During the week, I was chatting with a friend about food. No surprise! Food forms a large part of my consciousness.
My friend, who I have known for more than ten years, described how she enjoyed the taste sensation and flavours of dates, blue cheese, and prosciutto. I know I’ve eaten dates wrapped in streaky bacon before, but I’ve not eaten prosciutto much.
I pondered the flavours and taste and feel on my tongue and in my mouth in my imagination.
The cheese would be soft and creamy yet salty. I imagine it would be warm and oozy on the tip of my tongue. The salted pork would be slightly abrasive on my tongue. As my teeth penetrate through the dry-cured ham, I’d know this was leg meat and not the unctuous fatty belly. The date, which is ‘fleshy’ and folded around the cheese, forms a groove through which the tip of my tongue can scoop the creamy melting cheese. The date is sweet and contrasts the saltiness of the cheese and the pork delightfully.
Poachers prosciutto, Medjool dates, and Udder delights blue cheese
Ingredients
Medjool dates
Udder delight blue cheese
Prosciutto
Instructions
Hold a pitted date between your thumb and your forefinger in your non-dominant hand.
Insert the tip of a sharpened paring knife through the base of the date and longitudinally slit the date open. Gently prise apart the folds of the date with your thumbs.
Pinch off a bit of the cheese and firmly push it into the groove you’ve made in the date, and gently close the lips of the date.
Hold the date firmly to prevent it from opening and wrap a length of the prosciutto around the date.
Secure the pork, date, and cheese with the cocktail pick.
Gently warm the little nugs of goodness in a warm oven until the cheese begins to melt.
Dedication
My friend gave me the idea for this Hors d’oeuvre because it formed a delightful sensation in my mouth.
Warm prosciutto-wrapped Medjool dates stuffed with Udder delights blue cheeseWarm prosciutto-wrapped Medjool dates stuffed with Udder delights blue cheese
Cauliflower soup is one of my favourite dishes because it tastes great and is easy to make. Winter is approaching and weekend soup is definitely a thing.
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Sensationally tasting cauliflower soup made with chillies, curry powder and blue cheese
How do you make cauliflower soup taste sensational?
This recipe will have you wanting another bowl, even after you feel full.
1 piece cauliflower (remove leaves and breakdown florets)
100 grams bacon pieces (bought from a delicatessen)
1 piece potato (cut into cubes)
1 tablespoon curry powder (Clive of India)
2 glugs olive oil
½ piece white onion (diced)
1 piece stock cube (chicken)
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
¼ cup cream
¼ cup cheese (grated)
¼ cup parsley (chopped)
1 litre boiling water (from a kettle)
Add the olive oil to a saucepan
Sauté the bacon pieces and diced onion
Add the potato and cauliflower
Add sufficient boiling water to cover the potato and cauliflower
Add the stock cube and curry power
Bring the water to the boil and turn down to a simmer
Simmer until the cauliflower and potato are tender (at least 30 minutes)
Remove the saucepan from the heat source
Use a stick blender to process the soup
Add the cream
Add the grated cheese, chilli flakes and cream and then stir through
Prior to serving to recipients (me) add the chopped parsley
Serve in a bowl
As winter approaches this is a soup to be made again and again. If you choose, this goes nicely with a piece of bread or a roll or just on its own.
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As much as I love pumpkin soup, I really enjoy this cauliflower soup.
But for me the best thing about Bowral is the vanilla slice at The Gumnut Patisserie
Sunday morning tea. Vanilla slices from Gumnut Patisserie in Bowral. The best vanilla slice in the world I reckon. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/1000sec, ISO 100
The day started well with scrambled eggs from Bron. These were so buttery and so delicious. Bron does good scrambled eggs.
Bron made scrambled eggs on sourdough for breakfast | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/80sec, ISO 2500
The point of going to Bowral though wasn’t so much to enjoy a vanilla slice but to do a little exercise and get some fresh air on a fine Spring day.
After the vanilla slice and a coffee we went to the Bowral Cheese Shop and bought some food for lunch before going for a walk along one of the trails. While we were at The Gumnut Patisserie Bron bought some sourdough and a rye sour bread.
At the cheese store we bought some quince paste, some duck and peppercorn pâté, some Small Cow blue cheese, some truffle brie cheese and some chicken, pork and pistachio terrine. This would be an indulgent lunch.
We drove to the base of the Mount Gibraltar walking trail and walked up the stairs to the Mount Gibraltar lookout. The walk took about 40 minutes and involved some stair climbing, some trail walking and some lookout gazing. I tried to shoot some photographs but most of them turned out badly. I forgot to set my white balance properly and I forgot to bring my circular polariser. It was a very glary day and so most of the shots were not very good. We came across a wombat hole and I didn’t adjust the ISO properly and ended up with a very soft shot with a 1/2 second shutter speed. By the time I was at that point I was huffing and puffing and my heart rate was high so the shot was soft and blurry. Anyway, enough excuses, it was a good day out.
We decided to drive to the Mount Gibraltar Jellore Lookout for lunch. It’s a nice place with a good view of Mittagong.After our strenuous walk to check out a number of the fantastic views around Gibraltar rocks, we set up our picnic at the Jellore look out, which is on a little outcrop and is usually quite serene. Today it was not so, with the arrival of a number of groups, including a particularly large and boisterous family that felt the best place for their numerous selfies was half a metre from where we were sitting. After they left we were able to enjoy some peace and quite looking over the hills around Bowral before heading back to Canberra.
This was a very indulgent but utterly delicious lunch.
Perfect picnic lunch at Mount Gibraltar Jellore Lookout Bowral. Quince paste, duck and peppercorn pâté, chicken pork and pistachio terrine, truffle brie and small cow blue cheese | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/125sec, ISO 200
Perfect picnic lunch at Mount Gibraltar Jellore Lookout Bowral. Sourdough bread, rye sour bread, quince paste, duck and peppercorn pâté, chicken pork and pistachio terrine, truffle brie and small cow blue cheese | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/100sec, ISO 200
Eating the pâté with the rye sour bread was like eating smooth dark chocolate. It was just amazing!
This is where we were sitting for lunch.
Sunday midday. Bowral Mount Jellore Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/500sec, ISO 200
Sunday. Bowral Mount Gibraltar Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/1250sec, ISO 200
Sunday. Bowral Mount Gibraltar Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/500sec, ISO 200
Sunday. Bowral Mount Gibraltar Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/500sec, ISO 200
Sunday. Bowral Mount Gibraltar Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 200
Sunday. Bowral Mount Gibraltar Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/640sec, ISO 200
Sunday. Bowral Mount Gibraltar Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/320sec, ISO 200
Sunday midday. Bowral Mount Jellore Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 200
Sunday midday. Bowral Mount Jellore Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/800sec, ISO 200
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Bron and I had a brilliant day. The weather was good and the food great.
Have you been to Bowral? What did you do? What did you eat?
If you have any comments or questions please send me a comment in the space below.
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