Back into it.

Well, young Scotty has been away for a week or so in Aussie land. Not the place I would want to be when we knocked them out of the world cup... anyhow.

We had a great brainstorming session, we shortlisted many suppliers we know and like.

Had a trial run at assembling some ingredients pictures to accompany the recipes, and then thought......NO, we need more!

So we will also travel to some places and show where the ingredients come from.

I have been drafting intro's for the recipes, and ingredients.

I was amazed how easy it came out.......but how it wasn't reading the way I was trying to write it. DOH!

Still, a couple of glasses of Nelson Sauvignon Blanc and it flowed so much easier.

Wierd. I put it down to letting the ingredients talk for themselves, and the bigger the glass, the better they spoke.

So Blackenbrook, I thank you for the intro to the cured salmon, and the goats cheese mousse!

Opinions please

So its help me time, can I please have a bit of feedback.

What makes a perfect cookbook?

Apart from the restaurants recipe content, what would everyone like to see?

Suggestions please?

Perhaps......

Our favourite food, things we like to make at home etc?

or

Bits around Nelson, the markets, fishing boats, orchards etc?

or

Something completely different?

Everyones feedback is welcome!

Petit Fours + More

A big photo shoot this week as I'm off across the ditch later this week and will leave Grant and Katie to write up some recipes in my absence.

Below we have a Chocolate trio, Crème Brûlée (edit), a Strawberry *something*, Fudge and Turkish Delight, Sugared Olives (ah-huh), and Goats cheese mousse.

Salmon, Salad & Sunshine

This week we all got a bit more sunshine, I found time to tended to my vege patch thanks to daylight savings and there being no more week night pool matches to be sidetracked with.  Meanwhile Grant found his way to sunny Blenheim give a cooking demonstration, and we both received a little extra exposure thanks to the Nelson Mail this week... [link]

Yes, now you've had a good laugh here's this weeks dishes. The first is a classic tomato, basil and mozzarella salad. No doubt you've seen this before but just look at the quality of this locally sourced cheese!
The second is currently on the menu at the Mint Dining room, it's a sugar cured salmon with green apple cannelloni and a sour cream soufflé.  The salmon is amazing and we've documented the curing process for the book, it is something you can do quite easily and the results are far better than store brought products.

The big bake off

So, embarrassing video posted....Thanks Scotty!

We had a lot of fun baking up a storm the other day, we have 'proved' (bakery humour) the recipes to be successful.

Bit of a mission scaling them down from restaurant sized to home cook size.

But we have now completed a whole section of our 'book'......... well my content anyway, still needs Scotty's magic.

Bit of background, Katie and I asked Scotty to help us with a professional entry into the New Zealand Hospitality Awards Of Excellence.

(We needed to defend our title of serving the best Lamb dish in New Zealand.)

We worked well together, tasted some wine, and had an idea......... (Turned out to be this blog.)

By the way, we are finalists, serving one of the top 4 Beef dishes, as well as Lamb dishes in New Zealand! So thanks Scotty!

Awards 4th November 2011, keep you posted.

I see Bread - I see Bread - I see Bread.

About time for another blog entry, this one took longer than expected but as my schedule clears and now that I've worked through some of the video encoding issues I'm pleased to bring you our first video entry. In it Grant will show you how to make a beautiful Irish Soda Bread.

First the recipe (as Grants commentary may be a little askew...)
250 grams of Plain Flour
250 grams of Wholemeal Flour
1 tsp of  Baking Soda
1 tsp of Salt
30 grams of Buter
300 ml of Buttermilk

Method:

So, to recap...
Place dry ingredients in mixing bowl then rub in butter.
Add the buttermilk and mix until still slightly crumbly.
Knead for 3 minutes on a clean bench.
Shape into a flattened disc and score the top.
Bake on a flat tray at 180 degrees (C) for about 30 minutes - it should be crusty on outside and sound hollow when tapped.


Here are a few images from our afternoon of bread baking - Cristini, Sour Dough rolls, Gluten free loaf, and Mint Dining Room's signature bread rolls.

Lemon Panna Cotta, Buttermilk Gelato and Coffee ramblings.

First things first - and all good things start with a coffee.

Right... chapter one....


Where would be the logical place to start?

Agreed. - Dessert!

Local Mandarins when in season are simply unbeatable. The skins peel themselves and the flesh is deliciously sweet. Due to their abundance in these months they're either very cheap - or free if you have a healthy tree near by. Here is a tried and true Panna Cotta recipe with a Mandarin twist.


2 Gelatine leaves (pre soaked)
250ml of fresh cream
250ml of milk
100gm sugar
15ml Limoncello (a lemon liqueur)
1tsp of Lemon zest

Method:
Heat cream, milk, sugar and Limoncello to almost a boil, then allow to simmer for 30 seconds.
Remove from heat, skim any skin that forms and add the gelatine. Gently mix until you reach a silky smooth consistency. Cool the mixture in an ice bath for about 20 minutes before transferring into individual moulds. Allow to set in a refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Serve with Buttermilk Gelato...

900ml of Buttermilk
250gm of Sugar
1 Lemon (juice only)
500ml Water

Heat sugar, lemon and water in a saucepan. Simmer for 3 mins and allow to cool.
Mix in the buttermilk and churn in an Icecream machine.

Now for the mandarins... actually I'll get Grant to finish this off in the comments below. I'm far too hungry now!