The first beer (Coopers pale ale) didn’t touch the sides. The second was savoured out on the deck in the fading light. One of the nicest bits about living in the “bush” is that the wildlife make a big song and dance about settling down for the night. Black cockatoos fly back up the valley from their dalliance in town, frogs start croaking (in a good way) and the parrots and other birds slowly quieten as the sun dips behind the ridge into the sea beyond.

On the menu tonight:- fresh salmon, and cauliflower with cheese sauce. A crisp white wine.

Take a couple of slices of fresh salmon. Pinbone them. Gently rub them all over with a little extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and plenty of black pepper. Set them on one side while you deal with the other stuff. Test the wine.

Cut up the cauliflower and add to a pan with water and a pinch of salt and cook until done.

In another pan, saute off a dollop of butter and some plain flour (equal quantities of each) to make a roux. Cook it for a couple of minutes and then add milk, stirring constantly until the desired thickness is reached. Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and  plenty of grated mature fresh parmesan so it tastes good and cheesy. Taste it! Then adjust the seasoning. Taste, taste and taste until you are happy. Spilling a wee bit of white wine into the pot at this point is a good idea. Leave the sauce to gently simmer on the stove while you cook the salmon.

Get a wide pan good and hot and place the salmon skin side down and enjoy the sizzle. Make sure the wine hasn’t gone off in the time you have been doing all this. You need to get the skin crisp (it’s the best bit!) and the salmon can be cooked almost all the way on this one side. When it’s close to being done (it still needs to be “pink” in the middle ie: medium rare) flip it over and sear it lightly on the top.

Plate up the salmon and cauliflower and pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower. A little chopped parsley over the top of the cauli looks pretty if you like green stuff. Serve with the crisp white wine you have been testing.

Enjoy.

Kind regards,

J

PS: in the morning serve a little of the leftover cheese sauce on your BLT… yum.

I was tired Thursday night. Ten hours on my feet and two and a bit hours of commute. What’s for dinner?

Well, we start with a beer, naturally. What’s in the fridge? Everything? I think Tapas style is in order tonight.

Ok, a yellow capsicum. What else? An onion, a generous serve of extra virgin olive oil, a slurp of the riesling from my glass and several chunks of bread sliced and toasted. Oh, and some very fresh lamb kidneys bought the day before (Hmm, that probably wipes out 50 % of my audience, but trust me).

The onion was chopped and the capsicum sliced into thin strips. Both were sautéed in some of the olive oil for about 20 minutes until they were slightly caramelised and soft and the pan was filled with the cooking liquer.

The kidneys were halved and the funny white finger like thingies you find in the middle removed, (scissors are good for getting rid of this but I’m too tired to get technical.) The kidneys  were salted and peppered and sauted in a big pan until the juices ran clear and the outer surface turned a gentle brown. A plate received the kidneys and then into the pan went a quick slosh of white wine and a little more olive oil and then magic, a thin sauce to pour over the kidneys when plated up.

The yellow capsicum, onion and browned kidneys just demanded a couple of slices of  thick crisp toast to soak up the juices. Peasant food yes, but ever so good. My belly was satisfied and the remainder of the riesling slipping down rather well…

 kind regards

J