Entree & Starters

I was foraging in our old pantry as part of transferring ingredients to our new pantry when I came across a bottle of vincotto that I purchased a few years ago on a trip to the Barossa Valley. It was made by the winery Domain Day Estate. I had bought it from a small stall… Read more

The other day I was in my old stamping ground and noted that Chinese Garden, the local Chinese restaurant, was still going strong. With its fabulous green tiled roof and red pillars, it was quite upmarket as far as Chinese restaurants went in the 1970’s. With a reception area, flocked wallpaper, linen table cloths, huge… Read more

The party season is upon us. Whether you’re hosting or attending there are always delicious drinks and nibbles on offer. It’s somewhat a challenge for me this year. For those playing along, you would be aware that we are having a renovation and therefore do not have a kitchen at present. When I was *asked… Read more

TIFFIN Stockpiles I’ve been spending a bit of time on Pinterest lately, learning more about ‘rich pins’ and how they are purported to boost traffic to TIFFIN. Pinterest is a lot like YouTube. You go to the site to visit something specific, you click through to check it out and the next thing you know, you’ve… Read more

Regular readers may recall that I was given a box of onions by a friend who had them left over from a fundraising event. I made a delicious Caramelised Onion Tart as well as freezing many bags of sliced onions for future use. But still they kept giving… I’m not complaining about having so many… Read more

As part of the #Harvest Exhibition at QAGOMA, I finally got to see the movie The Big Night starring Tony Shaloub and Stanley Tucci. This movie regularly appears in top 10 food movie lists but I hadn’t even heard of it until I joined a hangout on Google+ with a ‘movie night’ theme. When I… Read more

Slow cooked meats are very much in vogue at the moment. Pulled pork, beef carnitas, slow roasted shoulders and similar are on menus across the land. Some of this is inspired by the current rise of ‘American Diner Cuisine’ and its little brother Dude Food and some by the desire for cooks and chefs to… Read more

When you’re hosting a party, you’re always looking for things you can do beforehand. Peeling veges, setting tables, chopping herbs, cooking dishes that can be re-heated, chilling drinks, mixing and storing dressings in the fridge – anything you can do to minimise cooking and time away from guests. There are some shortcuts that I long… Read more

This month, Random Recipes at Belleau Kitchen is celebrating the big three-oh. Dom has been running Random Recipes for 30 months! What a commitment. I’m a latecomer to RR, coming in at #18 with a short break in September for an overseas trip. Looking back whilst I was researching this post, I note that I… Read more

I recently hosted a Gastronauts Supper Club dinner with a South American theme and decided to offer a palate cleanser in between courses, using an ingredient from the Americas. Not long ago I read a post by Rhubarb Whine about how to make a home smoker using your wok when the idea of a Smoked… Read more

I love eggplant in all its glorious guises. In Asian style stir fries, baked or grilled with toppings and fillings, Moroccan tagines, Middle Eastern dips, barbecued, in Moussaka and in one of my favourites discoveries of the year in Bali, thin slices dipped in batter and fried to crispy puffs served with caramelised onions and… Read more

I love zucchini fritters but there’s quite an art to making a decent one. If the mix is too wet, they can be soggy or doughy. Too much oil and they can be greasy. Not enough oil and they won’t be crispy (and who doesn’t love crispy?). Somewhere in the whirl of social networking, internet… Read more

I always buy eggplants, full of good intentions and at the end of the week, they are often still sitting in the crisper. Eggplants are one of my faves but they do take some time to cook.  Most Mediterranean or Middle Eastern dishes need a longer cooking time to bring out their best. I don’t… Read more

Pumpkins are funny old things.  In the USA, they are relegated to carving at Halloween, overly sweetened pie at Thanksgiving and for decoration on front porches throughout New England. In the UK, the only time you ever see pumpkin is in insipid ‘Butternut Squash’ soup that always tastes like water or when someone such as… Read more

I’m in love with Yotam Ottolenghi.  I fell under his spell whilst living in the UK, reading his regular piece in The Weekend Guardian.  Every recipe sounded delicious and seemed achievable.  For the longest while, I thought he was vegetarian until a recipe with mince appeared.  His flavours are Middle Eastern, belying his Israeli upbringing… Read more

As I’m still on holidays, I get the opportunity to be a little more creative with our lunches rather than the standard ‘take to work’ salad.  I was home alone today and in a Nigella-esque moment, just happened to have some tofu in the fridge that needed to be used so I took the opportunity… Read more

OK. The first thing to discuss is how to spell zucchini. Or is it zuccini? Or zuchini? Or courgette? No matter. When I was in Chianti (travel bore, I know) I literally gasped with delight when I saw this huge tray of zucchini flowers in the local supermarket for less than 2€. I rushed to… Read more

The first thing I should point out is that the Quark I am referring to is not a particle that makes up a Hadron (as witnessed on my recent visit to the LHC in Geneva). I am referring to ordinary Baker’s Cheese which used to be readily available as Quark in Australia, was then rebadged… Read more