A Whole Lotta Love: The Wine Gippsland Awards 2024

The Gippsland wine scene was once relatively small and used to be a bit of a secret, but not anymore. I’ve heard on the grape vine that top-end Tokyo restaurants almost exclusively list Gippsland vintages as their sole Australian wines, and that a delegation of US wine writers are “only” going to Gippsland in Victoria this year to the vexation of other regions.

I was fortunate enough to attend both the judging and recent awards for the Westpac Gippsland Wine Show 2024. You might’ve heard it said: “Where there is no wine, there is no love.”  Well, there was a lot of love in the room at the awards, where I met some the legends, the rock stars and the upstarts of the Gippsland wine scene.

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Best Italian bread recipe ever: "Let them eat... bread!"

Hello You!

You probably thought I'd popped my clogs with the length of time between entries - over a year - and that I was now just a virtual ghost, LIVING ONLY AS A MEMORY OF FOOD ARTICLES ON THE INTERWEBS.

But no, the fleshy me still exists, even if there HAVE been a few close scrapes and a bit too much gourmandising.

The reason I haven't been here in a while is because I've been working on a new action adventure book titled 'the Cornerstone' (set in Italy) for the last couple of years.  That, and a kind of awareness that everybody is posting stuff all the time, so what's the point (?), there's ten years of articles here if you're interested.

That said, I had to make this note because I just made the best loaf of bread in my life, from dried sachet yeast, and it was superb and SIMPLE (after two years of keeping a starter alive and making sourdough).  Read on to get the best Italian bread loaf at home without the need to build a wood fired oven... and a pretty good baking themed joke at the end!

To make the bread, you will need:

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Let’s Make Pesto (Facciamo il pesto): a sneaky Genoese pasta dish for instant dinners... later

We were recently honoured at our little beach hut by a visit from our esteemed friends Sadie Jenkyn and Joseph (Joe) Staltari.  Apart from being kind, funny, intelligent, generous, good looking and terrific entertainment, they are both also (coincidentally) employees at iconic Melbourne mansion “Raheen” (of 'Power Without Glory' fame); Sadie being the head gardener, and Joe the head chef!

So what did we do while they visited?  Why, learn how to make pesto “properly”, of course, as well as having it served as it was designed to be in the Ligurian (or Genoese) fashion, with the traditional hand made pasta served with potatoes and beans.

See full method and photos below!

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Poached Pears Royale

By way of not forgetting you, dear reader, here’s my latest and a first for me; Poached Pears Royale. Serve with ice cream and a quick chocolate sauce. 😘

Click below for the recipe!

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Fred Bread: Learning to Make Sourdough

There’s stacks on the internet on how to make sourdough; this article references some of the better resources, gives my tips and cheats on doing it without all the equipment, and hints at the history of the rivalry between me and my sister Ange in the kitchen.  The whole thing started when I sent her a cartoon from the New Yorker, where a woman with a sourdough loaf is in front of the Wicked Witch’s mirror from Snow White, which tells her:

“Your sourdough smells great, it is true.  But there is a better baker here than you.”

My sister’s riposte?  Giving me my own starter, like a Slovakian wedding curse; i.e. giving the bride a crystal ornament she’ll have to keep on display and dust for the rest of her life.

So, let’s get dusting!

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Ice Cream Cake

 My wife, in the throes of a diet,  asked me in an unrelated question:

"What are we going to do for our 20th Wedding Anniversary?"

My reply?
"Eat ice cream cake."

Well, I'd had it with the calorie counting.

I said it flippantly, but it fired up everyone's imagination, and I was called upon to make one come the fateful day.

A first timer, I had to find out how one actually manufactures such a thing, having anxiety dreams the night before.  It was simple, but there are hazards.  So what did we learn?  Read on...



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South Wharf quicky lunch: Melbourne Cellar Door

 

http://www.melbournecellardoor.com.au/ 

A quick lunch while at the Melbourne Convention Centre, anyone?

How about the $12.50 prawn chili pasta, $6 (150ml) of wine... hard to beat (at Melbourne prices)!

Just thought you’d like to know...

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Scugnizzo! Melbourne Italian Restaurant

http://www.scugnizzo.com.au/
558 Little Bourke St
Melbourne  VIC  300

It was a long time between meals for me at this little gem of a place, one of my all-time favourite restaurants in Melbourne.  I stumbled back across it as I was making my way home to the beach; catching a V-Line bus at Southern Cross Station in Melbourne and having two hours to kill.

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Royal Melbourne Wine Show 2019 - Results!

On Friday, I attended the industry wine tasting event – and the Jimmy Watson Trophy lunch – at the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards. It’s a big deal.  Let’s talk numbers.

This year they had 3,050 wines entered, from over 500 wineries.

39 judges tasted these wines, and gave them points out of 100, ranking them and awarding medals in 18 categories, then awarding 8 trophies for best overall, such as the “best white wine of the 2018-19 vintages”.

It’s a lot to take in.  What's that? How many wines did I try??? Well, while we’re still talking numbers, let’s see:

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The simple things...

Hello You!

Well, I just had lunch (and sorry for neglecting you BTW... I’m working on a new novel which is eating all my time), but I just had a Florentine style lunch and thought I’d share it with you.

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Camber... well....

And bievenu my dear readers/poissons.  I'm so very sorry it's been a while between entries.  I've yet to finish:

*  the Umbrian entry (truffles, beautiful country side, can I recommend Spoletto, Assissi and a small nunnery out of Solarno?);
*  my trip to ®Adelaide (where I ate royally, and had a surprise in the inner west under the flight path... Francesco's Osteria, a humble building but authentic Venetian cuisine, reasonable prices and warm hospitality)
*oh yeah, my trip to New Zealand (or Kiwi) where I was introduced to the delights of muscle fritters and kumara chips.

But if you take those points, you can take those entries almost as read.

The reasons for my hiatus are two-fold;
a. because I've been busy with publication production on Tales of Enlightenment* – my short story collection to arrive in bookstores soon (!!!!), and;
b. I've been slumming it in Camberwell.  I know what you're thinking!  Boring.  But the old dame still has some tricks up her sleeve...

I've been surprised to learn that there ARE some really good food offerings there despite my early prejudices that good food stopped at Glenferrie Rd.  And the gourmet strip?  Camberwell Rd, opposite the cinema, of course.  Let me take you on a quick tour of the offerings:


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Roma o Morte - Where to Eat in Rome

Buongiorno.

Rome. The eternal city. All roads lead to it, and if you're any kind of globe trotter, your feet will inevitably lead you to this ancient heart of Western Civilisation.

But where do you go for the posh nosh once there? And are pizza and pasta the ONLY alternatives?

(Quick answer "no" ~ You will recall that in an earlier post I noted that offal is one of Rome's "local specialities".  But restaurants of quality, as a cheat hint while you are there, tend to promote that they are "seafood specialists").

Click through to learn more...!!!

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2018 Royal Melbourne Wine Awards

https://www.rasv.com.au/royal-melbourne-wine-awards

Tasting Friday 19th October

I was fortunate enough to gain access to this industry event this morning, which features Australian wines exclusively, awards the Jimmy Watson trophy for best overall wine, and include in this review my pick of the bunch.

Wine maker Frank Butera was my host.  His family run winery Bass River Wineries were skillful enough to garner a silver medal in the Pinot Noir Category.

The wine notes/guide at the door lists 68 pages of wine with up to 49 bottles/types/vintages per page, so there's around 3,200 bottles of wine to try.  Sorry I couldn't cover them all, but the morning was only so long.

Find out the winners and grinners below...

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Cacio e Pepe

Welcome to the second instalment of Kit’s Cucina’s Trip to Italy, Rome special.  This instalment, let’s talk about “cacio e pepe”.

While we were in Rome, my wife was thrilled to remake her acquaintance with this dish; essentially cheese and pepper with pasta. This is a quintessentially “Rome” (as opposed to Roman) dish.  Jane particularly liked it because it ticked her "simple but tasty" boxes while not being considered a kid’s meal or pretend food.

That said, this is THE trendy dish of the moment in Australia – we discovered on our return.  The Age/Sydney Morning Herald not only made it the lead recipe in their food supplement last week, but it was the cover dish on their promotion for their Good Food Guide for 2018-19 (pictured here). So here’s my take on it if you would like to be on the zeitgeist, as it were.

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Italy: An Introduction (to a series of articles…)

Apologies for my absence, dear reader.

Things have been, how shall I put this?  ....hectic in my life.  My late father, Dr Denis Fennessy went and died (RIP Dad), I moved out of a house of eighteen years (not his, just coincidental), and subsequently went on a trip to Italy for a few weeks to recover – so I trust you don't blame me for the hiatus in entries here.

In good news, however, I have come back with a swag full of notes on Rome, Umbria and their local specialities which  should guarantee your gourmet satisfaction. I'll also be including some restaurant recommendations for you, which I'll be sharing over the next few weeks.

So what can one say about Italy, and what makes Italy so very… Italian?

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The Royal George Hotel: Kyneton | Winter Solstice Lunch 2018

24 Piper St
Kyneton VIC 3444
www.royalgeorge.com.au

Why, hello there!

Regular readers of this blog may recall the annual winter solstice lunches I go on with some of my mates, and the rationale behind them (if not, read about previous ones here):

• 2015 
• 2016
• 2017 (I neglected to write this one up, because we went to the Royal Standard, which you can read about here)

This year, we took our pagan festival to Kyneton on the suggestion of our rural host Lachlan Milne; and what a fantastic suggestion it was! In fact some suggested ALL of our future lunches should be at country pubs on the train line somewhere.

Read on to find out more and see some photos…

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Instant Soup Recommendation - Ajishima Freeze Dried Miso Soup

Happy Winter Solstice!!! (in Australia - 8pm tonight, the 21st June)... and congratulations if you're reading this in the Northern Hemisphere and welcome to your longest summer day (you lucky, lucky b2*$%rds!).

Wherever you are, one and all, welcome!

What better to warm the cockles of your particulars, in the cold of winter, than with a warm soup?  And dare I say it; an instant soup you made with the kettle?

"Quoi?  Quel horreur!! Are you seriously recommending we now eat from packets?  This is the thin end of the wedge..." I can hear you thinking.

Well, be prepared for a shock.  I rarely do this, and this is not a paid endorsement, but can I direct your feet to the Asian section of your average suburban supermarket?

For photos of the packet, click here:

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Home made dog food

OK, fine, I can hear you saying:

"Where's the glamour gone?  Dog *?!@# food?  Kit's Cucina, that paragon of particularity, is now writing recipes for bally dog food (or "füd" if you'd prefer)?  I thought this was supposed to be a gourmet's paradise???"

Relax.  It is still gourmet.  I've been scratching my head on what to write about next, and on making up Liam the whippet's dinner this weekend, decided you might benefit from a recipe that feeds your dog for under a dollar a day, is good for them, makes them smell less doggy – making them more bearable to hang out with in close confines – as well as making (hem hem) "cleaning up after them" more bearable.

Now, read on for this canine culinary miracle...



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Flambé

Hi!  I know it's been a while, so here's a video of me setting fire to my tarragon chicken over Easter (see Damien Pignolet's 'French' for the recipe... fantastic with saffron rice and a green salad).

Oh yes, and I've just followed my star sign's advice, and taken it easy and relaxed today... taking myself out to lunch.  And what a great idea.  If you have been finding yourself in difficulties, being dragged down by parking fines or fights with your telephone company (telco), can I recommend it?

I went to that stalwart o' Melbourne, the European, where I found out that "petite fours", the small desserts, are named (literally) "little oven", which is what they were traditionally baked in.  See?  You learn something new every day.

Anyway, miss you, love you, byeeeee!!!

(click here to see the vid!!)

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Grape Expectations!

Wine? Why not? What is it? How was it invented? And can I have some more please?

"No"

Oh.

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