Joel Hicks

One of my favourite salads, Potato, Fennel, Olive, Saffron and Mussel Salad. This recipe is from Australian Chef, Damien Pignolet, from his book, "French". Ive made it hundreds of times as a meal in itself, or as a side for grilled fish or chicken. Mandolin the Fennel and save the fronds De-pit and roughly chop Kalamata Olives Steam the potatoes Cook the mussels in white wine garlic and onion Strain and deshell mussels keeping Mussel liquor. Strain Mussel liquor carefully removing garlic, onions and any sand etc.. and then add saffron strands to liquor and allow to steep. Make a vinegarette using saffron mussel liquor Toss warm/hot potatoes in vinegarette Add some chopped sun-dried tomatoes Add to cooked mussels and Fennel, toss and enjoy with a glass of dry white wine.

Thanks Mickey B, i will give it a go and post the results. It seems a very indian dish in terms of the ingredients and the cooking methods, especially with all those onions. Cheers Joel

If it so loved, where is it on egullet? Anyway, i cooked it and loved it, and am trying to promote it somewhat in my nose to tail dining exploration. Tripe as a word in itself is associated with rubbish, where i am from ayway. If someone is talking nonsense or or you dont believe what you are hearing, a common expression is "what aload of old tripe". Enjoy and stop typing tripe Joel

Here is the finished product, and it was deliscious!! I garnished with mint, and I stirred in a hole bunch of parsley, it was tasted warm and unctious.I woud definately make it again. I am converted now to the benefits of tripe, and can add it to my nose to tail repetoire.

Just out of the pressure cooker, and it tastes delcious. The offending tripe, close up. The honeycomb texture is excellent for holding onto the sauce.

Further to my post above, please have a look at the website for the Sydney tripe club. http://www.tripesite.com.au/index.html Joel

I am surpised to find that there is very little on this forum about a very famous or infamous ingredient, TRIPE. Tripe is loved and hated across all continents, probably hated allot more than it is loved. So i thought i would start a thread dedicated to Tripe. I would love to hear from everyone what their favourite preperations of tripe are, so that we can build a catalogue for tripers. Personally i am not fan of tripe, but to be honest, i have never given tripe a chance. I am currently on holidays in Australia with my family, and was gifted to very rare tickets to a Rugby match, VIP tickets to watch Wallabies (Australia) V's the All Blacks (New Zealand). My fathers firend who gave me these tickets is a tripe addict. In fact he and his wife are member sof a tripe club here in Sydney Australia. The tripe club in sydney is for the tripe die hard, or tripe tragic. They regularly take over restaurants monthly where the chefs of the restaurant is to prepare Tripe for the club members, and they try all manner of preperations, chinese, french, italian, indian etc.. as well as fine dining establishements. Cost is not a factor for the tripe tragic. So as payment for the tickets, i am preparing tripe. My inspiration is from the classic preperation "Trippa alla Milanese", with a few twists of my own. My basic ingredients are as follows. 1.2 Kg of honeycomb beef tripe - Par cooked and bleached 2 carrots 3 sticks of celery 2 onions 5 cloves of garlic 3 tbs of red wine vinegar 1/2 glass of white wine 2 400 g tinns of chopped tomatoes. 200 grams of bacon 200 grams of smoked polish veal sausage. (any spicy or smokey sausage will do) 400 grams of canellini beans dried red chilli to your spice level Sage Leaves Bay Leaves Garnish with; Pecorino Romano Mint and parsley I am also using a pressure cooker to speed things up (the worlds first microwave). Not very appertising to look, at but i am determined to make it into a masterpiece. I intend to get a rich tomatoey, smokey tripe and bean stew, to be mopped up with artisan sour dough bread. I am writing this pre-tripe being cooked, it is in the pressure cooker as i write this and is smelling great. So i think that the key to this much maligned ingredient is building up layers of flavour.... Fingers crossed.

Chicken and dumplings I load my broth with Chilli to make it a little more adult. For the dumplings I use chicken fat (adds depth of flavour) and a healthy dose of Tio Peppe sherry, parsley and thyme, such a great end of the weekend dish.

You can do it Sylvia, no more lead ballons, we have unlocked the secret!

I use Rick Steins recipe from his book "Food Heroes another Helping" Ive made it many times and it has never failed me. Here is one from last week.

Dumplings have been a success!! thanks all for your help. I think the key ti good dumplings is a light hand (dont over mix, think muffin dough consistency), and fresh baking powder. Here is how it went. Mis en place Rendering off fat for the dumplings and caremelizing the chicken for flavour. Secret ingredient everyone in the pool, carrots, onions, celery, zuchini, thyme, garlic, chilli, and chicken stock about 3 litres I add the chicken thighs after removing the skin (leaving the bone in also) under pressure for about 30 mins. dumpling mix, i added some of the rendered chicken fat to the mix, about 2 tablespoons, 2 cups of flour, tbs baking powder, 1 tsp salt, generous sprinkling of fresh thyme and i added milk a little at a time till i guo to a muffin dough consistency, thick wet and sticky. drop the dumpling batter into the chicken broth. dumplings now cooked, sprinkled with parsley, and ready to eat. i cooked them for 20 mins, lid on no peeking. perfection, light and fluffy and flavourful.

Both heat and moisture can "pre-react" your baking powder. Drop some in hot water and see if it fizzes. Lots of bubbles is a good sign. No bubbles means it's toast. Also, is it possible that your milk is getting too hot? Chicken fat melts around 75F/24C, so I'd try it around 80F/27C. Double-acting baking powder will generate gas once when you get it wet, then again when you get it hot, and if you're getting both effects at once, then stirring vigorously to make the mixture smooth - you might be beating the gas right out. I am only heating the milk to around 30 C. I think now from all the above posts, and from looking at the links provided above the key to making successful dumplings is as follows Ensure your baking powder is active and has not expired Do not overwork the batter/dough when combining the wet with the dry. Think Muffins or scones. Don't lift the lid on the pot/casserole whilst the dumplings are simmering. It seems that the average cooking time is anywhere between 15 - 20 mins (i am going for 18 mins) I am going to give the recipe another go this weekend and ill post the results. Any other tips from Dumpling masters, keep them coming. Thanks for your help and suggestions so far.

Thanks Panaderia Canadiense Joel

@Sylvialovegren and annachan, that both for your prompt replies, i will try both of you recipes and get back to you. however my recipe above is very similar, so i am still very interested in what could possibly go wrong, i am now thinking that my baking powder might not give the enough lift, because everything else is almost identical. Has anyone heard of defective baking powder?? Thanks Joel

I have been experimenting with a recipe for Chicken and Dumplings, which is a great Americana recipe and an all time classic. The taste is excellent, however i cannot seem to nail the dumplings. The Dumpling Recipe that i am using is as follows (from memory, the recipe i am using comes from the America's Test Kitchen Cook Book); 3 tablespoons of chicken fat 1 cup of Milk 1 tablespoon of baking powder 2 cups of regular all purpose flower teaspoon of salt Mix all the dry ingredients together heat milk and chicken fat together until warm, but not hot, and combine with the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon. Stir with the wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth. Drop golf-ball size dumplings into the Chicken Broth, and cook until doubled in size (should take about 18 - 20 minutes) SO, i find that i get, doughy balls, seemingly undercooked, thick and not all too pleasant. I am looking for a light if not fluffy dumpling. Also, i have to admit I am an Aussie, maybe this is having an effect to on an all American Classic. Thanks in Advance for your help Joel

I am an Australian. I wonder how can an aussie not have tried vegemite? And to add further insult to injury, to suggest that star anise...... to 'spag bol'..... I am in shock. Maybe with the 26th of January around the corner, you might consider lashing out a little, and head for a jar of Vegemite from your local grocer, rather than the imported jars of other condiments from Jones the Grocer or Simon Johnson. Happy Australia Day (26th January), and long live the 'mites' in all their glorious forms. Joel

love the diet!! Slurp Joel

I HAD A JAR OF PLUM AND ROSEMARY JAM THAT I BOUGHT FROM THE SHOPS THAT WAS DELICIOUS. WHEN I WENT BACK TO GET ANOTHER JAR IT WAS GONE! I HAVE SEARCHED HIGH AND LOW, CANT FIND IT ANYWHERE, SO I AM DETERMINED TO BECOME SELF SUFFICIENT FOR MY ADDICTION! IF ANYONE HAS A TRIED AND TRUE RECIPE THAT THEY CAN SHARE, PLEASE DO SO! JOEL

Spaghetti and Tomato Sauce. The dinner was part of an interview to move into a 'share' house. Overcooked spaghetti with cold heinz ketchup poured over the noodles, and topped with a slice of processed cheese...... It took me an hour almost to eat, as the host watched over me. Needless to say i never returned to the house, Found a house with a chef. Joel

I wish I had a better vocabulary in this regard, but I would say in a few words that he is the Julia Child of Thai cooking though with a very deep emphasis on authenticity- his first book is a true classic. http://www.amazon.com/Thai-Food-David-Thompson/dp/1580084621 he is a little more than julia childs..... he is the first chef to ever gain a michelin star for thai food. he is also recognised by the thai royal family as an official historian of 'royal thai food', and some would say that he has preserved this style of food from a slow extinction through publishing his book 'Thai Food'. he is gathering and documenting more information on Thai food as i write this plus he is an all out good bloke! Joel

Hi Peter, Yes it is a high end boutique and the prices reflect this. I'll definitely go back to the fish markets on Saturday and show you the more conventional retail prices. Just to put into context for the other readers not from sydney about the seafood prices that were shown at the fishmonger fine fish, the shops that have been shown in this blog are from a very wealthy part of sydney, the lower North Shore. so the prices tend to match the income demographic of the area, and therefore not a true indication of food prices in sydney in general. Prices for fish in places like Cabramatta, around 1 hour from Neutral Bay where Fine Fish is located would be almost half, and just as fresh, as the Asian community living in this part of Sydney (Vietnamese), demand their fish almost alive and in full rigour! Looking at this blog from Dubai where i currently reside makes me very homesick!! Joel

Shelby, fantastic blog. i am reading this from dubai where this is not anything running around that we can catch and kill and very jealous. fishing is good though!! I will definitely keep a close track on your exploits from here forward!!! thanks for the drool worthy pictures from the bottom of my heart from a dry dry dry dry land in the sand, Dubai!! Happy New Year Joel

I am an aussie reader, and i have no idea what "mush" is. looks like polenta or cornmeal???? can you let me know what it is?

i havent had sous vide eggs, what is the finished product like when compared to a normal boiled egg?

Kansas barebecue going to be on the menu??