Neil Perry

What we ate this week…We’ve got Sauce…

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

Also, week 2 of our new blog format.

So, last week started with Father’s Day dinner and it actually turned out better than I expected.  I believe the phrase, “These are the best potatoes I’ve ever had” was uttered at least once.  Which was a win for me- and everyone to be honest.  Also, I got to have bearnaise sauce which means it was a good day.

What else we ate last week. 

A Char Siu Bun Salad from Every Night of The Week which was delicious and loved by the Team BUT required A LOT of steps for a Monday night.  It was more of a Sunday salad if I’m honest.  It was a pretty easy recipe, but  there was pickling involved- and honestly, who has time for that on a Monday night.

Tuesday was Gourmet Traveller’s Taco Rice and I cannot stress enough how much I love this recipe.  First of all, it’s an Asian/Mexican fusion dish that combines BOTH of my favorite cuisines.  It’s easy, fast and tasty- and involves chips.  What else could you want for a Tuesday night?

Thursday we had Neil Perry’s Taglioni with Crab.   It’s hard to go wrong with pasta, crab, or Neil Perry so it was good.

We had some unexpectedly sad news this week (Sad in a first world problem way).  Our favorite local burger place is closing down, BurgerHead.  It’s a go-to weekend burger staple for us– and I think I saw actual tears leave Thomas’ eyes when we told him the news.   Our neighborhood doesn’t have the best food options (as compared to everywhere else I’ve lived in Sydney) so this could mean more cooking on the weekend or more meals further afield.  

We also visited our one-time favorite Fried Chicken place in Sydney– Butter in Surry Hills.    When I lived in Surry Hills (a lifetime ago), it was right down the street and certainly one of the coolest places for fried chicken I’ve ever been.  Honeymoon Chicken still wears the crown of all time, best, most favorite and amazing Fried Chicken in the world but Butter could have the Sydney crown.    Bowery to Williamsburg’s Chicken and Waffles in Melbourne are pretty good too.

So what’s on for this week?

Soy Glazed Pork Cutlets with Japanese Slaw from Gourmet Traveller on Sunday will get a run before I put the Gourmet Traveller magazine back on the shelf upstairs.

BLT Salad on Monday night from the I Heart Naptime cookbook.  I’ll also make the Chicken Taquitos from there on Tuesday.  I Heart Naptime is actually a great cookbook for time poor parents- everything takes less than an hour and is kid friendly.   I don’t love the name (especially since it’s been ages since anyone in my house took a nap) but there are great baked treats (hello, Chocolate Chip Coconut Banana Bread Muffins) and some pretty good dinners in there as well!

Thursday night we’ll do Steaks with Fries and Bearnaise sauce (because there’s leftover Bearnaise sauce and I love Bearnaise).

Friday night, we’ll probably sneak in a trip to Burgerhead.  We have 6 weeks before they close and I’ve only just discovered their Chicken burgers are pretty good!

So, that’s what we’re eating this week?  What’s on your menu?

A new direction ?

~ stephzuniga ~ 1 Comment

When I first started this blog over 10 years ago, it was to document one recipe from one of my many cookbooks.  Then it became a way to document our life.  And then life got busy, and it just sat here.  Quietly, silently.  Taunting me.  “I should write something” I often say, but the question is always, “what” and “when”.  With a full time job and full time family, and full time life, who has time?? 

Definitely not me, but we still eat.  A lot.  Every day.  And I still cook a LOT.  Like 5 times a week or more.  Which sometimes seems insane- hello, UberEats????

And we rarely eat the same thing.  And I often don’t remember what I cook- even the really yummy things.  

So, maybe it’s time for the blog to be reborn.   As a record of what I’ve cooked and when we ate it – and whether I’d make it again.

Starting now. Let’s see how we go with this new direction.

This morning was Father’s Day, so we had pancakes.  These Bacon Banana pancakes with whiskey glazed maple syrup to be exact- and yes, I would 10/10 make them again.  Everything about them was delicious. It was a thought bubble from The Runner that turned out exceptionally well.

Later today, for Father’s Day, I’m making Steak and Neil Perry’s Roasted potatoes from his cookbook, “Everything I Love to Cook“.  I’m debating whether to make a bearnaise sauce with it… I LOVE Bernaise but not sure if it’s worth the aggravation. I’m the person who always forgets to make gravy and sauce so we’ll see how we go.

I’ve made these spuds before and they are YUM!  It’s the semolina and the duck fat that really do the job.

I LOVE this cookbook- his Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb Shoulder was enough to make most of my American relatives consider moving to Australia when I made it for them during their visit. It’s so easy and so tasty– but what would you expect from one of Australia’s best chefs. It’s “chef’s kiss” perfect.

This week I’m also making the Char Sui Bun Salad from Every.Night.Of.The.Week, a riff on Taco Rice for Taco Tuesday (a weekly event in our house) and another good one from Neil Perry’s cookbook- Taglioni with Crab.

Last week, I made Italian Beef Rice Pilaf from Recipe Tin Eats Dinner which is one of my favourite cookbooks this year. Seriously, if you don’t have it, buy it. I think I’ve made something from it every week that I’ve had it. We also ate the and the Chicken Club Salad from Every.Night.Of.The.Week, which has re-entered the cookbook rotation over the last few weeks.   

So that’s it. It’s the first week of Spring and that’s what we’re up to. After a huge win in the Grand Final, rugby season is over and we’re gearing up for Little Athletics, basketball and Oztag to start in a few weeks. No more Saturday sleep-ins but hopefully no more winter sweaters either.

So, what are you cooking this week? What’s been your favorite cookbook this year?