tutto bene goodness

last saturday, i went to check out tutto bene. i'd read some good reviews, and since i haven't had risotto for a long time (ever), i figured it was worth a try.

to be honest, i don't normally eat italian. i have problems with eating a lot of carbs (i guess that explains my problems gaining weight in the gym), and so, i rarely make it at home.

so really, my recent foray into italian food can be attributed to toto's on lygon, where i had a very nice gnocchi, that changed my entire outlook on italian foods. now, it's gone from a misunderstood cousin, to a loved brother in law.

i'll stop rambling now, shall i?


we ended up making this starter ourselves for two reasons. firstly, we didn't want a heavy meal that was too full on, and secondly, we weren't sure how big the risottos were. we had been told that the servings were tiny and not very filling. we even had the backup plan of rockpool for burgers afterwards if we were still hungry.

from left to right:

Salsicce rosso - Spicy roasted capsicum infused
pork sausage, Baccala fritto - Crispy fried salted cod with fresh
vegetable giardiniera, Olive Ascolane - Traditional Marche region meat filled,
crumbed and fried green olives. the significant other doesn't like olives, so i only got one. i think the olives were a bit of a miss, but the sausage was worth getting. i would order it again in a heartbeat, as it was tender and juicy, and full of flavour.

on to the risottos:
Granchio con pomodoro e peperoncino - Blue swimmer crab with tomato and chilli

Al Presidente - A unique combination of 3 year old parmigiano and balsamic vinegar, produced from a 1912 mother must, created by our chef for the Italian President visiting Australia

Ruchetta selvatica con scaglie di parmigiano, olio e limone - Wild rocket with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, lemon and parmigiano

Coppa di gelati misti- a selection from our artisan produced authentic Italian gelato (in this case mandarin, rum & raisin, and blackcurrant).

so i took these descriptions off the menu.

let's break it down:

the starters were ok, sausage was really good and highly recommended.

the salad (only i ate it), was quite good, the rocket giving a good hit. i've never really had rocket as i think it's a bit wanky, but this was nice and i would think about making this at home. this is what food should be about - good ingredients, served simply. having said that, there was a couple of brown leaves in the salad that should not have been there. also, at times there was just too much lemon juice on the leaves even after tossing them, and it made me grimace (which got a few laughs).

the swimmer crab risotto that my girlfriend had was very rich. it was very good, but oh so filling. she didn't finish it, it was so much.

the al presidente was great, which i expected. it was a little bit too rich, even though i finished it all. i'm a country boy at heart, and have to eat everything on my plate. i had a crack at the swimmer crab risotto afterwards, but it bested even me.

so i guess the rockpool burgers will have to wait until newt time!

honeycomb cheesecake pics

these are all the pics from the honeycomb cheesecake...

i ended up making it for a work party. unfortunately for me, i was kinda hungover, and being destroyed from squash to even make it worse! what can i say, i'm a sucker - we haven't played squash for 2 months, so what do we do? go in for 2 hours for a bash!

luckily for me, it's dead easy, looks ok, and tastes great!

honeycomb cheesecake

This is my sister's tried and true honeycomb cheesecake recipe.

Pics to come this saturday/sunday (i want to make a good one first). anyway, i think my point is that if a total food klutz like i ca make this, then anyone can. and it really does taste great!

Honeycomb cheesecake.

Base:
2/3 pack chocolate ripple biscuits (double pack size)
80 grams butter (melted)

1. crush biscuits
2. melt butter, and stir in with biscuits.
3. press into 20 cm spring form round tin (greased).
4. put in fridge to harden.
   

Filling:

500 g cream cheese (needs to be warmed to room temp)
¾ cup castor sugar
3 teaspoons gelatine (or sachet)
1/3 cup boiling water
Juice of ½ a lemon
300 mls cream (beaten to soft peaks)
3 violet crumble bars/family pack, crushed.

1. beat cream cheese and castor sugar.
2. melt gelatine in boiling water until dissolved. Stir constantly. Cool in fridge or freezer to room temp.
3. stir the following into cream cheese mix: whipped cream, lemon juice, gelatine.
4. mix in violet crumble.
5. remove base from fridge (check to ensure set).
6. pour filling into tin.
7. refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight).
   

Options:

Get 600ml cream, and use remaining 300 to whip and cover cheesecake. Can sprinkle left over violet crumble.

If not using non-stick, put a hot wet tea towel around outside for a few minutes.

nobu, nobme

I've been taking a bit of time to write this, so that i don't come across as hard, disappointed, even disillusioned. You see, i don't think i had the best of times there, and unfortunately, a lot of disgruntled food bloggers had the same experience as i did.

let it be said, the food is amazing. it was the sort of food you dream about for weeks to come. we're talking transcendence, people. the highlights were definitely the first two dishes. but the ambiance, well, what ambiance? if i am going to a restaurant to the caliber of nobu, i expect the experience to not just be about the food, but the place itself.

having said that, i was seated on the lower level of the restaurant. to be honest, i still can't believe how loud it was. we were sitting opposite each other, merely 1 metre away, and still couldn't hear each other talk. we had to basically enjoy the food, and ignore the atmosphere.


first cold dish: yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno and coriander. this dish was amazing, with perfect flavours, and incredibly sweet, firm flesh. yum!
beef tataki – chargrilled fillet dressed with ponzu, minced onion and fried garlic flakes. i think that this was the highlight of the night, the beef melting in your mouth (it sounds so cliched, but you have it, and you'll agree).
new style sashimi - scallops. these were nice, but the ginger was too strong for the delicateness of the scallops.

obligatory black cod with miso. very nice, and it lived up to the expectations.
whole roasted poussin. so much meat, with a lovely smoky flavour. personally, this was too much meat and ended up feeling a little dry. i think with more people this would be recommended; for two, it was a large serving.


this was the waitresses recommendation: tempura baby tiger prawns in tempura. i didn't really rate this dish, as it was "just ok". i think, as a country, we have a relatively high standard for japanese restaurants to live up to.
so overall, the food was great, the atmosphere was blah, the service not so good. i know that there has been a lot of talk lately about waitstaff doing there jobs properly. but when you have to ask 3 separate people if you can get some water, then you have to wonder.

would i go back? the answer, sadly is yes. but next time i would try the sushi bar, as it was secluded enough from the main dining area to allow you to talk!

unfortunately, nobu is a restaurant that we all have to try at least once. trust me, the food is worth it alone, but don't expect much else.

pita bread snacky things

I whipped these up as a snack, and they took maybe 1 minute to prepare (seriously) and then 10 minutes to cook in the oven. These are so simple i'm sure everyone has had a go at them, but for the time and effort they are well worth it (and, if you're like me and have a "crab gut" from traveling in malaysia and singapore, these are superior to potato chips). i always keep a pack of pita in the freezer, specifically for this purpose.


pita chip things
pita bread, lemon juice, some good olive oil, salt, pepper, and whatever herbs you like.

preheat oven (i crank mine to 200, but i like browned, crispy ones).

tear the pita apart on a nonstick tray, ideally rubbed with olive oil to stop them sticking, but this is optional - i'm generally too lazy.

sprinkle over some good olive oil, lemon juice (i use 1/2 a lemon per pita, can use more or less if you want), salt, pepper and whatever you like. i love garlic, coriander, and maybe some chilli or tabasco. i've been known to make 2 batches at once, and have one bunch with a savage whack of tabasco, so it ends up being a surprise, that's for sure!

the thing is that this is always evolving - you can chuck whatever you want or have handy on them. shaved parmesan is good. basically, just play around with it and do what feels right.

this week

ok, so i still have nobu to post about (i was there saturday, thanks to a very special girl), but i might wait for a bit before doing that - i still have to unpack my suitcase!

so here's my list of upcoming events:

finally getting back to the gym this week - i'm aiming for 3 nights, but might stretch it out to 4. this includes all the extras: protein, creatine, etc etc. i have a "crab gut" from malaysia and need to ge trid of it...

movida dos hopefully this week. i haven't seen any reviews of it yet, but i'm still excited to go there!

that's really it for now - work is starting this week in earnest (which is good).

pea and ham soup

This is based on an old recipe that my mother has - she makes it several times a year and each time keeps making small changes to it. as you can see, most of it is fluid; you decide how the adventure ends.

Recipe:

1 Pork hock (add another if want more meat. Cut off skin before cooking; this can be added as well for more flavour, and then removed from pot prior to serving).
1 Cheese kransky.
200g speck (not needed if using 2 pork hocks). Also optional: Smoked spare ribs.
2 ½ cups as a mixture of pearl barley and split peas (green and/or yellow).
1 brown onion, diced.
1 leek, diced, white part only
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 turnip, peeled and chopped.
2 – 3 Potatoes
Several sticks Celery
Chicken stock.
Curry powder.
Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Rinse split peas and barley under cold water.
2. Cook onion and leek in butter, until translucent. Can use garlic butter, or add garlic at this stage.
3. Add 1 teaspoon curry powder.
4. Add stock, split peas, barley, and pork hocks (removing the skin off the hocks first). Bring to the boil. Add whatever veggies you like. Place kransky whole on top.
5. Simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally so the split peas and barley don't stick. If soup is too thick, add a little more water (although, it's not a proper pea and ham soup if the spoon doesn't stand up in it).
6. Remove kransky from pot. Take meat from hock, chop up and put back into soup. Cut kransky into large chunks and chuck back in. Remove the skin from the pot at this point – this is just used for flavour.

and the outcome of an afternoon spent in the kitchen?