BBQ Epiphany!!

I covet flash BBQ's, a brushed stainless steel outdoor kitchen complex. Flames are lit within and the juices start to flow. These shiny temptations are often replete with wok burner, rotisserie, racks, grills and even a sink! Have mercy! The truth is different however, picture this: You're onto your sixth can of evil 'Draught' and have one eye on the idiot box for that evasive scorecard... And wouldn't you know, your $2000 of steel and gadgetry still results in char coaled snags. (It was destined to fail with 'BBQ snags') We have sinned and we have thought impure thoughts of alluring BBQ's exposing stainless steel...



Here is my guide to your path to BBQ enlightenment...

If you love your 'Stainless Steel 6 Burner inc. Wok Burner + Sink and Rotisserie' then set it free! Let go of your attachments and hang ups!!

Try and BBQ without it for one weekend and you will realise that you are capable of magic without the bells and whistles.

BBQ is not about burning stuff and beer swilling! - that's later. It is about strength, timing and focus.

Reaching your 'higher plane' takes planning and will power. Temptation is every where! So never put your marinated chicken drumsticks on the searing hotplate with your pepper steaks - it will end in disappointment. Beg and pray for forgiveness! Hellish poultry stores use bulk marinades from festering buckets in cool rooms. They are loaded with sugar and soy sauce straight from the devil's cauldron, as soon as that sugar hits the hot plate it burns and you are left with black flakes of burnt sauce everywhere. Our 'drumstick' in the oven hallowed by thy name!

Conquer your fear and embark on the last crusade... The Lamb Spit. It takes effort, concentration, faith and around $180. If you can over come the visual shock of that poor bleeting lamb on a 'hurdy gurdy' ride to flavour town you will truly become your brother's keeper!!
Hire a spit at your next funk-tion, invite your best Greek mate around for their 'Orthodox' support that you'll need. Added benefits include: they won't nik your beer, their cooking of a lamb spit is flawless (watch and learn), their in built timer will ring loud with a "Fully sick!"
Revelation - Enjoy!

This is the word of the 'blog'. AMEN!

Giles

Dark Ale at its best...

My Saturday afternoon's in Winter are often spent standing around in large groups cheering and shouting, braving the wind and rain. And consistently questioning the parentage of the "men in white". Win, loose or draw - an afternoon on a hill should be followed by a cleansing ale...

My cleansing ale of choice is the Moo Brew Dark, it is the sort of ale that lingers in the back of your head with its roastiness and toastiness. There's nothing better than standing in front of an open fire discussing the big issues of the day, possesions, marks, and hard ball gets!

The glazed brick fireplace mantle is at just the right height to lean one elbow on and speculate about the potential of your team in September, and an upcoming children's birthday which is becoming more daunting than a dentist appointment. I do not advocate the use of alcohol to solve problems, but life seems a little nicer with a 'fresh as a daisy' Moo dark in your mits.

Ouch! Hot Denim! Hot Denim! Turn - Swap sides - baste. Continue roasting until juices run clear...



Giles

A beef with an Argentine, review.

I think it is common knowledge that the Argentinians know how to cook meat, and kill it for that matter....

When you front up to an Argentinian restaurant your expectations are high, right? Their reputation precedes them and they wear it like a badge. A char grilled badge!

Sosta Argentinian Kitchen by it own decree is "one of Adelaides premier dining locations". It was our destination for a birthday dinner, 13 heads seated snugly at the rear of the ground floor. So close to the kitchen you could see the chefs changing their minds!

I instantly latched onto a wine list when it finally hit the table after several requests - scouring through the list for that middle priced bottle that will suit our coming fare. Perfect! A Glaetzer 'Wallace' Grenache. $48 Sorry Sir - all out!

Next option was a '06 Mitolo 'Jester' Cab. Sauv. $46 Excellent, on inspection of the label it has lost a year but not the dollars that you would assume accumulates with age. Oh well I 'spose...

Let me step back and re paint the scene for you...

When a restaurant opens in Adelaide the word travels fast, and the word was 'good' for Sosta. Riding on the respected coat tails of Gaucho's and little brother Noberto's it might have been a little to late to make any lasting impression. Word did spread, but not in the manner people would associate with critical review... The lack of real food review in Adelaide is so pronounced restaurateur's know that all they require is to entice a select group of AFL footballers or the odd McLeod's D(sl)aughter to a restaurant and the sheep follow.
People talked and I listened and things looked good for our impending arrival.

Those who know me understand that I like to try their meal for the purposes of being a pain in the arse, and to get the full spectrum of a menu.

I was lucky enough to try five main courses and two entree. My entree was a marinated octopus salad with a strange cabbage side. If you did want to write home about it I would have assumed the postage stamp would resemble the Greek Islands. The table ordered some bread with a rich tomato sauce, which did taste better than it looked. The main coarse options were varied, I wanted to see their treatment of a not so standard dish as the steaks were Sosta's bread and butter. Mine was the braised goat with promise of Cognac in the mix, served with the bulk roast veg. bowl on the side. I tried to appreciate it as I had chosen the same as our party host, for fear it might have reflected on their choice of venue for the gathering. I think we both knew it was a bit of a let down. I trusted the chef that it was goat and I trusted the chef that there was cognac in it. But the pool of oil and fat that remained on my plate after I had picked through my 'chop' was testing that trust.

Goat aside, and other mains tested for their single fork end quality I was left to wonder what defines one cut of beef from another? If the texture and flavour is totally dominated by the char grilled blankness that fills your nostrils and hangs on your throat what then is the difference. To the kitchens credit every steak was delivered cooked to our liking, but where do you draw the line on choice of steak if they all taste the same? Am I alone in thinking that a cut of beef should have its own distinct flavour? I have known Fillet to be sweet with a fine texture. Rump, earthy and almost pungent with its interlocked texture. Sirloin, consistent fibers with savoury bread qualities. Goat, goaty and whatever!?
Am I wrong to want all this in a steak? Char grill is great - especially to assist in the swilling of reasonable tasting red. Can a steak have both its own inherent quality and the burning wood flavour many arson's long for. Gee's this is starting to sound like 'Steak in the City'.

Sosta did leave an impression in many aspects, they served a capacity restaurant (maybe 300-350) in the evening with only the female wait staff doing the majority of the work. The meals were consistent and good value with respect to our bill. It was OK. All of this criticism may have been avoided if they had just turned the crap music down - don't make the hulk angry!!! AHHH!!

Tell me I'm wrong.... make a comment.

Giles

"Beer Nerd"...

"Beer Nerds" are like hairy legged insects, you know they're around but you just don't try and think of it.

I am a Beer nerd, there I said!

Now you know, we can get on with it. If you too are keen on beer then...



One of the best beer blogs I 've read is Stonch's beer blog http://stonch.blogspot.com/

If you are planning on going to the UK this is good place to start, Pub good - Pub Bad.

or better yet...

Get to The Wheatsheaf Hotel at George St. Thebarton.




See you there!

Giles

Home made wine tour. Review.

Ever been on a wine tour?
If squeezing into a suspect smelling mini van with some pissed English backpackers at yet another winery does not sound like fun then try the home made option.
Home made wine tour anyone?
The home made wine tour is the best way of experiencing a wine region. Why? Red wine, Friends, Food. Need I go on?

What to do...
Research your chosen area.
Book a chauffeured vehicle. "Mack'in it" in the back of a limo can really lift your ego!
Plan the tour- Logistically and logically. Duhh! Big homogenised wineries will always be busier than small ones - get to the big ones early or not at all and then loop around the region.
Please! Do Lunch! Do not stop at the bakery and order five pies and a Cornish pasty while necking an '05 Cab Sav. Book in at a winery/restaurant, tell them your on tour. Scope it out and you could end up with a specialised tasting and food matching session - Brilliant!

Here is what we did...
Coonawarra - A friend organised the tour who has worked in the region, itinerary and bookings wer taken care of. We covered their costs and headed south to the Coonawarra on a cold and wet Saturday morning in April. The Coonawarra is 4.5hrs from Adelaide and heaps more from Melbourne - This means fewer daytrippers and more serious wine heads.

First stop is the brilliantly beautiful Rymill Winery displaying its Autumn quality, and the wine is right on song as well. Some jokes about gay young horses... We are greeted by a Rymill family member and given the expert run down of the list, I can see that this is going to be good! Some way through the list we are instructed to taste some robust virgin olive oil which then lifted a Cabernet to seriously satisfying heights. More tastings and I wander off to get my fix of stainless steel from the viewing mezzanine. Everyone gets a few bottles and we are on our way. More gay young horse jokes...

Cellar door hands throughout the region are kind, funny and welcoming. All of the wineries do their best to accommodate our tour. Check out our itinerary below, more red ahead. Post a suggestion if you reckon we missed a gem.

My opinion carries little weight but I'd only go to Wynns for the staple fortified, as there is no other reason. The usually highly ranked Majella had lowered its colours, but Zema's Cluny made up for both.
Lunch!! Five pies and a clean skin please! Stop the Car.....%$#@!
No really we booked at Hollicks Restaurant, up the stairs and you are shown the lineal nature of the the region as you look north up the Riddoch Hwy. I had Soup and Lamb and everything was exceptional. (menu below) Someone had an outer body experience with a truffle infusion thingy...
I cleanse my pallet with an Ardberg 10 on ice, and my head clears.

Where to next?
Yarra Valley, Mclaren Vale.

Giles

A Peking duck soup.

Ahh the duck.......

With some friends due for dinner on a Tuesday evening and plans for the meal yet to be made, on the Monday afternoon I had to take action. I wanted a dish that was warming, yet fresh, light, yet filling.

A Peking duck soup with dumplings! - Here’s the story...

I went to the Adelaide Central Markets to get a Peking duck, as I have done once before. I got a park on Gouger St. right in front of Quo Chi Oriental Supermarket at the Chinese gates to the market. Looking-looking and no ducks, I went through to Kim Wang Asian Supermarket frozen uncooked ducks - shit. I walk back to the car thinking 'where did I buy this duck before?' Should I rethink dinner? Just about to get back in the car and rethink dinner, and right in front of where I parked was the BBQ City Restaurant, Peking duck headquarters really!- all hanging in the window . $22 one duck and some sauce ‘Thank you come again’.....

Monday evening:
Remove meat and refrigerate. Make stock with some lemongrass, ginger, onion, carrot, and celery with the stripped carcass of the bird, I recommend frying the ingredients in the duck fat and skin before adding hot water to the pot. Cover with hot water and boil for several hours. ... Let the stock cool and place in fridge to clarify or separate - remove hardened duck fat from the top of stock. That was Monday evening.

Tuesday morning:
I was walking from the work car park near the railway line, adjacent to the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel to the rear gate entrance. You have to walk down this street with two old houses at the end - I am hearing this strange bird noise and wonder that is not a normal bird call for the morning in a tree? I look up to where the noise is coming from and there is a very nice looking duck, speckled feathers with a bright neck ring and long slender neck. It looked a very particular breed. This duck was standing way up on top of the chimney of the house to the right of the street - and it was looking at me making an interesting noise combined with a two step movement side to side!! - Talk about weird.

Should I rethink dinner?

Tuesday evening:
Add some chicken stock to the now strained (through cloth) duck stock - boil. Prepare fresh sliced ingredients like bok-choy or Chinese broc, chilli, enoki, maybe some noodles. - I like making a Japanese omelette with egg water and caster sugar cook and slice thinly to resemble noodle - slurperific!! Place some frozen dumplings in boiling stock - add some tamarind paste, 1 big tspn to get some tart into the stock. Boil until dumplings float which is around 5 mins. Place sliced ingredients into warmed bowls - duck meat (pre-heated) veg, enoki, noodles and chilli. Spoon out the stock evenly and serve with chilli oil and sweet vinegar on top of broth.....

Rich and warm Chinese, yet more like Ramen.

Should I rethink dinner? Definitely not - It was rich – In retrospect I would dilute by halving the amount of duck stock used and freeze the rest - your bowels with thank you!!!

Giles

Ps. One of my friends had a flu vac shot that day and combined with some very rich broth got the shits and was facing the toilet door all night long – all night long.. All night!! Not very complementary of my own cooking but no one else felt ill, maybe bird flu?

The Scullery, food and booze.

For those of you who do not know me you would be un-aware that I am passionate about food booze and everything else we taste and digest. This blog will explore some of those passions with you the reader such as making beer, making cheese, cooking traditional paella and having loads of fun along the way.

Giles