The Hex Part II

I can now proudly claim to be a true Kiwi woman! Last night's pavlova emerged successfully from the Smeg Beast, the Pavlova Hex has been broken and all is good in the kitchen.

The Hex

I do believe that this is the most marvellously mountainous pavlova I have ever seen - look too at its verdant kiwifruit slopes!!

When I was five I had the leading role in our class' production of Sleeping Beauty. I got cursed by the wicked fairy, slept for 100 years with nary a wrinkle to be seen and lived happily ever after in the lap of luxury with Prince Charming.

I hear you wondering what has this in common with me or food for that matter? Well not all that much. I certainly am not escaping the march of time, despite lathering on moisturiser religiously, and Prince Charming is a trout fisherman whose idea of luxury is a sleeping bag AND a pillow in the back of the truck. The sad truth is that I too was cursed as a baby. Some unknown sprite, out of malice or sheer meddlesomeness, cursed me with The Pavlova Hex.

I'm a good cook, I can bake, I can even cook and bake relatively tricksy things, but the elusive Pavlova does not come high and white out of the Smeg Beast. I know the theory behind the Pav. I beat egg whites until they are glossy, satiny, smooth, shiny and a hundred other adjectives. According to each recipe I add the sugar all at once, in thirds, sprinkled in a spoonful at a time. Vinegar, vanilla and cornflour are folded in with all due care and the lightest of hands. The oven is high then turned down, or off, or kept on an even heat for the duration. Still the Pav fools me.

It looks the picture of perfection in the oven, whitely delicate, puffed up with the promise of marshmallowy goodness inside and a crunchy meringue exterior. I think that this might be the one. I let it cool in the oven. And it sinks. Not enough to be an abject disaster, rather just sufficiently to leave a flicker of hope that I am making progress. There is meringue, but it is too thick; there is marshmallow, but it is not inches of pillowy yum.

After a hiatus of almost 9 months, I have decided that it was time to face down my Pavlova demons again. As I type I have a Pavlova in the Smeg Beast. I have used Stephanie David's 'never fail' recipe that my neighbour's 13 year old son whips up regularly. It failed for me last time. This time I have opted for the dunce's heat setting of 2 hours at 120 Celsius. It's looking good. If, in my next post, you see that I write about the virtues of Eton Mess (broken meringue, berries, cream) as a quick and easy dessert, you'll know that I'm still pricking my finger on the Pavlovian spindle...

STOP PRESS: why didn't I find this link earlier?!! It's cream of tartar for the marshmallow and furrows to support the sides....

http://www.taste.com.au/how+to/articles/912/make+perfect+pavlova

It's been a while

Sorry for the dearth of blog-bites cherubs, there has been fooding left, right and centre at Norfolk St over the past few weeks. I suppose I should also confess that the glorious weather Dunedin had last week left me less than inclined to tap away inside on my Mac...

Since my last post it's been all go with Cardrona lamb and slow-cooked quincy pork and extra-manly manfood (pizza and ribs), not to mention aprons galore. My studio looks like a 1934 haberdashery has exploded in it thanks to random assorted pieces of vintage-looking floral cottons everywhere.

Nothing has exploded in the kitchen although I have taken to having no-cook days which are rather relaxing. I have however, developed an unhealthy obsession with Hubbard's Feijoa cereal and would happily eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and indeed have done so on occasion). While I'm sure it is not quite as decadent as eating nothing but braised pork belly and vegetables with beurre blanc, I don't think finishing a whole box of cereal in 2 days is really part of a balanced diet. I now avert my eyes in the cereal aisle...

My manfoodies and I did risotto last Thursday and I must say that it was damn fantastic. I'd forgotten how tasty it is, and at the risk of expulsion from the Potato-Fanciers' Committee, would almost rate it higher than mashed taties as a comfort food. I know, I'm the first to champion a well-squashed Agria with unhealthy (but delicious) amounts of butter and salt, but creamy rice with bacon, asparagus, spinach and Parmesan was pretty fine.

Speaking of things beginning with 'r', I made my first batch of ricotta yesterday. It's so easy! I was inspired by an interview on Radio NZ National's 'Country Life' programme - the things you learn listening to public radio on Saturday mornings! Ate some for morning tea, still warm with passionfruit syrup, mmmm.

Spargel ist lecker!

Spring must officially be here: I bought my first asparagus of 2010 today at Fresh Choice and it wasn't $3.49 for 4 measly stalks. Not in sufficient abundance to stir-fry with abandon, but enough to serve with a divinely decadent beurre blanc and monkfish at tomorrow evening's manfood. I test-drove my recipe the other day and really, half a pound of butter to make 1 cup of sauce, it's so wrong but so very tasty.

One thing that bugs me however, is the fact that NZ is home to the monopolistic dairy beast that is Fonterra and has about umpteen gazillion cows taking over the South Island, all the while roaming free and eating grass (and polluting our rivers), but the 'fresh' butter we find in the chiller often has nasty rancid overtones and discolouration to the outer layer. Based on numerous chef recommendations I have bought DANISH butter to make my beurre blanc tomorrow. I mean, carbon credits be damned and all that, I should be able to buy fabulous, sweet, boutique NZ-made butter here. My next Trade-Me purchase may well be a butter churn; not sure where the cow would live though - it would have to like thistles if it wanted to live off my backyard.

Watching Julie & Julia (again) last night, there was a lot of swooning over butter. While I am happy to cook with butter and certainly use it in my baking and for a few specific things, generally when cooking European-style, I am an olive oil liberal in the free-est (is that a word?) sense of the term. I love the flavour and the texture and the fact that it won't cause an instant coronary if I ingested a cup of it. I suppose this points to a markedly more Mediterranean style of cooking than a traditional French one. It's also great combined with manuka honey in a home made face mask. I know, I'm such a geek.

I'll let you know how the asparagus went in its butter deliciousness, all I need now are strawberries and cherries and I'll know that summer isn't far away - and they don't need any butter whatsoever! Happy eating cherubs xxx

Fried bananas and other important food groups

What a manfoodful few days I've had. In between manfoods and ladyfoods and tonicfoods and wo/manfoods the only thing I've really managed to do is attend a First Holy Communion (which I wouldn't have missed for the world). I did sample a very tasty Croucher's Pale Ale and a wee Weizenbock on Saturday night at Tonic's Bestival of Feer opening, but that was definitely for medicinal purposes. I swear, if I see another Spanish Tortilla before a suitable amount of time has passed I may well scream - in Spanish no less.

That said however, I have had a wonderful time and there have been lots of happy manfoodies with tastebuds excited by delicious Malaysian flavours - it has definitely been SE Asia week with Beef Rendang, Chicken Rice, Satay, and Squid in Lime all on the menu, not to mention Fried Bananas. Mmmm, fried bananas. They constituted dinner for me tonight and I am not ashamed to say that their crisp, fried, sugared goodness induced me to eat one and a half of the four I was saving for Max - after I'd already had an undisclosed (but rather significant) number of my own with ice cream...

The upshot of all this is that Max and I might just be existing on non-cook foods for the next week while Simon's away; I find that cereal makes a filling dinner meal with few dishes and even less preparation, it goes wonderfully with that other dinnertime standby - Marmite on toast - and the beauty of it is that you can have the leftovers for breakfast.

Fear not, I promise to be back to my be-aproned, cookingest best by Thursday's manfood class. Speaking of which, get out The Godfather, buy some Chianti and polish your Vespa as we are doing my Italian grandmother's Spaghetti and Meatballs this Thursday - fantastico. There will be opera - consider yourself warned! Ciao ciao xxx

Spring Fever

Our third Ladyfood was convened yesterday and all present were in accordance with Monday's manfoodies that the flash-cooked squid was a revelation. I found limes at the market (where they grow them in Dunedin I don't know) and the taste was zingy and fresh: as much as I love lemon, fresh lime juice is hard to beat. There was sufficient for use in the cucumber and pineapple salad - summer in a bowl and a great match for the satay. The ladies bravely tried the ground, dry-roasted shrimp sprinkled over the top, but I don't think there were any converts there; I will certainly wait until I bring out the belacan!! Guys will get to try this themselves at Thursday's class along with beef rendang and nasi lemak.

September is shaping up to be full of busyness with this week in particular especially packed: Manfood on Thursday, Ladyfood and Tonicfood on Saturday, First Holy Communion (no not mine) and a Wo/Manfood on Sunday. Methinks I'll be very restrained on Saturday eve - it's not a good look to be the dodgy, hungover aunty amongst a cloud of 7 year olds in veils and white dresses thinking unsinful thoughts and receiving the divine host for the first time. No Weizenbock for me, oh well, maybe just a wee smidgeon...

If you're anything like me (and I think I may just be alone in this one), you'll already be thinking about Christmas. Yes, I know, we haven't even had Labour Weekend yet but those who know me will find festive tunes sneaking into my humming repertoire and will recognise full-flown Xmas fever come December when I am fuelled by nothing but bubbly and I morph into a manic, antipodean version of Nigella and Martha Stewart (minus the billionaire hubby and criminal conviction respectively). Anyway, where this is going is that a Manfood/Ladyfood session is a great idea for a pre-Christmas celebration and manaprons/ladyaprons make good pressies for the foodie in your life. Book now, there are fewer free weekends left than you think.

Thought of the week simmering away: private dining parties. Elaboration later cherubs. Enjoy the sun while it lasts, I'll believe that spring is really here when i get my first fix of asparagus - seasonal food at its absolute best. Catch you all later, I'll be the frazzled looking one with dishpan hands serving out spiced figs and sausage at Tonic on Saturday whilst taking surreptitious slurps of a good beer, in moderation of course.

Hard at work

I have been rather remiss on the blog-front over the last week and a half, I do apologise. I am sitting at my dining room table having just finished a wee bottle of Sierra Nevada Porter in order to test its suitability with Pork Sausage and Spiced Figs. Yes, it is only 3pm and yes, I did indulge in a wee pre-lunch chardonnay - purely in the name of business networking of course. It is terribly hard work being a domestic goddess.

Oh - in case you're interested, the beer/food match wasn't half bad, although next time I'll tone down the sugar in the fig sauce and it'll be matched with a Weizenbock which I think will cut through the sweetness a bit better, and the higher alcohol will hold up to the larger-than-life flavours.

This hard labour I'm putting myself through is in aid of Tonic Bar's BESTIVAL OF FEER. Starting Saturday 18th September they will be showcasing loads of delishimo beers with live music every weekend. I'll be providing some nibbly things every now and then to enliven your tastebuds.

On the Manfood front, we cooked the most divine squid the other Monday. In the pan for a sum total of about 30 seconds it was melt-in-the mouth perfect and simple in the extreme. Just the thing for cocktails - I know you don't want to think about it but those Christmas parties will sneak up on you before you know it. Better book in your team bonding Manfood session now!

Ladies get the chance to enjoy real satay this weekend, along with the aforementioned squid and banana fritters. Manfoodmen are going to be introduced to Nasi Lemak (coconut rice) and the delights of a great Beef Rendang. Catch you all later xxx

Beer for all and all for beer

Bush honey, Christmas cake, kawakawa, pineapple lumps - what, pray tell, do all these disparate things have in common? No, they are not a mystery box of ingredients to confusticate Masterchef wannabes, they are indeed flavours of beer that I managed to delicately swill at Beervana on the weekend.

Those who know my predilection for pineapple lumps will be surprised to learn that I was underwhelmed by that particular porter but I am already thinking of how to incorporate Arrow Brewery's Festive Ale into my normally bubbly-only Christmas drinking regime...and into food items...and into my exercise programme. Mind you the last task is easy because there currently exists no such thing.

My could-drink-it-until-I-fall-over-and-then-could-drink-a-little-more beverage would have to be the Old Mout Feijoa and Apple Cider. I think that this is what God serves in heaven on hot afternoons - gin cocktails in the evenings of course, and champagne with brunch. He has a fridge full of RTDs, Lindauer Fraise and Lion Red for the sinners.

Of course I wasn't just there to drink, a fair amount of eating was done too. KK Malaysian provided great Nasi Lemak albeit with a searing sambal; Boulcott St Bistrot a good rack of lamb; Floriditas the usual scrumptious Smoked Mackerel Hash. The winner of my personal Weekend Foodlympics (the Lisalympics?) however, was Sunday's dinner at the Crazy Horse Steakhouse with the Fitzpatricks. Melt in your mouth steak matched with Palliser Estate pinot and cheesecake with a divine noble riesling, also by Palliser Estate. Great service, elegant surroundings, thoughtful artworks, lovely company.

Manfood is mixing it up this Tuesday with Wo/Manfood. Ladies are welcome along to eat, drink and mingle, and we'll finally be getting to the second class of Slow-Roasted Pork Belly with Sherry Sauce. It's been a while coming!

On that, the Smeg-beast has been diagnosed as being overly sensitive in the door department and has been turning itself off in a fit of pique if the door is opened during cooking. The necessary transplants have been ordered and given that it refuses to go on a public waiting list, it'll be receiving new organs soon at exorbitant cost in the private sector system.

Talk to you all later, and remember to let me know if you have any specific things you'd like to see in a Man/Ladyfood class xxx

How do I love thee Smeg oven?

Not terribly much since it gave up the ghost in the middle of roasting kumara and loin chops in the middle of Saturday's Ladyfood class. It behaved long enough to blind bake and cook the lemon and raspberry tart (uber delicious by the way), but sulked over the kumara and refused point blank to have anything to do with the lamb. Luckily for all concerned the lamb racks were more than happy being cooked on the stovetop - the ladies can confirm that I did not stop humming and disaster was averted.

I decided to try the beast again yesterday and, lo and behold, it once more did the needful concerning the tart but the char sui ribs were sent the same way as the lamb, although the Smeg did condescend to a quick grilling. I'd like to be able to say that it has been diagnosed (concurrent with a huge electrical bill) but all I have to report is that I was too lazy to call the relevant people today and that the sewing of Eva's First Holy Communion dress is well advanced...

All in all however, the random conniptions of the heating elements meant that I have had to postpone the decadence that is slow-cooked pork belly until next week and will have fingers crossed that all will be remedied by tapas evening this Thursday.

By the way, the Cardrona Merino loin chops were every bit as good as the eye fillets and probably a better match for the chermoula. I can also confirm that the new red wine glasses work a treat.

Adios!

More lamb please

Wow! Perfectly succulent lamb accompanied by couscous with olives, roast kumara and other goodies was devoured last night by 8 keen MFM. Huge thanks to Rob for talking about the provenance of the meat; as well as going to see him at the Farmers' Market on Saturdays, I recommend you check out the Cardrona Merino website: www.cardronamerino.com. What a fabulous product and great to see it being served in some of the best restaurants in the country. And really, how could food not taste good when it grows up here? (Pic from the Cardrona Merino website).

To cap off our lamb extravaganza, we indulged in individual sultana and almond steamed puddings with a truly decadent, heart-attack inducing toffee sauce. Containing stiffly beaten egg whites this dessert is a lighter version of the traditional winter stodgy pud - not that I have anything against stodge, a wodge of stodge is one of winter's pleasures! I managed to perform the trick of beating them until they successfully stayed in an upside-down bowl, although there was a wee moment of hesitation and a little extra beating before I took that plunge to a round of applause.

To accompany the lamb, I'd recommend a Chilean wine I found at Meenan's the other day: the variety is Carmeneno and it is apparently a grape that was 'lost' from Europe but is still cultivated in South America. Soft, chocolately, delicious and only $17 a bottle - get thee to Meenan's and try. Sorry but I've forgotten the name of the winery, but think it was Castillo de Something...

Lastly I'd like to thank all the newcomers who tried out manfood for the first time yesterday - it was wonderful to see you all and I do hope to see you again on a Monday or Thursday. Cheers to Kent for enduring a myriad of knifely questions, I certainly love my new Global!!

See you all soon, I'm off to prepare for Ladyfood tomorrow xxxx

Cardrona Lamb

This week is all about merino - no, not the layers we Dunedinites (can't believe I just wrote that as a Wairoa girl!) wear to keep the Scotch mist at bay, rather the deliciousness that is Cardrona merino lamb. The delightful Rob Ottrey (brother of one of the original MFM) will be along for Thursday Manfood and we'll be showcasing lamb fillets marinated in chermoula, grilled and served over kumara and olive couscous. Then on Saturday we'll be doing it all over again with the 2nd ever Ladyfood: ladies have your tastebuds at the ready!

I've been busy making all manner of aprons recently; four went to Mazagran, my favouritest coffee place in the world, and one to Quadrant Gallery for David who now looks like an old-time watchmaker in his pinny. My studio is covered in black denim dust.

All this sewing has meant that I keep putting off preserving my lemons. They are so easy to do but two weeks have passed and still no lemons in any form of preservation. Hopefully they won't go the way of my sourdough starter which I fear has given up the ghost with nary a loaf in sight. At least lemons can be used in gin and tonics: try putting fermented flour in your drink - not for the faint hearted...

Ladyday

First off I'd like to thank all the ladies who helped make the inaugural Ladyfood a great success. Unfortunately my wishes for a sunny winter day Dunedinside were not heeded by the great cook in the sky but that just meant that the bubbly came pre-chilled and that the chilli in the Assam Laksa warmed everyone to their tootsies and back.

It was definitely too cold however, for one lady-like suggestion that aprons are best worn with only stockings, bras and knickers. No names uttered here of course - but we all know who you are love! Suffice to say all lady-parts remained sensibly covered and safe from errant chillies and hot broth splashes.

Re aprons: if any ladies (or manfoodies) want a Ladyfood edition apron let me know. They will be $30 each and you can have a choice of restrained denim (black or blue - as worn by me) or a frou frou cotton delight. If going for the exuberant option, let me know what colour you'd prefer. The denim aprons would be great for Father's Day gifts, and I can always leave off the subtle ruffle for those not seeking that extra frilly frisson when donning the garment.

We'll definitely having another Ladyfood Saturday at the beginning of next month (I'll let you know dates), and if any of your other lady-friends want to organise their own Ladyday, they just have to email me. Still spaces for more men in the regular Monday and Thursday spots too.

TTFN cherubs, off to organise things for this evening's chicken corn soup and black-fried noodles, mmm.

Ladyfood

So looking forward to Ladyfood tomorrow, may yet change the menu slightly, but it will still be delicious. Hopefully it'll be a day like today, sunny and relatively mild, perfect for bubbles.

One thing that is far from perfect has been my experimentation with sourdough bread. My bug seems to be fermenting away nicely, smelling suitably sour and producing bubbles, but the bread that results resolutely fails to rise and would double well as wall putty or doorstop. I'll keep persevering, but with the price of flour going up may lose interest if yummy bread fails to materialise.

Yesterday evening we boiled a chicken and it was great. I was happy to see that none of the MFM felt pressured to prove their masculinity by smothering their meals in our home-made chilli sauce - it tastes great but kicks like a herd (??) of mules. A huddle of mules? A muddle of mules?

Monday's class was a very select group - more like an evening with a private chef, but the two attendee manfoodies were very happy. I have been reassured that next Monday will be more of a group effort!

See you all soon xxx

Thursdays and Fridays and Mondays...

There has been a whole lot of manfooding going on in Norfolk St recently. Monkfish in Tamarind Broth, Chinese BBQ pork, Siu Mai (steamed pork and shrimp dumplings) have all been on the menu. The dumplings were extra tasty although I doubt the range of weird and wonderful shapes created by the MFM will see the inside of a bamboo steamer in a yum char restaurant...

I remain a little surprised at those manfoodies who have lived their lives to date without being exposed to the delights of sago! We did a chilled version mixed with creme fraiche and spooned over guavas, super quick and easy. Just wait until I bring out the tapioca, mmm.

Manfood will be welcoming its first Ladyfood on Saturday afternoon. Ladies will be enjoying Assam Laksa and Black Rice; luckily for us bubbly goes with anything. I'm looking forward to a great afternoon with nary a scone, cupcake or lamington in sight.

I now have Monday and Thursday slots for manfood, more men are always welcome so pester your friends into coming along, they might actually enjoy it. Go on, make a man-date!

Manfoodmaid whanau

I must say that the Manfoodmaid whanau has been very accepting of the whole Manfood phenomenon. Buddhachu normally escapes early to practise being Dunedin's Bruce Lee. He leaves a pristine kitchen with an orderly arrangement of ingredients and nibbles and returns to lots of empty bottles (our recycling people must love us), remains of pork bellies, many and varied dirty dishes and replete MFM.

Minichu loves the MFM coming over, meaning as it does that the level of testosterone rises exponentially as uncles keep arriving. He's got very good at hearing car doors slam and feet ascending the stairs.

They do get a few items tested out on them, and generally accept these offerings with good grace. I will confess to being a little put out after a tasty Saturday-night dinner of organic cumin and leek sausages accompanied by warm salad of steamed purple potatoes, leeks and garlic sauteed in butter, fresh mint and baby peas and having both of them more excited about Buddhachu's curried mince that was on the menu for Sunday eve... Can't win them all.

Little cabbages

We officially love little cabbages at Manfood, especially when they're sauteed with olive oil and Havoc chorizo, and mixed in with thyme-flavoured winter veges. It was all about seasonality at Manfood on Thursday eve - the sausage was seasonal in that Havoc had just put it out that Saturday...

Dessert was full of in-season lemons, fresh cream from seasonal cows and topped off with a Loupiac syrup, the grapes of which would have been picked during the wine-picking season and hence was seasonal as well. We supported the cocoa bean season in Ecuador (or Guinea or wherever they grew) by consuming bitter chocolate and washed that down with the last of the Pedro Ximenez which wasn't in season and therefore had to be drunk.

We also love French Onion soup with Weka lager and fabulous Whitestone Smoked Cheddar cheese on top. I really had to buy the perfect wee dishes for this, thanks Spotlight for the knock-off Le Creuset.

Manfood is growing and I will soon have business cards with which to pick up random men in shops and bars and at the market. Thanks to all my friends who have to put up with me babbling on about food and men and cooking and men and food. You'll all be treated to a slap-up meal at some stage and look out, as you might all be getting Manfood aprons for Christmas... (the aprons are cute though, am sure your dad will love one for Fathers' Day! Only $30 and frills on request).

I have been trialling a few recipes for upcoming Manfood events: prepare your tastebuds manfoodies as there may be some serious chilli ass-kicking going down. There are definitely spaces in both the Thursday and the new Monday group so bully, cheat, coerce any mates to come along.

There is going to be a Ladyfood on Saturday week (August 7) - Malaysian food. If any of you Dunedin ladies are reading this and want to come along, flick me a txt or email.

Au revoir mes amis!

SE Asia comes to St Clair

Hmm, not quite the tropical beaches of Phuket or the curling breaks of Indonesia...

Last Thursday eve was definitely DIY Manfood. Presented with assorted vegetables including mung beans and daikon radish, the MFM valiantly put their origami skills to the test and created fresh spring rolls that passed the taste test and managed tokeep all the fillings inside as well. Fresh flavours were the main stars; you can't beat the zing of mint and coriander and lemon to give your tastebuds a kick.

I do have to admit that I showed rather less prowess dealing with the vegetables as I managed to score myself rather deeply with the new mandolin I unveiled 2 weeks ago. Fingers remain intact however, and I did manage to keep the blood out of the vermicelli...

Prior to doling out rice paper wrappers, we worked out way through the many varied ingredients for the satay marinade; despite the declaration by one MFM that he was quite prepared to eat the beef raw, it was left to sit for an hour or so. The non-gloopy sauce was also deemed a hit, and showed again how a dash of lemon can heighten a myriad of flavours.

I hope you will all have a go at the crumble at least once this week, it's so easy and not at all sinful - all that fruit must count for something!

I thought I'd include here a list of what I would consider the most essential ingredients for basic Chinese/Malaysian/Thai cooking, things every pantry should have; some of the ingredients can be bought fresh and kept in the freezer. We haven't used all of these yet, but will do so over the next while.

General:

peanut oil

long grain rice

rice noodles (flat, vermicelli)

fresh ginger

fresh garlic

spring onions

whole, fresh chillies

lemons

Chinese:

light soy sauce

dark soy sauce

oyster sauce

rice wine

Guilin chilli sauce

char sui sauce

Thai:

fish sauce

lemongrass

kaffir lime leaves

tom yum paste

curry pastes

coconut cream

Malaysian:

kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)

ground coriander

ground cumin

good curry powder

Next week we'll be doing hearty, quick, simple dishes packed with flavour. Break out the fruity ales and some gutsy reds. See you next week!

Viva Espana!

Well, just in time to see Paul the Octopus' latest football prediction come true, we dined out on Spanish inspired fare on Thursday. As a supporter of Deutschland, maybe I should have done grilled baby octopuses as a tapas dish. They do eat a lot of octopus in Spain, mmmm, all those tentacles....

The MFM got individual ramekins and did a great job of their potato and kumara stacks, with varying levels of artistic flair. Once done and in the oven with the pork, the broad beans were shelled in record time. Yes, broad beans - I hear groans all round but once divested of their starchy, grey skins and cooked ever so briefly with shallots and bacon, and dressed with wine vinegar, they are a sweet and tasty treat! The problem is that you start with a LARGE packet of beans and end up with a small bowl of edible items...

The pork crackled up wonderfully and we collectively ignored the large amounts of fat that had collected in the roasting dish. As a special occasion dish this is hard to beat, incredibly easy to do, and well tasty besides. The potato stacks looked very professional and the broad bean/pea combination was a good foil for the richness of the meat and sauce.

I do believe that I have managed to convert a few of the group to sherry as an aperitif as we used the delectably divine Pedro Ximenez sherry in our quince and orange sauce, triple yum. After dinner we managed a few glasses with bitter chocolate and chilli chocolate: I won't write the phrase I use in not-so-polite-company for this combination of liquid and dark deliciousnesses, suffice to say your tastebuds may not recover for a wee while. Hit the vintage shops for collections of cute sherry glasses; Nana would be proud.

Thanks again to the MFM who make it such a great evening. Next week we are venturing to SE Asia and I will be unveiling the MANFOOD official apron - you know you all want one!!!

Happy eating cherubs,

Manfoodmaid

Noodles

I am back from the land over Cook Strait, couldn't write while away as too busy immersing self in culture with a capital K and eating lots and drinking not too much. Managed to score myself a free bottle of Clearview Semillon at the winery, fabulous and would be amazing with this week's coming recipe. I would share but drank it all sorry cherubs.

Prior to that however, there was a noodlefest at Norfolk St on Thursday eve. Congratulations to all MFM noodle chefs who produced great tasting char koey teow. Keep an eye out for sale wok-like pans at the mighty Briscoes, don't worry about the non-stick coating - after a year of stir-frying it'll turn out that there's none left on the pan and you will obviously have ingested it along with your chicken chow mein. I forgot to talk about wok cleaning too; never scrub your wok, just wipe it out and it will start to develop a patina of seasoning and will end up being more or less non-stick.

I hope you've stocked up on lots of garlic and ginger, the real stuff, not pre-processed if you can help it. Keep in a cool, dark, dry place, definitely not in the fridge as it'll go mouldy. If you haven't yet braved the Chinese grocer's it is certainly worth doing so, maybe we can do a field trip... I can always get some on your behalf if you don't think you can make it down there.

It was great to see you all last week and I'll be texting about this week's menu soon; lots of ideas when away.

Happy manfooding,

Manfoodmaid

Anything But Bolognaise

It was a small but select group of MFM at Norfolk St last Thursday for 'Anything But Bolognaise' Italian evening. The house smelt wonderfully bready as I'd made foccacia for nibbles and given that the yeast was rather unresponsive it turned out ok after pouring copious amounts of olive oil over it. Given that the previous week was all about lots of butter and cream, I thought I'd better look after the arteries of my MFM... No heart attacks please cherubs!

With the dulcet tones of my 'Best of Bogan' playlist providing a suitable background, we started with quite possibly the easiest and most scrumptious dessert in the world - cream + raspberries + sugar = pink deliciousness. Whenever I make this I am reminded of the Dr Seuss story 'The Cat in the Hat Comes Back' where he turns the snow pink, it is exactly the colour of the gelato.

After putting the gelato in the freezer away from temptation we started on bruschetta topping complete with much maligned anchovies. I love using anchovies, they have a fantastic depth of flavour and add a great bass note to savoury things. We'll be using them with lamb at some stage too and in warm potato salad and in salade nicoise - be prepared guys!

It's such a shame that the tomatoes we get nowadays are so tasteless, the wee tinned cherry tomatoes (Mutti Italian brand) are a good substitute and I really like those Hungarian peppers from the market, I'll definitely be buying more of those. Bet they'd be great with the Havoc sausages we used in the first sauce as well.

Hope you try the pasta sauces, as long as you have managed to be organised enough and have the ingredients in the fridge they are the ultimate in fast food, minus the chemicals and manufactured flavours of bought sauces. Let me know if you experiment, they are so adaptable. The main thing to remember though is not to crowd the flavours, keep it simple.

I trust you have all gone out and got yourselves a lemon zester, my ultimate favouritest gadget. Lemon is really underrated as a flavour I love using it; not bad with a medicinal gin either... and it keeps scurvy away.

Not sure what'll be happening next week. I'm hoping that we'll get a few new members, so I might re-run this week's lesson - those who were here last Thurs are more than welcome to just come and chat and have a turn cooking if you'd like (of course you wouldn't have to pay for that session - and you might get more gelato). Will text you all later.

I'm writing this from bed and it's lunchtime so I really should get up but, oh well, it is a rainy Sunday and I need to conserve my strength for the football tomorrow morning. Take care, eat well, see you all soon!

Manfood take 1

Contrary to the worries of some Manfoodmen (MFM), Manfood does not have a secret handshake and there will be no voting off based on a poor performance in garlic crushing. Manfood is the time where MFM can think about food and cooking without someone over their shoulder telling them that things should 'be done this way' - except me (the Manfoodmaid) of course!

MFM can confess to their secret love of tofu and delicately flavoured broad bean mash without fear of ridicule; they can feel free to ask questions about all the culinary tips that most women just seem to know and take for granted, eg: why potatoes have to be cooked starting with cold water. Personally, I fancy that many MFM missed out on these tips because they weren't made to help out with dinner like their sisters were - I well remember cooking oodles of potatoes every evening; mind you I didn't have to do the fencing or the lambing beat like my brother and was never very amenable to spraying the blackberry...

Manfood kicked off last Thursday as 5 intrepid MFM to be made the trek to Norfolk St in order to imbibe, consume and converse while hopefully taking in some cooking instructions from the Manfoodmaid. With a good selection of beverages flowing and the talk mainly staying out of the gutter, French-style beef with paprika and fennel, extremely non-diet mashed potatoes and plum clafoutis were served up with intelligent questions asked and hopefully understandable answers given!

I would like to thank all the lovely MFM, I had a fantastic time and am really looking forward to this coming Thursday when quick & easy Italian food is on the menu with nary a plate of spag bol to be seen. Do feel free to bring along another MFM if you'd like, the more the merrier; I reckon the limit for the kitchen is about 8, but extras can always be squeezed in - if you could let me know in advance that would be useful too, but not essential.

Till next week cherubs,

LJW xxx