water.
Thursday night, my turn in the Kitchen: Rissotto of leak and peas, served warm with sliced chicken breast
Leak rissotto with garden peas, olive oil and topped with pan fried chicken breast (caramelised in a hot fry pan with olive oil and sea salt, finished slowly in the oven) and fresh flat leaf parsley. Accompanied with a salad of basil, rocket, raddichio, lettuce. Anthony loved it and proceeded to add a fig and pecorino cheese. This salad became the second course, washed down with glasses of quality soft drink, thirst quenching from the heat.
Dessert was a couple of icecreams from the local service station!
Unfortunately no Friday night dinner as I headed home for the weekend, but leftovers were eaten for lunch!
Saturday night: Back at home in Griffith, Italian Style Sardines in oil with green beans. See recipe here'tis
 |
| Sunrise Friday morning at Canowindra looking towards Cowra |
Happy eating!
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