Apr 2007
One Night in Bangkok
30/04/2007 18:08 Filed in: Places
Who doesn't love Thai food? No other cuisine, in my opinion, marries all the opposite ends of the food spectrum and makes it taste so good!!! There's the sweet and we're talking dark rich palm sugar. The sour. Think of juicy limes. The salty. Pungent Thai Fish sauce. And the spicy. Big long green and red chillies.
I have been visiting Bangkok (with work) on and off for about 12 years. I was there recently again and decided to spend the 39 deg C day out and about photographing the various street food hawkers. The Thais have got it happening allright. You will find an array of food all cooked and available on the street. Juicy corn on the cob. Green mangoes being prepared for a spicy salad. Deep fried bananas with sesame seeds. Thai pancakes. The list is endless. I was so lucky because it was mango season and there was mango sticky rice available everywhere. Gently steamed rice bathed in sugar syrup, topped with freshly cut mango and drizzled with coconut cream. Heaven!!!
When I'm there I always head back to my favourite restaurant to indulge in my food fantasies. It's a serious fix for me. ( I tend to be quite snobby and not eat Thai food in Australia. It just doesn't taste the same). I had fish cakes. Soft, spongy and hot. "Morning Glory" otherwise known as Kale. Stir fired with garlic and green hot chillies. And the Thai staple snack Chicken Fried Rice. All dressed with "Prik nam Plah" or fish sauce with chillies. I was content. Nothing could make me sad now. You can follow the photographic journey by clicking on MY FLICKR PHOTOS. It's located in the navigation bar for my website, on the top left hand side. Till next time.
Pete
How Do You Make a Cordon Bleu?
25/04/2007 18:22 Filed in: Bite Club
Bonjour! Welcome to the first Bite Club of Series 4, hosted by myself, Jéson Le Herbison, and mademoiselle, Vané De Chéng. To commemorate Anzac Day, Vané and I felt it was appropriate to share some of our fine national cuisine over a three course le diner. So for those of you who couldn’t make it – or if you simply have an interest in all things à la française – then sit back, pop on your favourite Edith Piaf CD and soak up the saveurs, sentuers and couleurs of this magical evening.
JOHNNY HERRON COMES OUT OF THE CLOSET
After years of speculation – not to mention teté a teté in the locker rooms of City Gym - the night began with a revelation. At last, Johnny Herron came out of the closet – literally. It was a truly priceless moment when Madame Maria, on a mission to retrieve a broom from the cupboard, opened the door and discovered Johnny, appropriately perched on a piece of exercise equipment, ready to be our special guest Bite Club Intruder. Maria’s ear piecing scream could be heard all the way from the Arc de Triomphe. Unlike Anne Frank, Johnny used his time in hiding to do a workout and emerged with even better abs than before. With everyone’s appetite’s wetted, Vané and I began to serve…
A TART WITH A HEART
For entrée – and drawing inspiration from the Saint Rémy De Provence region - Vané whipped up a mouth watering caramelised onion tart with anchovies and sun dried tomatoes. The recipe has been passed down through her family for generations and Vané fondly regaled the group with a story about the first time her méme, le fémme Babs, helped her to prepare it. After hand picking the onions and tomatoes from their provincial garden – and plucking the anchovies from the River Sienne - the two women diced all the ingredients, then rolled out two squares of pasty. Each square was roughly the size of the cover of The Da Vinci Code, hardback edition. Then, using artistry perfected at the Moulin Rouge, Babs carefully arranged the caramalised onion on top of the pastry, leaving a three centimeter border around the edges. The anchovies and sun dried tomatoes add a final touch of flair. Cooking time – 20 minutes. Vané even did a little Can Can as she served the dish. It’s safe to say that it was a hit with our guests, as the meal was demolished faster than you can say Yves Saint Laurent.
VOULEZ VOUS CORDON BLEU
When it came time for the main, I turned to the pages of French history – 1793 to be exact. Did you know that Cordon Bleu was the final meal eaten by Marie Antoinette, before she was beheaded during the feverish height of the French Revolution? To this day, visitors to the Place de la Concorde – where she met the guillotine – say they can still smell the subtle flavour of the ham and Swiss cheese, as it melts into the bosom of a warm chicken breast. It’s very easy to prepare – simply catch a chicken from your farm yard, chop its head off (no guillotine necessary – an axe will do), remove the breast, beat it to a flat pulp, then add the ham and cheese, roll it with the help of tooth picks, braise in egg and coat in bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Oven set to 180, cooking time 30 minutes. For the sauce, I used a simple combination of white wine, cooking cream and seasonal herbs. Green beans, mash, mushrooms and French Fries made popular side dishes. The only complaint came from my le canines, Astré and Kirbé, who found very little leftovers on the plates.
WHEN LIFE DEALS YOU LEMONS, MAKE A CITRON
It’s well known that us French like to celebrate – just look at Bastille Day. So when Maria reminded us that Paul’s birthday had been upstaged by le bride Sarina and monsieur Noel’s wedding at le weekend, we decided to have a little celebration of our own. Using lemons flown in from Barjac, in the Gard region, I prepared a special Citron. I won’t talk you through the arduous process involved in making the pastry – I suggest you buy the Pampas variety. After pressing the pastry into a tin with a removable bottom, I ‘dry baked’ it for 20 minutes. This means – add a layer of baking paper to the top of the pastry and fill the tin with rice or beans, or as I did, lentils. Bake for 15 minutes. It is important to take great care with this, as I discovered when several of the lentils escaped the paper and became embedded in the pastry. Naturally, I was concerned that the dessert would be ruined, but then I remembered that my guests were alcoholics and all taste buds would be anaesthetized by this stage of the evening. Finally, add the filling – 2 cups of cooking cream, 1 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of sugar, four eggs and most importantly, the juice and zest of four lemons. Bake for 45 minutes, until firm, then chill. I served each petite slice with a dollop of rich cream and fresh strawberries. It was le coup de foudre for Sal, who told me it was the best dessert he’d ever tasted. Merci for the compliment. Suffice to say, everyone was the size of Gerard Depardieu by the end of the three courses.
EPILOGUE
When at home in France, Vané and I like to follow a big meal with a relaxing stroll along the Riveria. But since this was Darlinghurst, someone – I think Ryan – had the idea of going to Palms instead. It wasn’t entirely inappropriate, as walking down the stairs gave me new appreciation for how Napoleon felt when meeting his Waterloo. In fact, I vaguely recall Abba was being played at the time. It was just a shame nobody bothered to tell Arthur that he still had the pigs ear – stolen from Astré and Kirbé’s dish – still attached to his head. As always, Maria was still on the dance floor when we left. Vané and I just hope she makes it home before the next Bite Club, as she is one of the hosts!
The Wedding
22/04/2007 22:16 Filed in: Personal
Our good friends Noel and Sarina were married yesterday. It was a beautiful day. She the stunning bride and him the handsome groom. A beautiful autumn day saw them married in the company of their families and close friends. Enjoy the slide show. Just press the controls in the bottom left corner if you want the slide show to go faster or to pause it.
The reception followed at the QVB Tea Rooms. The place had an eloquent old world charm to it. We ate fantastic food and supped on beautiful Australian wines and danced to the cool vibes of the band. A great night was had by all. Congratulations Noel and Sarina. All the best for a happy future together.
Pete
Tipsy Chicken
19/04/2007 10:09 Filed in: Recipes
As the weather still continues around the 20's mark here in Sydney, I'm still not game to venture into "winter warming" cuisine. Ok that's a lie. I did make a curry recently and I suppose that is classified as a winter dish but blame Nigella. The Lifestyle Food Channel has me glued to the screen. I'm desperate for new cooking ideas and techniques!!! That's when I came across this number you see. It's a very simple chicken dish with great flavouring and can be adapted for both summer and winter. I can hardly remember which show it featured on as they all slowly blended into one. I called it "Tipsy Chicken" because of the amount of wine used. Let's not confuse it with that other "classic" Drunken Chicken.
The recipe I watched asked for the chicken to be jointed. Basically you cut up the chicken and separate it form the drumstick and thigh, the wings and the breast. A good boning knife is definetly needed for this adventure. I didn't do too bad at my first attempt I must say. It's important to feel where the joints are separating and hack into it there. There are numerous versions and ways to do this. Since I'm not about technicalities I can recommend Stehanie Alexander from her bible of cooking "The Cook's Companion", as a great resource for jointing a chicken.
Once you have the cleaned chicken pieces, place them in a large bowl. Again I will point out the loose nature of my amounts for recipes such as this. (Feel your way to how much to add and adjust as you go along.) To this add some freshly chopped parsley and oregano. (Please note any other herb can be used here for a substitute to the oregano. i.e. basil, marjoram, rosemary...whatever takes your fancy). Being true to my heritage I opted for the fresh oregano. Add some chopped green olives (please..no pips!!!) capers and some grated lemon zest from one lemon. Season with a lot of back pepper and drizzle in a fair amount of good extra virgin olive oil. Toss thoroughly and let it rest in the refrigerator for a few hours. Preheat an oven to 200 deg C (it has to be a bit hot). Place the marinated chicken in a large rosting dish. Now. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. Add enough GOOD white wine till it comes up about halfway. And don't be cheap. Use a decent wine and you will get a fantastic flavour. Save the Moselle (who remembers moselle??) and cask wine for those relatives you don't like. Place in the oven for about 60-70 minutes basting it frequently with the wine mixture. The end result? A beautiful moist cooked chicken with a crispy exterior, with a wonderful flavour. (Yes the chicken is tipsy..definetly not drunk!). The olives, capers, hebs, wine and oil all blend beautifully. Try eating just one piece. Delish!!!
I served my version with brown steamed rice and snake beans tossed in olive oil and lemon juice. I think I was feeling healthy that night. This can easily be cooked in the winter and seved with some mashed potatoes or even soft polenta.
Curry inspired by "The domestic Goddess"
14/04/2007 17:10 Filed in: Recipes
I whipped up this little number recently, when I had the pleasure of looking after Jamie and Lee's very cool warehouse style apartment in Alexandria. The lucky buggers subscribe to Foxtel. So what does a foodie do? He watches Lifestyle Food! I tell you I was hooked. A whole channel dedicated to food shows from all over the world. It was an interesting experience. Some of the shows were funny. (Think two Fat Ladies!!!). Some were just too much. (Think over the top American bbq cooks!!!). I could go on but that could take forever.
One day I was scanning the viewing guide when the "domestic goddess", Nigella Lawson appeared. Hmmm....What does one say about this femme fatale of the culinary world? The show was called "nigella's summer" or something like that. It followed Nigella's summer cooking adventures by the sea. It was a series dedicated to "no fuss" cooking in your summer beach house. Well, that's all fine and dandy especially when you have a big network sponsoring your holiday and a team of cooks prepping everything away from the camera's lens. She giggled alot, and ate home made strawberry ice cream while the suns rays shined on her full lips. On another occassion she made home made summer lemonade and twirled around in a flowy summer dress, while the camera again focused on her lips, seductively sipping this home made lemonade. Where was the cooking in all of this?....Anyway, moving on.
She did however inspire me to make a curry. I know this sounds quite bizarre, considering how much time was spent by the camera crew filming her full lips! She made a kerala curry and explained it was a southern Indian cuury dish that was finished off with coconut cream. Quite spicy yet "quite luscious"...wink wink! She used fish fillets in hers but I had some chuck steak lying around and used that. I have to admit that curries are not really my forte. I somehow miss something from the finished product. This one didn't turn out too bad and I quite like the idea of the coconut added in at the end.
There's no real set recipe for this. It was basically a "whatever's lying around the kitchen" affair. I heated some peanut oil and added a sliced onion and freshly chopped chilli. Then I proceeded to add a variety of spices which included ground fennel, cumin, turmeric, cinammon, coriander, ginger and some whole cloves. To pep it up a little I also added some Keens Curry powder. I added my chopped up chuck steak and sauteed it with all the spices. I continued by adding about a cup of chicken stock with some water and a half a can of chopped tomatoes. I let this simmer for ages as the chuck steak requires gentle heating for about 2-3 hours. Towards the end I finished it off by adding a can of chickpeas, a packet of baby spinach and half a can of coconut cream. I let it rest for about 15 mins before I served it with some basmati rice garnished with coriander leaves and a wedge of lime. Not bad if I say so myself. The coconut definetly adds that extra dimension. And I just love squeezing the lime over it. Plenty left over and straight into the freezer for those nights I can't be bothered cooking. A dish the "domestic goddess" herself would be proud of. (Licking of lips not included...).