2010 Gourmet Traveller Awards

Today the post man bought me a surprise, the 2010 Gourmet Traveller Australian restaurant guide. I did what I do every year, opened the guide, took a red pen and marked off all the restaurants I've visited. In the space of 2 minutes I went from eating at 17 top 100 restaurants to 14. Bugger! I've just gone backwards! Well I look at it this way, I have even more places on my list to visit, and that cant be a bad thing.

For all the information on the awards winners and a complete list of the top 100 visit the gourmet traveller website. I've also updated the top 100 list on this blog.

And so starts another list to get through, how many top 100's have you tried?

Taxing Dining Room

Dining Date: August 2009

2009 Rating: 87th

2009 Star rating: 1

Chef: Michael Lambie

Location: Level 1, Transport Hotel, Federation Square, Cnr Flinders & Swanston Streets

Melbourne Victoria

Website: www.transporthotel.com.au

Taxi dining room is located at federation square in the heart of the Melbourne CBD. We ventured out to the city on a particularly nice day, the sun was shining, the weather was warm and I was feeling flirty. So I put on a dress and some nice high heels. It seemed life the rest of Melbourne had the exact same idea and everyone was heading for the city. The traffic was a nightmare and we ended up parking a mile away. My feet are still angry with me! We were late, and I HATE being late. We practically sprinted to the restaurant from the car park, at least once we got to the location we could sit down and relax. I was really worried that they would have given our table away. We were having another winter express meal and he session times are pretty strict. Luckily the table was still waiting for us, and there was no need to chow down at lightening speed.

Taxi has a great atmosphere, laid back while still being funky and modern. The views across the river or city, depending on where you sit, are breath taking. I'm in love with the city of Melbourne and can never bore from seeing the tree lined Yarra river, or the towering sky scrapers. I managed to take a couple of shots of the interior of the restaurant before my camera battery decided it had enough, its funny how batteries require regular charging. Thanks to modern technology my pocket camera, which doubles as a mobile phone was all I had to document the meal. Apologies in advance for the crappy photos!

We started with a glass of wine each, Galli estate Pinot Grigio from Heathcote Victoria. The selection of what to have for entree and mains was limited, but I didn't mind. The quality of the overall meal was exceptional so I don't feel like I missed out at all.

We started with Panko crumbed brandade cake with spiced tomato jus. It came with a cold noodle salad on the side and I'm not quite sure what the other thing was. But it tasted delicious! Daz and I decided to share the entree and dessert at the end of the meal. As soon as I took my first bite, wished I had opted for my own main. The cake was so crunchy on the outside and beautifully fluffy within, such a joy to eat.

If the entree was nice, the main was heaven. I love a really good slow cooked piece of meat and the braised beef with mushrooms, bacon, pommes puree and red wine jus was fall apart perfect. We were given a knife that looked like a ice pick. It was so pointy and extremely sharp with menacing serrated edges, I thought it was hilarious as the dish could have been eaten with a spoon.

I loved the crispyness of the bacon. Everything on the place was so soft and juicy it needed something to contrast with so you could fully appreciate the texture. The crunchy bacon was such an awesome surprise when you took a mouth full of the creamy luscious mash. I was so extremely happy after eating this dish I think I had a meat-o-gasm.

We were sitting directly opposite the pass for the dessert section. Literally every minute 4 souffles would be whisked away to hungry customers. Looking at all those beautiful gravity defying souffles I had to have one for myself. We discovered that it was a Grand Marnier souffle with orange caramel and blood orange sorbet. The souffle was piping hot, so fluffy that when you put it n your mouth it disappeared. But the absolute stand out for me was the sorbet. I could have a massive bowl of that sorbet on its own, then ordered another for dessert. It was so tasty, the true flavour of orange was right there on your palette, it filled your mouth and was so tangy and sweet that it made my mouth water while I was eating it! Something that doesn't happen often to me.

After we devoured the entire thing I contemplated licking the plate, no jokes. So I moved the cup that the souffle was baked in and unwittingly discovered Taxi's secret anchoring system. We all know that a lot of restaurants use sauces or puree's to stick down food to the plate, but did you know they use pieces of cake? Underneath the cup was a perfectly circular piece of cake. It was ingenious, no slipping and fits snuggly in place. The thought of eating the cake crossed my mind, but then I thought it probably wasn't intended t be eaten so might give it a miss.

Overall I liked Taxi Dining Room. I thought all the dishes I tried were well executed, some even presented with a little flare. I would definitely go back to sampling some of their dishes other dishes.

Cupcake Fun!

With all the cupcake fun going around the blogging world lately*, I thought I would join in too, I was supposed to bake my very own batch of cupcakes for the RSPCA cupcake day, but worksafe got in the way. I've been trawling the inter-of-the-net and made do with drooling over everyone's fantastic creations. There's even been a new discovery in the tiny cake world, the first ever reported siting of the muffcake! If I cant bake myself, at least I can live vicariously through others in the comfort of my own cushioned seat.

Lately I've noticed something curious, well maybe not recently.....I've only just started documenting it. Every where I look there are cupcakes, and not just the cupcakes of the baked variety, cupcakes in every shape and form. Here are a couple of fun photos I've taken over the last few weeks that are cupcake related. Please excuse the quality of the photo's, they're all taken on my mobile phone.

The first is from Spotlight, all things fabric and home deco. This was a treasure trove for cupcake paraphernalia. There was a kitchen timer in the shape of a cupcake, which I sadly didn't take a photo of and I found various cup cake mugs and dishes

I even found a cupcake place mat!

At Riot they had a gorgeous cupcake stand made entirely out of glitter and Styrofoam. I seriously wanted to bite into one of these! After asking if I could take a photo, one of the sales assistants said it was a great idea to entertain kids with. Buy a whole heap of Styrofoam balls and make cupcakes.....yeah.....thats why I'M taking a photo, tips on how to entertain children. Little did they know I was the massive kid with a cupcake fetish. I got out pretty quick after that.

I saw a cupcake trapped in the Eiffel tower in a gift shop at Chadstone. Wish I had taken a photo, is was so freaking funny. But my favourite of all is left until last. Today I was at Boarders on one of my frequent trips to drool over cookbooks I may want to purchase if I win lotto, or a very sick rich old lady dies and leaves me all her money. Where do you find these?.....off track....anyway I was trying to keep a low profile in the bakery section when I looked up and noticed they were filed away under "diet". Holy mother of goat, the fitness industry has finally come to their senses and made....'the cupcake diet!' I did not touch a thing and at least 4 titles were facing outwards and featured cupcakes on the cover. After taking the photo I delved a little deeper and found more cupcake books on the shelf. Freakin awesome!!

I'll continue to keep an eye out for cupcaky-ness and bring you another instalment soon!

* Some of the most inspiring creations come from the most humble blogs;

Agnes from Off The Spork

Conor from Hold The Beef

Stephcookie from Raspberry Cupcakes

Lilia from My Sweethearts Bakery

Sharon from We Love Baking

Kat from Kats Creations

Lorraine From Not Quite Nigella

Trissalicious from Not Another Food Blog

The guys at Koali Life

Rilsta from My Food Trail

Results - Savoy Cabbage, Pine Nut, Raisin and Pecorino Insalata

I was once a avid hater of raw cabbage, now I'm a convert. And it was all because of this recipe! There are a couple of things that I've learnt during the time that I've had this blog, making macarons is not fun and cabbage can actually taste good when uncooked. I think that is a massive bonus to this recipe too, there is absolutely no cooking required, that is if you don't count toasting bread crumbs in the oven as cooking.

To be honest you dont need any skill to make this recipe either. Its just a whole heap of chopping, slicing and arranging. Most of the effort is required when eating it, another bonus in my book! There's very little clean up too! I only made a half batch of the recipe and it made quite a bit, I had left overs for lunch the next day. The bread crumbs were a little soggy on day two, but the salad cream was delicious soaked into the beard crumbs!

Chop your cabbage

Toast your crumbs

Put it all in a bowl....

Then toss! "Now, you shake it to the left. You shake it to the right. Do the Hippy Shake Shake.. With all of your might!"

On the night that I made it, I didn't really feel like eating meat, which happens from time to time. Daz was pretty annoyed at that, being a red blooded male if there isn't something that either moo-ed, baah-ed or oink-ed on his plate for dinner....he still feels hungry, regardless of how big the meal might be. So I braved the elements (Daz at cranky level 9 is like sitting through a storm!), and dished up the cabbage with a soft centred fried egg on top. He loved it. The only way I can get away with not serving meat is by substituting egg, and with the runny center going all over the cabbage it was like having extra sauce. It was pretty good. I can imaging this salad being pretty tasty at an afternoon bbq, a couple of beers to wash down the cabbage would be extra nice.

Savoy Cabbage, Pine Nut, Raisin and Pecorino Insalata

Restaurant: Buzo Restaurant (NSW)

Recipe from Chefs Todd Garratt and James Hird (Hopefully not the Essendon Bombers James Hird) (appeared on Attica website earlier this year)

2009 Rating: Number 90, 1 Star

I've never been a fan of coleslaw. Coming from an Italian background, all my exposure to cabbage has been of the cooked variety, so exploring raw cabbage is somewhat of a novel experience to me. I had half a head of savoy cabbage in the fridge and I wanted to use it, preferably something different to my usual braised cabbage. So I turned to my trusty friend gourmet traveller.

Savoy cabbage, pine nut, raisin and pecorino insalata

Serves 6

Cooking Time Prep time 15 mins

100 gm Iranian raisins (see note)

125 ml (½ cup) marsala

600 gm (about ½) savoy cabbage, thinly sliced

1-2 tbsp white balsamic or white wine vinegar

100 gm (2/3 cup) pine nuts, toasted

100 gm sourdough breadcrumbs, torn into 5mm pieces and toasted

80 gm pecorino, finely grated

4 cups (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley leaves

Salad cream

4 egg yolks

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

300 ml olive oil

100 ml pouring cream

1. Place raisins in a bowl and pour in marsala to cover, cover and stand overnight.

2. For salad cream, process egg yolks, vinegar and mustard in a food processor until combined, then gradually add oil in a thin, steady stream until emulsified. Transfer to a small bowl, stir through cream and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Refrigerate until needed. Salad cream will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

3. Combine cabbage and vinegar in a bowl, toss to coat and stand for 10 minutes.

4. Drain raisins, discarding marsala, and add to cabbage with pine nuts and half the breadcrumbs, pecorino and parsley. Add salad cream, toss gently to combine and season to taste. Serve immediately scattered with remaining breadcrumbs, pecorino and parsley.

Note Iranian raisins are available from specialty food stores or see www.pariya.com for stockists. If unavailable substitute with seedless raisins.

Esposito

Date: August 2009

2009 Rating: 75th

2009 Star rating: 1

Chef: Maurice Esposito

Location: 162 Elgin Street, Carlton, Victoria

Website: www.espositofood.com

Its been a while since my last top 100 visit, and this month I've managed to visit a few, thanks in part to the Put Victoria on the Table promotion. Earlier this week we moseyed on down to Esposito @ Toofeys. Esposito is renowned for his seafood so I at least knew what I wanted for my main, something fishy.

The decore and atmosphere was actually quite lovely, there was only one problem. Jonquils! I HATE Jonquils, don't get me wrong, I think they are very pretty, but they smell horrid! I would not immediately pair the smell of Jonquils with mouth watering dishes, but on the other hand I really dislike them, the next person to walk through the door may love them. So its hardly something I can complain about.

We started the meal with a complementary appetiser. I love it when the chef takes the time to come up with something that each of his/her diners receives before they start their meal. Its even better when that little something extra tastes awesome! We received a tiny little dish filled with mixed herbs including tarragon, mint, dill, parsley, fennel and spring onion all combined in a mustard dressing. It was delicious, great way to kick things off.

We weren't particularly hungry so stuck to the two course dinner. For entree/main I had the John Dory fillets with kipfler potato and mud crab crush and artichoke tortellone. I enjoyed the dish. The crab/potato crush was by far my favourite, you could really taste the crab in the crush and it went really well with the crispy skin on the dory. The problem? The fish was extremely under seasoned and there was a tomato on my plate in the middle of winter. Enough said.

Daz had the Black Angus fillet steak with mushroom ragout, 50 year old balsamic vinegar and potato puree. The plate was quite pretty. Daz's reaction was that the dish was good, but not great.

For dessert I had the Hot date tart - Spiced frangipane with vanilla bean ice cream. I just couldn't resist the name of this dish and I just had to have the hot date for myself. I was pretty glad I did. There was some slight confusion and my date went to another table, would have been understandable if it had been a blind date. By the time it reached me, the ice cream had melted quite a bit. The pastry was flaky and it definitely lived up to its name, piping hot with the nice thick layer of date. Hmmm yum!

The end of Daz's meal was a bit more cheesy than mine. He had Pyengana cheddar, toasted fruit bread and house of Hines quince paste. I had a little nibble of his cheddar and it was pretty good. Crumbly and sweet, too bad the fruit bread was more like toast.

Esposito was nice, I wish I had a chance to try more of the seafood, so another visit is needed.

Bastille Day Wrap Up - Macarons and Truffles

Yay, after all my procrastination, I am finally up to the last instalment of the Bastille Day epic. And what a good one it is. It involves tears, catastrophic failure....multiple ones, booze, dizzying heights of joy and finally exhaustion, and that's only the macarons! So I think that's probably the best place to start. When I received my June issue of Gourmet Traveller with the gorgeous macarons on the front cover, I knew immediately what I would have for petit fours. So I did what any fellow food blogger would do, I hit the blogs. I wanted to find out what everyone else's experience with the tasty macarons was. Duncan @ syrup and tang has a great resource, and he truly knows what hes talking about, for sheer beauty I turned to Ellie @ Kitchen Wench and her beautiful macarons, a few sound tips from Julia @ Melanger and a good old belly laugh from Rilsta @ My Food Trail and her macaron sunglasses, I'm sure the first in the world!

Many years ago I baked my first macaron, resulting in a massive failure. 2009 was the year to give it another go. So first thing first, trial run for the big day, I chose Duncan's macarons au sucre cuit recipe. I weighed my ingredients, made my batter, piped them out and then put the little ones in the oven and out they came - hard as a rock and looking nothing like french macarons. Little did I know that my scales were registering ZERO grams when in fact I had put in 50! So the next day I purchased a brand new shinny set of digital scales, and boy do I love them, they weigh things correctly....if only my bathroom scales were like my old kitchen scales!

Attempt two saw me under mix my batter, so I ended up with shells that weren't exactly shiny and they distinctly lacked the "feet" I was looking for. So onto attempt 3, this time I mixed them perfectly, they came out of the oven shiny and they even had feet....bonus score! But....and there is a BIG but, my ganache was not so good. I followed the gourmet traveller recipe, which was a big mistake. It turned out a little wet due to the whole pieces of raspberry, so by the following day my macarons had turned into a wet goopy mess. I had taken them into work to show off my new found skills and I ended up almost crying. I popped open the box and saw these.......

I try to pick one up and it turned into this.....

I officially hated macarons at that point. Because I'm a complete nutter, by late afternoon I had already resolved myself to trying one more time, the saying is 4th time lucky right???? This time I got it right! Woo hoo, go team me. I changed the ganache recipe, I made a thick raspberry syrup and added it to the ganache, and I was in macaron heaven! It only took me 4 goes, dozens of eggs and countless hours of my sanity. But it was all worth it in the end!

The second component of my petit fours were cointreau and chocolate truffles, thankfully these were alot easier than the macarons. Here is the recipe.

Cointreau and Chocolate Truffles

INGREDIENTS

250 ml pouring cream

425 gm dark chocolate buttons

50 ml cointreau

For dusting: Dutch-process cocoa

METHOD

1. Break chocolate up into small pieces and place in a bowl. Bring cream to the boil and pour over chocolate. Add alcohol and stir until smooth and glossy, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, but still workable.

2. Using two spoons, make quenelles and then return to refrigerator for 2 hours to set. Dust with cocoa powder and refrigerate overnight.

And so concludes the Bastille Day series, now we can all get back to real life.