Masterchef's Matt Preston, a fleischmeister and a feast of salami

"You're a bad bad fleischmeister!"Now that is the kind of dirty talk guaranteed to get a gourmand's pulse racing.When those words are uttered by Matt Preston himself, well, let's just say I was glad I was sitting down at the time...The deli envelope containing the Don media lunchI have to confess that Matt Preston was the main drawcard to my attendance at the Don Smallgoods media lunch, although

Biggest mooncake in Australia

I did a double-take when I walked past this the other day at the Sussex Centre in Chinatown.According to the plaque alongside it, this mooncake weighs 65kg and is equivalent to 700 normal sized mooncakes, which apparently makes it the biggest mooncake in Australia. The mooncake measures 67cm across and is 12cm high.Made by Saint Honore Cake Shop on 14 September, 2009, the giant-sized mooncake

Malaysia Festival 2009, Darling Habour

Curry Chee Cheong Fun $8.50Sunday seemed to be a day of festivals. Before the trek out to Cabramatta for the Moon Festival and mooncake eating competition, Minh, Simon, Suze and I started the day at the Malaysia Festival in Darling Harbour.We arrived well before the crowds. A 10am start meant most stalls were still unpacking, but it did give us time to inspect the offerings at leisure, and we

Fig and Goat Cheese Clafoutis

I'm still taking full advantage of the availability of good quality fresh figs at the markets at the moment. The figs are from Turkey, with dark purplish skin and beautifully pink insides. I've got no idea what's the actualy name of the specific fig variety. They're a bit too plump and round for Black Mission. Perhaps Brown Turkey?

One of the fig recipes I had bookmarked already three years ago was Melissa's Fig and Goat Cheese Clafoutis, and I was excited to finally try this at home. I can testify that it's a wonderful clafoutis recipe - the tart creamy goat cheese indeed made it taste a bit like cheesecake, it had a lovely clafoutis conistency, and it looked absolutely amazing. We enjoyed it when still slightly warm, and I think that's when the clafoutis is at its best, but it tasted also good when completely cool.

Do try it, if you've got a chance.



See here for the Estonian recipe: Viigimarjavorm kitsejuustuga.

Moon festival, Cabramatta

It was a weekend filled with food.My weekend started with a Friday night gluttony of two-hour all-you-can-eat yakiniku at Suminoya. It wasn't the first time I'd eaten myself into oblivion amidst a haze of charcoal, but I'd never before eaten with people who still had room for more - not just a snack, but chicken satay, roti tisu and roti kaya at Mamak immediately afterwards.The theme of excessive

Fix St James, Sydney

Artichoke and broad bean crostini $10We walk past it at first. The signage on Fix St James is so subdued we have to double back when we realise we must have walked straight past it.At first glance, Fix St James could almost pass itself off as an upmarket cafe, the entrance dominated by a espresso machine at the counter. The banquette seating, raised dining platform at the back, and a huge wine

Chat Thai, Sydney (and an interview on the Times Online)

The open kitchen at the front of Chat Thai is always a hive of activity.At least it means that the inevitable wait for a table at this busy restaurant is always entertaining. The narrow galley kitchen fits more chefs than you could think possible, industriously making desserts, checking on bubbling pots and searing skewers of chicken and pork on the grill.After a dinner of make-your-own tofu,

Less than two days to enter the Wellington prize pack giveaway

Entries have now closed for the o-mochi mooncake giveaway but don't forget there are still two more competitions you can enter!A prize hamper worth NZ$135 could be on its way from Wellington and straight to you in the Wellington prize pack competition. Hurry, entries close this Friday 5pm AEST. Enter now.And you could be enjoying a day of talks with chefs and all-day catering at the SIFF World

Chokeberry aka Black Aronia and Kephir Smoothie Recipe

It's official. Black aronia berries aka black chokeberries are the newest superfood. These beautiful black berries apparently have the highest concentration of useful flavonoids and antioxidants of any known natural food product. They're also rich in vitamins B2, B6, E, C and folic acid. I see articles praising Aronia melanocarpa e v e r y w h e r e!!

The berries have been grown in hedgerows in Estonia for decades. The most common use for the berries is in cordial, but I've made apple and black aronia jam couple of times as well. While most people find raw aronia berries a wee bit too astringent and tart, then I like nibbling on them. Luckily, there are lots of black aronia hedgerows bordering the streets in the suburb where I live. I get a healthy dose of these on my daily walks with the baby, as I pick a berry from here, and another one from there :)

We've just planted couple of chokeberry bushes into our new garden, and the berries I used for this super-healthy smoothie were from these bushes.

Chokeberry and Kephir Smoothie
(Aroonia-keefirikokteil)
Serves 1

1 ripe banana, peeled
handful of chokeberries/black aronia berries
250 g (1 cup) kephir
honey or agave nectar, to taste
a squeeze or two of lemon juice

Place banana chunks, berries and kephir into a blender and blend until smooth and frothy. Sweeten with honey or agave nectar, and season with lemon juice.
Serve at once.

Other recipes using chokeberries/black aronia berries:
Black aronia muffins

Forageing for cloudberries, pictures

Early last month I shared a picture of our cloudberry bounty. This weekend K's mum gave us some photos of that forageing trip, and I thought you might want to see how it works with a baby on your back.

Oh, did you spot our daughter on the first picture? :)

Here's a better view:



She's just over 6 months on the photos here, weighing 7.5 kilograms. But we managed, as she spent half of the time on my back, half of the time on her dad's back.



Photos are taken on August 2, 2009, in a bog in Rapla county, Estonia.

North Bondi Italian Food, Sydney

"Eating at North Bondi Italian Food is like eating with an Italian grandma," Pig Flyin muses thoughtfully, after dinner.I nod and counter "Except this nonna happens to have a beachfront apartment with a huge circle of friends who are hip, cool, young and pretty."Pig Flyin laughs. "Agreed."Postcard mural decorated by dining patronsTucked away at the northern end of Bondi Beach, North Bondi Italian

The new LONELY PLANET guide to Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania

If you're travelling to Estonia, Latvia and/or Lithuania any time soon, then I can recommend the 2009 edition of the famous Lonely Planet guide. Carolyn Bain, the coordinating author of the book, has thoroughly revised the current edition - 5th already! And as an extra bonus, you can read an interview with yours truly on pages 60-61, where I share some tips re: Estonian food in general, best places to eat out in Tallinn, what to eat when visiting and what to bring back home to your friends and family. :)

You can order a copy of the book either from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk or directly from the Lonely Planet website.

Read also my recommendations for eating out in Tallinn in 2009 here.

Kasumi Izakaya, Sydney

OMIGOD it's a water slide!I am beside myself with excitement. A water slide! With noodles! It's like the kids' bathttime water slide I never had but always coveted.It's not the only surprise dish we find at Kasumi Izakaya, the Japanese tavern on the northern offshootof Dixon Street mall, not far from the new Mandarin Club. Whilst we wait for the rest of our group to arrive, I'm easily entertained

Spicy Crabapple Marmelade Recipe

Rememer the Crabapple Cake? Well, some of you wanted to know how to make canned crabapples and the recipe for crab-apple jam. If you've got a crabapple tree in your back yard, then now is your chance to make this gorgeously red jam out of them. I've made two batches already - the second one was using apples from a different tree, and the marmelade wasn't as bright red, rather dark pink, but the taste was still lovely. As you're using unpeeled apples, there's plenty of pectin in the marmelade, giving it a lovely spreadable texture.

Crab Apple Marmelade
(Vürtsikas paradiisiõunapüree)

1 kg red crabapples
200 ml water (just under a cup)
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
250 g caster sugar

Wash the apples, place into a saucepan with water, cloves and cinnamon. Bring into a boil and simmer on low heat, stirring every now and then, until apples are soft.
Using a wooden spoon, press the soft apples through a sieve (try to get as much of the apple fruit and peel through as possible).
Return to the saucepan, add the sugar and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for another 7-10 minutes.
Spoon the jam into hot sterilised jars.
Keep in a cold storage.

Interview: Ten questions with Chubby Hubby, and your chance to win a ticket to the SIFF World Chef Showcase worth $285

Can you feel the excitement in the air? That's the anticipation of the first ever Sydney International Food Festival, due to launch on 1 October, less than two weeks away!The gustatory celebration once known as Good Food Month has been expanded and rebranded as the Sydney International Food Festival, with more events than ever before. Popular events like Let's do Lunch, Hats Off dinners and Sugar

Phu Quoc, Cabramatta, Sydney

It's a struggle to make it to lunch in Cabramatta without first ruining your appetite.The journey on foot down John Street is a chaotic din of sights, sounds and colour. Bright plastic stools, racks of tops for under $10, curls of incense smoke that tickle your nose, and shop upon shop crammed with bolts of fabric, leaning against each other in a mosh pit of polyester, lace and flannel.But it's

Pesche alla Piemontese or Baked Peaches with Amaretti biscuits

I'm baking lots of apple cakes and plum pies these days, trying to alternate the baking days with simple fruit dishes :) Two days ago I served luscious figs with goat's cheese and Jamon Serrano. Tonight the fruit was peach, and I made a classic Italian dessert, Pesche alla piemontese. You need the crispy and light Italian almond biscuits, Amaretti, for this recipe.

Pesche alla Piedmontese
(Küpsetatud virsikud Amaretti küpsistega)
Serves 4

4 large ripe peaches
100 g Amaretti almond cookies/biscuits
2 Tbsp brandy or cognac
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1 egg yolk

To serve:
whipped cream with vanilla and sugar

Wash the peaches, pat dry, halve and remove the stone. Place on a oven dish, cut-size up.
Crush the cookies into fine crumbs. Drizzle cognac on top and leave to soften for a couple of minutes. Stir in the butter and egg yolk and stir until combined.
Divide the mixture between the peaches.
Bake in the middle of 180 C / 350 F oven for about 30 minutes, until the peaches are soft and the Amaretti topping is golden.
Serve warm or at room temperature, with a spoonful or two of whipped cream.

Cabramatta Food Tour

Durian standWho needs a passport when you live in Sydney?The woman selling durian on a street stall shields herself from the sun's blistering rays with a market umbrella. "It's just like Malaysia!" says Shez.A passerby picks up a ripe durian and inhales deeply. She carefully checks the weight and then slowly inspects the other spiky fruits in the pile. The smell of durian, the heat, the jostle of

Sahara Restaurant, Parramatta, Sydney

Famous Turkish apple tea $3Six food bloggers in a restaurant can never be missed.I often wonder what we must look like to the casual passerby, a table of diners intent on photographing each dish with such seriousness, their faces obscured by a camera lens.Tonight I'm dining with fellow food bloggers Lex, Minh, Richard, Simon and Suze. It takes some time for six people to get the shot they're

Figs with Jamon Serrano & Goat's Cheese

It's not easy to get good-quality figs in Estonia. But when you see them, you crab them straight away and make something delicious. Like this simple, yet elegant starter, for instance. The figs are from Turkey, and they were huge, beautiful, fragrant and delicious.

Figs with Jamon Serrano & Goat's Cheese
(Viigimarjad Serrano singi ja kitsejuustuga)
Serves 4

4 large ripe figs
about 75 g soft goat's cheese
4 thin slices of Jamon Serrano or other cured ham
runny honey
fresh thyme
freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the figs, pat dry and cut almost into quarters, leaving the base intact. Place on a serving tray, opening the figs slightly.
Cut the cheese into chunks, divide between the figs. Place a piece of ham onto each fig.
Drizzle with runny honey, garnish with a thyme leaf or two and grind some black pepper on top.

Bodega Tapas Bar, Surry Hills, Sydney

It was a rhetorical question. Did you want to eat at Bodega or somewhere else? I didn't hear the rest of the question.For a tiny tapas bar, the menu is extensive - 22 different dishes and all of them so tempting."Fish fingers" $16Sashimi kingfish on garlic toast with cuttlefish ceviche and mojamaThe sashimi kingfish "fish fingers" is one of Bodega's signature dishes, and with good reason. It's

Mid-Autumn Festival: O-Mochi Mooncake Giveaway

Have you noticed the brightly coloured tins appearing in Asian grocery stores?The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival falls on October 3 this year, a time for families to come together and eat mooncakes and pomelos, beneath the bright and full mid-autumn moon.The packaging and flavours of mooncakes continues to evolve each year. These fancy mooncake gift boxes are probably the most impressive I've seen -

Observatory Hotel Globe Bar, Sydney

It's hard to believe that the Observatory Hotel was only opened in 1993.Georgian-style architecture is complemented by a old-worlde charm from a bygone era. At the entrance to the hotel bar is a celestial globe from which it takes its name. Crafted in 1799, the globe features a handpainted face of the world's star configurations.Inside the bar, a thick carpeted room with heavy drapery and solid

Crab Apple Cake (or Apple Cake from Paradise)

Crab apples (Malus paradisiaca) are quite popular in Estonian gardens, as they're rather decorative throughout the year - gorgeously pink blossoms during the spring and early summer, attractive tiny red fruits during the autumn (don't you agree?). However, their use is rather limited - they're too tart for eating as a dessert apple, they're a pain to clean for preserving. The traditional way of preserving them is pickled whole in a sweet-and-sour marinade and used as a garnish on various dishes during winter. Not bad, but a bit boring IMHO.

A sweet soul brought me two kilograms (that's just over four pounds) of crab apples the other week, and I wanted to make a jam according to a recipe given to me years ago. I began quartering and coring the tiny apples, and quickly gave up. Way too much hassle, you see. I decided to do something different and a lot easier - a crab apple spread. (You can see the result here). I fell immediately in love with the colour - and the flavour - of that spread. So when a local newspaper asked me to provide an apple cake recipe for one of their forthcoming issues, I knew I'd be patient enough and quarter and peel those tiny apples anyway.

I quickly sourced another batch of crab apples, and used them in one of my good and trusted apple cake recipes instead of regular apples. I think that simple cake looks simply spectacular because of the crab apples.

Crab apples, by the way, are known as 'paradise apples' in Estonian. So I could call this a Paradise Cake or Apple Cake from Paradise:)

Crab Apple Cake
Serves about 10



The pastry:
200 g unsalted butter
200 g sour cream
350 g all purpose/plain flour
0.5 tsp salt

The filling:
about 400 g crab apples (cleaned weight)
sugar, according to taste (I used 4 Tbsp)
cinnamon

Also:
1 egg white, for brushing

Melt the butter, then mix with sour cream, flour and salt until combined. The dough is very soft at this stage. Cover the bowl with a cling film and place to the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, quarter and core the crab apples.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the very nicely malleable dough into a large rectangle (about twice the size of your small to medium sized baking sheet). Carefully lift the dough and transfer half of it onto your baking sheet, leaving the other half to hang over the edge.*
Spread the apples over the pastry, then season with sugar and cinnamon. Fold over the other half of the pastry, and press the edges firmly together.
Brush with a egg white.
Bake in the middle of a pre-heated 200 C/400 F oven for about 35-40 minutes, until the apples are cooked and the cake is lovely golden brown on top.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little before cutting into squares.

* You can also simply divide the dough into 2 pieces and roll into 2 rectangles - one for the base and the other for the top.

PS You can obviously make this cake with regular apples instead - it'd be just as tasty, if not looking just as spectacular.

Caffe L'affare, Wellington, New Zealand - and a competition giveaway for Grab Your Fork readers

[Read on for details on a new Grab Your Fork giveaway!] I may have skipped breakfast on Sunday, but there was no way I was skipping lunch.It's true that in my whirlwind weekend of Wellington, I ate until I was fit to burst. I had limited time in the Windy City and I was determined to eat and see as much of it as I possibly could. Instead of being suddenly hit with hunger pangs, I was actively

Moore Wilson, Wellington, New Zealand

Things that make you go awww........Just as this photogenic pug made me melt into a smile, so did the picture perfect food that awaited me at Moore Wilson.It was my final day in Wellington and after joining a tour of the Harbourside Market, I'd zipped over to the fancy new City Market. There was not a moment to waste as I kept an eye on my watch and walked the couple of blocks up to Moore Wilson

City Market, Wellington, New Zealand

Schneckenudel from BrezelmaniaThe City Market is a new addition to the markets scene in Wellington, established by local award-winning chef Martin Bosley (his restarant Martin Bosley's was the Supreme Winner in the 2007 Cuisine Magazine Restaurant of the Year Awards).Housed under the shelter of the Chaffers Dock Function Centre, the City Market is a gourmande's paradise of artisan breads, cheeses

Top 10 Sydney Eats for Tourists

Each week Grab Your Fork receives emails from overseas visitors looking for a personalised list of the best eats in Sydney. To this end, I've compiled a list of my recommended eats for the fleeting visitor to our sunny shores.

My Top 10 are mostly located within the Sydney city area and should be easily accessible for the visitor on a whirlwind schedule.


Wagyu burger from Plan B

Top 10

Toast Skagen Recipe

Photo updated in October 2010

Toast Skagen is a very festive and popular Swedish starter. It's not cheap - both good shrimps (preferably from the waters around the Smögen island) and whitefish roe (ideally from European whitefish/Vendance (Coregonus albula) or Powan (Coregonus lavaretus)) are pricy. But if you are looking for that special starter for a special occasion, then this is very elegant, good-looking and delicious*.

This beautiful appetiser was developed by one of the best-known Swedish culinary heroes, Dr Tore Wretman (1916-2003), who served a version of this dish in his Stockholm restaurant already in 1958. Skagen, by the way, is a name of a beautiful fishing port on the Northern coast of Denmark, which has been popular with Swedish and Danish artists for centuries. Who knows, perhaps Wretman was inspired by one of his trips to the area :)

* Yes, I've slowly began to like shrimps.

Toast Skagen
(Toast Skagen krevetivõileib)
Serves 4




4 slices of good-quality white bread, crusts removed
butter for frying
300 g peeled cooked shrimps/prawns (fresh is best, but in brine will do)
5 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2-3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill + extra for garnishing
100-150 g bleak/whitewish roe
one lemon, quartered

Melt the butter on a frying pan and sauté the bread slices on both sides until golden. Place on a kitchen paper to drain excess fat.
Drain the shrimps, cut into smaller pieces (optional; I left them whole, as they look prettier). Mix mayonnaise, mustard and dill, fold in the shrimps. Taste for seasoning - if necessary, add some salt and pepper.
Spoon the mixture on top of the bread slices.
Garnish with a large spoonful of caviar and some dill. Serve with a lemon quarter.

Harbourside Market, Wellington, New Zealand

I was blessed with good weather during my weekend in Wellington.On Sunday morning the sun was shining, and though the air was brisk at about 9C, it was a gorgeous day to be out and about and taking in the local markets.When I'd first visited Wellington two years ago, I'd delighted in the Waitangi Park markets. Today the markets have expanded both in size and offering, including gourmet artisans

Becasse, Sydney - Spring Dinner with Champagne

It's a green carpet entrance.As I approach the doorway to Bécasse, I hesitate, for in my way is a shallow bed of grassy turf. It's cut to a doormat-size, but positioned sideways so it runs like a small hall-runner. A little voice inside me shouts "KEEP OFF THE GRASS" but there's no other way around and that's when I realise we're meant to walk on the grass, a tongue-in-cheek start to Bécasse's

New World Supermarket, Wellington, New Zealand

Am I the only person who considers an overseas supermarket a valid tourist destination?Having eaten myself into oblivion at Hippopotamus, I know I need to walk off some off my dinner. Where better to head than the fluroscent-lit aisles of New World supermarket, an insight into Wellington's grocery habits?Fruit displayHaving spent much of my high school and university life working in supermarkets,

Rustic Apricot Tart

We ate quite a few of those delicious Bergeron apricots while in France, and back home, I was craving for more. So I made this ridiculously easy rustic apricot tart. This is the only free-form tart I've ever made, but I've made it several times, so it's quite a favourite. Once you've got the pastry out of the way, it's really just the matter of piling the fruit on top of it.

Note that this is just as lovely, if not better, on the following day. The apricot might look slightly worse for wear, but the pastry improves from some standing, as the moisture in the air makes it nicely crumbly and soft.

Delicious with either a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Rustic Apricot Tart
(Aprikoosipirukas)
Serves six to eight



Pastry:
150 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100 g caster sugar
1 large egg
a pinch of salt
250 g all purpose/plain flour
0.5 tsp baking powder

If using a food processor, place sugar, salt, baking powder and flour in the processor and blitz to combine. Add butter and process until fine crumbs form. Add the egg, pulse couple of times until the mixture looks moist. Take out of the processor and knead with your hands until combined. Press into a flat disk.
Place the pastry on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and a light dusting of flour. Roll out into something reminding you of a circle, about 5-6 mm (1/3 inch) thick.

Topping:
10-12 large apricots, stoned
100 ml all-purpose/plain flour (just under a cup)
100 ml caster sugar (just under a cup)
100 ml ground almonds/almond meal (just under a cup)

Mix flour, sugar and ground almonds until combined, pour into the middle of the pastry circle, leaving about 5 cm (2 inches) clean border around it.
Now layer the apricots of top, making about three layers, each one smaller than the one just under it.
With the help of the baking paper and floured hands, fold the edges of the pastry over the apricots (see the picture below).
Bake in a preheated 200 C / 400 F oven for about 20-25 minutes, until the apricots are soft and the pastry golden brown and cooked.
Remove from the oven, let cool a little and then gently transfer onto a cake plate.