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Spring Frittata

It would be fair to say I’ve been pretty lazy lately.

We’ve had Thanksgiving, essays, exams, Christmas, Friendsmas, Boxing Day, an iron deficiency, a new puppy, new jobs… and it seems like somehow along the way I forgot how to cook in my own kitchen.

This is a very, very overdue but very simple frittata with fresh spring-y, summer-y flavours. We needed a low-carb, healthy, vegetarian dinner on a warm evening for a large group and this worked perfectly. And even though the ingredients sound scary on the wallet (what doesn’t after Christmas, lets be fair), we bought the asparagus on special and divided by our eight diners it was surprisingly reasonable. The side ‘salad’ of zucchini and red onion helps to keep up our smug healthy face and mix things up.
Just the sort of thing for someone who needs to ease back into home cooking.

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Spring Frittata (based on a taste.com.au recipe)

Ingredients (serves 8):
4 bunches of asparagus
1 large leek
2 dozen eggs
200g fresh goats cheese, or to taste
Salt, pepper, olive oil

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
Cut or snap the woody ends off the asparagus and cut the spears in half. Slice the leek into coins about 3-5mm wide.
Heat a heavy frying pan on the stove and add a glugg of olive oil. Toss in the leek and asparagus and cook until the leek has softened.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a large bowl until they come together. You could add milk or cream here, to your taste.
Scatter the sauteed vegetables into a large, deep sided glass tray. Crumble the goat’s cheese over the vegetables. Pretend like you’re Nigella and your vegetables automatically tumble gracefully into position. Then fix them so there’s a more or less even coverage of vegetables and cheese so no one misses out. Season to taste.
Pour the egg mix over the vegetables and place the tray in the oven.
Bake until the mix is set in the centre. How long this will take will depend on how big your tray was – the smaller and thus deeper the mix is, the longer you’ll need. I think ours took about half an hour.

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Zucchini ‘Salad’ (based on a taste.com.au recipe)
Ingredients:
As many zucchinis as you can bear to cut up. They get squeaky after a while but I can usually handle 4 or so. But if you can take turns this scales really well.
1 red onion per couple of zucchini
1 lemon
A handful of mint leaves
Salt, pepper, olive oil
optional: yoghurt

Method:
Roughly chop the zucchini, finely slice the onion(s), and pile onto a baking tray.
Zest and juice the lemon, then pour over the vegetables. Add a glugg or two of olive oil and season to taste.
Place the tray in the oven under the frittata and roast for 20-30 minutes or until the zucchini is cooked. Scatter with mint leaves and serve with a dollop of yoghurt if you’re that way inclined.

67Enjoy.

Posted by  |  7 February, 2013 | Categories: Egg, Food, Recipe, Vegetarian | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Cider @ Five Bar

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(That’s PJ Harvey wearing the Opera House, right? Back me up here.)

How lazy have I been? Took forever to get these photos to TBC because I’m just too lazy! Anyway, had a great night and I’m in love with the decor of the Five Bar. I mean an opening roof for summer? Can you imagine? Sometimes I wish I could just rip off the tin in our house so I could lounge on my day bed lounge in the warmth and light of summer. – TBP

A few weeks back I was stuck in a mid-afternoon day-dream about pork belly. This is not uncommon. As I was discovered the hard way soon after when I was asked to prepare a poster on homosociality on the spot I, should have been keeping my eye on the prize – instead I was busy on twitter talking TBP into coming to Five Bar’s Spring Into Cider tasting. TBP was sure she could get home, dressed, and find her camera in under an hour so we snapped up two tickets. As it turned out traffic conspired against us, but we weren’t the last ones there. And only the last one there counts as late, right?

The event was tucked up the back of the venue under the opening (but sadly closed that night) roof while the rest continued on normal service. I hadn’t expected it to be standing and since we got there too late to stake out a spot on the platform-sorta-business we ended up awkwardly perching on the end of a handsome sideboard doing a self-conscious side-shuffle every time the staff needed to get at the cutlery. They were very kind about it though and reassured us with a pithy anecdote about a more difficult customer and a beef tartar.

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My initial anxiety on realising that it was a standing event and my dream of soothing my woes in a comfy chair with some pork belly needed some adjusting started to calm down when I was handed an icey pint of James Squire Orchard Crush. Drink responsibly friends. It was a full-strength (4.8%) scrumpy, a little cloudy from the yeasts and had a distinctly apple-juice scent. It was neither too dry not too sweet and was a refreshing way to kick the evening off. Being a James Squire it’s pretty easy to find reasonably priced in your local bottleshop too. Since we arrived so late there was only one piece of the chorizo sauteed in cider left in the building and TBP boldly stole it from under the descending hand of a stranger. We’re sorry about that. She made me have it because she says she can’t talk about food but in the end all I can tell you about it is that was indeed a piece of chorizo and it did have a slightly sweet note. The guy we stole it from sure seemed to be enjoying it and one piece wasn’t really enough to get a good idea of how it worked together with the cider.

Macca, the night’s booze expert, did a great job of explaining what we had to eat and drink – he gave us just the right amount of information and in just the right way that we felt we were learning but not being condescended to. He welcomed feedback and seemed genuinely concerned that everyone enjoy the experience. The contrast between Macca and the beer degustation at Elmar’s couldn’t have been more stark and we really appreciated it.

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The second cider, the Napoleone Methode Traditionelle Pear Cider, was a really interesting one. It’s made in the same style as Champagne, the methode champenoise or methode traditionelle, with two fermentations and a spell aging on lees. The ciderhouse was aiming for an Australian twist on a classic European style and used 60% Packham and 40% Beurre Bosc pears. The finished product is dry for a pear cider with small tight bubbles, a toasty feel and vegetable notes. It was paired with crumbed and fried artichoke hearts on a goats smooth goats cheese base with a little slivered red onion. I love artichoke but I’m essentially a lazy person and the work involved in preparing and eating fresh ones is usually beyond me. I appreciated the amount of effort that went into the preparation as they were tender and delicious, a great seasonal nod. All together the dish was savoury with a bit of tang provided by the goats cheese but the cider complemented the dish by adding a note that seemed missing in the food and taken together it was a great combination.

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The Kelly Brothers Sparkling Apple Cider is a classic Australian style cider. We thought it smelled a bit funky, but it tasted nice – a sort of hint of apple sweetness with a crisp dry finish. We were given a whole stubby each, which at 7% alcohol was pretty generous. The Linley Valley pork belly served with it was good, if a bit tricky to eat while standing up and chatting. The applejack sauce had a bitter note which stood out and confused us, until we learned what that actually was and everything made sense. I’m well known in the family for my love of potato bake and so my cravings were perfectly satisfied by this dish. By the time we had plates, stubbies, glasses and cutlery we’d pretty much commandeered that sideboard. Sorry guys…

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Our palate cleanser was a deconstructed ‘Stonefence’ cocktail, a glass of Domaine Dupont Cidre Reserve served with a glass of Laird’s Applejack. Drinking the spirit first allowed the cider to serve as a palate cleanser for both the pork belly, and the applejack. And when I say palate cleanser, we’re talking a scorched earth policy. Applejack is made from 30% apples and 70% grains, described by Macca as being like those that make up whiskey. So despite being warned this was basically whiskey I was still thinking about it as some sort of delicious sticky apple-based dessert liqueur. Obviously I was wrong and it hurt in the way being fed a spoon full of vegemite when you think you’re getting jam hurts and now you can all laugh at my folly. The cider, on the other hand, was lovely. It had been aged in Calvados barrels and was honeysuckle sweet with small bubbles, not as tight as the methode traditionelle, more foamy. I really enjoyed this cider, so inevitably it turned out to be a premium one which sells by the bottle (at $50) rather than the glass.

The cider I enjoyed against all my expectations was the Cidrerie D’Anneville Cider Doux Binet Rouge. It was a sweet cider (a cidre doux) made from binet rouge apples, which are traditionally used in the making of Calvados. I’ve had sweet (sickly sweet) ciders before, like Rikorderlig, and never enjoyed them. This was definitely sweet but it didn’t gang up on you, it had a red apple flavour with soft foamy bubbles and was very pleasant to drink. I don’t know if it was the way the tasting was structured and this was just what I was ready for but I really enjoyed it. Macca said he’d happily drink it all day, except at 2% the alcohol content is too low for that – given my track record with cider that actually makes it even more appealing. If I find one I really enjoy I don’t want to put it down. It looks as though this cider is occasionally available for retail in Perth so I look forward to hunting for it.

The dessert was cute, mini palmier pastries with fresh strawberries, a vanilla-flecked creme fraiche and a square of foamy strawberry gel. The gel was particularly interesting because it was clearly solid enough to be cut into squares, but destabilised while I was distracted with the cider so by the time I got to eating it made a foamy sauce. The sweetness in the dessert was well balanced and sat well with the cider. We weren’t really clear on how to go about eating the dessert, I picked it apart and TBP ate it like a tiny bruschetta. I hope that was the intended method because it was adorable.

So, Five Bar – definitely going back. I don’t know what did it for me – the service, the food, the drinks, the roof. I’ve managed to link that roof and cider in my head and now I just want to spend all summer there. It’s like outdoors…. but indoors.

Posted by  |  14 November, 2012 | Categories: Food, Pork, Review, Sweets & Treats | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Roving Dinner on Beaufort st

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On Monday we went to the Beaufort st Festival’s Roving Dinner! I was really excited about this for a number of reasons – I’d never been to a roving dinner before, I’d only been to one of the venues involved, and I’m trying to plan ahead around some financial stress so my ticket was a gift from L. He is the best.

PS I’m sorry there’s so much of my face in this. It was not my intention.

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Must Winebar ~ Champagne Lounge

Must was a great place to start and we had fantastic service, both from the staff there and from the Beaufort st Festival staff. Everyone was friendly, especially because of TBP’s camera! Even the photographer was nice to her! Normally if the camera is a conversation starter it’s the kind where we apologise profusely. We’d forgotten to ask if cameras were okay and so we were both sort of worried about what we’d do if they weren’t. Maybe that was just me, I worry for us both. The Champagne Lounge (which lets be fair, I’m unlikely to see again) was beautifully appointed. I really love that late baroque/rococo style.

Never before have been so happy to be a photographer at a food event. I got a nod from the professional photog there and Laura Moseley commented on it, and then asked us both about it. Basically everyone was really nice (and not at all mad when I flashed the ceiling a few times, I swear I didn’t do it too much!). – TBP

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Jamon, Organic Feta, Compressed Rockmelon & Mandarin Oil
These were really delicious. I avoid eating cured pork products in Australia so this was really special. The jamon was intensely savoury, the feta salty and smooth and the mandarin oil gave a soft citrus lift. I also never eat rockmelon so my main thought re: the rockmelon was ‘that wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be’ and didn’t really register anything else. TBP thought it could have been ‘more rockmelony’ though so you can’t please everyone. Sucking that off the spoon was the moment where I realised that bright red lipstick was a foolish choice.

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Carnarvon Prawn & Parsley Croquetas
Also delicious with a few chunks of prawn tucked inside and a gentle prawn flavour throughout. They were cheesey and soft and I really, really love fried food so they were sort of the edible equivalent of a warm hug. Even TBP liked these and she doesn’t like prawns!
The more I think about these, the more unfair it is that they are comparatively tricky to make because it’d be totally neat if you could just get these from a chippy. I’ll have a small chips and half a dozen croquetas, thanks. This obviously does not help with my perception of Europe as paradise because you can do and I have done exactly that in Rome except I grant you it is somewhat less classy because you are standing on the side of the road and not in an elegantly appointed lounge.

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Olive & Gruyere Toasties
As you’d expect these were savoury and salty, and the gruyere flavour was subtle. They were warm, and not too greasy despite being stuffed full of some potentially pretty greasy ingredients. TBP also liked these! This stage of the progressive dinner threw a lot of taste challenges her way. They were a bit messy to eat – even with a napkin it was a bit of a challenge. This was the point where I considered just ditching the lipstick entirely as half of it was smeared all over my hand but I persevered.

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Pork Meatballs & Romesco sauce
These were my least favourite, the pork flavour was pronounced and delicious but they seemed to be with dill which I found an unusual combination. Not by any means bad just not as exciting as the rest. R pointed out that the last nibbly should always come on a toothpick – very wise.

Mas Pere Cava ‘Brut Selección’ Penedes, Spain, NV 
We each had about 2 small glasses each before the amount allocated to our sitting ran out. It was certainly a nice drop and I would drink it again, but I would have appreciated a bit of direction about it’s characteristics as I know nothing about Spanish sparkling.

Trumer Pilsner
R was offered one of these which we initially put down to his wearing a checkered shirt and having a beard, but then it turned out the sparkling was gone and we were offered ours in due course. Official word on the taste: “it is a beer.”

Santa Vittoria Mineral Water
Nice touch.

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Russel Blaikie came around and introduced himself to everyone and had a little chat about how excited he was to be involved in updating an admittedly retro concept into a display of Beaufort st’s finest. This is the third Beaufort st roving dinner he’s been involved in, I gather the only restaurant that has been in them all, and will also be part of next week’s line up. The most exciting part of this encounter was managing to have a completely normal conversation with a chef whose work I admire and whose book I own (thanks Mum!) without making a twit of myself. It seems I was at the optimum point of the champagne curve or I am finally developing adult social skills. Either way, hallelujah!

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el PUBLICO
Salmon aquachile lime jalepeno coriander GF
This dish converted me to eating salmon. It’s flavours are fresh and clean, and you get the occasional hit of jalapeno to keep you on your toes. Ceviche (okay aquachile, fine) strikes me as such a wonderful summer food for those days when you really can’t bear to turn on the stove and I’m keen to have a try at recreating this at home when it starts to get hot again.

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Housemade green chorizo sope queso onion GF
None of my notes on this dish made any sort of sense, so you’ll have to take my word on how good it is. I really like the flavour of masa, and pork, and herbs, and so… there is nothing about this I do not like.

Vegetarian options available
Our vegetarian dish was a carrot salad with both pickled and roasted carrots and a salsa di pan (bread sauce). The two different preparations of carrot were a great way of working within the theme of one vegetable while maintaining textural contrast.

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Maverick Chickpeas
We thoroughly confused our waitress by ordering chickpeas (and paying separately), because we aren’t capable of walking past El Publico and not having the chickpeas. To be honest, they weren’t as crunchy as normal, but we still vacuumed them up. I’m still waiting for Sam Ward to send me that frequent chickpea-r card… Probably for the best, financially speaking, for everyone involved.

Paloma ~ blanco pink grapefruit soda lime salt
I’ve never been huge on grapefruit, with its connotations of diets and it’s weird side effects. But I trust El Publico, they do nice things to my taste buds so I gave it a shot and really enjoyed it! It looked like one shot of espolon blanco over ice and a wedge of lime in a tall glass rimmed with salt, topped up with grapefruit juice and a dash of soda water. Mmm, summery. It seems I have a weak spot for tequila with a sweet/sour/citrus/bubble thing because their Captain Fanta Pants’ also rocks.
Tecate
el Presidente white or red
The red sounded fine (possibly a Cab Sav) but the white was a Chardonnay? I was confused, all the food was so zesty I felt like I’d missed something if the house white was a Chardonnay. So much still to learn. I had been all set to have the white but then I was too skeptical and went for the Palomas instead and did not regret a thing.

Monday was also their first 7 day trading day! Congrats guys. They have a $20 Tecate (beer), 3 taco and street corn dinner deal thing on mondays and I can pretty much guarantee you will be finding me there.

The service was the next best after Must, the chef (whose name I didn’t grab, the usual head chef Sam Ward is on holidays) came out to explain the dishes. Luckily we were sitting quite close to him as he was a touch on the quiet side even after the nudge in the kidneys he was given by front of house. Table service was good although the guy didn’t stick around long enough to take our answers after asking if anyone else wanted another drink, so only R got two (are you sensing a theme? R has no trouble getting drinks) and we spent the next 15 minutes trying to get his attention only to be told we were about to leave and we ended up being the last ones in the restaurant trying to finish them at the bar. Sorry chaperones.

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Bos Taurus
200g West Australian Wet-Aged Rump on Mash Potato, with a side of char-grilled vegetables and black pepper Sauce
or Baked Garlic and Feta Mushrooms, Char-grilled Vegetable Casserole V

Guigal Cotes du Rhone Syrah Grenache Mouvedre – France
Corte Giara Pinot Grigio – Italy (Venezia)

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Okay so we weren’t full but we were well along by this point and steak and mashed potato was an ambitious choice for such a menu. 200g isn’t a lot, but it’s a lot when you’ve come from el publico because I have no self restraint. I gather Bos Taurus is pretty new (like a  month or two new) and the decor was great, we liked the industrial vibe with the warm leather, L is a huge fan of Chesterfields and I liked the porthole style mirrors on the walls.
The wine, too, was good – I am like a pig in mud with an Italian Pinot Grigio and would quite literally drink it all day. I had a sip of the Syrah (which was referred to as ‘The Shiraz’ by the staff, fair call, my french sucks too) and it was smooth and far more drinkable to my palate than Australian Shiraz.

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(Funny story in Italy I ordered a fillet steak at a posh restaurants that offered two reds by the glass, a Syrah and a something else I instantly forgot and can’t divine from their wine list since it changes monthly. I asked the waitress which would better suit the meal, expecting her to say the Syrah and she immediately responded the other wine, as it was more full bodied. When we reached that course the wine was aearated and poured with due ceremony into the biggest glass I’ve ever had set in front of me. Panicking the wine would be too big and I would make an arse of myself in front of my parents / the restaurant / the sommelier I was pretty shocked to discover something with the body of an Australian Pinot Nero. Moral of the story I live in the wrong country and Italian reds are right up my alley. This Cotes du Rhone seemed to be following along the same theme and would be quite acceptable to people who weren’t big red drinkers.)

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When we were walking in I overheard one of the waitresses asking ‘no vegetarians in this lot?’ to one of our chaperones. The event page had asked us to let the organisers know in advance if we were vegetarian or had any special requirements, and the Beaufort st Festival’s food organiser, the incredibly organised Laura Moseley, had checked this again on the door. Now, we’re in a steak house. This isn’t going to be a place falling over itself to cater to vegetarians or acknowledge that vegetarians are perhaps not the only people who eat vegetables. But I had been taken in somewhat by the menu offering a choice of dishes – I hadn’t realised that if you wanted the mushroom dish you’d have to order it in advance. Logically I did know the food was probably almost ready to go when we got there and with only 45 minutes per sitting they didn’t anywhere near have time to wander around asking each person what they wanted or how they wanted it cooked, but obviously it didn’t really register. I like my steak, when I have it, a fair bit rarer than it came out so next time at an event of that size I’ll know to book in the mushroom. The only people who had a say in how their steak was cooked were the pregnant women – a waitress came around to check if there were any in the group so theirs could be cooked for longer. Given how well our requirements had already been vetted I thought this could have been handled a bit more discretely, but the waitress looked as uncomfortable as I felt so at least we were all uncomfortable together. Bos Taurus says they only use that policy at events like the Roving Dinner and not during usual service.

The service was quick and the pepper sauce was really excellent.

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Clarences

Almond and Honey Nougat
Chocolate Pot with toasted Marshmallow and Vanilla Ice Cream

Fusta Nova Muscatel
Alvear Solera Pedro Ximinez Sherry

I’d never been to Clarence’s before but it was another great looking venue and more refined than I’d expected from their website – Beaufort st really has some lovely hidden gems. I’d been keen to come back here for a relaxed Sunday session with friends and check out their nibbles and the outdoor area. The service was the most lacklustre of the roving dinner, in that we were handed our food and drink in complete silence. We weren’t told what we were drinking and neither of the dishes were explained to us. That made a bit of a stark contrast with the first two venues. With Bos Taurus, it was pretty self explanatory – if anyone had told me “here is your steak, mashed potatoes, vegetables and sauce” I would have thought they were taking the piss. I’m perfectly able to identify nougat, but if I hadn’t read in advance dessert involved marshmallows I would have been at a bit of a loss. Maybe they were going for an air of mystery? It would tie in with the sweet abstracted theme of the decor.

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The nougat was nice, sweet and without any almond flavouring (outside the nuts) which I always consider a dodged bullet with this sort of thing. Since we weren’t given any information on the accompanying wine I admit I didn’t pay it a great deal of attention – it was light and sweet, sure. I can’t digest lactose without help (and cleverly left the stuff at home) so I will have to defer to TBP on the other dessert. The accompanying sherry was pretty much exactly what you expect from a PX ie it was dark and tasted like raisins. Normally a PX would be a big treat for me but I’d splashed out on a bottle for a dinner party the night before and so inadvertently spoiled myself for this one!

Since TBC has a weak body ^_^ I’ll have to remember this dessert for you. The chocolate pudding with marshmallows were both sweet, but not overly sweet that I often find marshmallow to be. The chocolate wasn’t bitter at all, but instead rather rich and creamy. The vanilla ice-cream was good, but I wasn’t overly impressed with it (ice-cream has to be something special for TBP to take note, I eat a lot of it!). Though the unsurprising nature of it was quite a good palate cleanser from the pudding and marshmallow. But the real star was the caramel & nut clusters hiding under the ice-cream which was really delicious! Would love to eat that again with a nip of sherry. – TBP

The Roving Dinner is an excellent way to showcase Beaufort st’s venues, from its well established to its up and coming, or barely opened. It gave me a great excuse to visit Must, which I had been a bit of a wuss so far about doing and luckily I was blown away and will absolutely be back. I have a known El Publico problem and I was not disappointed with their offerings. Bos Taurus’ mains did not blow me away, although I did enjoy their wine, but I look forward to seeing their menu online when their website is ready – hopefully with a few more options and more control over how my steak arrives I’ll be tempted back. Clarence’s is calling my name for a Sunday session, although, admittedly, not until I’m next cashed up. But such is life. While the ticket price is admittedly steep at $160, the restaurants only cover their costs and the profits are donated to the Beaufort st Festival. Think of it like charity, but with *lots* of food!

There is another one coming up on the 29th of October stopping off at Must Winebar, Raah, Bos Taurus and El Publico so if you missed out on the first I’d highly recommend you check it out. You can find the details on the Facebook Event.

Beaufort st Festival Roving Dinner

Must Winebar
519 Beaufort st, Highgate
9328 8255
http://www.must.com.au/must_highgate/index.html
Must Winebar on Urbanspoon

El Publico
511 Beaufort st, Highgate
0418 187 708
http://www.elpublico.com.au/
el PÚBLICO on Urbanspoon

Bos Taurus
550 Beaufort st, Highgate
9227 5515
http://www.bostaurus.com.au/ (placeholder page)
Bos Taurus on Urbanspoon

Clarences
566 Beaufort st, Highgate
9228 9474
http://clarences.com.au/
Clarences on Urbanspoon

Posted by  |  26 October, 2012 | Categories: Beef, Dessert, Food, Pork, Review, Seafood, Sweets & Treats | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee

So I, The Brazen Photographer, went on a journey. A journey of coffee. I journey where only coffee-snobs dare to tread. Where I hope one day to get a job. Because I, The Brazen Photographer, really want a job in the hospitality industry, because maybe there I can be paid for doing things I enjoy and hopefully I’m good at.
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B, my bro-bro, came along for the drug fuelled ride. I had so much caffeine and was buzzing SO high that I collapsed at midnight at slept in.
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My body was REJECTING THE VERY FIBRE OF ME and so while I loved every minute of this course I was dying a little on the inside. I should have packed myself (and my bag) full of painkillers before I left home but I foolishly thought that it would only be a short burst of manageable pain. Ha! my body said as my insides felt like they were being ground up, Ergh! I said as I grit my teeth and made coffee.
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I wont spoil it all for you, but the steps are:

1) Porta-filter off
2) Clean group-head
3) Tap tap!
4) Dry and clean
5) Fill to a mountain
6) Tap tap!
7) Fill to a mountain
8) Scrape off excess with a pallet knife
9) Taper with your body weight
10) Attach porta-filter to group head
11) Start water
12) Add cups
13) Pour through chocolate, caramel and turn off at the blonde
14) Get the milk and at foam with a tssit-tssit!
15) Heat until you can’t hold it anymore + six seconds
16) Swirl until glossy
17) Pour the fluffiest first, like a beer into the centre of the coffee in the cup
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This shouldn’t tell you how to make coffee, this tells you the steps (and shows you I’ve learnt something). To make coffee with one of these beasts you’re going to have to practice. Doing this course allows you to practice on ONE MILLION COFFEES. And we had to pour most of them down the drain. D:09
It may have been the caffeine but there’s something so wonderful about making a good coffee. I love doing stuff with my hands and I felt so… accomplished. I’m somewhat of a coffee-snob, I know what I like. I’m not so fussy however, and am willing to try new spots, but making your own coffee is amaze-balls because you can make the coffee the right heat, the right strength, with beans you like etc. al. At home we make our coffee with a moca-pot, which is fine, but you can’t always control everything in a moca-pot the way you can with this super-dooper expensive equipment. Hopefully I’ll get a job and I’ll let you know how it is. (Basically I want to be a barista or bar staff.)
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Jules, the course coordinator was TOTALLY BOSS. They reminded us that both coffees should look the same going out to a table, so if you screw up the art on the first one make sure the next one is just as ugly! The above one on the right is mine. :3c
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I’m pretty sure this is my brother’s beautiful coffee. Doesn’t it look awesome? Oh god I could go a coffee.

SO, did you know coffee should be drunk three weeks after it’s roasted, three days after you’ve opened the packet and three minutes after you’ve ground the beans? D: We never drink out beans in three days after we’ve opened the packet, it just wouldn’t be justifiable. So unfortunately the beans are (almost) always going to be better when we get coffee out at a café. :(
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ISN’T THIS CLEANER THING THE BOSS-EST? It squirts water into the cut and then drains away. SO COOL.
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They have two little coffee bean plants which make about 20 beans per year. They only do this since they’re inside and it’s not tropical here and they’re not at a high altitude. But they’re adorbs anyway.
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LOOOOOOOOOOK. I’m certifiably barista-y.

Anyway, it was hella fun. If you want to go it’s the Barista Academy, check them out, I really reeeeeeealy enjoyed it. You get to make as much coffee as you can, you learn a little about the bean ect. al and you use ALL THE BANNISTER DOWNS MILK THAT YOU WANT. Basically it’s worth the price in my honest opinion. (Also the tutor is lovely and really nice, even though I accidentally stole a sip of her coffee because I thought it was B’s.)

<3 The Brazen Photographer

Posted by  |  10 October, 2012 | Categories: Food, Review | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

Chocolate Two Ways

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TBC is away on holiday. And for all my good intentions I haven’t had time to set this up as The Brazen Duck: On Holiday. However you may appreciate that I have instead brought a recipe to you from TBC via A. Let it be know that the bringing that I am doing is purely production values since A did all the planning and the cooking. Not only this but L also decided on making ice-cream sandwiches, which harkens back to my childhood where Giant Sandwiches were actually the best ice-cream. I just didn’t realise this until it was too late (i.e. they changed the recipe for the very worse), when I was younger I was won over by the glitz of ice-cream with chocolate shells, etc.

First let me tell you something I have been intending to say forever. It is this: I really enjoy The Imp. The coffee is strong with BD milk, the way I like it. But also there are two of the employees that work that really converse with you and make you feel welcome. I’ve had dinner there and it’s totally amazing, though obviously priced similarly to other tapas bars in Perth.

The only problem, as with any tiny café is you’re unlikely to get a spot in peak hour and you can’t book a table. If that’s not going to put you off I really suggest it, try their grilled vegetable sandwich, it’s amazeballs.

P.S. Their almond crescents were my go to during exams.

A here! As much as I am not worthy to be posting on The Brazen Duck (as I am usually a Brazen guest for all the delicious food which gets posted here) the Brazen Chef is the one who taught me how to cook “real” mexican, so think of this as a tribute to her in her absence.

Authentic Mexican food is quite a divergence from the tex-mex Old El Paso fare I was served as a child. For a start, it tends to be based around pork, rather than ground beef.

I was lucky enough to score a leg cut on the cheap from my butcher of choice (the budget friendly Swansea Street Markets). If you are looking for quality meat without spending a fortune, you should head over there as soon as you can! They also have difficult to find animal parts (a freezer stacked with chicken livers and tripe, for example) and are happy to try to source anything which they currently don’t have.

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There is something so divinely comforting about the combination of avocado, lime juice, coriander and chilli which makes tacos such a comfort food for our Monday night tribe.

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The staple fillings for tacos (as we do them) are guacamole and salsa. So simple and refreshing! Just mush up some avocados, chuck in salt and lime juice (and coriander if you want) to taste, and done. We actually added smoked sea salt flakes, as that was (fortuitiously!) what was to hand in The Brazen Photographer’s kitchen. This gave the guac a nice smoky zing, which really balanced the lime juice.

Use the best tomatoes that you can find in your salsa. Tomatoes are a fruit which really varies in taste with quality: you want tomatoes which aren’t too pulpy or floury, but nice and juicy. I am hoping to grow tomatoes in abundance this summer, as nothing is better than a home-grown tomato. Combine your best tomatoes with coriander and red onion.
Both the guac and the salsa will benefit from tasting and seasoning until you have got it “just right”. Everyone has different ideas about what ratios of ingredients they want in their salsa, so you’re best to let your taste buds inform your decisions here.

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Pulled pork is one of the best things in the world. I don’t think this is hyperbole. It was a mystery to me until The Brazen Chef explained that you need to braise your pork for some time (in the oven or on the stove). It’s done when it falls apart. I left the bones in the pan for this part, to give more flavour. Then, shred the meat andreduce the liquid down and crisp it in its own fat. In Australia, our pigs tend to be a bit on the lean side for this. You may need to add some lard or similar to get those nice crispy edges on your meat. We actually ended up using duck fat, as it was the only fat to hand.

I cooked this pork in a tin of crushed tomatoes, with some added coriander powder (around 2 teaspoons), browned onions, and 3 cloves of garlic. I initially wanted to add ground cumin, but there was none in the kitchen. So we added some drinking cocoa with chilli and cinnamon, largely because it was on the kitchen bench. Don’t be afraid of adding small amounts of something like this to something like pulled pork, or stews: it will give it a lovely, rich flavour without seeming as out of place as you might expect.

This pork is to die for. <3 – TBP

Finally – never ever buy tortillas. You can make your own at home for next to nothing, and they taste so much better. Get yourself some masa flour (you can find it at markets, or places like Loose Produce in Como). Mix equal parts with warm water. You want a consistency like play-doh. Roll out between two sheets of glad wrap, and fry on a dry non-stick pan until it browns up. They’ll be more bendable if you lay them under a tea-towel after cooking. This is the one of the greatest things I have ever learnt, and I don’t think I can ever repay The Brazen Chef for this knowledge. – A

So, I’m TBC’s boyfriend, and I took over making dessert this week. In this case, it was an Ice-Cream Sandwich but with a crazy twist; Black Beans. Recipe here; linked to me by a friend. 
I assume whoever made this up did it to make a gluten free alternative to floury cookies, but in the end I added flour anyway to make the mix a bit dryer, so the cookies would hold together a bit better. Maybe it didn’t need it, but it looked like it when it was at the mix stage so that’s what happened. And hey, they ended up looking quite pretty! (Though maybe that’s to do more with TBP’s skillz than my cooking…)

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The first bite is really quite good; the black beans give it an odd but good taste. However after a few more bites, I found the bean taste a bit overwhelming, despite the huge amount of chocolate in the recipe. Some of us liked it, some didn’t. Next time I think I’ll make my ice cream sandwich biscuits without the beans I think, though it was an interesting experiment. – L

Anyway, <3 guys!

Posted by  |  9 October, 2012 | Categories: Dessert, Food, Pork | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Smoult’s Deli Turns 1!

Ladies, gents, ungendered or undecided, what is UP? Normally you would be devouring TBC’s tender words, however, today, today you are getting a dose of the one, the only TBP.

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I live in Maylands, and while we’re so close to Beaufort st, (where there are plenty of cafés with great reputations) you want to have pride in those foods a little closer to home. Possibly my favourite Maylands shop is Smoult’s Continental Deli. Filled to the brim with amazing delicious things, 5 minutes from my door stop, open late most days, it’s literally my food solution for everything.

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I’m not even kidding, I get home, feel totally uninspired by the food in my fridge, drop down to Smoult’s and grab some of their free range salami, a bag of BD milk (Bannister Downs) or our favourite cheese. That salami, geeze, it goes great with anything, on anything. I have a love affair with this salami. It used to be available through Swansea and now Smoult’s is my only place I can find a hit.

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So when I stopped by, saw they were turning 1, and then got the most amazing hot dog I’ve ever eaten in my life (just quietly it’s better than Elmar’s on Beaufort st for sausages in buns) I just FLIPPED. I don’t have any clever words to tell you how good it is, but it was right up my alley. Good quality food, cheap and simple. (I think it was $6, or $6.5 for a hot dog, but they only did this for their birthday, and I have no idea if they’ll do it again.)

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I had a duck and lamb sausage and my partner had beef and whoah, to die for.

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So it was so delicious that we went back their recently to buy the sausages and snaffled 3 each. Mpfff. (For 3 beef and 3 duck and lamb it was ~$12).

So check her out if you have a chance, it is a little more expensive than say Swansea St deli, but their customer services is so lovely, and their range so varied that it’s worth every cent.

(Also everything is pretty in that shop, all the better to photograph everything.)

<3 The Brazen Photographer.

Posted by  |  14 September, 2012 | Categories: Beef, Duck, Food, Review, Sheep | Tags: , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Truffle Masterclass

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We had been eating our way around the truffle festival and lost track of time. We weren’t quite sure where the Masterclass was being held, so we headed back to the gate to check. A friendly chap handed us a copy of the Loose Box truffle menu and we (foolishly) assumed he might know where the venue that his boss was performing in might be. He told us to ‘follow those men’ and pointed over his shoulder to Alain Fabregues, Guillaume Brahimi and Emanuel Mollois. This seemed like a sound, if creepy strategy. We strategically loitered around their general vicinity while they chatted (and kissed! lots of kissing, if you’re into that) with festival visitors. As the clocked ticked closer to the appointed time we became increasingly nervous, until they disappeared out a secret exit. Disaster! We ran back to the entrance and found someone who looked official enough not to troll us. She looked skeptically at her watch as she gave us directions and we jogged into the hall in the nick of time.

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TBP (a linguist) hadn’t entirely realised that all three chefs still had strong French accents and her face lit up when she realised we were about to be treated to what essentially boiled down to a piece of dinner theatre. The challenges in demonstrating three dishes of varying complexity and cooking time while also balancing three egos on one bench became immediately apparent, but our entertainment luckily skirted around the potential train smash and came across as a lighthearted, if scatterbrained show. Alain Fabregues and Emanuel Mollois have recently opened up Bistro des Artistes in Subiaco together, and if their interactions at the Masterclass were anything to go by, working in that shared kitchen must be quite an experience. They had an excellent rapport, Fabregues gentling teasing Mollois about being a Patissier rather than Chef (the difference, in case you are wondering, if that Chefs must learn patissiere but Patissiers are not required to learn to cook). You did occasionally get the impression that Fabregues and Brahimi were ganging up on Mollois somewhat but this kind of added to his underdog charm as the youngest of the three.

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Our entree was a ‘quick’ scallop dish prepared by Alain Fabregues. It was definitely the quickest of the lot, despite having a 24-hour lead time to allow the scallops to cure and intensify their flavours. Each seared scallop was topped with a huge piece of shaved truffle, placed on a bed of sauteed leeks and truffle reduction, and garnished with a round of puff pastry. This was my favourite course of the Masterclass, it’s really hard to serve perfectly cooked scallops for a hundred people simultaneously and it was done with such apparent ease. The wine match didn’t have me quite so excited, I would have preferred the rich creamy flavours with the sparkling Chardonnay we were given on arrival rather than the crisp, fruity Sauvignon Blanc Semillon it was paired with. It’s easy to imagine how that panned out, Chef said ‘scallops’, sponsor said ‘white’, no one mentioned cream and then the sparkling was already a Chardonnay and here we are. Of course, it’s also entirely possible it all went over my head.

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Guillaume Brahimi demonstrated our main of braised wagyu beef cheeks with celeriac puree, and, of course, truffles. The preparation for this dish was much more involved  (although still not outside the range of a home cook) consisting of the beef cheek, sauce, puree, carrots, croutons and truffle garnish. The beef cheek is slow cooked for five hours in a veal stock which is prepared the day ahead from veal osso bucco, with the cooking liquor from the cheek reduced into the jus which finishes the dish. The celeriac is simmered with milk until tender then blended, and the carrots are simmered (with butter) then finished in a pan (of butter) with a touch of garlic and the croutons. After you’ve seen Brahimi cook, you’re not quite as shocked as you should be to learn they go through 400kg of butter a week at Bennelong. The portion sizes were hefty, too, or it could have been our morning of grazing catching up with us. The texture of the beef check wasn’t what I was expecting, although I should have known better. It was very soft, with almost no resistance. Usually you’d use ‘falling off the bone’ and so on as things to strive for, but… maybe there’s something to be said for a bit more texture. The celeriac puree was subtle and silky smooth and the carrots nicely done, but the only element which offered a textural contrast was the scattering of croutons. Flavour wise, the dish worked very well, the strongly flavoured jus tying in the more understated puree and the croutons providing a garlicky highlight. It was definitely good, but the scallops were the standout for me. The Shiraz matched with the dish was a Shiraz – something I’d normally save for a food that could kick back at it, but it did help to cut through the gelatinous feel, and I am demonstrably not the world’s biggest fan of a powerful red.

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Desserts, Mollois told us, are not a truffle’s best friend. Truffle does not like sweet, sugary flavours, and its properties are destroyed above a certain heat. Although he felt he’d ended up over his head the first time he agreed to create a truffle dessert, he learned that truffle goes well with fruits like apple and pear, and can be infused into cream. The dish we had at the Masterclass tied these elements together, with a sable breton base, a dome of caramelised apples, a truffle infused creme anglaise and a walnut craquelin decoration. I love fruit and caramel desserts, so it was a hit with us. The viognier it was paired with was sweet but not overly so, a little thick, but not cloying. I thought it was a good match, maybe the best of the day.

The service was stellar – it was a tough job to get three beautifully plated courses and four glasses of wine on and off the table in the cramped conditions of the hall and the staff did it without distracting us from the show on stage or landing anything in a lap. The staff out the back were also on the ball with the courses coming quite quickly once they started. A longer wait between each course would have allowed us more time to digest and drink our wine, not that our surroundings were really comfortable enough to encourage that. Knowing I’m on a time limit makes it hard to savour and then I end up leaving half the wine rather than rushing it. This is always the way with me and matched wines though, unless I have the trusty L around to help me polish them off.

All in all, we had a very enjoyable dinner-theatre-and-matched-food experience and would definitely recommend the event to anyone heading up to the Festival in the future.

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The Mundaring Truffle Festival Masterclass
Food by Alain Fabregues of The Loose Box, Guillaume Brahimi of Bennelong, and Emanuel Mollois of Choux Cafe
Wine by Watershed Wines

Posted by  |  23 August, 2012 | Categories: Beef, Food, Review, Seafood, Sweets & Treats, Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave A Comment »

The Mundaring Truffle Festival

It was probably wrong of us to approach the Mundaring Truffle Festival as some sort of competitive eating event. It’s just… it’s a food festival. You go to a music festival, you see as many sets as your body can handle. You go to a truffle festival, you put as many truffles in your mouth as possible. Logic. In pursuit of this noble aim (and concerned about the size of our three course truffle masterclass lunch) we skipped breakfast and drove up to Mundaring bright and early in the morning (read: about 10am).
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Last year’s festival was (while delicious) rainy, cold, and muddy. This saturday, the sun was shining and I nervously left my wellies at home, donned my sunnies and headed out without a jumper for the first time in weeks. As it turned out, it was a beautiful spring day.

The first vendor we encountered was Rochelle Adonis, still channeling her high tea aesthetic with the stall all silver platters, bell jars, and pink roses. Still, having your breakfast presented to you by someone who baked for heads of kingdoms is its own kind of rush, and we tried the absurdly named ‘truffington’ – a truffle infused, poshed up lamington. I’m not the world’s biggest lamington fan, but this avoided the usual criticism in that it was layered inside and quite moist. It was also the truffle equivalent of a kick in the face, but I’m still ambivalent about truffle in sweets so we wandered on.

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Despite reminding each other that we had to save room for lunch and half a lamington each was a perfect breakfast substitute, we found ourselves eyeing the Jumplings. I’d heard these mentioned by Urban Locavore so we tried the pork and truffle Jumpling – it was pleasantly juicy with a hint of chilli but I imagine (given the price) that the main attraction is the convenience of keeping a bag of them in a home freezer. I’m a sucker for pastizi and I can see Jumplings filling that tasty snack / lazy meal niche quite nicely.

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I’m a bit of a fan of the Spice Library. Every time I run into them I find their staff friendly and knowledgeable. While their packs might not represent amazing value for money for confident cooks who know their way around a spice shop and a Persian recipe or two (and to be fair, I haven’t met anyone cooking Persian food without the help of Spice Library who isn’t Persian themselves), the convenience of having everything in place before you start, and the professional packaging, makes them worth the money. The confidence boost a novice cook gets from delivering an impressive and unusual dish to the table can make a huge difference. I picked up a jar of advieh (a spice mix containing rose petals).

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We were sweet talked into trying to wares of a catering company whose name I instantly forgot. Their truffle and mushroom pie was much more memorable – rich, savoury, and ‘meaty’ to the point where I seriously doubted it was as vegetarian as it sounded. The rabbit and truffle spring roll was a bit less exciting, but rabbit can be a pretty uninspiring meat. It didn’t have much in common with a spring roll except the wrapper – more aptly named a cigar, perhaps.

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After the Masterclass, there wasn’t much left to do but eat. Last year there were demonstrations and talks to attend, but this year it seemed that everything was limited to the ticketed events, the truffle dogs, and one large outdoor demonstration stage. I particularly enjoyed a talk on the science of the truffle and the history of the industry in WA last year and was sorry to see nothing similar this time. Maybe I’m a bit of a geek but I like to know how things work, and a workshop on why you can infuse some things with truffle more successfully than others, or the science behind why the flavour is destroyed above certain temperatures would really enhance my truffle experience. But, I guess since the truffle industry in WA is still young, it’s possible that no one has studied this stuff yet…

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We found a table to rest at until our stomachs recovered. Foolishly, this table was in the food market, right next to a stall which was spruiking freshly shucked oysters. Eating oysters raw still takes a bit of a mental leap for me as one of the few things about food that creeps me out is slimy textures but down the hatch they went and stayed.

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With nothing better to do while waiting for the signings at the Boffin’s book tent at 3, we set about topping up our stomachs every time they settled. The south american chorizo with chimichurri was fun and different – most of it’s flavour seemed to come from it’s stint in the smoky weber rather than paprika and the texture was coarser. The chimichurri raised it from to realm of Aussie snag to tasty treat. I can’t comment on the bun as we weren’t foolish enough to waste precious stomach space on it.

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The Boffin’s tent was my idea of a good time. A whole shop, full of books about food? Lead me to it. Luckily by that point I had lowered my budget to just slightly below the price of a cookbook (Food For Friends was $80, welp) so my wallet escaped intact. TBP had taken a shine to Emmanuel Mollois at the Masterclass so she had et Voila! (at the absolute other end of the spectrum, a bizarre $20) signed. She had a little moment.

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A stomach full of free samples later it was R&R time. One stall was selling 100% fruit ‘ice-cream’ like my mum used to make. For those who can’t handle dairy, blended frozen bananas give it a ‘creamy’ base, and the fruit of your choice gives it an actual flavour. If you’re accustomed to real ice-cream it’ll still taste wrong but for those of us less lucky, it’s about as close as you can get without the taste of soy or crippling regret.

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We took our cups of summer up to a blissful spot of sunshine on the hill and caught the last truffle dog demonstration of the day. The dogs were a bit truffled out and the speaker introducing them a bit weary, but we were particularly taken with the little puppy who accidentally found a truffle whilst out playing in the trufferie. What a life.

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As the sun started to dip and the stalls started to close we toddled towards the gates via, of course, a couple more stalls. The crab cakes were one of the simple highlights of the finger food, sweet, perfectly seasoned with kaffir lime and a hint of chilli, and topped with a truffle aoli. I love crab cakes but no crab ever makes it past the baguette stage in my family.

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The Mahogany Inn was also really impressive. The Pedro Ximinex glazed pork belly skewer came with a tiny little candy apple, the size of a cherry. It was a delicious combination and a cute gimmick – I wish all candy apples came with pork belly. Curiously, the only other time I’ve had a tiny apple like that was at the Loose Box, practically across the road from the Mahogany Inn. What is it about Mundaring that means tiny little apples? Where do I find them?

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Mahogany Inn was also doing half marron with truffle butter. In terms of convenience this was the total opposite of a tidy skewer but it was cool to see them catering to the sit down crowd as well as the grazers. It was good but needed 30 seconds longer on the heat to be perfect. If you came from a slightly less seafood obsessed family you probably wouldn’t have been able to tell, to be fair. We spotted their sign on the trip back to  Perth and I think we might check them out next time we’re feeling like a drive. If they can keep it up, it’d be worth a little outing.

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Full and sleepy, we drove back down into the setting sun. Good thing I brought my sunnies after all. And lucky we packed a little something for the drive...

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And with that I close this disgusting account of our gluttony. -TBC

Posted by  |  1 August, 2012 | Categories: Food, Themed Food | Tags: , , , | Leave A Comment »

A Game of Thrones – Delicious Inaccuracies Edition

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I have been getting right into The River Cottage series on iView lately. It’s perfect procrastination. I have managed to kill everything I’ve tried to grow in recent years (except a chilli plant which was at the brink of death a dozen times over the summer) so as much as I’m tempted by the idea of the landshare program, I know that for me – while in Perth at least – producing my own fruit and veg is a bit of a pipe dream. I love how they are putting people in touch with where their food comes from, and not just the vegetables but also the meat. Voicing over some footage of a gamekeeper clubbing a squirrel in a sack to death, Hugh reminds the viewer that while that may make them uncomfortable, all meat involves a death. Obviously no one enjoys seeing a fluffy squirrel clubbed to death. On the other hand, (hopefully) no one enjoys the idea of baby cows being separated from their mothers and killed, but many of those people enjoy veal and the products of the dairy industry, so I appreciate The River Cottage politely making that link for them.

Back on topic, one of the smallholders was being given a crash course in butchering a pig carcass (super cool) and Hugh made Rillons to show how to make use of the pork belly. I am a fan of both pork belly and confit, so what’s not to love? We had them hot rather than leaving them to set.

Menu
Rillons
Roast parsnip
Mashed potato
Braised cabbage
Balsamic beetroots

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Rillons
(inspired by this recipe)

Ingredients:
~2kg boneless plantagenet pork belly (we used more like 3.5 and I was still eating it 4 days later)
500g lard (or more if you are game, TBP was traumatised by even this much)
6 garlic cloves
3 or 4 sprigs of thyme
fine or flaky salt (not rock salt)
half a bottle of white wine
half a wine bottle of water


Method:
Preheat oven to 180c.
Cut your pork belly into thick chunks, ours were about 4cm long and 2cm wide when raw. The butcher did this for me since he was bored and had way sharper knifes at his disposal than I did. Salt the pork belly, and if you have time, leave it overnight or for a few hours.
Crush the garlic cloves with the flat of the knife and slide the skins off them. Hugh said to leave the skins on, but didn’t explain why and I didn’t fancy fishing them out later.
Heat a few tablespoons of lard in a cast iron pot or oven proof saucepan and brown the pork all over in batches. If you don’t have a splatter guard, it’s worth investing in one for this as there was quite a lot of hot fat flying around and I have the scars to prove it.

Once the pork is browned all over, return the other batches to the pan with whatever remains of the tub of lard. Add the white wine (which we decided to use instead of red, in an homage to the recipes origins in the Loire) and enough water so that the top pieces are just submerged. Add the garlic and thyme, and keep on the heat until all the lard is melted and the mixture is just starting to bubble. Transfer to the oven and bake for as long as you can allow. From memory, ours were in there for 2 or 3 hours. By that point the meat should be incredibly soft and tender.

Remove the pork from the lard with a slotted spoon. Heat a heavy based frying pan on the stove and fry the pork (you won’t need to add any fat, obviously) so that it crisps up on each side. Pay special attention to the skin side to see if you can get it crunchy – because the plantagenet pigs are quite young, the skin was tender and sticky and not unpleasant to eat, but just about everything is better with crackling.

The rest of the pork will keep happily for a week, and quite possibly longer depending on how long you salted it for and how clean the storage vessel is. Make sure the top of the meat is submerged in fat, and keep it in the fridge. Getting it back out of the fat in small batches is a bit of an adventure though, so splitting it up into portions so you’re not tempted to re-heat the whole thing would be a good idea.

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Braised Cabbage

Ingredients:
8 juniper berries
Half a red cabbage
Red wine to taste (maybe half a bottle)
splash of vinegar (balsamic, cider apple, whatever you prefer)

Method:
Slice the red cabbage into strips. Squash the juniper berrie slightly using the side of a heavy knife, as you would for a garlic clove. Heat some olive oil in a heavy based saucepan, add the cabbage and berries, and fry lightly. Add the wine, and top up with water until the cabbage is just covered. Simmer until tender, adding a splash of vinegar to taste if you like.

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Posted by  |  5 June, 2012 | Categories: A Game of Thrones, Food, Pork, Themed Food | 4 Comments »

Review: The Precinct

Precinct Logo

Sorry for the lack of photos, TBP had a previous engagement & we were being SPONTANEOUS.

You may have come across the Precinct in the news, as it’s been making a bit of a stir lately. They were the latest high-profile victim of the liquor licensing laws in WA since the Commission was not convinced of the public interest in their application even though there was significant support from the community and local government. Now, a reading between the lines with my half a law degree makes it look like it was mostly about what was admissible at what stage of the proceedings rather than a declaration that the support they had was insufficient, but props to them for hanging in there because they got hold of a Restaurant License at 2pm last Friday! Hooray. So we trotted down to support small business and thumb our noses at the fuddy duddies in Parliament.

Despite not having a booking we didn’t have to wait long before we were seated by our charming waitress, who managed to be way cooler than me all night and yet not make me feel bad. Magic. Service continued to be excellent right through the meal from our various waitpersons, with just the right amount of information about what we were ordering right when we needed it and a nice sparkle of excitement about the new license. I remain impressed they managed to get the wine in and the menus printed in the three hours between hearing the news and end of business. A word of warning about the wine list – it’s tidy and international, and as a result there are only four bottles under $40 and two of those are the house wine. When you see that you can really feel for them – they were expecting 40-50% of their income to be from alcohol sales and this license must be a huge relief. Hopefully when things have settled a bit and they’ve gained some ground on the bank we’ll see a couple more options in the somewhat-more-affordable bracket.

Between three of us we ordered four small plates, a mains to share, a side, a dessert each, and a bottle of La Vendetta Sangiovese Toscana IGT. We didn’t test how well they’d briefed the staff on the wine, firstly because we knew what we wanted, and secondly because when I had a crack it turned out I was talking with one of the owners and she undoubtedly knew far more than I did. Outplayed, Precinct!

We started off with the pork scrunchions with pickled eggs. Niftily served in various sizes of poly pipe, these were a fun way to kick off. The eggs were tangy, the pork crackling was crisp, and it was an interesting combination. I’d love to try the same idea with hot crackling, since when cold they were more than a little reminiscent of those Mr Porky’s I used to have for long car trips – which to be fair I used to love so it’s not much of a criticism.

Next we had the whitebait with beer aioli. We were warned when we ordered them that they were ‘quite fishy’ – probably for the best, as I suppose there exist people who don’t realise whitebait are, you know, fish. I was relieved that they were the proper whole little ones about an inch long rather than the more-like-sardines I got one time at Clancy’s that I had to disembowel before anyone would go near them. These were crisp and delicious and honestly, not all that fishy. The beer aioli (served in a shot glass) was great too, we pinched it off the plate to dip odds and ends into.

The goats cheese and truffle souffle was really, really good. As soon as we hit truffle season and I get my hands on some of the goods I am making one of these. Pretty much licked the cheese off the sides. No regrets.

The charcuterie plate had a bit less charcuterie than expected, but was nevertheless good. Rillettes (I’m 90% sure the waitress said they were rabbit, but if anyone from the Precinct wants to correct me on that please feel free) are solidly in the charcuterie bracket, but sliced duck breast in liquorice sauce and sous-vide pork belly are in my opinion less so. However! We weren’t even planning to order it until we heard what was on it (as most cured meats are off limits for me at the moment) so it was all to the good. The pork belly cube was moist, tender and lovely, even if I was a bit snow-blind to pork belly by that point in the week since it was the fifth day in a row I’d eaten some. Now I know they have the hardware, I’ll be back to see what else they can do with it. The duck breast was tender, and the sauce was tasty, if not as strong in liquorice flavour as I’ve had elsewhere.

Our waitress warned us that the lamb only came with one chop and organised two more so we’d have one each. These came with slow cooked shredded lamb on a bed of toothsome walnut spatzle, which got B quite excited. The sauce on the lamb was particularly well done, a thick, savoury reduction with a hint of chocolate.

For dessert we tried each of the sweet options (they also have a cheese plate and chocolate truffles). I had the chocolate banana pie, which came deconstructed as a martini glass of thick chocolate mousse (or pudding, as B put it) with a banana foam, dried banana crisps and a tuile garnish. The citrus salad had thin sheets of tempered dark chocolate on a bed of citrus fruits, and the lemon curd in the meringue roll made a nice tangy, tangy contrast.

All in all, the food was thoughtful and well-executed, the wine was excellent, the service intelligent and friendly. Our waitress was happy to tell us about the origins of the meat (lamb from Amelia Park, chicken from Mt Barker, Pork from Linley Valley), which took the sting out of what can be at times an awkward conversation. We will be back, although maybe not until the menu has a bit of a shake up – we went through about half the current offerings, and it would be hard to go back in a party larger than a couple without doubling up. Having said that, I can imagine that goats cheese souffle making an excellent light lunch for one, and at $12 you could escape with that and a glass for wine for about $20 so it would be worth another trip for that alone.

May peaceful protest always taste this good.

The Precinct
834 Albany Highway
East Victoria Park
(08) 9355 2880
http://www.theprecinctvicpark.com.au

The Precinct on Urbanspoon

Posted by  |  31 May, 2012 | Categories: Food, Review | Tags: , , , , | Leave A Comment »

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