Freebie Friday: Win a copy of Reinventing Food - the first biography of Ferran Adrià

Ferran Adrià - who is he, and how did he become such an influential chef on the international stage, winning "Best Restaurant in the World" for an unprecedented four years running?Without any formal culinary training, Ferran built elBulli into a three Michelin-starred restaurant, with over two million reservation requests received for only 8,000 dining places. How did a cook in the military

The 2011 Foodies' Guide to Sydney

Always on the hunt for a new food adventure?The 2011 Foodies' Guide to Sydney officially goes on sale on October 1, 2010 and I'm pleased to reveal my involvement as a member of the contributing team.Foodies' Guide to Sydney contributorsA new team of eighteen food writers have combed the streets of Sydney and beyond for this fifth edition, hunting down the best bakeries, cheese specialists,

Dong Ba, Cabramatta

Cheap and cheerful. How can you go wrong?There a relaxing sense of ease when we enter Dong Ba in Cabramatta, a familiar Vietnamese restaurant layout of no-nonsense chairs and tables stocked with tissues boxes, cutlery, sauces bottles and silver thermoses of tea.We've trailed behind Margaret of fangirlish, a first-time face-to-face meeting for both Suze and I, although our long time readings of

Easiest Mango Lassi ever

Open a 400 g can of East End's Alphonso mango pureé and a 400 ml tub of good organic plain yoghurt (unstrained). Mix until combined, season with ground cardamom, if you like. Pour into 4 glasses, garnish with mint and enjoy :P

All you can eat sushi at Kansai, Sydney

Four words that will make anyone smile: All. You. Can. Eat.Every year I say that I have outgrown the ignominious lust for outright gluttony. And yet still, there's a delicious little thrill at the prospect of a limitless buffet, as though a personal best is beckoning to be broken.Kansai all you can eat menuThere are only three of us this evening, although we plan to attack with the cumulative

Cauliflower cheese with mustard

This is a delicious cauliflower cheese, but not like the one you know. Instead of a much more traditional Bechamel sauce and cheese topping, this one is covered with a mixture of uncooked double cream, grated cheese and gutsy mustard. Much easier to make, yet very flavoursome and delicious. We love it as a vegetarian main dish, but it'd also make a nice side dish to some good-quality British bangers (cauliflower cheese being such a classic British dish after all).

Cauliflower Cheese with Mustard
(Sinepine lillkapsa-juustuvorm)
Serves 4-5



1 large head of cauliflower
salted water, for boiling

butter, for greasing

Topping:
200 ml whipping cream or double cream
2 Tbsp grainy mustard (I like Maille's Moutarde à l'Ancienne)
150 g grated cheese (Cheddar, Havarti, Eesti juust - it's your call)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
some fresh herbs (I like dill here)

Cut the cauliflower into florets. Put the florets into lightly salted boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes, until cauliflower is cooked. Drain thoroughly, then place into a lightly buttered medium-sized shallow oven dish.
Mix cream, mustard and most of the cheese in a bowl, season with salt, pepper and herbs. Spoon the cheese mixture over the cauliflower florets and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
Bake in a preheated 200 C / 400 F oven for about 10-15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the topping is lovely golden.
Serve.

Food tour of Petone and Wellington, New Zealand

Mmmm..... meat.The sight of jamon on the hoof sends a thrill down my spine. Seeing the cured meat as a distinct part of a beast is a stark reminder of where our food comes from - an animal that has given its life for us to eat. Forget about sterile plastic-wrapped packages of anonymous protein cubes. Meat involves death, and with it, responsibility and respect.The themes of provenance (

Salmon and Mushroom Solyanka (a thick Russian soup)

If you look around Estonian foodblogs, then we all seem to feast on thick and filling Russian-style mushroom soups at the moment - Tuuli has been cooking up mushroom borscht and mushroom rassolnik, Aet has a mushroom solyanka simmering in her saucepan. We had friends over for dinner last night, and as I had got a large bowl of blanched and slightly salted wild mushrooms from K's mum yesterday morning, and made a Russian-style mushroom soup as well, but with addition of fish.

You'll get a best result if using various wild mushrooms. Gypsy mushrooms (Rozites caperatus; kitsemamplid), Russula-mushrooms, Lactarius-mushrooms - all would be perfect, but cultivated mushrooms would work as well (perhaps a mixture of white mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms for some texture?). I had mainly meaty Lactarius scrobiculatus mushrooms (võiseened/kollariisikad)*, with an odd Russula thrown in.

Check your mushroom guide for instructions (some mushrooms - like gypsy mushrooms and many Lactarius-mushrooms can be cooked fresh, some need to be blanched first.

* Note that Wiki considers this an inedible mushroom (well, "Western authors" do). It's much liked over here for its meaty texture and characteristic flavour. It does need to be thoroughly blanched and cooked first, however, and smaller mushrooms are preferred to larger ones.

Mushroom and Salmon Solyanka
Serves four to six



1 large onion, peeled and chopped
about 400 g fresh (wild) mushrooms - pre-blanched, if necessary
2 Tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
3 Tbsp concentrated tomato pureé
1 litre fish stock
4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and chopped
300 g salmon filet, cut into 1 cm cubes
2 small pickled cucumbers, halved lengthwise and cut into slices
2 Tbsp capers
a small bunch of dill
salt
black pepper
lemon juice, to taste

Heat oil in a saucepan, add onion and mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste, cook for a minute or two.
Pour in the fish stock, bring to the boil. Add the potato cubes, then simmer for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked.
Add fish, capers, cucumber slices and most of the dill. Simmer for another few minutes, then remove the saucepan from the heat.
Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper (solyanka needs a slightly sour note!).
Sprinkle some extra dill on top, garnish with lemon slice or wedge and serve.

Belvedere Hotel, Sydney

Sometimes all you need is a burger.Despite the gleaming renovations and air of sophistication, we're pleased to find a reasonably cheap and cheerful bar menu at the Belvedere Hotel.The ground floor bar menu is a mix of burgers, snacks and a pizzas, along with a selection of more substantial main meals, including slow-braised lamb shanks, chicken schnitzel and fish and chips. Apart from the 400g

Little apple croissants

A little Estonian 'croissant' that I've been making for years now. The recipe yields 24 little rolls, and I usually make half a batch at a time, leaving half of the pastry in the fridge for the next day (or two). Then I get to eat warm delicious apple pastries twice :) Most Estonians would use the regular curd cheese for making these, but I've used ricotta cheese instead and it works just as well. It's the curd cheese/ricotta that makes these little 'croissants' lovely and soft, so these would be perfect when you need to bake something a day in advance (be it a picnic basket or your child's - or your own - lunch box).

Curd Cheese and Apple Rolls
(Puruvanad)
Makes 24

Pastry:
150 g butter, melted
150 g sugar
250 g plain flour
a pinch of salt
250 g plain curd cheese or ricotta cheese

Filling:
apples, cored and cut into slices

Topping:
egg for brushing
sugar chrystals ('pearl sugar')

For the pastry, mix melted butter, sugar, curd cheese, flour and salt. Combine, cover and place into the fridge for at least 30 minutes (and up to 48 hours) to rest.
Divide the pasty into two, roll each one into a ball and then into a flat circle, about 1/4 inch or 6 mm thick. Using a pastry cutter, cut the circle into 12 wedges/triangles.
Place an apple slice onto the wider end of each sector, roll up tightly.
Cover a baking sheet with a parchment paper, transfer the little apple rolls onto the baking sheet.
Brush with an egg (or egg wash, if you prefer), sprinkle some pearl sugar on top.
Bake in a preheated 200 C / 400 F oven for about 20 minutes, until the pastries are lovely golden.

Freebie Friday: Win two tickets to a Molecular Gastronomy Dinner Class at Chef's Armoury

For many of us, food is no longer just a source of fuel - eating out is more often about adventure, entertaining and discovering something new.The growth and influence of molecular gastronomy continues to expand - from the wild and whimsical experiments by Heston Blumenthal on Heston's Feasts , to the spherification of peas by Aaron Thomas on MasterChef season one, to the high-end

Win two tickets to see Rene Redzepi of Noma, Copenhagen

A tiny 40 seat restaurant in Copenhagen was catapulted into the international spotlight when Noma wrestled the title of World's Best Restaurant from five-time winner el Bulli, by Ferran Adria, in Spain.Noma head chef Rene Redzepi will be jetsetting into Australia for the opening event of the Crave Sydney International Food Festival, a comprehensive program of events running throughout the month

Meet Fresh Taiwanese Dessert House, Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney

Dessert always makes people happy, and a late night opening dessert house in Chinatown has long been overdue.The corner of Goulburn and Dixon Streets -- formerly occupied by Daniang Dumpling -- is now home to the franchised Taiwanese dessert house Meet Fresh. There are over 100 Meet Fresh outlets in Taiwan - the Sydney outlet is their first Australian venture.In its opening week, the queues have

Mappen, Sydney

Self-serve tempura? Tell me more...You wouldn't know that deep-fried heaven exists in a tiny shopfront behind the 85C Cake Shop on George Streeet. The former Optus store inside Skyview Plaza has been converted to Menya Mappen, a cafeteria-style Japanese noodle bar that allows diners to select their own tempura fixings.Instructions on "How to enjoy Mappen"A poster on the front door provides clear

Spring Barbecue

A food blogger barbecue? Always pack an extra stomach.Happy Luck RestoranI laugh when I arrive at Karen's house and spot the sign on the door. A random tweet by Billy about making signs for his satay stand had prompted a flurry of tongue-poking texta work all over Sydney.But to start a party you must have drinks. Karen has jugs of Pimms and lemonade, Richard has more alcohol on standby, and then

Our aubergine/eggplant bounty

The eggplants/aubergines thrived in our greenhouse as well, as you can see :)

Now I need to think of the best way of using them - something that would allow their looks to shine as well. Any suggestions?

A Masterclass and Degustation at Tetsuya's

Meet Judi Adams.In March of this year, Grab Your Fork ran a competition for one reader to win a Masterclass with Tetsuya Wakuda. Judi was chosen by competition sponsor Electrolux as the lucky winner.The prize included return flights to Sydney, one night's accommodation and an invitation to attend an exclusive Masterclass at Tetsuya's restaurant. Judi was so excited by the evening, she emailed me

Win a $100 dining voucher at Signorelli Gastronomia

It's Freebie Friday time!This week's giveaway comes from the kind folk at Signorelli Gastronomia who have provided a $100 dining voucher for one lucky Grab Your Fork reader.What to choose? Perhaps you'll start with the antipasto platter. Or should you save your stomach for the light-as-air gnocchi? Will there be room for the open lasagna with oxtail? Maybe you'll gather a group of friends and

Bottomless Polenta Pie with Tomatoes

Well, I'm not sure I can even call this a pie (hence the 'bottomless' in the title), but I cannot think of a better name either. The recipe is slightly adapted from a Finnish women's magazine Talo & Koti ('house and home', 5/2010), where it was kindly shared by a Finnish chef in France, Jormi Törmanen (can you pronounce that name? ;)). I loved it, but it's pretty mild on its own. I think it's best served as a side dish to some grilled meat or with a green rucola salad drizzled with a gutsy vinaigrette dressing.

I might try shaving some Parmesan cheese (or perhaps shredding some Mozzarella?) on top next time, but it's definitely lovely as it is as well.

Polenta Pie with Tomatoes
(Polentapirukas)
Serves six to eight



1 litre of water
1 tsp salt
250 g quick-cook polenta
2 Tbsp butter (or olive oil) + extra for brushing
couple of ripe tomatoes (not too soft)
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary or oregano or thyme, finely chopped
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Bring the water to the boil in a large saucepan, season with salt. Add the polenta, all at once, whisking vigorously to avoid any lumps forming. Stir in the butter or oil and simmer on a low heat, stirring regularly, until the polenta is cooked (it's hard to give exact timings here, as different products behave differently - look at the cooking times described on the packet).
Butter or oil an oven gratin dish (about 24x34 cm), pour the cooked polenta into the dish.
Cut the tomatoes into thick slices, press onto the polenta. Sprinkle with chopped herbs and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake in a pre-heated 250 C oven for about 20-25 minutes, until the polenta is lovely golden on top and tomatoes are ever so slightly charred on edges.

Shalom, Broadway Ultimo

Fried chicken with fresh chilli sauce $9Ayam goreng shalom"What about that one?" asks A, as we stare slack-jawed at the pictorial menu above our heads."But that's grilled chicken, not fried..." I reply, in confusion.A look of panic flashes across his face. "Oh no, we don't want grilled. We only want fried."I nod, and silently breathe a sigh of relief.Deep fried tofu $4Because really, who doesn't

Quail eggs with whitefish roe

Quail eggs, again :) As I've said on several occasions before, I love quail eggs in all their disguises - dipped into Pimentón de la Vera or Egyptian dukkah seed mixture, as a component in a "mushroom canapé", as topping on an Estonian wild mushroom crostini, as a filling inside salmon kulebyaka, or as a garnish on top of Estonian seven-layer salad or smoked salmon and spinach salad. This particular nibble has been briefly mentioned before (see here), but I've made them again and took a much better photo this time :)

Here's the "recipe":

Cut the top off boiled quail eggs, spoon some whitefish (or other fish) roe on top and seat the quail eggs on a bed of finely chopped dill. Serve.

(Vutimunad siiamarjaga)

WLG Wellington pop-up restaurant, Sydney

Not even a downpour of late afternoon rain could dampen the enthusiasm of diners at the opening night of the WLG Wellington pop-up restaurant in Sydney last night.The old Bayswater Brasserie site has been transformed into a showcase of Wellington's finest produce, an impressive display of wines, chocolates and fresh vegetables creating a vibrant market atmosphere that spills throughout the cosy

Adelaide Central Market

My favourite type of tourist attraction? The local markets. Wandering the aisles is always tantalising for the eyes and the stomach, but it's also the best place to see what's grown and what's in season, find out the specialties of the region and chat with locals too.If there's one essential pit stop for food lovers in Adelaide it's the Adelaide Central Market, conveniently located in the city

Chicken Mole Poblano: Recipe

An electric stove is no fun, until inspiration strikes and a blow torch walks into the kitchen.Why was I blow-torching tomatoes? To make mole poblano, the Mexican national dish that marries chilli with bitter chocolate.I'd always been fascinated by mole poblano. Chocolate with meat? It sounded too bizarre. I tried it for the first time at the Chocolate Dog in Newtown (now closed) and have been

Devour, Wellington on a Plate

Electric.It's the only word to describe the atmosphere in the room, as world-class tenor Benjamin Makisi holds a high note with ringing power.Tonight we're at the Devour Gala Dinner for Wellington on a Plate, the big ticket event of the festival that is celebrating Wellington, particularly the City Market, its providores and its supporters.Table settingThe dinner takes place in the atrium of the

Freebie Friday: Win a twin pack of Smirnoff Vodka mixers

Tough week? Looking forward to unwinding with friends? This week's Freebie Friday takes the hassle out of entertaining with the launch of two new products by Smirnoff Vodka, adult mixers that combine vodka with either Ocean Spray cranberry or blood orange juice in a box.Chill in the fridge and bring to your next dinner party or backyard barbecue. Your drinks will be sorted!THE PRIZE:A prize pack

Sea Sweet, Parramatta

The September issue of Time Out Sydney is now out with my latest Food & Drink column highlighting Sea Sweet Patisserie at Parramatta.
It was Fouad from The Food Blog who first put me onto this suburban gem, just one stop on a delicious fooding day out. He had told me about a Lebanese breakfast that involved cheese in a bun that was drowned in syrup. My first question was where, and quickly

Signorelli Gastronomia, Pyrmont

Signorelli Gastronomia whole porchetta with agrodolce (24hrs' notice required)"Do you mind if I take a photo?"I often wonder if it's socially acceptable when dining out to ask another table if I can photograph their food, but tonight is the first time I act on it. The listing of a whole suckling pig on the menu at Signorelli Gastronomia sends my pulse racing until I read the 24-hour pre-order

Berta, Sydney

You'll find Berta hidden down an industrial-looking alleyway in the back streets of Surry Hills. Just a block up from Spice I Am, the glass door to Berta is plain, unassuming and extraordinarily heavy.Berta isn't usually open during the day, but today the tiny space is clanging with voices, an assembly of Sydney media for the launch of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2011.Chicken liver pate

Swedish 'jam kisses' or thumbprint cookies

We hosted a pretty crazy culinary tasting party at our house last Friday - surströmming tasting party. K's colleague had brought us a selection of fermented Baltic herring, an (in)famous Swedish 'delicacy' from 2009 and 2010, both fillets and whole fish. We served these with boiled 'almond potatoes', flatbread (tunnbröd) and condiments. I prepared a selection of savoury and sweet dishes to go alongside and after the challenging fish degustation. One of the dishes on the table was a plate full of piopular Swedish cookies 'syltkyssar' - literally, jam kisses (hope my Swedish is correct here :)). These are pale round shortbread cookies, usually filled with thick raspberry jam. I didn't have any raspberry jam at home, so I used a good blackberry conserve instead.

Thumbprint cookies syltkyssar
(Moosimusid)
yields about 20-30 cookies, depending on the size



200 g unsalted butter, softened
100 ml icing sugar/confectioner's sugar
240 g plain flour/all-purpose flour (400 ml)
100 ml potato flour/potato starch
a pinch of salt

thick raspberry or blackberry jam

Cream the butter with sugar. Mix flour, salt and potato starch, sift into the butter mixture. Combine with a wooden spoon.
Using your hands, take small chunks of cookie dough and roll into small balls. Place on a cookie sheet and press a thumb print onto each cookie.
Place a tiny spoonful of jam into the indent.
Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for about 15 minutes, until the cookies are light golden.

Chefs Gallery, Sydney

"Do you mind if you sit at the bench?" the waitress asks apologetically.Of course we don't. In fact Billy and I break out into huge grins as we realise we'll be seated with a birds eye view of the action, a glassed-in kitchen that is more akin to a noodle-making arena.Chef's Gallery is the newest dumpling house in Sydney, executive chef Edward Zhao taking up residence on the Regent Place site

Boulcott Street Bistro, Wellington

Rex Morgan, head chef of Boulcott Street Bistro, will be the final chef rattling at the pans at the Wellington pop-up restaurant in Sydney. We were fortunate to visit his restaurant, a charming gothic cottage wedged amongst office blocks and cement buildings, during last month's trip to Wellington, Nestled behind a white picket fence, the cottage is a surprise but welcome sight in the inner city

Wellington pop-up restaurant in Sydney

If you haven't been to Wellington, look out Sydneysiders, because Wellington is coming to you.The former Bayswater Brasserie site in Kings Cross is set to be transformed into a unique pop-restaurant, WLG (Wellington's airport code) that will be serving up the best of Wellington's restaurant scene. Over thirteen days in September, the temporary restaurant will be hosted by four of Wellington's top

Efendy, Balmain

Koc YumurtasiPan-fried lamb testicles with almond garlic tarrator"The lamb testicles... they taste a bit like sausage."There's a moment of silence before the table erupts into a fit of giggles at the unwitting comparison. But it is true. The testicles do taste like sausage, a little bouncy but still soft, like a well-minced chicken sausage in a taut skin. They don't have a lot of flavour, mild on

Playing Russian roulette with Pimientos de Padrón or green Padrón chiles

I addition to all those lovely tomatoes, we've got a pretty good crop of Padrón peppers (Pimientos de Padrón) and various aubergines/eggplants from our greenhouse. Last weekend we met up with some friends and roasted some of the green chiles, then drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled sea salt flakes on top. It's a popular tapas-dish in Spain, and the added excitement is that while most of this green chillies are rather mild, then about one in ten is fiery hot (hence the nick-name "Russian roulette peppers").

When I first had these at Johanna's place couple of years ago, I didn't encounter a single hot one. Now we didn't have any mild ones - they were all oh-so-hot! Not such a roulette after all :D This can be explained by the timing - we visited Johanna in April (early in the season), and now ate our own crop in August (late in the season) - young and new Padrońs are generally mild, and 'old' ones hot.

Padrón Chillies are originally from Mexico, but are named after a town in Galicia, Spain, where they first started to cultivate these chillies in Europe.