Weekend Herb Blogging
June 25, 2007
Wow look, I got accepted with my peppercorn entry for this week on Weekend Herb Blogging. I am very excited about it. I need to read all the other entries for this Weekend Herb Blogging event and learn some more. Obviously I have to try for next weeks show. No rest for me, even if I had time to. Enjoy the round up over at Astrids foodblog.paulchens.org
Lunch at The Marsden Tavern
June 24, 2007
Another facelift. This time at the Marsden Tavern.
Monday lunchtime Monika and I were out shopping, and as you know you should not shop on an empty Tummy. We had just come out of one shop when we both had the urge to eat, the question is where. Yeppoon has many places that offer lunch, some of which I have yet to sample and some that I probably wont sample, but after hearing from a number of people about the new Tavern Menu & food, it was an opportunity not to be missed.
So in we walk 4 minutes to midday. You know how sometimes you walk into a place and the person serving gives you the feeling they don’t want you to be there, well there was none of that. We were greeted with smiles and a happy “table for twoâ€. We stood at the bar while the lady told us about the two specials, lasagne and salad or 300gram rump with salad and fries with choice of sauce both were $10. At first I did read the blackboard to make sure that I had understood right, a 300gram rump for $10. Yes sold, two please one with mushroom and the other pepper sauce, medium rare.
With two beers we chose our table. Walking across the polished concrete floor towards the open windows with stools in front looking out onto the street it reminded us of the typical restaurants in Adelaide on the strip in Rundle Street. Nice dark wooden tables with shiny metal legs and matching chairs filled the room. Fresh cloth napkins folded and on a side plate with brand new cutlery, which you can actually hold in your hand. Salt and pepper mills also topped the table. At the table I looked over the menu and found some appealing dishes, with soft shell crab, quail also Coffin Bay Oysters.
The meals took no longer than twenty five minutes. The rump which you could have expected for the price to be tough and probably not 300grams was full of flavour, juicy, tender and defiantly no less than 300grams, little fat also. Cooked to perfection, the sauce which I was anticipating to be from the packet, was not to my delight, and was tasting of the ingredients, also they were visually present. Crunchy battered fries nicely seasoned and a fresh crisp salad with a drizzle of dressing. For ten dollars you would find this very hard to beat. Top compliments to the chef and staff on duty that Monday.
John Mundell will return.
Peppercorns, black, white, green, red..
June 19, 2007
After finding some very good food blogs out there today, which put mine to shame I must add, especialy those which are posting on the topic  
Weekend Herb Blogging. It is now in it’s 87th week and growing.Â
This week it will be hosted by Astrid from Paulchen’s Food Blog. I might be a bit of a late joiner but I guess thats the fun of the Internet. Anyway without dribbling too much lets get down to business.
Peppercorns, black, white, green, red and two cases of pink!!
I was just going to fill up my pepper-mill when I came across these the Tasmanian Peppercorns in my pantry. 
Which led me to do this entry. My first, so it can only get better, I hope.
But first let’s find out a little more about pepper.
Pepper comes from a flowering vine called Piperceae. It is grown in tropical regions of the world. After the vine flower’s the berry appears.
Green, white, pink & black pepper all comes from the same berries from the above plant.
Green and Black pepper are made from the unripe berries. The unripe berries are naturally green, and the green peppercorns that are usually available have been pickled in brine or dried. They mainly come from Madagascar and are firm and spicy also a little powdery.
The black peppercorns mainly from India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, start out green, are washed then sun dried or kiln dried. The natural enzyme in the pericarp or fruity outside in the corn helps to break down the enzymes and release the oil which in time turns them black. The corns shrink and wrinkle up in the drying process.
White and Pink pepper are made from the ripe berries. The white pepper is made by soaking the berries in cold water which allows the fruity outside to decompose, inturn allowing it to be easily rubbed away. The berries are then dried. They mostly come from Malaysia.
As for the pink or red pepper (Latin name piper nirum) from India, which we must not get confused with the pink peppercorns is made from the ripe red berries which are preserved in brine. They have a spicy flavour much like the black pepper.
The pink peppercorns, pepper rose or baies rose are from a different pepper tree. (Latin name schinus terebinthifolius) Rose colour pink berries have a hard brown seed with a papery shell. It has a delicate flavour, slightly piquant. They usually come from Brazil and are either pickled or dried. Â
As for the Tasmanian Peppercorns which look very much like the black peppercorns they taste a little sweet at first with only a mild spice to them.
I am not sure if this will be accepted by the WHB committee, but off it goes and lets see next week. Many thanks to all involved with the Weekend Herb Blogging. It is a fantastic idea and I wish you continuous success with it.
Technorati Tags: Culinary terms, Bordelaise
Waterline Cafe Lunch Review
June 17, 2007
What a glorious Sunday in Yeppoon. Met up with some friends and after having tea in there newly finished house, which is absolutely awesome with views to die for, we decided to go out for lunch. So this will become my first dining review.
With the town enjoying the arrival of some new eateries, we headed to the marina and the Waterline Café. It is not really new; it’s just had a bit of a facelift, mostly the kitchen area. With perfect weather we new it would be busy so we phoned ahead to secure a table. On arrival we queued in the long line to place our order. This did gave us time to make our choices after I had grabbed a few menus from the till. The young lady at the register was very pleasant and took our wishes professionally, but the table reservation didn’t seem to work. She wasn’t so sure about that. A minor problem as we found a table, maybe not so lucky for the others in the queue as it was very busy.
I was hoping to see Matt the chef and catch up to see how he was doing, we had worked together at Lure Café & Bar. Unfortunately he was off. Now I know what it’s like for customers when they dine at a restaurant expecting to see the chef and he or she is not there, oh well we chefs do have a life too. Anyway onto lunch.
The menu consists of two breakfast items, three kids meals, seven main meals and two sharing plates. We chose the Keppel Prawn and Pineapple Grill $13, very nice too, fresh prawns with seafood sauce and pineapple on toasts. Also the Waterline Works Burger $15 a nice fresh tasting meaty burger, and not greasy from the flat top, a good size too. Also we had the Char Grilled Vegetable Stack $13, at first it looked rather small but nicely decorated with the drizzle of balsamic glaze and parsley. However it was sufficient for the lady eating. As the burgers didn’t come with fries we ordered two sides with aioli $5. A nice china flat bowl came with the crunchy battered fries, a rather small serve I will add. With a couple of kids meals, chicken nuggets and chips $8 and a couple of coronas without lime or lemon, (they had run out), a couple of milkshakes the bill was $78 for four with two kids.
Overall it was an enjoyable lunch the service was good, we also didn’t wait longer than 35 minutes for our order. Will defiantly be back to sample breakfast with coffee and the new dinner service which is totally new as the Waterline used to only cater for breakfast & lunch.  Sorry no photos this time.
Hells Kitchen, reality tv show
June 9, 2007
Hells Kitchen the tv reality show….For those of you whom are not at all familier with Hells Kitchen or haven’t heard of Gordon Ramsay, I will explain.
 
This is a reality tv show which established itself in the UK back in 2004. Although it was short lived in the UK, it is now in it’s third season airing in the US on FOX tv. Gordon Ramsay, the host of the original show and now into his third season in the US is a world famous chef. He has many restaurants to his name, a selection of cook books, as well as other television shows with numerous morning & today show apearences. You still haven’t heard of him, what, do you live under a rock!
The program starts with 12 wannabe chefs that are divided into a red team and a blue team competing in various cooking challenges. Often Male vs female, then as the elimination process reduces the teams Chef Ramsay mixes them. Each team also has the services of one of two sous-chefs: Scott Leibfried and Mary Ann Salcedo. The restaurant is looked after by Belgian maitre d’,Jean Philippe Susilovic, who came from Petrus, one of Ramsay’s London restaurants. By the way Diners are recruited by producers to “try a new restaurant”. Diners must sign the usual TV-related non-disclosure agreements. Diners do not pay for dinner; on the contrary, each diner receives $50 for their evening.[citation needed]Â
12 wannabe chefs,, all ordinary people, some with chef and restaurant experience, some with no experience at all and some that should have stayed at home in my opinion. They have to go through hell, burnt, cut, abused, screamed at, degraded and insulted to be the last chef standing (all pretty standard to us profesionals) to claim the prize of owning his or her own million-dollar restaurant, as it was for season 1 winner Michael Wray. Whats he doing now, read on. The prize for season 2 was to be the coveted title of Executive Chef of a luxurious fine-dining restaurant at the brand-new Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa in Las Vegas. In addition, the winner will be eligible to receive a financial interest in the restaurant and assist in its design. Season 2 winner, I will not reveal as some of us viewers over here in Australia havent yet seen the final. By the way it’s on the LifeStyle Food channel on pay tv in Australia. The first season is also now showing on free to air tv, so get on and catch up with the hells kitchen saga.
This season 3 the winner will be granted with the coveted title of Head Chef of a new fine Italian restaurant at the Green Valley Ranch Resort and Spa in Las Vegas, as well as $250,000.
For this series the 12 would be restaurateurs are actually chefs of some kind (which does amaze me after reading some of the latest reports from the first episode just started in the US). I think that is a good move from the producers. How can anybody deserve or even be capable of learning to run a kitchen let alone a restaurant, a ‘million dollar restaurant’ I add even if Chef Gordon Ramsay took them under his tuition for 10 weeks filming.
Want a chance to stand the heat in the kitchen and face up with the man Gordon Himself? Well give it ago http://www.fox.com/hellskitchen/casting.htm Hells Kitchen has kick-started the culinary careers for previous winners. Season 2 champion is currently senior chef at the Terra Rossa restaurant in Las Vegas, and season 1 winner Michael Wray is head chef at Tatou, a restaurant and supper club in Los Angeles.
 Do you think you have what it takes to be the next superstar chef? Do you think you can deal with Chef Gordon Ramsay? Are you willing to be burnt, cut, abused, screamed at, degraded and insulted? Then you may have what it takes to be the winner of Hell’s Kitchen. The Chef Gordon Ramsay run smash hit reality TV series Hell’s Kitchen is coming back for another season and they’re looking for the next set of Hell’s Kitchen hopefuls. Do you have what it takes? I personally would relish the chance to jump into the fire with Gordon Ramsay, maybe I should apply for a green card. A chance to work that close to the kick ass chef, bring it on Chef Gordon Ramsay, but that’s just me. Maybe you think you can do better? Maybe you think you can be the next Hell’s Kitchen superstar chef. Well the maybe you should hit a Hell’s Kitchen casting call and prove it! Hell’s Kitchen is looking for new contestants and if you think you have the skills to stand apart from the others and the balls to stand up to Gordon Ramsay, give it a shot and visit: http://www.fox.com/hellskitchen/casting.htm
Amuse bouche, Amuse-gueule, Appetizer..
June 7, 2007
Amuse bouche, amuse-gueule, appetizer, call it what you want. The question is do we really need to offer these little bite sized morsels of food at the beginning of a meal or is it overrated?
Firstly let us explain what an amuse bouche, amuse-gueule is.
An amuse bouche or amuse-gueule translated from the French word that means amusement for the mouth or gob, to use the slang word. In the restaurant world these beautifully created tiny plates of samplings are presented to the diner before they actually get to order from the menu. It is an offer from the chef and supposed to stimulate the taste buds.
Often found in the very best eateries in the world among many Michelin rated restaurants. It is a chance for the chef to show off a new combination of flavours as it does not need to be anything specific. From the chef’s point of view it is a welcoming gift to the diner appreciating his patronage.
On the other side the customer who really doesn’t expect to receive this gift, especially if they are new to the fine dinning arena, could either be offended or excited. In my experience with the amuse bouche thing it was often the case that it was a pain to serve as it really does become another dish on the menu or two dishes as was the case in Germany in the 2 Michelin star restaurant The wald & Schloss Hotel. First a cold one followed by a hot one, you may think that’s a bit too over the top, that’s your choice. For me it was an opportunity to see many creations.
The disappointing aspect is that some customers really don’t appreciate what it is that they are receiving. Also you regularly would have the waiter return with the amuse bouche saying that the customer doesn’t like your offer and would like something else. Don’t forget that this is only an offer from the chef, it is not for you to choose what you want.
Enjoy some good reading and pictures about this subject with
Amuse-Bouche: Little Bites That Delight Before the Meal Begins
The Appetizer Atlas: A World of Small Bites
ViagraOysters on The Menu
June 3, 2007
ViagraOysters…..Hard up Down under….
Well this could be a possiblity in the future, since a group of Australians have created ViagraOysters. 59 year old marketing executive George May came up with the idea of feeding Viagra to oysters after he underwent surgery for prostate cancer, a common side effect of which is impotence.
His doctor suggested taking a small dose of Viagra to help.
Mr. May crushed the tablets and sprinkled them on his oysters, (will we see an explosion of natural oysters being ordered in the restaurant I wonder!!) hoping the combination would in some way add some zest to the event & help speedup his return to normality. Hence the birth of ViagraOysters.
Mr. May approached struggling oyster farmers Royden Whitten and Barry Lambert to discuss whether it was possible to feed Viagra to growing oysters “Why don’t we feed oysters Viagra and make an ultimate aphrodisiac?” Mr. May asked. Oysters are filter feeders, so they grow by absorbing nutrients in the water. The farmers harvest the oysters and transfer them into tanks of Viagra-infused water.
A strange idea, but the process is very simple. Feed the oysters in a breeding ground until they acquire a suitable size, next they are transferred to a compartment where certain doses of Viagra dissolved in the water are added along with the other nutrients until the oysters reach the adapted size to be processed.
click this picture to watch a news report video
Mr. May claims tests have proven the oysters show trace elements of sildenafil citrate — the active ingredient in Viagra. The farmers have worked out the special way of giving the oysters the Viagra and they have copyrighted the process. They have also registered the name “ViagraOysters” and are now preparing to export them to the Asian market.The oysters - registered under the name ViagraOysters - could have a big market in Asia and the farmers reckon that that they could sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth every year.
If only it was that easy. Pfizer the manufacturer of Viagra has launched a legal challenge to the registration of the name ViagraOysters and say that the promotion of the ViagraOysters is illegal. The farmers are now preparing to take on one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies in the courts and hope that they will be allowed to sell their products in Asia. In the meantime the court battle will give the struggling oyster farmers a media boost which could be a marketing dream.
While the research and development of their product is still in its early stages, the NSW food authority says its unlikely Viagra Oysters will be approved for sale in Australia. Viagra is a prescription drug and therefore oysters containing traces of the drug would not be permitted for general sale. This is not good news for the farmers as the Asian market already has demanded the first produced lot. The farmers will have to find another way to prepare the ViagraOysters. Or to setup the company in another country, preferably Asia. Maybe they will need to find an alternative to the powerful drug.
Viagra is a prescription medicine and should only be taken with advice from a doctor and that these ViagraOysters have not been proven to be safe and should not be consumed, so please be aware of ViagraOysters on the menu next time you are out for dinner…..
Extracts from ninemsn news & france 24.
