Bon Appétit! I did French today!

Today I poached my first piece of salmon. Hell, today I poached my first ANYTHING! What an achievement it felt like. Even though I love poached egg, it's quite unbelievable that I've never even tried that simple task before. Well, at least today I ventured new grounds and am now a de-virginised er...poacher! haha.

On the menu today: Poached salmon in Court Bouillon, with Beurre Blanc on the side and boiled organic potato and French beans. Also, for lunch tomorrow, I prepped some honey soy herb chicken wings and grilled them in my oven.

above: assortment of fresh herbs from the market to add natural healthy flavour to my meal.

This recipe was given to me by my dear cousin in Nottingham. He's a fine chef (going by the delicious pictures I've seen on FB) and I'm counting down till the day I get to sample his cuisine! He gave me this lovely easy poached fish recipe, together with several French sauces to go with it.

According to Wikipedia, Court Bouillon is a flavoured liquid for poaching food. Ingredients for my poach salmon was White Wine Vinegar (I bought a bottle from South Melbourne market), an onion finely sliced, some lemon slices, a couple of bay leaves and dill scattered in. Also, a sprinkling of whole peppercorns. His recipe had carrots, but I figured I'd prefer to infuse a herb and lemony flavour instead. Hope I'm not breaking any rules! As Erwin had instructed, I brought the mixture to a boil and then let it bubble gently for 10mins, this allowing the flavour to work its way into the liquids and then added the vinegar.

IMPORTANT SALMON-POACHING TIP: Take the Court Bouillon off heat first before slipping the salmon in gently. The fish will cook in the hot liquid so pop a lid on and trust that it will! I flipped my fillets over after ten mins, and while they were poaching also layered the onion/ lemon/ herbs over them to let the juices trickle in... (mm, at this point it started all smelling very delish!)

While my fish poached, I moved onto my chicken. I had prepared a marinade from dark soy, honey, ginger, garlic and a couple sprigs of assorted herbs (thyme and Bay leaves) and let my wings soak up the flavours for about three hours prior to cooking. I laid the wings out on a baking tray with all the marinade and popped it into the oven preheated at 180degrees. Ten minutes later, I flipped it over and baked for another 180degrees. I then drained all the marinade (which had since turned to a bubbly sauce of a thicker consistency and with natural oil from the chicken's fat) and brushed some over before popping the wings back in for ten more minutes. Again, flipped it one last time after and then poured sauce all over the now-crispy browned wings. Mmmmm! I find cooking chicken at lower temperatures for a longer period results in a fuller flavoured wing that retains its juices and crisps without burning.

All this time, I had boiled about eight organic potatoes bought last week from Gaswork's Farmers Market in Albert Park, and a handful of fresh French beans from the South Melbourne market. No need for extravagant seasonings, just cooked them in brine - water saturated or nearly saturated with a salt.

I also tried my hand at making Beurre Blanc which is basically a 'white butter' sauce. Was not too successful there because I am guilty of not... yes, terrible crime, using butter. Bah! We live and we learn - I'm definitely getting myself a lovely block of unsalted organic butter for my next attempt. Perhaps I shall try my hand at Bechamel next?

Here are the resulting pictures of my finished product. Salmon flakes away perfectly in individual pieces (not brittle and breaking away), with the exterior a light cooked pink, but once you cut in the colour deepens slightly and with a succulent texture. Sauce could be improved in terms of texture (I kept the shallots in so it doesn't seem broken up) and there's no way I could've gone wrong with the beans and spuds. In all, a very satisfying experience and one that I'd like to practice on a more often basis! 8/10 for efforts to myself!

Until my next post! X

Marrying my two faves - beer & pork belly!

From Chinese hot pot, to beer-friendly grub in a converted Fitzroy warehouse. I had plans this evening with some friends to head for Chong Qing Hot Pot - perfect Winter chills-buster but due to last minute re-shuffle of plans, I had to rethink where to go with a friend instead.

We had first come from a warm cuppa of hot chocolate at a "secret" bar on the second floor of the Abbotsford Convent. Cold and shivery, we had no clue where to go this Saturday night - MoVida? Nacional... Mr Wolf? Places which have been recommended, but I haven't had a chance to sample yet since returning to Melbourne. Undecided and not too starved, I decided to head to Brunswick St Fitzroy and have a looksee.

Parked on Brunswick St and followed the trail of happy voices into an old converted warehouse. Little Creatures Dining Hall - it was labelled. Inside, it was warm, darkened and I caught a whiff of delicious beer aroma. A waitress soon came and brought us to a cozy table in the middle of the dining hall, before proceeding to explain how the menu worked.

(above: we sat next to these hollow blocks filled with books on beer brewing!)

(above: simple one page menu attached with a ratty string onto a brown clipboard, very raw and unfinished feeling, i like)

Either: Tasting Morsels to share (about 2 per person would suffice), prices range from $7 - 19 and there was an assortment of cured and pickled goodies, deep-fried, dips. Pizza is good for two people to share, together with other munchies, or if we were hungry we could go solo and head for the Mains. We chose the whole crystal bay garlic prawns, confit pork belly, silverbeet and grain mustard sauce and a spicy meatball, tomato, buffalo mozzarella and oregano pizza. Liquids wise, I had a Rogers ale (smooth, amber ale with caramel notes from the malt and 3.8% alcohol content) and my dining bud had a Pinot Noir. Beers were Little Creatures and White Rabbit, and came in three sizes - small, medium and large. I opted for the medium (330ml i think) so that I had more space for grub and not be over the alcohol limit.

The whole crystal bay garlic prawns arrived first. Served with two grilled toast slices on the side, and a wedge of lemon, the four prawns (complete with head and tails) were simply divine! They sat partially swimming in a shallow pond of olive oil, tossed with what i believe was basil leaves and had just the right amount of salt that didn't overwhelm the prawns or force us to gulp down water. I rate it 7 out of 10, because although very delish, four pieces is definitely not enough for the $18 price tag!

Confit pork belly served up next. Finely sliced 3mm french-style pork belly (good ratio of meat and fat, with a healthy crisp skin on top) sat about a dainty mound of silverbeet cooked in a yellow mustard sauce. Note: must eat pork belly while hot because the meat and fat literally melts in your mouth. Skin cracked beautifully when it was warm, got slightly chewy upon cooling down. I give this a 8.5/10 only because the five slices for $16 finished way too quickly!

The pizza came last. Thin crust (woodfired??) pizza with generous dollops of buffalo mozzarella, crumbles of spicy meat (they weren't in real balls as the menu suggested), quarters of cherry tomatoes and a sprinkling of fresh baby herbs made up the $20 tag on this dish. I'd rate this 7/10 because there wasn't really a kick to the "spice". Then again, with my Peranakan tastebuds I'm probably much more accustomed to the spiciness of chili padi (aka bird's eye chili in Australia) and a kick to me would set many a tongues on fire!

All in all, a good dining experience with a not too expensive price tag. We skipped dessert because we had some chocolate spoons from The Chocolate Masters (38 Beecher St, Preston). A must-go for bigger groups, and those who love sharing platters.

(above: two double-wheelers painted little creatures tm red sat by the front entrance, reminding us patrons of the bike-loving community that frequent the area)

Until the next post! X

Food and cold weather - ahhh, how could I forget what Melbourne promises?

Gotta say, I'm quite loving the research I'm doing at the moment. Armed with a cool glass of milk and my trust H&K slightly cacak notebook (sorry la, but it's lost the plot after the 18mth), I decided to plow my way thru a list of Aussie suppliers taking part in an exciting Melbourne food festival I'm working on later this year.

Designer cupcakes, organic meats, luxury ice-cream, wine, cheese, chocolate...! the list goes on. There were stories of humble beginnings, of local farmers hit badly by the Black Saturday catastrophe, various recipes and food & wine reviews... Wow, I am bowled over by the offerings this country has! Being away for nearly three years and I had almost forgotten the freshness and high quality of tasty food Oz churns out. No wonder the strict custom laws!

Another thing I'd almost forgotten how bitterly chilly it is. Weather has turned to EXTRA chilly too - a high of 11 degrees and a low of seven tomorrow with showers predicted. Locals would laugh at my freezing tootsies, but I should be forgiven! Three months back and we're fully into winter already! So far, so good. Only had a case of blocked ears...Brrrr! I've started wearing my thermals (thanks V!) and thicker leggings. I've also heeded the advice of a wise man who's told me to walk to work for exercise and to warm up. A good dose of fresh morning air is invigorating for the brain, and I daresay walking helps me wake up by the time I get into office! Yes - I do live a mere eight minutes (walking) from work! How convenient is that!

I'm thinking of the many activities to do this week. Seems really busy! I must be consistent and pen down my thoughts and upload pictures too... Somehow, I tend to sit and space out way too much. No more of that, and now off to bed for me where I get to zone out for a good seven hours. Ahhhh, bliss!

Until next post. X

A new challenge every day! (the how to guide to not procrastinating)

I've decided to start blogging again. It's going to be a regular part of my life because it suddenly hit me that I'm 27-bloody-years old which means I'm in my late 20's and I look back and it's like,omfg. Where has my life gone to?

Ok- I'm going to start being focused and get off my ass every night! It's been so routine, wake up go to work come home have dinner bathe wipe some pee play fetch and would you believe it? Midnight already!!

First up this weekend, dustee bustee time! Tomorrow I'm going to a snooza pet bed sale in braeside. Thank god for iPhone and google maps! Who needs a melways to get around anyway? I'll get her another bed or two and then head to South Melbourne pet supply store. I sometimes feel all her chew toys smell a bit like pee. Yikes!!

Today dustee has decides to chew her squeaky toy and brush it up against my face. Totally a facial on a freezing Friday night. Thanks pooch. You sure are my beacon of light at the end of a dark tunnel... Not! Anyway, I'll better get back to her because she demands my attention...

Until my next post...