nickrey

I've noticed a number of references on this thread to Greg Doyle's Pier cookbook but no review as yet. It is a very well produced volume with lovely photos reflecting the delicate and complex food created by Doyle as well as the picturesque location of the restaurant. The food photos show a level of presentation that will provide a standard to strive for and not just for the recipes contained in the book. Doyle's food takes the very best produce, mainly seafood, and adds a set of flavour and texture combinations that bring out the best in ingredients. With food influences ranging from Ferran Adria (soy mirin pearls made with calcic, citras, and algin), his time in a two-star Michelin restaurant in the mid 1990s, as well as the Asia-Pacific fusion that Australia has embraced, Asian flavours mix with modern European to give unique tastes that cannot be approached from one culinary tradition alone. Most of the recipes are accessible for a moderately experienced home cook, although a few involve a series of processes that almost require a warning "don't try this at home." One dish I made involved creating a fish stock, a veloute sauce, hand made pasta to make crab ravioli, and an extremely delicate vegetable nage. The product was exceptional but be prepared to put in a lot of effort on some of the dishes: personally, I think the return was well worth the effort. At $85 for the hardback, it is not a cheap book but if you want a top level seafood cookbook that shows top level cuisine at its finest you would be hard pressed to find better. The pictures alone make it a coffee table book for you and your visitors to admire. If you choose prepare the recipes and use Doyle's presentation, be prepared to accept accolades from your friends. With a steadily expanding collection of cookbooks starting from when I was fifteen years old, I'm a bit fussy about what I buy now. Even skimming through the book, I knew that this was one I had to have and my use of it since has supported this decision.

On a recent trip to Tasmania we were most impressed by produce from the Grandvewe cheesery. They have wonderful products that are organically produced and which evidence that real artisan quality that distinguishes fine products from mass produced. They call their sheep pens the Sheep Hilton and the pampered ungulates certainly return the favour with the quality of their milk. Their website is http://www.grandvewe.com.au/ If you are down there, stop at the Pecora cafe where Luke Burgess does some really exciting food in a lovely little space with a wonderful view over Bruny island. Luke trained with Tetsuya and was a top food photographer in Sydney before moving to Tasmania to open his own space.

I am using a slightly different sealer but with the same mechanism and the same result occasionally. As a matter of habit now, I vacuum seal using the normal process then move the bag slightly and reseal without vacuum (actually, being a teeny bit obsessive compulsive, I do this second step twice). Hope this helps Does anyone know why this happens? I know Food Saver says you can put their bags in boiling water so the 130-140 F water shouldn't have mattered. ← ←

After using many frypans, including Scanpan (they don't last for me) and Calphalon (their browning and easy release function left me with little steak bits clinging to the pan and a poor aesthetic result), I was despairing of finding good pans. Like a number of people here, I have purchased some really amazing Mauviel coppers pans, which work perfectly but as has been pointed out are very expensive in Australia. However, I still needed a good non-stick pan. Searching around and after rejecting various options that looked like more of the same, I went to a local kitchen supplier where I am a fairly regular customer and found an Australian brand called Chef Inox. It has a metal handle and can therefore be used under the grill (broiler) and is working very well indeed (i'll get back to you about the longevity). Interestingly, this brand is noted in the credits after the Cook and the Chef so either Simon or Maggie must use them as well.

It's been a while since I lived in Canberra but one place you can't go past is the Fyshwick fresh food market. Over twenty years ago it had a little fruit and veg store that started selling fresh, home grown, produce (read organic). I remember the owner, Joseph, bemoaning to me that people bought organic tomatoes and came back telling him that they tasted strange, which turned out to be a direct result of them never having tasted a fresh, sun ripened, tomato.

When making coffee with an espresso machine and frothing milk, you know it is at the optimal temperature when the milk does a deep sigh.