Rainbow trout, gnocchi, wilted baby spinach, roast garlic cream

Rainbow trout: baked en papillote with a little white wine, a treatment most suitable to trout IMO.
Roast garlic cream: fish stock, roast garlic, cream.

A simple but delicious combination, and paired well with the Tapanappa Tiers Chardonnay 2005. It is a good wine, even if perhaps a little pricey, with lifted fruit – honeydew melon skin, baked lemon, and a hint of pink grapefruit and musky-wood. The palate is well balanced, showing acidity that doesn’t dominate, with suitable medium weight, and a reasonably long finish of butter, cream and a kind of nut kernel character. The oak is well pitched, being noticeable yet well integrated.
This isn’t a modern styled Aussie Chard – it isn’t high in acidity, insipid in character, or oak dominant – but rather more like a combination of the old and the new style that meet in the middle ground that I think is most suitable for Aussie Chard: fruit that’s edging on tropical but not pushed too far that way, present acidity that’s not too sharp (and full malo/MLF), some pleasant malo- and sur lie-derived character, and obvious yet well integrated oak. It’s actually one of the best Aussie Chard’s I’ve had for quite a while.

Peppered beef ribeye (Scotch fillet), roast radish, parsnip cream, jus

Beef: What to do with flavourless Australian ribeye (called Scotch fillet in Australia and New Zealand)? Pepper the flavour into it. Finished in the oven.
Radish: European radish and (freshly plucked from the ground) daikon/Japanese radish, roasted in a little butter and olive oil. The European radishes paired better than the daikon… perhaps unsurprisingly.
The parsnip cream offered a nice sweet and cooling contrast to the heat of the pepper and the radish.

Then serve with a Belgian beer .

Unflattering appearance, but delicious:

Beef and Guinness pie

I find the best way to make it is the classic French way:

Lightly dust the beef in flour and brown in a hot pan before removing. Saute the aromatics (I like onion, carrot, celery, leek) in the same pan and remove. Deglaze with a little tomato paste (added umami and Maillard) and wine. Reduce by 1/2. Then place all ingredients in a covered (foiled or lidded) roasting tray/tin/pan with garlic, thyme and bay and cover with chicken (and beef) stock. Braise in the oven for between 3 and 5 hours at about 130°C/266°F. (I find roasting provides a lower, more controlled heat source than a hob.) The meat should be moist and fall off the bone when done. The meat can then be picked through and shaped in moulds (if desired) before chilling to retain shape and allow the flavours to marry.

Then the braising liquid can be strained and reduced. I find it can be helpful to chill the strained liquid first (or reduce by 1/2, then chill), remove the fat and sediment, then strain through muslin before the final reduction. Reduce to a thick glaze and add either a little pre-reduce Sherry or brandy, or a little Sherry vinegar.

The below is served with wilted spinach and a parsnip mash (boiled parsnips, mashed and pushed through a strainer, with seasoning and possibly some milk/cream/butter mixed in).

Braised shin of beef, wilted spinach, mashed parsnip, jus

Apple soup, curried white chocolate foam

I was playing around with different ideas for soup and came up with this. I think the combination of apple, curry and white chocolate works well together.

Wine syrup poached apple with some acidity, creamy foam of vanilla white choc with Garam Masala style spicing.

Apple soup, curried white, chocolate foam

Tobacco Smoked Scallop and Chicken Liver Paté Wonton
PX truffle glaze, porcini foam, tarragon purée

This was inspired by Shola Olunloyo (Studio Kitchen) who has some absolutely amazing ideas. IIRC, he combined scallops, porcini and PX Sherry somehow.

I went my own way with a pan seared scallop, PX Sherry and truffle oil, porcini foam (extract of the mushrooms plus herbs and stock), and a tarragon/spinach/butter purée.

Tobacco Smoked Scallop and Chicken Liver Paté Wonton PX truffle glaze, porcini foam, tarragon purée

Fried John Dory
braised red cabbage, mustard sauce

Based on The French Laundry’s skate wing dish. This is floured (not battered) and shallow fried John Dory (a great fish!). The sauce is butter based and includes mire poix and grian mustard.

Fried John Dory, braised red cabbage, mustard sauce

Chinese-Style Braised Pork Belly
apple purée, braised fennel, caramel-soy sauce

As previously worked on, the pork belly is the traditional soy sauce/ginger/stock/rice wine/hoisin/spring onion style braise. Fennel braised in vinegar. Wine braised apple purée.

Chinese-Style Braised Pork Belly, apple purée, braised fennel, caramel-soy sauce

Slow Cooked Rib Eye
date miso, melted leeks, Stilton-horseradish sauce

Leeks slow cooked in butter, cider and stock. The miso works as a nice base note with the dates giving a sweetness. Old school British food lovers loved this one.

Slow Cooked Rib Eye, date miso, melted leeks, Stilton-horseradish sauce

Cheese
whipped Brie & croutons, poached apple encased St Agur & mustard

With the alcohol flowing I forgot to photograph this one. I like combining cheese and fruit and thought presenting a cheese that was “hidden” inside fruit would be interesting – the St Agur is encase in very thin rounds of wine syrup poached apple (a lot like a ravioli).

Chocolate peanut semifreddo
peanut tuile, dark caramel ice cream, chocolate paint

I am near obsessed with the flavours of dark chocolate, nuts and caramel, and am constantly look for ways to combine them.

The semifreddo sits on top of a brownie disc, and at mid-height has a layer of nuts and caramel.

Chocolate peanut semifreddo, peanut tuile, dark caramel ice cream, chocolate paint

Chocolate peanut semifreddo, peanut tuile, dark caramel ice cream, chocolate paint

Calpains denature at about 40°C/105°F and cathepsins at about 50°C/122°F. Slow cooking for extended periods below these temperatures gets the enzymes working breaking down the muscle tissue to give tender meat.
At about 50°C/122°F (“rare”) the protein myosin begins to coagulate, which solidifies the meat and forces moisture out.
At about 60°C/140°F (“medium”), collagen shrinks and the meat gets firmer and more moisture is pushed out.
At about 70°C/160°F (“well done”), the collagen begins to dissolve into gelatine. It takes a while for all the collagen to dissolve at this temperature (and up to 82°C/180°F), but eventually it will result in drier and tougher meat.

By cooking beef below 50°C/122°F for an extended period of time, it’s possible to achieve excellent flavour and tenderness. (Cook only the outside of the meat to kill of bacteria before doing this – a blow torch is best.)

The rib eye below did go a little over 50°C/122°F, but it took a while to get there. Many home ovens can’t maintain these low temperatures – a water bath is a better option. Paired with some onion relish below, it was still moist, with a tender texture and good flavour.

Slow cooked beef

White truffle custard with mushroom ragout

Based on the French Laundry’s, but with a mushroom ragout instead of their black truffle ragout. I like it this way because (i) mushroom and truffle is a natural combo for me that works well, (ii) it’s ovo-lacto vegetarian friendly, and (iii) mushrooms are cheaper than black tuffles but still taste great.

Pan seared scallops with a creamy soy-Madeira sauce, nori rice and spicy glazed vegetables

Caesar salad with creamy mustard dressing

I like to see Cos, crispy British bacon and well browned croutons.

Braised shin of beef on roast parsnip mash with melted leeks and Brandy beef-reduction

Brandy works so well in a reduction of shin of beef braising liquid.

Braised shin of beef on roast parsnip mash with melted leeks and Brandy beef-reduction

Roast pheasant with a beetroot-mulled wine reduction, chestnut sauce and braised cabbage

The pheasant was barded and stuffed (largely with sausage meat, which can be seen in the photo below). It’s so important to keep it moist while roasting. The chestnut sauce is basically sauted mire poix with Sherry and roast chestnuts added, then slightly thickened.

Roast pheasant with a beetroot-mulled wine reduction, chestnut sauce and braised cabbage

Chocolate tranche of Earl grey cream over bitter-sweet rich chocolate-orange Marquise over chocolate sponge with hard-caramel date

Assorted cheeses

Since this was a wine matching dinner and there were (going to be) a few dessert wine options, I wanted to offer a variety of desserts for diners to experiment with: fruit and toffee, creamy fruity mousses and rich dark chocolate.

Spiced poached apple and pear with toffee sauce

Marbled white chocolate and raspberry mousse with black pepper tuile

This has dried lemon and raspberry powders on top which add a nice piquancy. Black pepper provides an interesting combo with raspberry.

Chocolate tranche of Earl grey cream over bitter-sweet rich chocolate-orange Marquise over chocolate sponge with hard-caramel date

Dessert

Dessert