Recipe: Stock

Alright, so call me a numbskull but I never knew that when you made your own stock, you were meant to roast the bones first. Now, thanks to Anthony Bourdain, I do, so all is as it should be. I made some lamb stock this week, reducing it down and down until it became a thick, caramelised condensation of demi-glace goodness that I socked straight into the freezer for future sauces.

Buy 2-3kgs of roasting lamb bones from the butcher. Smother with tomato paste, dust some plain flour over the top and bung them in a 180 degree oven in an oiled tray to roast. Turn a couple of times. Add some onion and carrots to the roasting pan, top with oil and turn frequently until caramelised.

Throw the lot into a big pot and fill to the top with cold water. In his book 'Les Halles Cookbook', Bourdain commands "DO NOT EVER BOIL YOUR STOCK!" but I did, briefly, and the world didn't stop. Let it simmer for 6-8 hours. Strain until there's nothing more to strain. That's the basic stock. Some can be stored, or you can go for broke and use it all for your demi. It's a long, long process and you don't want to go through the whole palaver again any time soon. At least I didn't, anyway.

For the demi, add red wine to a pot that's about one quarter the volume of stock you're going to use. Simmer, and reduce to around half the wine. Add your stock and simmer and reduce it for 3-4 hours until all you have is a few inches at the bottom of the pot of fairly thick, strong, dark demi-glace. Strain again, if you're really keen, then pour into ice cube trays and bung in the freezer. To be used for red meat sauces and gravies.

Recipe: Pancakes

When I was growing up, the ultimate foodie treat for us kids was a piping stack of Dad's pancakes, with an alternating topping of lemon & sugar or Log Cabin maple syrup.

These days, not too much has changed. I still love the occasional stack, although my maple syrup palate is a little more discerning ('CAMP...pure authentic nature you can taste' reads the bottle. Hmm, maybe not). Anyway, this is my dear old da's Yorkshire recipe.

Mix 250gm plain flour with half a teaspoon of salt. Add two beaten eggs and a little milk, then mix well with a wooden spoon. Keep adding milk gradually while mixing until the batter has the consistency of thickish cream.

Heat a teaspoon of oil in a frying pan. Add a large tablespoon of the batter and tilt the pan so it spread out to the edges, like a crepe. Cook on a medium high heat until bubbles break the surface. Turn over (or flip, if you can wing it) and cook on the other side briefly. Don't worry, the first one with undoubtedly turn out crap. Add to a plate and keep warm in the oven, with a teatowel flung over the top to prevent from drying out. Repeat to your heart's content.

Serve with lemon juice & sugar, or Canadian maple syrup.

Macaroons @ Lamont's Wine Store Cottesloe

Ah, the macaroon. Winking away at me like colourful jewels on a plate, these were imported from France by Lamont's Wine Store Cottesloe and totally looked the goods. With light, crunchy shells and delicate, slightly chewy praline fillings they came in flavours of mango, blueberry, vanilla, raspberry and rose water. LWSC manager Jeri was right when she said they were moreish: I had three and could easily have scoffed half a dozen more. Duncan, macaroon aficionado that you are, my thoughts were with you.

ETA: I profiled Lamont's Cottesloe for Your Restaurants, here

Star Anise is Not Closing

Practically everybody I've spoken to recently about David Coomer's top Shenton Park restaurant Star Anise has come back with the comment "Yeah, did you hear they were closing down? Such a shame". So it was with some trepidation that I called to make a booking. Happily, they are alive and thriving as always. I asked sous chef Matt Stone what the skinny was on the rumour.

"We're not even close to closing", said Matt. "Actually, we've just renewed our lease so we'll be here for years yet. It's just a hospitality rumour that's going around at the moment. We're very much open".

You heard it here first, folks..

Review: (A)LURE

It irks me when people say dining out is all about the food, because it isn't. Dining out, especially when it's high-end, is also about feeling loved and cossetted, like being wrapped in a warm cocoon of specialness for the night. If I wanted just food, I'd have stayed at home.

At Burswood's (A)LURE, I felt about as loved as a puppy caught in the rain. On arrival, we were led past a cool bar/sushi station through to a wonderful Manhattan-inspired fit-out, then towards the back until we were seated next to an exit door in a small, tiled area entirely by ourselves. This was a little puzzling considering the restaurant was only three quarters full, and I felt the rumblings of foreboding. And heard the sound of much clattering as crockery, cutlery and glassware began to hit our table. All delivered in a most unloving way by a team of young girls who looked as though they'd prefer to be anywhere but serving us. Sean Marco is an award-winning chef who has worked in some of the world's most prestigious hotels. Such a shame, then, to have such poor conveyors of his fine fare. I asked only one question during the night, hesitatingly, knowing I would be disappointed: could a side be suggested for my $48 upmarket surf-and-turf? "Um, like, maybe a salad?" was the surly reply. Care factor: zero. I went with the buttered asparagus.

(A)LURE is great if you're after conventional high-end grub with low-end service in a cool space. Not so great if you expect fine dining.


What we ate:
Entree - Mixed half dozen oysters ($20); fetta & mushroom tartlet ($17)
Main - Avon Valley beef fillet with lobster tail ($48); confit pork belly with grilled King prawns ($42); buttered asparagus.

What we drank:
T'Gallant Pinot Grigio; Capel Vale Unwooded Chardonnay; Clairault Cabernet Sauvignon

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Restaurant Awards-WA Nominees

Gourmet Traveller has just announced the nominees for their annual restaurant awards. Congratulations to all the WA nominees who made it into the final cut:

• Emma Sputore, Must Winebar - Sommelier of the Year
• Enrico Carnevali, Zafferano - Maitre d' of the Year
• Hadleigh Troy, Restaurant Amuse - Best New Talent
• 1907 - Bar of the Year
• Balthazar - Wine List of the Year

The 2009 Restaurant of the Year will be announced in Sydney on 18 August.

Mundaring Truffle Festival 2008

There was a whole lot of truffling going on in Mundaring today. And the weather held out in a most obliging manner. Truth be told (and being the greedy pig I am), there wasn't as much truffling as I would have liked, considering this was, after all, a truffle festival.

Cute truffle-seeking labradors, yes. Truffle oils with the obligatory dukkah (by jingo I'm sick of that stuff), truffle butter, a big scrummy truffle in a jar worth around $150, a mega truffle luncheon for the gastronomes and a truffle masterclass with master chef Shannon Bennett (who looks suspicously like Kurt Cobain).


But where was the elusive truffle to be tasted? Must I forage for it myself? In the end, The Loose Box saved me with their excellent offerings: boiled egg in its shell blended with a bechamel sauce, nestled into a carton of raw brown rice, and topped with shavings of black, earthy truffle. Heaven in a cup.