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Campion & Curtis Food and Wine Newsletter
December 2004
Welcome to the final Campion and Curtis newsletter for 2004. It's just about the end of another year and we trust all of our readers are gearing up
for a food and wine-filled festive season. In the C&C household we've made the puddings, there are bags of Christmas gifts in the front room, we have two children
counting down to the big day and our diary is filled with dates for drinks with family and friends. We hope your December is going along a similar path. Hope you like our new gorgeous photo taken by Lisa Cohen.
Not only do we look stunning, but the food photos from our new book, due out in March titled Food With Friends, are mouth-watering.
Click here to visit the Campion and Curtis website
Summer produce
This is a magical time for lovers of fresh fruits with markets flooded with beautiful mangoes, apricots, raspberries, strawberries, red currants, cherries,
lychees and much more. If it's salads, then fresh vegetables and herbs are on the shopping list with plenty to choose from. Asparagus, avocadoes, cucumbers,
tomatoes and lettuces are all in peak condition. This amazing array will provide plenty of choice for food lovers over the coming weeks. If you're looking for a great
berry and currant inspired dessert we've included a beauty at the bottom of this newsletter - our rosewater meringue stack with red summer berries from the Seasonal
Produce Diary 2005.
New Books
Maurizio Terzini is well known as a very successful restaurant owner and he has now turned his hand to writing. This has produced a cook book titled Something Italian
which documents his journey from Caffe e Cucina in Melbourne to the award winning Icebergs Dining Room and Bar overlooking Bondi Beach via Otto, Il Bacaro and the Melbourne Wine room. The layout
breaks the recipes under headings like colazione (breakfast), pranzo (easy lunch dishes), spuntino (afternoon snack), cena (dinner) and so forth. This would be a great
book for someone wanting to produce great Italian food from an Australian prospective. Dishes like Maurizio's chicken would make a fantastic dinner, as would Karen
Martini's chargrilled salt-crusted rib eye gift. Lantern $29.95
A new release titled Oz Clarke's Australian Wine Companion would make a great travel guide for wine-loving visitors to Australia. In it he provides an overview of local
wine styles plus a spotlight on one region in each state. This includes a little history plus a great guide on the wineries in the area, the wines they produce, a
best vintage chart, plus profiles of great Australian winemakers. Time Warner $39.95.
Foodie Highlights
In the November edition of C&C newsletter we included a few foodie highlights from Paris. There was also excellent food to be had in other places - here's a small
look at some of our favourites from Singapore to Copenhagen and London.
The perfect foodies Christmas present
Stephanie Alexander will again be hosting a week-long gastronomic adventure at la Combe in the south-west of France from Wednesday March 24 until Wed March 31st. Here a small group
of students will have an opportunity to shop with Stephanie and visit wonderful local markets, then cook and eat together. If anyone is thinking of sending us a surprise Christmas present
this could be just the thing! For more information and bookings visit www.lacombe-perigord.com or email info@lacombe-perigord.com
The Foodies' Guide 2005
Over this past year we've been travelling throughout the suburbs of Melbourne and across regional Victoria to find the very best foodie places to include in the
2005 edition of The Foodies Guide. It's been quite a journey as the number of great new places has really kept us on our toes. We've worked closely with our editor
Kirsten Abbott and devised structural changes to ensure the guide is even easier easy to use. Each entry is of a similar length and the book is divided into three main
sections. The new Foodies also looks very gorgeous with it's turkish delight cover
The Food Shops section is organised alphabetically, starting with Bakeries & Cake Shops and going through to Wine Shops, with the top ethnic stores included along the
way. We've also listed our favourite 'five of the best' products in many chapters, along with the best Easter and Christmas treats.
Urban Discoveries is organised by council districts and zones, showcasing the top take-aways, restaurants, fish and chip shops, breakfast places and local
food stores in each area under headings such as Foodie Finds, Local Heroes, Eating Out and Food To Go.
The Regional Victoria section is organised on a region-by-region basis covering the best farmers' markets, restaurants, cafes, bakeries and fruit farms,
food stores and delicatessens along the way.
We have also published our annual 'Cup Cake' awards with the following winners-
Most fabulous bakery - Aviv Cakes & Bagels, 412 Glen Huntly Road Elsternwick 9528 6627 - We fell in love with the mushroom quiches here this year.
Most gorgeous chocolate shop - Koko Black, Shop 4, Royal Arcade City 9639 8911 - The raspberry filled truffles are our all-time favourite here.
Most scrumptious gelati - Il Dolce Freddo, 116 Lygon Street Carlton 9639 3344 - Try the Nutella and the beautiful fruit flavours.
Best butcher - Prahran Continental Butcher, 170 Chapel Street Prahran 9510 2809 - We love the grilled spicy bratwurst in a bun at lunchtime.
Legendary deli - Delicatess, Stall 706, Prahran Market, 163-165 Commercial Road South Yarra 9824 1752 - A range of staples covers just about every culinary experiment
from salt cod and kaiserfleisch to handmade filo and marshmallows.
Finest foodie superstore - Leo's Fine Food & Wine, 26 Princess Street Kew 9853 8314 - If there is one store that can sum up Victorian producers it's Leo's.
Outstanding organic - Ripe Organic Grocer, Shop 7, Prahran Market, Commercial Road South Yarra 9804 8606 - From the freshest of seasonal organic produce to the vast
range of dried fruit, pulses, nuts and dry goods, there's something for all.
Greatest greengrocer - V & R Fruit and Vegetable Market, 5 Pakington Street Geelong 5222 2522 - Visit in any season to discover either the ripest perfumed tomatoes, figs bursting with juice or
the earthiest potatoes.
Most memorable breakfast - Gas Eatery & Supplies, 253 Coventry Street South Melbourne 9690 0217 - The French toast was magnificent: two thick slabs of brioche, lightly soaked in egg,
pan-fried until crisp, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar contrasted with the tart jam.
Foodie heaven - Darriwill Farm, 169 Gray Street Hamilton 5571 2088 - Everywhere you look it's eye candy for food lovers with quince jelly, olives, farmhouse cheeses
and breads on offer.
The Foodies' Guide by Allan Campion and Michele Curtis (Hardie Grant, $26.95)
Jonathan Gianfreda
Melbourne food lovers have been coming to terms with the sad news that Jonathan Gianfreda passed away recently. Jonathan was a major player in the Australian food scene with
his Smith Street butcher's shop and a wholesaling business that took his amazing products to fans across the country. Chef and food author Stephanie Alexander
spoke beautifully at Jonathan's funeral and summed up his impact on creating and promoting excellence in food. We are pleased to be able to include a copy of
Stephanie's eulogy here for all our visitors to read. Jonathan is sadly missed by all who knew him and our thoughts are with his wife Toni
and son Gaston.
To conclude
2004 has been a huge year for us in so many ways with the return of The Seasonal Produce Diary and a major updating of The Foodies Guide. We've also completed a new cookbook
to be released in March next year called Food With Friends. Alongside writing these three books we've had an opportunity to visit family and friends in Europe and open the doors of
Ludo The Good Food Store in Sandringham. None of this could have been achieved without the talents and skills of many others, in particular editor Mary Small and the team at
Hardie Grant Books who always manage to keep our writing on track. So as we move into 2005 we wish all of you a safe and enjoyable festive season. We'll be spending January with our family trying to catch a few big
waves on our boogie boards! We look forward to being in contact with the February 2005 edition of the Campion & Curtis newsletter.
Allan and Michele
If you're still planning the Christmas meal and are looking for something a little interesting to serve for dessert we can highly recommend this little rosewater
meringue number. Alternatively if you have a spare afternoon you may want to consider a more traditional way to finish the Christmas meal with a plum pudding.
Rosewater meringue stack with red summer berries
This dessert is basically an overgrown layered pavlova with lots of extras. If you're entertaining for a large group over summer, you'll need one of these.
Serve it in all its glory and allow people to help themselves.
6 egg whites
440g (2 cups) caster sugar
2 tablespoons rosewater
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
600ml thickened cream
500g cherries, pitted
250g red currants, destalked
300g raspberries
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add sugar, one third at a time, allowing each third to be well incorporated so that you end up with a thick, glossy meringue.
Fold through rosewater, cornflour and vinegar.
Line 3 baking trays with greaseproof paper. Shape one disc of meringue onto each tray, the first approximately 20cm in diameter, the second 15cm and the last 10cm.
Place in oven, lower temperature to 120°C and bake for 45 minutes. Turn the oven off, leaving the pavlova to cool inside the oven.
Whip cream until thick.
Lay largest meringue disc on serving platter. Spread with some cream and top with almost half the fruit.
Place medium-sized meringue on top, and cover with cream and fruit. Repeat with the final meringue, using up the remaining cream and fruit.
Serves 8-10
Wine match
This amazing summer dessert requires a suitable wine match and one of the best is moscato. This beautifully sweet, low-alcohol, traditional Italian fizz is easily
able to cope with the rosewater-flavoured meringue, summer fruits and cream and still come up trumps. The best Italian-made moscatos are usually labelled as Moscato
d'Asti and are best enjoyed within a year or two of production. The number of locally made moscatos is increasing too, which is great to see. Check out brands such as
Brown Brothers, Gapsted and Box Stallion.
Recipe and wine match from The Seasonal Produce Diary 2005 by Allan Campion and Michele Curtis - (Hardie Grant Books RRP $29.95).
Christmas pudding
This is the pudding recipe we have been making for years and no doubt will continue to make for years to come, as Christmas just wouldn't be the same without it.
It uses stout to give it a delicious richness, which is the giveaway that it originated in Ireland, from where my family and I emigrated in 1973.
This mix makes two 1 kg (2 lb) puddings - one for the day itself and one to put away for mid-year Christmas. AC
175 g (6 oz) self-raising flour
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
450 g (15 oz) fresh breadcrumbs
700 g (22 oz) brown sugar
450 g (15 oz) currants
225 g (7 1/2 oz) raisins
225 g (7 1/2 oz) sultanas
100 g (3 1/2 oz) mixed peel or candied orange peel
50 g (1 3/4 oz) slivered almonds
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
225 g (7 1/2 oz) margarine
3 medium eggs
65 ml (2 1/3 fl oz) brandy
275 ml (9 fl oz) Guinness
2 x 1 litre (1 2/3 pt) pudding bowls, buttered
Sift together flour and spices. Stir in breadcrumbs, brown sugar, currants, raisins, sultanas, mixed peel, almonds and citrus zest.
Melt margarine and mix with eggs, brandy, stout and margarine. Stir wet mix into dry mix, combining both fully.
It may look quite runny at this stage but will thicken in the refrigerator. Cover mixture and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 160 C (320 F).
Divide pudding mixture between two greased pudding bowls. Cover with buttered greaseproof paper and foil.
Tie down tightly with string under the rim of each pudding bowl or, easier still, use a large elastic band.
Place pudding bowls in a deep baking tray (use two trays if you need to) and pour hot water into the dish until it comes three-quarters of the way up the bowl.
Cover entire tray with a double layer of foil.
Place baking tray in the oven and cook for 3-4 hours.
Check water level from time to time and add more if needed. Test the puddings with a skewer as you would a cake, to make sure they are cooked.
Either serve while still hot or keep at room temperature for up to 6 months.
Serves 10.
Recipe from Every Day in the Kitchen by Allan Campion and Michele Curtis - (Hardie Grant Books RRP $29.95).