Spread My Butter » potato

Baby Barramundi En Papillote

Amanda — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 06:18:07 +0000

With sage and garlic herb butter, lemon and dutch cream potato

We all love a home-cooked meal, but many of us tend to get lazy because of the washing up. This recipe is a favorite of mine, simply because it requires minimal cleaning up to do, especially after a long day at the office.
I’m very fortunate to live near the fish markets, so I buy fresh fish on the weekends very often for Monday/Tuesday dinners. Being in Australia, our favorite is the barramundi (which is somewhat the same popularity as the sea bass in America). Your fish monger can scale and gut the fish for you before wrapping it up.

There is no real recipe here, it’s easy enough to work with whatever you have on hand. Normally it is a blend of herbs, butter/sauce, lemon and the fish. I have some leftover herbs, which I normally chop up coarsely and mix with soft butter.

Then I spread the butter on both sides of the fish, with a little on the inside. I also add some sliced lemons and garlic inside the fish as well, and sat it on top of some sliced potatoes (pre-boiled)

Fold inside baking paper, making sure all sides are sealed properly (sometimes I had another layer of foil on the outside so that I can squeeze the sides airtight) and bake at 200C for 15 minutes. My baby fish is only small, it’s no crime to open the parcel and check whether the flesh is falling off the bones. 15 minutes is normally a good guide for a baby fish

Tags: baking, barramundi, dinner, emon, fish, LA, potato, recipe, recipes, tuna

Seagrass Brasserie, Jervis Bay

Amanda — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:19:00 +0000

Located in Huskisson, Seagrass is a a very popular destination for visitors around the South Coast as well as locals. Don’t forget to book as it gets very busy during the holiday seasons. It has a beautiful outdoor deck dining area and also intimately lit indoor areas with bright aqua accents against clean, white decor. Chef Kierrin McKnight (ex-Bennelong, Sydney and Criterion, London) prepares traditional beach side cuisine with a twist.

Smoked mussels in thai marinade served on cos lettuce leaf

Chilled Blue Swimmer Crab & Crystal Bay Prawn Remoulade with Pickled Cucumber

Greenwell Point Rock Oysters natural

Seagrass Kilpatrick with Fresh Lemon

Special of the day: Ocean trout

Grainfed Eye Fillet with Lyonnaise Potatoes and bernaise sauce

Rocket, Reggiano Parmesan Salad

Jaffa Affogatto

Wicked Nutty Belgian Chocolate Terrine with Chocolate Ice Cream

13 Currambene St
Huskisson 2540 NSW
Phone: (02) 4441 6124
Show street map

Tags: book, crab, emon, ice cream, jeris bay, LA, NSW, ocean trout, otto, potato, restaurant, Restaurants, salad, sydney, thai

The perfect baked potato

Amanda — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:09:00 +0000

I’ve finally worked out the secret for the fluffiest, softest baked potato. I only used regular washed potatoes as well!

The temperature/time combination is: 190°C for 1.5 hours.

Using a fork, prick potatoes (deeply) with holes around 1 inch apart.

The inside should be creamy and fluffy, like mash, while the outside is crispy.
Would be amazing with truffle butter!

I’m really sick of soft foods.
Tags: baked, potato

Potato and Leek Soup with prosciutto

Amanda — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:58:00 +0000

What a better way to post hearty soup recipes, when most of you are approaching winter, and I’m stuck at home with four of my wisdom teeth extracted yesterday. The nurse at the day surgery gave me a guideline for a “soft diet” which I have to maintain for at least 7 days. It includes baked beans, canned spaghetti, bread, jello and stewed fruit. Ew. No thanks! I’ll make my own…

Here is a simple, filling soup you can prepare in under 45 minutes. Hey, if I can cook this while I’m tripping out on extremely strong painkillers (and doubled the dosage for added excitement) you can do this with your eyes closed! This is for you, Deb

All you need is:
2 leeks (only use the light green and white parts, discard the green leaves)
5 washed potatos
1 brown onion
2 slices of prosciutto / parma ham, bacon or pancetta, diced
1 litre of chicken broth
half a cup of cooking cream

Using a mandolin, slice leeks and potatos thinly, and finely dice the brown onion.

In the soup pot, add two tablespoons of butter and cook the onions and leeks until it’s softened and lightly browned. Add diced prosciutto or bacon – you may add more olive oil as well. The prosciutto really gives it extra flavour and smokiness, but if you are vegetarian you can easily leave this out.

Add the sliced potato in the pot and stir for another three minutes

Add chicken broth, just enough to cover the potatos. If the soup becomes too thick you can always add more broth later.

Simmer on medium heat for 15 – 20 minutes. The thinner you sliced your potatoes, the quicker it takes for them to cook. When the potatos become soft, you can start squishing them into smaller pieces with your wooden spoon.

Using a hand blender, blend soup on low heat until smooth. I would normally prefer it slightly lumpy to give it more texture, but I can’t chew!

You can see that the soup has become a lot thicker than before. You can stir in extra broth if you wish, and simmer for another ten minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.

Add half a cup of cooking cream and slowly stir in before serving

and voila, a quick and easy soup – not to mention all the ingredients cost under ten dollars. Hello financial crisis!

Tags: baked, potato, prosciutto, recipes, soup

est.

Amanda — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:08:00 +0000

My birthday dinner was at the 3 hatted est. restaurant. Amazing meals doesn’t come cheap… that is, unless you have a staff discount. Half priced fois gras tastes EVEN BETTER than its full priced plate on the table next to you.

It was a beautiful start to the evening with a bottle of 1996 s de salon ‘blanc de blancs’ le mesnil, France

One of the most anticipated 1996 vintage Champagnes, finally arrived! It is made only in great vintages (the decade of the eighties only produced ‘82,’83,’85 and ‘88) and only from grapes from one village, the grand cru of Mesnil. This village grows the most sought after Chardonnay in Champagne. Graphite, tobacco and coconut aromas and flavors wrap around the firm spine of this elegant, powerful Champagne. Lulls you midpalate, then comes back in a wave of vanilla on the finish. Salon’s production hovers around 8,000 six-bottle cases, so the wine is always hard to come by – and worth every penny. Thank you Peggy, Charlie, Rob C and Rob Y!

And for our est. tasting menu for the night, with matching wines:

tartare of blue fin tuna, cucumber, pink grapefruit, ponzu and white sesame oil
2000 dom perignon, epemay – france

tranche of duck foie gras, shaved pear, cresses, sauternes jelly, toasted brioche
2005 domaine marcel deiss gewOrtztraminer, alsace – france

raviolo of prawns on snow peas, lemongrass and shellfish vinaigrettes
2006 bodega castro martin rias baixas albarino, galicia – spain

steamed snapper fillet, grilled scallop, leek and asparagus, shaved manjimup truffle butter sauce
2005 kumeu river (mate’s vineyard’ chardonnay, auckland – new zealand

roasted, boned squab pigeon, broad beans and morels, pan juices

2004 domaine saint prefert chateauneuf du pape ‘reserve auguste favier’, theme valley – france

pan roasted lamb rib eye, jerusalem artichokes, green peas, potato galette, salad of herbs
2005 luce della vite `lucente’ – tuscany, italy

shaved pineapple, pine nut sorbet, lime and cardamon sauce

passion fruit soufflé

2006 jaboulet muscat de beaumes de venise, rhOne valley – france

vanilla latte cotto, queensland strawberries, spice wafer
2006 wellington iced riesling, south eastern coast – tasmania

Simply divine. I’m spoilt rotten!

…and tonight – Dom Perignon tasting!

Tags: Champagne, dinner, Est., fish, potato, salad

Pendolino

Amanda — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 08:56:00 +0000

I think I found my new vice… at Pendolino (The Strand Arcade)

Rissoto Al Porcino e Zucchine Bianche Di Trieste
(Porcini and Trieste white zucchini risotto with Truffled butter) $19

Spaghetti Chitarra Allo Zaffrando Con Pesce Di Acquadolce
Saffron Chitarra spaghetti with Barramundi, prawns, chilli, capers, garlic and Pinot Grigio White Wine ($22)

Trota Salmonata Al Dragoncello Con Mostrarda
(Steamed ocean trout with Escarole, raddicchio and mustard fruit salad, Tarragon salsa and salmon caviar) $34

Zuppa Di Crostacei e Molluschi Veraci
(Crustacean and mollusc fish stew with half shell scallop, black mussels, clams, prawns, saffron potatos and Fregola) $36

Semifreddo Di Torrone Alle Mandorle
(Nougat, Ligurian Honey and almond milk semifreddo with candied Almond) $14

Affogato Tradizionale (expresso Coffee with Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Liqueuer) $14

Tags: barramundi, fish, ocean trout, potato, salad, salmon

Burlington Bar and Dining

Amanda — Fri, 23 May 2008 08:29:00 +0000

Matt Kemp and Lela Radojkovic (ex Balzac) have opened up their latest venture – Burlington Dining on Burlington Street in Crows Nest, with Balzac sous chef Chad Muir as head chef. The new offering continues the pair’s preference for suburban restaurants that can happily cater for corporate clients and locals alike.
The Burlington continues Kemp’s tradition of “peasant food cooked superbly”, as well as his influence on seasonality, sustainable farming and the use of lesser-used cuts of meat (such as pigs ears).

Most dishes are available in two sizes and virtually all the wines are available by the glass and in very European-style carafes at different sizes – the prices directly proportional to the bottle price, which means extraordinary value for money in a relaxed, yet refined, setting. A table of six with 500ml of wine gave us a bill totalled at $301, and we were all well and truly satiated.

Cauliflower veloute with confit chicken wing and white truffle oil (Beautiful Flavours)

Croquettes of salt cod and pimento

Terrine of smoked ham hock and pork cheek, ear beignets and remoulade
(Online Australian Gourmet Pages Dish of the Month for February 2008)

Spaghetti with clams, serrano, parsley and chilli

Bream with a potato and rosemary ‘pizza’

Fillet of ocean trout on spiced caponata with toasted almonds (My FAVORITE)

Roasted spatchcock with green olives, lemon and thyme

Braised lamb shank with a ragout of beans

Bitter chocolate marquis with pistachios

Eton mess with rhubarb and strawberries (So Amazing!)

‘Catalan’ Bread and Butter Pudding

Burlington Bar and Dining is located at 6 Burlington St, Crows Nest NSW 2065. Book far ahead to ensure a table! (02) 9439 7888

Tags: book, NSW, ocean trout, potato

Pan Fried Swordfish with Garlic Mash

Amanda — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:10:00 +0000

Celebrity guest chef Adrian Fowler returns to the Kitchen!

This was adapted from Gordon Ramsey’s recipe – Black Cod with garlic potato puree

Menu: Pan Fried Swordfish steak on garlic mash, buttered mushrooms, clams in white wine cream

Gordon’s trick to perfect garlic mash:

Boil 3 desiree potatos (peeled and cubed)

While potatoes are boiling, blanch 5 cloves of garlic for one minute, then rinse under cold water. Blanch again for one minute, rinse under cold water again – do this 3 times.

Drain water, return potatoes to pot, and start mashing .

Peel skin off garlic cloves and mash in with potatoes throughly.

Add in 1 cup of milk, and whisk.

Heat up mash slightly on the stove, then add 50g of butter.

Whisk in 4 tablespoons of double cream and turn off heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately while warm

Tags: fish, pan fried, potato

My first attempt at Korean

Amanda — Sun, 11 May 2008 19:46:00 +0000

You’re welcome to critique at anything I’ve done wrong – I felt a little lost shopping in the Korean section of the Asian grocer. I couldn’t read nor pronounce anything! All I know, is that I’ve always missed the Galbi Tang from Chosun Galbee in LA… and I’ve always wanted to learn how to make it.

I think the trick is to remove most of the blood from the ribs - I soaked the ribs in water for a few hours, then pre-boiled it twice to remove all impurities, so that the broth runs clear. I did the same to the white radish, which was actually a tip from my mother used for Chinese cooking – always pre boil white radish twice before cooking (if you have time) to release the excess moisture, and allowing it to readily absorb more flavours later.

So 1 kilo of beef ribs, cut in 5cm cubes, one whole garlic (yikes!) and salt to taste, bring to the boil in a pot and then simmer for 2 hours. Add the radishes and Korean soup mix (I bought it at the store, because the box had a picture of the dish I was trying to make). The meat gently fell off the bone (but it wasn’t mushy), and the radishes were perfect. Serve garnished with chopped green onions. It was a variation of Dorothy’s recipe – without it, I’d be clueless. Thank you!

My 2nd dish to attempt was the Pajeon. Very easy to prepare, except that I would add a few more tablespoons full of rice flour to the recipe to give it a bit more texture. I bought fresh Australian seafood (clams, squid, scallops) which made the flavours very fragrant against the pan fried green onions. And then the third and final dish, Gamja jorim (Potato in sweet soy) Talk about high fat, High sugar, High calorie, High carb…

Tags: chinese, korean, pan fried, potato, recipes, soup

Chicken soup… not so much for the soul

Amanda — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 21:17:00 +0000

More diet recipes… I know it’s getting boring.
This post was suppose to be about the elaborate mudcrab I was going to cook on Valentines day (including video footage of me bitterly stabbing a poor crustacean) , but alas, some plans just fall through like sand between my fingers. You were lucky you got away with it this time, Mr. Crab!

So my partner ended up contracting an awful stomach virus, and in order to hydrate and re-nourish the body with nutrients I made a simple soup. If we were really adhering with rules from Chinese medicine, chicken probably should be replaced with pork bones, but Chicken cooked a lot faster (I got home at 7:30pm and the soup was ready in an hour) – probably because I only used the leg.

Ingredients:
4 grain-fed chicken drumsticks, skin removed
1 carrot
1 leek
2 small potatoes
1 small onion
1 bulb of ginger
1/4 celery
1/2 can of organic peeled tomatoes
handful basil
season with salt, pepper, paprika and dried oregano

Pre boil chicken to remove impurities, re-add water into pot, and combine all ingredients (which are all diced). Bring to boil, and then simmer in medium heat for 40 minutes. Debone and shred meat from chicken before serving.

And fortunately, it became a great low-cal, low-carb office lunch!

Tags: basil, chinese, potato, recipes, soup, tomato