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Welcome to Sydney Table, my foodie blog. This is where I will review the restaurants I visit and post the recipes I try out. You may also find some random and interesting food articles. I hope you find some culinary delights on here that you like. Eat and cook with your heart people and remember the best meal is the shared meal, with friends or loved ones. And be sure to check out my other websites: www.saltypopcorn.com and http://www.orble.com/total-randomness/ Have a great day!
Firstly a HUGE thanks to my friend Anna who works at Allen and Unwin and sent me a cookbook called "kitchen coquette: THE GO-TO GUIDE FOR THOSE RANDOM LIFE SCENARIOS WHEN FOOD IS THE ONLY ANSWER" - seriously one of the most unique cookbooks I have ever owned. It is basically a scenario cookbook with meals for all of those scenarios. For example - there is a "what the f**k should we cook for dinner?", "movable feasts", cooking for potential in-laws, what to take to outdoor cinemas and abundant other scenarios - it is superb and the food is mouth watering perfection. If you want a brilliant cookbook for yourself or as a present then hunt this one down - it is unique and quirky and totally user friendly.


mac and cheese, wasabi macaroni, pasta recipe


I wanted to cook the last meal of my holidays so hit up the cookbook for a peruse yesterday and came across something that peaked my excitement. WASABI MACARONI AND CHEESE - OMG MOUTHWATERING DELIGHTFUL JOY

mac and cheese, wasabi macaroni, pasta recipe



The author of the book quotes this for the recipe: "Don't deny yourself the cheesy goodness of a Mac and Cheese, you might get hit by a bus tomorrow, which would just prove that the fates have a cruel sense of humour, and that life is far too freaky and obscure to be lost on a diet that doesn't include cheese and pasta." SOLD I AM COOKING IT.

mac and cheese, wasabi macaroni, pasta recipe


My Über skinny little flatmate eats but not really huge servings but last night she ate more than me, moaned in ecstasy and ate enough for three people - I seriously could not stop her. I have found her weakness

Now to make this you can use cheese substitutes if you want but if you want the most sensational tastes then hunt down the best cheeses you can and I thoroughly recommend you find the Panko breadcrumbs from either an Asian store or I found mine in a big Coles - you can find them!! For the cheeses I ended up going to a delicatessen - I ended up with quite a bit left over from the gruyere and pecorino as I could not buy them in such small quantities but that is fine - I will make more of the mac and cheese and freeze it. I also added the broccoli as I needed a green in it so as it now contains broccoli I am claiming the recipe as my own You could substitute the broc for peas and claim that as your own recipe Besides the Broc I followed the recipe to the gram.

mac and cheese, wasabi macaroni, pasta recipe


YOU WILL NEED:
* 195gms (1.25cups) macaroni
* 1 whole head of broccoli TRIMMED into tiny florets
* 1TBSP olive oil
* 375mls (1.5cups) milk (I went skim)
* 60ml (.25cup) cream (I went lite)
* 1TBSP wasabi (available from most supermarkets or Asian grocery stores - and a suggestions - NEVER put a whole teaspoon of it in your mouth - you will seriously hallucinate )
* 20gms butter
* sea salt and freshly ground black peppe
* 150gms (1.5cups) smoked cheddar GRATED fine
* 40gms (.5cup) pecorino cheese GRATED fine
* 25gms (.25cup) gruyere GRATED fine
TOPPING:
* 45gms (.75cup) PANKO bredcrumbs
* 2tsp chilli flakes or Piri Piri

mac and cheese, wasabi macaroni, pasta recipe


YOU WILL NEED TO:
1) Preheat oven to 250degreesC (500degreesF) - yeah bloody hot
2) Grease lightly a 25X25X5cm ovenproof dish or similar sized (doesn't matter too much)
3) Cook the mac as per the instructions and maybe take out 2mins before done - it bakes better. Drain and toss with some olive oil and broccoli and set aside
4) Gently warm the milk, cream, wasabi and butter in a saucepan and bring to a slow simmer, seasoning well with a good pinch of S&P
5) Combine all the cheeses in a bowl, then add half to the milk (still simmering) and butter mixture and stir well
6) Take this off the stove and thoroughly stir this into the pasta
7) Tip pasta into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese, top with the PANKO crumbs and chilli flakes
8) Put in the oven and bake for 15mins until brown and bubbling
9) The baking time is the perfect time to throw in some garlic bread on bottom shelf of the oven
10) Serve them together with a glass of red and maybe a green salad

mac and cheese, wasabi macaroni, pasta recipe


HEAVEN!!! The wasabi warmth will make your year!!
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It was another HUGE and successful Christmas lunch at Dragon's Liar, the parental's property at Bermagui on the South Coast of NSW Australia - oh - I got them a website for their B&B/ Studio styled apartment on the property so (small plug) suss it out HERE (and feel free to tell all your friends about it ).

Christmas ham, christmas lunch, dragon's lair, ham glaze


Christmas has grown into this wonderful thing at Dragon's Lair. Each year we used to alternate and the parentals would come to mine one year and then I would go to theirs the next. But with the intro of the B&B and the larger bookings of the holiday season it became me heading down to theirs more and more. This eventually became the much preferred option as I got to get the hell out of dodge and leave my work behind for a few days to help me rejuvenate.

Christmas ham, christmas lunch, dragon's lair, ham glaze
Our first Xmas Guest of the Day


Then about 3yrs ago we decided to try and have all the local friends who weren't travelling to partake in family activities at our place. It was a massive success. Everyone brings a plate or two of food plus alcohol and we provide something large, plus the best venue you could imagine and a superbly set table (by me of course). Everyone brings presents for each other and my stepdad dresses up as Santa and we have a huge gift session - it's awesome and just like having a massive family for the day!

Christmas ham, christmas lunch, dragon's lair, ham glaze
The StClair/ King Family Tree


This year I scored the ham and had never glazed a ham before so set about searching the internet for a ham recipe that wasn't your standard and wasn't all Amercianised with cherries on top - I wanted something that would be unique and would get some oohs and aahs.

Christmas ham, christmas lunch, dragon's lair, ham glaze
My awesomely set tables - MY DOMAIN - STAY AWAY MUM!!


Roger and Monique started the day with their standard and much anticipated freshly shucked oysters and prawn cocktails and we made a HUGE cheese platter. Then there were three salads, two whole roasted turkeys, a pickled pork (just like Corned Beef but with pork), there were Polish pates, fruit, and three types of cake. It was a such a feast that I had to leave about an hour after dessert and have a lie down as my body could not cope trying to digest 35kgs of just eaten food. I was even having troubles walking I ate so much - but for the lucky people this is the one day of the year we get to observe the sin of gluttony in its entirety.

Christmas ham, christmas lunch, dragon's lair, ham glaze
Some of the feast


So the ham recipe I ended up settling on I found in my mum's old recipe mags was from the December issue of Family Circle from 1997 (yes, she hordes recipes ). It is for a Sticky Glazed Ham with Pineapple and Ginger. I have amended it slightly to improve it in my opinion .

Christmas ham, christmas lunch, dragon's lair, ham glaze
I am full just remembering it


YOU WILL NEED:
* One kick ass huge ham on the bone (recipe was for a 7kg but we had a 9kg one) It looked like the side of a house and even with 18 people for lunch we still never got through half of it. Which is awesome in its own right because we have cryovaced a heap of it for me to take home - SCORE - as we did to a bunch of Turkey - I am set for the month of January Now the recipe I have stuck to a 7kg because this is probably more common - just lessen or leave the glaze amounts for better coverage
* 3TBSPs of honey
* 100gms glaced ginger
* 100gms glaced pineapple
* 1/2 cup of ginger jam (yep the stuff for toast) - I used Ginger and Fig because it was what we had in the cupboard and the fig added a further delicious element
* 1/4 cup of green ginger wine (I had actually bought a bottle of Stone's with me and it's less than $10- from most bottle shops and makes an awesome drink with vodka, soda water and fresh lime)
* juice from 2 oranges

Christmas ham, christmas lunch, dragon's lair, ham glaze
Even More Feast


YOU WILL NEED TO:
1) Preheat oven to 180degrees.
2) Remove the ham rind - OMG - it is like skinning a carcass, creepy - I wanted to make a Hannibal Lector mask with the rind once removed There is an art to removing this stuff but I am no legend at explaining - I just kept sliding my fingers under it and separating it from the meat - it doesn't take that long - I also peeled off any excess fat that was under there.
3) Make light slashes randomly over the remaining fat and ham across the top.
4) Place the ham in a sufficient baking dish.
5) Rub the honey all over the ham. More grossness - imagine massaging an obese person with honey
6) Place glace ginger and pineapple in a bowl with the jam and wine, get those hands in there and combine the hell out of it - you do not want my description of this I actually made this glaze the night before and refrigerated overnight.
7) Pour the glaze and rub it in all over the ham top. Do not worry if some of it falls into the bottom of the baking dish.
8) Pour the orange juice into the bottom of the baking dish.
9) Cook the ham for one hour and spoon over juices EVERY 10mins to get that flavour in there.

TIP. The one tip I have when you are opening and closing oven doors the whole time - so you maintain the heat, turn the oven to full prior to opening the door and lower it once you have your meat back in there and cooking. DO NOT FORGET TO LOWER IT AGAIN. But I have found cranking the heat to full while spooning the juices will maintain the oven's internal temps.

Hope you all had a sensational Xmas and have an even more brilliant New Years.
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No one would imagine the little cute teenyboppers of the 80's HANSON would still be going, albeit all Christian and loaded with kids galore now. But I never in my life would imagine, or even care to drink, their latest venture........into BEER. Seriously MMMBop becomes MMMHop. Those wacky kids!

Hanson are prepping the launch of MMMHop, their own brand of beer. The squeaky-clean pop trio hope to make the brew, an India Pale Ale, available to fans sometime in early 2012.

Hanson, MMMBop, MMMHop, Taylor Hanson


'We of course make records, they are fundamental to what we do, but we wanted to create a brand so that our fans have a greater experience,' Zac Hanson told reporters at Oxford University Union in Oxford, England on Monday, justifying the new project. 'What is vital is that Hanson merchandise is quality and not made solely with the purpose of profit.'

Hanson, MMMBop, MMMHop, Taylor Hanson


'We have a board game and even a record player to play our last record on, but we will never make dolls, lunch boxes or toothbrushes that play our songs for example. It's vital our fans have trust in everything Hanson do,' says Hanson. 'In fact we are soon going to be selling our own beer, I'm not even joking.'

Here is the video that made them famous and also inspired their beer name: MMMBop

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Rowie's INDULGE

November 25th 2011 20:26
There was this lovely lady I met about 10yrs ago when I first started working at the Grower's Markets. She was this tall red head with the most sensational smile that always lit up those damned early mornings. She was always up to lighten the mood and have a chat about life and our passion, food. She made these OMFG gluten free cake like things that were so deliciously sweet that they gave me foodgasms. Anything that was left over at the end of the day, which was mostly nothing as everyone gathered around her stall, she would hand out to the closest stall holders around her, of which we were one. I thank her partly for the extra tyre that has formed around my waist

rowie dillon, gluten free, indulgence, book review

[ Click here to read more ]
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Heart Attack Doughnut Burger

November 12th 2011 22:10
Here is a German bloggers idea of a superb home made doughnut or burger concoction - I would love to try it but fear my heart valves would disagree.

It consists of a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut cut in half to use as your bun then you put on it bacon cream, blueberries, pineapples and strawberries. I will just take the fruit and I am happy. [ Click here to read more ]
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Naughty Nigella

October 31st 2011 19:47
A dear friend of mine played this to me on the weekend and I was crying with laughter. They are a bit rude and are a spoof of Nigella footage that has been re-edited to make you laugh.

nigella lawson, spoof, humorous re-edit, naughty nigella

[ Click here to read more ]
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With the constant rain of this weekend and temperatures definitely not typical of a Sydney, even Manly Grand Final Day, day I thought it was time for a nice belly warming soup to make me feel a bit better. It was also a sensational time to make the soup as, for me, working at the Sydney Good Food Grower's Markets recommenced on Saturday and I spent all my pay buying yummy foods to cook with. I bought herb pots of basil, parsley, lemon thyme and then also some pots of strawberries for the new garden. I also got salted caramel macadamias, cheese and chilli "old school" cheese straw biscuits, a ginger lover's cake and a gourmet 70% couverture chocolate brownie made with belgian heaven (from Australian Bush Christmas Cake Co.), then I bought dumplings to have for dinner that night and we ate this caramelised honeycomb dipped in dark chocolate and finally I bought a giant leek for $3-, it was huge - nearly twice the size of a standard leek. And shhhhh, but next month it is orchids - big ones in a pot for only $25- beats the $70- from the nursery.

Crave, Sydney Food Festival, Potato Leek Soup

[ Click here to read more ]
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Narooma Oyster Festival

May 14th 2011 13:03
Look out Woodstock - the Narooma Oyster Festival is on and it's time to celebrate this mollusc in true South Coast style and throw a weekend festival.

The combination of fresh and tidal water flows means the four million oysters sold each year out of Narooma are of exceptional quality - the inspiration for these three days of feasting and fun


[ Click here to read more ]
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The divine Cadbury Creme egg, the sugary explosion of epic proportions that stole my heart years ago and is everywhere at the moment for Easter but has also been so successful the egg is now year round has been elevated to a culinary delight for the world to enjoy.

cadbury creme egg, recipes, cadbury, creme eggs

[ Click here to read more ]
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What do you eat for work lunch?

April 11th 2011 00:51
I have been trying to write this article for months and it has been nagging at me constantly. It kind of all came to a head the other day after my article on McDonald's ripping me off on my french fries and then Amy (other Sydney Table writer) commenting in disbelief that myself being a food critic would ever walk into Mikey D's.

Lunchtime meals, work lunch, takeaway food, food courts

[ Click here to read more ]
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I headed into the city last night for a night out for the first time in a long time. It was the birthday of great friend Verity and I only get to see her once every year or so and thought it was high time I made an effort, I know - who would have thought . It was also a chance to catch up with Batty, the social butterfly I also have not seen in months. I was actually excited to go out with a different bunch of people and experience some new venues.

The Argyle, The Glenmore, Sydney Venues, Sydney Pubs

[ Click here to read more ]
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OK I admit - I do like me some Micky D's. It is like a monthly fix kind of thing. I used to live on their breakfast until I started looking like a Big Mac myself and now get a regular fix. I even reviewed the Grand Angus because I thought it was the best burger they had released since the Big Mac - a huge favourite since I was about 8yrs old.

McDonalds, Chips, Fries, Deluxe Range, Complaint

[ Click here to read more ]
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New Mexico Chili Cook Off

March 26th 2011 07:32
If you can read this whole story without laughing, then there's no hope for you. I had tears in my eyes by the end. This is an actual account as relayed to paramedics at a chili cook-off in New Mexico ......

Note: Please take time to read this slowly. If you pay attention to the first two judges, the reaction of the third judge is even better


[ Click here to read more ]
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Soup for Sluts

March 9th 2011 19:27
God there is some amazing food out there. Here is a website ad for you guessed it "Soup for Sluts" - this is posted in whole from their website.

soup for sluts, ramen noodles

[ Click here to read more ]
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