Christmas Dinner

A super nice, long Christmas Eve dinner at Mamie's. Sure was a lot of work but I had three sous chefs: toon, pops and tophe.

• Three dozen oysters & mignonette sauce
• White asparagus with mashed mint & butter sauce
• Mirin- and soy-marinated salmon eggs on blini with creme fraiche
• White crab, grapefruit & truffle vinaigrette
• Madagascan prawns & home-made wasabi mayonnaise 
• Scallop, celeriac puree & chanterelles
• Pumpkin veloute & hazelnut crunch
• Pine cone home-smoked salmon & sweet pickled cucumbers
• Spaghettini with scallops & black trumpet mushrooms
• Jerusalem artichoke soup & duck confit 
• Foie gras & Pic's rhubarb-tarragon compote
• Assorted cheeses & Loupiac 

Carpaccio & Wasabi Remoulade

Stumbling across this in an old Jason Atherton cookbook. Irresistible and need to make it soon.

marbled ribeye
1 1/2 tbsp EVOO
maldon sea salt
ground black pepper
1-2 tsp wasabi paste
2 tblsp brown mustard seeds

wasabi remoulade  
1 small celeriac
1 1/2 tsp maldon sea salt
1 1/2 tsp wasabi, to taste
1 1/2 tbsp mirin
2 egg yolks
1 tsp dry English mustard
1 tsp soy sauce
250 ml groundnut oil

1. trim beef to a neat log of even thickness througout; heat frying pan and add EVOO; season beef, sear one minute on each side until brown
2. remove beef and let cool, rub over wasabi paste
3. tip mustard seeds on a tray, roll beef in seeds to coat, then wrap in double layer of cling film; freeze 1-2 hours until beef is firm
4. shred celeriac into thin strips; toss with salt and let degorge; rinse and squeeze out excess liquid; pat dry
5. for mayonnaise, put wasabi, yolks, mustard and soy sauce into food processor slowly adding oil, season 
6. add mayo to celeriac, stir in
7. remove beef from freezer, unwrap and slice into wafer thin slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper, serve with wasabi remoulade, and toasted foccacia

Saltimbocca Alla Romana

I've made this many times but this one was special. Thanks to pops for a DVD of an old 1980s cooking tour of Italy, I got a first-hand look at how a local trattoria in the middle of Lazio makes a good saltimbocca. Serve with spinach or swiss chard, and Tuscan potatoes.

veal scaloppine
prosciutto san daniele
sage
white wine
butter
00 flour
maldon sea salt
ground black pepper
EVOO

1. lay out veal, place 1 or 2 sage leaves on top depending on size 
2. lay over prosciutto and fasten with toothpick, which should pierce sage to hold in place
3. put plates and serving plate in oven to warm
4. drizzle EVOO into a large pan
5. sprinkle salt into the pan
6. dust the veal generously with flour
7. put them in the pan, then turn on the heat
8. saute one side until starting to turn golden
9. turn over, wait about 30 seconds
10. cut up some cold butter, dip into flour and then into the pan with the veal
11. while the butter is still trying to melt, pour in a couple small glasses of white wine
12. saute for about 2 minutes as sauce thickens
13. remove plates from oven, slide scaloppines on serving plate, adorn with some fresh sage leaves

Tonight's Dinner

A great dinner with the McNabs before their return to Melbourne. They will be missed, but looking forward to some good coffee there soon.

• bresaola, smoked mozzarella & carottes rapees
• tagliolini Assagi with 7 herbs & crushed walnuts
• a killer saltimbocca alla romana
• sides of sauteed rainbow swiss chard and tuscan potatoes (i.e., lots of rosemary and garlic)

Cotechino Ravioli & Lentils

A twist on the wonderful cotechino and lentil holiday dish.

1 pasta for ravioli
1 cotechino
ricotta
parmesan
1 egg
1 cup lentils
very finely chopped onion, carrot, celery, courgette
minced garlic
3 cup broth
half cup white wine
1 bay leaf
maldon sea salt
ground black pepper
3 tblsp chopped tinned tomatoes
minced parsely

1. make lentil sauce by first sauteing the veggies and bay leaf then garlic
2. once translucent, add lentils, tomatoes, white wine
3. let wine evaporate a bit before adding stock and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until lentils are soft
4. put a couple tblsp of lentils aside, remove bay leaf, blitz the remaining lentils until smooth; should be a smooth sauce
5. make stuffing by breaking up the cotechino into small pieces, fold in ricotta, egg, salt and pepper; add parmesan so that stuffing is relatively dry
6. make pasta until you reach the 7 setting
7. make ravioli
8. heat lentil sauce, boil ravioli until 3/4 done
9. combine with lentil sauce, heat through some more
10. serve on heated plates with more parmesan, sprinkle of parsley

Celeriac Miso Veloute

I only had a celeriac and some onions, and it was a good opportunity to make use of my miso too. I think the pistachios are a nice touch.

1 celeriac
1 white onion
1 tblsp miso
chopped pistachios
EVOO
maldon sea salt
ground black pepper
good quality chicken stock

1. saute onions and celeriac in EVOO
2. add miso, then stock
3. whiz hard
4. serve in a tea cup with a drizzle of EVOO and pistachios