QLD FBI. Not a night for spies. Or undercover agents.

For a year or two now I've been hearing about the QLD FBI. As an avid reader of crime and thriller novels, I was intrigued. Would there be spies? Would there be covert operations? Would there {gasp} ... be a fugitive???

Alas, it was not to be {little sigh of relief}. QLD FBI hosts events for the Food and Beverage Industry. And yesterday afternoon I went for my first time. Along with quite a few other first-timers {waving hello}.

Held at Martin Duncan's Freestyle Tout at the Emporium, QLD FBI showcased a range of food suppliers. I'm still debating what my favourite was. A huge thanks to the suppliers who generously supplied their products for tasting:

• Fino Food and Wine - cheeses and tasty little oat crackers that I SERIOUSLY NEED to buy some of
• Amber Hill Wines - sadly I was driving so only tasted the chardonnay. Having seriously overdosed on chardy in 2000 I haven't really had a palate for it since. This one changed all that. If my cribbing from the website is correct, it was the 2008, which was their first chardonnay. Who says Queensland can't make wine??
• Careme Pastry - I met owner and chef, Will Wood, at the Good Food and Wine Show, but really didn't know who he was {oops. I do now}. Of course I had tasted Careme Pastry, and I have 4 packets in my freezer waiting to be cooked. And eaten. Soon. Check out the website for ideas and recipes {drools}. 
• More Food - were showcasing Coffin Bay oysters (More Food are also the distributors for Careme Pastry). I have on good authority that these were amazing {my view on oysters will never again be publicly shared after a twitter comment that caused outrage}. 
• Beloka Water - sparking and still water from Beloka, on the eastern border of the Kosciuszko National Park. One of the most gorgeous parts of Australia. In my opinion. The sparkling was just as I like it. Not too many bubbles up my nose. 

Cheeses - anticlockwise Camenbert (front), brie, burrata, NZ blue

Cheese - washed rind (l), blue (r)

Amber Hill wines 

Beloka water

Careme pastry - sour cream shortcrust

Careme pastry - lemon merengue at the front (with vanilla bean sweet shortcrust), little chocolate tarts of oozy-goodness at the back (with chocolate shortcrust) 

Martin Duncan (pink shirt), owner of Freestyle Tout; Will Wood (chef's whites), owner of Careme Pastry. Maker of all baked goodness at QLD FBI. 

The wait staff were swarmed when they emerged from the kitchen with Will's baked goodies. Not shown were the little tarts with caramelised onions, blue cheese and pear slivers. OMG. These were so, so good. Actually, they take the prize as best of the day. At least for me. Sorry there is no pic. Everyone else obviously loved them too, as by the time I thought to snap away all I had left were crumbs dribbled down my top, and the sight of empty plates (I wanted seconds. Didn't get them).

If you're in the food biz in or around Brisbane, check out QLD FBI. It was a great afternoon. Martin confirmed he has 4 events lined up for 2011, and that they will be on Mondays from 3-5pm. Just in time for when Monday-itis AND 3.30-itis hits {or is it just me who finds Monday afternoons a chore?}. No other excuse needed. See you there next year.

Herbie's spices

I have always loved to cook with as many different herbs and spices as I can, and to experiment with different flavour combinations. So you can just imagine my excitement when Emma from Black Pearl Epicure called to invite me to attend their cooking class with Ian "Herbie" Hemphill from Herbie's Spices. Of course I didn't need to think for long before saying yes!

I was even more excited when I found out the theme was Moroccan Spice and that our meal would be cooked by Glen Barratt from the wonderful Restaurant II. Every meal I have eaten there has been an absolute standout, with the most special to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary in 2008.

But back to Herbie. I really don't think he stopped talking the whole evening (barely even to eat!), as he regaled us with stories of his life and passion. Interspersed with his stories was an outpouring of information on spices. And of course a gorgeous meal. He explained to us how there are five categories of spice, and that how we use them depends on their characteristics. The categories are:

1. sweet - such as cinnamon and vanilla
2. pungent - such as cardamom, cloves and star anise
3. tangy - such as tamarind and sumac
4. amalgamating - such as coriander and fennel seed
5. hot - such as pepper, chilli and mustard.

So when people say they don't like spicy food, they generally mean they don't like hot food. Think about it. How many people do you honestly know who don't like vanilla ice cream or cinnamon scented pastries?? 

The first food we sampled was beetroot and yogurt dip with mastic. Many readers will recall George using mastic in a couple of episodes of Masterchef. What interested me is that mastic used to be eaten as a chewing gum (in the pre-Wrigley's days of course!), and that after an hour of chewing you could still determine the flavour - something that certainly wasn't possible the last time I chewed a piece of gum! This dish used the mastic infused in olive oil so we weren't chewing, chewing, chewing!

Beetroot and yogurt dip with mastic

The Zahlouk interested me as it's English translation was eggplant salad, but it was cooked. Eggplant is one of my favourite veggies and I'm always after new ways too cook it and different flavours to add too it.

Zahlouk (eggplant salad)

Another favourite of mine are legumes in all shapes and sizes. This dish, white beans with tahini, was also absolutely gorgeous. I had to restrain myself from having thirds! I'll be making this for dinner tomorrow night and I suspect I won't show the same self-control!

White beans with tahini

Berbere chicken with spiced couscous was the main course, and smelling Glen cooking it made me very glad I didn't have thirds of the beans! We were all drooling at the mouthwatering aromas coming from the stove. I had never heard of the spice mix berbere before, and a quick read of the back of the spice packet when it came to our table showed it contains sea salt, cumin, coriander, black peppercorns, Ajowan, fenugreek, allspice, ginger, chilli, nutmeg and clove.

The Herbie's website has a recipe for an African Berbere paste and I'll be making this in the not too distant future to coat a few chicken pieces for the barbie {mouth waters in anticipation}.

Berbere chicken with couscous

Now I'm really not a lover of oranges. Unless they are fresh, sweet and eaten dribbling over a sink. This dessert converted me. The orange slices were spiced up with a syrup of orange and lemon juices, honey and Ras el Hanout. And it was delicious. Luckily we were given a teaspoon to help with the leftover syrup, otherwise I may have had to lick the plate! The dollop of sour cream helped cut through the potentially cloying sweetness of the syrup.

Spiced orange slices

I think the best tips Herbie gave us were:

• trust your judgement when you are balancing flavours
• smell the spices every time you use them - this will help you notice the flavour profile and gain confidence so your understanding and feeling of the spice will become more subliminal over time
• roasting or heating spices will change the flavour, giving it a greater depth - just like the flavour of bread is changed when you toast it
• don't over-roast spices as you will make them bitter
• store your spices in a dark cupboard and in an airtight container
• don't let your spices come into contact with moisture - use a DRY spoon when scooping them out of the packet and don't just wave it over a steaming pot. 

After learning all this, I realised that I need to be more adventurous, and also find some room in my very overcrowded pantry so my spices can get off the kitchen bench!

My favourite spices are cumin, chilli and fennel seed. What are yours? 

Comforting lasagne

If you follow me on twitter you will see that today I'm wanted to have a VERY BIG RANT about a few things that seriously annoyed me. 

I didn't.

Instead I jumped on my mac to blog about one of my favourite comfort foods - lasagne. Just saying the word makes me feel like I've been enveloped in a great big hug with a snuggly woolly blanket and the arms of a loved one.

Fortunately I've made lasagne twice in the last 5 days so I have had plenty of practice! I've also taken plenty of photos - in fact I've taken 70 photos just of the 2nd lasagne! And to those of you who have asked, YES, I'm POSITIVE I have taken more than 70 photos of my hubby in the last year. Just not in the last 5 days. :)

I love both meat and vegetarian lasagnes and have made a lot of both this year (it's been a difficult year). This recipe has meat, but you could easily substitute the meat for extra veggies or for lentils.


What you need:
Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, peeled and chopped

250g pork mince

250g veal mince (you can buy veal and pork mince in one packet from some supermarkets)

1 x 750ml jar of tomato passata

1 x tin chopped tomatoes

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

2 tsp Italian seasoning

4-5 shakes of Tabasco

1/2 cup red wine (or water)

200g mushrooms, sliced

1 packet lasagne noodles (fresh or dry, I used dry this time)

250g ricotta cheese

250g mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes or grated

50g parmesan or pecorino, grated

1 packet frozen spinach, defrosted and with as much liquid squeezed out as possible

cubed mozarella

• In a large frypan heat 2-3 tsp olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 3-4 minutes. 

Sauteeing garlic and onion - hear the sizzle! 

• Add the mince and cook until browned (about 4-5 minutes). 
• Add the tomato passata, tin of tomatoes, wine, sugar, salt, pepper to taste, Italian seasoning, Tabasco, stir to combine and bring to a simmmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes. 
• Heat the oven to 180c
• While meat and tomato mix is simmering, mix the ricotta and the spinach in a medium sized bowl

mmm spinach. Popeye would be proud!

To assemble:

• Put about 2 tsp olive oil on the lasagne dish, mix with your fingers so the bottom of the dish is lightly coated (this prevents the lasagne sheets from sticking). 
• Put the first layer of lasagne noodles in the dish

I used a packet of Barilla lasagne sheets this time, but usually I use fresh

• Spread half the meat mix over the lasagne noodles, add half the mozarella 

If you want to make it a bit healthier you could always leave out the mozzarella, but I love cheese!

• Add another layer of lasagne noodles and gently press down
• Spread the ricotta/spinach mix, put the mushrooms on top

This is the first time I've added the spinach to the ricotta and it added an extra dimension of flavour that  really enhanced the dish

• Add another layer of lasagne noodles and gently press down
• Add the remainder of the meat, then the remainder of the mozzarella. Finally evenly sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the top. 

My favourite bit is when all the mozzarella melts when it's cooked. I could just eat the top!

Cook at about 180c for about 30 minutes or until golden on the top and the cheese has all melted.

It looks so pretty with the layers! But not so pretty that it won't be eaten!

Serve with salad, garlic bread and a big glass of red wine (for the over 18s. Or the over 21s in America). 

So OK, there's no salad or garlic bread in this pic, but there IS wine. 

This is simple and a real crowd pleaser! 

How do you like your lasagne? The traditional way or with a bit of variation?

Kim Thanh Restaurant celebrates 24 years

Last night was the end of an era for Chieu Lu and Cuong La - owners of Kim Thanh Restaurant in West End. And it is the beginning of a new era for their son, Bao La, up and coming chef.

I was privileged to be invited to a dinner to celebrate the 24 years Kim Thanh has been open. In an age where staying in the restaurant game for 24 months is a notable feat, 24 years is truly a triumph. Sadly at the end of the meal it was announced Kim Thanh will be closing next year. If you've not been, then go, and go quickly!

Dinner last night was cooked primarily by Bao La. At only 24 years old, and in the early stages of his chef's apprenticeship, it was a big challenge to take on, and one that he excelled at.

The 5 course tasting plate was a sensory delight. As I review the menu and my photos, I'm still trying to decide what I enjoyed the most. The photos below really don't do justice to the colours and until there is smell-o-vision or taste-a-picture, you'll have to take my word on the flavours and aromas.

Nem nuong cuon cham tuong Hue (grilled pork rice paper rolls with Hue dipping sauce)

Goi ngo sen tom thit (Pickled lotus stem salad with prawn and pork belly)

Mi vit tiem (Master stock cooked duck with egg noodles in Chinese herb broth)

I haven't cooked a master stock before, and also haven't experimented much with duck. After tasting this dish, I'll be doing both. I'm pretty sure it was my favourite. But then I nearly ate all the ice cream (below) before realising I hadn't taken a photo!

Bo luc lac (Wok tossed Black Angus with Dalat salad and tomato rice)

I don't know what the flavours were in the salad, but it had a beautifully subtle sweetness that complemented the flavours of the beef.

Dua nuong trai vai ca rem (Roasted coconut and lychee ice cream)

The only part of the meal Bao didn't make was the ice cream. The roasted coconut added a completely different flavour to regular coconut, and the addition of what I THINK were crushed fortune cookies at the bottom of the glass, gave a delicious little crunch that lifted the dish.

Thank you to Bao and your family for inviting me to celebrate with you. I look forward to returning again soon. And I will listen out for your future food adventures with interest.

New blog name - please help!

Right. I've realised I really DON'T like my blog name. And that I can't think of what to re-name it (well, I have ideas, but they have all been taken!).

So I'm putting out a call for help to the blogger-sphere, to the twitterverse, and to anyone else who would like to make a suggestion.

All suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Thank  you!

Brisbane's Budget Bites - book review

I am just going to unashamedly say that I love this book. Even more than I loved the first and second editions - if that is possible!

Brisbane's Budget Bites 2011 makes it possible to eat out regularly on a tight budget, while exploring the culinary delights of multi-cultural cuisine. And as someone who loves food, loves eating out and loves trying new places, this book is perfect for me. All eateries in the book are budget (as the name suggests) with meals below $20.

The book first came to be when editor Mei Yen Chua moved to Brisbane six years ago and was horrified that there was no guide to budget eating places in Brisbane. So she decided to write her own. And thank goodness she did! It is easily the most used food resource in our home (yes, even more than Stephanie Alexander's ABC of Cooking!), and we've never had a dud experience from any of the recommended restaurants.

A few of my favourites are:

• Cantina at West End for breakfast
• Brother Espresso for coffee - conveniently over the road from a client's office!
• No No's Lebanese Cuisine at Red Hill - the BEST babaganoush I think I have ever eaten
• Curryville Indian at Morningside - close enough for us to roll home down the hill
• all the Vietnamese places I've tried at Inala (I forget the names of them all).

Mei Yen Chua at the launch of Brisbane's Budget Bites 2011

The book is divided into geographic locations with a handy map at the front to help you work out where your suburb is (apparently I can be a bit geographically challenged...). This year it also includes budget bites on the Gold Coast. The index divides restaurants into cuisines, making it handy when you have a craving for Vietnamese or Indian, or if you are wondering where to go in Brisbane to try food from Sudan, Peru, Persia or Brazil. And if you love Chinese food, then you definitely need this book - the 2011 edition includes 28 Chinese eateries. Yum!

This year's edition of the book is bigger than ever - 95 new eateries, 16 coffee spots, 16 providores and 13 bakeries were added.

The new bakery section is going to be a much referred to section - researched and written by Julia Tuomainen, who writes the stunning baking blog Melanger (read it and drool!), it includes a few of my favourites (Leavain at Morningside - the BEST bread in Brisbane; and Jocelyn's Provisions at New Farm - the source of my baking inspiration for many years); and others that I'm going to have to try. All in the name of research of course.

Brisbane's Budget Bites 2011 is available for the budget price of $19.95 from www.brisbanebudgetbites.com.au and many bookstores in Brisbane including Avid Reader (West End) and Riverbend (Bulimba).

My advice - buy a copy today for a year of delicious eating! The biggest decision will be where to try first! I think I'll go to Mama Ferraris. No, I'll try Grub St Eatery. Or will I go to Char Char Yiros? Decisions, decisions...

What is your favourite restaurant or cafe to eat at on a budget?