Simon Lewinson

Have a serious look at Miele. We have one that is 16 years old and I still open the door when it us running as it is almost silent. Has some great design features like a separate cutlery tray, integrated water softener, self cleaning filter and can take a huuuuge 20 liter stockpot. It also uses only 9 liters of water for a full load. I run it between 1 and 3 times a day and it has never faltered. Likewise, I have their washing machine that runs about 10-15 loads a week and the only maintenance has been a set of motor brushes and had to clean the filter once when my wife washed a set of football boots that had a 2 inch layer of muddy grass on the bottom. I even bought their upright freezer as it is the only one I found with an efficiency rating of four stars versus all the others of one or two. Seriously, their products are the best I have seen in terms of engineering and build quality. Simon

Marshmallow and chocolate constructed to look like a licorice allsort. Could also do similar with chocolate ganache and mint fondant. Simon

Yep, managed to outsource the hydro-ceramic technician role. The day went quite well, over catered massively but all dishes passed muster. Simon

Even though the curd is acidic i would sterilise the jars - I personally use the dishwasher to do this job. Have the product ready to bottle when the cycle ends. The jars are steaming hot and ready to go. Simon

Hi all, thanks for the assistance. All went really well and the cheese sauce survived well after heating up in the sous vide rig. Simon

Made a batch using my normal recipe using 30% plastic-cheese and 70% cheddar cheese. I was impressed with the texture difference - much more silky and better emulsification. I am looking forward to seeing how well it performs on the cauliflower on Xmas day. Thanks for the help. Simon

Well, that was just too darn obvious for words! Will make and vacuum seal it today before I leave. Simon

All live within 30 minutes drive but willingness and ability are a bit thin on the ground. Simon

Great idea! I will add some processed cheese slices to help with the texture. I don't have much time for freeze testing as I will be leaving home on Sunday to travel down. Simon

Deryn, the kitchen has almost no bench space for preparation and a very small stove. Space, equipment and preparation time are the challenges that I face. Biggest of all is the lack of oven space for cooking followed by no equipment and few ingredients. Vegetables and potatoes will take up most of the oven space, and one BBQ will probably be used as a food warmer and warm storage. I am trying to remove as many variables as possible by doing the prep at home before traveling down. Fridge space is also an issue so I need to condense as much as possible beforehand. I plan to sous vide the turkey and other meats so that they can be warmed / crisped up in the BBQ. Simon

Unfortunately I live out in the sticks and cannot readily get modernist ingredients. Will try to get some for the future. Simon

Agree with the thoughts of not freezing it. My experience is that frozen bacon gets an almost fishy taste that I find revolting. Simon

Lisa, prefabrication is out of the question as I live 4 hours drive from where the dinner will be held and I am travelling down 5 days ahead of time. I have made it before and not had issues with baking it as it is more to heat it through and brown the top. Simon

Hi, I have been "volunteered" to cook Xmas dinner for 30 people in a kitchen that is minimalist and extremely small. The menu includes cauliflower with cheese sauce and I was planning to make the cheese sauce in advance, vacuum pack it and possibly freeze it. It is a conventional white sauce made from a roux, white wine, milk and cheese. It will be thawed and used to top the blanched cauliflower before baking. Any gotchas or suggestions? Thanks Simon

One "oh-my-god" 3.5 liter sized pudding with any leftovers for beta testing. Only problem with those recipes is trying to get real suet in a country town in the middle of nowhere. They say that we are not out on the other side of the black stump, but you can see it from my balcony at home Simon

Yep, the run is definitely late but I was unceremoniously elected into the job following a death in the family a few months ago. I would love a copy of your recipe as the pre-fab suet mix is what I have bought. The fruit is looking good and I think that even with limited aging this will still be better than a supermarket jobbie. I am firing up the sous vide for pork belly, rolled turkey thigh and breast as the kitchen where I will be doing the deed is almost as small as the screen on my iPad.... I will be using 2 BBQs and anything else I can lay my hands on to cook on the day. Simon

This is almost mirroring what I started last night. I gave been volunteered to do christmas dinner for 30 people and that does not faze me; it is the pudding that I have never done before. Any tips for the novice? I have 2Kg of dried fruit marinating in a mixture of brandy, sherry and some really ancient port from my barrel. Simon

On the subject of fantastic places for food in the country, just over the border in Albury is a butcher that specializes in great varieties of meat. My favourite is their Mitta Valley wagyu beef, dry aged and fantastically marbled. They also sell Dorper lamb and great pork. Yalandra fine foods is the place and it is a few minutes from the Albury airport and they sell online. Www.yalandra.com.au Simon

I remember eating pies in Bendigo a lot of years ago and cannot truthfully compare the two, but I can say that the Parker pies are really good. This type of judgement is extremely subjective but it is always good to know where to start when traveling around the outer reaches of our state. I only wish that there was a great bakery close to home. Simon

Parker pies in Rutheglen would be my number one pick for their meat pies. They have walls covered with awards and I have not been able to find a better pie in my travels. http://parkerpies.com.au Simon

Forget trying to plant them from a pot as they have a really fragile root system that does not tolerate being disturbed. They are easy to grow from seed but bolt really easily in response to changes in temperature. I have brown thumbs but growing them from seed is pretty easy. Plant plenty of seeds and often to maintain a crop to harvest. Once they have bolted there is a ton of seed to replant or use as spice. Have you considered a small greenhouse outside? Simon

I am quite catholic about the Asian foods that I love. From Sarawak laksa in Kuching, char kueh teow in Penang, pho in Vietnam to som tum and pad khi mao in Bangkok, I find the clarity, intensity and balance of flavours in well executed dishes quite alluring and often addictive. Thai food seems to have an intensity, subtlety and balance of flavours that makes the ingredients shine. Simon

Pretty easy to do in my opinion. I would use a strong chlorine bleach solution, spray liberally around all areas and then close it up with a fan running to circulate the chlorine fumes for a while. Dry out quickly with a hot air gun and then keep it closed. Don't think that much in the way of mold would survive this.Simon

The simplest way to get an accurate temperature check near the sous vide temperature range is to use a cheap medical thermometer. They are required to be quite accurate and just about every house has one. I use one to check my sous vide rig at 40 degrees C. It is also independent of altitude and water purity issues. Simon

Been there, done that. In winter I go for curries with rice or Asian style soups like laksa where the broth is ready and the best of the ingredients take but a few minutes of prep. Summer brings a DIY salad bar with ingredients, dressing and cold meats in the fridge. Simon