holy downie trinity

I have to confess I never was able to understand where the biblical mystery about the holy trinity came from. Father, son and holy spirit: three persons in one god. The closest analogy I could think of were The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas: Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan, of course. This week, after receiving a package from William Downie, I believe the miracle has now been revealed to me.

According to the doctrine, whatever attributes and power god the father has, god the son and god the holy spirit have as well. In Downie's case, at least for his 2010 vintage, the attributes may not be the same, even if they are all pinot noir, but the power is basically there: Gippsland 14%, Yarra Valley 13'5% and Mornington Peninsula 13'5%.

All the labels are by Reg Mombassa, the pseudonym of Chris O'Doherty, an extremely talented New Zelander based here in Syd City. His Mambo farting dog is brilliant, and it's how I first found out about him (thanks to San!). His current band is called Dog Trumpet, but the one that made him popular was Mental As Anything.

Yesterday we tried the three of them, and it certainly was a revelation: omnipotent, omnipresent, and eternal, somehow. I haven't figured out which is my infinitely holiest yet, but I suspect I will see the light in the coming days.

low key pinot weekender (II)

After a really sunny weekend the clouds are back in town. They have even been delivering a few drops this afternoon. It seems like those delicious breaks on the balcony are far gone. Both the cheese and the pinot noir will have to wait a little until we all meet together in front of the "Horizon", watching the harbour and those crazy cockatoos flying around the pool on top of The Westbury.

I forgot to mention the new pinot noir we tried on Sunday for our late "aperitivo". A 2008 Savaterre from Beechworth (Victoria). Very nice for the cheese. Its soft woodiness and its ending spicy touch were delightful. 

This week I am looking forward to receiving a package from William Downie with his three new different pinots. I can't wait for such a celestial moment. We will try them all together, just to make sure we know which is our absolute favourite. I suspect it will be a very difficult decision, but definitely an inspiring process.

low key pinot weekender

This past warm and sunny weekend woke up our summer spirit, even if down under it is winter. Outdoor slow motion drove our schedule. We were looking for a simple Sunday dinner, and pasta together with portobello mushrooms came to the picture. 

Fresh spinach, slightly toasted pine nuts, a tone of finely chopped garlic and a topping coat of parmigiano reggiano cheese completed the mix for a generous plate of farfalle "al dente". A side plate of fresh tomatoes with baby onion and olive oil were also waiting for us.

Stephen and Ron were joining us, and they were kind enough to bring a bottle from Central Otago's Felton Road 2010 pinot noir (Bannockburn), one of our favourite kiwi pinots. We actually got started with another bottle of cava from Raventos i Blanc, before seating down, plus a little sample of a golden albarino Stephen also found for us.

Strawberries, vanilla ice cream and a duo of dark and milk chocolate turned out to be our "easy" dessert of the day.

carne con malbec

I guess this could be called our bloody day of the week. A juicy grain-fed rib-eye steak with green beans and horseradish sauce, under a few lime drops, made our great last meal of the day. 

The cherry tone of the day came from a beautiful bottle from South Australia's Clare Vale: a Wendouree 2005 malbec. It did not create the reaction  I originally had in mind for the evening, but its complexity finally created a quite interesting ensemble.

Once again the last bite was coming from our local heros at Kakawa. Our choices included a classic, by now, which didn't disappoint anyone: their spiky bonbon.

our winter afternoon "picoteos"

A sunny afternoon on the balcony looked like the right place to entertain our spirits for a littel while. A few cheeses (pecorino al tartufo, holy goat, gorgonzola piccante), serrano ham "de bellota", tarama (fish roe cream), boquerones (marinated white anchovies) and a crunchy baguette from Bourke St.

We started with a fresh 2010 Garagiste chardonnay, before we felt it was the right time to move into a surprising Coillard's 2009 mataro. We first heard about it during lunch at Bentley Bar & Restaurant, on Crown and Campbell, a few days earlier.

my first lamington ever

I had no idea what a lamington was until yesterday. In fact I don't think I had heard about it anytime before. The kid who took our order at Single Origin, on Reservoir, described it as an "Australian sweet delicacy". So, after securing two flat whites, I tried to believe him and I ordered one. The chocolate and coconut elements were certainly an asset. Whatever was inside became kind of mysterious, but sometimes I feel the right amount of mystery can be positive...

Its rustic shape seduced me to balance my plate with a colourful little passion fruit & cream cheese macaron. Both of them made a good pair, perhaps recreating in a very basic way some image from "The Beauty And The Beast", which in this case ended up coronating "the beast". It was the right amount of sweetness to start my day, and all the coconut curls made it pretty exotic. The interior was simple and clean, as the picture below may indicate.

I don't know if I'll get another lamington anytime soon, but I guess it was good enough to bring a moderate sense of adventure into my predictable morning routine. The flat white was, as usual in this cafe, a formidable one. Our dear friend Collin would have loved it.

loving lobster

It is always a great pleasure to welcome a fresh lobster into our little kitchen. This one was still alive after more than a day in the refrigerator, what delayed our schedule a little bit.

I love salpicón because, besides its unique explosion of freshness, it easily provides two o three meals, working with a kilo-ish piece. And the second day it even tastes better, after all the juices have perfectly mixed. One red capsicum, one Spanish onion, a bunch of parsley, two boiled eggs, two tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar were the chosen ingredients for this new celebration.

The initial plan was bringing a bottle of nice cava (Catalan sparkling) to help cleansing our palates in a very joyful way. I do like champagne, but I find cava much more exciting for a whole meal. We only found a couple of options, none of the ones we originally had in mind, but our final pick certainly was worth the effort: 2008 Raventós i Blanc - Reserva Brut (50% macabeo, 30% xarel.lo, 20% parellada).

We were ready for another modest banquet, which ended up generating the levels of energy required to survive the remaining part of the week in the disgusting world of severe broadcasting stupidity (sbs).

reinvigorating tuesday of leftovers

Again, not much time to prepare a complex meal. The middle of the week is usually like that. Luckily we rosted a chicken last Sunday, and a lobster was cooked to make another "salpicón"; only its tail and its legs were used, so we still have its tasty head. We decided a couple of onions, cauliflower, pine nuts, saffron, and virgin olive oil were going to be our allies for the evening. 

Prior to our main dish, a fine tapa of plain lobster ignited another nutritious episode of this ongoing table romance. 

Chardonnay is always in mind to get started, so this time we went with a biodynamic South Australian recent revelation, Ngeringa, which we first tried during our visit to Attica (Melbourne) last April.

A safe and easy ending came from the authentic chocolate masters at Kakawa (on William), David and Jin Sun. Their cherry marshmallow, covered in dark chocolate and nuts, is the most angelical delicacy I can think of. This one definitely gives you wings.

a well deserved indulging monday

Yesterday was a tough day at the office. Dealing with the endless incompetence of shameless broadcasting scoundrels (sbs) is nothing but exhausting and depressing. Luckily there is a healthier life beyond local armageddon, and dinner was meant to prove it. 

Black shrimp with Mexican garlic (great "ajada") and sweet Kumato tomatoes with chopped baby onion turned the evening into a truly inspiring experience.

A 2008 Dalwhinnie Moonambel chardonnay was a very fortunate pick for this elevating occasion. 

Kakawa chocolates from William street provided a perfect ending for such a busy day. Their smoky truffles are to die for, like most of their creations, which deserve a whole detailed posting, to come anytime soon.

the weekend compendium

This past weekend was a little bit all over the place. I don't even know where to start from. The cooking was minimal, except for the Barossa chicken. The rest was more of a simple "tapeo" which started with an always resuscitating "jamón ibérico de bellota" (acorn fed ham).

A few "boquerones" (anchovies), Cantimpalo chorizo and some holy goat cheese completed our Sunday lunch. Of course, our rye caraway sourdough had to be there. Saturday saw a more Frenchy selection, which definitely made a very happy duetto: Valette foie gras and duck rillettes, followed by a simple and nutritious casserole with Toulouse sausage.

A bottle of Deisen's 2006 G.S.M. (50% Grenache, 30% Shyraz, 20% Mataro) was a great companion for such a rewarding palatal pseudo-European trip. While visiting the Barossa a couple of years ago we tried it, and since then it is always at home.

The start of the day was efficiently energized by a phenomenal raspberry & vanilla tart San brought with a warm cup of Mariage Freres' Prince Igor (940) tea.

double single origin flat white stop

Another fast morning made breakfast happen after leaving home, my prefered place for that transcendental first bite of the day. Luckily we had a sunny sky, what made the abdication an easier one. And I must say that, being tea my first choice, this country has provided the best coffee moments I have ever had in my entire life. Today wasn't an exception, and I had to ask for a second flat white.

Our destination in Surry Hills was packed, but just a minute after we arrived a table was available for us. I hadn't been there in months, after my first Single Origin coffee with Gotaro, who proposed to meet over there. In this second exploration I decided to try their strawberry muffin, which ended up being a fantastic choice, even if the rhubarb one was extremely tempting.

I'm not sure I would call this a real breakfast, but it certainly was an enjoyable way to start functioning. The space itself, which is not tremendously generous, also helped activating a few senses still dormant at that early time of the day. Those intriguing faces on the wall were kind of entertaining.

red capsicum by default

By the time we started thinking about dinner last night it was kind of late; we were tired. The goal was reducing the cooking time as much as possible, without sacrificing the required excitement associated to the mastication process. The nature of the ingredients was going to play a main role in this limited attempt to satisfy our appetite. There were a few red peppers left in the fridge, so it was clear that our beloved garlic had the opportunity to be the catalyst of our last meal of the day.

Once we had a little mountain of chopped garlic on the board, which didn't take more than a couple of minutes to prepare, and the extra virgin olive oil was hot enough, our two main ingredients met in the pan. After five minutes they were ready to top a few slices of our favourite rye caraway sourdough.

At that point we had already started the evening with a glass of Principia's 2008 chardonnay, a very fortunate discovery from the Mornington Peninsula, together with some really tasty kalamata olives Sandra got last week.

The plates were ready, and so were out stomachs. The soundtrack for this improvised culinary moment  was provided by Jeff Klein's band: My Jerusalem. Quite an addictive sound with a truly fascinating smoky voice. I remember the first time I saw them in 2009, at the Cadillac Lounge in Toronto, they became the musical highlight of my winter season. Two years later I was able to attend one of their concerts in Austin, and I was very happy to watch how their show had just grown into a magical space that only a few artists can reach. Real masters at what they do.

A few tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber helped constructing our salad of the day, dressed with Spanish extra virgin oil and balsamic vinegar of Modena. A very elemental, refreshing and easy to digest ensemble.

an upper yarra salmon midweek trip

The initial idea of eating farmed salmon is never too exciting to me. It automatically reminds me of the delicious wild Pacific sockeye I used to often enjoy in Vancouver ten years ago. So, this unavoidable  comparison never helps. However, I do like salmon a lot. Its texture and its flavour, even if artificially modified, still make it for me when Sandra's own tzatziki joins the equation.

A simple combination of greek style yoghourt, extremely fresh cucumber and dill, a big clove of Mexican garlic, a bunch of pink salt flakes, a few drops of lemon juice, plus a generous splash of Spanish virgin olive oil, worked quite well. It is very refreshing and ideal to neutralize the fatty juices coming out of those farmed salmons.

I still have in my head that catchy song from Our Lady Peace we kept listening to during the making of this phenomenal tzatziki: "Angels | Losing | Sleep".  It is part of the first album, a brilliant one, I bought from Raine Maida's band back in 2005: "Healthy In Paranoid Times", far away from the monotonous sound on their rather boring 2009 release "Burn Burn".

Last night we also had green grilled asparagus, an always favourite, which provided the perfect counterpoint.  I wasn't sure about the wine to pick for this occasion, but I wanted to open a bottle of pinot noir we first tried in Gembrook (Victoria), while visiting Andrew Marks a couple of months ago. That afternoon we literally caught him with his hands on what will become his new shiraz. Anyway, his 2010 Upper Yarra Valley pinot noir was almost gone by the time we finished dinner. A fully satisfactory choice, really smooth and aromatic, considering it was such a young wine.

a fast sweet breakfast

I was in a little bit of a rush this morning, so I decided to have a fast injection of sweetness to start my day. After discovering it in Ottawa -yes, right on Elgin street- I can not efficiently function without a warm cup of Mariage Freres' tea. Today it was the turn for their refreshing "Tropical" blend (932), since there is no "Montagne d'Or" (9403) left. We must plan a trip to Paris soon!

A beautiful rye caraway sourdough bun from Bourke St. bakery will be perfect for the two spreads we got in our recent visit to Melbourne, at Burch & Purchese: half chocolate and hazelnut/half salted caramel, and the chocolate, strawberry and balsamic vinegar jam. Some iron bark Maya Sunny Honey will have to complete this nutritious, but incomplete, start of the day.

It feels like this was the right combination of flavours for listening to the first track of Foam Lake's debut album: "True Hearts". Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to make it to their gig in Toronto on Friday, as I was expecting a few weeks ago.