Category Archives: Perfect Picnic Food

Book Sandwiches & A Peek Into My Launch Party!

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Dear Reader, a few nights ago, I had my second wedding. Well, not exactly my second wedding but it almost felt like it. It was actually my family & friends book launch. One thing that people don’t often know about the whole publishing process is that unless you are Curtis Stone (who was incidentally having his book launch at the very same time as mine! How’s that for timing? :S ), your publisher doesn’t throw you a book launch party. It is up to you to hold your own. As purse strings are tightened, publishers prefer to spend the money on publicity and advertising. They may put a couple of hundred dollars on the food or drinks bill but the rest is up to you.

Gulp…

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Perhaps you know me very by now and opening up a packet of Family Assorted biscuits and a few bags of chips is not going to suffice. I have big party dreams but sadly not exactly a big company budget. I initially demurred when asked about a party saying “No, the publishing industry don’t really hold them anymore unless you are an international superstar” but then I thought about it. I wanted to have a little party, even a self funded one to celebrate this book that has taken so long-I mean elephant gestations are swifter! But I didn’t want to do a big fancy media launch, I wanted to do an intimate family and friends launch with my nearest and dearest.

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Clockwise from left: balcony, view from the Penthouse of the Diamant Hotel, the lounge room

Back to my crisis. Three weeks beforehand I was having a bit of a meltdown finding a venue that didn’t charge $65 a head for simple canapes (yes that was a quote I was given and I was told that they got me a “reduced rate”) so helpless and flailing, I purged my inner demons to my friends. One of them Beau who works at 8Hotels asked me to give him a call. He offered up the stunning Penthouse Suite of the Diamant Hotel in Kings Cross. Not only did it fit sixty people which was my exact number but it had amazing views, three bedrooms, three bathrooms and an enormous kitchen and they often rent it out as an event space because of its size and the view. A even better bonus? You can sleep there overnight too! I took one look at it and it was absolutely perfect for a sophisticated cocktail party. And although the suite is $3,000 a night, I was quoted $3,500 for a smaller venue nearby that required us to be out of there within four hours. At the Diamant Hotel, I just needed to arrange for the food to be done. And yes I had crazy dreams of making my own food until I came to my senses (much like when I contemplated making my own wedding cake).

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Main bedroom (top) and main bathroom

That’s there some of my dearest friends came in. Chef extraordinaire David from Xanthi restaurant (he of the Peking Duck adventure) offered to twirl the tongs on the bbq with some of my favourite items from Xanthi taking the night off from the restaurant. Then my blogging besties offered their help. The amazing Celia from Figjamandlimecordial volunteered to make bread and her addictively amazing chocolate.

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Second bedroom (top) and sun room

Then Tania from My KitchenStories who is a fantastic caterer incredibly offered her expertise and services and took time off work to cater my event. Rebecca from IntolerantChef who is a fabulous chef then chimed in and said that she would come up from Canberra and help out in the kitchen on her birthday-yes her birthday along with her fabulous husband Big J (and yes he is big!)! Then darling Charlie from Hotly Spiced eagerly offered to bake frittatas and also offered up handsome hubby Mr Hotly Spiced as photographer! The idea that bloggers and blogger friendly putting together the food for the launch was not lost on me, I knew that it was so special to say “Hey look! This is what bloggers can do!”

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Lounge room and third bedroom

Because my life is pretty much all about cake (I’m serious here) I also set aside some budget for a cake. I thought that a 3D version of my book might be a good idea so I called up my friend Linda Harden from Whimsical Cakes and Cake Masters to see if she had time to make one for me. She told me that she doesn’t make cakes anymore unless they’re for friends but that she’d be happy to make mine and that it would be her present to me! The final piece of the party puzzle came with the drinks and no party is one without bubbles, wine and beer.

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Our dear friends Viggo and Louise supplied the wine and cider and the red and white wine and Prosecco was supplied by Direct Wine Cellars who have just launched Sensi, their Italian wine arm which stocks Tuscan wines that are also affordable. The majority of their wines are from the Tuscan Winery Sensi Vini, the top chianti seller in the world and they stock lots of wines from Organic Chianti to Primitivo, Sangiovese to Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Vermentino to Nero D’Avola, Prosecco to Pinot Grigio. It was absolutely perfect for the Italian and Chinese themed food that we were having.

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Tania, Charlie and Rebecca

On the day of the launch, armed with the shopping list I made my way to my favourite Peking Duck supplier and bought six ducks, one hundred and twenty pancakes, eight lettuces, six bunches of herbs and other bits and pieces. Tania brought along all of her platters and more food including some incredible cured meats from Pino’s in Kogarah and Italian goodies from her work at Lario International who import the most amazing Italian goodies (their truffle honey is intoxicating and unforgettable).

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Celia, Charlie and Rebecca

Rebecca’s husband Big J drove up along all her equipment all the from Canberra and Celia popped in and delivered her bread. This was not before we spent time going through the whole suite. The suite’s enormous stainless steel kitchen with it’s island was ideal for the caterer, the chef and the home cooks. I prepped my book sandwiches on one side making a vegetarian and a omnivore version. So here’s the recipe for my strange little book sandwiches. Ideal for a book club or for the literary minded! And after the recipes are the launch party photos!

Book Sandwiches

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Makes 16 mini sandwiches

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Raincoast Crisps – Daring Bakers February 2013

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This year’s Valentines Day passed by in a bit of a blur. Mr NQN was sick, I was busy working and it wasn’t until the day before that we realised in alarm that neither of us had organised anything. My thinking was that it’s usually time for the guy to organise something while Mr NQN’s thinking was that I usually organise everything so why wouldn’t Valentines Day be any different? Neither of us were upset, we knew that we could redo it but wanted to do something nice that evening.

The evening on the 14th I went to pick him up from work. It was a busy day on news sites (he works for one) and so he finished late, around 8pm. During the day, I had hastily cobbled together a decent-ish dinner after a hasty visit to the shops and some fast baking and I told him that we had dinner ready. But he needed to bring something too apart from his adorable self so I asked him to pop to the shops and get me something, anything really. Knowing that nothing was really open near where he works, I thought that I might get a single plastic rose or a chocolate bar. And I was really hoping for the chocolate bar.

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The Irresistible Triple Threat Dip!

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I was driving the car one evening with Mr NQN in the passenger seat and Miss America in the back seat. Miss America asked me how my driving was going and I answered “swimmingly thank you!” And just at that moment, I mounted a curb doing a left turn and the car made this kerthunk sound.

I was hoping that my passengers hadn’t noticed it but of course they did.

“Kerb,” Mr NQN said trying to stifle much laughter.

Having ascertained that I hadn’t hit anyone, I continued on to Miss America. “And that’s what you call an advanced manoeuvre where you get extra points for smoothly mounting the kerb” I said smiling, game show hostess style.

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Simple Sundays & Tomato Confit

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Dear Reader, I’ve been going a bit crazy lately. Buoyed by the fabulous summer fruit and vegetables on offer I’ve been busy preserving (and eating) as much of it as possible. Two of my favourite summer items are tomatoes and garlic and the ones that I’ve been eating lately have been sweet sun kissed specimens.

Then one day I saw a post on  Glamorous Glutton where she made a tomato confit and I thought that this would be a fabulous way to preserve the summer’s harvest. Confit is usually submerging and cooking an item in oil at low temperatures that also gives flavour. Salmon is a popular confited item but other things can also be cooked this way including tomatoes and garlic. GG’s clever method is similar to the Moonblush Tomatoes where you split tomatoes and drizzle them in oil and pop them in a preheated but inactive oven overnight.

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I thought I’d do half of these like those but the other half as a traditional confit, submerged in good olive oil flavoured with garlic and herbs. I left the oven to go while I ran errands and came back to a garlicky, tomato smell. Carefully I took out the tomatoes and the skins were wrinkled and they were bursting with flavour and juice. I sliced a piece of chewy sourdough bread, placed it under the grill with some of my favourite cheese and popped three fat confit cherry tomatoes on top. A dash of salt and pepper for taste and realised that I could extend my summer to go for months on end. A sunny, cheery thought indeed!

So tell me Dear Reader, what is your favourite season for food? Spring because all the new fresh produce, summer for the glut of sweet fruit, autumn for chestnuts and mushrooms or winter for warming soups and stews?

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Confit Tomatoes

  • 500g/1 pound cherry tomatoes
  • 3-4 large garlic cloves, smashed
  • olive oil to cover
  • thyme or other herbs to season
  • salt and pepper to taste

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1. Preheat oven to 121c/250F. Wash and dry tomatoes and place in a baking dish along with the garlic and herbs. Season well with salt and pepper. Cover with oil and bake uncovered in the oven for thirty minutes, then turn the oven down to 100C/212F and bake for two and a half more hours. Once the skins are wrinkled, they are ready.  Be careful removing this from the oven as the oil is hot. Allow to cool, remove the garlic and refrigerate in jars in the oil.

2. Refrigerate in the oil and store in a jar in the fridge.

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Tomato Tarte Tatin

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When I worked a corporate job, every Friday to celebrate having made it to the end of the week without screaming or running through the office doing spirit fingers at my boss and upper management, I would get myself a Friday breakfast treat. The cafe at the bottom of the building where I worked would sell blueberry bagels and so I would ask for a toasted blueberry bagel with jam and cheese on it. Not cream cheese, mind you but cheddar cheese.

Every single Friday that I ordered it, the chef would stick his head out from the pass and say the exact same thing.

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