Cloudy Bay "Define Your Vintage"

I'm priveledged to be asked to design 3 canapes for the Cloudy Bay event "Define Your Vintage".

It was a food and wine matching delight! I had a Cloudy Bay Savignon Blanc, Te Koko and a Pinot Noir to pair up.

"Cloudy Bay Pelorus will be served on arrival. Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Te Koko and Pinot Noir will be matched to three types of tapas and the speaker’s journey by chef Rob Trathen, of Masterchef fame. George FM DJ Nick Dwyer will host each evening".

There are three speakers describing their success and choosing their definative year with a wine.

Dan Gosling from Black Box and Department Store fame chose the 2010 Savignon Blanc. I have matched this with - Seared tuna on a crispy sesame cake topped with wasabi caviar.

Cloudy Bay Estate Director Ian Morden- Te Koko Savignon was matched with a scallop sandwich filled with proscuito and mango and infused lemon creme fraiche.

Musician Nathan Haines- 2005 Pinot Noir I paired with a chinese five spice slow roast pork belly, apple and onion veloute and pinot reduction.

Above are a few shots from the opening night.

FISH SOUP

This fish soup is so delicious and easy to make. Ask your fish monger to give you the fish carcass and make a stock. I also bought a fresh crayfish head which cost only $3! This was the key to this stock.
Also put in a touch of saffron.

METHOD

Fry onion carrot and celery in large sauce pan and sweat. Place in fish bones, crayfish carcass (and any shellfish), then pour over 250ml of white wine and cook out the alcohol. Top up with 2 litres of water and cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Drain liquid and reserve any shell fish and set aside.

Add 4 tablespoons of flour and four tablespoons of butter and cook off on a gentle heat stirring constantly. Add fish stock one cup at a time until you reach desired consistancy. Add 2-3 table spoons of creme fresh. Season.

Finally add reserved shellfish meat, calamari, fish fillets or any seafood you like and poach gently.

Serve with warm bread.

French Apple pie

This apple pie recipe is a classic and very easy to prepare. I made this over the weekend and is great served with icecream or whiped cream. We also finished it off the following day with a cup of tea.

sweet short pastry
1 lb apples (such as granny smith)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup cream
3 tb cognac or calvados brandy if you have it.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375° F / 190 °C.

Step 2: Peel, quarter, cut the apples into slices. Toss them in a bowl with 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon. Arrange them in the pastry shell. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Then let cool.

Step 3: Beat the egg and 1/2 cup of sugar until mixture is pale yellow. Beat in the flour, then the cream, and finally the brandy. Pour in the mixture over the apples.

Step 4: Return to oven for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and return again to oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with cram or ice cream!

Mussel Chowder

Mussel chowder is so easy to make and is one of the cheapest tastiest soups around.
Simply buy fresh mussels from the fish monger steam them with a glass of white wine with the lid on. Onced the shells have opened pull out the beards and chop finely. Then sweat an onion and some garlic -add a diced red pepper, chopped chilli, diced pototo fish stock and simmer till spuds are cooked. Then add the chopped mussels and fresh parsley, corriander, juice of a lime. You can also add coconut milk once it has cooled down. Serve with hot crusty herb bread!

OLIEBOLLEN- DUTCH APPLE DONUTS

I visited the Nelson Markets over the weekend and tried these delicious dutch apple donuts called Oliebollen.
They are a bit like a deep fried muffin in essence. They can't be good for the waistline but thats why they were so tasty!
Oliebllen literally translates as oil balls and are normally eaten on new year's eve and at fun fairs.
They are said to have been first eaten by Germanic tribes in the Netherlands during the Yule, the period between December 26 and January 6. The Germanic goddess Perchta, together with evil spirits, would fly through the mid-winter sky. To appease these spirits, food was offered, much of which contained deep-fried dough. It was said Perchta would try to cut open the bellies of all she came across, but because of the fat in the oliebollen, her sword would slide off the body of whoever ate them.

KISSES

When I was a kid I use to love these soft, spongy and jammy treats! They are called Kisses and appeared frequently with cups of tea at Nana's house!

I got this recipe from The Edmonds cook book. They are so easy to make and take just 8-10 minutes to bake!

Jeruselam Artichokes

It is artichoke season and they have the most amazing unique taste. The taste is like a smokey spud crossed with a parsnip. In fact it is hard to describe because of it's uniqueness. You just have to try them!
I bought my chokes from Oratia market this morning and made this beautiful soup!
Sweat an onion in butter. Add 500gm of artichokes and 250gm of potato (peeled and diced). Add 300 ml of chicken stock and 300ml of milk. 1 garlic clove. 1 tablespoon of thyme leaves. Simmer for 30 mins then whizz. Add 2 tablespoons of fresh parmesan. Pour into bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with warm turkish bread!
Despite its name, the Jerusalem artichoke has no relation to Jerusalem, and it is not a type of artichoke, even though both are members of the daisy family. The origin of the name is uncertain. Italian settlers in the USA called the plant girasole, the Italian word for sunflower because of its resemblence to the garden sunflower. Over time the name girasole may have been changed to Jerusalem. To avoid confusion, some people have recently started to refer to it as sunchoke.