Monthly Archives: December 2011

Friday night Chinese at the Dumpling Inn

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Tonight we went to the Dumpling Inn in Macquarie. This is a really good small suburban Chinese restaurant. It is a Peking style cuisine with a good variety. It is one of my favourite local restaurants. I recommend the restaurant to anyone who enjoys Chinese food at reasonable prices.

Tonight we started with some spring rolls and then got stuck into a fried flounder in rock salt, fried squid in rock salt and shredded beef Peking style. This was a great combination. There was quite a bit of salt and sugar in this meal.

The first dish out was the fried flounder. This is the first time we’d tried this. The dish was huge and the fish was held in a basket fashioned from half of the flounder which was also deep friend. This had a great look to it. The chillies were mild but very nice along with the spring onions and pepper.

Fried flounder in rock salt

The next dish out was the fried squid in rock salt. This is an all time favourite.

Fried squid in rock salt

The final dish was the shredded beef Peking style. This has a salty sweetness that is so Moorish.

Shredded beef Peking style

There was no way I wasn’t going to eat the flounder dish. In the end I also bit the head off and enjoyed an eye. It reminded me of my childhood when Mum would cook a whole fish in a wok and we’d fight over the eyes to eat and the cheek flesh. Good times.

Empty flouder dish

Gary eating flounder

It was a big day for food. For lunch we went to Grill’d for the first time at Grill’d Belconnen. I had an Almighty burger. The only thing I would have added is a pineapple ring. Grill’d is a nice chain and serves good food. I would recommend the burgers.

Grill'd Almighty burger

Tonight was the end of the food indulgence. Come Sunday morning I need to be back in the zone of eating to maintain a healthful weight. It’s been an enjoyable week of feasting. I look forward to doing it again next year.

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Is there a word better than awesome for tonight’s dinner?

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Tonight Bron and I had a plan. There was still food in the refrigerator and ideas born during Christmas feasting.

For the main course we had ham and cheese tarts with a pear and walnut salad. On Christmas day we had fig and goat cheese tarts. Bron’s sister Lou gave me some cheese for Christmas including some lovely Spanish goat cheese. There was also another firm cheese which we couldn’t identify which was friable like the goat cheese and just as flavoursome. Instead of figs we used apple to sweeten the saltiness created by the ham and cheese.

On Christmas eve and Christmas day we had a pear and walnut salad with Gorgonzola cheese. The cheese added so my to the flavour.

Goat cheese from Spain

Uncooked tarts

Out of the oven these little beauties were puffed right up, they looked like soufflés.

Cooked tarts right out of the oven

Pear and walnut salad with Gorgonzola cheese

The salad is so good. It’s almost on a par with Caesar salad as my favourite.

Tart and salad plated up

Bron had some egg whites in the refrigerator after needing egg yolks for custard on Christmas day. She made her first ever pavlova. No matter what anyone from across the Tasman sea says, this is an Aussie invention. I love pavlova. I recall many happy times as a kid when Mum would make a pav for a special dinner and then my brothers and I would eat what was left for breakfast the next day.

Pavlova base

Whipped cream

I got to whip the cream. I love whipped cream.

Passionfruit and raspberries on a bed of whipped cream on pavlova

The passionfruit pulp was a little tart which was a nice contrast to the sweetness of the pav.

Plated up pavlova

We added more whipped cream and some strawberry coulis to the plate.

This was a great meal. Thanks @bron

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Leftover duck and leek pie

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On Christmas eve eve (last Friday) we watched a Jamie Oliver Christmas special. He described his leftover turkey and leek pie which looked amazing. For our Christmas we had a roast duck and we thought it would go well as a leftover duck and leek pie. The other twist to the recipe is that instead of rolling chestnuts into the pastry, walnuts were rolled in. It gave the pastry a great flavour and a fantastic texture.

Duck and leek pie

On the plate I found turning the pie upside down better as a vessel to absorb the amazing gravy that coms from preparing the filling.

Duck and leek pie

What I haven’t added are the images of me eating the leftover pie from the pie dish and all the gravy poured into it. Well not all the gravy, but most of it.

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Christmas lunch, awesome food

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After The most awesome Christmas eve dinner Christmas day 2011 will be a day to remember for so many good reasons. The food was outstanding. Breakfast was skipped even though we all know it’s the most important meal of the day. Snacking was avoided despite nice snack food being in abundance. The planning had been long in the making, the day was about lunch and the goodness a Christmas lunch can bring.

The entrée was centred around black figs and goat cheese. These were made from scratch and were perfectly cooked. The sweetness of the fig was nicely balanced with the cheese’s saltiness. It was a perfect start for a large meal.

Fig and goat cheese tart

The main course was centred around a roast duck. The duck was prepared with a nice cherry stuffing and the hope was for the abundant duck fat to provide flavour and crunch to crispy roast potatoes and parsnips.

A roast duck is a slippery “critter” on a non-stick surface and trying to turn it to rest in the oven in three positions was a loving challenge. I. Love. Duck!!!

Roasted duck and vegetables

Roasted duck and vegetables

As you can see the cherry stuffing wanted to emerge early. It tasted so good.

Plated up we had duck, ham, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, snow peas, broccoli and asparagus spears.

Christmas lunch

Some twitter friends have commented that I don’t eat enough greens and that avocado is not a green. Well here’s some proof that there are green vegetables on my plate. You may also notice I was honoured with the choicest pieces of the duck. I was able to enjoy the neck, tail and thigh. I love the dark meat and the oily fatty goodness in the loose skin of the neck and tail. These pieces are so full of flavour.

Some readers may be grossed out but it’s worth presenting the finished plate for the reason of some anatomy. Notice I did not eat the trachea. It is a little too cartilaginous for my liking.

Duck bones and trachea

No Christmas meal is complete without dessert and to be fair we had to wait a while while our stomachs digested the main course. I’ve always maintained the œsophagus should be known as the dessert stomach because with some training you can hold down a full dessert despite a full stomach.

The dessert was a traditional Christmas pudding with homemade custard (made lovingly from scratch) and ice cream). It was delicious.

Christmas pudding

After some DVD watching it was time for dinner. After such a substantial lunch I only wanted something light. A salad. A pear and walnut salad with Gorgonzola cheese fitted the bill.

Pear and walnut salad

The only thing I could fit in afterwards was a mango.

Mango

The day was made more amazing because of the fabulous company and general happiness shared by one and all. We managed to fit in an afternoon walk and a final DVD viewing of the classic New Zealand scifi horror, viz., Black Sheep.

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Merry Christmas WordPress bloggers

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This year I discovered the joy of WordPress blogging. I feel like I’m in a community of like minded friends. I wish everyone who reads and writes a blog a very Merry Christmas and a happy blogging new year.

Happy holidays everyone 🙂 Happy cooking, photographing and best of all eating!

The most awesome Christmas eve dinner

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Tonight we had Russian King Crab, Queensland King Prawn twisters, and an awesome pear and walnut salad.
The crab and prawns were purchased at Costco today. I’d have to say the King Crab is very close to being as nice as Queensland mud crab. The flesh was so fresh and ozone.
The prawn twisters were made with spring roll wrappers. The salad was a perfect accompaniment.

King Crab

Prawn twisters

 

It tasted so good

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Classic Crème Brûlée

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IamSimplyTia

I’m honestly not going to give an introduction because I don’t know how else to describe how I feel about crème brûlée! Please refer to “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” (my first blog post). If you read it, you’ll note that back then, I expressed my desire to get a cooking (or equivalent) torch so that I can stop using stove lighters, cigarette lighters and my faulty broiler to caramelize the sugar for my brûlées. My prayers were answered. So without further ado, I present my crème brûlée, done the right way! It shouldn’t matter that my torch came from the plumbing section of Walmart and is supposed to be used for soldering etc. Since it has the ability to burn my sugar, all that other info is inconsequential to me *grins*

Recipe modified from Food Jimoto

Ingredients:
2 cups of heavy cream *
1/3 cup sugar

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My new work area

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I recently agreed to move work areas to make more space for work mates in an area of the branch. The new work area has worked out really well. As part of the plan I have promised to stop storing papers just for the sake of it and become ruthless at not holding on to things.

So far it’s working well. One of my walls used to be a pin board so I thought I would make it a feature wall.

My new feature wall. Queensland and Northern Territory Flags.

You will notice the NT flag is upside down. It’s a distress call. I want to go back and live in Darwin 🙂

I will never hide the fact that through and through I am a proud Queenslander. The greatest state in Australia with the most wonderful people and attitude to life. I also feel that part of me still exists in the Northern Territory. The Top End of Australia has the best weather, the friendliest people and the most comfortable life style. It’s humid and warm and full of muggy goodness. I can’t call myself a Territorian because I don’t fulfil one of three criteria, viz., born there, lived through Tropical Cyclone Tracy or spent 20 years there. I want to call myself a Territorian and a Queenslander. Come state of origin time you will read more about being a Queenslander.

F/A 18 Super Hornet Squadron 322 Tindal

The main photograph is especially dear to me. When I was working in the NT the CO of RAAF Tindal was severely unwell with an infection and the medical officer at the base sought my advice. The CO recovered and he gave me this framed photograph. It always reminds me of the times I’d travel to Katherine and would see the F/A 18 Super Hornets flying low and loud. I love feeling the sound of a jet fighter.

My desk now looks a lot cleaner than it has in the past.

My desk

I’m enjoying my new work area.

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