So it’s Friday and what better thing to look forward to tonight or on the weekend than a cocktail. But it should be a perfect one no? I should subtitle this story, “What you didn’t know about ice”. I had Oliver Stuart, a Brand Ambassador for Russian Standard Vodka and Bartender of the Year in front of me and I was determined to find out how to make a great cocktail. Picture this setting: I was at Icebergs and I was sipping cocktails and eating caviar and someone made a remark “How is the ice?”. Oliver smiled and nodded “Yes ice is the most important part of a cocktail”. I put down my blini and was curious – ice? And so I asked him all about it in between sipping what I thought was one the best cocktails I’ve ever had – and yes there’s a recipe for it to follow.

Oliver, formerly of Flying Fish, Hemmesphere and the Victoria Rooms was named Bartender of the Year and now spends his time spreading the word about Russian Standard Vodka. It happens to hold the number 1 position for a premium vodka in Russia after Russia Billionaire Roustam Tariko decided that he would create a Russian Vodka as there was no premium Russian Vodka in Vodka’s homeland of Russia (and there was a bit of National pride in there too I would imagine). There are three types: The Original which takes on a brand such as Smirnoff, the Platinum which positions itself against Absolut and the Imperia against a brand like Grey Goosea-all in gorgeously stylish bottles and you know I had a fascination with the bottles right?

Mini Mary

We tried three cocktails: the Mini Mary which was a gorgeous yet well balanced and spicy mix with the Russian Standard Original, the Imperia Mist which is a chic martini made with the Russian Standard Imperia which has been filtered over quartz crystal and is finished with a spray from an atomiser of Martini Bianco and we finish with my favourite, a sparkling wine cocktail with soused cranberries. The canapes were delicious, particular the goat’s curd and beetroot tart and the smoked salmon caviar blini which melted in the mouth.

And what of the ice? As funny as it sounds, ice keeps ice cold so the more that you use and the faster you stir, the colder the cocktail will get. The best kind of ice is the ice that has the least surface area so that means the ice you make at home is better than the ice you buy from a gas station freezer as the hole in the centre creates more surface area which allows for quicker melting to occur and with a drink with 3 types of spirits and no mixer, it waters it down quicker and is much more noticeable. The ideal ice is a solid, large piece with smooth edges.

Canapes served to complement the three vodkas: caviar, squid sashimi, blini with caviar

The Japanese take their ice seriously and the Japanese brand Hoskazaki produces special ice makers with many of Sydney’s restaurants and bars such as Rockpool, Victoria Room, and Universal (who just won a Hosazaki) using these machines and the Beresford in Sydney apparently has the largest Hoskazaki in the state. Toko Sushi use a huge block of ice which they chip away at.

Other tips for making a good martini is chill the martini glass and mixing spoons in the fridge and don’t store your vodka in the freezer as the extreme temperature starts to undo the distillation process and overpowers the bread aroma seen in good vodkas. Instead chill it between 5c and 7c (41-44F).

I also took the opportunity to ask Oliver a few questions about cocktails.

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You didn’t think that I abandoned you after posting my Simple Cassoulet recipe using the Pressure Cooker without posting another did you? I am against single use objects merely on principle. I have very little bench and cupboard space so even a waffle iron, no matter how attractive a waffle it produces, doesn’t get a look in to my kitchen as I’d only use it once every 6 months. I was determined to use a Pressure Cooker several times during Winter. I’ve loved everything that I’ve made in it and came across this recipe while trawling the internet late one light. Some people trawl for porn late at night. I trawl for food porn.

Pulled Pork is a relative newcomer to the scene here in Australia over the past few years. Previous to that, you’d hardly see it on restaurant menus. Traditionally made from the fatty part of the pork called the Boston Butt it’s cooked long and slow. With this version, the Pressure Cooker replaces the fat in the Boston Butt so that it remains succulent and tender without an excess of fat. I was also worried that if I asked a butcher for some Boston Butt of Pork that he would think I was a crackpot

60 minutes after starting, the timer indicated that the Pulled Pork was ready and I apprehensively opened the Pressure Cooker. I always feel as if I won’t know what sight might greet me when peering into the cavernous pot. I was relieved – it looked good. But the true test was the fork test. Was I able to pull it apart easily using two forks? I nudged one piece with a fork and it fell apart. I was ecstatic. I took a photo before I pulled it apart more and then set about pulling the rest of the pork apart.

Setting the shredded pork on top of a toasted hamburger bun with some extra barbecue sauce I sank my teeth in. The bun was crunchy and the pork tender and soft. It was pretty much like a regular Pulled Pork which left me joyous and my husband contentedly munching, blissfully unaware that he was indeed eating a healthy version of Pulled Pork. When I told him he was slightly doubtful, stopped chewing for a moment and decided that it was better not to argue than simply to eat.

And psst! I will be interviewed on North Shore 99.3FM radio tomorrow oops today! I wrote this yesterday! At 10am discussing Not Quite Nigella and Freeganism! You can listen to it online if you visit the 99.3FM website. I’ll upload a recording of this over the next couple of days.

And because it’s Wednesday again (wasn’t it Wednesday just a day or two ago?) here is a new Wallpaper Wednesday – Beef and Olive Briouats!

So tell me Dear Reader, what do you trawl for late at night?

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Whilst I’d love to say that “No koalas were harmed in the making of these cupcakes” I’m afraid I have to reveal the grisly truth. That in fact two of these furry creatures came crashing to the ground from the trees above when it came to capturing these images. This is possibly not what the RSPCA had in mind when they devised the RSPCA cupcake day

For those overseas readers, the RSPCA is the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and they also have a television show which will make an animal lover out of the the most hardened individual. It even got me feeling warm and fuzzy towards a family of bats. Today is the RSPCA’s Cupcake Day where keen bakers all over Australia bake cupcakes and raise money for the RSPCA. I decided on koalas a while back and thought that instead of a plain vanilla cupcake I’d use Lemon Myrtle just to upp the Australian-ness of it. The idea for these came from Clare Crespo’s Hey There, Cupcake! from which I’ve used many of her decorating suggestions for example, the panda and bear cupcakes.

I was also give an Beaterblade to test out which is an attachment suitable for Tilt Head Kitchenaid mixers. It’s similar to a paddle attachment but in a plastic cast with rubber scrapers attached to the end to help scrape the bowl more effectively and to help lessen the amount of times you need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. I figured this cupcake would be the ideal test and used it for both the cupcake batter and the buttercream. It did just as it was supposed to and I didn’t have to stop at all and scrape down the sides once and it was a dream to help beat the buttercream without having to stop, scrape and keep going again. I did think that it made the head of the Kitchenaid vibrate a bit more than a normal attachment so it would be interesting to see whether it has any long term effects on the Kitchenaid. Kim from Full Baked, the distributor of Beaterblade suggested adjusted the hinge pin like this.

Back to the Koalas. You’ll have to excuse the startled “Oh HAI!” expressions of the koalas. When sitting them up in the tree  I needed to press in the eyes, noses and ears deep to prevent them from falling off. The cupcakes themselves are deliciously lemony with that distinctly gorgeous lemon myrtle flavour to them. The buttercream is soft and if you wanted to, you could add lemon myrtle to the buttercream too. My koalas are admittedly not quite as grey as I wanted but the black food colouring is somewhere in a box packed away. And yes I’m completely aware that they’re not sitting in gum trees. Once I was ready to take the photos, I started frantically running around like a diva saying “Where are the damn gum trees people? Someone I need gum trees!” to an empty house.

So tell me Dear Reader, if you could save one animal from extinction, which would it be and why?

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