Toasted Lebanese bread, eggplant/aubergine puree, dukkah

The Tapanappa Pinot Noir 2010 from Parawa, Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia, had a nice nose of very dark cherry, some dry brown leaves, a touch spice (cinnamon-like). I’d like to see more texture on the palate (which was also a higher acid style and a little short) but this has pleasant flavours (with enough interest). Good for the price, and without meaning to damn with faint praise, would present well as a “lunch wine”.
These are eight year old Dijon clone vines that are close-planted (1.5 m by 1.5 m) on a north-facing slope of sandy loam and clay overlying a laterite at 350 m above sea level. Even if this “only” received 1283°C days over the growing season, it still smells like “sweet” ripe fruit – so much for “cool climate” Australia. Looking at the final analysis, the slightly disjointed acidity makes sense: a TA of 5.8 g/l (as tartaric) with a pH of 3.65 is just too much (highly buffered) acid IMO – but perhaps my palate just isn’t Aussie enough? .

Lamb, Med and spring veg

Lamb, eggplant purée, zucchini, brocollini, peas, jus

Lamb: BBQed eye of rib.
Eggplant/aubergine: baked with soy sauce and tarragon-flavoured white wine vinegar, puréed with a little yoghurt.
Zucchini: sautéed in butter with marjoram.
Brocollini and peas: blanched.
Jus: mire poix-dominant, lamb rack and herb (thyme, bay) reduction.
Chervil and mint.

The brocollini was a little out of place. The lamb/eggplant/zucchini/marjoram/chervil/jus combinations worked very well.

Not a bad combo with a Henschke Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 from Eden Valley, South Australia. It’s 70% Cab Sauv, 15% Merlot and 15% Cab Franc and smells of very pure ripe, sweet blackcurrant, polish, a touch of tar and wild spearmint. It is well integrated, even if the acid is verging on the high side, and feels more elegantly structured than many of it’s SA cousins (as the rep goes) even if it does lack length. Easy drinking but not particularly interesting and I still have trouble with the value for money (even at new-release prices).

Cheese

Poached kiwifruit, Tasmanian Heritage Red Square, roasted cashews, kamut croutons

The kiwifruit was poached in white wine, sugar and lemon juice from immediately after the syrup had been taken off the heat. This resulted in the fruit’s flavour being completely altered to something akin to plum or greengauge – not something I’d do again, but interesting.

Citrus sorbet
Orange, mandarin, grapefruit. The madarin adds a background even if its unique flavour is drowned out.

Sulawesi coffee

Sulawesi Toraja roasted into second crack

The 2009 Sulawesi Toraja again (a wet processed bean with screen size 17/18 and grade GR 1), but here roasted a little further into second crack.

I used to like the idea of a heterogeneous roast yielding flavour complexity (because of the broadened flavour spectrum) but now I’m thinking the pro roasters might have more reason than consistency in aiming for a homogeneous roast: the slight burn here bothers me.
Nevertheless, this was very robust in the cup (and therefore great as an after dinner coffee), with masses of dark chocolatey cocoa flavour, almost golden syrup-like dark sugar, and some rainforest floor with a slightly animally note.

Haggis balls with whisky broth and neep powder

Sweet potato and coriander soup with rouille
It’s a great flavour combo. I did a garlic and herb rouille IIRC.

Green salad with honey-mustard vinaigrette

Salad prep

Green salad with honey-mustard vinaigrette

Prawn and salmon wontons in prawn bisque

Back in the days when Keiko reported more cooking than photography on her Nordljus blog, I was inspired by a Salmon and prawn tortellini in ginger prawn bisque dish she created. I made slight tweeks, but it’s essentially the same concept: salmon, prawn and basil filled wontons; the bisque is made with roasted prawn shells (very important) and the usual suspects (including a decent hit of ginger).

Wonton prep

Prawn and salmon wontons in prawn bisque

Smoked tofu and Guinness pie, crispy rice squares and spiced red lentils

This menu required an ovo-lacto vege main option (which I often think of anyway). This is my vege take on the classic beef and beerstyle pie, with a kind of spicy red lentil sauce instead of ketchup.

OR

Rack of venison, poached pears, wilted greens, celeriac purée and chocolate oil

This is a John Campbell (The Vineyard, Stockcross, UK) dish. I thought the dish an interesting composition (particularly with the inclusion of the pear) but taste-wise I wasn’t sure I was entirely convinced.

Wilted greens

Rack of venison

Selles-sur-Cher cheese with warm beetroot salad

I love goats cheese and I think it works well with beetroot. I was very pleased with my presentation development on this dish. The cheese is accompanied with roast beetroot batons, beetroot powder, lolla rossa (one of my fav lettuces) and a balsamic glaze.

Selles-sur-Cher cheese with warm beetroot salad

Pink grapefruit sorbet with gin and vanilla jus

Rob Feenie’s concept, and an absolutely fantastic combination! I like to throw in some candied peel for extra zest. This is made without pith (of course); simmered for 30 secs, chilled – repeated about 3 times; then finally simmered with sugar until reduced to desired coating.

Pink grapefruit sorbet with gin and vanilla jus

The French Laundry’s Île Flottante

This is a superb reinterpretation of the classic. The meringue is slow baked (in steam) so it’s extremely light. It’s then filled with chocolate mousse. The accompaniments are the classic crème anglaise, a chocolate tuile, bitter sweet chocolate shavings with salt, and mint oil.

The French Laundry’s Île Flottante