Luke

I use mine constantly for (a) melting heat shrink tubing on various wiring jobs in car/home/boat and (b) making a fast and excellent brulee on lemon tarts. However, I have been banned from burning spiders and watching them go pop. Luke

Made the baguettes from Reinhart's book today (well yesterday if you consider the overnight fridge rise). The finished product was great! Now I am NO expert, but I have attempted (several times) three different methods of making high hydration breads. The three methods were "Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day", Bread cetera's poolish method and Reinhart's method, but I think I will settle on Reinhart's. Each method has pro's and con's, but if I was to weigh up effort required vs quality of result, Reinhart's high hydration folding technique with overnight fridge proof is the one for me. Cheers Luke

A few people have inquired as to the Tandoori Marinade I use. My recipe is inspired from Vah Chef (http://www.vahrehvah.com/) but I find the written recipes on that site are woefully inaccurate. The videos are more helpful. I have experimented over time but this is what I have settled on. Tandoori Powder - This recipe can be scaled as required. I normally make 20x this quantity and store in a jar. Mix well. - Best results are obtained when spices and ground whole in a coffee/spice grinder. 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp kasoori methi leaves (ground dry fenugreek leaves) 1 tsp ground black pepper 2 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp ground turmeric For the marinade (typical quantity for say, 10 lamb loin chops) 3 Tbl Tandoori Powder 2 Tbl garlic/ginger paste 1.5 cups of thick greek yogurt 2 Tbl (40ml) lime juice 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp red food colouring (optional) 1 tsp besan (chickpea) flour (optional) Mix all ingredients together with a whisk. Liberally coat meat to marinade and leave for 6 to 24 hours as required. The red food colouring is optional, but they use in restaurants to obtain to the desired colour. The besan flour will help stop the yogurt from splitting when cooked. Hope this helps. Cheers Luke

Jeff, I use the Mae Ploy bland in our kitchen - it is very good. The green paste is quite spicy. I agree with others that it would be worth while portioning and freezing. It probably lasts 3 to 6 months once opened, it does tend to get a brown/black oxidised look after 5 months in the fridge. Luke

Highlights from the Melbourne store for me have been san pellegrino chinotto, Frozen Samosas, Borg's Pastizzi, Pickled Artichokes, Chocolate Wafer Tubes. We make bi-monthly trips...

I achieve a very similar outcome with pasta sauce by using 2 or 3 medium sized anchovies. After 2 hours of slow simmering the anchovies dissolve, and there is no detectable anchovy flavour (I have fed it to plenty of people who can't stand the smell, let alone taste of anchovies). I'm not sure it accentuates the meaty flavour as Vegemite would, but it certainly adds a depth of flavour that is hard to describe. I will try the Vegemite to compare (can't stand eating the stuff myself but my children like it).

Taa muchly RRO! I have sourced it in Sydney, but not at any of the majors in Melbourne. Will try contacting a few specialised locals.... Luke

Actually, it is "Ramazzotti" I left out one "z" Yes - It is different. Very smooth. A very nice (but not spicy) finish which highlights the Anise flavour. Not a harsh alcoholic after-burn. Molinari is the only other decent Sambucca available, which is good, but spicier than Ramazzotti.

Sambucca Ramazotti. How I miss that stuff.

Hi Alex, Yes - I found the same issue with bars on the underneath side of the toast. Although, I'm not sure I would describe it as "partially cooked", but rather, uneven in browning. As for solving it, I'm having a think about that one. I can't see it being too difficult, but nor do I find the result annoying. The toast was great, cooked just the way I like it (apart from the bars...) I have to admit, I am really getting to like this little oven. I made some single serve lemon tarts in it tonight, slowly baked in a water bath. My recipe had not been adjusted for a convection oven, and I really like the full control you have over the settings, like turning the fan off. You can see the grill with toast waiting You select your desired toast level and number of slices. You hit start, and the display changes colour to indicate it is cooking. 4 minutes is how long it takes, and it switches off automatically (with appropriate warning beeps) There are two elements on the bottom, and three on the top. In the "toast" mode, only two elements on the top and two on the bottom are in action. Toast finished. A very even toast on the top, not that great on the bottom. However, despite the look of the bottom, the actual toast was the best I have had in a long time, far better than anything achieved with my previous two dedicated purchases. If you want perfect toast, buy a 1960 Sunbeam as suggested (I just watched one of these sell on eBay for $97....ouch!). However, the Breville BOV800 Smart Oven appears to be pretty good for a whole range stuff. I'll put it through it's paces over the next few weeks. Luke

Having not had much success with modern toasters, including purchasing and returning several different types, I was motivated to explore the use of a Toaster-Oven. I did some research, and settled on this model which received good reviews. Better still, I beat the retail outlet down from $300 to $230. Here is a photo Not sure what to try first - toast or obtaining a brulee on a lemon tart. Luke

"Peach Jam with Vanilla and Amaretto" was one of my great success stories this year. I used a Pectin additive to minimise the cooking time, kept boiling to a minimum and kept the lid on to try an avoid loss of aroma. It seemed to work so I will stick with it. Luke

The link doesn't work for me. I get an error message saying "The search option you have selected is currently unavailable" Luke

Sean's Kitchen (again) for me tonight.... Food was awesome as always. Service (particularly drinks) was below par. Two seperate orders for drinks were "forgotten"...Anyway, apart from that, it was great. Mains (for me) was South Australia Rib-Eye steak cooked med-rare and it was! Side dishes included house made chips cooked in duck fat, onion rings, cauliflower, brocoli greens. All these dishes were great. The real masterpiece of the night was a vanilla and honey creme brulee with a strawberry & rhubarb compote. Probably the best creme brule I have ever had. The mouth feel was just awesome. Cheers Luke

I became addicted to these fantastic little sweets while working in Jaipur. Having been lucky enough to have a local Indian sweets shop near me in Melbourne, I will buy a few at every opportunity! I doubt you could recover your stale Jilebi. If anything, try drying them in a low oven, which might crisp up the outside. I wish you luck. Wish me luck with my blood sugar levels. Luke

I have had good results from the Bark River leather strop (one side green, one side black) to maintain my set of Global knives. The Globals are convex ground, so a few light strokes on the strop is all that is required to keep them in top working order. Luke

Did anyone just see the documentary on SBS about Adriano Zumba and his Macaroons! That was insane. Apart from the 68 flavours including "Pigs Blood with Chocolate" and "Hamburger", 30,000 macaroons for macaroon day with people walking out of his shop spending $250 dollars in one hit....I mean I like my macaroons too, but $250?? Looking forward to the next part which will be screened next week.... Luke

I second the Fagor Duo...Love my pressure cooker. Black Eyed Peas, Beans, Chickpeas are all regular meals. It's hard to believe how quick they cook! Stock - just awesome to make stock with this.... But the real eye opener is making curry. You can get the meat super tender but still complete and not falling apart. Luke

Perceived quality can also depend on what species of fish you are eating frozen. Some fish freeze well, and some don't. In Australia, fish like flake (fillets from a shark), or whiting freeze well. Snapper (aka Red Snapper) does not, but Tuna is a definite no-go for freezing. Interestingly, I catch calamari (squid) regularly, and it is one type of seafood that benefits from freezing, even if only for a few days, to help break down the rubbery nature of the protein. Cheers Luke

Scallops! They used to use them for fish bait back in the 70's.... That being said, it helps lots to have friends who are divers and don't eat Seafood. I tell ya, cleaning 400 Scallops can get tiresom (especially when you get the odd shell containing a Blue Ring Octopus. That keeps you awake....) Luke

Crushed Honeycomb?

Not sure if this meets your "different flavors" criteria, but I find it hard to go past a bowl of mussels steamed in white wine, with parsley and tomato. This is a great dish to mop up with crusty bread. I don't have a recipe, but rather I make sure I use the following ingredients if I have them on hand : olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, pepper, chilli, tomato paste, Turkish sweet pepper paste, white wine, parsley and the mussels. Essentially you steam the mussels in the white wine and serve them covered in the sauce. Whatever way you cook them - don't overcook them. There is a world of difference between the soft, delicate perfectly cooked mussel meat, and a rubbery, flavorless bit of chewing gum you get with an overcooked mussel. Good luck and let us know how go. Luke

If you eat the same recipe over and over it loses the appeal it had when you first tasted it. If I could, I would raise Keith Floyd from the grave. Now while Keith was rude, chaotic, and a drunk, and must have been a pain to work with, he was not a "recipe follower". Somehow, all those aspects were wrapped up with a presentation style that was truly unique. I clearly remember an iconic episode where he selected a small pier in Hong Kong to cook Sweet and Sour prawns. Now at first glance, I'm sure loads of people will consider sweat and sour prawns as boring, seen it, done it, could do it with blindfolds on, etc. That might be true, but combine some irate water taxi owners who want to "flick me off like an unwanted barnacle" together with Keith Floyd and you have just made a terribly simple dish, amazing to watch. "Cheers to us" Luke

Galangal can, for some, have a distinct euphoric effect on the brain. This a feature of Tom Yum soup where it is especially good when combined with hot peppers. Luke

I know our electrons spin backwards in the Southern Hemisphere and all that, but I can't believe I am reading praise for the Breville Ikon???? I bought one last week. Tried it for at least an hour to get an even toast. Gave up. Packed it up and got my money back. If there are people praising this model then I can only imagine: (a) their build quality varies widely from unit to unit. (b) they are different operational characteristics between 240v / 110v units. Strange. Luke