Out and About: Small Block

After several failed attempts to land a table at Small Block on previous visits, I finally managed to nab one with mates Sib and Tex in tow on the Labour Day public holiday. We were hung over. We needed something delicious, and we needed it fast.

  
We were told there would be a short wait, so we perused the chalkboard menu and enjoyed the sun before we were seated inside.

We were immediately served coffees which went down a treat - creamy and just the right temperature, the way a good coffee should be, so no complaints there.

Food orders were placed shortly after and arrived at the table fairly quickly given that the place was full by this stage.

Sib and I both went for the Summer Breakfast ($16.50) and I added a side of bacon ($3). It featured two perfectly poached eggs atop a crisp toasted bagel, with avocado, persian fetta and an absolutely superb beetroot relish. Also a side of spinach which I could have done without. It just didn't seem necessary.

I thought I'd made a great choice, but of course when Tex's plate came out I suffered from massive food envy. His Huevos Rancheros ($15) looked absolutely to die for (and must have been because they didn't last long). Crispy tortillas filled with beans and chorizo, topped with gorgeous fried eggs and fresh salsa. Yummm.....

The only thing that really let this great little cafe down was one pretentious staff member, whose service (or lack thereof) unfortunately left us feeling a bit put out. But apart from that the overall experience was a pleasant one, and I would definitely return (I have to try those tortillas!).

2x Salads: BBQ Lamb & Lentil with Roast Pumpkin Cous Cous

Ok, so the first thing I have to say about this meal is YUM. I am a massive fan of lamb, and pairing it up with this lentil salad couldn't have been more exquisite. Best part is, it's a Weight Watchers recipe (slightly modified) so not only does it taste friggin awesome, it keeps the waistline in check too, which is always a good thing.

I made a mini-dinner party out of this, and served it alongside a delicious roast pumpkin cous cous salad and with a side of natural yoghurt dressing. Yes, yes and YES.

BBQ Lamb & Lentil Salad

2 lamb backstraps, trimmed of any fat

2 400g tins brown lentils, drained and rinsed

1 green capsicum, diced

1 red capsicum, diced

1/2 red onion, finely diced

10 sundried tomatoes in oil, diced

3 tbsp italian parsley, roughly chopped

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Sea salt & ground black pepper

Heat a BBQ or grill plate over medium-high heat and spray lightly with olive oil spray. Sprinkle the lamb with cumin seeds and then cook for a 3-4 minutes on each side or until cooked to your liking.

Meanwhile, combine the lentils, capsicums, tomatoes, onion and parsley in a bowl, drizzle with red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine then transfer to a serving platter.

Once the lamb is cooked transfer it to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing thickly and arrange on top of the lentil salad.

Roast Pumpkin Cous Cous Salad

1 cup cous cous

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes

1 red onion, sliced

70g pine nuts, toasted

50g feta cheese, crumbled

1 large handful baby spinach, sliced

1 tsp raw or brown sugar

Sea salt & ground black pepper

Olive oil

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees. Place the pumpkin pieces in a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then roast for 30 - 40 minutes or until soft and slightly browned. Leave to cool.

In a small saucepan heat the chicken stock until just boiling, add the cous cous, cover with a lid and remove from the heat. Leave to sit for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork and transfer to a bowl to cool.

Toast the pine nuts in a small, dry frypan over medium heat until golden. Remove from the pan, then use the same frypan to caramelise the onions with a little oil and the sugar. Saute until browned off and sticky. 

Once all the components are done, combine the cous cous, onions, pine nuts and spinach in a bowl. Crumble the feta on top, season with salt and pepper and mix through. You can also squeeze over a little lemon juice if you like.

To make the yoghurt dressing simply combine 1 small tub of natural yoghurt with a good squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Serves 6.

 

Guacamole

Ok, I'm back! Apologies for the huge delay between posts folks; had a few technical issues (read: dead laptop) but thankfully Mr B is a genius and now I'm back in business. Though you'll have to excuse this pitiful comeback, I'm rather hungover and lazy today.

Guacamole is an all time favourite of mine, and is always appreciated at a picnic or whatever. I'm yet to meet anyone who can resist a big dollop of this perched atop a crisp corn chip. I know I could go some right now! It's super fresh, super easy and best of all super delicious with a nice punch of chilli. Give it a go sometime soon; you won't be disappointed.

2 perfectly ripe avocados

2 roma tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped

1 long red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped coriander

Juice of 1 lemon

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Scoop the avocado flesh into a bowl and give it a bit of a mash with a fork, add the chopped tomato, onion, chilli and coriander, season well with salt and pepper and finish with lemon juice. Give it all a final mix, top with a sprig of coriander and serve with corn chips.

Couldn't be easier!

 

Grilled Chicken Salad

 

As you can see I am very much in summer mode with my cooking at the moment, despite the fact that Melbourne is insisting on sending us a continual stream of lousy rainy weather! Surely if I think summery thoughts and make salads the sunshine it will come? Surely....

Yesterday I decided to test my theory. Unfortunately this chicken salad did not have the power to stop an all day downpour, but it did taste damn good! I just used the ingredients I had on hand, however you can substitute with whatever takes your fancy - there are no hard and fast rules here.

1 chicken breast, halved length-ways through the middle (to make 2 flat thin pieces)

1 bunch asparagus spears, woody ends removed

2 handfuls mixed greens (I used rocket & baby spinach)

1/2 red capsicum, sliced

1/2 lebanese cucumber, sliced 

1/4 red onion, finely sliced

Juice of 1 large lemon

1 tsp piri piri seasoning (or lemon pepper)

Sea salt & cracked black pepper

Natural yoghurt, to serve

Olive oil spray

Lightly season the chicken breast with piri piri seasoning and a squeeze of lemon juice, then place on a hot, lightly oiled grill plate or barbeque. Allow approximately 3-4 minutes per side (depending on the thickness).

While the chicken is cooking, combine all your salad ingredients (except the asparagus) in a bowl and season with salt, pepper and plenty of lemon juice, toss well then divide onto two serving plates.

When you turn the chicken over, pop the asparagus onto the grill to char up a bit, then remove once the chicken is cooked through.

Cut the asparagus spears into shorter lengths if desired, add to the salad plate and top with the cooked chicken and a dollop of natural yoghurt. Add a little cracked pepper and a touch more lemon juice and you're done.

Serves 2.

Out & About: Peet vs. Sydney

It was my birthday last week, and being the amazingness that he is Mr B decided to whisk me off to Sydney for four days of eating, drinking and shopping! (well, mainly eating...) Obviously I have to share a few highlights. Some seriously good food went down, I can tell you...

We kicked off on Thursday night (b'day night) at Onde, a tiny little french bistro just around the corner from our hotel in Darlinghurst. It was totally awesome, really simple french food. I had an amazing linguine with tomato, capers, chilli and preserved lemon and Mr B had what was quite possibly the juiciest, most delicious chicken I have ever had the pleasure of eating. I was worried my pasta might be a bit boring, but it was packing so much flavour! Highly recommended.

The next morning we headed for brekky at Bills, which was a super cute cafe right across the road from Onde. My eggs were sooooo light and creamy, and Mr B's fluffy ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter (yes, you read that right) were unbelievably delicious. Though beware if you don't have a sweet tooth - these pack a serious sugar kick!

After breakfast we walked up to Oxford St where we spent quite a few hours shopping, then decided to grab a quick bite at a cute little tapas-style bar called The Passage, before heading back to the hotel for a pre-dinner siesta.

We shared a crispy calamari and cute little mini burgers, then washed it down with a couple of icy cold ciders. So tasty!

 

After a long nap it was time to get ready and head out for a late dinner at Spice Temple - yet another notch in chef Neil Perry's belt. We were treated to some pretty special Chinese cuisine, along with artfully made cocktails and a rather extensive wine list.

The menu is designed for sharing, so we opted for one starter, two mains and a side of chinese greens, along with a perfectly matched bottle of pinot gris.

Lamb & Fennel Dumplings

Guangxi style roast pork belly with
coriander, peanuts, red onion and sesame seeds

Three shot chicken

The next day we headed down to Bondi Beach, and took a walk down to Bronte Beach along the cliffs. The lunch we had might have been average, but the beautiful scenery more than made up for that.

We headed back to Darlinghurst in need of some decent eats and a cold drink, so headed to yet another tapas bar - Li'l Darlin, which was advertising $4.50 pizzas. Mr B placed the order and came back to the table informing me that he had just ordered three of said pizzas, much to my horror! However, I was relieved when they arrived that they were "tapas-style" and a very manageable size. The thin crispy base and fresh toppings were delicious, especially when accompanied by a jug of Pimms.

Sadly the next day it was time to head home, but not before one last culinary adventure; which actually turned out to be the highlight of our trip. Mr B had cleverly booked us a table at Sake, which was a great way to kill a few hours before our flight.

After perusing the menu and chatting with our delightful waiter, we decided that we had to try as many dishes as possible, so went with a (rather large) selection of entrees.

We kicked off with the Kingfish Jalapeno - slices of fresh kingfish in a yuzu soy dressing and topped with thin jalapeno slices & coriander. It was absolutely beautiful.

Next up; sashimi tacos topped with spicy tomato salsa and accompanied by a sake shot.

Salt and pepper tofu came next. Crispy fried to perfection...

Next came my personal favourite; the Beef Tataki. Words simply cannot describe how amazing this beef was! Lightly seared tenderloin generously dressed with the most beautiful ginger soy tataki sauce. HEAVEN on a plate.

Crispy fried chicken was next land on our table, served with a selection of dipping sauces - spicy tomato salsa, jalapeno and spicy mayo. What can i say really? Just another amazing dish in a string of amazing dishes!

We were feeling pretty full by this stage, as you can see the portions were quite generous, but pushed on with the Tonkatsu Cups. Crispy panko crumbed pork belly in a dainty lettuce cup topped with japanese barbecue sauce and crunchy cabbage. I loved the presentation of this dish, the colours worked so perfectly together on the plate.

And the final dish to arrive was the steamed beef dumplings, which were lovely and light - the prefect note to end on. Or so we thought.....

After we finished up our food and wine, our delightful waiter was back asking if we wanted dessert. I must have been on some sort of foodie high because I heard the word "yes" coming out of my mouth before I even had a chance to think about how full I was feeling!

We decided that sharing a dessert might be a good decision at this point, so we ordered coffee and a chocolate fondant to share. I think I'll let the photos speak for themselves on this one....

 

Would you take a look at that oozing chocolate!? All I can say is wow. The entire meal from start to finish took us a leisurely 3 hours, and every minute of the experience was incredible; well and truly topped off by meeting the chef at the end! If you are visiting or living in Sydney and you haven't been to this restaurant, all I can say is GO NOW!

So thank you Sydney for turning out the beautiful weather, some great shopping and some seriously tasty foodie adventures!

Thai Chicken & Lemongrass Rice Salad

I was scouring my recipe books yesterday in search of something light and fresh to serve my friends for lunch, and couldn't resist this beautiful rice salad from Donna Hay's Simple Essentials Chicken. The recipe was indeed simple, calling for only a handful of ingredients, and the photo (complete with Donna's amazing styling) was pretty hard to go past.

The resulting salad was fresh and fragrant with herbs, and not overpowered with too much dressing. I deviated only slightly from the recipe, adding crisp red capsicum at the end because I just felt it was lacking a bit of colour. 

I will definitely be making this one again - it's perfect for a picnic or to take to work for lunch.

4 cups cooked long grain rice - cooled

2 skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

2 tbsp peanut oil

2 stalks lemongrass, finely chopped

2 small red chillies, finely chopped (remove the seeds if you like less heat)

4 spring onions, sliced

1 cup chopped fresh mint

3/4 cup chopped fresh coriander

1/2 red capsicum, finely sliced

4 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

3 tbsp lime juice (with extra wedges to serve)

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp caster sugar

Heat a frying pan over high heat, add the oil, lemongrass, chilli and half the spring onions and cook until just softened. 

In a large bowl combine the cooled rice, chicken, mint, coriander, lime leaves, capsicum, lemongrass mixture and the remaining spring onions. Toss well to combine.

To make the dressing simply combine the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar in a bowl and whisk to dissolve all the sugar. Pour over the rice, give a final mix and then chill until ready to serve. Serve with extra lime or lemon wedges to squeeze over just prior to eating. Then enjoy!

Serves 4 - 6.

Springtime Salad of Bulgur, Asparagus and Peas

After what feels like an eternity, it seems the long Melbourne winter is finally over. Which means.... picnic time!! Yesterday was the first picnic of the season for me, and I was totally inspired by the beautiful sunshine to try a fabulous new salad recipe.

What I really loved about this dish, was that none of the flavours were competing, they just worked together perfectly to create a zingy, textural explosion in your mouth. 

To achieve the full potential of this salad, you really do need the best beautiful fresh ingredients. Please please please don't use frozen peas! And go for a full bodied extra virgin olive oil for the dressing. It really will make all the difference!

1 cup fine bulgur (cracked wheat)

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 2cm pieces

1 cup freshly shelled peas

2 free range eggs, hard boiled*

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/2 bunch chives, roughly chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

1 clove garlic

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt flakes

Cracked black pepper

Fill a medium sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. You'll need this to quickly blanch the asparagus and peas.

Put the bulgur in a heatproof bowl and add enough boiling water from the kettle to just cover the surface of the grains. Let it stand for about 10 minutes whilst you prep the other ingredients. Once it's fluffed up and tender, keep stirring it regularly to help it cool.

Blanch the asparagus and shelled peas in your pot of boiling water, for 30 seconds at most. What you want is bright green vegetables that still have a good amount of crunch. Drain them, then run under cold water to stop the cooking, and add to the slightly cooled bulgur.

Next toast the slivered almonds in a dry pan over medium heat, until they are crunchy and golden. Add them to the bulgur along with the chopped chives and stir to combine.

To make the dressing simply crush a garlic clove in a mortar and pestle with a good pinch of sea salt, pour in the juice of one lemon and the olive oil. Whisk this together and add a little pepper.

To bring it all together, break the hard boiled eggs up roughly and sprinkle over the bulgur. Pour over the dressing, and gently mix together. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. (Or, if you need this salad to travel well, I'd recommend keeping the dressing separate and adding it just prior to serving).

*For perfect hard-boiled eggs place them in a small pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, then turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for exactly seven minutes. When the eggs have finished cooking place them into a bowl of ice water for three minutes or so. Crack the shells, peel and enjoy!

Serves 4 - 6

Out & About: Kanteen

I visited Kanteen last weekend with Mr B and the ever dashing Mr C, after a recommendation from a friend at work. We rolled up around 11am and luckily for us Mr C had arrived early and managed to nab us a table out the front overlooking the Yarra.

First problem; cash only. Now, normally this wouldn't phase me, however neither Mr B or myself had a cent on us, and this place is seriously in the middle of nowhere. Why I ask, would you implement a cash only policy in a place with NO access to an ATM anywhere nearby? Thankfully Mr C came to the rescue with the nice wad in his wallet. Anyways, let's move on.

We ordered coffee and juice and proceeded to peruse the menu and admire all the cute puppies everywhere. (There were SO many!)

Then, second problem; no bacon. What the HELL?! Ok ok, apparently there was bacon featured in the breakfast special, but I wasn't particularly interested in paying $18.50 just for a bit of swine. So, after a bit of umming and ahhing I selected the vegetarian brekky, which was a super delicious combo of homemade baked beans, toast, poached eggs, baby spinach and danish feta. YUM. From memory I think it was around $15....

Mr B chose the breakfast pide, which at $9 was a total bargain, not to mention tasty. The pide was filled with a combo of herby scrambled eggs, mayo, cheese and spinach.

Mr C went for the healthy option of an avocado pide, which was served open and topped with cottage cheese, lemon juice and sea salt. He assures me it was delicious, and once again, at $9 you can't really go wrong.

So, despite the few problems I mentioned before, I have to say that overall I was pretty happy with my Kanteen experience. Our server was cute and cheeky, the scenery was lovely and the food was super tasty. Not sure if I'd make it a regular haunt, but it's definitely worth a visit on a nice sunny day.