Placecard Cookies

As I mentioned in my previous post about Après restaurant, I made sure that I sat next to people who would be willing to share their food with me so I could try all the dishes on the menu. In order to do this, I had to make place cards.

Since I wasn't having a cake, I also wanted people to have a little something to take home so I decided to kill two birds with one stone by making placecard cookies.

These cookies were just basic sugar cookies glazed with purple royal icing and white royal icing used to pipe on the names. It was my first time piping out letters and I was really worried that they would turn out a big mess but thanks to Queen Chu who let me borrow her piping set, and a bit of patience on my part, they turned out beautifully.

Photo courtesy of BLT

I wrapped them up in some plastic gift bags, tied some purple ribbon around the top and placed them on the table setting when we arrived at the restaurant. Everyone loved the cookies which were crumbly and buttery, with BLT and Captain Awesome polishing off their cookies before dinner had even begun!

Après, Potts Point

I recently celebrated my 21st birthday by having dinner with family and close friends at Après restaurant in Potts Point. The staff there were lovely for setting up two long tables for us complete with candles and printing out personalised menus.

I selected three entrees, three mains and three desserts for our group's set menu and I sneakily sat myself next to two people who I knew would share dishes with me so I could sample all three of each course hehehe (thanks Sir D and Charm!). The price for 3 courses was $60.

French martini: Grey Goose vodka, dash of pineapple, chambord - $17.00

Sir D and I chose a French martini from their extensive cocktail list whilst waiting for all the guests to arrive.

Escargots

After our orders are taken, we are presented with a not-so-pretty amuse bouche of escargots. Don't be put off by it's appearance though - the snails are soaked in a rich, garlicky butter which just leaves us all wanting to mop up the sauce with some bread. Unfortunately there's no free bread tonight and I seriously consider just downing the delicious garlic butter, but thankfully the plates are removed before I have time to clog up my arteries with fat.

Presse of rabbit, mushrooms and serrano ham with mustard fruits

March Into Merivale 2010 Launch Party

Yes, March Into Merivale is back! And it kicked off with a bang last week with the inaugural launch party held at The Ivy. I was lucky enough to be invited to a preview of the event before the doors opened to the public.

The Pool Club

We went up to the Pool Club for some drinks and were very well looked after by Renee and Debbie from Merivale, before we went downstairs to the Ivy Room to check out the chefs in action!

Nobuyuki Ura, head chef of sushi e, preparing sushi for the launch party

It was great to watch the Merivale chefs prepping their canapés and plating them up right in front of our eyes. Lucky for us we got to sample some of the canapés before the masses were let in.

Pancakes for Shrove Tuesday

Today is Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday which marks the start of Lent. I've always associated Shrove Tuesday with pancakes, and thanks to trusty Wikipedia I learnt that this was because pancakes contain ingredients such as fat, sugar and eggs which are traditionally not included in the fasting season of Lent. So Shrove Tuesday was considered the last day to enjoy these foods before engaging in 4 weeks of a restricted diet. Any excuse to eat pancakes, I say!

These pancakes were made using my favourite pancake recipe from Donna Hay. The recipe uses buttermilk which produces a deliciously light, fluffy pancake - if you don't have any buttermilk on hand, you can substitute with normal milk and lemon juice. And since we have so many gorgeous summer fruits available at the moment, I decided to top my pancakes with some mango pieces, whipped cream and maple syrup. Enjoy!

The Garden Court at the Sofitel Wentworth, Sydney

As part of the Viva Sydney promotion by Tourism NSW, Sir D and I headed off to the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth hotel to dine at The Garden Court, which was offering a buy one get one free main meal offer for lunch or dinner.

The dining area has a clean, polished garden setting look with indoor plants studded around the place. The large windows letting in the sunlight and greenery from outside makes you feel as though you are actually sitting in which makes you feel as though you are actually dining outdoors in a beautiful garden.

We start with a small sourdough baguette which comes with a plate of olive oil, vinegar and dukkah, as well as a slab of butter in a cute little dish with a silver lid. Naturally, we go for the butter, although I try a little of the dukkah as well which has a pleasant, peppery citrus flavour.

Amuse bouche: Sweet potato veloute with parsley puree