winosandfoodies

I Heart You # 38

TURKISH DELIGHT heART

Share your heart next Saturday and support LiveSTRONG Day 2010.

Details

 

Gourmet Hamburger Recipe

 
I'm joining Cooksister in  celebrating National Braai Day with my son Michael's gourmet hamburgers.

There are no measurements because Michael doesn't bother with measurements. He eyeballs the amounts depending on the number of guests.

• Season some good beef mince with salt and pepper.
• Toss in some breadcrumbs if you feel like it.
• Take a scoop of mince and flatten it to a square.
• Top with a piece of proscuitto.
• Spread a little pate over proscuitto.
• Flatten another scoop of beef mince and place on top, seal edges by squishing together.

You'll need a set of bbq tools

Place hamburgers on grill

Brown one side, then flip them

Some guests like to add an egg and pineapple

 
Always.....always grill some onions

Drinks while you wait.  Vodka and Cranberry in a carton - perfect for picnics on the park.

Don't forget the sauce

Build your burger

Any leftovers for Jazz?

(FULL DISCLOSURE - the carton of vodka and cranberry juice was sent to me by Smirnoff)

Show Me Your Heart

LiveSTRONG DAY 2010

I Heart You # 37

FRUIT BOWL heART

Don't forget LiveSTRONG With A Taste of Yellow Heart Series on October 2nd 2010.

Project 365 - Week 37

View original photos at winosandfoodies project 365 blog.

Australian Shiraz from Heathcote Victoria

 

Since chemo screwed my tastebuds, I've not really felt like drinking wine.  Apart from a few celebratory bottles of Veuve and the extra special celebratory bottles of Cristal, I could count the number of glasses of wine consumed the past few years, on one hand. 

For months now, my choice of drink has been beer.  But I miss wine and have been thinking about retraining my palate and enjoying wine again.  When an invite to the Heathcote Wine Roadshow landed in my inbox, I wasted no time in opting in for the  masterclass,  Heathcote Horizontal - Heathcote Shiraz and the Rest of the World.

Heathcote, a former gold mining and logging town, is now recognised as a premier shiraz region on the Australian wine map. Being only112k  from Melbourne you can be there in a little over one hour of driving.

Our masterclass host Ben Edwards, President of Sommeliers Australia.

Winemaker at Galli Estate Ben Ranken, spoke on how the wine is influenced by the soil and climate.  Heathcote wine growing region stretches around 100k from north to south, with elevations between 160 m and 380 m. The north is drier than the south and receives an average of 5 - 10mm less rain per month during the vine's growing season (October - April). Southern vineyards are a little cooler with temperatures  lower by 1.8 - 1.4 Celsius, resulting in an extended growing season.

Never having been to the Heathcote region, Cambrian Earth was a term I had not come across before. Ben touched on it  a little, but  visit the Heathcote Shiraz website for detailed information.

The tasting was in two parts. First up  - 5  shiraz samples from the Heathcote region.

1. Galli Estate Artigino Block 2 2007
2. Tellurian Shiraz 2008
3. Munari Wines Beauregard Shiraz 2006
4. Sanguine Estate Heathcote 2007
5. Shelmerdine Shiraz  2007

This excercise was designed to show the different characteristics of Heathcote Shiraz. 

A show of hands  proved  Munari  Shiraz to be the most popular. For me it was an equal first with the Galli Estate.

Next up - a blind tasting to see if we could recognise the Heathcote style and pick it from the other samples from France and New Zealand.

I failed miserably at this, not even recognising the New Zealand Te Awa Syrah, a wine I sold when I worked for their distributor in New Zealand.

The wines included

1. Barfold Estate Shiraz 2006
2. Heathcote Estate Shiraz 2007
3. Greenstone Shiraz 2007
4. Te Awa Syrah 2009
5. Domaine Belle Crozes-Hermitage 'Les Pierelles' 2007

My preference was the Barfold Estate, which also was the choice of the majority at the Brisbane morning tasting.

Heathcote showcase wines of the region at their Visit Shiraz Heaven Food and Wine Festival on 2 - 3 October 2010.

I Heart You - # 36

ORIGAMI heART

Show me your heart onOctober 2nd in support of those touched by cancer.

project 365 - week 36

View all original photos at winosandfoodies project 365 blog

I Heart You - # 35

ICECREAM heART

I haven't done stars and stripes but this red white and blue heart is especially for my US friends - Happy Labour Labor Day weekend to you all.

..and from my friends

Max's school lunch.

 

 Salt cellar from Sue at Couscous and Consciouness in New Zealand.

Don't forget LiveSTRONG Day - Heart series on 2nd October.

 

Project 365 - week 35

View all original photos at winosandfoodies project 365 blog

Gunshop Cafe Brisbane

Here are a  few photos of the Brisbane food bloggers dinner held at Gunshop Cafe, Brisbane's West End earlier this week.

Stradbroke Island rock oysters, tomato and 50 year old sherry vinegar. The oysters were supplied by Michael Dalton at Fino Food. For someone who never eats oysters, I actually ate 6 of these and enjoyed every one.

Seared Hervey Bay scallops, salmon pearls, persimmon and squid ink. The most beautifuly presented meal of the night.

West Queensland wild boar, Morton Bay bug, ham and pineapple.  Personally, I didn't enjoy this combination of flavours.

Goondiwindi lamb rack, salsify puree, Toowoomba olives and fresh peas. When everyone at the table starts using their fingers to get the last of the jus on the plate into their mouths, you know this is a winner.

 

Selection of Queensland cheeses - The Kingaroy Bunya Black Brie was incredible and something I'll be sourcing out for home.

New season peach souffle, raspberry icecream and Queensland vanilla creme anglaise

Ambar Hills wines from the Queensland Granite Belt were served during the evening. I especially enjoyed the 2007 Cabernet Merlot.

FULL DISCLOSURE The dinner was organised on behalf of Brisbane food bloggers by Mel at Chocolate Cheese and Chips and Jason of The Gunshop Cafe. We contributed to the cost of the meal.