March 2009 – Abstract Gourmet

Leek and Broccolini Frittata

A short story of a quick meal entitled “Leek and Broccolini Frittata”

The ingredients

3 eggs
3 splashes of milk (maybe 1/2 cup)
a healthy knob of butter
a handful of chopped leek
a handful of chopped broccolini
a clove of chopped garlic
a sprinkling of parmesan cheese
a smattering of chopped parsley
a drizzle of olive oil
a seasoning of salt and pepper

The directions:
Beat the eggs gently, stir in the milk, season with salt and pepper.

Sautee the garlic, leek, and broccolini in butter in a small omelette pan. Once they’re cooked to mostly soft, but still have a little fight left in them, pour in the eggs.

Stir the eggs through so the vegetables are well separated. Once the base of the eggs sets, sprinkle the top with parmesan and put it into a hot oven (or under a grill) to finish off.

When the top is solid and the level has risen slightly, take it out of the oven and slide / manhandle it onto a plate.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the top, add some parlsey, salt, and pepper to finish. Decide that it could go very nicely with some lovely chilli jam (courtesy of Hank)

Serve. (and gloat at how simple and easy it was).

Pour a glass of superb 2007 Mantra Reserve Chardonnay (graciously sent to me by the affable Brad of Wine by Brad) and marvel at it’s subtle length, buttery warmth, toasty oak, lemony fragrance and old school charm. And how delightfully well it goes with the eggy resonance of the frittata. Pat yourself on the back and go to bed happy.

The end.

Masterchef “Sizzle” Reel

*** Update ***
The videos have now been removed due to a copyright claim by Channel 10 Australia. They were originally uploaded by youtube user micx0r, who also appears to exist on twitter, myspace, and various other sites as a digital media and viral marketer…

Premature release perhaps ? Or all perfectly intended…

Well the cogs of marketing are slowly turning and Masterchef Australia is lurching it’s way towards opening.
As yet an official start date hasn’t been released but it’s thought to be in May now, after the end of the Biggest Loser.

I’ve been getting more comments and bits and pieces from people over the last few weeks. More stories from the auditions in Sydney of romances between sausage girls and fish boys, of chopping onions and cutting fingers, of tasting bolognaise sauces, and “Amazing Race” style dashes to the Sydney Fish Market for some high energy challenges.

There’s also been plenty of down sides for the people who didn’t make it through, and I assume those that did too. You’d think a TV show about finding Australia’s next big thing in cooking would at least be able to cater properly… But by all accounts the food was so dire, it did nothing to compensate for the indignity of having mobile phones confiscated and escorts to and from the toilets.

So then thanks to another tip off we see the first clips of Masterchef action released onto youtube. Big points to anyone who spots them self and leaves me a comment. I see one little food blogger in there (if only briefly), and a couple of my crew from the Perth auditions.

It does all look fairly contrived, but I guess we all knew that was going to happen.

Not so Tiny Bites

The world of blogging is indeed a marvellously serendipitous place. I am constantly amazed by the number of interesting and special people I come across, and am privileged to be able to get to know. The virtual links I’ve established over the years have not only taught me a lot about the way other people live, and eat, but they’ve also made me firm friends around the globe.

One such friend is Karen of Tiny Bites. Back when I met Karen she was a food crazy, salsa dancing, photo snapping, Vancouverite. Merrily uploading her photos to Flickr, blogging about food and life and translating Spanish salsa songs into English.

Every time I’d talk to Karen the subject of food, wine, and restaurants would inevitably arise. We’d discuss the reasons why dining in Vancouver is better than dining in Perth (many) and the reasons why Australian wine (Shiraz especially) is better than BC wine (also many :) ) Seeing all of this effort though, it seemed to me that Karen would be an ideal candidate to start up her own food blog, where she could properly explore and have her own place for all her food thoughts and ideas.

So with a little prompting from myself and a few others, Tiny Bites was born, and Karen has yet to look back. It’s been a year now since she started it, and has just launched a new version of her site, where her popularity and success has led her to move into food consulting full time. She now photographs, writes, and develops web sites for Vancouver restaurants and businesses. She’s been heard on radio, written about in news papers, and surely television appearances can’t be far off :)

So this is just a little note to say, well done Karen, I always knew you had it in you, and I will never miss your birthday :)