Home sweet home

Slight change of plan, so back in Sydney earlier than expected. Jamaica was great - a lot of food and drink, and unfortunately, a bit too much sun, so peeling like a banana now.

After being away for over 3 years, it was a little strange flying back into Sydney. Everything looks the same, apart from the odd building here and there that have sprouted up in my absence. It was great catching up with family, and hanging around doing zilch (I seem to be doing that a lot lately..heh). Still it's good to be back.

I met my brother today for a lovely brunch at the Rocks, we sat outside and enjoyed the glorious summer weather. We had a great view of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge while we scoffed a dozen Sydney rock oysters. Heaven.

The main reason for coming back to Sydney was to start on the wedding preparations, which I have no motivation to do right now. I'm blaming it on jet lag :)

First course

Ok, we're in the middle of dinner right now, but I underestimated how filling scallops are, so we're taking a little break between courses. (Well, there's only 2 courses, since we couldn't resist the chocolate cake last night...heh).


Scallops with apple brandy cream sauce

Verdict? 10/10!!! So delicious but VERY filling. You can find the recipe here. I used Cognac as that was all I had in our liquor "cabinet" (cabinet = the Cognac, and a bottle of whiskey that's been sitting around for waaay too long).

I found out that Cognac is basically brandy from the Cognac region of France and is made from grapes. Calvados, which is what the recipe calls for, is brandy made from apples. So I'm assuming that it would have made the sauce slightly sweeter, which would have been too much I think.

Anyway, enough babble. Happy Valentines Day! :)

Freaking out

Well, not exactly. But I'm in the process of planning a menu for Valentine's Day, and I'm stumped. Absolutely no idea what to cook, hence the freaking out business. Maybe I'm overreactting, maybe not. But I think the wedding dress shopping and general wedding preparations, which mind you, I haven't really started on yet, have turned me into a blubbering stressed out freakoid.

We had a heavenly meal last Friday at Blue Hill near Washington Square Park. It was a lovely surprise from J, and it made sense to go out for dinner then, rather than on Valentine's Day itself.

So here I am trying to figure out what to cook tomorrow night. I found a yummy scallops recipe, so that will be the starter. I have Cognac at home, but no brandy. Maybe I can use it as a substitute? Fingers crossed.

Main course? No idea! I was tossing up between lamb chops with rosemary, or salmon with a mustard glaze. We both haven't had salmon in a while, and it might be just the right amount after the heavy, cream based scallops. But side dishes? No idea!

Ok, deep breaths....

A Distraction

I have to admit shopping is not my cup of tea. Since I’m usually indecisive at the best of times, going into a department or clothing store gets me into a head spin, there are just too many choices!!

My very good friend P and I are heading off to Jamaica next week for a long weekend. Sun, sand and pina coladas beckon, so of course we have to have the proper attire for the trip. Which is why we’ve started shopping (or in my case, window shopping) for beachy, summery outfits.

I came across these lovely earrings while shopping the other day, the only thing I’ve purchased so far for the trip. They’re not what I would usually wear, which is normally just a watch and my engagement ring, so these earrings will take some getting used to. But they look nice and summery, and will look great with the tan I hope to get while there ;)

We are staying in an all-inclusive (?!!?!) resort, about an hour’s drive from Montego Bay, so all we really need to bring is a hat, some sunscreen and some trashy magazines. Oh and my earrings of course.

Can’t wait!

Leftovers for lunch

This has to be one of my all-time favourite meals in winter. Nothing beats a warm bowl of mushroom risotto with peas and a sprinkling of Parmesan. I've made this dish many times over, and I have to say last night's attempt has been the best so far.

I got this recipe from my favourite Food Network show, Everyday Italian.

The original recipe calls for 8 cups of chicken stock, but I've found that 5 cups is more than enough. The trick with making risotto is you have to keep stirring it, but not to the point where you have to stand in front of the stove for half an hour - just give it a good stir every 5 minutes or so, so the rice can absorb the stock.

This recipe serves about 4, so I normally put the leftovers in single serve containers to bring into work for lunch over the course of the week.

Just add a dash of water, put the lid back on loosely (it helps create some steam), and pop in the microwave for 2 minutes, give it a quick stir and another minute in the microwave and voila, the perfect work lunch.

Mushroom Risotto with Peas

5 cups low-salt chicken broth
1/2-ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups finely chopped onions
10 ounces white mushrooms, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or short-grain white rice
2/3 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, optional

Bring the broth to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. Add the porcini mushrooms. Set aside until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Keep the broth warm over very low heat.

Melt the butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the white mushrooms and garlic. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the porcini mushrooms to a cutting board. Finely chop the mushrooms and add to the saucepan.

Saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and let it toast for a few minutes. Add the wine; cook until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of hot broth; simmer over medium-low heat until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 3 minutes.

Continue to cook until the rice is just tender and the mixture is creamy, adding more broth by cupfuls and stirring often, about 28 minutes (the rice will absorb about 5 cups of broth). Stir in the peas. Mix in the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Update: Lunch for one

My solo lunch yesterday at davidburke & Donatella went well. As I had a great corner seat at the bar, I could see the hustle & bustle in the dining area as it quickly filled up with the hungry lunch time crowd. I missed out on some great photo ops, but I don’t think I could have handled eating alone and taking photos of my lunch in one sitting. Besides, it’s a great excuse to go again, right?

I started with a smoked salmon salad, followed by a scrumptious mushroom cavatelli dripping with truffle oil. Yum yum yum, I loooove truffle oil. This was all washed down with two glasses of pinot noir. They had my favourite dessert, crème brulee on the menu, but in the interest of research I opted for the butterscotch panna cotta instead which was a good choice I must say!

Benefits of dining alone:
* You can eat at your own pace and not feel under pressure to finish - yes I’m a slow eater, I like to taste my food rather than wolf it down.
* You get to hear some fascinating conversations going on around you – the poor lady next to me, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Annette Bening, was allergic to gluten. As a result she couldn’t eat the bread, had to have her salad dressing on the side (??), and had to ask the bartender numerous times if he was absolutely sure there was no gluten or any other nasties in her food because she was allergic, yes, to gluten, yes. (Sheesh)
* You score free drinks – I don’t know if the bartender felt sorry for me but hey, who cares when you get a free drink…..even if it is dessert wine.

Cons:
* You’re limited to what you order - so if you want to sample other items on the menu, tough titties.
* There’s only so many times you can admire the floral arrangement against the wall near the loo. Having no reading material or other paraphernalia to keep myself occupied was a bit of a challenge, but I’m glad I tried.

All in all I must say eating by myself wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I actually enjoyed it. I suppose I did cheat a little by eating at the bar. I think eating at a table alone would be more difficult. Perhaps next time.

So after 3 glasses of wine and an espresso I stumbled back to work. Needless to say I had a very productive afternoon :)

Dinner Lunch for one

Winter Restaurant Week started last week. Held twice a year for two weeks in the summer and winter, it is a fabulous way to check out the various restaurants around the city - three course prix fixe lunches for $24.07 (as in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week), and dinners for $35.

As J and I have done Restaurant Week on numerous occasions, some of the restaurants were getting a little, well, bleugh - it's usually the same restaurants every time. One restaurant we always go to for lunch though, since we can't afford it otherwise, is the always fabulous Cafe Boulud.


Cafe Boulud's version of roast chicken

We try to do at least one new restaurant every time, and this time, we picked a restaurant with a tongue-twister of a name, davidburke & Donatella for lunch this week.

Unfortunately though, J is extremely busy with work and has to cancel on me. Phone calls to friends have been unsuccessful, and since I still really, really, really want to go, I'm going to do it alone.

Wish me luck!