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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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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


What I knew about her was she was damn good at her baking of cake like delights and that she could do with gluten free food what mozart could do with music. What I didn't know was how determined and driven she was to turn her artistry into an empire and to further develop this empire she has just released her first cookbook, INDULGE.

rowie dillon, gluten free, indulgence, book review


I got the honour of attending Rowie's book launch a couple of month's ago and what a sensational evening it was. It was set in the old renovated but rustic Sydney Dance Company rehearsal studio and it was a book release fitting to this amazing cookbook. I put on about 20kgs eating all the sweet and savoury delights of the night all made from recipes out of Rowie's book INDULGE.

rowie dillon, gluten free, indulgence, book review


Rowie Dillon, ex-ad agency creative, coeliac and cake-baker extraordinaire - a woman on a mission to save the world from tasteless, unattractive food and change gluten-free cooking forever. Her successful business has restored the joy in eating to allergy sufferers, making yummy food accessible to all.

Indulge is the outcome of years of experimenting to achieve the best results, and with 100 delicious recipes that everyone, not just those with gluten intolerance, will enjoy, this gorgeous cookbook will change your perception and experience of gluten-free food. Chapters include breakfast, lunch and dinner, pasta, pizza and pastry, cakes and other desserts, entertaining and children's parties. And with a special section on using gluten-free flours you can reclaim the quiche and soon be serving up once forbidden meals like Lasagna, Sausage Rolls and Bruschetta as well as naughty-tasting treats like Lemon and Ricotta Cheesecake, and Blueberry and Marscapone Tart.

rowie dillon, gluten free, indulgence, book review


Beautifully photographed and designed with recipes for every day and any occasion, Indulge is a revelation in gluten-free cooking, all delivered with Rowie's signature sprinkling of a little glamour and a lot of love. Enjoy!

The book has gone national with Rowie touring like a a John Grisham release. She has appeared on The Circle and The Project and is turning into a household name for cooking - I want to see her as a celebrity guest on the next Masterchef and am confident she will. This book isn't your normal cookbook, it is firstly stunning and packed with recipes to blow your mind. It isn't made just for the celiac but contains gluten free recipes that can be enjoyed by the whole family. It also comes with Rowie's thoughts or stories on what she feels about the recipe, it personalises the experience and makes it way more enjoyable. INDULGE is selling in pretty much every decent bookstore in the country and sits with pride on all their shelves next to Jamie Oliver and all the other world class chef's books. It is priced at about $30- and is the perfect stocking filler or Christmas present. I have a pile of them for presents and these are gifts you will be thanked for - Nannas of the world - do not knit that stupid jumper that will never be worn - buy Rowie's INDULGE!!

rowie dillon, gluten free, indulgence, book review


I have been so flat out with work and travelling up and down the coast that I have only managed to make one thing out of Rowie's book, SWEET AND SPICY COLESLAW. Get a taste of this

YOU WILL NEED:
* 250gms red cabbage finely shredded
* 250gms green cabbage, finely shredded
* 2 carrots, peeled and grated
* 1 white onion, grated

FOR THE DRESSING:
* 60gm whole egg gluten free mayo
* 1 TBSP gluten free Dijon mustard
* 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
* 1 TBSP caster sugar
* 1/2 tsp black pepper
* 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

YOU WILL NEED TO:
1) Combine the vegetables in a large bowl
2) Place the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine
3) Add the dressing to the slaw and toss thoroughly to combine
4) Refrigerate for a few hours so those flavours develop
5) Toss the crap out of it again and serve

AND VOILA - SOME ROWIE GOODNESS FOR YOU TO ENJOY!!

Now get those butts out there and do yourself the favour of buying this book!!

You can suss out more about Rowie and her business right HERE

And because I am so awesome clickety click on the links below to take you right to websites that will allow you to buy Rowie's book online!

CLICKETY CLICK ONE
CLICKETY CLICK TWO

If you want to stalk Rowie (or me) get your butts to Sydney Morning Herald Grower's Market next Saturday 3rd December 2011 at Pyrmont on the grass in front of the Casino - it goes from 7am to 12pm. If she is not there she is still touring but her stall, some of her minions and her books will be there - if she is there, then bonus, you can suck up for an autograph

All the best to Rowie and remember me when you shut down Heston Blumenthal.
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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

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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

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The Divine Sugar Plum

March 5th 2011 22:53
I had never even heard of these things before but have been obsessed with fresh fruit at the moment and the awesome FruitEzy at Chatswood had them for sale in Kilo boxes for $2.99 plus offered them free to try for the first time. I was sold from the first bite and have since gone through 2kgs in the last 4 days - you could say I am definitely getting my fibre .

sugar plum, fresh fruit, plum cake recipe

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The Milkshake

February 14th 2011 10:54
I have been obsessed with milkshakes most of my life but a lot more of late since I gave up smoking - I just love milk - although only skim - and I have a very sweet tooth. My favourite milkshake is actually a lime milkshake - although I admit to cheating and preferring a lime thickshake to a milkshake. I never really make lime milkshakes at home and settle on something more in the middle of a milkshake and a smoothie - mixing some health into the joy. What's your favourite milkshake - got any memories of your fave milkshake moment??

MIlkshake
Photo by Audrey Kitching for a Jetson's Milkshake Party

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Xmas Presents for The Soul and Stomach

December 19th 2010 05:18
My work friend Lynley made these insane presents for the management team - I just loved them so much I asked if I could do a a post on them, she admits they weren't her idea and the original recipe comes from taste.com.au so I think they both deserve credit.

What I love about them is that they have involved some making and thought and you get to do the same while producing them. Then you have something delicious you have kind of made from the gift giver. Plus they look awesome


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I absolutely LOVE BEETROOT, the flavours of it are so yummy and once I start on beetroot I can't stop, it's like the chocolate of the vegetable world. I grew up having sandwiches with processed chicken, cheese and beetroot and I still miss them - although I try to avoid the chicken roll these days

We had the Pyrmont Growers markets on again over the weekend and we had to do it in the most hideous torrential rain I have seen for years, people still braved the elements and came out to buy their fresh food but generally it was much quieter. This gave me a chance to check out the very close stalls next to me as I didn't want to wander too far as the animals we were collecting in 2X2s for our ark might have wandered off


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YUMMY Asparagus is now in Season

October 30th 2010 23:10
The delicious asparagus is now in season in Australia and incredibly cheap, try 88c for a bunch so it's time to make your wee smell and cook some of the delicious stuff.

asparagus, food in season, urine smells

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Kinkawooka Mussels Recipe

October 7th 2010 09:04
I love seafood and I love mussels - I used to make this superb mussel dish every Xmas with sherry and it was much loved until one year I got a really bad sherry and it has never been cooked again it was ruined that bad. Shame that - I need to find the good sherry again and get my mussel mojo back.

Mussel recipe, Kinkawooka, seafood recipe, boston bay

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My 8yr Old Buddy's Recipe for Anzac Biscuits

Finn, my 8yr old neighbor and good friend is not just an exceptional sport's star playing for numerous older teams in various sports and a sensational artist. He is also a very cool cook and last weekend he was my Masterchef and provided me with a MasterClass on how to make Anzac Biscuits. I am pretty sure his cooking is going to turn him into a Fatty Boomba and rule out sport in a few years though He hates me calling him that and recently drew a picture of me so fat it included his sister, my cat, his dog and a variety of other "farting" creatures in my stomach because I had eaten them all


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