When space became available adjoining the Wild Oak Restaurant, Chef and Owner, Ben Higgs, leapt at the chance to convert this quaint little shop into an intimate cooking space. Here he could fulfill a desire to share his knowledge in a fun environment with a small group of students.

With different class types and subjects to suit all levels and interests you’ll easily be able to find one that is perfect for you. Come by yourself, with your partner or with friends, it’s a great fun night or day out. Enjoy a complimentary glass of wine as you learn and take home handy class notes so you can recreate these great dishes at home.

Wild Oak Cooking School

To enquire about booking a class at the cooking school you can call them on 03 9751 2033

Try something different this month in the Dandenongs!

It’s on again at the Kalorama Memorial Reserve – a fun family day out that helps to support the local kindergarten.
10am – 4pm

• Yummy roasted chestnuts
• Poffertjes
• Devonshire teas
• Kinder Kids Marquee with Play Dough
• Dr Moss’s Petting Zoo
• Fairground rides
• Rides / Stalls / Raffles
• Hot Food / Tea & Coffee
• Beer & Wine

Come and stop by Cream on your way to or from the Chestnut Festival!

Five Ideas of Things to Do with Quince

1.  Poach quince like you would normally do with pear in your favorite poached pear recipe.  Just be sure to poach them for a little longer.

2.  Add quince to your homemade applesauce and then serve with slow roasted pork.

3.  Add them to your favorite chicken tagine recipe like this one from The Migraineur.

For a twist, try beautiful quince paste like Maggie Beer’s in these ways:

4.  Serve with a cheese like brie or even manchego

5.  Melt it in a pan with verjuice and use as a glaze for pork roast, ham, or duck.

Image from: Simply Recipes

Our latest degustation dinner at Pirianda was a huge success – A full house, full of wonderful guests who had an absolute ball.

Here’s a few things we cooked up…

Figlettes and Gippsland Blue on Wafer Thins

We started off the evening with light canapes – These were slivers of Figlettes in Saffron & Pear Syrup, with Tarago River Gippsland Blue.

Trout Mousse Cones with Caviar

These were made with Buxton Smoked Trout & Buxton Hand-milked Caviar.

Tomato & Coconut Soup

This soup was a warming starter. Asian inspired, with tomato, coconut milk, palm sugar and fish sauce. We garnished this with coconut cream, fresh coriander and fried shallots.

Bruschetta of Trout, Rocket, Chickpeas & Pomegranate

This bruschetta was amazing, look at those jewels of pomegranate!

Roasted Potato & Sweet Potato

These potatos and sweet potatoes were roasted up with whole cloves of garlic, wedges of lemon and sprigs of rosemary.

Glazed Lamb Racks

The lamb was marinated in Beechworth Honey, Australian Harvest Mustard, orange juice, rosemary and sage. We served this with the roasted potatoes and blanched green beans with Dukkah.

Chocolate & Pomegranate Tart with Vanilla Bean Icecream & Persian Fairy Floss

We finished off the degustation with these tarts… and I’m told they were pretty good!

These new varieties come from our best apple-producing regions including Batlow and Orange in NSW, Manjimup in WA, Adelaide Hills in SA and the Mornington Peninsula in VIC.

Kanzi is a new variety of apple that was first grown in Europe, where it was developed from a natural cross between a Gala and a Braeburn apple. This particular cross has created an intensely flavoured apple with the juiciness of a Gala, and the tartness of a Braeburn.

Like Kanzi, the Greenstar apple was also developed from a natural cross between the Delbarestival and Granny Smith varieties, both of which are known for their juiciness and fresh taste.

Look out for apples with the Kanzi and Greenstar logos in your local retailer this autumn.

One of the best ways to enjoy the new Kanzi apple would be to eat it fresh, but the next next best thing to do might be a Waldorf Salad – there’s no point cooking this apple and losing all it’s ‘fresh’ juiciness.

Try this classic Waldorf Salad recipe this month.

Delicious ANZACS

The sweet ANZAC biscuits that we know and love today, originating from World War I, are in fact a derivative of a different biscuit that was consumed in the battlefields. They are thought to have been carefully created by a team of women on the home-front who were searching for a solution to a biscuit that could be easily transportable to their men on the front line in care/comfort packs.

It was not uncommon for boats to take upwards of two months to reach the men, so the sweeter and more palatable biscuit recipe was created. It was important that the biscuits and its carefully selected ingredients didn’t spoil in the long voyage, were readily available and delivered some nutrition, hence the inclusion of golden syrup and the exclusion of eggs and butter traditionally used in biscuit cookery.

The biscuits were then packed into tins, sometimes billy tea tins, to keep them airtight.

To this day they represent more than a biscuit and a recipe as they are an iconic tradition that is passed down through the generations of Australians and New Zealanders, from mother to daughter, where the stories of our past are shared, and of the gentle reminder of the ANZAC legacy and spirit that is never to be forgotten –

lest we forget.

In the lead-up to April 25th we’ll have Phillippa’s ANZACS available in-store all week. So come by the store and pick yourself up some delicious Aussie tradition.

Tour through the Hi-tech greenhouse of Gateway Estate where you will see how they grow capsicums, eggplant and basil hydroponically, how the Greenhouse operates and learn about their chemical free bug management system. At this time of year the plants are fully grown at a height of nearly 4 meters and are a great sight for anyone coming into the greenhouse. The best part? The tour will end with a cooking demonstration by the relish masters, Cunliffe and Waters, using freshly picked capsicums of course!

After the tour, you will be given a jar of the very popular Cunliffe and Waters capsicum relish and invited to look around the shop and participate in a casual wine tasting.

Numbers are strictly limited to 15 people per tour to allow for the best experience. The tour and class will run for approx. 60mins.

Date: Saturday 28 April 2012
Times: 10am, 11.30pm, 1pm
Where: Gateway Estate, 667 Maroondah Highway, Coldstream Victoria 3770
Cost: $20 per head (includes a jar of relish)
Capacity: Strictly limited to 15 pax per tour
Bookings: 03 9739 0568 or click here

We’ll see you there!

Now that my tastes have matured I look for more refined pairings for my palette.  And it’s undeniable that some foods just go together; like strawberries and balsamic vinegar, cranberries and turkey, and apple and mint and lamb.  Mark, co-owner of Cream, recently shared with me this simple but wonderful canapé recipe; Roast Lamb Canapés with Apple and Mint Jam for Lamb.  Enjoy!

ROAST LAMB CANAPES WITH APPLE & MINT JAM FOR LAMB

- Roast some lamb your favourite way. For Mark, it’s cutting pockets to poke in cloves of garlic, throwing into an Oven bag with some fresh rosemary. Don’t overcook keep your roast juicy. Slice – not uniformly.

- Slice a crusty baguette diagonally.

- Layer lamb on baguette slices. Top with a decent spoon of Cunliffe & Waters Apple & Mint Jam for Lamb. A sprig of fresh mint or Rosemary looks great on top.

This perfect-pair recipe will be making an appearance at my next get-together.  What about you?  What are other food pairings you can’t get enough of?

The Historic Gulf Station is celebrating rare apples and the wonderful world of apple cider. Many different varieties of Heritage apples from the National Trusts’ collection will be available for tasting while the Trusts’ expert Horticulturalists will run workshops sharing the mysteries of apple pruning and grafting. You will also be able to plant your own rare French or English cider tree in the Gulf Station orchard. You will finish with a guided tasting of cider from around the world, including England, France, Germany and the Yarra Valley.

There will also be a Cider Bar on site and regular Cider tastings throughout the day. Whew! This sounds like a lot of fun in a gorgeous place!

When: Saturday 28 April 2012

Workshop Times: 10am, 12pm and 2pm

Cost: Adults $22.00, National Trust Members $18.00, including entry to the Homestead and Farm

Bookings are essential and can be made online by clicking here from 1 March 2012

About the Workshops: The Cider Workshops will introduce participants to the trade secrets of apple tree pruning and grafting. These sessions will allow you the opportunity to taste the differences between apple varieties, especially cider apples and how these differ to regular apples. You will also be guided through a cider tasting so that you can truly appreciate how the subtle differences in cider apples manifest themselves in the end result.

Crumbles are simple. Crumbles are tasty. This crumble from Maggie is both of those things plus much, much more. Verjuice is an interesting product – essentially it’s just unripe grape juice, so it’s a little bit tart, and a little bit sweet, and very subtle on the palette. What better way to warm your heart on these cooler Autumn nights than an apple and rhubarb crumble…