winosandfoodies

Escaping The Beach For The Country

Lately I've been having some incredible good luck. Like winning a weekend at Freestyle Escape, a gorgeous house on the ridge at Mapleton.

Such stunning views from the sea of windows across the front of the house.

We arrived  mid morning and immediately set the table and opened the wine for a long lunch.

Lunch was followed by a couple of hours on the couch  watching Love Actually.  Pre dinner we opened the champagne and nibbled on canapes before our chef arrived to demonstrate and cook us dinner.

We splashed out on my favourite  vintage champagne.

Bryan and I enjoying a glass before dinner.

Part of our prize included a meal cooked by Sally from Taste Trekkers. We got to choose the style and I selected Vietnamese.

Sally did most of the work while we looked on, tasting as we went. Occasionally we stepped up to the bench to make a dipping sauce and roll our own Vietnamese rolls.

Here are a few dishes from the evening.

Bun Thit Nuong (char grilled pork with vermicelli salad)

Tom Rim (prawns in tomato, fish sauce and black pepper)

Che Khoai Mon (sticky black rice pudding) served with Nuoc Cot Dua (sweetened coconut cream) and fresh fruit.

....and just to make sure we slept really well, a long relaxing soak in the enormous bath over looking  the night time view.  The bath is so big it seats two comfortably. Each of the 2 main bedrooms has it's own ensuite with  this view.

Sunday morning was a little overcast and we set off for a walk, only to return 10 minutes later to wait out the rain. After a lunch of last nights leftovers we finally managed a little exercise.

 
...and on our last morning we cleaned out the fridge and  made Bruschetta for breakfast.

A delightful weekend, shared with our lovely friends, Jenny and Mark visiting  from New Zealand, and Janet, The Old Foodie .

My prize also included massages from Ripple Massage but as my boys and their partners were unable to come with us I'm treating them to the massages.

Thank you  @Rippleali  @Dessertboy and @snackqueen  for pulling my name out of the hat for your Twitter promotion

I Heart You # 13

SCARF  heART

...and this is Natalia Vodianova

...Russian model and founder of  Naked Heart, a charity that raises funds to build play parks for children in urban Russia, because they believe every child should be given a secure environment in which to play.

Project 365 Week 12

Project 365 week 12 complete. View all original photos at winosandfoodies project 365.

I Heart You - # 12

SWEET heART

a series of hearts in the chocolate shop

Project 365 Week 11

Week 11 of Project 365 completed. Visit winosandfoodies project 365 blog to view originals

ZOMG This Truffle Butter Is Good

I've made butter before. It was the first thing I made with the Thermomix.

Unbelievably good and so easy. As a kid and growing up on a farm, making butter involved shaking a jar of cream until your arm fell off or the cream turned to butter, whichever came first.  It was pretty good butter though. To make butter, the fresher the cream the better the butter.You couldn't get cream any fresher than sticking a jug under the milking machine spout. A minute or so earlier it was still inside the cow.

Our recent dinner at  Tetsuyas began with bread rolls and truffle butter.  The minute I opened my goodie bag from Tetsuya and saw truffle salt I knew I'd be creating my own truffle butter as soon as I got home.

Into the Thermomix went  600 ml of fresh cream,  process for 3 minutes and you have butter. Drain off the buttermilk, wash butter and flavour with salt. I made 3 different butters with 3 different salts.

Tetsuya's - truffle salt

Halen Mon - a sea salt smoked over Welsh oak

Murray River pink salt.

Butter will last in the fridge for about two weeks.

The bonus of making butter is you end up with a cup of buttermilk  which went into  a tray of banana muffins.

 To make it in a food processor check out the butter post on Kiss My Spatula .  It takes a little longer than the Thermomix but I'm sure it tastes just as good.

Win The Book Featuring This Chocolate Cake Recipe

When I received a sample of Lindt chocolate last week I earmarked the 60% packet for the Tetsuya flourless chocolate cake. I had made it in the past with 70% and thought it could be slightly more sweet. When I went to bake the cake I noticed the chocolate wrapper said 60% hard shell with a delectably smooth centre. Anyway half went into the cake and half went into Bryan's mouth. He liked loved it.

To be honest my cake looks nothing like the picture in the book. But then I mucked up a couple of times. Like adding all the sugar to the butter mixture when I should have added half to the egg white mixture. I did not cut and serve the cake immediately. It was the following day and the cake height had dropped. However the taste was excellent. Slightly fudgy and not overly sweet.

 
I served it  with banana and peach sorbet and left over berry puree from a previous dessert.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

50grams dark chocolate buttons

20grams unsweetened cocoa

20grams cornflour

50grams unsalted butter

40grams castor sugar

4 x 65gram eggs, separated

a pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

extra cocoa for dusting

Preheat oven to 200C. Grease and flour a 24cm x 9cm tin. Size is important here. I used a larger tin so my cake didn't have the height. It also cooked within 20 minutes.

Melt chocolate in double boiler, or over a pan of gently simmering water. Cool, mix to make sure it is smooth.

Combine cocoa and cornflour and sift thru fine meshed 3 times to ensure it is mixed well.

In an electric mixer, whisk butter until it is light and creamy. Add half the sugar and continue to whisk for 3-4 minutes. Add the egg yolk to the mixture, combine well and whisk on high speed for a further 3 minutes.

Whisk the egg whites with the remaining sugar,pinch of salt and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.Fold in 1/3 of the cocoa/flour mixture, then gently fold in remainder.

Fold the egg whites into the melted chocolate, then the butter and egg yolks mixture. Do not overmix.

Gently spoon mixture into the prepared tin.. Place tin in a baking dish half filled with water and bake 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in middle comes out clean.

To serve, slice thinly and dust the cake with cocoa

Thanks to a gift from Tetsuya I now have a second copy of his book. I have decided to give away one, the one I bought, not the signed one.

Go to my original Tetsuya post here and leave a comment and I'll put you in the in the draw for the book. The draw is open to all. I'll ship world wide.

And if you live in Australia enter to win a trip to Sydney with a Masterclass with Tetsuya. Entries close on 04th May 2010.

BANANA AND PEACH SORBET

Peel and chop one large ripe banana and 1 large peach into chunks. Freeze overnight. Next day remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving. Blend in a food processor or Thermomix until smooth.

I Heart You - #11

TEA - HEART

.........and from Megan with the charming blog  Feasting On Art

Heart of Avacado......... which is available for sale at Megan's Red Bubble store.

Roasted Tomato Soup Recipe

I don't have recipes for soups, I just make them up as I go with whatever is on hand.

My favourite soups usually involve roasting the vegetables first, especially when it is tomato soup.

ROASTED TOMATO SOUP

Pre heat oven to 200C

Into baking pan place 6 medium tomatoes, 1 onion, peeled and cut into 1/4's, a couple of sticks of celery, a few cloves of garlic, 1 lemon cut in half.

Drizzle with a little olive oil and add a sprinkling of salt flakes and toss.

Place in centre of oven and cook until tomatoes are soft and onions caramelised, about 20 - 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and place tomatoes and onions into food processor or blender, squeeze garlic cloves from their skins and add, squeeze lemon  and add juice to processor. Add juices from baking pan.

(UPDATE: A reader left a comment she found the lemon overpowering and spoiled the soup. My lemon was not particularly juicy and only added a hint of taste. So maybe add juice after you blend then taste as you go to get the level you want.It is important to roast the lemon as it caramelises and sweetens the juice. Or leave the lemon out of the recipe).

Process until smooth. Add a few dried chili flakes if you like it with a bit of heat.

I serve it quite thick If you like a  thinner soup add cream or milk. Reheat without boiling.

 

Project 365 - Week 10

 

Week 10 of Project 365. You can see all original photos at my Project 365 blog.

Enter - You Could Win a Trip to Sydney To Attend a Masterclass with Tetsuya Wakuda

I'm giving all my Australian readers the opportunity to win  return  flights to Sydney, a nights accommodation and a Masterclass with Tetsuya at his restaurant.

A second prize of Tetsuya's cook book is also up for grabs and is open to all my readers, regardless of where you live. I'll ship the book anywhere in the world.

Visit my original post for the details.

Feasting On Art Recipe Contest

Recently I discovered the delightful  blog of Megan Fizell in Sydney, titled Feasting On Art.    Megan combines  her academic background in art with her other great  loves of  food and photography.

To celebrate her first year of blogging at Feasting on Art, Megan has requested we create an original recipe using the ingredients in the  Renoir painting, Strawberries.

I've taken the sweet path with my recipe for Lemon Delicious. Everyone should have a Lemon Delicious recipe in their repertoire. Quick and easy to make,  when served with berry puree and pouring cream, it becomes an elegant dessert for any dinner party.

LEMON DELICIOUS PUDDING

3 lemons
60 g butter
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs separated
3 tablespoons self raising flour
1 1/2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 180C and butter a 1 litre oven proof dish.
Zest and juice the lemons.
In a medium bowl cream butter, sugar, lemon zest and egg yolks.
Add flour and milk alternately to make a smooth batter.
Mix in lemon juice.
Whisk egg whites until firm and fold gently into mixture.
Pour mixture into prepared dish.
Stand dish in baking pan and pour hot water to come half way up sides of dish.
Bake for 45 minutes in fan oven or 50 minutes in regular oven.
Leave to stand on the bench for 10 minutes, then serve with berry puree and pouring cream.

BERRY PUREE

Place a cupful of berries ( I used a combination of strawberries,blueberries and blackberries), a couple of spoons of sugar and a slug of port into a saucepan, Cook until berries are soft, then puree and sieve to remove seeds.

Win a Masterclass with Tetsuya in Sydney.

Do you like scallops? I don't. I'm probably one of the few people in the world who doesn't. But this man has changed my mind.

.......with this dish

..and here  it is,, step by step, as Tetsuya put it together.

This week, along * with a group * of  * food *  bloggers *  from * around *  Australia, I was entertained by  Tetsuya  as he demonstrated this dish and others, in his especially designed Electrolux Masterclass kitchen. To complete the evening, we then sat down to Tetsuya's famous degustation dinner, complete with matching wines.

Firstly a few photos of my evening. Then thanks to Electrolux, I'm giving winosandfoodies' readers the chance to win a trip to Sydney to attend a Masterclass experience with Tetsuya.

CHILLED JAPANESE PUMPKIN SOUP WITH WHITE MISO CREAM

SASHIMI OF KINGFISH WITH BLACKBEAN AND ORANGE

SOFT ROAST SCAMPI TAILS WITH HERB AND CITRUS OIL

SALAD OF CONFIT OCEAN TROUT WITH ZUCCHINI AND NON-PASTURISED ROE

 
RAVIOLI OF OCTOPUS WITH OREGANO AND BLACK OLIVES

BREAST OF CHICKEN WITH CORN AND FOIE GRAS

SIRLOIN OF WAGYU WITH BRAISED LEEKS, SANSHO AND SOY

PIONE GRAPE SORBET WITH SAUTERNES JELLY

CANNELLINI BEANS WITH MASCARPONE AND SOY CARAMEL

FLOATING ISLAND WITH DOUBLE ANGLAISE OF VANILLA BEAN AND PRALINE

GEN MAI CHAI TEA WITH PETITE FOURS

If you are over 18 and a resident of Australia, you are eligible to enter the competition to win your very own Masterclass experience with Tetsuya.

I am also offering a further prize which is open to all my readers. .. a copy of , Tetsuya - the book.

Art installation at the entrance to Tetsuya's

Electrolux are giving 12 people the opportunity to win a single invitation to an exclusive Tetsuya Master class at Tetsuya’s restaurant, 529 Kent Street SYDNEY, NSW – on the evening of Tuesday 24th August 2010 from 6pm.

This will include return economy airfares from the major prize winner’s nearest Australian capital city. One nights’ accommodation on the night of the Master class Tuesday 24th August 2010.

Take a tour of Tetsuya's Masterclass  kitchen, complete the form on the Electrolux  winos and foodies competition page telling us in 25 words or less,  "What is your favourite feature in Tetsuya's Masterclass kitchen".

Electrolux will choose the best 12 entries. Competition closes 04th May 2010 at 12PM EST.

Please read the Terms and Conditions of Entry.

Then leave a comment below on this post (before 04 May 2010) and I'll put you in the draw to win Tetsuya's cookbook. The winner will be chosen at random after  Electrolux have announced the winners of the Tetsuya Masterclass.

Project 365 - Week 9

Week 9 complete. View the original at Winos and Foodies Project 365 or on my Flickr page.

I Heart You - # 10

SECRET HEART

I'm a little behind in my blogging this week. Making the most of an overnight trip to Sydney will do that. So many people, so little time.  I'll be giving you the chance to win your own quick trip to Sydney when I finish editing my photos today.

My first heart picture this week was not planned. When I went to wash the board where I had been cutting mango hearts I found the marking above.

From Rosa

Tiramisu Heart.

......and from my friend Rosemary

Heartoptical Illusion.

I Have A Date With This Chef Tonight

I'll tell you more about it tomorrow.

Pear and White Peach Crumble Recipe

I felt like a mid afternoon snack  today so I whipped this up to use  the over ripe pears sitting in my fruit bowl. It is quick, easy and delicious.

PEAR AND WHITE PEACH CRUMBLE

4 medium sized ripe pears, peeled, cored and sliced

2 white peaches, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons cornflour

Crumble topping

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup plain flour

3/4 cup raw sugar

3/4 cup  butter (about 170 grams)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180C or 350F.

Mix flour and sugar into the chopped fruit and place into an ovenproof dish.

In a food processor blitz the oats, plain flour, raw sugar and butter and sprinkle over the fruit.

Bake in oven until crumble is browned and fruit soft. It will take around 25 minutes.

I serve it with thickened cream.