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!