Food And Wine

Guillaume Brahimi makes the World’s Best Mashed Potato in his posh restaurant, Guillaume at Bennelong, at the Sydney Opera House. It costs $14. I could go there for dinner and happily eat nothing but the Paris mash.

Why’s it so good? Well, you try tossing an entire packet of butter in with four potatoes next time you’re making mash to serve with snags. You’ll win Masterchef in no time too.

Quay at Sydney’s Circular Quay is regarded as one of the world’s best restaurants (ranked No. 26). Yes, chef Peter Gilmore is clever, but I reckon brushing almost everything with butter before it leaves the kitchen is part of that genius. You show me a delicious meal and I’ll show you a restaurant with a big block of churned milk.

Continue reading "Festival of Obvious Ideas #7: Pig out when you eat out" »

If you’re sick of swallowing all the political chatter from Jules and Tony take a break and chew on something meaningful out of America. And it’s not President Obama’s eloquent speech at the White House Ramadan dinner, where he defended plans for a mosque at Ground Zero. Rather, meet Paula Deen, the self-described ‘Queen of Southern Cooking’.

A woman that makes burgers using donuts as buns, lasagna sandwiches and single handedly butchers food to the point that she induces dry retching. The video above involving frozen cheesecake and a large pot of boiling oil should give you a sufficient introduction to Deen’s world.

As she says: “Just when you thought you couldn’t make cheesecake any better!”

Continue reading "US celebrity chef captures hearts, may also stop them" »

Gaining a reputation as a successful host is about to get even easier.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States have discovered that when it comes to impressing dinner guests, it’s not the quality of wine on your table but the type of label on the bottle that has the most impact. 

“Forget bouquet, the colour and the aromas,” said Adam Sage in today’s Australian, “The American Association of Wine Economists, [suggest] smart vintners should spend more time designing labels than pressing grapes.”

And while that’s great news for anyone who harbours a secret collection of clean skins in their pantry, before you rush home with some masking tape and a pair of scissors, you might also want to consider what type of label works best.

Sage advises consumers steer clear of any bottle of wine that bears an animal on its label or describes its contents as “fruity” or “good with chicken and steak”.

While the best choices are found in bottles displaying abstract art or landscape designs that use more “highbrow terms” like “elegant”, “supple” or “intense” in their descriptions.

Cheers!