FIORENZONI MODERN ITALIAN CUISINE - Chatswood

Well, I guess I might have to eat my words about the lack of good quality eateries in Chatswood. Today I had the pleasure of dining at Fiorenzoni Modern Italian Cuisine with my workmates in honour of our workmate Caro. She is leaving the fold and we were giving her a send off the best way we knew how, good food and good company! Fiorenzoni is a small restaurant on the corner of Victoria Avenue and the Pacific Highway. It is a subtle eatery, with neutral colour scheme and huge historcal Italian sepia prints on the walls. Last time we were here, the orders took an incredibly long time to arrive, but this time, our food was delivered to the table in very good time. Fiorenzoni is a member of the Council of Italian Restaurants Australia and all of their pasta and bread is made daily on the premises. This isn't a cheap eat by any means, the meals are priced according to their quality and content. As such, it is a popular choice for business lunches (Carl Scully and associate were at the next table, and strangely he was in the restaurant when we all went to to Rocket last month, so obviously another fan of local fine dining), it is usually quite full. In our group we started with the Antipasto di Terra $18.90, a variety of cured meats, grilled capsicum, grilled eggplant, olives and Italian cheeses accompanied by the Pane Fatto in Casa (homemade bread with extra virgin olive oil). We didn't have the entrees, and went straight to the Main menu. My choice was the Smoked Eggplant Gnocchi with butter, sage and tomato $26.90. I have never attempted to make Gnocchi, and don't really like the store-bought variety so if it is ever on the menu, I usually pick it. I love a good gnocchi and the subtle flavour of this was nice, but on seeing the other choices at the table, I think I could have been tempted with the Ravioli over the Gnocchi this time. The Ravioli was spectacular! The one large pocket was filled with Ricotta Spinach and Pine nuts and was presented on a bowl of steamed Duck Breast $27.90. I think this was my pick of the day. I was waivering at order stage, and reverted to the Gnocchi, but in hindsight, I wish I had gone with the duck. Never mind, there is always NEXT TIME. Others in the party had the Fettuccini with baby Calamari, braised Zucchini and sweet Basil which looked beautiful in its presentation $26.90. Minni enjoyed the Risotto with Cream, Basil, Cherry Tomatoes and Goat Cheese $26.90 while at the far end of the table, Julie was presented with the Risotto of mixed Shellfish, Calamari and King Prawn with Saffron and Tomatoes $28.90. Both are made from scratch and both took 20 minutes, which went in a jot while we were all catching up and chatting. Our guest of honour Caro, had the hugest meal of the day, the Veal Tenderloin with Procioutto Sage and crispy Potatoes $31.90. This was presented on a huge glass plate and the potatoes were so thinly sliced, they looked delicious. Sally had the Fish of the Day which was an Ocean Trout on a bed of steamed asparagus. I had a little taste of this and the skin was crispy, flesh was moist and succulent, great flavour! All was accompanied with some delicious mixed salad and san pellegrino. After mains, we were a bit too full to have a dessert each, but decided to all share a mixed plate of desserts for $26.90. This included some impeccable flavours and included the Coconut Creme Brulee served with Pineapple Sorbet and Rum Mousse (my favourite), Sponge Cake with Pastry Cream, Wild Strawberries and Chocolate Gelato (a big heavy but fabulous flavour), Lime Semifreddo with Orange and Saffron coulis and Almond croccantino (SPECTACULAR zingyness) and a Watermelon Sorbet all persented on a long narrow white plate. With a few coffees, this was the perfect ending to the fantastic meal. Fiorenzoni can be found at Shop 1, 809 Pacific Highay (Cnr Victoria Avenue) Chatswood 9419 6411. http://www.fiorenzoni.com.au/. Let chef Mario treat you to fine Italian food, you won't be sorry. Happi Eating!

The REAL TURKISH DELIGHT CONFECTIONERY SHOP - Auburn

The day wasn't going well. I had an appointment at Auburn and had found myself with five minutes to spare, in Punchbowl with no idea how I'd managed to miss my turn off (not to mention, no idea how to to get back to Auburn from there). I wasn't sure my day was redeemable but was determined to stay cool, finish my appointment unflustered, and finish the week in a blaze of glory, it was Friday afternoon after all. The Friday traffic around Auburn station was very, very slow and I wasted many minutes in the gridlock. Things started looking up when I realised I was stuck in traffic in front of an interesting storefront with burgundy awnings and windows full of chocolate! Now I wasn't in my food persona at all, it was all work, so I filed the location in my mental diary and got on with the job at hand. A very fruitful meeting and a nice cup of tea completed, I was ready to battle the traffic for my return trip home. Unwittingly, I found that I had navigated myself back to the very same position in the trafffic facing the Real Turkish Delight Store. With a smile on my face, I decided then and there to find the closest parking spot and check it out. Was this serendipity? I only had to walk a block and as I stepped inside from the hot bustle of the urban street (and after the day I'd had) it was as if I had entered another world...an oasis of chocolate and sweet delights. Peaceful, cool and full of chocolate, I was immediately greeted by a friendly face. At this stage, I was still in awe of the surroundings so appreciated the patience of the lovely Megan while she explained to me each item, confirmed that "yes, all items are made on the premises" and patiently waited while I made decision after decision, then changed my mind, again and again! I never felt I was being hurried so really appreciated the time to absorb it all. In the meantime, another father and daughter came in and pretty well asked the same questions as me. Megan answering as if it was the first time that she had said "yes all items are made on the premises" once again, she was required to run through the range and explain it all. She did so with exemplary patience and good grace! The authentic turkish delight has been made since 1974 and the packaging is immediately familiar as it is supplied to many restaurants and stores around the country. I had enjoyed it many times and had no idea that it was made here at Auburn along with the original rose flavoured turkish delight, there are other flavours including pistachio and today I thought I would try the vanilla turkish delight with hazelnut and coconut. I do like the original and bought a packet of bite-size individually wrapped rose flavour dipped in chocolate (a hit with the husband) but when I picked up a slightly golden jelly-like piece of this new flavoured dusted lightly in coconut, I found myself really enjoying the subtle flavour. I love the texture and was pleased to find a little nutty crunch inside. It was delicious and even though I'm not a total fan of coconut I really thought it all married well and I would definitely buy this over the original rose flavour any day! So, husband and myself happy, what about the kids? I had been aching to buy the liquer chocolates but didn't think they were right. While looking at all the flavours of hand made chocolates one by one, I still couldn't make a decision so the best solution was to buy a mixed box of them all for $17.00 (600g). RIGHT DECISION. There was definitely something for everyone in this box. Ours had crunchy sugared almonds, chewy toffees of different flavours, flower shaped milk and dark chocolates, assorted creams and truffles, again in milk and dark chocolate varieties, chocolate nuts, the list goes on. At first I thought that it wouldn't go the distance (four very excited tasters at the ready) but even after our frenzied pre-dinner glut, we only managed to eat half the box and no-one was left unsatisfied. I was impressed. The boxing of the chocolates is both elegant and attractive which matches the decor of the store. Everything is beautifully presented instore from the window displays to the walls lined high with shelving of boxed and bowed items. Turkish urns for decoration, shiny scales and not to mention the groaning counters full of sweetness. The store itself is like a plush hotel foyer, high ceilinged, opulent, beautiful and expensive looking with well chosen decorations adding pleasure to the whole experience of buying the goods. Whilst I was instore completing my purchase, another customer came in with purpose and immediately started ordering in Turkish. With a calm smile, Megan simply apologised for not speaking Turkish and called Eddie who, without a moments hesitation, appeared from behind the scenes and began the negotiations in Turkish. Very impressive I had to say. There are many hand made chocolate shops around the city but my experience here was of quality and integrity and I enjoyed it immensely. Oh, I nearly forgot to mention the cakes. I didn't have time to run through the actual varieties (I only had half an ear out when another customer enquired)but they looked delicious and judging by the care that has been put into the flavours and quality of the other items in store I am sure they would be something to come back for! The real Turkish Delight Confectionary shop can be found at 3 - 5 Station Road, Auburn (cnr Rawson Street). Telephone 9649 9787. Make the effort to visit, it is well worth the experience. Hapi Eating! The website is http: http://www.realturkishdelight.com.au/

Iggy's Bread - Bronte

Given the sorry state of bakery section in most super-markets, artisan bakeries have been gaining more popularity over the past few years. Not soon enough I'd say. I've had enough of the rectangular blocks of air and sugar that they label 'bread' and charge exorbitant prices for. With prices for supermarket bread around $5 a loaf, it has never made more sense in spending your hard earned cash on a freshly baked loaf that is just a few hours old and not laced with vegetable emulsifiers (481, 471).

The latest in the list of bakeries is Iggy's in Bronte. Not remotely close to the beach, it can be found back up the hill, deep in suburbia at 49 Belgrave St. Operating out of a non-descript shop front, you won't have a problem finding it - just look for the queue of locals. With no 'shop' to step into, this is a working bakery. If you peek inside you will see the bakers dusted with flour and commercial ovens hard at work. On the left of the shop front is a multi level rack stacked with the baked treasures and on the right the counter.

They offer huge rounds of sourdough, baguettes, bagels and specialty breads. The rounds of sourdough can be halved or quartered depending on your appetite. I just wish they had some labels so you could browse without having to point to each item to ask what it is. Having said this, there is a good amount of turnover as bread flies of the rack to be replenished with other varieties.

So what about the bread? My mission was to buy a loaf of their pecan and raisin bread which they only bake on Sundays. I got in the line which stretched for about 5 meters and as I got closer to the front counter, I scanned the rack looking for anything that resembled a fruit loaf. All I could spot was sourdough, bread with grains and bagels. This was looking like a failed attempt in the making. When it was my turn, I asked if they had any raisin and pecan bread and held my breath anticipating disappointment. "6 minutes" the lady said. I would have to wait only 6 minutes! It was almost like they were baking this bread especially for my visit. Then the price came.......... $12.00. Did I mention exorbitant prices before? I know, I know. I'm more than willing to pay good money for the real deal but $12 seemed a bit much, even for specialty bread.

Undeterred, I scrounged up the extra dollars and handed it over. After a short wait, a warm and heavy loaf was handed to me in a brown paper bag. The aromas of the fresh bread, fruit and nuts teased my nostrils as I inspected the deep brown loaf. Raisins studded the exterior with some blackened, frozen in their expanded state from the intense heat.

Racing home, I cut into the crusty exterior to reveal a rich dense loaf packed full of pecans and raisins. OK, now I see where my money has gone. The crust was crunchy to the bite, resisting my teeth and jaw muscles all the way until it yielded to the sweet and moist interior. What a fantastic combination! The sweetness from the raisins, the body and texture from the nuts. All brought together by a elastic, full bodied bread. This was meal in itself. At $12 for a 30cm long loaf, it's not something I'd buy everyday. It's a special occasion bread and one to treat yourself with. For the everyday, I will be back soon to sample their sourdough and bagels.

Luke Nguyen's Caramelised Pork Belly via Grab Your Fork

As soon as I saw Grab Your Fork's post on her Cabramatta food tour with Red Lantern's Luke Nguyen, I knew I had to make the recipe she kindly posted on her blog.

I had the advantage of learning from her experience and got all the ingredients together well in advance and had time to marinate the meat, which was not exactly pork belly as I was trying to cut down the fat but ended up adding something called pork rashers to some lean pork cutlets anyway. The pork rashers had lots of fat and skin and looked to me exactly like sliced pork belly but I have no idea which part of the pig they're from!

Yes, I confess it, I cannot follow a recipe without attempting to fiddle with it or adapt to circumstances, the circumstances being I already had some frozen pork chops in the freezer! So taking Luke/Helen's recipe, I ran it through the pantry database (me) and substituted palm sugar for the plain sugar, plain shallot for the red shallot which I could not find in a local grocery store and added coriander instead of the chili after the dish was finished. I served it with some white sticky rice and steamed Broccolini.

Reader, the meal was a success! Highly recommended that you follow the link and try it for yourself. As for leftovers, I now have a delicious master stock that can be reused, frozen or added to other meals for a tasty lift in flavour. Yummo!

This is the pork marinating, you can see the fat from the pork rashers amidst the diced chops.

The recipe calls for juice (not milk) from a fresh green coconut, I was thrilled to discover that my local Woollies has in stock coconuts just for drinking. The problem is, how do you open it up to obtain the juice as the shell is very hard? As you can see from the images, problem solved!

The secret to the marinade is the Caramel Sauce which is a very dark caramelisation of plain sugar with water, nothing at all like a western caramel sauce which is not as dark and bitter and is flavoured with butter. You can buy it commercially or make your own according to Andrea Nguyen's excellent Viet World Kitchen blog.

I managed to find the Elephant Brand recommened by GYF

Didn't have a claypot so I just stir fried the meat in a normal pot, adding the coconut juice last and boiling down until the sauce was slightly reduced but I recommend not reducing it too much as it is delicious drizzled over the rice.

Dinner is now served! A fantastic recipe, fast and uncomplicated.

TEN FOODIE THINGS I LOVED IN SEPTEMBER!

Often in our rush to get things done, we forget the simple pleasures in life. Since having kids, I find that I'm seeing more through their eyes which literally forces me to stop and look at the smaller detail. This re-discovered awareness has resulted in me not just focussing on just great meals as a whole, but also the smaller elements that add to my enjoyment of a meal. So, here is my recap of the foodie things I loved in September ....ONE: "Traffic Light Sandwiches" at my lad's 5th birthday party. The theme for the day was car racing, and it was held at the local slot car track, so having sandwiches made with carrot, cucumber and tomato, but simply cut like sets of traffic lights delighted even the adults (and for the record, were scoffed faster than the plates of chocolate crackles). TWO: Giant (not just regular, but GIANT) Parma Violet lollies from my foodie friend Ya Ya. I have been hankering for the long lost taste of violet pastilles since my last travels to Paris (sadly, this was pre-children so many moons ago now). Knowing of my cravings, she wizzed me some Parma violets when she found them in the city. I was tempted not to share them, but was happy to find that only ONE of my children liked them so this meant that there was MORE FOR ME! I'm currently hot on the trail to Melbourne to find my traditional French Violette Pastilles by Abbaye De Flavigny. Tracked down to a store in the Block Arcade, but CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK!! Hopefully they will feature in my "things I loved" in OCTOBER. I'd love to hear of any other stockists if anyone knows any in Australia, no other flavour will do I'm afraid. THREE: big fat, juicy, zingy grapefruit picked from my 91year old neighbour's tree. The lad and I planned to make marmalade, but time got away from us so we just squeezed them for juice. An absolute delight - I'm lucky she is so generous with them, we enjoy them every year. FOUR : Bul-go-gi wrapped in Perilla Leaves. My local Korean grocery store is well stocked with great food and helpful advice. The whole family enjoyed wrapping the meat in the leaves and gobbling them up. With the left over leaves (you can't eat too much of this flavour in one sitting we found), we shredded them and sprinkled it on salad for a peppery taste. There is also Perilla Oil for making salad dressing, but so far I've only enjoyed the leaves. FIVE : Mini Tea cups given to my firstborn as a party favour. Made by the mother of the birthdayboy with tic-toc biscuits, marshmallows, freckles and lifesavers. She swore they were easy to put together, and they were so incredibly cute, I ache to make them. SIX : Dutch Poffertjes at the local fair. Little light puffy dutch pancakes smothered with maple syrup and icing sugar. Perfect to lift the energy levels after a hard day's spring fair action. SEVEN : Brioche and Olive bread, bought from the organic bread stall at the Northolme Grammer schools spring food fair. ALL of the bread was sensational. We enjoyed the brioche with marscapone and honey (my special Lebanese nutty orange blossom one bought in Haberfield), and the olive stick was cut up and served with olive oil and dukkah. Absolutely delicious. EIGHT : Fairy floss on a stick, as big as your head! Not that I'm advocating pure sugar as a healthy treat, but my memories of having this as a kid, watching the maker covered in flossy sugar, trying to catch the threads of cotton on the stick before they blew away, then twisting the stick until the ball stayed relatively stable enough to hand over to this huge-eyed child, quivering in anticipation. My daughter has my same glee when spotting a fairy floss stall at a fair. And, there is no other colour that comes close to PINK, although the lilac and blue do look rather pretty. NINE : now I have been a Maldon Sea Salt girl for a long time. However, when bumming around Claudios Firshmarket I came across Himalayan Natural Pink Salt. I couldn't resist. Its not as flakey as Maldon, so you don't get that satisfying crunch when salting a dish, but the fact that it is not processed, its mined by hand and stone ground from the Himalayan Mountains, and not to mention, a pretty shade of pink, then I was sold. Really, I can't taste the difference, but I enjoy thinking about its origins every time I salt. TEN : Cupcakes from "Cupcakes on Pitt". Now, I know they aren't the best cupcakes in town, coz the competition sure is tough out there, but boy they are cute. Handed around the office, squeals of delight from all adults as we drank in the visual of cutely decorated little treats. Lots of smiles as we enjoyed our afternoon tea that day. So, there you have it. Ten of my favourite little things enjoyed last month. I know its only early, but I'm already up to FIVE for my October likes!!! Make sure you stop and smell the roses every day...enjoy October and happi eating!