Not Quite Nigella

Cherry & Rose Bakewell Tart – Daring Bakers June 2009 challenge

Don’t think I can’t see you rolling your eyes there. Another cherry item? Yes but you see, I am besotted by cherries – the black or the sour kind and when I had to select a jam to use in the Bakewell tart for this month’s Daring Bakers challenge I chose to make a Cherry Jam. Of course you might say smirkingly.

Of course you could use any flavour jam. I had intended to make a Wild Hibiscus jam but when I enquired and found it at $80 a kilo I realised that it was price prohibitive. So I tried to modify it by replacing the almond flavour with a rose water in both the pastry and the frangipane which is essentially an almond, egg, butter and sugar mix. The smell of this baking was wonderful. Tastewise, I am not a huge frangipane lover finding it a touch dry so I didn’t love this as much as others did. However, for the recipients, it was soon eaten in record time.

As I speak best through baking I decided to bake this for the nurses and doctors at Manly Hospital who looked after my husband so well on his recent stay. I figured renaming the Bakewell tart as Getwell tart was appropriate. Because I knew you’d like to see a cross section slice, I knew I couldn’t cut one slice out and then give to them so I sliced the whole thing up.

While we’re on the subject of hospitals, the night my husband went in, I was supposed to attend the launch of Table4Ten, a charity dinner held simultaneously across 50 of Sydney’s best restaurants in aid of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. It will be held at 7pm on the 22nd of September 2009 and the lineup of restaurants includes ARIA, Astral, Australian Museum, Bécasse, Beppi’s, Bilson’s, Bistro Moncur, Bistro Ortolan, Buon Ricordo, Buzo, Cafe Sydney, Catalina, Cato’s Fine Foods, China Doll, Cooking for Blokes, Essence, Flying Fish, Fort Denison, Forty-One Restaurant, Four in Hand, Grand National, Guillaume @ Bennelong, Light Brigade, L’incontro, Longrain, Machiavelli, Marque, Mezzaluna, Otto Ristorante, Quay, Restaurant Associates, Rockpool, Sean‘s Kitchen, Steel Bar & Grill, Summit Restaurant, Tetsuya’s, The Beresford Hotel, The Pier, TOKO Restaurant & Bar, Verandah, Wildfire and more.

Each lucky diner will be served a special menu including beverages and the most exciting part apart from the food? The after party at the end at a top secret location for all 500 guests to celebrate together. Tickets are $195 per head (with the option of an additional voluntary tax deductible donation of $55). See the Table4ten website for details.

So tell me Dear Reader, which charity is your favourite and why?

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June 27th, 2009 by Not Quite Nigella

Full-Bodied Tomato Soup with Crispy Meatball Croutons

I adore soups but the one thing that prevents me from eating them more often for dinner is that I feel that they often lack body. This soup bears no such accusations, for when it is done, it is more like a tomato stew. With the onset of the brutal chill this month, I have been pushed into full soup making mode, almost kicking and screaming (where did the hot weather go? There was no warning or gentle easing). There are advantages to cold weather though: coats, boots and comfort food. And soup is undoubtedly comfort food, especially when it’s paired with crispy meatball croutons.

I admit I usually find croutons a bit of a disappointment unless they’re homemade. The ones that come in packets aren’t nearly as good as they look and one afternoon I was contemplating making my own croutons for a tomato soup when I saw that my bread really wasn’t anywhere near stale enough which meant that I needed to dry it out. So I considered a tastier version of the crouton which was more of a cross between a meatball and a crouton. Certainly the ratio of bread to meat was fairly similar which I knew would make it beautifully crispy and light. I always prefer to up the amount of fresh breadcrumbs if I am seeking comfort.

The soup was thicker (and therefore more satisfying) than I anticipated. Once I added the Orzo it sucked up a lot of the liquid although I didn’t think this was such a bad thing as it made the soup more full bodied. And in turn it meant that this was a brilliant standalone dish for a week day dinner.

So tell me Dear Reader, are you a Winter or Summer person? What do you like about that particular season?

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June 26th, 2009 by Not Quite Nigella

China Doll, Woolloomooloo

“You just don’t know how to hold the reservation and that’s really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them.” A quote from Seinfled is usually how I like to begin my days and on this sunny Winter’s Day on Woolloomooloo wharf, my dining companion Carbon Debit has called me while I am on my way to China Doll for our lunch with Soph. They seem to have lost our reservation. Thankfully, unlike Seinfeld, there is no issue getting us a table outside. We deduce that they probably misspelt it and possibly have it under the wrong name. Seinfeld moment over.

It’s a long time coming this visit to China Doll. It was spurred on by the recent apperance of the chef Frank Shek on the Australian version of Masterchef. I was not an instant convert to the show. I disliked the way they seemed to wring every bit of emotion or tears out of the contestants and play the sappy, emotional music to bring out what little emotion there was. Where was the cooking? Finally after the selection process, they started the real show and I’ve been glued ever since (did anyone catch the appearance of the Brad Pitt of the foodie world Adriano Zumbo the other week?). I’ve even gotten used to George Calombaris’s comments like “make the food look as if it had fallen on the plate like autumn leaves” and now find them endearing. Then there’s Matt Preston’s incongruous pleasure face – you know the one where when he eats his facial expression looks as though he’s repulsed by the food, only for him to say how wonderful it is.

I disgress, we’re back to China Doll on Woolloomooloo Wharf and for the Russell Crowe fans, yes Woolloomooloo Wharf is where his apartment lies (although we miss out on any Russ sightings). This is one of Sydney’s nicer looking Chinese restaurants and when I sit down I see familiar blue and white plates that just happen to be the exact ones that we use at home every day. This blue and white plate pattern is echoed throughout the whole restaurant with a wall in the same pattern and the small version of the plates on the toilet doors.

Our waiter is friendly and comes back a few times for our order as we’re busy catching up. We ask him for the specialties and he gives us about half a dozen and we choose among them. The menu is a pan Asian one with Japanese and Malaysian influences but since it’s supposed to be a Cantonese restaurant we try and go for the Cantonese dishes (with the exception of the sashimi). Service is good throughout the day from him although there is one waitress who seems determined to follow the Chinese waiter’s version of service and without finesse, dumps the plates on the table wordlessly.

Hiramasa Kingfish & Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi w Blackened Chilli Dressing $25

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June 25th, 2009 by Not Quite Nigella

Bougatsa – Custard Filled Filo Pastries

Every cuisine has their late night food. The food that whilst perfectly good during the daytime, tastes even better after a long, late night and is best enjoyed when your memory of it and whoever you kissed is fleeting and when your stomach craves something buttery or greasy to balance the alcohol within it.

Greece’s late night food looks almost too damn pretty to give it a tag of “late night food” (click here for an example of a late night monstrosity I had in Finland called the Kannibal). No greasy kebab or pie, it’s a delicious custard filled filo pasty parcel. I first heard about this from a Greek friend and my interest intensified when I started talking to David Tsirekas from Perama restaurant, a restaurant that I visited only the other night. He’d twitter tempting things such as “making mandarin bougatsa” and I’d be urged to bump this to the top of my “to make” list, a messy scrawled piece of paper that I’ve clipped to my teapot wall calendar. I knew of course that I wasn’t going to make the filo from scratch and my version wouldn’t be as amazing as his but I persevered.

These were very, very good. I wouldn’t be so presumptuous to say that they were as good as the ones at Perama but if you want to make your own version at home, say late at night when the clock strikes midnight, these will certainly do. I loved the crunchiness of the buttery, light filo and the softness of the oozing vanilla and lemon custard.

And yep you guessed it. It’s Wallpaper Wednesday! How about some Bannoffee Peanut Butter cups? I’m sure we’ve all made a quick version of this late at night with a spoon, some chocolate and a jar of peanut butter!

So tell me Dear Reader, what is your favourite late night food either at home or when you are out? A kebab? A pie? A friend used to get the urge to make wedges at midnight. What’s yours?

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June 24th, 2009 by Not Quite Nigella

The 35 course Greek Banquet to end all Banquets! Perama Restaurant, Petersham

I don’t quite know what it is about me and Greek food but I adore it. Greek yogurt is my favourite type of yogurt, Halloumi is one of my favourite cheese and Taramosalata is also one of my favourite dips and don’t even get me started on Dolmades or Baklava which are a complete addiction for me. So this Friday night I am anxious. I am crossing from the North Shore to the Inner West during a heinously busy Friday night peak hour. My father was at the helm and we were running frightfully late – not helped by the traffic and my father’s unfamiliarity with the North and Inner West. When I finally get there I am greeted by Davis Tsirekas’s smiling face from the window of the busy kitchen. “Hello darling! Welcome!” he says. He lets me know that they’ve thoughtfully held the hot food (thanks guys!) until I got there.

Perama’s Head Chef: David Tsirekas

It’s a Tweetup arranged by Fridley and consists of hand picked bloggers and a few other tweeters. He and David have planned a special banquet for us tonight. For $50 we get the regular banquet menu plus all wine as well as a range of other courses. David will just keeping cooking things and sending them out to us until we tell him to stop (which is just music to my ears and stomach).

Course 1: Dips (Taramasalata, Tzatziki, Splt Pea). Pic by Betty’s Bites

Warned by many to pace myself for the onslaught of courses to come, I help myself to just a little bit of dip although they are all delicious, particularly the Taramasalata and the creamy Tzatziki which tops all other tzatzikis. David strains the already strained yogurt again and balances it with olive oil which gives it that creamy texture. There’s also smoked eggplant, split pea dip and olive paste which I didn’t get to try.

Course 2:Greek Salad

I have had far too many bad Greek salads in my life, so much so that I don’t usually order them. This is an exception with the creamy feta, spanish onion, fat olives and tomatoes telling you why the salad is so popular.

Course 3:Pickled octopus

Course 4: Pickled mushrooms

Course 5: Pickled cabbage

They’re all lovely pickles but the octopus has to be my favourite. But I didn’t eat too many of the pickles because I knew there was more to come and this was just the start.