Friday Night Tapas and Rainy Day Brunch

Whew...it was a big weekend.  I don't think I will being putting on back to back events again, but hey ya gotta learn some how!

Friday night tapas and sangria for a private party was fabulous.  I think all the guests enjoyed themselves as well as the tapas and sangria.  The menu consisted of roasted capsicum dip with crostini, spicy lentil & pumpkin dip w/crispy pita bread, spanish meatballs, zuchinni & corn fritters w/ tomato salsa, crispy handcut potato's with garlic aioli, chorizo flambe and garlic and chilli, garlic & coriander prawns.  Finished off with vanilla bean & mascarpone custard spoons, chocolate brownies w/ganache and fresh strawberries. My favorite...the custard...AMAZING (just finished eating the last drop!).  I will eventually post up this delicious must make recipe for all to enjoy.

As for brunch...so much for my sunny day patio brunch...it rained and poured and the sun did not come out and therefore I had to shift things around and do it all inside.  Which was fine, but not quite my original vision.  The hit for the brunch was definitely not me or anything I did...I would say it was the coffee!  My friend John was SO gracious and blessed us with his barista skills and coffee machine for the morning.  I was impressed.  He sourced the best of beans to match my menu for the morning and was prepared to make all requests.  It was pretty funny when I went to take the orders and had a full list of drinks for him...from picolo's to double machiatto's, he did a fantastic job.

Otherwise I think the food went down okay, the menu for the morning went like this:

Begin:  Strawberry Champagne Cocktail
First: Mini Raspberry & Rhubarb Muffins, Mini Broccoli & Cheddar Muffins
Second: Coffee by John: Seasonal Espresso Blend, Market Lane, Melbourne

Third: Ricotta, Honey & Banana stuffed French Toast, Breakfast Style Potatoes, Three Cheese Tartlets with Spinach & Prosciutto and Shortcut Bacon

Finish: Passion Fruit Sorbet with Mango Coulis

double time

this weekend is gonna be my first attempt at 2 tablenosh events in one weekend (i could be crazy)!  tomorrow night is a private 'tapas & sangria' function.  i am gonna try out a couple new tapas ideas as well as utilize some of the favorites from my previous tapas night.  so far the sangria is soaking the vanilla custard is half way there and the choc brownies just need some ganache...i think tomorrow is gonna be a full day in order to get all the rest done!  but am definitely looking forward to an evening of meeting new people and sharing the tablenosh love...

hopefully i can do a quick turnover and be ready to go for my first tablenosh brunch!  i have even managed to get an expert barista (no joke, he is actually a barista judge!) to join us for the morning making coffee's.  the menu is coming together with raspberry & rhubarb muffins to start, stuffed ricotta, honey & banana french toast, homestyle breakfast potatoes, ham & swiss tart, bacon and more...

so, here's to a good night's sleep and a fabulous day of cooking tomorrow!

filled up

I really cannot tell you how much pleasure it gives me to have my home filled up with people telling stories around the table!  It was another great evening, it truly amazes me that it all comes together, but it does.  The last guests left about 11:30pm and we probably could have chatted the night away.  I am pretty exhausted, but was all worth it!  Not sure how I will cope with the double next weekend, but only one way to find out.  I will post some food pics up soon and explain the tonight's menu.  All I can say is the lemon-blueberry cheesecake parfaits were definitely a hit!  And a big thanks to my fantastic side-kick Allie, could not have done it without her. 

Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake Recipe

If you are interested in making your own version of this cheesecake give it a go (here is my attempt at giving you the recipe I used, although I tend to eyeball things, so not quite sure about the measurements)!  It is flexible so feel free to experiment...and the plain lemon with no blueberries is also good, especially along with fresh strawberries or raspberries.

Base
1 package of plain biscuits/graham crackers
1/4 cup almond meal
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Lemon Zest
125g Butter (1/2 cup) melted

I used my food processor to grind up the dry ingredients and then add the wet ones.  Press into a springform pan, I put baking paper down first but you don't have to.  Bake on 375F / 180C for about 10minutes.

Filling
2 packages of cream cheese (16oz/500g) (room temp)
1 250g/8oz container of Ricotta
3 eggs (room temp)
1 1/4 cups sugar
Juice from 2 lemons
Zest from 2 lemons

Mix the cream cheese and ricotta until smooth, mix until creamy and then slowly mix in the lemon juice and zest.  Finally add eggs one at a time and mix until smooth.  Pour the filling into the base.

Blueberry Swirl
3/4 cups frozen blueberries
2 Tablespoons of sugar

Heat the blueberries (you could also use fresh ones) in a small pan with sugar until juicy and warm.  Then uses a mixer to chop and mush the blueberries to make a compote.  Dollop 4 blobs of blueberry mixture onto cheesecake filling and use a knife or skewers to swirl around.

Bake cheesecake at 160C/ 325F for about an hour and ten minutes or until set.  Allow to cool and then chill, probably best if chilled overnight.

If you want to do a glaze you can just do a thin layer of whip cream or use sour cream.  I blend the two add a bit of lemon juice and some confectionary/icing sugar.  You can spread this on once the cheesecake is completely cooled and top with fresh blueberries and lemon zest for added decor!  Enjoy...and if I forgot something don't hesitate to ask!

A Picnic with Sydney Food Bloggers

After a VERY busy night working on my lemon ricotta cheesecake with a lemon sour cream glace and blueberry swirl, cooking up a new recipe for tablenosh (pesto, ricotta and sundried tomato stuffed chicken)and making a couple of quiches for a friend, I managed to pull it together this morning and headed to a Sydney Food Bloggers Picnic in Centennial Park.  Who knew there were SO many other people blogging about food in Sydney!?

It was a Mad Hatters theme picnic where everyone was invited to bring a dish to share, which would also be judged and prizes for favorites.  It was delightful, I had so much fun chatting with other foodies and sharing about tablenosh.  It was also fabulous trying everyone else's food...yum!  I thought my cheesecake actually turned out really well, but unfortunately it won no prizes.  But there was lots to be judged and choose from so I don't feel too bad.

I am really excited to keep an eye on some of these blogs, especially grabyourfork.blogspot.com and diaryofaladybird.blogspot.com.  Thanks for a fabulous afternoon fellow food bloggers and hope to see some of you at my tablenosh soon!!

Not the ONLY underground restaurant!

A couple of months ago I was so excited to discover that tablenosh is NOT the only thing happening in Sydney’s world of ‘underground’, ‘hidden kitchen’ or ‘secret supper clubs’!! To my own excitement I found an article that list 5 other groups all happening in Sydney, of course my next step is to get myself a seat at one of these events! http://www.saltshaker.net/underground-dining-scene

Meanwhile, tablenosh continues to be great fun as I cook up new recipes and experience new faces around my table! This month should keep me on my toes, as I do my first brunch and a Saturday night dinner and two Private Functions!

As I continue to try and spread the word about my ‘in-home’ dining concept, I would love your help. So, please book in to bring your friends, colleagues, family or just grab your neighbor for a night out to dinner…in my home!

Thanks so much for your support and excitement for my Tablenosh Project.

Yours, Leila

Upcoming Nosh Nights:
Saturday, October 16th at Dinner 7pm
Sunday, October 24th at Brunch 11am

Cooking from Callalla

We just returned from a few days in Callalla Beach with friends, a great opportunity to take advantage of a lovely BIG kitchen and people to cook for!

 

This was a mild fji style curry with fresh pineapple.

For afternoon tea I made some Zesty Lemon Scones served with Lemon Cream & Raspberry Jam.

A new dessert was poached pears in dessert wine with vanilla bean, served with vanilla icecream. Yum.

There were a few others, but for some reason I cannot get the pictures to upload properly and I am sick of trying!

Next Tablenosh date is Oct. 16th and there are still a few seats available!

'Wet Paint'

Yesterday was our third wedding anniversary, so of course I thought we best go out for dinner.  We wanted to be somewhere near the beach, so with a bit of research I found this fabulous little restaurant in Bronte called 'Wet Paint'. 

When we got there we were the only ones there...but by the time we left the place was packed.  Beautiful ambiance and the food was delicious.  I started out with a raspberry mojito, one of my favorite cocktails!  Pete had a goats cheese souffle with salmon, basil and dill, for entree and I had sesame crusted prawn cutlets served over a Waldorf salad.  Delish!

And then the mains, I could not refrain from ordering their signature dish which is a 'Louisiana stuffed chicken seared breast, stuffed with cornbread, sundried tomatoes and cashews, served with a lemon butter sauce!  It was delicious,  I might have to give this recipe a try myself!  Pete on the other hand ordered the Fillet Steak with Bearnaise prosciutto wrapped eye fillet steak served with roasted field mushroom and bearnaise sauce.  We were very satisfied.

We went ahead and ordered desert, but must say I was not as impressed with the desserts, I also think I was too full to be eating anymore!  Overall it was a really good find and I would definitely recommend this lovely spot.

Friday Night's Nosh

Fridays are a little trickier...but somehow it all came together and tablenosh last night was fabulous (well at least I enjoyed it).  The day started with a very early morning trip to the Sydney Markets, only to find out they were not really set up for the public until 9am (I got there at 6:45am)!  In the process of avoiding being hit by a forklift and try to find my way around vegetable chaos, I met a lovely guy who informed me I needed to come back at 9, he must have seen the look on my face and offered to shout me a coffee.  So, we sat down over a coffee and chatted about the world and all its troubles (it was pretty funny considering he was wearing one of those shirts that says 'sh** happens').  After my coffee with Bob, I hopped back in the car drove home through the Paramatta Road traffic and got to work on some baking.

Take Two...I headed back to the markets at about 10:30am.  Whew, they were up and running and I was able to find everything I needed other than limes (clearly they are not in season at the moment), as I found them at Franklin's for 19.99/kg!  I pulled back into the driveway about 11:45am, unloaded the groceries and went to get my key and realized 'Oh NO I am locked out'!!! Seriously what a day already.  Fortunately I was able to go pick up a key from the real-estate office.

Things calmed down after that and my friend Chelsea came by to help me do some prep-work and be my taste tester.  The only other close disaster I had was almost chopping off the end of my middle finger!!  This is what happens if you take your eye off the knife in the midst of panic, whew I never realized how protective our fingernails are, thankfully it was just a small cut.  I put on a band-aid and kept going.

Okay so tablenosh...what a fun group of people!  Being an extravert definitely makes it hard sometimes to remain in the kitchen when the lounge room is lighting up with laughter, it was fabulous.  The smoke alarm added some extra laughs for the group (as I kept setting it off), I thought this just added to the 'in-home' experience.  A special thanks to my assistant for the evening, Julie Bosma, she was an excellent help!

The guests were welcomed with a pre-dinner cocktail, a Leila original that I called a 'strawberry splash'.  Basically a scoop of lemon sorbet, malibu rum, lemonade and a dollop of strawberry granita...refreshing and yummy!  The starters for the evening were broccoli and cauliflower fritters with a cheesy dip and grilled haloumi. 

The main for the evening was Grilled Swordfish on a bed of rocket & cous cous salad, topped with a mango salsa and fresh coriander pesto.  I am just bummed I did not actually get a bite myself!! (guess I will have to make it for Pete and I sometime)

The dessert trio got a delightful response, Chocolate Mousse Spoons, Mini Berry Rhubarb Crumble and the Petite Citrus Cake with Passionfruit Custard and Lemon Cream.  I think the guests were well pleased, I definitely gonna have to make the crumble again.  Strawberries are in season at the moment, so it was primarily fresh strawberries and rhubarb stewed with brown sugar and I threw in a few raspberries for flavor.  As for the crumble topping, the trick was using ginger cookies and crushing them into the usual topping. 

After dinner we all retired to the lounge room to finish things off over iced baileys, dessert wine and coffee.

What can I say, I am delighted to have had another evening of good fun and good food in my home...my only reget and utter embarrassment for the evening was, I forgot to put napkins on the TABLE - I went to go crawl into bed and there sat all my neatly pressed and folded napkins!!! oops - at least the food wasn't too messy!  

On another note, I am excited to say I have my first tablenosh 'private function' booking!  And as for the next Nosh Night open to the public, it will be on Saturday, October 2.  I am already taking bookings, so don't wait...email me now to get your spot!

citrus cake with passion fruit custard & lemon cream

This is sweetness indeed.  My latest dessert experiment and test-run for friday.  Citrus cake with passionfruit custard and lemon cream.  I served it to my mother-in-law as her birthday cake, the verdict was very positive.  I think it's a winner and will be part of the dessert trio for Friday.  The cake is a fabulous recipe that I snagged from someone else's blog it is the second time I have made it, the batter alone is so tasty I wanted to eat the whole bowl (probably a good thing I didn't)!  Here is the cake recipe:

 http://www.exclusivelyfood.com.au/2006/07/lemon-and-orange-cake-recipe.html

The custard is also delicious!!!! For those who are interested here is the recipe: (you can also make this plain vanilla and use a vanilla bean instead of passionfruit or use other flavors you like)

1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup cream (lightly whipped)
2-3 tablespoons passion fruit

Place milk in a saucepan over medium heat and heat just until boiling point.  Add vanilla and remove from heat.
Place egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat until thick.  Add the cornflour and hot milk and stir until smooth.
Return the mixture to a clean saucepan over medium hear and stir constantly with wooden spoon (or whisk) until thickened (can take up to 15 min).
Bring the custard to a boil and then turn the heat down to low and cook for 2 more minutes.  Remove for heat and add butter stirring to combine.  Put mixture into fridge to cool covered.
Once the mixture is cool fold through the whipped cream and passion fruit - use more passion fruit if needed for a stronger flavor.
I have also added mascarpone cheese to this recipe and served it with berries...delicious!

Experimenting

Ahhhhh...it feels like it has taken me days to get back with the program and in the kitchen!  Alas, I finally feel like I got up to some good experimentation yesterday and think I have a good idea as to what I will make for tablenosh this Friday.

I went to the markets on Saturday morning, which as usual I thoroughly enjoyed...I probably could have stayed for hours but my cart was so full I could barely see over the top of it and could barely push it!  Anyhow while I was there I went ahead and bought some swordfish (total bargain) and thought I would experiment with it for dinner.  We ended up having a few friends come over for dinner so I threw a few ideas together and came up with something that needs a bit of work but was pretty good.

Grilled swordfish over cous cous salad, with roasted red peppers, avacado and fresh pesto...I just need to find out if all my guests for Friday are okay with fish.  And in the meantime get inspired with some exciting dessert ideas...I am thinking it is time for another dessert trio.