As we do at this time of year, we held another dinner party last night. This one was tinged with a little sadness with the knowledge that it was to be our last here in Townsville. I do have to say though that any sadness was well and truly tempered by the thought of cooking in slightly less humid conditions in future.
Our guests for the evening's festivities were Phil & Kate Cox, Tim & Jo McGlinchey and Geoff & Lyn Hansen. As ever, I took the opportunity to try techniques for the first time. I don't know why I always do that - surely it would be easier to at least practice things once prior to going out on stage.
The menu we planned was as follows:
Hors d'oeuvres
- Peking duck rolls
- Thai style lamb salad in cucumber cups
- Flash fried prawns with red Nam Jim dipping sauce
- "Pea and ham soup"
Dinner
- Pork belly with rocket and cornichons, jellied pickled beetroot, carrot, mustard and roast tomato jam and caramelised cider vinegar glaze.
- Apple, lime and mint sorbet with apple crisps
- Chicken fricassee - Roasted chicken breast with potato, thyme and mustard frittata, glazed asparagus and carrot and mustard veloute.
- Esrom cheese, wrapped in prosciutto and grilled
- 'Frivolity' - Kiwifruit Ice
- Tropical Christmas pudding
When people arrived we had a couple of quiet drinks, with hors d'oeuvres. This time we managed to photograph most of the courses, for your vicarious joy!
The Peking duck spring rolls and Thai lamb salad.
We didn't get the prawns, but this is the Pea and Ham soup. Whilst not being a devotee of molecular gastronomy and the work of Heston Blumenthal, I was inspired to have a crack at spherification. Essentially what you see is a sphere of liquid peas held (just) by a gel shell, with a shard of baked prosciutto on top. This was definitely a single bite dish (the pea explodes in the mouth), and certainly had people talking. Everyone was in the kitchen, so got to see it taking place. I was so glad this one worked! It was really impressive.
This was our entree, and probably my favourite dish of the evening. I cooked the pork belly for the first time over rosemary and preserved lemons, and it had a wonderful citrus flavour. The carrot jam was fantastic, and the pickled beetroot jelly was just wonderful. Phil was particularly taken with the beetroot, and when I offered him another, I almost had a mutiny on my hands!
This was how we served the sorbet... MacK particularly enjoys the sorbet, and refers to it as 'gelati'. Our guests asked if they could buy the apple crisps in a bag anywhere!
Chicken Fricassee - The breasts were brined before being steamed for five minutes. Prior to being roasted, they were pan fried to crisp the skin. So tender and flavoursome, and the sauce was spectacular. The carrots were a little bit arty, but had to indulge my fancy side!
We didn't catch either the cheese or frivolity courses on camera, but they were both very good. The Esrom cheese is a salty Danish cheese that is magnified in flavour when wrapped in prosciutto and grilled. Phil did say that the cheese was the MOST savoury thing he had ever eaten. It was lovely, but a single bite was enough. Any more might be inviting cardiac arrest!
Dessert (pictured above) was our tropical christmas pudding. We served a chocolate and cognac ice-cream with christmas fruit, marsala sabayon in a chocolate cup with a peppered pineapple crisp, and peppered grilled pineapple. What a way to end a meal!
After dinner we opened a couple of bottles of Schnapps. We had brought Jo a bottle of the Wild Brumby Pink Lady Apple Schnapps when we were in the snow and she wanted to knock the top of that after dinner. Tim and Jo had given me a bottle of Flaschengeist cognac and walnut liqueur which was just stunning. It tastes like a liquid ferrero rocher chocolate and was so good that some suggested they could brush their teeth in it. Geoff realised that he has finally found the tipple he can take with him on extended bush walks.
All in all a brilliant night! Thanks Townsville...
What the table looked like immediately after our guests left us.
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