food

Our daughter Nora, born in January 2009, couple of weeks ago. I wish all my readers a very happy new year. Hope that 2010 will be filled with exciting culinary discoveries, comforting old favourites and lots of delicious everyday meals. Thank you so much for being here! PS Those of you who are wondering about Nora's "woolly fleece" - it's from Hiiu Vill (see here ).

Where did the year go? It must be a sign of getting older when the year swoops by faster than a food blogger's camera over your main course.People often say to me "you seem to eat out a lot" to which I always reply "oh no, not really, just a few meals here and there". And yet reviewing a year's worth of posts seems to prove otherwise - so much food. How did I fit it all in?With ease, of course.In

Oh yes. They really are donuts.A meet-up with food bloggers is guaranteed to bring a few interesting dishes. We gathered at Richard's for a post-Christmas catch-up, but perhaps the star of the show was Suze's Luther Burgers.The Luther Burger, a bacon cheeseburgersandwiched with a Krispy Kreme donut by SuzeThe Luther Burger is named after Luther Vandross - some say it was his favourite snack,

Chocolate with olive oil and saltI really am grateful. I'm grateful for a family, friends, good health and a bounty of amazing food. All too often it can be easy to get caught up in the trivial squabbles of life, and whilst there are many things you cannot change, there are many more you wouldn't want to - moments of good fortune you take for granted every day.I like to think that this is what

Hope you've all had a lovely Christmas with lots of delicious food! We celebrated the Christmas Eve (the main event in Estonia) with a large traditional meal at our home, and we've also had several other festive dinners over the last week. I'm now ready for some non-Christmassy food, though there are still some festive recipes I'll post over the next week. First up is a simple fruit soup ( kissel ) that I made last Christmas. You'll need a carton of light non-alcoholic glögg for this - I'm pretty sure your local Scandinavian store or IKEA food isle serves something suitable. Apricot and Mulled Wine Fruit Soup ( Jõulune aprikoosikissell vahukoorega ) Source: Finnish Valio Serves 6 1 litre of light (non-alcoholic) glögg or mulled wine 250 g dried apricots 3-4 Tbsp sugar 2 Tbsp potato starch or cornflour Heat glögg and apricots in a saucepan. Simmer on low heat, covered, for about 30 minutes, until apricots are softened. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth...

Eating well?Don't forget to check out the round-up of Christmas pics on the Christmas feasting post. 32 pics of an Australian Christmas - thanks everyone for sharing!

EDIT 27/12/09: Latest food pics added at the end of this postRoast turkey or seafood?I love that despite the heat of an Australian summer, so many of us continue to indulge in the traditional English Christmas dinner of roast turkey, gravy, plum pudding and all the trimmings. Our family has always done leg ham and seafood - it's so much easier with minimal preparation, and besides, Mum always

After reading about the popular American Christmas tipple, eggnog , for years, I finally took the plunge and made some last weekend. We loved it, and I'm probably making another batch tonight for tomorrow's Christmas Eve dinner, and then another one for the New Year's Eve party. The recipe below is based on Melissa's and Elise's recipes, and make an excellent Christmas-time drink. Eggnog ( Eggnogi jõulujook ) 1 litre (serves about 6) 4 large eggyolks 100 g caster sugar 500 ml milk (2 cups) 1 vanilla pod 1 cinnamon stick 250 ml whipping cream 2 Tbsp bourbon whisky 2 Tbsp dark rum freshly grated nutmeg, to serve In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks until frothy, then slowly beat in the sugar, whisking until fluffy. Combine milk, cinnamon stick and vanilla pod (halved lengthwise) in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Slowly heat mixture on medium heat until it is steaming hot. Do not boil! (If you're not in a hurry, then remove the saucepan from the heat and let infuse for 3...

I've always had a romanticised affection for diners.Blame it on a childhood brought up on American sitcoms, movies and teenage fiction, but alongside Twinkies, Kool Aid and Milk Duds, diners have always been that elusive promise of the quintessential American experience. The jingle of the bell as the door opens, the gum-chewing waitress with a pen tucked behind her ear, the cosy booths in which

Food photography? It's not so hard is it?I know it is. As a food blogger, personal experience tells me I have much to learn when it comes to droolworthy food photography.Hence when Billy contacted me to get involved with a food photography job for Mad Mex I leapt at the opportunity. Officially I was hired as his lighting assistant. Primarily this meant I was in charge of the softbox lights. It

Congratulations to the winners of the Bright Star movie ticket giveaway.The winners are: Arradius, nvmeii, Andrea, gillianlisa and the fashionate traveller. Enjoy the film!

Miniature ramen replicasWhy does everything look so much better in miniature?The first thing I did was grab the camera when I spotted these in the display cabinet at the home of Silverlily and Supermario. Collected from toy stores on a recent trip to Japan, they held pride of place in the cabinet. I was enamoured immediately.Tiny bowls of ramen with chopsticks suspended mid-air, steaks of wagyu,

Remember the Chorizo Choux Puffs ? When I published the recipe on my Estonian site , then one of the readers mentioned that she replaced the chorizo with finely chopped black pudding and liked the result. I liked the sound of that, so nicked the idea, adding a spoonful of roasted onion flakes for an extra depth of flavour. The result? Soft and Christmassy choux puffs with character :) We shared these with some friends, who were just as keen on these large profiteroles as we were. Definitely a keeper and a great addition to any Christmas buffét table. You could even dip them into lingonberry jam - that'd be even more Christmassy! If you're making these in Estonia, I recommend Saaremaa advendivorstikesed - small and moderately spicy and thin-skinned black sausages. Black Pudding Choux Puffs ( Keedutainapallid e. profitroolid verivorstiga ) Makes about 24 large profiteroles 175 ml water 75 g butter 0.5 tsp salt 110 g plain flour/all-purpose flour (200 ml) 3 large eggs 100 g black...

Do you like it saucy?No, no, I'm talking food. Of course I am. Are you the kind of person who gets your spoon into the bottom of the casserole dish to get the last dregs of sauce? Do you sneak a spoon into the bottom of the takeaway container of roast duck to collect the puddle of rich juices for your rice?Me too.My obsession with sauce explains my affection for Wuxi pork ribs. You have meat on

I say 'nice' in the title, as I cannot remember eating a Christmas fruitcake that I really liked when I lived in the UK (and I tried quite a few during my seven years there), but I LOVED this one. I know you're supposed to bake your fruitcake weeks in advance, and let it age and develop in a cool storage before eating it. I baked the one on the photo on Monday, and am dangerously close to having none left by tomorrow evening. That's why bought another several bags of dried fruit today, mixed them with booze. Will be baking another one of this tomorrow, just to make sure I have some to take along to the first of the many Christmas parties this weekend... The type of dried fruit you use is entirely up to you. I used dried sweetened cherries, seedless raisins, dried apricots and dried pineapple pieces on Monday. At the moment I've got all these plus dried papaya pieces macerating away. As for the booze, anything rum-based will work best, I think. I've used rum-base...

It's been a over a year since I made some delicious rugelach-cookies with hazelnut filling . After seeing a very talented young American pastry chef, Heidi Park (now based here in Tallinn), sharing her recipe for rugelach-cookies in a local food magazine, I felt the urge to make these again. I used my old recipe , and adapted the filling from Martha Stewart's recipe for Prune Rugelach . Very pleased with the final result, so sharing it with my dear readers :) Rugelach with Prune Filling ( Rugelach-küpsised ploomitäidisega ) Makes 32 small pastries For the pastry: 200 g butter, softened 200 g full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese, softened 2 tsp caster sugar 200 g all-purpose/plain flour, sifted a pinch of salt For the filling: 200 g dried plums/prunes 100 ml brandy or cognac Breadcrumb mixture: 4 Tbsp breadcrumbs 4 Tbsp caster sugar 0.5 tsp cinnamon For glazing: 1 egg white, beaten with a little water On the night before: Pour brandy over the prunes and let soak for up to 24 hour...

Baba ghanouj eggplant dipIt's always funny to watch your friends get pulled up to join the belly dancer, until you realise, with horror, she's coming straight for you.There's a belly dancer at Rowda Ya Habibi most Friday and Saturday nights. This spot seems to have become my fall-back venue for group functions. It's not hard to see why. The most expensive banquet will only cost you $30 per head,

Stop and Go coastersIt's the coasters that excite me most.For a while now, I've been meaning to get to Churrasco--not just for the promise of all-you-can-eat meat; not because the meat is served to you on swords that are brought to your table; but primarily because you can control the arrival of food to your table by flipping your personal coaster to Red (stop, I'm full) or Green (keep it coming!

Congratulations to Kate who has won a copy of the cookbook And the love is free... by Jules Clancy. If you missed out, dont forget that Grab Your Fork readers qualify for a 10% discount on all orders placed before Christmas. Simply use the discount code "Christmas" when you order online or call Naomi Clancy on 0407 014 232. Free postage applies anywhere in Australia.Like the idea of seeing a

How big is Sydney's food blogging community?It numbers at about 112 according to research by Suze and I. We know this because this was the number of invitations we sent out for the first all-inclusive Sydney food bloggers' event, a Christmas picnic in Hyde Park.A gluttony of 50 food bloggers descended on the day, each bearing a plate of sweets or savouries for our afternoon tea. I revelled in the

Are you all set for the silly season?What with the hive of activity in the lead-up to Christmas, it's usually not until Boxing Day that everyone breathes as sigh of relief. Traditionally a big day for movie-goers, why pay when you win yourself free tickets courtesy of this week's Freebie Friday.Movie tickets to Bright Star(five in-season double passes to win)Bright Star is the latest film by

Have you ever seen a recipe for Jerusalem artichoke/Sunchoke/Topinambur-something that begins with "Wash and peel the Jerusalem artichokes". I have. While I obviously understand the washing bit, then I'm a bit unsure about the peeling. See the specimen above? That's just one example of an artichoke I had to deal with earlier today, when preparing lunch for K's mum who came to visit her grand-daughter (who's doing splendidly, by the way:)). Have you ever seen such a knobbly Jerusalem artichoke before? It was beautiful - crisp and fresh, but had I attempted to peel it, there wouldn't have been much left. So I gave it a very good wash and scrub, and simply chopped it. And that's what I'll do from now on - I'll only buy Jerusalem artichokes with thin and beautiful skin, so I can omit that tricky "peel the artichoke" bit... The inspiration for combining mushrooms and Jerusalem artichokes came from one Estonian monthly, but I've changed...

Popcorn cupcakesSo yes, I'm starting to get a reputation. Bring a dish? I always end up bringing cupcakes. They're so easy to make, they come in easy individual packaging, and I love the way you can tailor them with different decorations or flavours for every occasion.After variations that included black sesame, Coca Cola and chocolate bacon, I decided to continue my current salty obsession with

Silence.There's a welcome sense of peace and quiet at Malacca Straits, tucked away in the courtyard of the Quadrant building, off Broadway. You wouldn't know that, less than 100 yards away, six lanes of traffic are steadily weaving their way across the Great Western Highway.A signboard outside is a helpful reminder to passersby. And yet Malacca Straits seems to enjoy a steady stream of customers,

Christmas and clementines go together. At this time of the year, the shops are flooded with tiny clementines from Morocco and slightly larger specimens from Spain, and I keep buying wooden trays of the orange fruit. Mostly we simply eat them au naturel , but I've been experimenting with few dessert and cake recipes as well. There's a lovely recipe for flourless almond and orange cake in Claudia Roden 's excellent book on Jewish food that I had been wanting to make for ages. The idea of boiling whole oranges and using the whole lot - zest, pith, fruit - in a cake sounded intriguing. Nigella Lawson has adapted the recipe and uses clementines, but I followed Claudia's original instructions here. However, I used clementines instead of oranges, and an excellent Swedish clementine-flavoured glögg Blossa instead of orange flower water. We loved the resulting cake a lot - slightly bitter (from the zest and pith), very moist and just rather unusual. We'd definitely make t...

Three time's the charm.After two foiled attempts to visit South Restaurant, it's not until my third attempt that we finally get a table. The difference? Trying to book on a Friday and Saturday night, a week prior. On a Tuesday evening, we ring up on the spur on the moment and get a table with no problem.Once we arrive, it soon becomes apparent why getting a table can be difficult - the restaurant

The orange red walls of Chairman Mao Chinese Restaurant are an ideal backdrop for the propaganda posters that adorn its walls. The hue might also give an indication of the heat your tongue is about to endure - this is a restaurant that specialises in Hunanese cuisine, its spicy offerings favoured by Chairman Mao.Celery salad (complimentary)Most of us love chilli; Suze, not so much. She obligingly

Did you know that the 'ansjovis' in Jansson's Temptation, the ever-popular creamy Swedish potato gratin, is not anchovis ( Engraulis encrasicolus ), but sprat ( Sprattus sprattus )? Sprats in brine have been called 'ansjovis' in Sweden since 17th century, which is obviously rather confusing for an English-speaking recipe translator. That's why you see 'anchovies' in most English recipes. However, the Swedish 'ansjovis' are pickled in a rather sweet brine, so substituting regular anchovies wouldn't give you the same flavour sensation. It'd be still a tasty potato gratin, but not the same.. Luckily you can find Swedish ansjovis at the food aisle of your nearest IKEA - alongside cloudberry and lingonberry jam and gingerbread cookies. Here's how I made Jansson's Temptation last night. (For my readers in Estonia - I used "Kipperi anšoovis" - a sprat preserve with a highest sugar content). Janssons Frestelse ( Janssoni kiusatu...

Allllllll my friends are getting married...Friends The Department and Wingdingo got hitched recently, but rather than go the route of a church service or a garden wedding, they headed straight to Las Vegas to exhange vows with Elvis at the Graceland Chapel. A few weeks after they returned, friends and family were invited to a casual low-key party to celebrate.Balloon cupcakesThe wedding cake was

Adding caraway seeds to your teacake does not seem like an obvious idea, but it works. Caraway seeds are much beloved in the Northern and Eastern Europe. In Estonia we add them liberally to rye bread, to oven-baked potato wedges, into sauerkraut soups and side dishes. We usually do not add them to desserts, but there's something about the spicy earthiness of caraway seeds that complements the rich flavour of this typical Estonian teacake. The recipe below results in a flavoursome cake with nice, dense and moist crumb. Perfect with a cup of afternoon tea.. Caraway Cake ( Köömnekeeks ) About 10 slices 180 g butter, melted and cooled 2 large eggs 170 g caster sugar (200 ml) 250 g all-purpose flour (450 ml) 1 tsp baking powder a pinch of salt 2 Tbsp whole caraway seeds 200 ml sour milk or kefir or fermented buttermilk Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and thick. Stir in the kefir or fermented buttermilk. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and caraway seeds, then ge...

What would you do without your mum?When Jules Clancy's mum passed away suddenly in August 2007, she was inspired to create a cookbook of family recipes as a tribute to her mother. After the book was completed, Jules decided to self-publish the book and share her mum's life and recipes with others. The result is "And the Love is Free", a cookbook with 57 classic Australian recipes (each with

Selection of cured sausages at La Boqueria, Barcelona. Another recipe that I've adapted from Eric Treuille's Canapeś (sold as Hors d'Oeuvres in the US). I served these at a brunch couple of weeks ago, and although there were enough of these for everyone, I barely managed to save one for Kristjan - these disappeared just so quickly! There's no need to fill these with anything, as the chorizo lends plenty of flavour. Chorizo Choux Puffs ( Chorizo-profitroolid ) Makes about 24 large profiteroles 175 ml water 75 g butter 0.5 tsp salt 110 g plain flour/all-purpose flour (200 ml) 3 large eggs 100 g chorizo sausage Peel the chorizo sausage and chop finely. Put water, cubed butter and salt into a medium saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Take off the heat and stir in all the flour. Return to the heat and "boil" for about two minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until you have a smooth paste that leaves the sides of the saucepan. Remove from the heat and cool fo...

Confit baby artichokes and Shaw River buffalo mozzarellawith tomato butter and pangrattatoserved with 2009 Tahblik MarsanneIs there really a bitter rivalry between Sydney-siders and Melbourne-ites about which city is best?It's a question we debate at our table during the [Sydney] media launch for the 2010 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Sydney has its iconic harbour, Opera House, Harbour Bridge

I'm not sure whether I'm filling out a census form or taking a test.The Build Your Own Burger concept at The Counter is either a blessing or a curse for hungry customers. On the one hand, the five-step process gives you the opportunity to customise your burger with the exact toppings you like, down to the size of burger patty, the type of cheese and which sauce you'd like.On the other hand, the