Author: Ken

At our most recent resident dinner we served banana cream pie as a dessert. But circumstances meant that we prepared it in a different way. It was not quite a ‘deconstructed dessert’ but it contained all the ingredients that you will find in the pie, layered in an individual bowl with the sweet crisp pastry crumbled on top.

I started thinking that Eton Mess, a traditional British dessert, had very similar ingredients to our very own Pavlova, but just served in a different way. The pedigree of the Pavlova would be considered better with its association with the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, whereas Eton Mess started in a school tuckshop.

The rules for Eton Mess are pretty flexible and naturally kiwifruit and bananas as well as grated chocolate (as a topping) are good options. Integral ingredients for a traditional Eton Mess are whipped cream, meringue and berries. Today’s recipe naturally includes those basics but as an option I have added crème patisserie, natural yogurt, strawberry liqueur and milk chocolate

Consider layering the ingredients in a clear glass serving bowl or parfait glasses for best presentation. Alternatively  mix the ingredients ‘tuck shop style’

Eton Mess

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 125 g raspberries
• 125 g strawberries
• 20 g caster sugar
• ½ tsp lemon zest finely grated
• 250 ml thickened cream well chilled
• 20 g caster sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 100 g cooked dry meringue crunchy crushed, homemade or store bought

Optional ingredients:

• 1 cup Crème Patisserie thick custard, chilled
• ½ cup natural Yoghurt
• 20 ml Strawberry liqueur

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Keep 4 raspberries and 2 of the larger strawberries for garnish
3. Hull (remove the leaf and stalk of the strawberries) and gently rinse the strawberries, pat dry
4. Take ⅓ of the remaining berries and puree them. Put aside
5. Add the liqueur to the puree now, if you are using it
6. Quarter the remaining ⅔ of strawberries
7. Sprinkle with 20g sugar and lemon zest
8. Whip the cream, vanilla and 20g caster sugar to soft peaks
9. Fold in the yoghurt and Crème Patisserie to the whipped cream now if you are using them

Presentation # 1

1. In your glass presentation bowl, layer in the following order - marinated berries, meringue, whipped cream, berry puree. Repeat. Finish with whole berries and grated chocolate
   

Presentation # 2

1. Place the marinated berries in a mixing bowl
2. Mix in the berry puree
3. Gently fold through the whipped cream
4. Gently fold through the crushed meringue
5. Scoop out into individual bowls and decorate with the whole berries and sprinkle with grated chocolate

With the cost of ingredients continuing to increase, it can limit your choices when you are planning your meals. Cuts of beef, lamb and veal are certainly pricey while fresh fish and other seafood will start you looking for a frozen alternative. Chicken, pork and vegetarian represent the cheapest options but that may become a little boring. This brings us to beef mince, which is not actually a cut of beef, but is closely aligned, price wise, with fresh chicken.

Beef mince represents one of the biggest sellers at your local butcher or in the meat aisle of your supermarket. It’s versatile, available in a variety of grades and you don’t have to worry about it being tough. It’s also the base ingredient for sausage mince.

Last week we featured beef mince (on its own) in Chilli Con Carne. This week we combine beef mince with sausage mince and a few pantry cupboard staples, into a recipe which is equally suitable for a main course, finger food and even a pizza topping.

Beef meatballs in BBQ sauce

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 25 -30 meatballs

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 500 g beef mince
• 500 g beef sausage mince
• 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 slices bread
• 100 ml milk
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• salt
• cracked pepper
• 50 ml olive oil
• 125 ml beef stock

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Break up the bread soak in the milk
3. If you are using sausages, cut them open, remove the sausage mince and discard the skins
4. Combine the meats , onion, egg, softened bread, curry powder, garlic and a little seasoning
   
5. Mix really well
6. Cover and refrigerate while you make the BBQ sauce.
7. Form all the meat into golf ball sized balls
   
8. Heat the oil in your frypan and fry the meatballs in batches.
   
9. Turn them occasionally to ensure even colour. Avoid scorching.
   
10. Meanwhile in a suitably sized saucepan bring the BBQ sauce mix to a simmer
11. Transfer the finished meatballs to the saucepan
12. When all the meatballs are in the saucepan, discard any fat or oil from the frypan
13. Add the stock to the frypan on a low heat
    
14. With a spatula scrape off any of the meaty residue
15. Strain this liquid into the meatball saucepan
    
16. Gently stir in
17. Ready
18. Serve with rice
    

Notes

I used good quality beef sausage

Remember sausage mince is already flavoured and seasoned, so don’t overdo the added seasoning

BBQ sauce for Meatballs

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 250 ml (1 cup) tomato ketchup
• 100 g brown sugar
• 2 tbs honey
• 4 tbs soy sauce
• 2 tbs Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced chilli
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tbs red wine vinegar

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Mix together
   
3. Heat slowly until meatballs are ready
   
4. Put aside until needed

Being born in the Fifties I was fortunate (or unfortunate) to have had a very early exposure to both cinema and television. Cinemas reached their peak in Australia in the mid-Fifties with Greater Sydney alone having 160 cinemas. The introduction of television in 1956 brought on the decimation of the cinema industry and by 1960 less than eighty of those cinemas remained.

Mum and Dad were hard working and successful and a television set was definitely a luxury item, but one appeared on the living room floor sometime in the late Fifties. Three television stations in glorious black and white, for me was Nirvana. In addition, there were still plenty of cinemas around to catch latest releases from the U.S.A, the U.K and what would have been a very lean Australian Film Industry.

Locally the television stations in Sydney were all north of the harbour, with the Channel Seven studios located a stone’s throw from our family’s home. Also pretty close was a cinema at Eastwood and a Drive-In at Dundas.

The connection between today’s subject and today’s recipe is tenuous but goes back to something I noticed about American shows very early and to a degree it continues to this very day. I’m talking about the food that the scriptwriters have their actors eating or not eating.

If it is a family dinner for say four persons, there seems to be enough food on the table for about a dozen people and when a character orders a meal or drink it rarely gets consumed.

Quite often the ‘American diner’ is the location for a meal – particularly police dramas. When the protagonist asks what’s good on the menu (invariably after the arrival of the black coffee) apparently it has to be ‘the chilli’. So today let’s look at ‘chilli’ and find out why it is always good.

Chilli con Carne

Originally from Mexico, a type of Chilli Con Carne predates the arrival of Europeans in the 15^thcentury. Of course, then it was prepared with native ingredients including chilli, tomatoes, beans and spices, but the meat was not beef because cattle were not native to the Americas.

By the 1800’s ‘Chilli’ had become entrenched in the South-west of the U.S.A, but depending on where you lived it beared little resemblance to its Mexican origins. Even today, purists will argue the right and wrong way to prepare chilli. Apparently, there is no definitive recipe.

So, we are left with our Australian interpretation of Chilli Con Carne which includes most ingredients.

Once the Chilli Con Carne has been prepared it can be served in a number of ways including ‘loaded baked potatoes’, nachos, lasagne, with rice or creamy polenta.

Once again, it is important to realise that sautéing the ingredients until well browned is an integral part of this recipe. The number of portions will be dependent on what end dish you are making it for.

Chilli Con Carne

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 onions peeled, up to 1cm dice
• 1 large capsicum deseeded, washed, up to 1cm dice
• 50 ml olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
• 500 g beef mince
• 2 tsp paprika
• 3 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried coriander
• ¼ tsp ground chilli
• 1 sachet of tomato paste
• 1 x 420g can peeled tomatoes
• 1 x 420g can kidney beans drained and rinsed
• ½ beef stock cube
• 1 -1½ cups water

Equipment

• I used a thick bottomed Dutch oven for this recipe.

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Prepare a spice mix with the paprika, cumin, cayenne, oregano, coriander and chilli
3. In your saucepan heat the oil and add the onion, capsicum and garlic
   
4. Sauté for a good 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching
   
5. Add the mince and mix well to break up any lumps of meat
   
6. Continue cooking / stirring for 5 -10 minutes
   
7. Liquids will begin to evaporate but continue to stir till the mix is ‘dry’
   
8. Add the dry spice mix and cook / stir for a further 5 minutes
   
9. Stir in tomato paste and peeled tomatoes
   
10. Add water and stock cube
11. Simmer on low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally
    
12. Stir in the kidney beans and simmer for a further 30 minutes
    
13. Check seasoning
14. Ready
15. Serve with boiled rice or creamy polenta
16. Top with a dollop of sour cream, grated cheese and avocado. Garnish with coriander.
    

Notes

Perfect for freezing

Adjust the cayenne and chilli to suit your taste

Over the course of the last year, starting with the very first newsletter, I have mentioned two of the iconic properties in The Blue Mountains. The Carrington Hotel at Katoomba and the more recent mention of the Hydro Majestic at Medlow Bath are both wonderful examples of Victorian/Edwardian design. The third property of equal stature is a hotel, Jenolan Caves House situated above the oldest cave system in the world – the World Heritage listed Jenolan Caves.

,Nestled in  McKeown’s Valley on the western edge of The Blue Mountains, ‘Caves House’ as it is known, can be dated back to 1879, although the current ‘Arts and Craft’s’ Design with which we are familiar, was completed in 1926. It is important to note that Caves House was built to service one of the earliest protected natural environmental heritage sites in the world, and that was declared in 1866 by the N.S.W. Government.

Whilst tourists visited the caves from the 1840’s, accommodation was Spartan and getting to the caves was very difficult. It wasn’t until Jeremiah Wilson was appointed ‘Keeper of the Caves’ in 1867 that permanent accommodation was built to look after the ever increasing visitor numbers. A new road and frequent expansion and upgrades over the next 40 years have gifted New South Wales with one of it’s most popular visitor attractions, whether you are just a day-tripper or want to stay a while.

My earliest recollection of the caves’ was possibly the late 1950’s and definitely the 1960’s when Dad would drive our family up from Sydney. You had to start early for it was a long and slow trip; particularly the road down from Hartley. Because the journey was long, by the time you arrived most of the tours for the smaller caves were booked out and we always ended up in the Lucas, Imperial or Chifley Caves. It wasn’t till many years later that I stayed in the hotel, which meant that I could have a greater choice of tours.

Some Hotel guests would choose to stay in the hotel for the sheer ambiance and the nature walks and not worry about the caves, but that generally meant that they had visited multiple times. The private lounges; the roaring open log fires in wintertime, the creaking floorboards and not to forget the Grand Dining Room was enough to keep the hotel operating at maximum capacity. If you wanted television, room service and health spa’s this was not the hotel for you.

Accommodation venues in The Blue Mountains have certainly had their ups and downs. Classic establishments such as the three mentioned today have all gone through periods of closure and neglect with perhaps the principle reason being the changing tastes of the public. This in turn has meant that the quality of foodservice has been variable. Fortunately both The Carrington and The Hydro are thriving now.

More recently Jenolan Caves House has had to temporarily shut its doors after the access road was heavily damaged during heavy rainfall. The Hotel and road are due to re-open in early 2027 after the Hotel has completed an extensive refurbishment.

Hopefully The Chisholm Restaurant will return to its former grandeur and have food to suit.

Chicken Kiev

Chicken Kiev (or Kyiv) is a dish that appeared on many menus in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s but almost disappeared from restaurants after the big food frozen companies started tampering with the recipe. The concept of a stuffed chicken breast naturally accommodates many tasty filling options but the ‘Kiev ‘style, with garlic butter was the earliest version and today we can learn how to achieve success in its preparation. Chisholm’s Restaurant at Jenolan Caves House featured Chicken Kiev on a dinner menu back in the eighties.

Chicken Kiev origins:

The origin of many famous dishes is often disputed or shrouded in mystery. If there was such a list of dishes, Chicken Kiev would definitely be on it. Russia as we know is a big country with its own unique cuisines, but from the 18^thcentury Russian chefs were heavily influenced by French haute cuisine and this marriage of cuisines introduced a greater variety of ingredients and a reinterpretation of existing dishes.

If you recall Newsletter # 2, we prepared Pojarski, a Russian dish which blended fresh butter with finely minced meat. Chicken Kiev reintroduced the now flavoured butter as a single piece stuffed inside a chicken breast. This idea could be attributed to the French chef, Careme, during his tenure as chef in court of Alexander the 1^st of Russia.

Chicken Kiev

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 2 serves

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 x 250g skinless chicken breast fillets
• 60 g butter softened
• 1-2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
• a few sprigs of fresh parsley chopped
• 1 egg
• 60 ml milk
• 4 slices white bread for breadcrumbs
• plain flour
• salt and pepper
• 500 ml vegetable oil

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Prepare breadcrumbs by removing the crusts
   
3. Place in food processor with blade attachment
   
4. Process till fine consistency
   
5. Mix together the butter, garlic, parsley and a little seasoning
6. Form the butter into two small ‘logs’ and chill them in the fridge until needed
7. Place a chicken breast between two sheets of plastic film
   
8. Using your kitchen hammer gently flatten the chicken breast
   
9. Transfer the chicken to a plate and place a log of garlic butter in the centre
   
10. Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper
    
11. Fold the sides of the chicken in over the butter
    
12. Finish folding the chicken around the butter
    
13. Repeat the process on the second breast
14. Chill the chicken in the freezer for 30 minutes
15. Prepare an egg wash with the milk and egg
    
16. With the now firmed up uncoated Chicken Kiev’s carefully pass them through the flour, egg and breadcrumb in the order
17. Make sure the crumb is well adhered
    
18. Place the crumbed chicken back in the freezer for another 30 minutes
19. Pre-heat your oven to 175℃
20. Heat the oil in a small saucepan
21. Check the temperature with a little breadcrumb
22. Quickly fry the Kiev in the oil for 2 minutes, gently turning to ensure an even colour
    
23. Remove the chicken and place in an oven dish and bake for 20 -25 minutes
    
24. Serve on mashed potato
    

Notes

Flattening the chicken can give you weak points. Use little off cuts of chicken to prevent leakage.

You will notice that the rolling process will make the butter off centre. After cooking its best to have the thinner side facing up.

Panko crumbs would also be a good alternative to fresh breadcrumb.

You will notice that I used the breasts off a whole chicken, which gave me another three portion of chicken (leg, thigh and tenderloins) for other meals, which worked out at $2 for each portion of chicken ($9.99 for the whole chicken).

For my second portion of Chicken Kiev I used Cafe de Paris butter (from Newsletter # 64).

A rolling pin (used like a hammer) is a good alternative to a meat hammer.

Front: Caramelised Sugar
Middle: with Cream
Back: with Evaporated Milk

When comparing the size of the long-gone Cahill’s restaurant chain to the present day McDonald’s Restaurants, one can only be in awe of what Teresa and Reginald Cahill achieved. Within the CBD of Sydney this sister and brother operated fifteen restaurants compared to the nine restaurants that McDonald’s currently operate.  At its peak, the Cahill’s Restaurant chain had locations in North Sydney, Chatswood and Kings Cross as well as the CBD, bringing the total number of restaurants to twenty five. They also had confectionery concessions in cinemas and theatres both in New South Wales and interstate. Definitely not too shabby considering they never franchised.

Yes you could say that starting a food business in the 1920’s would have been a lot easier than today’s heavily regulated industry but let’s not forget that the Cahill’s had to contend with the Great Depression and the Second World War.

Teresa and Reginald had different attributes that together combined to form a very successful partnership. Teresa was a confectioner who had a creative flair and a talent to manage people and also marketing abilities. Reginald was a more ‘back of house’ person who strangely swapped rolls with Teresa to manage the production of confectionery. But both were driven individuals.

Starting with one confectionery shop in 1922 in Pitt Street, Sydney, by 1927 they had five shops plus a production kitchen on the southern side of Sydney at Alexandria. Cahill’s Restaurants reached its zenith in the 1960’s. Cahill’s could lay claim to a number of firsts and other innovations including:

• Reginald recognised the potential of Coca Cola by importing it in the 1930’s
• Cahill’s was the first restaurant chain to offer wine ‘by the glass’
• Their restaurants were recognised as a good alternative for families and also single ladies to dine at
• Cahill’s central kitchen ensured a consistently high quality product for signature recipes
• Cahill’s embraced international cuisine from the late 1940’s
• Adopted self-service restaurants with the introduction of the ‘brass rail’ concept
• Publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1961

Perhaps our greatest memory of Cahill’s is their themed restaurants. Whether you dined in one of their full service restaurants or their Brass Rail concept, you could be assured of authentic decor and food reflecting the name of the restaurant. The Coolibah Tree at North Sydney boasted a ‘dinkum Australian atmosphere’ with a speciality of the house being ‘Swagman’s Rabbit Hot Pot’. The Mexican in Castlereagh Street offered Chilli con Carne on the menu and you could have a drink at the Matador Wine Bar. You get the idea.

For memory I only ate at five of the restaurants – The Island Trader near Circular Quay; the Dutch Village underneath the Park Regis building in Park Street; The Tudor room in Martin Place and The African Safariland in Kings Cross at the top Of William Street. That last one was in the Kingsgate Building and not long after Cahill’s closed the African Safariland I started work in the hotel above where Cahill’s had been. It was called the Hyatt Kingsgate. I’m pretty sure I also went to the ‘brass rail’ in the basement of the then named Centrepoint Tower. Cahill’s seemed to have a lot of basement restaurants.

The demise of Cahill’s started in 1971 which coincidently was the same year that McDonalds opened its first restaurant in Australia. By the 1980’s Cahill’s had disappeared. Gone were the Windmills, Clogs, Outrigger canoes and Zebra skin covered bar stools, not to mention the twenty cent glasses of wine.

You can’t speak the Cahill’s name without mentioning their famous caramel sauce. It was not only available in each of their restaurants on the dessert menu, but you could also purchase a waxed tub of sauce to take home. Additionally for a time it was available in supermarkets. This week I will be attempting an original recipe to try and recreate this famous sauce. However the main recipe this week will be Nasi Goreng which was a house special at Cahill’s Dutch Village.

Nasi Goreng.

Some people are still surprised to see an Asian dish in a European style restaurant. The connection with regard to the dish Nasi Goreng in a Dutch Restaurant is a reminder that The Indonesian Archipelago was a Dutch colony up until the end of World War Two and today, people of Indonesian decent form the largest migrant population in The Netherlands.

Nasi Goreng was also a house special in the Dutch restaurant where I spent the first year of my cooking apprenticeship in 1971. That restaurant was called ‘Tulips’ and its remains are now a loading dock for The Establishment in George Street, Sydney.

Nasi Goreng – Indonesian fried rice

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups Jasmine rice cooked to make 4 cups cold rice
• 350 g skinless chicken thigh cut into strips or a 10cm dice
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 3 tbsp kecap manis
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion peeled and finely sliced
• 2 tsp chilli paste
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp shrimp paste
• 3 tsp chicken stock powder for seasoning
• 4 fried eggs sunny side up
• 1 small Lebanese cucumber sliced
• 1 firm ripe tomato sliced
• ¼ cup fried shallots
• sliced fresh spring onion

Equipment

• Ideally this dish is best prepared in a wok over a high flame; however one of the compromises that I have had to come to terms with is cooking with electricity, so you can still achieve a good result in a frypan or an electric frypan. Having said that it would be more than OK to use an electric wok if you had one.

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Using clean hands break down any clumps of rice
3. Mix 1 tbsp of the light soy sauce with the chicken and refrigerate until needed
4. Mix the ketcap manis with the remaining light soy sauce
5. In a separate bowl combine the chilli paste, minced garlic, shrimp paste, stock powder with a tbsp of the vegetable oil
6. Heat the remaining oil in your frypan and sauté the chilli mix for 2 minutes
   
7. Lower the heat and add the sliced onion and cook until the onion is transparent – about 4 minutes.
   
8. Raise the heat and add the chicken – stir continually until the chicken is cooked
   
9. Add the rice and mix in well to distribute the chicken and spices
   
10. Finally add the kecap manis and stir in well until the colour is even and the rice is hot
11. Garnish sprinkled with fried shallots and top individual portions with a fried egg
    
12. Serve with sliced tomato and cucumber on the side
    

Notes

Try and cook the rice (as per the instructions on the packet) about one hour before you need it, so it can cool unrefrigerated.

You should be able to purchase the kecap manis, shrimp paste and fried shallots at any good supermarket.

Caramel Sauce (Cahill’s style)

Before the big manufactures started making their version of caramel sauce at a price point there was Cahill’s Caramel Sauce. A thick and decadent mix that was probably responsible for my (and many others) sweet tooth. In their restaurants it was served on ice cream cake; at home you would warm it a little and serve it on ice cream or sneak a spoonful when no one was looking.

The original recipe seems to be lost and while a number of years ago there was an attempted re-launch, it was thinner that the original Cahill’s. There was also discussion on whether fresh cream or evaporated milk was used in the original recipe. I’m thinking that it was probably evaporated milk (we call it ‘Carnation’) which would have been more widely available than fresh cream. I’ll prepare it both ways. My other addition is a tiny pinch of salt because I generally only have unsalted butter in the fridge.

Caramel Sauce (Cahill’s style)

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 125 g unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 ½ tbsp cornflour
• ¼ cup cream or evaporated milk

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. In a saucepan, combine the butter and sugar over a low heat – until butter is melted and sugar dissolved
   
3. Keep stirring until mixture turns into thick syrup. Be careful not to burn the mixture
   
4. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes
5. Combine the golden syrup and warm water and finally the cornflour – mix until smooth – then add to the butter and sugar mixture
   
6. Stir until smooth. Then bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes
   
7. Remove mixture from heat and stir in cream or evaporated milk
   
8. Slight variation: Naturally the flavour will be unlike the ‘burnt sugar’ profile that modern restaurants have adopted. Caramelising white sugar was the original way of creating caramel. So, for a third alternative I thought I’d start the above recipe with ¼ cup of caster sugar and ¼ cup water and cook it to a nice golden amber colour before taking it off the heat and stirring in the butter and then the brown sugar, before continuing with the recipe.
   
9. The Verdict: Visually the image shows little differentiation, and they are very similar in taste with perhaps the caramelised sugar version a little darker and slightly closer in taste to how I remember Cahill’s original. Overall Cahill’s had a ‘fudgier’ texture and my versions were good but not as good.
   
10. Best stored, sealed in the fridge

Notes

Front: Caramelised Sugar

Middle:  with Cream

Back:  with Evaporated Milk

Around this time last year Chris and I were in Tasmania – you may recall Newsletter # 19 that featured the curried scallop pie at the famous Salamanca Markets in Hobart. We didn’t achieve everything we wanted to in and around Hobart, having missed out on a tour of the Cascade Brewery but hoped to make up for it in Launceston by going to the James Boag Brewery. We journeyed from Hobart to Launceston by car with a very obliging and knowledgeable driver who was very proud of his State. We had a few diversions on the way to some historic sites and one of the stops was the township of Ross where we had morning tea.

Ross sits on the 42nd Parallel and the town is significant in Tasmania’s history because for a period of nine years, from 1804 to 1812, this was the dividing line between Tasmania’s north and south. During that time it had a total of seven Lieutenant Governors – four in the north based in Launceston and three in the south based in Hobart. During this brief time, according to our driver, a rivalry grew between the north and south that has influenced decision making to this very day. To illustrate this ‘friendly’ rivalry, south of the 42^nd the beer of choice is Cascade, while in the north you had better be seen drinking James Boag. A more recent discussion was the preferred site of the proposed AFL stadium. A long standing agreement with the Tasmanian Government has allowed Hawthorn to play ‘home’ games in Launceston, with that city being described as an AFL fortress, however the new AFL stadium will be built in Hobart. I’ll let you make your own conclusion to the validity of that story.

Anyway, back to the James Boag brewery and our tour. For around $30 each we had a one hour tour of the production facility. It started and finished in the tasting room where we were offered a generous selection of three seven ounce beers which were included in the tour cost. They were beers that they only sold in Tasmania and naturally were delicious.

The brewery is on the banks of the North Esk River and can trace its origins back to 1881 before it officially became James Boag in 1883 and therefore is far younger than its southern rival. It is very close to the Launceston CBD and occupies a whole city block. The James Boag Brewery is no longer associated with the Boag family having been sold a number of years ago and recently it was decided to close the Launceston facility and move production to Victoria, with the fate of the original brewery undecided. This naturally has caused considerable concern amongst locals and from a customer’s point of view, any future beers brewed under the James Boag label will not be using Tasmanian water, which is a pretty important consideration amongst connoisseurs of beer.

Beer as an ingredient in cooking is quite versatile, imparting flavour and colour to a variety of foods including batters, casseroles, baked goods and even pasta and rice dishes. I use a black beer in my Christmas pudding recipe; brown or amber ale in pot roasts and stews and a pale ale in a beer batter.

Perhaps the best known recipe for beef cooked in beer is Beef Carbonnade which comes from Belgium. Today’s recipe is similar in style but less piquant. While a number of our readers have requested ‘simple’, I will always say that there are two steps that I believe are compulsory and they are the browning of the meat and the caramelising of the onion, when required. Achieve this and the flavour profile will be totally different to one where all ingredients are place in your slow cooker at the same time.

Slow Cooked Beef in Beer

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• plain flour and seasoning for dusting the diced beef
• 500 g stewing beef trimmed and diced into 2-3 cm cubes
• 50 ml olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic
• 3 sprigs thyme
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 bay leaf
• 1 cup beef stock
• 375 ml James Boag beer
• 150 g tomatoes peeled, deseeded, cut into a large dice
• 200 g baby onions peeled and kept whole
• 150 g carrots peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
• 150 g turnips peeled and cut into wedges
• 300 g cocktail potatoes

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Turn your slow cooker to maximum
3. Dust the beef in seasoned flour
   
4. Heat the oil in a pan and in batches brown the beef
   
5. In the slow cooker add the stock, beer, garlic, thyme, cinnamon and bay leaf
6. Cover and cook for 2 hours
   
7. Add all the vegetables and cook for a further 1½-2 hours until both the meat and the vegetables are tender
   
8. Adjust the seasoning
9. Ready
   
10. Serve on its own

Another winter warmer recipe that can look a little daunting but believe me, it is an almost foolproof recipe. You can make a half batch but purchase a ham hock closer to 1 kilo in weight. I served it with sliced sourdough bread, but it is also good with buttered toast.

Split Pea and Ham Soup

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 8 litres

Course: Soup

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 500 g pkt green split peas
• 500 g pkt yellow split peas
• water
• 1 - 1.5 kg ham hock
• 6 litres vegetable stock
• 3 bay leaf
• 2 tsp peppercorns
• 50 ml olive oil
• 2 large onions peeled, 5mm dice
• 2 large carrots peeled, 5mm dice
• 2 / 3 celery sticks washed, 5mm dice
• 4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
• 1 large potato peeled, 5mm dice
• salt
• ground white pepper

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. The day before place the split peas in a large bowl and cover with water
   
3. The dried peas will soak up the water
   
4. On the day, in a saucepan place the ham hock, vegetable stock, bay leaf and peppercorns
   
5. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 hours, until the ham starts to fall off the bone
6. Remove the ham hock let it cool slightly
7. Totally remove all the ham meat off the bone. Discard the skin, gristle and bone
   
8. Dice the ham into rough 5mm pieces
9. Strain the stock and keep warm
10. In a separate large saucepan heat the olive oil and gently sweat the onions, carrot, celery and garlic for 10 minutes
    
11. Meanwhile drain the soaked peas and give them another rinse with fresh cold water
    
12. Add the peas to the vegetables, followed by the stock
13. Bring the stock to the boil before adjusting the heat to simmering
14. Simmer for 1/1.5 hours until the peas are tender and start breaking down
15. Add the diced potato
16. Add the ham
17. Cook for a further 20 minutes
18. Adjust consistency if needed with water
19. Adjust seasoning
20. Ready to serve
    

Notes

You can just use one types of dried pea

Additional vegetables that are suitable include parsnip, turnip and Swede

This soup freezes exceptionally well

The depths of an Australian winter in Newcastle can still be pretty mild but being wintertime we still look forward to opening up our recipe books to the comfort food pages. Today’s recipe is based on creamed rice, a dessert (in my opinion) that ranks in the top 10 of winter desserts and invariably I make too much because it is just so good.

We all know creamed rice, rice custard and rice pudding – well this is a combination of both. To add a touch of difference, we caramelise the sugar and finish this dessert with a thin layer of crispy caramel, similar to a crème brulee.

Creamy Caramel Rice Pudding

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 4 serves

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 150 g caster sugar
• 100 ml water
• 300 ml thickened cream
• 180 g medium grain rice
• 750 ml milk
• 250 ml water
• 7 ml vanilla essence
• pinch salt
• 3 eggs
• 50 g extra caster sugar

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Pour 100ml water into a saucepan
3. Carefully add the 100g sugar into the middle of the water. Do not mix
   
4. On your stove top bring the water and sugar to a rapid simmer. Again, do not stir or move the saucepan
   
5. Cook for around 10 minutes, until it starts to turn colour. You can stir it now
   
6. Add the cream
   
7. Bring back to the boil while stirring
   
8. Stir in the milk, 250ml water, rice, vanilla and salt
   
9. Bring back to the boil and turn the heat down to a slow simmer
   
10. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
    
11. Turn off heat and cool slightly
12. Preheat your oven to 150℃
13. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and then strain them
14. Temper the eggs with a few spoonfuls of the hot rice mix before stirring the egg mix back into the creamy rice
    
15. Mix well
16. Portion the rice into oven proof bowls
    
17. Bake the rice in a water bath for 45 minutes
    
18. After 45 minutes remove the bowls and place on a clean, dry, flat oven tray
    
19. Turn the oven to the grill setting
20. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of caster sugar on the top of each bowl and spread evenly
21. Place bake under the grill for 5 minutes to caramelise the sugar
    
22. Ready to serve
    

Notes

Adjust the sweetness to suit

Serve with a berry compote or on its own

The City of Adelaide, along with the City of Hobart, are both regarded as cities that have managed to retain much of the heritage architecture of early British settlement of the 19^th century. The origins of both cities however are vastly different, for Hobart was a penal settlement and Adelaide was settled by free settlers.

The idea of British settlement of the Southern side of the continent was influenced, to a degree by the ongoing interest by successive French Navigators – firstly by Laperouse and secondly Nicholas Baudin. The concern of those early British Colonists, while not unfounded for both countries were not on friendly terms at the time, did highlight the fact that controlling an entire continent would require further British settlements. The French however were more interested in scientific study and both the Baudin and Laperouse names’ feature prominently as geographical place names, both in Australia and overseas. As an aside, when I worked with the French company Accor, the name of the restaurant was ‘Baudin’s’.

Adelaide was initially founded on almost Utopian principles, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution for all. It was thought only having free settlers and no convicts would mean that Adelaide would be free of crime, so much so that the Adelaide of 1837, planned by Colonel William Light did not even have a gaol.

Colonel William Light had been commissioned as the Surveyor-General of South Australia, the previous year in London and after discounting several sites including the mouth of the Murray River and also present-day Glenelg, Light settled on an area of land, further inland, straddling the River Torrens, to site this new settlement which was to be called Adelaide. What came to be referred to as ‘Light’s Vision’ was a city surrounded by extensive parklands in roughly a figure eight shape. An extensive survey around the central grid pattern of both Adelaide and North Adelaide avoided the problems of unplanned development. Today Adelaide is regarded as one of the world’s most liveable cities.

Recently, Chris led a group of 23 other ladies from our community on a four-night stay in Adelaide and the images that Chris sent back reminded me of our stay in Adelaide nearly 50 years ago. While Adelaide has changed a great deal since 1977, the grand mansion that is Ayer’s House is still there.

While there are many notable buildings along North Terrace, Ayers House is an example of a private residence that did not succumb to demolition, for in 1970 the South Australian Premier, Don Dunstan, stepped in when he realised the tourism potential of this magnificent building.

Dating back to 1846, Ayers House’s most famous resident was Sir Henry Ayers who was the South Australian Premier for a record five terms and he lived at the house from 1855 until his death in 1897. You’ll no doubt associate the Ayer’s surname with that big rock in the Northern Territory now known as Uluru. During his tenure many cabinet meetings, parliamentary dinners and grand balls were held there.

In 1977 Chris and I worked at Ayers House for about two months during our trip around Australia. It was amazing how many doors opened when I mentioned that I had worked at the Sydney Hilton’s best restaurant. At the time Ayers House had two restaurants – the fine dining ‘Henry Ayers’ and ‘Paxton’s’ which was more bistro style, and they were the most popular restaurants in Adelaide. A regular diner was Don Dunstan who was still the Premier of South Australia and would be until 1979.

Not to be confused with the word ‘garnish’, the garniture – Grenobloise was a feature on the Henry Ayer’s menu for both luncheon and dinner. As the name suggests, the Grenobloise originated in the City of Grenoble and quickly became a popular way of serving seafood.

For this recipe I used gluten free bread for the croutons and gluten free flour to dust the fish but that is not compulsory. While not traditional, I used Cafe de Paris butter when I prepared my fish, but I will give you instructions for the authentic way. If you have made Cafe de Paris Butter, you will naturally have to moderate the amount of seasoning.

Snapper Fillet Grenobloise

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 3 slices plain white bread cut into cubes
• 1000 ml vegetable oil for frying the croutons
• 50 g plain flour
• salt and pepper
• 600 g skinless snapper fillets 150g each portion
• 50 ml olive oil
• 150 g butter
• lemon segments from one lemon in a large dice
• 20 ml lemon juice
• 40 g baby capers
• 20 g parsley washed and finely chopped

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. In a suitable sized saucepan heat the and test the temperature with a single piece of bread
   
3. If hot enough carefully add all your cubed bread and gently stir with a metal spoon until an even golden brown
   
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and drain the croutons and place on kitchen paper and put on the side
   
5. In a suitable sized frypan heat the olive oil
6. Season the fish fillets with a little salt and pepper
   
7. Lightly dust with plain flour
   
8. Gently place the snapper fillets in the frypan, preferably presentation side down first
   
9. Turn the fillets after about 2 minutes
   
10. Place the filets on a serving dish
    
11. Add the plain butter (or Cafe de Paris butter) to the pan and melt quickly
    
12. Add the lemon pieces, lemon juice and capers
    
13. Stir in the croutons
    
14. Stir in half the parsley
15. Pour over the fish fillets
16. Sprinkle with the rest of the parsley
    
17. Serve with green salad and French fries

Notes

Cool the deep fry oil after use before straining the oil back into its bottle for future use.

If you are preparing just one portion for yourself, you can finish your sauce in the pan without removing the snapper fillet.

Chances are that if you have eaten in an Italian restaurant or have attended an Aussie Barbeque or maybe ordered pizza you would have unknowingly come into contact with today’s subject –compound butter. Yes, the butter in your garlic bread is an example of a compound butter. Another type which I haven’t tried for many years is the sweet, whipped butter that is a standard accompaniment served with McDonald’s pancakes. So, you get it, ‘Compound Butter’ is butter with other ingredients added.

Butter is an interesting product for it can incorporate certain additions when it is creamed, including liquids that will add flavour that can complement the dish. Today’s recipe is Cafe de Paris butter, which is delicious on top of the grilled sirloin steak. Actually, it is perfect on chicken, pork and fish grills as well. My recipe benefits from the addition of raw egg yolk and extra whipping which will improve the appearance of the finished grill as it melts over steak and an even more creamy texture if you speed the process up by placing the cooked meat under the oven grill element.

The origin of Cafe de Paris Butter is from a restaurant of the same name in Geneva, Switzerland. While the concept of adding herbs and flavourings to butter has been around for many years, there seemed to be no confusion with who popularised the name Cafe de Paris butter – that being the cafe’s owner.

I would think that many chefs would have their own similar recipe for this famous butter, which reflects on the secrecy in which the original recipe is held. If you want to try the original, then journey to Geneva where it is still a speciality of that same restaurant.

Cafe de Paris Butter

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Accompliment

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 250 g butter softened
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 small onion peeled finely chopped, gently cooked and chilled
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
• 6 anchovy fillets finely chopped
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1 tbs Dijon mustard
• 1 tbs Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tbs curry powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp tarragon
• 1 tsp thyme leaf
• 2 tsp chopped parsley
• 1 tbs chopped chives
• 1 tbs parmesan cheese
• salt
• cracked pepper

Other ingredients which are optional:

• spring onion, capers, ginger

Method

 

1. Assemble your added ingredients
   
2. Prepare the onions – the term we use here is ‘sweating’
   
3. Place your softened butter in your mixer and whip on medium speed for 5 minutes, occasionally scraping the sides of the mixing bowl down
4. The butter should have a pale fluffy appearance
   
5. Add the rest of the ingredients
   
6. whip for a further 2 minutes, repeating the scraping
   
7. Turn the butter mixture out on to a sheet of greaseproof paper (About 20cm x 30cm)
   
8. Roll the butter up into a 5cm diameter cylinder shape
   
9. Trim the excess paper ends
   
10. Now wrap this butter cylinder shape in plastic wrap
    
11. Refrigerate the butter until hard
12. When chilled cut a 1cm slice to melt on top of your grilled steak
    

Notes

Perfect in the freezer –it’s a sauce in the freezer

Grilled Sirloin Steak with Cafe de Paris Butter

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• I purchased two sirloin steaks about 2cm thickness each, at Coles when they were on special. They required no extra trimming and finished product was very tender.

Method

 

Grilling your steak:

1. Pat the steak dry and season both sides with salt
   
2. Let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes
3. The meat will seem to be sweating
   
4. Pat the meat dry again with kitchen paper
   
5. Pre heat your pan or grill plate
6. Season your steak with cracked pepper if desired
7. Brush your steak with olive oil
   
8. Place on your hot grill
   
9. I grilled my steak for about 90 seconds before turning
   
10. I turned the steak three times for an approximate cooking time total of six minutes
    
11. When you think the steak is done to your liking take out of the pan and rest the steak for 5 minutes
    
12. Place generous slice of the Cafe de Paris on top
    
13. place it under the grill element in your oven till melted
    
14. Serve your steak with French Fries