Mar 06

dell'Ugo relaunch

dellugolaunch1 Occasionally I am fortunate enough to get invited to special events in the Brisbane food scene.  Last night I attended the “relaunch” of dell’Ugo New Farm, hosted by the Robertiello family.

It was a sophisticated affair, where the drinks and canapes flowed.  The restaurant has recently been renovated and has the open and welcoming style of restaurants I visited in Italy.

Special mention goes to the Prosecco cocktail, with strawberries and mint.  It was refreshing, light and delicious, and looking around at my fellow guests, it seemed to be in high demand.   Another favourite was the polenta with porcini mushrooms and truffles – I stalked the waitress when she brought these out!  Rather than discussing the restaurant’s “signature dish”, we were all treated to a sample of Casarecce al ragu’ di carne mantecati con parmigiano – described on the menu as “Our signature rich meat ragu’ with home made Casarecce with tomato and basil”.

dellugosignature

The relaunch had a large cross-selection of people – there were fellow food bloggers, PR people, Italian nonna’s, family, friends, restaurateurs, and even Phillip Johnson, owner and local celebrity chef from E’cco Bistro.

I will be back for dinner and drinks soon dell’Ugo!  Thanks for the invite, and a great night.

Full disclosure: drinks and nibbles were complimentary.

06.03.11 | Of: , | In: Other | 2 comments

Feb 02

5 kitchen-y items I couldn't live without

This is just a little list of some of my favourite kitchen items.  There is no hard and fast rule for what a good kitchen should have – but these are things I’ve found are important in my cooking.

  • Mini electric blender/whisk/food processor.

I use the Sunbeam StickMaster Pro and I haven’t looked back.  It’s particularly good when you are only cooking smaller amounts or cooking for two.  I use it for everything – making hummus, pesto, smoothies, beating eggwhites, blending soups.  On this blog I’ve used it to make pesto, almond butter, pumpkin soup, toblerone cheesecake.

almondbutterprelim

  • Gas stove

Believe me, I lived without gas for 4 years and have just recently returned to it.  What a difference – boiling water takes no time at all, my wok actually gets hot enough to achieve a kick-ass stirfry, I can use heavy-bottom pans and get an even distribution of temperature.

  • A herb garden.

Ours has been a bit neglected of late as renovations take priority.  We were lucky enough to inherit a garden with mint that grows like a weed, lemongrass that has a girth bigger than J and I together, a nice variety of cherry tomatoes (not a herb I know) and basil.  We also brought along our big pots which have parsley, tarragon, rosemary, garlic chives and shallots.  Herbs are expensive to buy and pretty easy to grow.  And all that you need is a good sized pot and a patch of sun.  They make such a big difference to the taste and freshness of your food.

  • Dutch oven

This is basically a big cast iron pot with a lid – mine is enameled and a retro-orange/red colour.You can use it on the stove or in the oven, it can be used to make a mean batch of soup, lamb shanks, stock – anything that needs a slow cook.  It means you don’t have to change dishes if you want to brown meat on the stove and then slow-cook in the oven.  It’s helped me serve large groups of people with delicious meals that require minimal hands-on involvement from me.  I’ve made beef casserole, lamb shanks (two ways), chilli, baked beans, rabbit stew, sausages and lentils in it.

sausagelentil

moroccanlambshanks

  • Sharp knives.

I don’t have the best quality knives – I’m planning on upgrading soon and at least investing in a high quality chef’s knife.  But even on my cheaper ones I’ve found nothing is more important than keeping them sharp – it really does make chopping much easier and helps avoid injuries due to blunt knives.

02.02.11 | Of: | In: Other | 4 comments

Oct 25

Graysonline - wine review

wines

I was recently contacted by a representative of Graysonline to see if I was interested in reviewing some wine samples on the blog.  Now, you all know I am not a wine reviewer – I enjoy wine but I have not particular knowledge of it.  However, I thought it might be fun, and of course I was clear that I would only post my honest opinion.

I was sent half a dozen bottles of wine, 3 different types.  The first one we tried was a sweet dessert wine – the 2010 late harvest Sauvignon Blanc from Pirramimma winery in Adelaide Hills.  It was sweet, went well with my strawberry tart and was what I’d describe as an “easy drinking” wine.  It wasn’t particularly complex or complicated, but it certainly wasn’t undrinkable.

Next up was the 2009 Defender of the Faith Riesling from Clare Valley Estate.  We took this to my mum’s place for dinner one night and it went down well with the roast chicken.  It was a drier style Riesling and was quite palatable.  I would recommend it as an inoffensive wine to enjoy chilled at a BBQ on a sunny Queensland day.

Finally, the Jorgensen Hill 2008 Shiraz.  I actually used about a  glass of this in my favourite lamb shanks recipe and it worked well in that dish.  We also had a glass over dinner.  It is definitely a wine that is enhanced by eating.  We tried a few sips before the meal and I must confess it wasn’t doing a great deal for me.  The tannins were very noticeable and, being a young red, had yet to develop any sort of complexity or depth.  However, as I’ve said, it was far more enjoyable with the meal.

Overall, the wines were pleasant, drinkable wines.  They aren’t wines I’m going to remember forever, but they are quite reasonably priced on Graysonline:

25.10.10 | Of: | In: Other | One comment

Jan 03

New Year’s in Stanthorpe

stormyvineyard

Stanthorpe is a town about 3.5 hrs south-west of Brisbane.  It’s known for producing excellent wine, and being a major producer of apples and stone fruit.

For the New Year’s Eve period this year, J and I hired a cabin with another couple, D & J.  We spent a lovely three days, drinking too much wine, visiting vineyards and cooking copious amounts of food.  I will do another post outlining one of the dishes I made on the weekend, but in the meantime here are some images of our weekend.

Hope everyone had an enjoyable New Year’s, and feel refreshed and ready to tackle another year.

orchard grapes
03.01.10 | Of: | In: Other | One comment