Spoil-her Series: Simple recipes for men.
Under 5 ingredients, Under 20 bucks. Maximum brownie points.

Ingredients

1lb pack of Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella
3 Tomatoes
1 bunch Basil
Extra Virgin olive oil (drizzle)
Balsamic Vinegar (drizzle)
Salt and Pepper to taste

What to do:

Slice tomatoes.

Slice Mozzarella to a similar thickness as the tomatoes

Pick the basil leaves off the stalk.

Assemble on plate, first with the tomato, then a slice of mozzarella, then topped with a basil leaf.

Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle olive oil all over.

Lightly finish with balsamic vinegar, less than half the amount of oil.

I do love a good Italian cabbage salad - more refined than a coleslaw and more punchy than your diet-friendly green salad; when laid on top of a thin bed of San Daniele prosciutto and mixed with reggiano, it definitely gives an instant wow factor (and cholesterol) to the start of your meal.

I prefer to use savoy cabbage, as it is more flavourful and with a firmer, crunchy texture perfect for fine cuts. I must admit, as much as I would like to improve my knife work, using a mandolin to shread cabbage makes it so much more consistent and quicker to prepare.

Half Savoy cabbage
90% EVO 10% lemon olive oil
black pepper to season
40ml balsamic glaze
300g reggiano parmesean
10 slices prosciutto San Daniele

Combine all ingredients except prosciutto in a mixing bowl, toss evenly. Lay prosciutto on a serving dish and cover with cabbage salad. Serve immediately.

Fresh egg linguini, lobster, johnny love bite tomatoes, basil (in 20 minutes!)

Boil a large pot of salted water.
In a separate pan, brown sliced garlic, diced eshallots, and add cubed tomatoes. Add a splash of dry white wine and reduce.
Add some tomato paste and some dried chilli flakes to give it some color.
Stir in lobster meat and add butter and heat for a minute.
Cook pasta to slightly before al dente, drain, and add into sauce.
Serve immediately with finely chopped basil.

There’s always that dilemma where you have all these lobster shells leftover – and what better way to use them than a classic lobster bisque?

Lobster Bisque

Place lobster shells on an oven tray and roast until shells begin to brown, about 8 minutes. With olive oil in saucepan brown chopped onions and 2 cloves garlic. I like to stuff the lobster head with 2 inch pieces of peeled carrots, and add in a few stalks of celery. Add 2 cups of fish stock and 1 cup chicken stock. Bring to the boil, and then simmer under low heat for 3-4 hours, covered.

Strain soup through sieve set over large saucepan, pressing firmly on solids. Whisk tomato paste into soup. Simmer until soup is reduced to 3 cups, about 15 minutes. I normally prepare this the night before. The rangehood in my apartment isn’t exactly powerful, so the entire floor of the building smelled like lobster bisque. Sorry neighbours!

When you are ready, add half a cup of cream (or more, if you prefer) to soup and simmer 5 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tablespoon water. Add to soup and boil until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Mix lobster meat into soup and stir to heat through. Season with black pepper and salt and ladle soup into bowls.

Lobster bisque really reminds me of the small Hong Kong styled diners I used to go to with my family, served next to those super soft brioche buns with a yolk and butter glaze… so while on my trip down memory lane, it brought me to the next dish:

Tacky Hong Kong Style Lobster salad
(so bad that it’s GOOD)
This one is easy. Chop up lobster meat, and drain a can of ‘fruit salad’. Add chopped celery and chopped green apple for a bit of crunch.
Mix with a lot of egg mayonaise. Mmm.

That’s how I used four of those lobsters. I think I just ate the fifth one on the couch with some cocktail sauce, and I’m not ashamed to admit it!

I had just been testing out a new digital camera I got for Christmas – and obviously I didn’t really know how to use it at the time, so I apologise for the quality of the below photos.
The atmosphere at Bannister’s was romantic, with sweeping ocean views during sunset. With exceptional service from staff that love being in hospitality, this is considered one of the best restaurants in Mollymook

Cured ocean trout

carpaccio of angus beef with fig, beets and chive creme

Special of the day: Roast duck with shaved black truffles

Pan fried barramundi fillet with pea puree, zucchinni flower and “lemon air”

Side of tomato bocconcini and basil salad

Dessert – sorry but I honestly cannot remember what this was – but you cannot go wrong with chocolate!

Petit fours

And the view we wake up to from the spa retreat balcony – absolute bliss!

Salad of free range chicken, spiced peach, keflatori, rocket and pancetta

Chilli soft shell crab, asian salad, papaya salad and red chilli nahm jim

Oven baked flathead fillets, fries and tartare sauce

There is also a small shop in the cafe which sells gourmet produce and modern beach house interior decorations and gifts.

78 Cyrus St
Hyams Beach 2540 NSW
Phone: (02) 4443 3874

And the best thing – an after lunch dip in the ocean!

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

2 (700gm) T-bone steak
2 sprigs of rosemary
extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Cherry Tomatoes, halved
2 cloves of garlic
½ bunch of baby rocket (arugola)
2 large swiss brown mushrooms
White wine – splash
1 slice anchovy fillet

Trim away excess fat from T bone. Season both sides of steak generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle over olive oil, cover with plastic wrap on both sides, place on chopping board, and beat the crap out of it. Yes ladies and gents, let all that work stress out. You can either use a mallet or a roller pin. I have neither, so I used a mortar. Beat evenly until it is about 1.5cm thick.

Heat pan with olive oil, and add one clove of garlic and one sprig of rosemary. Slightly tilt your pan so that the garlic clove and the rosemary is submerged in oil and wait for it to heat up and bubble. This will flavour the oil.

Add steak to pan, and sear on very high heat around 1-2 minute on each side. Set aside to rest. Repeat with the other steak, using a new clove of garlic and a new sprig of rosemary. I ike to rest my meat on a metal plate placed near the stove, so that it keeps warm.

Using remaining pan juices, add some butter and add the mushrooms. Drizzle the top with extra olive oil, a splash of white wine, and cover for a few minutes under medium heat.

Mix rocket leaves with cherry tomatos (I chose the yellow ones)

Plate beef, topped with rocket and tomatoes, and add the cooked mushrooms to the side.

Add one slice of anchovy into the remaining pan juices and drizzle with more olive oil. Add another splash of wine ans deglaze. Pour on top of steak.

Perfectly pink, tender and super juicy. But feel free to serve it well done if you like your meat destroyed!

Very interesting dinner where food is paired with Cognac. It was done beautifully, to my surprise!

Salt Cod & Rouille

Hennessy VSOP, Muscat Grape & Lime

Rock Oyster with Vadouvan Salad

Hennessy VSOP & Sparkling Water

Spring Lamb Samphire & Asparagus

Hennessy XO on the Rocks

Bouillabaisse

Hennessy XO Neat

Fresh Curd, Strawberry & Rhubarb

Kouign-amann & Pineapple Chocolate Truffle

Hennessy Paradis Neat

The bar has an affordable sharing platters (all under $30 each) such as Mezze (hommus, fetta, olives, tzatziki etc), Sashimi, Charcuterie (terrine, rillettes, pate), Cured Meats (prosciutto, salami, bresaola) and Grilled meats (eye fillet, chipolatas, lamb chops, bacon). Not your usual bar food options, which is so refreshing to have something substantial after a few evening beverages, and not enough time for a dinner out.

You can say that it caters for all. Whether you’re looking for French sturgeon caviar ($230 for 50g) with a bottle of vintage champagne; a ice cold Kirin off the tap ($5) with a bowl of fries and a grill plate; a cheese selection with a bottle of wine; or desserts with a girlfriend and a cocktail in hand. The lounge is partially outdoors, proving to be the next favorite spot for smokers under the strict new smoking laws. Half of the tables are smoker friendly – that reason alone, if I was still a smoker, would make me a regular!

Look for the arrival of a new French elderflower liqueur with the first bottle delivered September 15 to Steel Bar and Grill - St-Germain elderflower liqueur is crafted from handpicked elderflowers and is a welcome introduction to the Australian bar scene, as it is the world’s only elderflower liqueur, served in an amazing Vanilla and Elderflower Martini.

(weekday lunch – quick bar food menu: Grilled Salmon, celery and apple salad, sauce gribiche; Angus Hamburger, bacon, gruyere, coleslaw, chips)

Open Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Drinks til midnight. (Bar menu served all day)
Find me serving you three nights a week – in a very modest uniform. No more revealing Japanese mini silk dresses… the more you wear, the less they tip. Sad but true.

Good service should be rewarded – I must admit, I was acting like a spoilt princess when I found out that the ‘outdoor table for 9′ that I booked ended up set by the entrance to the restaurant. The server saw the disappointment in my face and with his own initiative, ended up re-setting the outdoor area for us. I am a true believer that the service before the meal is crucial to the customer experience and it really depends on that first impression. You could have mind-blowing food, but if someone isn’t happy to begin with, they most probably will not enjoy the rest of the meal. This was probably something that was recognised right away and corrected. I wish more mid-ranged restaurants in Sydney would do this!

The food was beautiful, and we were amongst heaters on a crisp, cool Saturday afternoon in the courtyard of a Victorian terrace house with sandstone walls. Both the chef and the waiter were attentive to our needs (even though it was a quiet day, there were only two other tables in the restaurant that day), the food was delicate and the flavours were rich – just the way the French like it. I had no qualms with my 33% tip, well deserved – albeit a little painful for the wallet. I guess I felt bad for being difficult.

The wine list had my new favorite white for the moment - Vouvray (Chenin Blanc) from the Loire Valley alongside other French wines. Divine.

Escargots a la Bourguignonne $14
Snails with garlic butter and puff pastry

Souffle d’ecrevisses au gruyere $22
Twice baked Moreton bay bug & gruyere souffle

Salade au chevre chaud $15
Spinach salad with pears and warm goat’s cheese

Duck Rilette (special of the day)

Soupe du jour $14
Celeriac and Salsify soup with parsley toast

Saint-Jacques et crevettes a l’ail $35
Grilled scallops wrapped in prosciutto & garlic prawns (I thought of PetiteTokyo when I ordered this!)

Faux Fillet $29
Angus sirloin with bearnaise sauce & fries

Supreme de canard et son choux farci au porto $35
Pan-fried duck breast & stuffed cabbage with a port sauce

Plat Du Jour
Veal shank and lamb pie

Puree de pommes de terre $8

Creme brulee $14
Vanilla creme brulee

Profiteroles au chocolat $15
Chocolate profiteroles with vanilla ice cream

Tarte tatin $15
Apple tatin with ice cream

Delicioux!