The Grand Hotel, Richmond Fine Swine and Good Wine

Last Tuesday night I was invited to join acclaimed winemaker Adam Foster, and Katie McCormack, Dave Yuncan and the team at the Grand Hotel to celebrate the arrival of spring. Although the spring weather was a bit lacking, the warmth of the crowd at the Grand more than made up for it.

We started downstairs where we started with a cheeky Coopers Pale Ale before making our way upstairs to the dining room foyer where we were treated to Broadbean and Mint Grissini with some of the best Ricotta I think I've ever had, and a salad of Quinoa and Flathead in Witlof leaves. The Apertivo were served alongside the Foster e Rocco Fiano- a bright, young white with beautiful floral notes and a great textural mouthfeel.

Antipasto was the standout course- A silky carpaccio of Cobia with an even silkier eggyolk dressing. This was balanced with lightly pickled enoki, crumblings of parmgiano-reggiano and fresh baby basil, beet sprouts and lemon balm (I think). This gorgeous, indulgent fish course matched perfectly against the Foster e Rocco Rosé, the dryness of this exceptional wine cut right through the fattiness of the cobia and went down almost too well!

The Primo course of Duck Agnolotti was really let down by the plating choice, but otherwise was a delicious rich pasta course which sat nicely with the both the '11 and '14 Sangiovese. The 2014 in the Nuovo style was my personal favourite red for the night- a bright fruity red well supported with hints of fennel and tobacco.

The theatre of serving a suckling pig was well played as Secondi, and with a supporting cast of honey roasted baby beets and carrots, rosemary roasted potatoes and Insalata di rughetta e parmagiano-regianno could not fail to impress. The crisp skin of the pork was impeccable and the meat moist and beautifully infused with tonnes of natural flavour- a real testament to the breeders at Western Plains Pork.
We moved on to the Syrahmi L'Imposteur Grenache. This was a very special wine, and clearly the winemakers baby, grown on 60 year old vines, the wine displays deep ruby/purple colour, gorgeously fragrant nose of famboise, kirsch and black raspberries with dried herbs de Provence. Dense and medium bodied – it offers sweet ripe black cherries, earth, scents of white pepper and cured meats, juicy with glycerin but round with no hard edges and velvet soft tannins.

A rather sharp scottish cheddar, served alongside a baked apple and purple carrot accompanied they final wine course from Syrahmi. This really showed Adams passion for winemaking, comparing two vintages of his Heathcote Shiraz- the 2010 Siren and 2013 Demi. The 2013 shows how much emphasis Syrahmi focuses on quality over quantity, only using the finest fruit to make the best of an unfortunate year.

The evening was finished with silky white chocolate, citris and pistachio, and bitter dark chocolate truffles made in house by the incredibly talented kitchen with a much needed double ristretto. All in all, a great evening and can't wait to head back to the grand to check out their al a carte menu. 

xox

Slow Roast Pork with Celeriac Puree and Beetroot Slaw

This is actually left overs that I took into work for lunch- you jealous?

Ingredients

Pork

- Leg of Pork (get your butcher to score the skin- heaps easier. If he can't, grab a REALLY sharp knife and cut into the fat, not the flesh, at 1-2cm intervals)
- 2 Onions
- Aromatics of your choice (I use fennel seeds and star anise)
- Sea Salt
- Olive Oil
- Water

Slaw
- 1/2 Red Cabbage, shredded
- 1 small Beetroot
- 1 carrot
- White Balsamic
- Olive oil

Puree
- 1 Celeriac, peeled and chopped
- 1 Potato, chopped
- Chicken or vegetable Stock
- Butter

- Dill and Mint (to serve)

This is so easy- but takes a while. 

Start by drying off the leg of pork so it crisps up nice and crackly. I personally use paper towel but a friends mum swears by drying it off with the hairdryer!
Follow your drying ritual by massaging sea salt and olive oil into the skin- helps with the crackling and gives it an amazing flavour.
Slice the onions and place in the base of a roasting pan that just fits the leg of pork in it along with the aromatics and 3-5cm of water. Place dried and oiled pork directly onto the onions and bang it into a preheated oven at 275C for 30min then reduce to 170C for about 30min for every 500g or until internal temperature reaches 65C

While your pork is roasting prep your puree and slaw. Put the celeriac and spud into a small saucepan with the chicken stock, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Cook until tender.
Grate or Microplane your beetroot and carrot into a large bowl and toss with the shredded cabbage- you'll want glove for this unless you want pink hands for the next day or so. Dress with the balsamic and oil. This salad is so bright it hurts your eyes!
Once your root veges are tender and your stock reduced, add some butter and take to it with your stick blender til it's nice and creamy.

When your pork is nice and done, take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 20 min- probably the hardest thing about this recipe- the smell is irresistable!
If your crackling isn't crackly enough, remove it from the roast and place it under a very hot grill for a few minutes.

When you can't resist it anymore, carve up your roast (against the grain- it keeps more juices in that way) and stack it up, finishing with a generous amount of dill and mint. 

Smacks of spring freshness xox

Coconut and Quinoa Pancakes w/ Bananas, Cottage Cheese and Raspberry Sauce

Alrighty then! Due to overwhelming demand from friends and family for recipes I'm restarting this blogging thing; and what else to start up on but a delicious healthy breakfast, this one takes a bt of prep work the night before, but can be re-made a couple of days later and is just as good (if not better)

Coconut and Quinoa Pancakes w/ Bananas, Cottage Cheese & Raspberry Sauce

serves 4

Pancake Batter
1 cup white quinoa, cooked in-
     - 2 cups cocoquench (coconut milk drink) then cooled
2 cups shredded coconut
4 eggs 
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1/2 cup Almond Meal
1/2 cup cocoquench (http://www.pureharvest.com.au/product/organic-coco-quench)

Raspberry Sauce
1 cup Raspberries
1 Vanilla pod, scraped
1-3 teaspoon coconut sugar (http://organicness.com.au/product/power-super-foods-coconut-palm-sugar-1kg)
100ml fruit juice (cloudy apple works really well)

2 Bananas
200g Cottage cheese
1 Tablespoon coconut oil or spray

Method

Mix together eggs, cocoquench, almond meal and protein powder. Add quinoa and coconut and let stand for at least 10 minutes, preferably overnight so the coconut can absorb some of the liquid.
While the batter is resting, make the raspberry sauce by putting the raspberries, vanilla, juice and sugar into a small saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes.

When you're ready, heat a pan really hot and coat with coconut oil. Plop a couple of big tablespoon sized  dollops of batter into the pan and press out to a palm size. These pancakes are quite delicate so the smaller they are, the easier they are to flip. Once they are nice and golden, carefully flip them over and cook the other side. Continue until you've got enough pancakes, stack them in the middle of a plate, top with sliced banana, cottage cheese and lashings of hot raspberry sauce. Dig in!

Baked Eggs with Bacon, Coriander and Chilli BBQ sauce

One of my favourite things to wake up to is Baked Eggs. It is definitely the tastiest and one of the easiest breakfasts to prepare... and ridiculously diverse, basically throw in whatever you like. Here's one of my faves...

2 Large Free-Range Eggs
2 Rashers Bacon
Handful of your favourite grated cheese
Olive oil
2-3 chunky slices good quality bread (turkish bread or ciabatta works well)
Heaps of coriander, chopped
Home-made Chilli BBQ Sauce

Okay, this is dead easy if you're prepared. Heat a small, oven proof pan over a medium flame, slosh in a bit of oil and chuck in your bacon rashers. Cook for about 3 minutes before cracking your eggs into the pan. Cook for another 2 minutes, coat the entire thing with cheese and whack it under a hot grill alongside some olive oil coated bread until the bread is toasty and the cheese is melted. Take the HOT pan out of the grill, smother with BBQ Sauce and Coriander and serve with the crispy toast.

Make this for me and you've won my heart.

(Goes really well with a good strong espresso or Bloody Mary if you're hungover)

Chilli BBQ Sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup hot chilli sauce
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 fresh birdseye or other hot chillis
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is tender. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer 5 minutes. Bang it into a food processor and pulse until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.

Almond Crusted Pork Loin on Coleslaw and Quinoa with Mustard Apples

Got inspired by an incredible whole roast pig at an amazing wedding earlier this year and came up with this creation. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

serves 4

4 pork loin chops

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup plain flour

2/3 cup slivered almonds, roughly crushed

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

Quinoa

1 1/2 cups white quinoa

1 1/2 cup chicken stock

1 1/2 cup water
1 Tbls unsalted butter

Coleslaw

1 1/2 cup finely sliced white cabbage

1 cup finely sliced red cabbage

1 cup roughly chopped coriander

1 granny smith apple, diced

4 spring onions, finely sliced

juice of 1 lemon

Tblsp sour cream

Mustard Apples

1 jonathon apple

2 Tblsp Dijon mustard

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup coriander, chopped

Start by heating some peanut oil in an oven proof pan. Coat the pork loin with seasoned plain flour, then dip into the egg, then coat in crushed almonds. Place the loins in the pan and fry for around 5 mins on both sides. Pre-heat your oven to 200oC.

While the pork is cooking combine quinoa, stock and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for around 15 min or until tender, adding water as necessary.

Whisk together lemon juice and sour cream. In a large bowl, combine cabbage, coleslaw, coriander, granny smith apple and spring onions and coat with lemon and sour cream dressing, cover and refrigerate.

To finish cooking the pork, place whole pan in the preheated oven for 15 min or until juice runs clear. Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 min. Cooking pork this way keeps it ridiculously moist and tender.

Finely slice the red jonathon apple and coat and coat with mustard and lime juice for a sweet, sour spicy combo. Sprinkle with coriander for an aromatic hit.

To finish, mix butter into cooked quinoa. Spoon into open ended moulds on the plate. top quinoa with a large amount of coleslaw and pack in quite tightly. Place a few apple slices around the plate. Carefully remove the mould from the quinoa and coleslaw. Place a crunchy almond crusted pork loin against the coleslaw. Kick back and enjoy. x

Espresso Jelly with White Chocolate Foam

Hey there. Made these for a high tea/dinner party that got a little out of hand... I kind of want to make them again with Cafe Patron in the jelly and Creme de Cacao in the foam to make it extra fun... will update with results.

Ingredients

Espresso Jelly
- 500ml freshly brewed espresso
- 200g brown sugar
- 3 tsp/ sachets powdered gelatine, dissolved in a little hot water
- Cafe Patron Tequila (optional, although definitely worth it)

White Chocolate Foam
- 250ml Cream
- 1 tsp vanilla paste/ 1 vanilla bean, halved
-220g white chocolate
- 2 egg yolks
- 150g caster sugar

-extra vanilla paste

Okay, I'm really tired. let me know if this makes no sense...

Start by making your espresso jelly. Heat the espresso in a saucepan over low heat and dissolve the brown sugar in it. Remove from the heat and add the dissolved gelatine (it should be a sticky paste). Stir briskly until combined (If you're an alcoholic like me, add the Patron here). Line a baking tray or similar container with cling film and pour the jelly mixture in. Cover, then place into the fridge and allow to set.

Whilst the jelly is setting it's time to make the foam. It's basically a creme anglaise with white chocolate added then put through a cream charger. Start by heating the cream and vanilla over a medium flame, wait until small bubbles start forming around the edges of the saucepan and add the broken up white chocolate to dissolve. Remove from heat. While the chocolate cream mixture is cooling slightly, whisk the egg yolk and caster sugar together until it is nice and creamy. Add a bit of the cream to the egg mixture and stir to combine, then pour the creamy eggs into the saucepan. Put back onto heat, stirring gently until mixture coats the back of the spoon. Allow the mixture to cool slightly before pouring into a cream charger. Charge with two nitrous oxide bulbs and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve, I cut the jelly into cubes and placed 2 in each shot glass then filled the shotty with foam, finishing by piping a comma of vanilla paste. You could just as easily serve them as dessert by pouring the jelly into parfait glasses before setting and then top with cream and shaved chocolate.... I'm so making that soon....

Whole Grilled Snapper with Thai Sauce

Cooked this for my house mate a few weeks back. He's been asking for the recipe continually so I figured everyone could use it. Excuse the poor layout- I'm on my phone.

sea salt
2 limes
1/3 cup water
1/2 Tbsp. tamarind paste
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp palm sugar
1 thumb-size piece galangal or ginger, peeled and sliced
1 cup fresh coriander leaves and stems
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1/2 red capsicum, de-seeded and diced
1-2 fresh red chilies
Extra fresh coriander, sliced limes and sea salt to serve.

Prepare fish by rinsing it, then patting it dry. Make 2-3 diagonal cuts into the side of the fish (with the blade of the knife on an angle facing the head). The cuts should be several inches apart (this will make the fish easier to eat and give it more flavor). Squeeze the juice of 1-2 limes over and inside fish. Stuff the squeezed limes and coriander inside the fish. Sprinkle surface with sea salt and set aside while you prepare the sauce. Place water, tamarind, garlic, sugar, galangal, coriander, chili, and fish sauce in a food processor. Process well. Pour the sauce into a sauce pan. Add the diced pepper and simmer over medium-low heat for 5-8 minutes. Taste test the sauce for salt and sour-sweetness (it should taste tangy), adding more fish sauce if not salty enough, and more sugar if you find it too sour. Cover and keep warm while you cook the fish. The capsicum should keep some of its crunchiness. Grill the fish on the barbecue or on a stove-top grill. Allow to fry about 5 minutes on each side, or until the flesh has browned and flakes easily.Don't flip the fish too early, or the skin will stick to the pan/barbecue. Allow it to cook at least 2 minutes before turning (the natural oils of the fish will then come through and "unstick" it).
Plate the fish and pour the sauce over. Garnish with sprigs of fresh coriander and wedges of lime.