winosandfoodies

Simon Gault at Euro

Gnocchi at Euro

R & S are in town for a week and yesterday we had a long lunch at Euro. This has got to be the best food in Auckland.  Meals on our table included the Rotisserie Chicken, Seafood Gnocchi, Grilled Veal followed by desserts of Butterscotch Pudding, Honey Junket and the Sweet Tapas Plate.  Some hours and several bottles of Triplebank Pinot Gris later we moved to chairs by the  open fire  and finished the day with Tia Maria Coffees.

We have to go back so I can have the Gnocchi this time. Euro is one of Aucklands best if not "the best" restaurant in town. 

Go here  to read the menu and see some foodie pictures.

IMBB Challenge - Gelatine

Who would have thought using gelatine could be so easy.   I have always thought it was  complicated. But thanks to the latest IMBB challenge I have discovered it isn't difficult at all.  Now I am really looking forward to next summer and jellies made with wine and summer fruits.

Being Autumn here in the Souther Hemisphere I wanted to make something with less of a summery feel.  Using coffee , Grand Marnier liqueur and chocolate I adapted a recipe from a Gourmet Traveller magazine. 

COFFEE JELLIES WITH CINNAMON TRUFFLE SQUARES

Coffee jelly
6 leaves gelatine
1/2 cup caster sugar
275 ml frshly brewed espresso coffee(for maximun taste it should be strong)

Place sugar and 2 cups of water in a saucepan, stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil.
Soak gelatine leaves in cold water for 3 minutes until soft, then squeeze out excess water.
Remove sugar water mixture from heat and add gelatine leaves and stir to dissolve.
Divide mixture among 6 glasses and refrigerate until set.

Cinnamon truffle squares
200 ml pouring cream
400 grams dark chocolate
40 ml Grand Marnier
60 grams Dutch-process cocoa sifted with 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Grease a  8 x 26cm bar cake tin, line base and sides with foil, extending foil up over edge.
Place cream in a saucepan and slowly bring to the boil over low heat.
Pour cream over chocolate in a bowl and stir until melted and smooth, then stir in Grand Marnier.
Spoon truffle mixture into prepared tin, smooth top, then cover and refrigerate until firm.
Using the foil remove chocolate mixture from tin and peel away the foil.
With a hot dry knife, cut chocolate into 1cm squares, dust with cocoa/cinnamon mixture.

Serve the coffee jellies with softly whipped cream and cinnamon truffle squares.

 Thanks to Elise at the blog Simply Recipes for hosting this months IMBB Challenge.   Elise   at Simply Recipes  has posted a round up of all the receipes. Go look.

Lamb and roasted vegetable salad

It has been a busy week with overseas guests,  Kris came home from Australia, Michael moved to Australia, Kris is returning to Australia  this weekend, my computer crashed and the weather is nasty.

Michael's choice for his last home cooked meal for awhile was roast lamb with a roasted vegetable salad.  This is ideal entertaining as the vegetables are cooked in the afternoon, the lamb cooks slowly in the oven leaving you free to do what ever it is you do.   

I use whichever vegetables are available at the time. For this meal it was carrots, parsnips, beetroot, onions, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, spring onions and garlic.  Drizzle oil over vegetables and sprinkle with maldon salt. In a hot oven (220C) roast root vegetables first and half way through add the remaining vegetables. Remove when cooked and arrange on a serving platter.

Just before serving drizzle over the vegetables a dressing made of 1 crushed clove garlic, 2 tablespoons Pomegranate molasses,  6 tablespoons olive oil,  sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Carving is made easier by using a boned leg of lamb. The night before  I   rub  the lamb with olive oil, crushed garlic, juice of a lemon and maldon salt. Take it out of the fridge an hour before it is to go in the oven, tie it with string so it retains its shape and place it in a roasting dish on top of a layer of rosemary stalks . Heat oven to 220C, cover the lamb with foil and  put it in the oven.    After half an hour turn oven down to 160C and roast for a an hour and a half. Remove foil and turn oven back up to 190C for last half hour. Take lamb out of oven and cover with foil and rest for half an hour before carving.  These times will vary depending on the size of the lamb and whether you prefer your lamb well cooked or pink.

To complete the meal I  serve a sauce made with 1 cup natural yoghurt mixed with a bunch of parsley ( chopped).

Wine Blogging Wednesdays - Rosé

Kingsley   looked at me a little oddly when I said I was looking for a Rosé wine. He politely informed me, that here in Auckland,  we stop drinking rosé at the end of March and pointed me in the direction of a meagre collection of lonesome rosés -  a couple of Spy Valley , a few Ata Rangi  ....and what have we hiding at the back - an Esk Valley.   Not just Hawkes Bay's finest, but New Zealand's finest Rosé, Kingsley informs me.    I was won over as soon as I saw the grape varietals were actually listed on the front of the bottle and not hidden away in the fine print on the back.   

Details:    from the winemaker 

Colour:    Gorgeous.

Nose:        Strawberries.

Legs:         Longer than Mel, shorter than Elle.

Mouth:    Fruity, some spice, crisp finish.  Pour me another please.

Food:       Perfect  with our chicken salad at lunch.

Music:     Cesaria Evora 

Buy:          NZ$19.95.  Check here for  international distributors.

Verdict:    Nice, but not as good as my favourite rosés from Western Australia.

Trivia:      Not one New Zealand rosé has ever been awarded a gold medal.

Thanks to this months host Becks.  After May 10th check out the final round up over at her site Becks and Posh 
 

Paper Chef May 2005

 

There was not an affordable strawberry to be found in the entire Auckland area so I have used strawberry jam. I could not find almond paste but did have ground almonds. These cupcakes were adapted from a Gourmet Traveller magazine which featured raspberries. I  added the ricotta and almond  filling to the original recipe and used strawberry jam in place of fresh raspberries. 

White Chocolate Cupcakes with Ricotta Filling and Strawberry Frosting
Cupcakes
125 grams soft unsalted butter
110 grams caster sugar
3 eggs
80 grams white chocolate (melted)
10 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Ricotta almond filling
Blend together:
250 grams ricotta
75 grams ground almonds
1/2 cup strawberry jam

Strawberry frosting
200 grams soft unsalted butter
1/2 cup strawberry  jam
1 cup icing sugar
Extra white chocolate buttons for melting.

Cakes
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add chocolate and stir to combine.
Sift flour and baking powder over cake batter and fold in until combined.
Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper cases.
Divide mixture amongst 12 cases and bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes or until cooked.

Frosting
Beat butter until pale and fluffy.
Sieve jam and add to butter.
Mix in icing sugar.

Remove a sliver from the top of each cake to create a lid.
Using a melon baller remove a scoop from inside cake.  Reserve crumbs (or eat!)

Fill with ricotta filling and replace lid.

Cover top with frosting.

Melt chocoalte in plastic bag in dish over hot water, snip off end of bag. Drizzle melted white chocolate over tops.

This is how it will look  inside.

Thanks to Owen for the round up of  all Paper Chef  entries . Check out Owen's write up at Tomatilla .

Sunday Brunch at Soul

Kris, first born son,  snuck into NZ 24 hours earlier and hid out at a friends so he could surprise me  this morning.   Michael, second born son  organised brunch at Soul Bar and Bistro , one of my favourite places in Auckland.   It is the best people watching spot in Auckland, the food is usually good and you may see the  occasional celebrity to gossip about.

At times the service seems a little slow and just when you are thinking I wish they would hurry up, the waitress appears, pencil in hand, to take your order....and right behind the waitress was Kris - surprise, surprise.  My day was complete.

That's my meal in the photo - Bubble and squeak with grilled bacon, poached egg and black pudding. ...and very nice it was . We can also recommend the gnocchi, eggs Benedict and blue cod.


To go with our coffee we shared the Soul cookies and chocolate plate.

A Classic - Creme Brulee

The origins of creme brulee can be traced back to 1691 and the book "Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois"   from the  French chef Massialot.  He is credited with creating the  dessert using whole milk  flavoured with  cinnamon and lemon peel. 

Elizabeth David, in her essay "Is There a Nutmeg in the House?" , describes how it then disappeared from recipe books for a century, to appear again in 1879  in the kitchens of Trinity College, Cambridge .

Traditionally it is made only with eggs, cream and sugar.  Many recipes have added vanilla and there are versions flavoured with liqueurs, lavender, chocolate, coffee, coconut or lemon zest.  Basically it is just a rich cream custard with a sugar glaze. 

This version is from the cookbook "A Little Taste of France"    and it was just perfect.

Creme Brulee
500ml cream
185 ml milk
125 grams caster sugar
1 vanilla pod
5 egg yolks
1 egg white
110 grams demerara sugar.

Preheat oven to 120C (230F/Gas1).
Put the cream, milk, half the sugar and vanilla pod in a saucepan. Bring just to the boil.

Meanwhile mix together the remaining caster sugar, egg yolks and egg white. Strain the boiling milk over the egg mixture, whisking well.

Ladle into 8 (125ml)  ramekins and place in a roasting tin. Pour enough hot water into pan to come up to the level of the custard in the ramekins.

Cook for 1 1/2 hours or until set in the centre.
Allow to cool then refrigerate until ready to serve.  Before serving, sprinkle tops with demerara sugar and caramelise under a very hot grill or using a cook's blowtorch.

The sugar glaze can be done up to an hour prior to serving but after this it will start to deteriorate.

O'Connell Street Bistro

O'Connell Street Bistro   in O'Connell Street, Auckland is a restaurant I have no hesitation recommending to overseas guests - especially well travelled overseas guests.   

Last month we had friends from Chile visiting New Zealand. When a meal out was suggested we chose O'Connell Street Bistro knowing they would enjoy the experience and we could feel proud of what Auckland was capable of offering when it comes to  dining out.    

This  tiny restaurant has of about a dozen tables with an  excellent wine  list and  an  interesting menu.  We can recommend the Fish (the Special that night), the Beef sirloin and the Veal escalopes.   Their Tahitian Vanilla Panna Cotta is famous around Auckland and and I can confirm it deserves the  recognition, while the Summer Pudding is also recommended.

The staff were attentive and unobtrusive and we were all extremely happy with our night out.