According to staff, the two chefs Tomislav Martinovic and Chris The teamed up on every dish. Each contributed elements to each course - so for instance The (a pastry chef) did the pastry on the meat pie, while Tomislav (leaning more towards the molecular gastronomy angle) did the granita-esque version of tomato sauce on the side. Between them, it was a very pretty meal, and although the dishes were dessert, they never veered towards the overly sweet. Instead a mix of sour, salty, tart, crunchy or hot kept the entire meal in balance.
Amuse bouche consisted of a test tube of Delamotte champagne and another of violet granita. Pour one tube into the other, swirl and drink - mmm, flowery.
First course: Grilled strawberries, mint and white chocolate. With 2008 Bress 'The Kindest Cut' Gewurztraminer, Victoria. This looked stunning, red and green and white against a slab of black tile, but was probably the least substantial of the courses.
Goats curd cheesecake with elderflower and pistachio. With 2008 Alacia Moscato D'Asti, Piedmont Italy. My favourite dish of the night - loved the sourness of the cheesecake with the sweetness of the elderberry.
Caramel icecream and toasted peanuts - served in a cone, the topping snapped and crackled in your mouth like those kid's candies! With 2007 Juniper Cane-cut Riesling, Western Australia.
Warm chocolate mousse, olive oil and sea salt, flavoured with horseradish; opinions differed, but I thought all the flavours worked. With 2008 Alan & Veitch Merlot, South Australia.
Beef mince pie, grilled onions and (frozen, granita-like) tomato sauce. With Karlovacko beer, Croatia.
Rice crackers with sea salt and vinegar - the vinegar came in a little bottle for us to spray it on the chips ourselves. One of Tomislav's signature dishes.
Take-away box from Black Star Pastry - very cute. Though I do think the rose-flavoured macaron was far too sweet, and the canelle a little burnt; my favourite by far was the fig and orange cake (top right corner).
Despite vowing not to bake this month (due to the amount of sweets I've been consuming), I decided to make an end to the last of the gluten-free flour sitting in my cupboard by making the following cookie bars. The result was far from perfect, as I'll explain below, but when I took these to work they were swiftly devoured!
Choc Chip Cookie Bars
Preheat oven to 175C (350 F). Lightly oil or line with parchment a brownie baking pan.
In a mixing bowl, beat together:
3 large free-range organic eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil or saffoil
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
Add in and beat:
1 cup firmly packed organic light brown sugar - which I reduced to about 2/3 of a cup
Add in and beat, or mix in a separate bowl and then make a well and beat in the wet ingredients:
2 cups gluten free baking flour - I used White Wings
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Stir in:
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Using a rubber or silicone spatula, spread the dough evenly in the baking pan. The mixture is VERY sticky and heavy, so the spatula works much better than a wooden spoon. If you like, add some extra chips to the top and lightly press into the batter.
Bake on a center rack until the bars are set, about 21 to 25 minutes, depending upon your oven. Despite what the original recipe says, they will NOT turn golden, they'll be a warm yellow at best.
Do not over-bake - you want them a bit chewy - this is where I overshot because I was aiming for colour instead of consistency! Sadly, mine wound up too dry. Sigh.
Allow the bars to cool on a wire rack before cutting.
Makes 15 to 18 squares; I made well over 20.
Adapted from Gluten Free Goddess
That cheesecake looks amazing! What is it with elderberries at the moment? I've never tried them, they sound like something from Lord of the Rings.
ReplyDeleteHee, elderberries make me think of Hercule Poirot, who (I think?) was always offering people horrible elderberry sirop and being politely refused!
ReplyDeleteWOW you really went to town on Good Food Month. That's awesome how much stuff you did. The Just Desserts looks amaaaaaaazing. :) Only things I did were Noodle Markets, Sugar Hit and Azuma Kushiyaki and a Let's Do Lunch at Glass.
ReplyDeleteHee, I really wanted to put in an effort this year! But let's face it, neither of us measure up to the hardcore food bloggers. Those kids were doing like four sugar hits per WEEK.
ReplyDelete