What’s your favourite pasta sauce?

We always have a hankering to find out what’s happening in everyone else’s kitchen, so we thought we would reinstate the monthly Monday Morning Cooking Corner.

The idea is that we will post one of our own favourite, simple, everyday (getting the picture here?) recipes that we love.

We will then wait for ALL OF YOURS to FLOOD in and fill the comments section below or our FB page or even our email inbox. ALL recipes received during the whole of that week will be posted. We are SO excited to see what everyone else has to offer – we always love a new recipe or a new tip!  Please do share.

This week we are cooking PASTA SAUCE.

And here is mine. Quick and easy to make, only thing to remember – the longer you cook it, the better it will be.

Please share with us your favourite pasta sauce recipes…and join in the MONDAY MORNING COOKING CORNER.

If you happen to be in Italy this year, try and visit the Venice Art Biennale. The city is buzzing, the aperol is flowing, the art is overflowing and spaghetti alla vongole is everywhere. It is impossible to see it all – it’s a bit like going to disneyland and being told that you have two hours to see everything!

Here is a little snapshot tour of our trip to the Biennale for the opening week in early June. At the bottom, I have listed our art and restaurant highlights.

My Art Highlights:

Personal Structures at Palazzo Bembo

Francois Pinault’s Punta della Dogana

Giardini: We didn’t get to them all but my favourites are Australia, Israel, Russia, Finland, Netherlands, Czech Republic and Switzerland.

Arsenale: Again, we only saw a handful. The Bahamas pavillion (Tavares Strachan) is a really wonderful exhibition and China’s Wang Qingsong’s photographs are great.

My Food Highlights:

Harry’s Bar – make sure you book ahead; must have a bellini (or 3) and the amatriciana

Harry’s Dolci (On the Giudecca side of the lagoon) – bellini and the linguini with tomato and basil

Da Ivo – traditional small Venetian restaurant alongside a canal; aperol spritz and spaghetti alla vongole

Trattoria Altanella (Giudecca) – set right on the canal, simple restaurant with lovely food. Aperol spritz and spaghetti alla vongole.

…and ended up a Campari Granita (ish)

In some parts of the world it is summer, but not where I am. I am lucky enough to have just returned from a little (almost) summer jaunt in Venice where I fell in love with the Aperol Spritz. Bellinis aside, I think it is THE aperitif of Venice. All you need is aperol (or campari), prosecco, a slice of orange and a whole lotta ice! You can put it in a wine glass, a tumbler, a martini glass. You can drink it straight out of the carafe. It is bitter and sweet, cold and refreshing, and warms the cockles of your heart.

Da Ivo. Classic with View.

Il Ridotto. Modern.

Cipriani. Expensive.

Da Ivo. Rustic with Canal.

I am inspired by a beautiful food and photography blog the food dept and particularly their prosecco ice pops. Yes, there is a theme here. So I decided to make aperol pops. Then I thought about it and decided it is too hard without the right iceblock moulds, so decide on an aperol granita.

So I take one bottle sweet sparkling wine, 1/2 cup Campari (no Aperol in the house!) and 1 cup sugar and heat it gently to dissolve the sugar. I let it cool to room temp and then pour it into a large plastic tub and stick it in the freezer.

Tastes great, but not an ice crystal to be seen.

Six hours later, nothing has changed. There is no freezing going on here.

Maybe too much alcohol is preventing it from freezing?

So I add two cups of fresh orange juice (to dilute the alcohol and encourage freezing and really wish I had blood oranges!) and stick it back in the freezer. Two hours later, nothing. So I leave it overnight.

A few ice crystals but nothing to write home about!

In the morning we have some ice crystals. Yay. But not enough. So I add another cup of fresh orange juice and throw it back in the freezer for a couple of hours. Things are definitely improving and I do have a Campari ‘slushie’. Tastes absolutely and positively delicious but still needs more freezing.

Getting icier, but not icy enough.

A very drinkable slushie. Almost slushie. Nowhere near granita.

It’s now back in the freezer overnight.

The next day, I am so happy to find a frozen tub of Campari spritz.

Not frozen solid, but perfectly frozen for granita.

And here it is…finally…..a Campari granita. Yum!

Campari granita. Nice!

Let’s Lunch (#LetsLunch) is a twitter-based virtual lunch club where anyone interested can join this monthly ‘lunch date’. A topic is posted at the beginning of the month, everyone now takes it in turns, and all posts are made on the same day by this random but lovely group of food bloggers, writers and people who just love cooking from all around the world. Anyone can join at any time – just join us on twitter by searching and adding the hashtag #LetsLunch.

Check back in a couple of days for a list of everyone’s #letslunch post right here.

Lucy’s The Girl in a Hat Goes on a Picnic at A Cook and Her Books

Lisa’s Aperol Spritz at Monday Morning Cooking Club

Linda’s Escape from San Francisco Picnic at spicebox travels

Cheryl’s Mango-Key Lime Pie at A Tiger In The Kitchen

Monica’s Peanut Salad at A Life of Spice

Grace’s Mung Bean Shaved Ice at Hapa Mama

Pat’s Almost No-Cook Rice at The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook

Linda’s Coconut Creamsicle Sodas at Free Range Cookies

A Trip to the Farmers’ Market for Brussels Sprouts and Beetroot.

It’s almost Winter in Sydney and the markets are full of wonderful vegetables. The monthly Growers’ Market at Pyrmont and the weekly Eveleigh Market, in the Sydney suburb of Darlington (right next to Sydney Uni and Redfern Station) are my favourites.

I am lured by the groaning stalls fully laden with mountains of organic brussels sprouts (one of my many food loves), huge bunches of beetroot, stacks of cavolo nero, and millions of mushrooms.

One reason I go to the market is actually to buy brussels sprouts straight from the farm. Did you know this is how they grow? On the stalk!

Brussels sprouts – gorgeous!

So how about a winter salad, inspired by these awesome Brussels sprouts. I’ve added roasted beetroot and eschallots, broad (fava) beans, toasted walnuts, sourdough toasts with goats cheese all tossed with rocket (arugula) leaves and raddichio.

Lisa’s Paris Notes, May (Spring) 2013

I really must share all the wonderful things we (mostly ate and) did in Paris – pretty much a list of all the things I loved. I have skipped the things I didn’t like.  I am not trying to be a food reviewer or restaurant critic, and this is no part of the Monday Morning Cooking Club project, just my own personal experiences and thoughts about Paris. For what it’s worth.

So here’s our list, not necessarily the ‘must-do’s, just the ‘what we did’ with our highlights: Chez L’ami Jean, Spring, Septime, Le Sergent Recruteur, La Regelade Conservetoire, l’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Passage 53, Frenchie, Marche Bastille, Bon Marche, Josephine Chez Dumonet, Bistro Camille, l’Entrecote, Bistro Francis, Monsieur Bleu, Patisserie des Reves, Bistro Volney to eat and Musee d’Art Moderne and Fondation Cartier for the art.

Welcome to Paris!

Chez l’ami Jean

A must-go. Probably my #1 this trip (big call I know). Not to say that I loved every single thing we ordered but this place has soul. Great vibe. And a loud personality-plus chef at the pass. Love it! Hard to choose what to order. Nice relief not to have a set menu (just saying). Sit down, great country bread with a chunky pork terrine and cornichons. Entrée for me was superb. Really great. Duck livers with spring vegetables. Danny had a risotto made from orzo with asparagus and (I think) bone marrow. Was good! But he preferred mine. For mains I went with the lamb three ways – really good rolled slow cooked breast/belly and a fillet that was juicy and flavoursome, which they told me was shoulder. And I still can’t work out what the third little piece was…maybe better that I don’t know. Danny had the guinea fowl, which was great. And a bowl of fabulous buttery mash. My dessert of riz au lait was OUTSTANDING and huge, served with toasted nuts and a wonderful caramel. Loved!! For me it was the best one of the three that I had this trip.

CHEZ L’AMI JEAN – Duck livers with spring vegetables

CHEZ L’AMI JEAN – Guinea fowl with asparagus

CHEZ L’AMI JEAN – Mash with loads of butter hmmmmm

CHEZ L’AMI JEAN – Riz au lait – so creamy and luscious.

Funny story – I was given a book ‘The Markets of Paris’ and I had brought it on the trip. It was in my bag. As we started chatting to the couple at the (very close) next table, it turns out she is Marjorie Williams, the author of that book (made me happy) with her husband, a Harvard Business School professor (made Danny happy). So she signed my book and it was all very funny! Anyway, it’s a great book – worth looking at for a visit to Paris.

Spring

Or maybe this is my #1 this trip. All I can say is book ahead – book way ahead! This is so wonderful. Almost could say my favourite this trip. Beautiful little restaurant where you feel like you are almost in the kitchen with chef Daniel Rose standing right there commandeering the pass.  Seasonal ‘surprise’ menu, no choices. Wonderful starters of fried oyster, jamon, smoked potatoes and an exceptional type of tartar sauce.  First course red mullet with fois gras, peas in an incredible jus. YUM. Then the highlight was the lobster, asparagus, onion, sauce paloise (béarnaise with mint) and a jus that just made me want to pick up my plate and drink it all. You know the sort of dish that you NEED to mop it up with bread.  Fantastic bread and butter, by the way. Main course lamb was excellent with a ‘second course’ lamb neck that was soooo great. Succulent, sweet, a little fatty, slow cooked lamb neck – an OMG moment.  Desserts nice, I was really too overwhelmed with the lobster and lamb neck to concentrate on dessert….

SPRING – First course: Fried oysters, smoked potatoes, jamon, tartare sauce

SPRING – Red mullet, peas, fois gras, jus.

SPRING – Lobster, asparagus, onion, sauce paloise, jus.

SPRING – The OMG lamb neck

Septime

Rule #1 – never go to a great restaurant on the first night you arrive from Australia. I can hardly remember it now!  Amazing service, lovely waiters and a set (no choice) menu for spring. The entire meal was exceptionally fresh and light. Starting with a plate of raw fish, radish, fish eggs and leaves, then an outstanding salad of artichokes – some cooked the usual way, some sliced and fried – herbs and egg yolk. Lovely trout to follow; then succulent veal with broad beans, clams and garlic, and for dessert strawberries with a sort of nut cake crumble and mint. Need to go back next time.

SEPTIME – Delightful salad of raw fish, radish, fish eggs, leaves

SEPTIME – Amazing and aesthetically beautiful artichoke salad

Le Sergent Recrueter

A surprise last minute booking on a recommendation. Cute semi-formal sort of restaurant with suited staff situated in a part art-deco and part old stone room. Once again a set menu for spring! Highlights were many. The simple radishes for starter with a little mayonnaise, the exceptional soup of radish tops (with dashi only but tasted so creamy and full of flavour), charred spring onions served on a rustic board with another dipping sauce, a lovely salad of spring vegetables from their garden, pigeon with the most succulent little legs. Bread and butter (both made in-house) worth having.

SERGENT R – Soup of radish tops. Who would’ve thought!

SERGENT R – Charred spring onions

La Regelade Conservatoire

Fantastic bread once again. Served with a ‘help-yourself-to-our-house-terrine’ and a clay pot of cornichons and pickled onions. Entrée was great – huge green asparagus with a herb vinaigrette and sucrine lettuce (little hearts which in the U.S they call ‘little gems’ -my new favourite salad). Delicious! Dessert – riz au lait was really good, served with a caramel sauce.

LA REGELADE – Asparagus with herbs and sucrine. Outstanding.

LA REGELADE – riz au lait with caramel

 L’ateleier de Joel Robuchon

I am surprised but I loved it.  The restaurant consists of a bar (like a sushi bar) that looks into the groovy black kitchen. The bar is great for two, but I am not sure what happens when you go with more. Menus are only in French and the waitstaff are quite helpful (after a while). A la Carte menu with so many choices! Small plates, big plates, all sorts of really tantalizing dishes. What to choose?? So much pressure. Started with a glass of pink bubbly; wonderful little baguettes and superb butter. First course ‘Les Encornets’ – squid with artichoke, then (in search of a memory from Robuchon in 1989) lobster ravioli with truffle and for main we both had an amazing special of pasta with morel mushrooms. Danny had ‘Le Burger’ with fois gras and RAVED (with juice dripping down his chin!) And of course a bowl of the legendary Joel Robuchon Paris mash just because he started it all. Delicious!

L’ATELIER DE JOEL ROBUCHON – Squid with artichoke

L’ATELIER DE JOEL ROBUCHON – pasta with morels

L’ATELIER DE JOEL ROBUCHON – Le burger avec fois gras

L’ATELIER DE JOEL ROBUCHON – the original Paris mash

Passage 53

Go here if you love Michelin starred fine and delicate French cooking with a Japanese influence. Go here if you want a long, slow and possibly romantic dinner. This is a chef who doesn’t leave one pea unturned!

A stark white restaurant located in the ‘Strand Arcade’ of Paris with polished formal (and great) service. Incredible bread and butter. A set menu for spring, once again. Whether you like a restaurant really depends on whether you are in the mood for their sort of food. I really wasn’t (shame I know) so I will just describe the highlights.

The big highlight for me was the exceptional ‘white course’ – tiny charred squid, cauliflower puree and shaved cauliflower. Beautiful to look at, and utterly delicious. Other highlight was the lamb; I don’t remember eating such soft, succulent and tender lamb – cooked at a very low temperature for a long time apparently!

PASSAGE 53 – The white course

Frenchie 

Would happily go back here every Paris visit. Really yummy food.  Here you have a choice of two dishes for each course. Fantastic country style bread and butter. Highlights this visit were the really juicy chicken with morels and asparagus, the amazing crisp skinned red mullet (with artichoke and broad beans) and the rhubarb ‘custard’ tart which was like a crème brulee tart with a layer of rhubarb jam on top of the pastry. Yum!!

FRENCHIE – Red mullet, broad beans, artichoke.

FRENCHIE – Rhubarb ‘custard’ tart

Marche Bastille (Blvd Richard Lenoir) – Brittany food stall

If you are at this wonderful food market with everything and anything fresh and seasonal you could want to buy, go to the Brittany food stall and treat yourself to a ‘buckwheat galette’ with jambon and fromage. And don’t mind the extra knobs of butter to enhance the flavours at the end. Perfect food on the go!

Buckwheat gallete

Bon Marche (La Grand Epicerie)

Just go to the food hall and have a look. Fabulous.

Look at those tomatoes and radishes! Awesome.

Giant artichokes, baby artichokes, midsized artichokes…

So much chevre…soooo delicious….

 Josephine Chez Dumonet

Sadly I missed this one, but Danny really liked the artichoke salad and RAVED about the boeuf bourguignon. His advice is to make sure you are not in the dining area (and thoroughfare) next to the kitchen. We tried to get another reservation for lunch or dinner so I could go but it was fully booked! 

Bistro Camille

Cute bistro (if you can sit outside) in the Marais. Stop by if you are passing and hungry but don’t need to go out of your way. I enjoyed my salad with marinated crayfish and hard to tell what Danny thought of the bistro’s steak tartare as he added so much lemon and Tabasco that their original recipe became irrelevant.

Hard to choose.

CAMILLE – Marinated crayfish salad

L’entrecote

Don’t think it matters which of the three Paris locations you go to. We call it the ‘Bill and Tony’s’ of Paris. It’s a set two-course meal.  For starters, a simple (and so delicious) green salad with radish and walnuts, dressed with a fabulous mustardy vinaigrette. Excellent bread and if you want butter, you need to ask. Your only choice is how you would like your steak cooked. We chose ‘bleu’ and it was SO great. Served sliced with their ‘famous’ (but secret) green sauce and a pile of the most golden crisp pommes frites EVER, you’ll be so happy when the waitress returns and offers you seconds. Make sure you say ‘OUI MERCI!!’ and finish every last bit.  A delicious lunch which should be a MUST on every visit to Paris. Mouthwatering!

L’ENTRECOTE – steak frites with that secret sauce

Hated that.

Bistro Francis (At Alma Marceau just up the road from the Musee d’art Moderne)

We stopped here for a quick something on the way to the museum and shared a really wonderful pate de fois gras with onion compote on toasted country bread. Loved!

BISTRO FRANCIS – pate de fois gras with onion compote

Monsieur Bleu at the Palais de Tokyo

If you are visiting the museums around here (including the Palais de Tokyo), this is a great place to stop for lunch. Great vibe, cool gold bar and a delicious sounding menu. I had a salade nicoise that was really simple and lovely. Excellent bread and butter.

La Patisserie des Reves, Rue de Bac

Worth a visit just to see the display. When we went there a few years ago with meg from Paris By Mouth she bought us a kougn amman which (sadly) is not ‘in season’ at the moment and will be baked again soon.

Beautifully displayed patisserie…..and wait till you see the packaging!

Millefeuille. Pretty.

Bistro Volnay

After a week of eating gastronomic delights and set menus, we were just tired of eating that sort of food.  This was recommended by the hotel concierge, a busy and cosy restaurant just off the Place Vendome. Go there for the duck and fois gras ‘tourte rustique’ (aka pie) with sucrine (my fave) salad on the side and the most amazing cauliflower gratin I have ever had. Danny loved his Grand Marnier soufflé. The rustic baguettes were fantastic.

ART:

Musee d’art Moderne:

Keith Haring and Danh Vo are both a must. Until 18 August.

Danh Vo has (in this exhibition) a few of the pieces from his copper Statue of Liberty project where he has literally recreated many tiny (relative to the Statue) copper sections that, if put together, would build a life size replica. This piece is around 2 x 4 metres and it is part of the gown. Incredible!

Fondation Cartier

Ron Mueck is ASTOUNDING. On till 29 September

The HUGE man and women with the sun umbrella is an extraordinary piece of art. The detail is crazy. At the gallery there is a 52 minute documentary on how he made all the works in the show and it is fascinating.

The Best Avocado Dip…And The Simplest

I know anyone who has ever (or not) set foot in the kitchen has their own version of an avocado dip, and probably thinks ‘why do we need another?’

Well, let me tell you, I used to think the same… until I tried this! The recipe comes from Natanya (my MondayMorningCookingClub sister) and it has now become a staple part of my home cooking repertoire. It is really a winner!

A Celebration of Asian Food with a Retro Kikkoman Noodle Dish

In the U.S it is is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month and the lovely Linda Shiue of Spice Box Travels has suggested we celebrate Asian food this (#Lets)Lunch time.

I’m the first to admit I am not much of an Asian food cook, but I LOVE to eat it. Occasionally I stumble across a recipe that works for me. I’m not sure if I should say ‘embarrassingly’ or rather just ‘ironically’, but this recipe comes from a Kikkoman ad in a magazine…about 20 years ago. I think it must have been my first foray into ‘Asian’ cooking. After carefully copying it into my recipe journal it became a staple part of our Sunday lunch menu and it was an immediate hit. Although I really can’t understand why it is called “Chinese..,” when the flavours are really so Japanese! It is so simple, yet truly delicious.

I bet if you asked anyone who came to our place for lunch in the 90s, they would remember this dish. I am so thrilled to have rediscovered it after searching through my messy and huge unfiled recipe file. It’s been a while. But guess what’s back on the menu now?

Let’s Lunch (#LetsLunch) is a twitter-based virtual lunch club where anyone interested can join this monthly ‘lunch date’. A topic is posted at the beginning of the month, everyone now takes it in turns, and all posts are made on the same day by this random but lovely group of food bloggers, writers and people who just love cooking from all around the world. Anyone can join at any time – just join us on twitter by searching and adding the hashtag #LetsLunch. Check back in a couple of days for a list of everyone’s #letslunch post right here.

What to Serve with Drinks?

Without a doubt (and anyone who has been to my place in the last 15 years can vouch for this), my favourite thing to serve with drinks is salmon tartare on little toasts. Light, tangy, easy to make and to serve, the only challenges being to find the best, freshest salmon you can find and choosing good quality sourdough baguettes for the toast.

Everything (except a final lemoning and seasoning) is do-ahead, so there is no last minute rushing around before the visitors arrive.

Interested in the original post this recipe came from? It’s right here.

A Plumb Cake from the Old World

A brown box is on your doorstep. Something smells good. You peek inside. You see a crumble-topped cake bursting with red plums. Four words are on a small card. I love you Mum.

I can’t think of a better way to show love than to bake. To cream butter and sugar. To sift flour. To whisk eggs. To roll dough.

It’s not about what you are making, it is about showing someone that you are grateful. You can write a heartfelt note or pick up a bunch of flowers. You can also take a few minutes to choose a recipe and to buy the ingredients. And use your most precious resource – time – to produce a cellophaned and ribboned bag of home baked goodness.

In our kitchen,we would choose something from the Monday Morning Cooking Club book. An airy chocolate chiffon cake, a slab of pumpkin seed brittle or a jar of nana’s nuts, almonds roasted golden with sugar. But at this time of year we love making use of the last of the season’s plums. What better way to use them than in a delicious cake for mother’s day?

This plumb cake has a heartfelt story. It comes from my good friend Lyndi, who got the recipe from her mother, who brought the recipe with her to Australia from her mother and home country, Czechoslovakia. For Lyndi, It was always written as ‘plumb’ cake, and it wasn’t until she was well into her teenage years that she realised her mother had spelled it incorrectly. It is now fondly remembered by all of us as ‘plumb’ cake.

Inspired by Israel and Created in Australia – Salmon and Beetroot with Horseradish

I couldn’t be happier with the #LetsLunch topic for this month’s post: ”Spring Break: foods from places you are going, have gone or wish you were going.”

It wasn’t quite a ‘Spring break’ for me, but I have just returned from an amazing trip to Israel where I found the food culture  in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem absolutely inspiring and so so wonderful. Every restaurant and cafe I visited had at least one dish that was a true highlight – memorable and worth revisiting.  I often had my notebook out, scribbling down ingredients and recipe ideas. The usuals and the unusuals. Creamy labne, fresh green almonds, tiny baby calamari, chickpeas a million ways, tahina straight from the vat, Romanian kebabs (meatballs), Kosher-for-Pesach laffa, hummus many ways, barley salad, brinza cheese, parsley and coriander galore, toasted pine nuts, roasted spices, sweet tomatoes, Indian-style ‘pizza’ with truffles, flaky druze pita…so many great things.

One of my favourites is North Abraxus in Tel Aviv. The restaurant is small, so book ahead. The food is innovative yet simple, with presentation that makes you smile. I have a wonderful beetroot and horseradish starter which is basically a pool of horseradish cream (yoghurt? labne? didn’t ask!) with beetroots sitting atop. It is so irresistible and delicious that I only remember to take a picture when it is almost too late. Apologies for the average pic but I am too busy scoffing it down. Once you start to eat it, the cream begins to turn pink and looks like coloured paint on an artist’s palette.

The whole meal at North Abraxus is fabulous but more on that in my Israel post (coming soon).

On returning to Sydney, I have the lingering memory (actually more like a craving!) of beetroots and horseradish and I decide to make lunch around it. It’s pretty simple really – salmon on the BBQ, roasted beetroot and horseradish yoghurt. Perhaps the next version might have some greens and maybe some nuts, but the first draft will do for now.

Let’s Lunch (#LetsLunch) is a twitter-based virtual lunch club where anyone interested can join this monthly ‘lunch date’. A topic is posted at the beginning of the month, everyone now takes it in turns, and all posts are made on the same day by this random but lovely group of food bloggers, writers and people who just love cooking from all around the world. Anyone can join at any time – just join us on twitter by searching and adding the hashtag #LetsLunch. Check back in a couple of days for a list of everyone’s #letslunch post right here.

Emma’s  Mickey Pizza at Kitchen Dreamer

Jill’s Basil-Infused Cotillion Cocktail at Eating My Words
Lucy’s Pepperoni Pizza Swirl Muffins at A Cook and Her Books
Lisa’s Beetroot and Salmon with Horseradish at Monday Morning Cooking Club
Linda’s Instant Carrot Cake at Free Range Cookies
Karen’s Sourdough Sandwich Bread at Geofooding
Linda’s Guide to Eating in Cancun at Spicebox Travels
Ann Marie’s Mofongo with Ground Beef at Sandwich Surprise