Erratic postings may soon resume!

Hello!  Or bonjour!

You may have noticed a slight hiatus in blogging... and part of the reason (the more interesting part, not the part about the overwhelming day job) is that we packed up the family when winter storms were at their worst, and stepped out the door, and 37 hours later we tumbled out of an A380 at Charles de Gaulle airport.  

Yes.  It takes more or less 37 hours to get from Wellington, New Zealand to Paris.  

But when you get to Paris at 7.00am and you can't get into your lovely apartment in Montmartre until 1.00pm (that's 43 hours since leaving home), you CAN wander the streets of Montmartre...

First stop... baguette!

Next stop... fromage to go with the baguette

Something for dinner

That would be NO!

We had a fantastic time in Paris.  Highlights included:

...A bike tour of Paris, which the girls LOVED

Miss 8 about to bike through the Louvre courtyards

...Getting up close and personal with gargoyles on Notre Dame

...The Eiffel Tower, by day and by night

We walked up those stairs on the left...700+!

We then headed south by train and car, and stayed on a farm called Mas Saint Germain in the Camargue National Park, where we could ride local Camargue horses around the rice fields, and see the flamingos in their breeding grounds.

 

A week on a canal boat (self-drive) on the Canal du Midi followed, from Argens-Minervois to Trebes (for a visit to Carcasonne) and back.  We had the most divine cassoulet in Trebes.

We briefly stopped in Bordeaux (definitely keen to go back again), Chinon in the Loire Valley, and Paris again, before heading to England and visits with friends and family.  And a wedding.

 

So that is part of the excuse for no blogging.  I won't go into the work-related part, except to note that I've been a bit busy.  However, I have made whitebait fritters, and Schweinbraten and Kartoffelkloesse, and now it's plum season, so I'll get cracking and pop up some recipes soon!

Delicious delicious onions

How on earth did we end up nearly at the end of May??!  The combination of my first ever half marathon (yes, completed and all in one piece, happy with my time too, thankyouverymuch), my first embroidery project and a rather massive deadline in the day job have all conspired against leisurely time at the keyboard.  I have been cooking though – it has just been the everyday food that the family loves rather than experiments in great food for the blog.

BUT… I did chance upon the secret that I never knew for creating genuinely magnificently delicious onions.  I’m not sure where (misplaced my brain as well as those early weeks in May and all of April), but I’m sure it’s not copyrighted – it’s so damn simple – and I never knew it!

I’ve always caramelised onions with a mix of salt and sugar added, and some wine and much tending to avoid catching and burning (and probably cooking far too fast).  This is infinitely better, but does require a large, heavy bottomed saucepan and a little bit of forward planning.

Caramelised onion

Serves however many you need it for – if you are making Pissaladière, you’d aim for 6-8 onions for 8 people, if you are adding it to a pie of other ingredients or having as part of pick’n’mix pasta, then 1-3 onions might do you

Onions – red or white

For each onion*:

• 1 tbsp olive oil (but if you’ve got more than 3, I’d cut it back to ½ tbsp. each, and if you’ve got more than 8, just make sure the base of the pan is well covered… it’s not a science!)
• 1 tbsp hot water
• Salt

*So 3 onions would require 3 tbsp olive oil and 3 tbsp hot water, etc.

Heat the oil, add the onion, a good pinch or two of salt and the water.  The salt seems to be necessary for really bringing out the sweetness of the onions. Cover with a tight fitting lid and turn to the lowest setting.  Cook for an hour, stir occasionally to check they are not catching and that everything is cooking nicely (especially if you’re doing lots).  If all the water has disappeared, add some more – just remember that you’ll want to keep cooking the onions until they are meltingly soft, sweet and delicious, and all the liquid has disappeared.

Taste them and adjust for your final recipe… a dash of sherry vinegar if you want some sharpness, some seedy mustard to go on a platter with hard cheeses and gherkins, some fish stock and capers to go with fish…

Seriously delicious.  Definitely food that tastes great!

I spy with my little eye…

Something that looks like PIE!

Recently, I decided that I needed to expand my lunchtime cooking repertoire to include pies.  I haven’t made pastry for at least 10 years, so I thought some help would be needed.  Happily, Anne over at SomethingElse To Eat had reviewed Mr Dean Brettschneider’s recently released little gem, so I went out and bought it.  It’s a great book, with lots of pastry variations, as well as wonderful things to put inside the pastry.

The pies I’ve made have done the good thing of ACTUALLY looking like the photos in the book, as well as tasting delicious.  They all tasted great the next day too.  So go along and buy the book, and you too can turn:

Walnuts,

Potatoes, and

Leeks

Into Gooey Leek, Potato and Vintage Cheddar Pie!

 

And then you could whip up a Sausage, Sun-dried Tomato and Potato Tart.

 

Both pies were delicious, matched with a fresh green salad.   I’ll talk about my other new project – perfecting walnut bread another time.

Food in Focus – Could I be a Food Photographer?

No.

But could I have a lot of fun learning what it is that food photographers do?

Yes.  Especially when Ruth Pretty is cooking the food and I get to eat it!

I had chosen to do the Food in Sharp Focus event as part of Wellington on a Plate – hosted by Ruth Pretty, with guidance from professional photographer and tutor Murray Lloyd.  I thought that I might learn a bit about taking photos for the blog, and have the added bonus of trying some of Ruth’s fantastic food.

Our day started at 9.00am with coffee, a selection of perfectly ripe cheeses, crisp kiwifruit salad, and delicious peach and raspberry pastries.  We settled in with our classmates, sharing stories about the combination of food and photography that brought us together.

Ruth and Murray arrived and, using the peach and raspberry pastries, talked us through the process of photographing food – from choosing the background colour/fabrics and the plate or dish, to the arrangement of the food, the lighting and the careful placement of a fork.  It was an incredibly informative two hours, with plenty of opportunities for questions.  We rounded out our introduction with a slide show of food shots, showing the different ways that food can be highlighted by the use of colour, composition and lighting.

Then we got hands-on – three different “pass-arounds”, an assortment of plates, backgrounds, fabrics and Ruth Pretty’s gardens to use for our own attempts…

Chicken and Pistachio Pies with Cranberry Chutney

 

The allocated 30 minutes was far too short to do justice to the food!  Although I have to say that many of the attendees turned out fantastic photos, so I can only accept operator incompetence on my part.  Happily, we then had to eat the photography subjects, with a drop of bubbly to assist.  Murray chose a selection of photos after each session, and talked us through the successful aspects of our shots.

Next up, was Cold Poached Salmon with Ginger Coriander Dressing and Black Beans.  Yum.  Here, I had a little more success (I think).

I’m not sharing my very much less successful photo of the Oven Braised Pork Shoulder with Cavalo Nero, Apricots and Prunes, as it doesn’t do justice to a spectacularly successful dish.  Along with the salmon, this is definitely on my list of things to cook as soon as possible. Other photographers did manage to take a good photo.

We finished with Baked Rhubarb and Rose Geranium Compote with Little Pavlovas, Whipped Cream and Brandy Snap Cigars.

The verdict?  It was a great day – I learnt a lot about food photography, including how time consuming it is, if you aspire to the perfect photo.  This blog may benefit from some improved composition, but as my first audience is usually sitting at the table waiting while I photograph, it will have to be done in 5 minutes or less!

Dinner Party Club Degustation Menu

A while ago, I introduced you to the founders of the dinner party club – the Urban Gardeners.  The other members include the Visitors from Hawkes Bay, the Creative Cooks, and the Bean Counters (Mr Sporting Bean Counter and Mrs Shopping Bean Counter).  MOTH has been talking for a long time about having a Degustation Menu as a theme, so we sent out a menu that went like this: amuse bouche, vegetable, soup, fish, salad, fowl, palate cleanser, meat, fruit, dessert.

This is what it looked like…

Course 1

Amuse Bouche: Salmon tartare, with crème fraiche in a poppy seed tuile

Wine: Dibon Cava Brut Reserve or Framingham F-Series Viognier 2010 (Marlborough)
By: Mr Visitor from Hawkes Bay

Course 2

Vegetable: “Toad in the Hole” – kumara poached in stock and saffron, with beetroot centre on jus reduction

Wine: Church Road 2009 Cabernet Merlot
By: The Creative Cooks

Course 3

Soup: Iced plum tomato soup with mozzarella and basil oil

Wine: Casco de la Cruz Pedro Ximenez Sherry
By: Your Friendly Blogger and the MOTH

Course 4

Fish: Poached salmon with beetroot relish and basil mayonnaise

Wine: Lawsons Dry Hills 2008 Riesling
By: The Urban Gardeners

Course 5

Salad: Roasted artichoke and pea salad

Wine: Esk Valley Hawkes Bay Pinot Gris 2010
By: The Bean Counters

Course 6

Fowl: Herbed chicken on rocket

Wine: Peter Yealands Pinot Gris 2011

By: Mrs Visitor from Hawkes Bay

Course 7

Palate Cleanser: Raspberry and pinot noir sorbet

Wine: Matahiwi Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2010
By: The Creative Cooks

Course 8

Meat: Eye fillet and blue cheese on parsnip puree, with parsnip crisps and baked onions

Wine: Taylors Clare Valley Merlot 2010
By: Your Friendly Blogger and the MOTH

 Course 9

Fruit: Rhubarb fool

By: The Urban Gardeners
 
Course 10

Dessert: Rich chocolate on crème anglaise

Wine: D’Arenberg Noble Botryotinia F*ckeliana 2011
By: The Bean Counters

Tongan Odyssey

On a cold winter’s night in 2011, we were tucked up in front of the fire with the Marlborough Farmer and his wife the Marlborough Writer.  Talk turned to possible family holidays that would enable a temporary escape from a New Zealand winter.  After Australian theme parks were mentioned, the Marlborough Farmer expressed extreme reluctance, followed by a wistful, “why can’t we just go sailing”.  Your friendly blogger grabbed the nearest laptop and within 15 minutes we had identified possible locations, flight details and costs.  We all looked at each other, slightly startled, and said “yes, let’s”!

Scroll forward a year, and we meet up in Auckland.  The Marlborough F&W have brought with them a supply of frozen meat from the wonderful Mike at Meaters of Marlborough, Miss 11, Miss 9 and Master 7.  We supply a box of dry goods, Miss 9 and Miss 7.  Duty free provides the wine, a touch of gin and some whiskey.  In Tonga, we pre-order heavy items, and collect fresh food and bread at the Neiafu market.

We start our holiday at the wonderful, relaxing and friendly Tongan Beach Resort.  We relax, shrug off winter, work and school - replacing them with eating, swimming, snorkelling and snoozing.

When we've just about had enough of that (3 nights), it's time to head to the marina to begin our seven days on a 40 foot catamaran, with four adults, five children and Mellony (the melon).

We had designed an approximate itinerary (which bore little relation to the actual itinerary), together with a general menu plan. All of which had to be produced from within the galley, or on an outdoor BBQ.  Here's the galley:

Breakfasts were a mix of cereal, toast, bacon & eggs and pancakes.

Lunches involved Panini, bread rolls, sandwiches and 2 minute noodles (fast refuelling for the smaller team members).

Snacks included cheese & crackers, various snack bars, freshly made bread, wrap toasties (2 wraps sandwiched with relish and cheese, lightly fried), Edmonds chocolate biscuit slice and Betty Crocker cookies.

The oven was marginal, but managed to deliver delicious fresh bread rolls [recipe here].

The Edmonds slice only required cooking on the stove top and chilling, so was much easier:

Dinners involved:

• Pasta with tomato, vege and salami sauce
• Lamb rumps and backstraps, mashed potato and salad

• Beef stir fry with rice
• Dinner out at La Paella Restaurant
• Delicious tapas - this one aubergine and feta:
• Paella cooking:
• 
• Ribeye steak, mashed potato and salad
• Sausages with rice and veges
• Pasta with tomato, vege and bacon sauce

Total failure on the fishing front meant that we had to rely more on our emergency supplies (pasta dishes) than planned, but we still managed to eat very well.

The cooking was nicely shared between all the adults - MOTH and the MF in charge of the BBQ, the MF delivering spectacular bacon and eggs, the MW providing lunches, snacks and dinners, and your friendly blogger pitching in too.  One ingredient of a successful holiday - lots of willing cooks.  Another ingredient was the excellent bar staff!

The sailing was gentle and fun, the weather was perfect, and the water was perfect for swimming at every opportunity.  The snorkelling was great, we saw lots of coral and coral fish, as well as one pod of whales (a very welcome surprise).  Best of all, we didn't make it to Kenutu Island, or Hunga Island, so we will just have to go back!

Another cooking frenzy

So there’s been a small hiatus in blogging while we’ve been sampling the warmth and wonders of the Kingdom of Tonga.  I’ll post an update on our Tongan cooking endeavours soon, but here are a couple of photos to promote the sights that can be found (above and below water) while sailing around the Vava’u islands.

We arrived home to the need for a cooking frenzy – my parents staying, the sister and her family joining us for dinner, and the need to start preparing for lives back at work and school.  Saturday was family dinner night – a perfect excuse for a signature dish – so flattened chooks were scheduled in [recipe here].  Happily, the sister provided one pre-flattened chook and a mountain of peeled potatoes, so we were off to a flying start.  I felt the need to complement the roast with a contrasting light and cool dessert, so an Orange Souffle was whipped into shape as well [recipe here].

The next day, after a slow post-holiday start to the day, the frenzy was back in action – lamb shanks for dinner [recipe to come], beef tagine for the week ahead/freezer [recipe to come], and soup for my lunches at work.  By the end of Sunday, I was done with cooking!

Dinner Party Club Moroccan Menu

Entrée: Kebab Koutbane
This was a delicious dish – a traditional Moroccan entrée, with marinaded beef and beef suet cubes, seared on the barbeque.  The flavour was fantastic! 

Main: Chicken Tagine with Figs and Almonds

A lovely tagine, full of rich flavours and tender chicken legs.  Our consensus was that we couldn’t really taste the saffron in it – is the saffron worth it in such a richly flavoured dish?

Side: Couscous with Orange, Almonds and Cinnamon

A fresh tasting couscous, made with orange juice, that provided a lovely contrast to the richness of the tagine.

Salad: Roasted Capsicum with Feta, Capers and Preserved Lemon

This was a revelation!  The combination of sweet, salty and sour was so fresh alongside the tagine.

Bread: Khobz dyal Zraa

The bread had the typical denseness of Moroccan bread – fantastic for mopping up the tagine.

Dessert: Briwat Bi Loz (Brides’ Fingers)

Lovely mouthfuls of sweet nutty flavour, with each ingredient identifiable, yet providing a harmonious finale.  Buffalo yoghurt with vanilla paste was the perfect accompaniment.

The verdict

This was one of the most successful dinner parties we’ve had.  Every dish was great, the combinations worked well and we all ended the evening wanting to try the dishes again.

The dinner party club

The dinner party club was inspired by our good friends, the Urban Gardeners, who rallied together five couples and instructed us on a theme (Italian) for which we were to each provide one course.  Like a bookclub for couples, with delicious food and matching wines thrown in.

From Italian, we’ve covered Perfection in Small Parcels, Hunting and Gathering, Kiwi Cuisine, Mid-Winter Christmas, Recipes from Your Oldest Cookbook, Bon Appetite: Inspiration from Julia Child, Around the World, and Spanish, to name a few.  Creating a theme is part of the fun – as is responding with your chosen dish.

Over the years, we’ve found that the host selecting a theme, participants nominating courses/dishes and everyone providing wine, is a recipe for a successful evening.  However, it has also motivated us all to return to our shelves of cookbooks, try recipes that we’ve always wondered about, and explore cuisines that we haven’t ventured into before.

An unintended benefit has been that is requires significantly less effort than the dinner party hosted (prepared and cooked) by one couple – although we all have to be comfortable sharing our kitchens (and the resulting kitchen chaos).

The next theme is Morrocan – we will be making Briwat Bi Loz (Brides’ Fingers) for dessert [recipe here].  The wine we have selected to match the dessert is the Pegasus Bay 2008 Aria (late picked riesling).  The "luscious honey and beeswax complexities" and the "touch of spritzig" should nicely match the combination of nuts, cinnamon, orange blossom and honey in the dessert.

What a cooking frenzy looks like

In our house, the trigger for a cooking frenzy is usually the opportunity to cook for friends… but as I start thinking about what I might cook, other random ideas jump into my head.  So a couple of weekends ago, we had Mr Hunter-Fisherman and his son Mr Fiveandahalf coming for dinner (Mrs H-F and daughter were away).  A Sunday night roast was the plan.

Sunday morning was sunny, cold and relatively wind-free (in Wellington this is anything less than a screaming gale).  Bread, I thought, I need to make bread.  This is not an entirely random thought, as we’re planning a sailing holiday, and the logistics may include the need to make our own bread.  So the bread making was underway [recipe here].  While the bread was having its first rise, I took Miss Nine and Miss Seven for a quick jaunt up Mt Kaukau to stretch our legs and build up an appetite.

As they say, you can't beat Wellington on a good day...

Back home and the bread knocked back into shape and rising happily and the fridge revealed some crosscut blade steak which needed cooking.  Man Of The House (MOTH) and daughters were provided with some lunch.  One casserole underway [recipe here]. Pause for lunch and some fresh bread at 2.30pm (yes, a bit late, but that’s what happens in cooking frenzies).

The roast.  A lovely leg of lamb was on special, so roast lamb it is.  I introduce the lamb to its friends, garlic, thyme and anchovies [recipe here].  The MOTH prepares vegetables.  Dinner is cooked, wine poured, gravy made, we have a lovely evening and there is very little lamb left.  The MOTH cleans up a tower of roasting pans and the day is over.

Starting out

I’ve never written a blog before.  A very good friend, who knows more than me about writing things down, told me just to get on with it, so here I am.  I’m going to be writing about my kind of cooking – cooking that’s fun to do, that can be done with friends, sometimes easy and sometimes more challenging.  Along the way, I’ll talk about tasting food, my secret ingredients, and how I learnt to do more than simply follow a recipe.  Bon appétit!