In our town, we revel in our Food Capital status. And so we should. At any hour, we can partake of the great multi-culti banquet that built our reputation. We can taste the authentic stuff or sup on elite spins of every folk cuisine from Cambodia to Kabul. But there’s one continent that’s a little [...]
Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category
Nacional
Posted in American, Chefs, Restaurants, Tex Mex, tagged albert park, American, Leena Monson, restaurant on February 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
David Thompson
Posted in Chefs, Cooking, Thai, tagged david thompson, longrain, springvale, thai food on November 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
‘Please, please have him back by 2pm.” Martin Boetz, executive chef at Longrain, sounds exactly like a troubled father. He looks at me like I’m a bikie about to take his wayward 16-year-old out on a date. Not a problem, I assure him. We’ll be back by two. “He has a tendency to wander,” says [...]
Potatoes
Posted in Cooking, Potatoes, Shopping, tagged Potatoes on November 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Of the great passions to which I’ll publicly admit, two are gambling and food. Every Monday night, I combine both. At a shady poker league, I make the rules. One of the unbreakable ones demands that last week’s pot winner provides next week’s snacks. Usually, the blokes just lay down a lazy fifty for some [...]
Chicken Pie
Posted in Chicken, Cooking, Leftovers on October 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Sharing a roast chicken between two people almost always makes for leftovers. And leftover roast chicken makes for an excellent pie. I always make excess gravy for the roast as well, as it makes for a competent pie filling binder. I never muck around with making pastry. The frozen puff pastry sheets, even the home [...]
Sandwiches
Posted in Cooking on September 27, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I’ve just bought a cookbook on eBay that I’ve been hunting down for years. Seven Hundred Sandwiches was compiled by kindred spirit Florence A. Cowles back in 1928. As hard as I try, I cannot conceive the idea of 700 sandwich recipes. This is why I must own the book. At some point Florence must [...]
One of the best things about roasting a big hunk of meat for two people is how cheaply you can eat for the following couple of days. Leftover roast beef makes for good fajitas. Here is what I used: To make the fajitas I used half a red and half a green capsicum along with [...]
Gravy
Posted in Beef, Cooking on August 5, 2009 | 1 Comment »
A good roast depends on good gravy. Beef, chicken, lamb, it doesn’t matter. What matters is gravy that you’ve made from scratch, the best kind. And it’s almost as easy as instant. Gravy depends on fat. Chickens and lamb legs generally have enough for gravy, but when selecting beef be sure to pick a cut [...]
