Cook Book of the Month

Donna Hay

Fresh and Light

It’s always a delight to come home from work and find that Kelly has been ploughing through her cook books looking for something new and delicious.  The other night she had plates laid out on the servery with spicy chicken mince, pickled cucumber and washed lettuce leaves.  The smell was fabulous and I couldn't wait to taste it.  Kelly had decided to make Spicy Chicken Larb with Pickled Cucumber from her new Donna Hay cook book.

Larb originated in Laos and is made with just about any meat or fish, and in Thailand it’s sometimes eaten raw.  I don’t recommend eating raw Larb as several deaths have been recorded and besides, raw pork sounds yuck.

The Donna Hay version is spiced with ginger, garlic, chilli, coriander (cilantro), and lime.  It’s served like a San Choy Bau, where the meat is served in a lettuce leaf cup and the pickled cucumber and fresh chilli are placed on top. 

It’s a fairly simple dish that is quick to prepare and fun to eat.  It’s very messy so have plenty of napkins handy.  The flavours are punchy and the crunch of the lettuce and sourness of the pickle add a fresh dimension to the whole experience.  It’s sweet and sour, salty and spicy, it’s hot and cold and soft and crunchy.  It was so good I think I ate enough for three people, but that’s OK because this is not a heavy dish and I didn't feel guilty about stuffing myself completely.

The book itself has some beautiful photography which is a hallmark of Donna Hay cook books.  All the recipes are quick and fresh and quite easy to prepare.  Donna has designed 180 new recipes for this tome and she covers every meal of the day including desserts, snacks, sides and fast meals. 

I don’t know which of these dishes I want to eat next, so I’ll let Kelly be inspired and decide for herself.  I’m sure that I will love anything that comes out of this book.

If you would like to try this recipe or any of the others in Fresh and Light, I highly recommend you pick up a copy at a good book shop or order one on line.  If you’re sick of stodgy heavy food and want something light and delicious, then this is the book for you.

Of course all the recipes are by Donna Hay.  The photos, which are works of art, are by William Meppem.  Art design by Chi Lam.  The copy editor is Melanie Hansche.  I bet there were a lot of other people involved in producing this book and I believe they all deserve a big pat on the back.  Published by HarperCollins.

Bon Appetite,

Karl   

Hi, I'm Back. Did you miss me?

Hi everyone, to be perfectly honest, I haven't been anywhere.  I'm really sorry I haven't posted in so long but sometimes life pushes us around and demands our attention.  For starters we got flooded again.  Not so bad this time around and Kelly was home to freak out with me not overseas like last time (January 2011).  That time it was just me and the dogs as the water came through the house and we were trapped for a couple of days.  Lucky for the dogs that the roads opened because they were starting to look delicious (only joking).

Anyway we got through it and the carpets are dry and everything is back to normal. (the dogs are fine)  A few months ago we booked a seven day cruise around the Pacific islands on the P&O Pacific Dawn.  So instead of eating out (which is our passion), we have been madly saving up for the cruise which leaves in a couple of weeks.

  

I'm looking forward to having some great articles for our blog because the ship has about six different restaurants and we are definitely going to try out what the Pacific French colonies has to offer.  So keep an eye on our blog for some exciting food stories, and find out how we handle our first ever ocean cruise.

Lets face it, as working class stiffs, it's nearly impossible to afford a nice restaurant every week.  Even every month is a stretch.  I really love writing about restaurants for this blog but I've often felt something was missing.  I think it's because we have so many meals we don't tell you about.  The recipes we experiment with from celebrity cook books and the fantastic home cooking we eat just about every day.  We also watch all the best cooking shows and cooking contests on TV and we have lots of opinions on all of it.  Probably just like you.

So for now on, we're going to try to share a lot more of our culinary life on our blog, not just eating out.  And it would be fabulous to hear what you like and don't like about food and cooking.  We now have a Food Trek Facebook page so you can interact with us more easily.  Have a look and please click LIKE.

Email me.  karl.hoppe@skymesh.com.au Why don't you send me your stories and photos?  I'd love to see them and comment right back about them.  We can post your Food Adventures right here and everyone can share in the fun.  This is getting exciting!!!  Let me know if you mind me posting your stories by the way.  We want to stay friends after all.

So, I'm going to get to work on my next article right now.  Hopefully I'll hear from you soon and you will enjoy our Pacific Food Trek in a few weeks.  Until then, Bon Appetit
Karl & Kelly

Charis Seafood

371 Marine Parade, Labrador QLD 4215

(07) 5527 1100

The Queensland Gold Coast has many great seafood restaurants but there is nothing like Charis Seafood when it comes to freshness.  Charis is the biggest suppler of seafood straight off the trawlers on the coast and can cook to order anything your heart desires on the spot

.

It's busy, it's huge and it smells like the ocean.  Fish mongers are busily working away while cooks do their thing in the large kitchen for all to see. On display is an amazing array of fresh fish, prawns, crabs, marron, octopus, lobster, squid, oysters, scallops, muscles, you name it, it's all here on ice waiting to be sold.

The atmosphere is dynamic like the seafood markets in our capital cities.  The cooked and fresh seafood is oh so delicious and perfectly cooked to order.  This is casual dining at its best.  Come as you are, eat with your fingers, love every minute feasting like a King.  The Broadwater outside is the ideal place to sit and enjoy your meal, with the fresh sea air, sunshine and sand. This is how a Gold Coast picnic should be. The quiet waters offer a beautiful spot for a family swim and the adventure playground is a big hit with the kids.

Every afternoon the Charis fishmongers take the huge amount of fish off cuts down to the water’s edge and feed the dozens of pelicans who know a good thing when they see it.  The commotion made by all of the gulls and pelicans is spectacular and the tourists love it.

Charis is only a couple of kilometers from Harbour Town factory outlets for some great shopping and only 10 minutes from Surfers Paradise.  So, if you are on a holiday to the Gold Coast and you’re looking for the best, freshest seafood at competitive prices with a million dollar view, you just have to visit Charis Seafood. 

Karl

Shalimar Indian & Mughlai Restaurant

2/40 Albion Street, Warwick, Queensland.
07-4661 8000

Just about every town in Australia with over three or four thousand people has a Chinese restaurant, but it's only the lucky ones that get their very own Indian restaurant and take out.  Warwick on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland, with a population of over ten thousand, has had one for a couple of years.  It was just barely OK and frankly over priced and the food was a bit stodgy.

About a year ago, thankfully, it changed hands, and now it's something special everyone in Warwick can rave about. There is a full menu of curries from different regions of India featuring delicious tandoori baked dishes and bread, meat, seafood and vegetarian.  The portions are very generous and the prices are really really good.  I mean three courses with a side for under $30 (on average).  Wow!!

The flavours are amazing, be it a Masala, Vindaloo, Malabari, Madras, Saagwala or Biryani to name but a few.  The staff take the time to fuss over you and if you ask they will explain the wonderful spices that create the magic that is great Indian cuisine.

We loved it and we'll definitely be back (once I burn off a few hundred calories on the old treadmill).  And here is something the people of Warwick need to know about.  The freaking lunchtime specials are only ten bucks.  I'm not kidding, any curry with rice and a cold drink for only ten bucks.  Double WOW!!

I love curries so much, just writing about them is making me really hungry.  So, if you live in or near Warwick, don't cook dinner tonight, treat yourself at Shalimar Indian Restaurant and support a fantastic local business.  And if you live anywhere else in the world, it's time to explore your local Indian cuisine and discover the richness and variety of flavours that are out there waiting for a food trekker like you to come along and enjoy them.
Karl

Fish Depot Toowoomba UPDATE

If you go to my previous review of the Fish Depot Toowoomba you'll see that I said some good things about the place, although I really gave the calamari a bagging.  I couldn't help myself.  My disappointment of discovering the best calamari in town had be defiled and abused was almost too much for me.

Well it's nearly the end of the year and a friend convinced me to give it another try.  And I did.  Twice.  The first time I couldn't believe that the calamari was so good.  It must have been a fluke, so I waited a couple of weeks and purchased another serve for lunch.  This was no fluke.  The good people at Fish Depot had turned the whole calamari business around and were now serving perfectly cooked golden brown delicious portions of calamari.  Thank (insert deity of choice). 

I am so happy.  I have to add that while I waited for my beloved calamari to cook, I checked out the rest of the shop.  The fish on display couldn't look any fresher with beautiful clear eyes and a smile on their faces.  The place smell fresh.  The shop is immaculately clean and the staff are so friendly I wanted to take one home.

I can't take any credit for the calamari turn around, but it does go to show the power of public demand.  I'm not the only person who noticed the calamari crisis and spoke up.

So, just because you are a couple of hours drive from the ocean, it doesn't mean you can't get fantastic seafood in Toowoomba.  The prices are comparable with shops on the coast and so is the quality and service.  The Fish Depot at the Red Edge on James Street Toowoomba is my favourite Darling Downs fish monger, so give it a try and it might become yours too.  Congratulations Fish Depot, you've made a lot of people very happy.  Keep up the good work.

Karl

Sofra Turkish Cuisine Restaurant

164 Margaret Street, Toowoomba, Queensland.

Ph. 07 - 4638 0044

We get a lot of recommendations from friends to review restaurants and it’s always difficult to get to them all.  Recently a friend did a wonderful job of convincing me to book a table at Sofra.  She explained that one of her favourite places on earth to eat was Istanbul Turkey.  She has a family connection with Turkey and has spent a lot of time there enjoying the food.  My friend guaranteed me that the food at Sofra was absolutely authentic and delicious and the décor was something straight out of an Istanbul bazaar.  Well, I was sold.  Sounded like a Food Trek to me.

We arrived early to have a look around before the crowds.

Upstairs tent style dining area. Very cool.

An opportunity came up for us to visit Toowoomba on a Tuesday night so I phoned in our booking thinking that it’ll be nice and quiet on a Tuesday.  Wrong.  By 6.30 pm the place was packed and buzzing with happy foodies.  I asked our waitress if it was this busy every Tuesday and she said it was this busy every night of the week.  And I know why.

It's hard to take pictures when there is a lot of customers.  We usually arrive early to avoid offending people with the flash going off as I snap away with the old Nikon.

The food is absolutely amazing.  It’s one taste sensation after another.  Wood smoked Babaganush (smoked egg plant and garlic dip) with Turkish bread for starters.  Followed by strips of pan fried Haloumi cheese, and then a mixed kebab tasting plate with Adana lamb (char grilled on flat skewers), chicken and beef kebab meat (heavenly spiced) melting in your mouth.  Washing it all down with Turkish sour cherry nectar that was so good I had to have two. 

The main dining area is wonderfully decorated, including woven table cloths.  

The restaurant is spotlessly clean. 

Of course we had to save room for dessert and that meant we had to try everything.  We each ordered a tasting plate of five fantastic Turkish desserts.  A rose flavoured baked rice pudding, smooth semolina helva, a cream filled Turkish pastry (Its name escapes me), the most spectacular Baklava, and of course seductive Turkish delight. Every dessert is a master piece.

The service is exceptionally friendly, the atmosphere fun and exotic, the food was superb, and the prices were breathtakingly realistic.  For all of our food and drinks, the night cost me $88.  How good is that?  Kelly and I will be back soon because there is so much on the menu we want to try. No, we NEED to try.  It’s that good.  If you can get to Toowoomba and you want a fair dinkum great food experience, you have to go to Sofra.  But book first.  This place is so popular you probably won’t get a table if you just walk in.

Karl 

Grossi Florentino

80 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria

Cue the theme music to The God Father.

Chef Guy Grossi’s Florentino Restaurant has such a good reputation in Melbourne and right across the rest of Australia, and well deserving it is too.  The main restaurant is upstairs from the Florentino Grill and Spaghetti Cellar Bar on the ground floor.  The décor in the Grill is classic dark wood and mirrors with lighting that creates a wonderfully warm Italian mood.  Yes I said Italian because on the walls, the old photos of the 1930’s Florentino café and staff in Italy, along with the liveried waiters wearing aprons and the smell of garlic and herbs transports you there.  Mama Mia!  Looking around Florentino Grill, I almost expected to see the cast of Wise Guys or the God Father 1, 2 & 3.  And believe me, there were a few people enjoying the food who looked like they could have auditioned for a part in a mob movie.  (I mean no disrespect.)

 

We ate in the Grill and not up stairs for several reasons.  For a start, the place looks expensive, the Rolls Royce and Mercedes Sports parked in front is a bit intimidating.  Not only that, but it was only lunch time and we didn’t want to blow our budget just yet. 

We felt a bit out of place when we walked in but the staff was really friendly and did every thing they could to make us feel at home.  The table was immaculately set with linen so starched I was scared I might cut myself on the serviette.  No sooner had we sat down when an oil, salt and bread board appeared, along with fresh baked bread sticks.  A big bottle of ice cold Italian mineral water soon followed, and then we were ready to order.  Man that bread and bread sticks dipped in oil and salt, washed down with the sparkling mineral water was so good, I would have been happy with that for lunch, but I think that would have been bad form and might have gotten me rubbed out.

It was a hard choice to make, but we settled on the whole fish and scallops.  It was everything you would expect from such a classy restaurant.  The seafood was perfectly cooked and subtly seasoned.  To tell the truth, I was expecting heavy on the garlic and herbs to push the Italian theme, but the fish was the hero flavour.  The chef displayed total respect for the produce.  And oh boy it was good.  Badda boom badda bing.

The place was a buzz of conversations and the tables all go quiet when their food arrives.  I watched as other patrons slurped up their pasta and cut into their scaloppini with a look of total ecstasy on their faces.  There was laughter and joy in the room.  This is what eating out is about.  Eating great food cooked just right, fellowship of good friends and loved ones, and having fun.  We were having a great time.  That’s what this place does, it makes people happy and it was infectious.  We both had smiles ear to ear.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to meet Chef Guy Grossi this time around, maybe next time.  He has created something special with his Florentino restaurant and we’re looking forward to discovering other amazing dishes and being carried away by the charming atmosphere when we hit Melbourne for another fantastic Food Trek.  What a great experience.
Bon Appetito
Karl

My Favourite Chef

My wife is into cooking.  Not the same way that Julia Child was but she still has a pretty fair love of the art.  She watches many of the popular cooking shows, has a nice collection of cook books, and even collects recipes that she tears out from magazines (from doctors waiting rooms).
She’s not one of those cooks who use a pinch of this and a handful of that.  She’s a lot more scientific about it.  Specific measuring devices are used for every ingredient, thermometers, scales and timers to ensure exact precision.

And to her credit, she has created and re-created many fabulous dishes.  Like most successful house wives these days, she also holds down a job.  Yes, it’s in one of those fancy schmancy kitchen supply stores you see in nice shopping centres around the country.  So, she is also an expert on the latest and greatest pots, pans, appliances and gadgets that will make your cooking life more efficient, delicious and fashionable.

She loves it and I am one lucky son of a gun because of her devotion to food.  But that doesn’t mean I have a live-in chef who caters to my every whim.  On the contrary, she’s only human and the pressures of life get to us all from time to time.  That’s when we hear the immortal words “slack tea” shouted as she staggers in the door from a hard day of peddling Faberge egg timers and diamond coated frying pans.

Slack Tea means every man for himself at dinner time and it’s very rare for us to buy take away food because we would rather spend our money at a good restaurant than at Maca’s or World of pizza.  Slack tea is fine for my son and me as we both enjoy cooking occasionally.  Something elegant and simple like microwave meat pies or baked beans on toast.

Of course there are those days when she isn’t feeling well but still feels the responsibility and need to put something on the dinner plate for us.  Last time this happened she had a cold and felt miserable.  On her way out of the shopping centre after work she stopped at the fresh chicken shop and bought dinner in a bag.  It was a sealed foil bag containing Spanish style chicken and rice.  Just throw it in the oven and in 40 minutes or so voila, gourmet cuisine for the whole family.

She was exhausted and sick but wouldn’t leave the kitchen until the bloody thing was finished.  She tore open the bag and there were some raw chunks of chicken surrounded by savoury rice floating in under-cooked chicken juice.  Oh the devastation.  I shuffled her off before the tears started to flow, to have a nice hot shower and get into her PJ’s and to relax on the lay-z-boy until I came up with something.  Out came the frying pans.  One pan was for the chicken, and one pan for the rice.  I got both sizzling along nicely and then I hit the chicken with a liberal shake of Kentucky fried chicken seasoning, my secret weapon.  It had been sitting in a can in the pantry for months.  I stopped stirring the rice once I thought it was cooked through and just left it there to get a bit of a crust on the bottom.
 
The old fry up never fails and we all enjoyed my rescued fried chicken and rice.  It doesn’t really matter how well I come to the rescue, it’s always a delight when my talented wife puts the apron back on and serves up something fabulous for dinner from her Jamie Oliver cook book, or something from Margaret Fulton, Julie Goodwyn, Gordon Ramsay, George Colombaris, Heston, or any other of her beloved food idols.

When it comes to cooking technique, I think she is a celebrity chef impersonator.  And that’s probably the best compliment any of them can ever get.  Maybe I should send them all the good news and let them know how lucky I am that their recipes are being cooked by Kelly, my very own celebrity chef.
Karl

Dracula's Theatre Restaurant

100 Victoria Street, Melbourne.

Sorry, no photography inside.

 I’ve got to tell you that I had my doubts about a theatre restaurant with a horror theme but I got the surprise of my life.  This was a really excellent night out.  The entertainment was an amazing mix of musical comedy, cabaret, burlesque, rock and roll, rhythm and blues and music hall all rolled into a non stop hand clapping toe tapping sing along good time. 

3 million customers and counting. 

 The theatre is run like a well oiled machine as guests are greeted and led through a house of horrors décor to the bar, complete with glass floor with a body in a coffin under your feet.  You are then invited to ride the in house ghost train.  The atmosphere is Halloween fun with shrieks and screams from party loving patrons.  As we were ushered into the main theatre towards our table by Elvira Queen of Darkness, a rhythm and blues band of vampires blew everyone away from the stage. 

The makeup and costumes is first class, equalled only by the amazing musical talent of the performers.  The vampires teeth are so well done, I started to wonder if they really were vampires treading the boards for their next pint of the red stuff.

Now, let’s talk about the food.  It was ok.  That’s it.  That’s all I can say about it.  It was just ok.  These guys put out three courses to hundreds of people with military precision.  Everyone gets each course within the same couple of minutes, which is pretty impressive.  The desert is a mass produced chocolate coffin filled with cream.  Cute, but ho hum.  The other dishes were fairly pedestrian but at least they arrived hot.

Even the street hawkers outside are entertaining.



This is where you have to think about what constitutes a good time.  Is it great food above atmosphere, or the other way around?  The way I look at our night at Dracula's is this.  We were treated to a world class show of dancing singing and amazing special effects, something that would sit well in Vegas, Broadway or London.  We didn’t go hungry or thirsty, and we totally enjoyed ourselves for about 80 bucks each.  Thats a bargain.

So I can honesty say to all of our wonderful readers that a night out at Dracula’s in Melbourne is worth every cent and a wonderful way to spend an evening.   
Karl (Count Karl the un-dead foodie)

The Smoke. Smokehouse Restaurant.

New Farm, Brisbane, Queensland.

Formally Blue Smoke, this restaurant has been featured on a few TV shows and that’s where I first heard about it.  The idea that an authentic American smoked BBQ rib joint was operating in Brisbane was music to my ears.  The TV informed us about the ex-pat American rib expert who mopped the slow cooked hickory smoked ribs with his secret BBQ sauce while on the grill until they were glazed to perfection.  Drool was running down my chin.

Having enjoyed the pleasures of smokehouses in the USA and being bitterly disappointed in what passes for BBQ ribs here in Australia, it became a priority for us to trek on out to New Farm and give the Blue Smoke a go.  Of course life gets the better of you, as it does sometimes, and it took over a year before we found the time to drive the two and a half hours to rendezvous with the pork of our dreams.

It was a lovely spring Saturday lunch time when we arrived in Brisbane and drove around to find the restaurant.  We couldn’t find it, so we parked close and walked around where we thought it was until finally I asked a security guard if he knew.  He surely did and pointed us in the right direction.  We kept missing it because it’s not only tucked away amongst a bunch of other shops, but it’s changed its name to “The Smoke.” The place had obviously changed hands while I wasn’t looking.



Now this is where my dream of a great big rib eating frenzy started to turn into a sad day for the salivating pork lover.  We stepped inside of what looked like a café and were less than warmly greeted by a waiter asking if we wanted a table.  I wasn’t quick enough to think of something witty to say other than yes please.  We had to wait while they cleared the debris off the nearest table / half booth to be seated. 

The menu had one of my favourite southern style comfort foods, BBQ chicken wings with blue cheese sauce.  And of course we had to have the ribs.  Something wasn’t right about the place.  The best I can figure is that rib joints are all about feeling comfortable, tying on a big old bib and burying your face in unbelievably delicious meat.  This place was stuck up and cold.  They confuse themselves between a second rate rib joint and a fine dining venue.  The extraordinarily high prices and lousy atmosphere, service and decor attest to this.

Ok, so we wait nearly half an hour for our order and when it comes I don’t recognise anything.  The chicken wings weren’t big Buffalo wings but little wing dings with some sauce.  They really weren’t anything to write home about, and the blue cheese sauce was watery and bland.  The ribs looked like dinosaur ribs.  Some thing Fred Flintstone would eat.  If memory serves me right, properly slow cooked BBQ ribs are hard to pick up because the bone slides out of the meat, that’s how tender they are.  I had to take a knife to these things and carve the meat off.  It reminded me of a slab of pork belly with some beef rib bones inserted.  Nothing could be further than the real American rib experience.

Honestly folks, if you want to experience the real deal, save your money up and fly to Decatur county Alabama and visit Big Bobs famous BBQ rib joint, or any one of a thousand genuine smokehouses in the southern states of American.  You’ll be hooked.  You’ll never forget the amazing flavour and you’ll never lower your standards and eat at a dive like The Smoke at New Farm in Brisbane.  Tell your friends.  Like you, they deserve to be warned.
Karl