Playing tourist in your own city & Bakers Delight winners

When I was a child, the only times I was taken to visit Sydney tourist icons such as Centrepoint Tower (now called something or other else) and the Opera House was when we had relatives visiting from overseas. I have relatives who have seen more of Australia through organised tours than I have having grown up here, but that’s because we always feel there’s more excitement, intrigue and curiosity surrounding places which are not within our immediate surrounds. And possibly because Australia is isolated by water from other cultures, why would you tour your own country when you travel overseas?

But there are hidden gems in your own city which you don’t get to see, do or taste due to restrictions by such a devil known as work. You know, that thing which demands attention for the most of us during business hours from Mondays to Fridays. That thing which may or may not reward you handsomely in a financial sense, but which takes up the bulk of your time to be able to enjoy it. How inconvenience!

So on a coordinated day off work for both Monsieur and myself back when there was a chill in the air, we played tourists in our own city by taking the train for a long-delayed chance to enjoy Plan B’s famed $10 Wagyu burger.

Only open on weekdays, we’d just not had the opportunity to venture to Plan B any sooner. So we sit at a table under the dappled winter sunshine, outside this little coffee bar with a reputation much larger than its shop space, and enjoy a single burger and drink between the two of us. The stature of the burger is rather grand, being taller than it is wide, and the Wagyu patty accounting for at least a third of its height. Held by a glossy brioche bun, a charred patty exterior holds juicy thoroughly cooked innards flanked on either side by cheese, mayonnaise, beetroot and salad leaves.

This is followed by us crossing the road to Le Grand Café for a little something else. And although there are sweets on display, I am needing further savoury food whilst Monsieur Poisson is craving a coffee. A café au lait and ‘Terrine de campagne’ platter soon arrive.

The texture of the meat terrine is firm without being dry and crumbly and not overly salty like some. The studs of pistachio add textural interest although I wish there was more of the lovely toasted brioche to go with it. Cornichons are always welcome for cutting through any fat, but I’m biased as I pretty much enjoy anything with a tart flavour.

We take a leisurely stroll to Circular Quay to enjoy a free tilt-shift photography exhibition before hopping on a train again to make our way to a special coffee date. A truly relaxing day in our own city enjoying some of the more relaxing things for which we normally don’t have the time.

Plan B

Ground floor, 204 Clarence St, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9283 3450

Opening Hours:  Mon-Fri  8am-4pm

                        Sat & Sun  CLOSED

Le Grand Café

Ground floor, 257 Clarence St, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9264 7164

Opening Hours:  Mon-Fri  8am-6pm)

                        Sat  8am-3pm

                        Sun  CLOSED

Bakers Delight competition winners

So in keeping with enjoying the simple pleasures in life, thank you to those who took the time to read my post, leave a comment and enter the Bakers Delight competition. Monsieur Poisson read all of your responses and has chosen the following five lucky people to receive a $5 voucher each:

1. Sara
2. FFK
3. Susan
4. Tina
5. Shez

Congratulations to you all! Please send your postal details to the email address over on the left so that I can forward your voucher to you. And let me know how you go about enjoying your bread.

Thank you once again to Rebecca Stalker from Keep Left Public Relations and Bakers Delight for the gift vouchers.

happy eating!

Epicure Recipe Cards #26 & #25: Thai Mussels with Sweet Potato, Tuscan Tomato Salad with Marinated Goat’s Cheese

It’s been a couple of months since any of these recipe cards have been posted, or cooked for that matter. I’m pretty certain that I won’t be getting through them all prior to the end of the year especially when I’m becoming increasingly left with recipes which fail to ignite much cooking passion. Or perhaps I’m just lacking cooking passion at the moment, full stop. Such a situation calls for creative interpretations and very, very loose adaptations of recipes.

I like mussels but I don’t like sweet potato. Mussels require multiple rounds of soaking in heavily salted water and draining to remove grit, but it’s more time-consuming rather than being a labour-intensive exercise. Sweet potato I will eat in small amounts, usually as crisp kumara chips, roasted or deep-fried in tempura batter. I don’t enjoy it mashed and I can‘t envisage the taste sensation of cubes of it cooked with mussels. So I decided to do away with the sweet potato and cooked the mussels with garlic, chilli and onion instead, with some crusty bread rolls on the side to soak up the briny shellfish juices. Being a fresh seafood dish, this is one of those things which is more a rough sketch rather than a strict recipe as the amount of seasoning and heat is completely up to the person cooking it. Don’t like/can’t handle chilli? Leave it out. Have some fresh herbs on hand? Throw them in if you think the flavour works.

The fruit and vegetable stalls near where I bought the mussels all had punnets of yellow cherry tomatoes going for cheap at the time. A punnet came home with me, the cherry tomatoes within halved and then mixed with a chopped Roma tomato and olives as a side salad to the mussels. The goat’s cheese was deliberately omitted as I didn’t think it’d be a good companion to the mussels but I particularly liked the vibrant colours as well as the saltiness of the olives echoing the saltiness of the seafood.

This meal was enjoyed a couple of months ago when the weather was cooler, but would be perfect for the weather now which is finally starting to show some signs of summer. It’s easy to prepare and most suited for casual picking at over a drink or two and, preferably, some conversation and laughter.

Garlic & Chilli Mussels (serves 2)

(adapted from The Age – Epicure 50 Best Recipe Cards, recipe by Jill Dupleix)

Ingredients:

·         1kg black mussels

·         1 tbs oil

·         2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

·         1 small red chilli, finely sliced (deseeded to reduce the heat, if preferred)

·         ½ small onion, thinly sliced

·         ½ cup dry white wine or water

Method:

1. Soak mussels in liberally salted water for 1-2 hours, changing the water when it gets cloudy. Scrub mussels to remove any barnacles and pull out the beards.
2. In a large pot with a lid, heat oil over medium heat with garlic, chilli and onion until fragrant. Tip in mussels along with the wine, cover with the lid and let steam for 1-2 minutes.
3. Remove lid, stir mussels around before replacing lid and steaming a further 1-2 minutes.
4. Remove lid, season with salt to taste and stir to mix well. Opened mussels should be removed to a serving bowl and the lid replaced to further steam the remaining for another minute.
5. Remove lid and add any opened mussels to the serving bowl. Discard any which remain closed. Serve with crusty bread if desired.

Tomato & Olive Salad (serves 2 as a side)

(adapted from The Age – Epicure 50 Best Recipe Cards, recipe by Jill Dupleix)

Ingredients:

·         ·         250g punnet of cherry/grape tomatoes

·         ·         1 Roma tomato, chopped

·         ·         small handful of pitted Kalamata olives, chopped

·         ·         1-2 splashes balsamic vinegar

·         ·         drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Mix everything together with some ground salt and pepper to taste. Toss well and set aside for 20 minutes before serving to allow flavours to develop.

happy cooking!

The simple pleasure of bread and your chance to win some!

Life has the most inconvenient way, sometimes, of getting in the way of enjoying life itself.

I say, dear Responsibilities, wouldn’t you like to take a holiday from giving me guilt when I neglect you? This co-dependent relationship can’t be doing either of us any good here. And Obligations, surely you’d like to take a day off and just take it easy in a hammock whilst sipping a colourful drink adorned with a paper umbrella?

Unfortunately life doesn’t wait nor necessarily slow down when we want it to, unlike the recent approach I’ve taken with this blog. The blog has taken a backseat whilst other areas of life have been demanding my attention and keeping me busy, inciting frustration and annoyance along with way. Hopefully the cobwebs have yet to set in as this blog will be on the quiet side for a little longer still.

When life zaps most of the energy and sunbeams out of me, I lose the inspiration and motivation to cook. We’re not talking about attempting some magnificent feast here – oh, no – just the usual simple stir-fry with a bit of rice, and even then it seems to take exponential amounts of effort compared to usual. Comfort eating can only occur when you have the resources to do so.

And so I have been thankful for quick staples such as dried pasta, canned soup, frozen dumplings, dried Chinese noodles and bread. Yes, bread – one of the simple pleasures of life which is a meal in itself with some butter, olive oil or any manner of spreads or toppings. Take soft Turkish bread which can effortlessly be sliced into fingers and eaten with some dip and olives…

…ciabatta which can be hollowed out as a vessel for (a failed) cheese fondue with nubbins of corn. Or for a cob of comforting soup with the “lid” cut into fingers for dipping.

And a sexy French baguette which I attempted to fashion into two types of picnic-style stuffed rolls which didn’t quite turn out the way I had envisaged. Well, much like life itself.

Luckily there was this somewhat redeeming rendition of “pizza”, where the leftover Turkish bread was split into top and bottom halves to act as bases for basil pesto, sausage pieces, marinated artichoke hearts, pine nuts and, on one of them, sundried tomato pesto and egg.

Seasoned, topped with cheese and shoved in a 220°C oven for the sausage pieces to cook and for the cheese to bubble and brown, these made for a perfectly easy lunch to remind me that life indeed can have its simple, peaceful, pleasurable moments.

Now, for your chance to win some bread, Bakers Delight are kindly giving away vouchers worth $5 each to five readers of Spoon, Fork & Chopsticks. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me what simple pleasure you enjoy in life and why. Entries close Friday 26 November 2010 at 11pm Australian Eastern Standard time and are open to Australian residents only. Winning entrants will be chosen by Monsieur Poisson (AKA the Husband, AKA the one who doesn’t cook) based on originality and will be published here in a future post, so make sure you stay tuned! Any rude/profane/offensive entries will be deleted and excluded from the competition.

Mademoiselle Délicieuse received the above selection of bread courtesy of Rebecca Stalker from Keep Left Public Relations and Baker’s Delight.

happy cooking!