Cooking Class with George Birron, Sunnybrae Restaurant

As you may have noticed, I live for food. So you can imagine my joy when my husband gave me a cooking class for my birthday last year. Some women may take this the wrong way, but I know Aaron loves my cooking, and am sure his intention was for me to learn some new tricks to come home and tempt him with.
So, with the clock ticking down (quickly) on the arrival of our baby, I recruited my usual partner in crime for any cooking related caper, my mum - Jen, and off we headed to Sunnybrae Restaurant for the day.

I had not had the pleasure of going to Sunnybrae before, but I have heard it's superb reputation for fresh ingredients and long, lazy lunches. Situated about 45 minutes from Geelong, Sunnybrae is a lovely homestead just outside the quiet town of Birregurra. I couldn't help but be both jealous and inspired as we meandered up the driveway past the immense veggie patch and orchard.

We were greeted with a coffee and a smile from owner and head chef, George Birron, who would be our culinary guide for the day. As we chatted with the other attendants, we were 14 in all, we drank in the peaceful surroundings of the rural property, while awaiting George to return and discuss what we would be cooking for the day.
Based on seasonal produce, largely taken from their own property, the menu we would be cooking was as follows:

Farmhouse bread

Fresh garlic and sage cheese with radish and capers

Seared kingfish with taramasalata, cucumber and samphire

Lemon gnocchi with tomatoes and basil

Smoked paprika cured turkey

Tomatillo, eggplant and aptenia salsa

Apricot soufflé with nectarines and plums in a cardamon and honey liquer

And so the day unfolded as a combination of some observation and some participation, beginning with setting the bread to rise, making the cheese from scratch, curing the turkey before roasting it in the wood fired oven, and scouring the garden for some last minute ingredients. 

I was excited to experience some new ingredients (such as the samphire and aptenia - both edible varieties of the succulent, and tomatillo - an odd little morsel with a savoury flavour not too dissimilar to parmesan cheese), and new cooking techniques, like curing, cheese making and the soufflé.

 

  Clockwise from left: Tomatillos, bread making, collecting the ingredients for lunch, George and his never fail soufflé's, lunch begins

By about 1.30 all the talking and playing with food had made us restless and we sat down to lunch... which ended about 4pm.  

The food was beautiful. Great combinations of fresh ingredients cooked using a variety of techniques. 

The highlight for me, was the soufflé. George's fail safe recipe, that even allows for the oven door to be opened on occasion, was devine and paired beautifully with the stone fruits. 

I was also allowed a peek at the menu from the weekend before and it really looked incredible. I can't wait to bring Aaron back to share the Sunnybrae experience, though next time it will be to purely indulge in a leisurely lunch. 

This was a beautiful way to spend a day. Sunnybrae cooking classes run on Monday's. For more information see their blog http://sunnybraerestaurantandcookingschool.blogspot.com.au/ 

xx

In search of truffles, Daylesford

It was a crisp and windy Saturday morning as Mum and I drove out to Blakeville, about 10 minutes out of Daylesford, Victoria. Our mission: to witness the uncovering of the first truffles to be grown in the area. This is the second year this event has run, but this would be the first year to produce truffles.

As we listened intently to Tim Terry, pioneer Australian truffle grower from Truffles Australis in Tasmania, explain the process of growing truffles, our anticipation began to rise. 

The plantation we were fortunate to be visiting has been there about 4 years and rumour had it today was the day for finding their very first truffle. A few minutes later, with the help of a trusty canine, cheers erupted from the 50 or so of us present. They had found one!

The perfume of the truffle was instantly detectable. The earthy, smokey, unique aroma wafted around on the morning breeze, and became quite enticing.

Following our little truffle search, we headed in to 'Sault' restaurant in Daylesford. I have dined at 'Sault' before, so I knew the food would be incredible, and we were very excited for our first taste of truffle. One look at the menu was enough to know we were in for a treat.

My first taste of truffle left me wanting more. The perfume is so intense, that I was surprised by the subtly of the flavour. But despite being so subtle, there was a definite lingering of flavour on my palate long after I has finished each dish. The taste itself, is indescribable. Being so unique in flavour it is beyond comparison to anything I've tasted before. My favourite dish was the entree. Beautifully cooked scallops, complimented by the earthy truffles, and balanced with the sweetness of the pear and amazing creamy celeriac puree. Still makes my mouth water thinking of it.

This was a lovely way to spend a Saturday, particularly with the winter sun streaming in our corner window, the great company, and fabulous food. And what did Jen think...

Dinner at 'Scorched', Torquay

I have been dying to go to 'Scorched' for months and, thanks to a very generous wedding gift, I finally got the chance last Friday night. This is a fab little restaurant overlooking the Torquay beach. The service was impeccable, friendly yet sophisticated, and thoroughly on the ball.
I think I have mentioned before my love of all foods shared, so the 'grazing' style menu was a perfect option for us. So while enjoying some delicious local sourdough bread sticks with olive oil and house-made dukkah we perused the menu.
Our final selections were as follows:

Grated beetroot, with pistachios and goats cheese - a really fresh dish, with hints of lemon juice and dill, and complimented beautifully by the creamy cheese.

Crispy fried school prawns with chilli salt and lemon (shown above) - we loved these little guys. Crispy and salty and just popped straight in your mouth... divine.

Salt cod fritters with aioli - always a hero, these were no exception.

Fried black pudding with orange and date salad - I was definitely dubious of this one, having the aversion to sweet with salty, and also having had some not so flash black pudding in the past, this one was a real surprise. The pudding was quite nice (not at all gritty), but when eaten with the date and orange salad it gave it a real subtlety, and the sweetness complemented the dish so well, I may be a changed woman.

Little rabbit pies with sweet cinnamon - again with the sweet and salty, these were really good. The meat was juicy and tender, and not that dissimilar form our guinea pig experience, but the cinnamon mix just lifted all the flavours and made these little filo parcels taste quite exotic.

Potatoes, chorizo and garlic - an old tapas faithful, but with some fabulous chorizo with just the right amount of spice to it.

While there were definitely a few challenges for my 'no sweet with salty' I have to admit everything was amazing, and I was really enlightened by some of the combinations.
Of course, what is a dinner out without dessert? Well, being both unbelievably indecisive we shared the dessert board: Chocolate and pear torte, baklava, Turkish delight, honeycomb ice-cream and Persian fairy floss - all good enough to almost put us into a diabetic coma.

'Scorched' has definitely lived up to my expectations; please go there if you get the chance xx