Welcome to the December 2003 edition of the C&C newsletter, in particular the many new subscribers who have enjoyed us lately. We've had a busy few weeks recently showing overseas visitors around the foodie hot spots of Sydney and Melbourne. It's been fascinating to see the Australian food scene through their eyes. We've included a few of the food highlights from that trip. There's also plenty of festive season recipes for you try and enjoy with family and friends over the coming weeks. 

 

It looks as if we're in for a long hot summer and that means sun-loving fruit and vegetables are at the fore. We've already started enjoying stone fruit with good quality cherries, apricots and nectarines, soon to be joined by peaches and plums. Mangoes are having a great season too, we can't seem to get enough of them in the Campion and Curtis household. Berries and currants will soon be at give away prices, so keep a keen eye out for punnets of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, red and black currants. Asparagus, avocadoes and lettuce are fantastic for salads in the up-coming months, along with tomatoes and cucumbers. If it's barbecuing you're into, and who isn't over summer, then ensure you have a ready supply of sweetcorn, eggplant, zucchini and onions to keep your grill sizzling. 

 

 

The Barn Cafe & Grocery is a new Sydney food retailer with a combination of food store, delicatessen and restaurant in the one corner location. You can get everything from frozen dim sum to a bottle of wine here, and stay for a meal or a coffee. The menu runs from modern Spanish offerings to Moroccan and Italian. Sounds suitably mod-oz to us. Well worth a visit if you're in their part of town. 731-735 Darling Street, Rozelle. 02) 9810 1633.

 

If you're keen to escape the mounting Christmas madness consider popping over to the Mornington Peninsula this weekend to enjoy the hospitality of the local Vignerons association. Along with the usual wine tasting opportunities they're be an opportunity to taste paella at Point Leo Surf Club, enjoy opera under the stars at T'Gallant winery or relax in a deckchair at Tucks Ridge. full details on the website www.mpva.com.au

 

Recently we've had an opportunity to try a range of restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney and have been really knocked out at most of what we've been offered.

 

Pearl was a real highlight with excellent staff and a menu which we adored, and amazingly we tried just about everything on it between the eight of us. The dishes showed a real confidence without being cocky, a terrific balance between flavours, ingredients and thoughtful presentation. Most memorable was the roast spring bay scallops with Kellybrook cider butter sauce, caramelised fuji apples and a steamed scallop custard. Also loved the roast red duck curry with a crispy fried egg, shallots, mint, sweet fish sauce and coconut rice. The silken tofu with stir-fried oyster, wood ear and enoki mushrooms, fried bean curd in a broth with nori, crisped asparagus and shiso leaves was another beauty. >From the dessert menu we have to mention the outstanding donut holes stuffed with chocolate, a chocolate cream pot with cognac, chocolate sorbet and chocolate fairy floss. Pearl 631-633 Church Street, Richmond 03) 9421 4599. www.pearlrestaurant.com.au

 

Mo Mo was another terrific dining experience with chef Greg Malouf presenting a beautiful menu with many new dishes. In fact the room, service and food seemed to have settled beautifully together into the basement space here. The menu is very flexible with a range of entrees, mains and mezze to mix and match. We particularly loved the salad of squid fried with Middle Eastern spices, smoked almonds, fennel and candied bacon and Greg's seared scallops with olive crumbs, hummus and crisp Turkish air-dried beef salad. Desserts were beautifully done too, in particular the Medjool date brulee with leatherwood honey wafers. Basement, 115 Collins Street, City 03) 9650 0660.  www.momorestaurant.com.au

 

Longrain has long been a favourite of ours, in fact we try to squeeze a visit in here on every trip to the emerald city. Again we were blown away by Martin Boetz's handling of Asian flavours and textures, in particular his stir-fried rice noodles with snow pea leaves, barbecued duck, chilli and ginger. So beautiful it's become a 'new' favourite. The yellow curry of chicken with crisp egg noodles and pickled mustard greens was another winner, as was the caramelised pork hock. He is also one of the few chefs we've come across who can produce Asian inspired desserts in a modern Australian manner. If you get an opportunity to visit you must order the dessert platter and you'll see what we mean. Longrain 85 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills 02) 9280 2888.

 

Billy Kwong is a busy restaurant at the best of times, but with chef Kylie Kwong's recent ABC TV cooking show, the queue down Crown Street is even longer on most nights. We're were lucky enough to secure a table on a recent Friday evening and were interested to see if the dishes were as good as previous visits. Well we're pleased to report that everything was as good or even better than ever. Loved the salt and pepper cuttlefish and the dumplings and the san choy bau and the... well it was all good. If you like the idea of the shared table/shared dishes this is one not to miss. Billy Kwong 3/355 Crown Street, Surry Hills 02) 9332 3300.

 

It's that time when the C&C publishing juggernaut sets sail and this year is no exception. There is yet another BBQ cookbook on offer, this one titled King of the Grill. It takes up where Secret Men's BBQ Business left off with further exploration of Australian men and their love affair with the backyard BBQ. It includes chapters on the cuisine of tongs, SNAG'S (sizzling new age guys) and over 100 recipes which take a world tour to BBQ hotspots around the world searching for fantastic dishes cooked over the coals. This includes Mexican leg of lamb, Texan chicken drumsticks, Thai barbecued prawns, Caribbean lime salmon kebabs, Korean barbecue beef, Greek swordfish kebabs, Turkish shish kebabs and Spanish barbecue quail just to name a few. Could be just the thing for your very own king of the grill this Christmas!

King of the Grill (Hardie Grant Books) RRP $24.95

 

 

 

The first edition of The Foodies Guide became required reading for food and wine lovers when it was released earlier this year. So popular in fact it sold out in a matter of weeks. Since then we've spent many months on the hunt for the newest food lovers places to put together The Foodies Guide 2004.

It includes over 100 new food and wine shops, a guide to the top farmers markets around the state, a new urban hot spots guide, plus the pick of the providores - bakeries, delicatessens, butchers, grocers, chocolate shops, fishmongers and fresh produce markets. There's also the best takeaway places, burger joints, fish and chip shops, breakfast haunts and yum cha. We think it's the ultimate food-lovers' guide to Melbourne and country Victoria, not that we're biased in any way of course!

Don't forget we also have the paperback version of Campion and Curtis in the Kitchen now in print with it's new title - Every Day in the Kitchen - and bright new look. Winner best easy recipes cookbook (English) at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2002 and shortlisted in the 2003 Jacob's Creek World Food Media Awards 2003.

 

 

This is it readers, your opportunity to win signed copies of The Foodies Guide 2004 and King of the Grill, all you have to do is answer a few 'simple' foodie questions. We suggest you copy and past them into an e-mail and send it to allan@campionandcurtis.com

 

The prize will go to the first correct answer we receive via e-mail by Tuesday 9th December. The winner will be notified directly to get a mailing address. If previous competitions are anything to go by you'll need to be pretty quick off the mark to be in the running.

 

Question 1) Name four different potato varieties.

Question 2) Name the restaurant chef Philippe Mouchel opened in the Daimaru complex in Melbourne in 1998?

Question 3) What is a ricer traditionally used for?

Question 4) Who won the SMH award for excellence in the Good Food Guide 2004?

Question 5) What was the title of David Thompson's first cookbook published in 1993?

Question 6) Cabecou, Grabetto and Reblochon are all types of what?

Question 7) What is the primary ingredient in duxelles?

Question 8) What does it mean to do a vertical wine tasting?

 

Good luck.

 

We're looking forward to sitting back and enjoying lots of meals this summer with a cooling ale or a glass or two of chilled white wine. Our hot tips for summer drinking includes the Evans & Tate Margaret River Classic made from a crisp blending of semillon, sauvignon blanc and a dash of chardonnay that is absolutely seamless. The wine has great mix of stone fruit and tropical fruit flavours and a dry, fresh finish. Try it chilled with barbecued prawns or freshly opened oysters to enjoy it at its best. Excellent value at around $15-$17.00.

Another white favourite of ours is the Mitchelton Blackwood Park Riesling. We have yet to be disappointed with a bottle of this wine and it'll pay big dividends if you can put it away for a few years. It's packed with intense lime and lemon flavours and has a delicate, full flavoured finish. If you get an opportunity to visit the cellar door you may be able to get your hands on a magnums or two, which are fantastic for big dinners as we experienced recently. 750ml $14-$17.00.

 

We will be taking a family break over the Christmas period so there will be no January edition of the C&C newsletter. However there's plenty of new information going onto the Campion and Curtis website in coming weeks, so you can keep up with all your foodie news over summer. We wish you all a delicious feasting for Christmas and New Year, and look forward to a terrific 2004.

 

Cheers, Allan and Michele