Dearest Darling readers…have you noticed what I have lately? You know those tell tale white, red and silver decorations that have been dotting the shop displays and aisles? Yes that’s right, it’s almost Christmas-eeek! And if you like to give food as gifts as much as I do I have something great for you!
I used to live in the North Side and I know a lot of people north side say that they don’t have as much choice as on the other side of the bridge. In Neutral Bay on Grosvenor Street there are wine bars, restaurants, cafes and of course Australian food providore Wild Basket is keeping locals “local”.
Wild Basket opened its doors in January this year but there is something different about what Wild Basket stocks. Until now the Sydney deli scene was very much dominated by European products, however more and more shoppers are becoming focused on buying local. Owners Kristy & Trent Robinson have carefully selected each product. The couple had a strong passion for Australian food and a vision to bring all their favourite producers together under the one roof, focusing on Australia’s finest. The store showcases small-producer wine, artisan cheese, fresh Sonoma bread, preserves and even organic eggs are delivered fresh from the farm every week. There is an abundance of unique products!
The shop has a well-stocked cheese fridge in the corner and a book case housing some of Australia’s best cook books (including some very collectible signed titles from Adriano Zumbo, Matt Moran, Neil Perry, Sheridan Rogers, Luke Nguyen & Christine Manfield).
This Christmas they have beautifully presented gift baskets. Each one is bursting with unique, hand-crafted products of the highest quality but it is all Australian produce-no more tired looking shortbread and jams! You can also build your own basket by browsing the shelves and selecting your own delights, then let one of their team put it together for you. After shopping, finish off your food pilgrimage with an espresso using Bills Beans from Orange!
Thanks to Wild Basket, five lucky Not Quite Nigella readers will each win a gift basket filled with hand-crafted Australian products valued at $100 and each winner will also receive a $20 gift voucher to use in-store!
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| November 12th, 2011 by Not Quite Nigella
My bucket list is a pretty ambitious thing I must confess. Oh there are the usual things, visit certain countries and eat or do certain things. However on the list is to be a guest at one of Heston Blumenthal’s Fantastical Feast dinner parties as well as eat at The Fat Duck and Dinner. The latter two are much more achievable but I’d love to actually meet him and find out what makes him do the creative things that he does. Because if anyone melds imagination, science and food perfectly it is Heston Blumenthal.
The last book I received of his was Fantastical Feasts which was a fairy tale type of book with how he made the items that he did for the show. His graveyard inspired me to make my Halloween party graveyard. This year however sees the release of quite a different offering from Heston, a tome on how to cook at home titled “Heston Blumenthal at Home” with a picture of Heston taking out some goodies from the fridge on the front.
In the book there are classic dishes like onion soup, roast chicken, prawn cocktail, Scotch eggs, shepherd’s pies and lemon tart but there are also dishes that come from Fat Duck, albeit the simplified at home version, including scallop tartare with white chocolate, his famous bacon and egg ice cream as well as a salad that resembles a garden and an intriguing cinnamon and vanilla ice cream that can switch from one flavour to the other. His tips are invaluable along the way-after all this is a scientist that experiments and shares with you the results of his experiments.
He starts with the basics of taste and explains that salt is actually the best item to counter bitterness, not sugar, then discusses the fifth taste of umami and then launches into the recipes with each chapter starting with an in depth explanation on the item. There are basic stock recipes like white chicken and brown chicken stock (not the actual colour of the chicken but rather the brown uses browned vegetables and meat). There are also very doable salads, sauces, mains and side dishes (and most recipes are about a page long) from the Italian Bagna Cauda vegetable dip, chicken and ham pies, tea smoked salmon, the cleverly presented scotch egg picture above, slow roasted rib of beef with bone marrow sauce and a very simple but effective liquorice poached salmon. Desserts range from a tiramisu, banana Eton mess and a delectable golden syrup creme brulee. Not every recipe has a picture but the ones that do you may find yourself automatically bookmarking.
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| November 5th, 2011 by Not Quite Nigella
Happy Weekend to you Dear Reader! 
I have another easy giveaway for you today with an easy poll to enter to win a $100 Corningware Etch set, a 1 kg bag of Saxa salt plus a $50 Coles voucher!
I’m sure almost all of you somewhere in your cupboard have a Corningware set. The nostalgic brand is one which mums pass onto their kids when they move out of home-in fact my mother actually passed on some Corningware to me when I got married. Their Etch range however is the more modern version and comes in two colours: sand and grass. Like all Corningware, it can go from the fridge to the oven to the table to the dishwasher.
There are three prize packs each with a $100 selection of Corningware Etch (and you can choose the colour that you want because I know that is important!), a $50 Coles gift voucher so that you can buy something to cook in it and a 1kilo bag of Saxa Rock Salt.
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| October 29th, 2011 by Not Quite Nigella
I used to have terrible dreams about going back to university-not that I didn’t enjoy it but I couldn’t wait to get out of the lecture hall and work! But there is one type of class I will always gladly sign up for and wholeheartedly enjoy-a cake decorating class! And I know how popular they are with you out there and today I am giving away a place at Whimsical Cakehouse’s brand new school in Dolans Bay!
There are all sorts of classes you can do there including some flower making classes, cupcakes to 3D cakes like the very cute Arctic Antics cake above. They range from two hours to three day courses and class sizes are capped at 6-8 people and they also offer private tuition. Founded by the lovely Linda Harden, former senior teacher at Planet Cake she is joined by Margi Carter who was one of Planet Cake’s co founders and also illustrated and designed the very popular Planet Cake cookbook.
Their Foundation 1 one day courses are a great introduction to the art of cutting and ganaching a cake, covering it with fondant and achieving those elusive sharp edges. You then get to take your cake home where it will keep for one week.
You will learn to:
Cut a cake into 3 even layers (without cheating!)
Ganache your cake
Cover your cake with fondant, smooth it and achieve sharp edges
Colour your fondant using paste colours
Cover a cake board with fondant
Create smooth balls from fondant and bedazzle them
Cut out fondant shapes and apply them to your cake
Attach fondant shapes to wires
Apply ribbon to your cake board
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| October 22nd, 2011 by Not Quite Nigella
Knock knock! Is there anyone up there in the sky? Because it is spring and we’ve been waiting on some sunny barbecue weather for a while now! Well Dear Readers, you want to be prepared for when the weather decides to behave and turn sunny. I have a bounty of items that will have you looking like a barbecue pro (sorry no Kiss the Cook apron! 
).
Today I am giving away:
A Wiltshire Bar.B Basket $14.99 which has a non stick coating to barbecue actually within the basket making the whole shebang easier to clean up afterwards
1 x Wiltshire precision tools kit $ 22.99 which has extra long heat resistant handled tongs with juice slots as well as a fancy sounding precision spatula with laser edge blades, Santoku grooves and a built in bottle opener (cook’s treat! )
1 x Wiltshire Mini Meat Thermometers $17.99 which has two meat and two chicken thermometers-so you don’t serve up raw chicken-a bout of food poisoning really ruins any sort of gathering!
1 x Wiltshire Pizza Stone Set $29.99 with a 33cm stone, serving rack and pizza cutter so that you can make pizza on the bbq!
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| October 15th, 2011 by Not Quite Nigella
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