Clooney Restaurant - a birthday treat!

My birthday this year has certainly been one to remember! Not only have I been totally spoiled, I also have my husband with me for the first time in years.
John took me to Clooney Restaurant (Auckland City) last night for my birthday. Our evening was more 'an experience' than just a meal. The service couldn't be faulted, the right combination of attentive without being 'in your face' and snobby about the food.
The menu was amazing and making a choice between dishes was just too difficult...so the answer was obvious - the tasting menu. There was a choice of 6 or 9 courses. We decided that 6 course was plenty, and it was.
Our meals (all 6 courses) and wines were spectacular. I was determined the first course dish was going to be my favourite, but as each new dish came I was equally impressed. The wine matches for each course were the best I have had. The tricky part was remembering to drink the wine before each dish was devoured.
I substituted the beef dish for a vegetarian dish. If I was to go back again I would be tempted to have the 6 course vegetarian tasting menu as this dish was so good.
I would have to say last night's meal was not only my best birthday dinner ever, but also my best restaurant experience ever.

If I had to choose a favourite dish it would be either the valdeon dish (it looked like nothing special but was the most unexpectedly incredible little dish) or the dessert (the feijoa and ginger combination was amazing).

My mission now will be to find another excuse to go back...watch this space!

salmon, orange, saffron, fennel pollen

Marc Brédif Vouvray 2010

congee, hot smoked snapper & broth

Domaines Schlumberger ‘Les Princes Abbes’ 2008

duck breast, cherry, radicchio, licorice

Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2010

beef, shiitake, garlic, miso, marrow

d’Arenberg ‘The Galvo Garage’ Cabernet, Merlot, Petit Verdot 2006

(aubergine, white miso, black garlic, date, farro

Chateau de Sours Grand vin de Bordeaux Rouge 2009 - vegetarian replacement) 

valdeon, beetroot, walnut, pomegranate 

feijoa, rosemary, brown butter, ginger

Pasquale ‘Plump’ Late Harvest Pinot Gris 2011 

Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken with Silver Beet

I'm still experimenting with slow cooker recipes and this one looked intriguing - especially the anchovy, onion starter for the sauce.

I used a really good quality balsamic which is very sweet. The end result was a really rich sauce that the chicken was cooked in.

When using my slow cooker for a meal I try to include other vegetables as part of the cooking to save having to prepare additional vegetables to go with the meal. I put chopped potatoes in to cook with the chicken and they came out really nicely flavoured.

The recipe came from a web site called An Apple A Day

Balsamic-Braised Chicken with Swiss Chard

from America's Test Kichen Slow Cooker Revolution

*slight adaptations noted in parenthesis 

Ingredients:

1 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, minced

5 tsp. minced fresh thyme or 1 1/2 tsp. dried

1 TBSP tomato paste

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 anchovy fillet, rinsed and minced (I used 1 1/2 tsp. anchovy paste)

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

3 TBSP all-purpose flour

1/2 c. balsamic vinegar

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 c. dry red wine

2 bay leaves

12 (6 oz.) bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed, trimmed (I used 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

6 oz. Swiss chard, stems removed and leaves sliced 1/2 in. thick

Directions:

1.  Heat oil in 12-in. skillet (or super sweet slow cooker!) over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add onion, thyme, tomato paste, garlic, anchovy, and red pepper flakes and cook until onion is softened and slightly brown, 8-10 minutes.  Stir in flour and cook 1 minute more.

2.  Slowly whisk in vinegar, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps.  Cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.  Transfer to slow cooker.

3.  Stir tomatoes, broth, wine, and bay leaves into slow cooker.  

4.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker.  Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4-6 hours, on low.

5.  Gently stir in chard, cover, and cook on high until tender, 20-30 minutes.  

6.  Transfer chicken to platter and tent loosely with foil.  Let braising liquid settle 5 minutes, then skim fat from surface using large spoon.  Discard bay leaves.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with sauce spooned over each chicken piece.    Serves 6-8.  (I served it with basic polenta as recommended in the cookbook.)

Carrot and Orange Soup

I had way too many carrots so was pleased to find this recipe included with my Ooooby Box this week.
I'm not super keen on carrots but this soup was really quite nice. The orange and the sweetness from the carrots make it quite a sweet flavour.








4 Tbsp of butter
2 cups of onions diced
1 kg of carrots chopped
4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed)
salt and pepper to taste
grated zest of orange, optional

Saute onion in melted butter in a large stock pot. Cover and simmer over a low heat until tender. Add the carrots and stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until carrots are tender, about 30 minutes.
Blend or process and then add the orange juice. Season to taste and top with orange zest (if using) just before serving.

Mini Chocolate Cup Cakes and Whiskey Truffles

I found this recipe on the website Divine Baking. I needed something to make in advance for a family function.
I made the muffins and froze them and then made the ganache frosting and left it in the fridge, then warmed it slightly to make it easy to work with. I iced the cupcakes using a plastic bag with the corner cut off. I then dusted with cocoa.
The finished product was great to look at and to taste!

I had left over ganache frosting so I added whiskey, rolled them into balls and then rolled in cocoa powder. Despite not liking whiskey these little morsels were delicious!

Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

Frosting (note: if you like to generously frost your cupcakes, double this amount)

1 cup heavy cream8 ounces 60% chocolate, coarsely chopped

Cupcakes

1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
¾ cup whole milk

For The Frosting: 

In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium-low heat, until it just begins to simmer. Add the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate has melted completely and the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool for about 2 hours, or until it has thickened enough to frost the cupcakes. If you'd like the frosting to thicken faster, place the ganache in the refrigerator and stir every 5 minutes.

For The Cupcakes: 

 

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with liners.

Stir together the flour and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until pale, light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.

Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and milk alternately in two batches, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Continue mixing until the batter is uniform in color.

Fill muffin cups about two-thirds full. Bake for 15-20 minutes (if making mini cupcakes bake for about 10 -12 minutes) or until the cupcakes spring back slightly when pressed in the center.

Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack, then remove and allow to cool completely on the rack.

Once the frosting has thickened, dip the each cupcake in it and twist as you lift it out, or spread a small amount of frosting on top of each cupcake (I used a piping bag to frost the cupcakes, because I like a lot!).

Makes 12 regular cupcakes or 24 mini cupcakes.

Kermadec Degustation

We managed to get a voucher through a 'one day' type deal for a half price six course degustation meal for two at the popular Kermadec fine dining restaurant at Auckland's waterfront recently.
After a couple of attempts to find a night to enjoy this, we managed this earlier this week.

The meal was fantastic. Every course was amazing, incredibly intricate and delicious. I would absolutely do this again any time. I'll be looking out for this deal to come up again.

We opted to wine match the course. The wines were fabulous and the matching was really well done. Some of the wines were 'good' on their own but really were enhanced by the food or vise versa.

A highlight of the night was a fireworks display straight outside the window we were sitting by...just one the deck of 'KZ1'. Thank you to my darling husband for arranging this for me (or to ANZ Bank to be more exact)

The menu

Yellowtail kingfish sashimi, hadjki, pickled peach, sesame, mirin dressing

Chamomile infused Marlborough salmon, watercress, young vegetables à la grecque, salsa Verde

Seared Scallops, sweet corn, bacon crumb, truffle mayonnaise

Crispy skinned Hauraki Gulf snapper, courgette and crab beignet, court bouillon in its entirety

Wild red venison, sweet corn custard, pickled shitakes, thyme pop corn, Puy lentils, sauce Rouennaise

Fraisier
Sablé Breton, Heilala vanilla cream, violet espuma, strawberry consommé, wild thyme honey ice cream - I forgot to take this picture

Stuffed Baguette Slices

I found this on Pintrest and have been waiting for an opportunity to give it a try. A family birthday this weekend was an ideal chance. What appealed to me is that it could be made a day or two in advance for a function. A great way to be organised and reduce stress when catering for an event. I'm keen to try this and freeze some to see if it is still ok.

I made two versions, one similar to the recipe below and one with smoked salmon, spring onion and capers. Both were really nice. I made them the night before the lunch. We also ate them the next day which would be two days after they were made.

The pictures are from the web site I found the recipe. I forgot to take any of the ones I made.

Makes one 12-inch long baguette; about 24 slices

Ingredients:

• Baguette about 14-inch long

• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 oz fresh goat cheese
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• ½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper (about 1 medium)
• ½ cup finely chopped sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
• ¼ cup finely chopped Kalamata olives
• 2 oz finely chopped spicy salami
• About 2 tbsp minced Italian parsley
• About 1 tsp minced fresh thyme
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt to taste (very unlikely since there’re plenty of salty ingredients)

Preparation:

Slice off both ends of the baguette. Using a long thin knife and working from the both ends, hollow the baguette out leaving about ½-inch thick crust all around.

Using an electric mixer beat the cream cheese until smooth and lump-free. Beat in the goat cheese and garlic. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Working again from the both ends, fill the baguette with the cheese mixture. Pack the filling tight. I like to use a slender tequila shot glass for pressing the filling in. Wrap the stuffed baguette very well in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours and up to two days. Right before serving, slice the baguette into ½-inch thick slices and serve. For the most neat looking slices, treat it as a cheesecake – each time slice it with a hot dry knife.