From Grill Forty One G41 at the Lord Elgin Hotel
Crispy Canadian bacon and maple syrup (iPhone) Lord Elgin Hotel
Crispy Canadian bacon and maple syrup (iPhone) Lord Elgin Hotel
It’s been an odd weekend. Bron has gone away for a couple of weeks so I have to fend for myself. Thinking of Bron I made Brioche French toast yesterday morning and then we went to the local club for dinner last night. Today I cooked pork belly (my other white meat).
The Brioche was soaked in cream, eggs, vanilla and sugar.
Brioche soaking in cream, vanilla, eggs and sugar
I served it with cream and maple syrup because I didn’t have any berries. Note the Brisbane Broncos mug taking pride of place given they defeated the Canberra Raiders on Friday night.
Served with cream and maple syrup
After breakfast I went to Costco to pick up a new pair of reading spectacles. While I was there I happened upon one of the many meat cabinets. I picked up some red meat in the form of a rack of lamb and some scotch fillet.
I plan to cook this this week some time.
I love my vacuum sealer. I can prepare meat and freeze it to keep for extended periods.
My scotch fillet in food saver bags.
On Saturday night we went to the Southern Cross Club at Jamison. This is a local club and they do a reasonable steak. I tend to go for the scotch fillet with prawns and calamari in a Béarnaise sauce served on a bed of mash potato.
Steak, served rare as I want it.
For dessert we had a layered meringue cake. It was delicious. I should have asked for ice cream too.
Meringue layer cake with cream
The meal was fairly good. The service is okay. Saturday night is a pretty busy night for the Southern Cross Club.
This morning I made a salami and Gruyere cheese omelet for breakfast. It was pretty delicious.
Salami and Gruyere Cheese omelet for breakfast
This afternoon I took a piece of belly pork and slowly cooked it in a low oven. After I got it to room temperature I scalded it with boiling water.
It's upside down but this is after it's been scalded with boiling water
I then seared the skin in a saucepan while the oven was heating up.
After searing in a saucepan
I then put the saucepan and pork into an oven for five hours at 110 °C.
This is how it looked after a couple of hours.
I also made a sweet potato and Gruyere cheese and cheddar cheese bake.
To the bake I added some curry powder we got from the Easter Show.
Madras chicken curry
I served the pork with the sweet potato and some asparagus spears.
Plated up pork belly with sweet potato and asparagus spears
It’s been a good weekend, although I will miss Bron for a couple of weeks.
Today was a quiet one. I’ve eaten well, walked a little and spent some time thinking. I also spoke with my parents on the telephone. A pleasant quiet Sunday.
After last night’s dinner I slept in and awoke feeling a little full but not uncomfortably so. After grocery shopping and a coffee at a local café I went for a stroll along Lake Ginninderra. You can see the route here.
I’ve always thought that imitation is a valid form of flattery. I thought about Bron’s various French Toast creations and thought I’d try some. I made mine with a piece of Brioche, an egg, some milk, vanilla and sugar. I also had some blueberries and cream with maple syrup with the toast.
French toast made with Brioche, cream, maple syrup and blueberries
About mid afternoon I started feeling a little peckish and thought about a cheesy snack. I had some salami and thought a platter of salami and blue cheese would be ideal.
Salami and blue cheese
For dinner I had some Atlantic salmon in the refrigerator and some puff pastry in the freezer. Along with a sweet potato and Gruyere the decision was easy. In the sweet potato and Gruyere cheese dish I added some broccoli and green beans. In the pastry parcel I had the salmon, some cheese and a couple of asparagus spears.
A couple of friends have said I need to include images of food after the first cut. So I’ve included a shot of the pastry cracked open.
Sweet potato, beans and broccoli. An odd combination I know, but hey there are vegetables in this with cheese. CHEESE, therefore it must be good.
The salmon in puff pastry
Plated up
Cracked open, the salmon was cooked nicely and creamy.
I know I should not have but I also had ice cream for dessert.
Ice cream, cream and blueberries
It has been a good day 
I had two meals today. I know that’s not ideal but each was quite filling. Not as filling as yesterday’s but filling just the same. I woke up this morning without much of an appetite and then I remembered Bron was going to make Crème Brûlée French toast this morning and my appetite came back with a vengeance.
This recipe also calls for drunken strawberries which were really nice. we also elected to add some whipped cream from a can.
Crème Brûlée French toast naked
Adding whipped cream is fun
Crème Brûlée French toast with whipped cream from a can
Crème Brûlée French toast with cream and drunken strawberries
My second helping of Crème Brûlée French toast
I went for a decent walk this afternoon but I don’t know that I burned enough emergy
Check out the walk at http://runkeeper.com/user/garydlum/activity/74679324
This afternoon after a little ironing I started preparing dinner. I still had a piece of New York strip steak left and I thought it would make a nice Beef Wellington.
Beef Wellington is one of my favourite meals. It is so rich and unctuous especially when made with Pâté and mushroom Duxelles.
Laid out I have almost everything ready. New york strip steak, butter, onion, prunes, mushrooms, and parsley.
Browned steak resting and cooling
Browned steak resting and cooling until room temperature.
Duxelles being prepared. Onions sautéed with prunes, and mushrooms (The secret ingredient is anchovies)
Duxelles being prepared. Onions sautéed with prunes, and mushrooms (The secret ingredient is anchovies) You can’t taste them in the finished product but they add a richness to the dish.
Duxelles being prepared. Onions sautéed with prunes, mushrooms and parsley
Lots of parsley is required
Nearly ready to prepare. Puff pastry laid out.
A sheet of Pampas puff pastry.
Steak coated with Pâté
The steak needs to be coated with Pâté.
Duxelles on the puff pastry
Cooled Duxelles in the puff pastry.
Beef on the pastry
Everything ready to be wrapped.
Wrapped and egg washed
The beef is wrapped and the pastry egg washed.
Plated up sans sauce
Plated up with carrots, asparagus and beans. Sauce to come.
With a pepper sauce
I love making pepper sauce with green pepper corns in brine.
On my dining table with a bottle of ginger beer
Plated up on my dining table with a bottle of ginger beer and my MacBook Air ready to eat.
After yesterday’s meal and with the steak and Pâté today I hope I don’t have a gout attack this week.
I really enjoyed making this meal and eating it.
After last night’s effort I didn’t feel overly full when I woke up so we decided to go to brunch at Poachers Pantry in Springrange in NSW (just outside of the ACT). This is not a regular brunch place with standard brunch fare like Eggs Benedict and waffles and pancakes and things like that. The menu is a little different. It is well worth visiting if you get a chance.
The menus are at the website. This is the brunch menu http://www.poacherspantry.com.au/menus-brunch
After a much needed coffee I had Welsh Rarebit. This is a childhood favourite. I remember Mum making it for me on weekends for breakfast and sometimes it would be a light dinner. As a kid I’d always call it Welsh Rabbit lol
The coffee wasn’t anything to write home about.
Welsh Rarebit
Closer view of the cheesy goodness
Poachers Pantry also sells a lot of their produce especially their smoked goods and wines. Their website http://www.poacherspantry.com.au/ is a good place for recipes too.
Have you heard of anything more extravagant? Bron mentioned a few weeks ago she’d read a blog of someone whose bucket list involved eating Crème brûlée French toast from a well known place in New York. It was on her bucket list. Bron found a recipe from http://www.smittenkitchen.com for crème brûlée french toasts. This morning I visited to enjoy a Saturday breakfast. For the first time in a very long time I felt full after breakfast.
Bron chose to use brioche which I think was a fantastic choice.
Brioche soaked in custard
Brioche soaked in custard with orange zest
The orange zest was a great touch. Citrus is amazing.
Bananas and berries and mint
Cherry and orange sauce, it tasted awesome.
Brioche soaked in custard after emerging crispy from the oven
I just love that this was bread soaked in custard, yet it remained absorbent enough for the cherry and orange sauce and maple syrup.
The breakfast table
Brioche centrepiece
Brioche before the sweet goodness arrives
Crème brûlée French toast with cherry and orange sauce accompanied with maple syrup
For the last few years I’ve visited my girls the week before Christmas to spend the weekend and have our own special Christmas. It also coincides with my Mum’s birthday so it’s a joint celebration.
This year my youngest brother, Mr40 decided to make wonton soup for an entrée. Mr40 prides himself on this wonton soup however, we discovered he doesn’t follow Mum’s recipe to the letter. He doesn’t slap the pork mince. For more information check out My Mum’s wonton recipe and read what I’m talking about.
Mr40's wonton soup for our Christmas lunch entrée
It was pretty good.
If you thought I limited myself to this one small bowl you'd be mistaken.
Lunch was pretty good. In the morning I went out and bought prawns (tigers and kings) and then peeled them. Mum roasted chickens, made a potato bake, coleslaw, devilled eggs and a fantastic stuffing.
Christmas lunch
For dessert Mum made a sunken orange cake with a lovely orange sauce and ice cream.
Orange cake
You would think we couldn’t eat dinner. Well you’d be wrong.
A light dinner of cheese and fruit
This was then followed with rocky road made by Mr40′s wife.
Rocky road
After digesting dinner we slept and then woke this morning to Mum breakfast of French toast, bacon and scrambled eggs.
Breakast after a big feast. French toast, bacon and scrambled eggs.
