Montalto Mornington Peninsula Pennon Hill Chardonnay 2013

Its not exactly chardonnay weather, but hey, when in Rome whiz in the Trevie. The Montalto Mornington Peninsula Pennon Hill Chardonnay 2013 is everything I love about Oz chardonnay - lean grapefruit, integrated oak, tart white peach flesh and soft and subtle white licorice powder: I know I bang on about white licorice powder, but its there I tell ya. And the price? A bargain at sub $30.

Cannot wait for summer.This and my coal BBQ with some whiting and snapper. Yep, SOD-OFF winter.

Drink with chicken risotto now, the above when warmer.
Drink till 2018
96
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $27-$30

Tscharke Barossa Valley Appellation Shiraz 2012

In another Fonzy moment, I was w-w-w-w-w-rong about JABS. The Tscharke Barossa Valley Appellation Shiraz 2012 may be soaking in 15.5%v/v but by golly, you don't see it, rather you see seamless fruit and oak integration with plenty of savoury black olive and blackberry compote all held together fine a fine line of acid and soft chewy tannins. Wow. Who'd have thunk it?

Drink with chargrilled beef, such as image below - a definite Susan
Drink till 2016
96
Screwcap 15.5%v/v $25 Seddon Wine Store

Gorgeous rib-eye over hot coals

Old school

It looks old school. It is. Lamb chops, rosemary and lemon on the BBQ. Simple

Surveyor Thomson Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007

This is the best Central Otago Pinot Noir I have had for years! The Surveyor Thomson Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007 has all the characteristics of a pinot noir that hasn't been made in CO; it's got finesse, thus lacking in CO; it's got super fine tannins holding up elegant and tart fruit, something CO pinot noir has lacked I believe due to the warm to hot growing conditions towards the end of vintage. But it's all objective right, and I'm just a blogger who hasn't any idea what they are talking about. So says the sommelier-come-wine maker (sic) in their email to me earlier this week; but I'm not going to air my dirty laundry in this medium.

Geez, where did that come from! Anyhoo, the wine. Dirty red in the glass with a wonderful and secondary waft of aroma's floating up; brown spice, toffee with a touch of tart cranberry; wonderful and long in the palate with the acid still holding everything together with ease. A super wine, but very rare in Melbourne.

Drink with BBQ quail
Drink till 2017+
97
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $50 Tony's Cellars, Ryde NSW www.surveyorthomson.co.nz

Powdery mildew

As all Melbournians will attest, this summer has been one wet weekends and humid nights. No doubt has the wet been good for our gardens and catchments, but the humidity has been rather unpleasant and it has been these humid conditions that our Crepe Myrtle - Lagerstroemia – has succumbed to Powdery mildew.

Powdery mildew or Uncinula necator is disease mostly common in viticulture when the conditions in the canopy are humid and dense. It is a disease that may overwinter inside dormant buds which enables the fungus to infect shoot growth in spring, and in very humid conditions look like these pictures. Because this part of the tree does not get a lot of direct sunlight, virtually none actually, and constant humidity and temps of around 25°C-29°C have been common this summer, Powdery mildew has gone nuts in this case.



Right now there is not a lot to do, so it is next year you have to think about. Once leaf fall happens use a wettable sulphur spray, and if you are worried about it not being good for the environment don’t worry; this is an organic substance and you can get uber friendly sprays from your local garden centre. If it is a real problem throughout your tree/shrub/grapevine what you will need is a systemic fungicide.

So, if you are coming around to mine for a BBQ, don't go sniffing around the back of my Crepe Myrtle for a look-see cos' any spores that are still present could stray onto your trendy boat shoes and settle on your award winning Fycus!

John Kepplers Premium Apple Cider, Ireland

Like I’ve said, its a cider revolution. Not long ago Erin, who is also a recent convert, took a trip to Uncle Dan’s to grab some cider. Not knowing exactly what she wanted Erin duly grabbed an armful of the stuff for a little tasting session at home. This was my favourite. The John Kepplers Premium Apple Cider, Ireland, which happens to come in a big-arse can, looks like a flat beer in the glass – not very appealing I know – but pretty soon a great waft of apple (der), cinnamon and a bit of smokiness which very much reminded me of my Nanna’s apple pie. The real joy was that this cider did not suffer from the sugar hit that most of the others did, and instead having a tart, dry finish. Top notch this one.

Drink with BBQ pork chops
Drink now
Can 6%v/v $4.90 at Dan Murphy’s Preston

Hunky Dory Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009

That’s right, I was shocked too! Turns out the Hunky Dory Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 isn’t just another bottle of insipid grape juice from across the ditch, but there is actually plenty to like about this wine. Plenty of passionfruit and gooseberry come wafting up the nose with a real pleasant acid rush in the mouth followed by a tinge of green and more passionfruit. An easy wine without the astringent cats piss finish – definitely worth a look.

So if you do find one out there, tell me where you got it from; this bottle was brought over to our place last Sunday by some friends of ours for a BBQ, but we never got a chance to have some so they left here. Thanks Joanna and Jeremy!

Drink with BBQ asparagus and goats cheese
Drink now
89
Screwcap 13%v/v from somewhere for so much?

Gembrook Hill Yarra Valley Mayer Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007

It seems that getting the complete series of 'The West Wing' - the greatest TV show ever made, and having a full-time job which does not entail regular domestic duties* has lead me to somewhat ignore my blogging. So what better way to amend this then write about something that rocks baby!

The Gembrook Hill Yarra Valley Mayer Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007 is a smashing wine! A dirty translucent red introduces a rather earthy floor and crushed strawberry nose; surprised with earthy floor and disappointed with crushed strawberries - I just want a Pinot Noir from the Yarra Valley to offer somethig else!

Did I say I was disappointed; well that quickly changed. Gorgoeous tart cranberry with super fine subtle tannins - almost like a double negative isn't it - flowed seamlessly through the mouth and had absolutly no trouble gobbling up the fatty lamb chops that were sizzling on the BBQ. Super wine this one folks!

Drink with Greek style BBQ lamb chops
Drink till 2014
95
Screwcap 13.2%v/v $24 Dan Murphy's Hawthorn East


*Disclosure - by no means am I discounting the role of the full-time parent, be them female or male, it's just full-time work outside of the picket fences seems a bit more exhausting - that and bloody peak hour traffic!

Sunday BBQ - Sichuan salt and pepper squid - part 2

... and yes, I did pick that shirt myself and still wear it, thankyou for asking!

Sunday BBQ - Sichuan salt and pepper squid part 1

Last week, our good friends Tracey and Pete came over for a little BBQ, and Tracey, who is a little media whiz, brought her video to do some playing around. Long story short, here is the outcome; my Sichuan salt and pepper squid - part 1.

Summer BBQ Time! - Cookbooks Part 2: Ross Dobson's Chinatown: sweet sour spicy salty

Home from hospital – it’s a good feeling! The stay at North Park Private to try and get Henry to sleep has sort of worked, cos’ I have come home with some better strategies for him to sleep longer – fingers crossed!! Home from hospital also means no more hospital food. I can categorically say that I will not miss their cooking! Sitting down and filling out my meal orders was probably one of the hardest things I did in the last week. All I could think about was my BBQ - pork, beef, crabs and prawns sizzling away while I sip a frosty beer.

It is going to be a bit tough to get organised for a feast tonight with not much in the fridge or pantry, so it will have to wait until tomorrow night for our gourmet spectacular. So to continue my series on summer cookbooks, tomorrow I will be using Ross Dobson’s Chinatown: sweet sour spicy salty.

A couple of weeks ago I had a massive hankering for some home cooked Chinese food. My cookbook range on the subject was very thin, so instead of spending mucho $$ on some new glossy from Kylie Kwong, I borrowed one of the many cookbooks my sister has on the subject, with Ross’ definitely looking the best.

So, in no particular order of what’s going on the BBQ this summer, here are some of the dishes that will get a decent circulation; and yes, I know I have two tofu recipes here carnivores, but they are both delicious so get used to it you meat lovers out there.

Salt and Pepper Tofu – this is such an easy and cheap dish to prepare. It will only work on the BBQ if you have a side wok attachment.
• 600 grams of silken tofu, cut in cubes
• 750 mL vegetable oil
• Half a cup of cornflour
• 1-2 teaspoons of Sichuan pepper and salt mix – one tbsp Sichuan peppercorns, two teaspoons and two tbsp salt
• One lemon, cut into wedges
Cut up tofu in to cubes and carefully place onto a plate lined with paper towels. Place a couple more paper towels on top and leave for about 30 minutes so the water may be absorbed; roll in cornflour. Heat oil in wok and gently slide/place tofu cubes in wok two at a time for about a minute or golden brown. Remove and place on a paper towel to drain then toss in salt and pepper mix. Serve with Peter Lehman Barossa Semillon 2006.

Char Siu rack of Lamb - another super dish for the BBQ with fantastic sweet and spicy flavours from the marinade combining with the juices of the lamb.
• Third of a cup of Chinese BBQ sauce – Char Siu
• Two tbsp honey
• Third of a cup lemon juice
• One teaspoon sesame oil
• One tbsp peanut oil
• Rack of lamb, about 750 grams
Combine Char Siu, honey, lemon juice and sesame oil and rub marinade in to lamb rack and refrigerate for at least eight hours. Char the rack on the BBQ for about 30-45 seconds to burn a little; this gives a really good flavour hit from the Char Siu. Place in a baking dish and cook for a further 20 minutes in BBQ. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes and carve up. Serve with Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 or De Bortoli Estate Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007.

Chilli Blue Swimmer Crab or Singapore Chilli Mud Crab - this will get messy so don’t forget finger bowls and not your children’s wading pool!
• Four blue swimmer crabs/mud crabs
• Three tbsp Chinese chilli sauce
• Three good glugs of tomato sauce, not ketchup – we are in Australia people!
• 200mL chicken stock
• One teaspoon castor sugar
• Half a cup of vegetable oil
• Two garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• One tbsp grated ginger
• Two spring onions, white bit chopped and green bit sliced diagonally
• Two large red chillies, not birds-eye, thinly sliced diagonally
• One egg, lightly beaten
Combine chilli sauce, tomato sauce, stock and sugar in a mixing bowl and dissolve the sugar; set aside. If the crabs are still alive, put them in the freezer for about an hour. Using a cleaver or a heavy bladed knife, make and incision through the head of the crab, put the crabs on their back and lift the tail apron and using your thumb, lever off the top of the shell. Remove the spongy grey gunk and rinse. Cut the crab in half and half again and refrigerate until ready.

Heat the oil in the wok to very high heat. When it reaches smoking point, toss half of the crab contents in and give a good toss for about 3-4 minutes or until coloured. Remove from wok.

Drain almost all of the oil from the wok and add garlic, ginger, spring onion whites and half of the chillies and cook for about 7 seconds then toss in crab and sauce mixture and bring to the boil – keep the kids away at this time cos’ it gets really hot! Keep tossing for a while then slowly pour the egg in as you keep stirring. Cook for another minute. Serve with green spring onion and remaining chilli as garnish. Serve with Provenance Geelong Pinot Noir 2007 or Pepper Tree Hunter Valley Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2008 – this has a lovely tang to it!

Tofu with soy and ginger – this is a great appetiser for something like the last recipe.
• 600 grams of silken tofu, cut in cubes
• 750 mL vegetable oil
• Two tbsp light soy sauce
• One tbsp fish sauce
• Two teaspoons grated ginger
• 40 grams tapioca flour
• Half a teaspoon of fine ground white pepper
• Two spring onions, green part only thinly sliced, diagonally
Prepare the tofu the same way as the first recipe. Simmer fish sauce and ginger in a small bowl to soften ginger. Remove from heat. Heat the oil in the wok to very high. Toss the tofu in flour and cook until golden brown and drain on paper towels. Reheat the sauce mix and pour over tofu with spring onions to garnish. Serve with Bloodwood Orange Riesling 2009.

Summer BBQ time! - CookbooksPart 1: Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook

‘Nature forms patterns. Some are orderly in space but disorderly in time, others orderly in time but disorderly in space.’ - James Gleick ‘Chaos’

A few years ago I bought this book for a little bit of light reading over summer. It turned out that it wasn’t, and isn’t, the type of ‘light reader’ you look for over summer. Though it was while reading this last night that I came across the above sentence that made this post seem all so necessary.

It is sort of getting warmer here in Melbourne, and with that the BBQ is going to get rather busy. There was a time in my life when a BBQ meant burnt sausages and greasy onions, but these days, with a little bit of culture under my belt, I am lending towards a more ‘anything goes approach’ – the Chaos Theory you might say, where chaos begins, classical science – or in this case classical BBQ – stops!

It is with this in mind that I have trolled through some of my more worn cookbooks, and Maeve’s DVDs of ‘Food Safari’, and put together a taste of what will be prepared for the 2009/2010 BBQ season here in Downtown Brunswick. Let the drooling begin!

Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook
A personal favourite of mine with many of the pages stained with sauces. I have chosen three very classic French dishes, with all of them needing the BBQ in one manner or another.

Salade Niçoise – this one will have two versions; no bonjovies for Erin and lots for me and Imogen.
· Salt for cooking and to taste
· 170 grams haricots verts or green beans
· four small red bliss potatoes, scrubbed
· One garlic clove, peeled and crushed
· Extra virgin olive oil
· About three tbsp red wine vinegar
· Black pepper
· Bibb lettuce
· One green bell pepper, cored and cut into thin slices
· Anchovy fillets, white preferred
· 100 grams Niçoise olives. Get these bad boys from a very good deli such as the French deli at the Queen Vic markets for all of you Melbournians
· Four ripe Roma tomatoes
· High quality canned tuna or seared fresh tunaFour hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut length wise in to quarters.

The ingredients follow very easily onto the plate, but a tip is do not leave the blanched vegetables sit too long; pat them dry when you remove them from water. I'd go for something like the Sorrenberg Beechworth Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2008.

Moules Marinières – this was a favourite when I was living in London all those years ago.

· About 150 grams of quality butter
· Two shallots, sliced thin
· 500 mL white wine, cooking – not drinking, yet
· 3 kg mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded just before cooking
· Flat parsley, finely chopped

Melt the butter off in a big pot over a medium flame and add shallots to cook for a couple of minutes. Pour in wine and bring to the boil and season. Throw the mussels in and pop the lid on to cook for about 10 minutes or until all mussels have opened – never force a mussel open; very, very bad for your tummy! Shake the pot as you go and keep the lid nice and secure so you don’t get any of the very hot juices scorching your private bits (always cook with your clothes on). Toss in parsley, stir some more and serve in a massive bowl is you have one. Open a Grosset Springvale Watervale Clare Valley Riesling 2009 with this one being a bit more flinty than the 2008.

Côte de Boeuf – this is the one from my Father’s Day post this year – super mucho fantastico!!!

· 1.5kg rib steaks, on the bone
· Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
· Olive oil, a couple of glugs

This is a big piece of meat, so it is going to be very cold when you pull it out of the fridge; get it out about 30-45 minutes before you put it on the BBQ so to bring it down to room temp.

I am not going to pontificate, but this is best cooked medium rare because it is so big. Only poke and slice until rested for about ten minutes or so. Eat with something like the Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz 2007 - masses of rich dark fruit combined with chewy tannins make this one a Susan.

I think it wise at this point to break this post in to instalments, otherwise I will be writing this, and you will be reading, until tomorrow. So off you go, clean the BBQ, get your gas cylinder re-filled and cook, cook, cook!

My World Famous Potato Salad

The siren has sounded on yet another AFL season with Geelong getting over St. Kilda in an absolute classic game; I hope you are alright today Kate!

Yesterday I took my daughter Imogen over to my old friend Snowy’s house for the second year in a row so that our kids (minus Henry who was with his mum) could run amuck and the grown up’s could watch the game! It wasn’t the greatest day weather wise with rain, wind the cold being a constant factor. But the one factor of this day, and other BBQ’s that have either been attended at my place of theirs was My World Famous Potato Salad; at 4% fat free, this bad boy will clog your arteries by just being in the same room as it. When it comes to my potato salad, I have to admit that I am not very modest – It is the greatest potato salad ever, and I have the testimonials to prove it:


‘I thought mine was good, but this is the best I have ever had!!!’ – Serin
‘chew chew slurp slurp swallow – translation, ‘I’m so glad you made this today’ – Ange
‘Why won’t anyone eat my Jamie Oliver moorish salad?’ – Snowy

There you have it. So for all of you BBQers out there, here are the ingredients:

· Two kg’s of Desiree potatoes, peeled
· 250 grams of quality French butter (or the Farmers Direct stuff Erin orders)
· 200 grams quality bacon, fat left on
· Two tbsp Dijon mustard
· Three tbsp seeded mustard five tbsp of sour cream
· One tbsp of red wine vinegar
· White wine for cooking
· Three cloves of garlic
· Chives
· Salt

Now if you are going to attempt this one you are going to have to start the bacon at least 24 hours before the BBQ. Melt some of the butter in an oven proof pan on the stove with the crushed garlic on low heat so the garlic does not change colour. Once the butter has been well and truly coated on the pan, add bacon and resume the low heat for about 10 minutes. Add the remainder of butter and white wine to cover the bacon.

bacon mix before

Heat the oven to 160°C for five minutes to get some warmth happening then turn it down to about 80°C and put pan in and leave for about eight hours! Once the eight hours has ticked by, turn the bacon in the pan so it can cook through consistently and add more wine and butter if needed. Cook for a further six hours at 60°C.

...and after

After you drag yourself out of bed, have your coffee and read the paper, peel the spuds and cut them into whatever size you want and boil in salted water. Once cooked, drain off and let them cool off a bit. Once you have sampled the bacon mix at least nine times, add both mustards, sour cream, red wine vinegar and give it a good stir and then add to potatoes. This may look like a Cameron Ling centerfold, but who cares! Garnish with chives and ta da, my world famous potato salad – sexy stuff this one.

Fathers Day

‘Children’s children are the crown of old men;
And the glory of children are their fathers.’

Proverbs, 17:6

Don’t worry, I’m not getting all religious on you now.

Yesterday was father’s day across Australia, with most of us having a sleep in followed by bacon and eggs, paper and strong coffee.

One of my three presents (all being books on food) was ‘Fat’, a great book on that misunderstood ingredient by Jennifer McLagen, where on page three I had my own Jerry McGuire moment with her first three words being, ‘I love Fat...’. What a dame hey!!

With this as ammo, I headed off to the Queen Victoria markets with Henry in tow in search of the biggest Rib eye I could find, and I did.

Dusting off the BBQ, I started slow roasting at about 4.30pm, at which time I also decanted the wine of choice for the night, the Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Hunter Valley Shiraz 2001. What a wine hey!! Massive deep red colour with a pinkish hue. On the nose there was immense cigar box aroma with a little bit of sweet plum and leather after about two hours in the decanter. In the mouth were still very firm tannins and gorgeous acid with savoury herbs and liquorice in the glass – almost Barolo like actually. Absolutely divine! Brilliant balance, huge length and wonderfully complex with super layered structure. Just faultless really with typical Hunter woft. Mucho Fantastico!!

It’s a shame that we didn’t save any wine, cos’ there is still more than half of the Rib eye (cooked rare medium rare)left; looks like beef sandwiches all round for the next week – big sigh!!!

Drink till 2031
Drink with above Rib eye
98
Quality cork 13.5% $90