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Showing posts from November, 2014

Beef Cheek Ragu

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Ingredients: 3 Carrots, peeled and diced 3 Celery, sticks peeled and sliced 1 Onion, peeled and diced 3 Garlic cloves, crushed 1 Butter knob 4 Beef Cheeks 200ml White wine 500ml Beef Stock Seasoning Oregano Bay Leaf Orecchiette Pasta Method: Combine diced carrots, celery, onion and garlic in a slow cooker and sweat down with a knob of butter. Add in Oregano, Bay leaf, salt and pepper. Add wine, stock and Beef cheeks into the slow cooker, cover and set on high for 8 hours. After 8 hours your Beef cheeks should be tender and starting to fall part. Remove cheeks from slow cooker and pull the meat. Transfer stock to a smaller saucepan and season to taste.  I added more salt and pepper with a touch of red pepper, cumin, caraway and hot chilli spice. Transfer cheeks to pan and reduce on low for approx 1 hour or until you have a thick sauce consistency. Cook up the Orecchiette pasta to al dente. I chose this style of pasta to catch the sauce, but you can choose any pasta of your choice....

We celebrate to eat

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It's funny how we think that the only places to eat are in local cafes or restaurants and how dependant we come to relying on apps to find the great eateries. Well I am here to say that at Melbourne Zoo they have outstanding food facilities that you are missing out on.  Compass Group located at Melbourne and Werribee Zoo are delivering some magnificent catering. Recently I was honoured to attend an event where to start we were presented with flavoursome canapes of: - Smoked fish croquettes with yuzu mayo & furikake sprinkle - Delicate Beet tarts with creamy goat curd and cumquat marmalade - Wagyu bresaola with horseradish creme fraiche, red sorrel nestled on a potato gaufrette - Eggplant and pecorino fritters with minted yoghurt Add these with a glass of champagne in the warm summer breeze, and lions roaring in the background and you have a sensational concoction to celebrate Mains alternate but of course I got my hands into try the dish beside me, when no one was looking (you ...

The secret ingredient is L O V E

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Cooking is always supposed to have the special ingredient of love, as my Nanna used to say. Homestyle cooking is always what I adventure to find when eating out at smaller venues where family is the key to making the cafe or restaurant work. There dedication shows from that first step you through the door through to the end of the farewell, and today I have found it. Olive oil & Butter is a family restaurant making all there delights on premises and delivering sensational meals with great service. The cafe is quaint but homely with touches of Greek heritage through out. From the moment we stepped in front of the door to enter we were greeted with a friendly smile and welcome. Settled down with specials explained and coffee orders taken instantly. Brunch was in order but hard to decide on what to have. Everything sounds great. So with the trust of the staff I left it in there hands to decide for me, and they impressed. A delicious and impressive dish of the Egg & Pumpkin breakfa...

Not tonight Honey

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We all have a time in our lives where we cringe at the fact that after a long days work you then have to return home and cook a meal. For some of us it's always, for others it's occasional but there is no denying that there hasn't been a time where all you want to get home change into your sweats or pyjama's and slump on the couch and have delivery bring you your dinner. Lately moving into the west side of Melbourne we were discovering a shortage on good take away venues that delivered to our door, or still be open when we actually realised that it was getting to that time of evening where we should have taken something out of the freezer about 6 hours ago. The stumble onto Menulog was a great option that was made aware to us, and to be honest we haven't looked back. A website where they don't just deliver the multiple option of cuisine, but the service is included through till the end, and for those who have used Menulog will understand what I am talking about,...