Whilst attending a Southern Italian cooking class at Carrick, I was introduced to a mussel recipe of Southern Italian origin by Antonio Ruggerino, chef and owner of Verde Restaurant+Bar.

The recipe is so quick & effortless to prepare, and yet, tasted so nice that it almost beggars belief. Read more »

Imagine, if you will, the following scenario.

It’s a wonderfully moderate Summer’s day with a nice, cool breeze. You make you way out to a park, perhaps to walk the dog. Before you, a large gathering of people (you estimate around fifty) are having what looks to be a picnic. Rugs laid out on the grass, as well as a generous spread various foods, both savory and sweet, which remains otherwise untouched. People sitting or standing around in small clusters socialising & seemingly enjoying each others company. The person whom you presume to be the host, gathers everyone’s attention in order to say a few words. A moment later, forty odd digital cameras, ranging from a basic camera phone, point & shoot compact cameras, through to pro level camera equipment worth thousands of dollars, suddenly appears from seemingly no where & proceeds to fire away. The focus of their photo frenzy is not aimed at the group as a whole. Not even an individual. The food is the epicenter of their attention, & continues to be that way for the next ten minutes or so.

I’d imagine it would be quite a surreal sight to bear for the person walking their dog in the park. Believe me, as one of the fifty odd attendees of the Sydney food blogger’s Christmas picnic in Hyde park, it was surreal even for me. Read more »

Hi all! Welcome to December’s Daring Cooks Challenge. This month’s challenge, hosted by the wonderful Simone from Junglefrog Cooking, is Salmon en Croute or some variation that essentially composes of meat (or vegetables for vegetarians/vegans) wrapped & baked in pastry. The suggested meat alternative to fish was Beef Wellington. However, me being me for those of you that have read a number of my challenge entries, I’m certainly not one to follow convention.

So, if that modestly nice looking pastry parcel is neither Salmon en Croute or Beef Wellington, then what exactly is contained within? The answer I shall provide below in the form of a joke.

Read more »

Ok, I’ll level with you. The little birds nest creation above looks nothing like what this month’s Daring Bakers challenge is meant to look like. This creation was born out of the need to improvise; part inspiration and desperation alike.

This is in fact meant to be a reasonably well known Italian pastry. Can you guess what this month’s challenge is meant to be? Read more »

I heart pizza. In my eyes, even when it’s bad, it’s still alright. I mean, how can you go wrong when crusty bread and warm melted cheese serve as the foundation on which most pizzas, great and small, are built apon.

Though pizzas are quite readily available at many a restaurant, over the phone, the Internet and heck, even in a shopping mall food court or the freezer section of any supermarket if you’re desperate enough, there’s a certain sense of satisfaction to be had when attempting to make pizza at home, especially for the first time. Read more »