Saskia Beer | The Cream Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Saskia Beer’

  1. Home-cooked Gourmet

    March 8, 2012 by Laura

    Easy, home-cooked gourmet…is it a contradiction?  Recent survey results from Food Forward 2012, the Weber Shandwick’s inaugural food trend report, says ‘maybe not’.

    According to the website, Food Forward 2012 is the survey results from more than 1,000 Australian “taste-makers” including “food editors, chefs, food bloggers and nutritionists”.  The survey was meant to indicate current sentiment about Australian food and identify upcoming culinary trends.

    One trend they’ve named “Gourmet Convenience” calls out what we already know to be true.  We, home cooks, want to produce somewhat hassle-free gourmet-quality meals for our friends and family.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m up for the full-day of prepping and cooking in the kitchen now and then, but I love to entertain and impress stress-free and without sacrificing a whole day.  The survey said this about Gourmet Convenience: “Innovative food products and quality foodstuffs are making gourmet-style meals more hassle-free than ever before. By using semi-homemade culinary masterpieces, even the most time-pressed cooks can still be stars in their own kitchens.”

    Cream at Sassafras is stocked full of these culinary masterpieces to help home-cooks shine.  These innovative food products from Cream are about a love of food and as important, the love and care that goes into making meals at home, and sharing a meal with loved ones.   One example of such a product is Saskia Beer’s Horseradish.

    Horseradish is strong, full of flavor and (some would say) a bite.  It can be the perfect special something for your next home-cooked gourmet recipe, like this beautiful salad from Morsels and Musings.

    Smoked trout & potato salad with horseradish-crème fraîche dressing

    Serves 4 as a starter

    Ingredients:
    ½ cup (125ml) crème fraîche
    3 tablespoons (60ml) lemon juice
    2 teaspoons lemon zest
    2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
    2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
    3 teaspoons horseradish, I recommend Saskia’s Horseradish
    700g potatoes, boiled then cubed
    400g smoked trout, chopped
    50g baby spinach
    6 radishes, finely sliced

    Method:

    1. Make the dressing by whisking together the crème fraîche, lemon juice, lemon zest and grated horseradish.

    2. In a large bowl add to the potatoes, radishes, chives and parsley enough dressing to suit your tastes and toss gently.

    3. When you’re ready to serve, add the spinach and combine well. Top salad with trout.

    Category Cream Cooks, Food for Thought, News from Cream | Tags: ,,,, | No Comments

  2. Black Pig Ham More than Passes the Test

    December 11, 2011 by Laura

    This past Tuesday The Age – Epicure featured the team’s mission to find the best Christmas ham in Australia. An important and worthy assignment…one that I would’ve loved to undertake myself.

    There were two hams that tied for first and five that were equal second, including Saskia Beer’s Berkshire Black Pig Ham, which Cream is lucky enough to carry.  According to the article, the Black Pig Ham was “porky, sweet, nutty and delicious”.  The article also gave credit to Saskia’s approach and preparation method.  “She uses the Beer family’s brown-sugar brine recipe and smokes over red gum in a traditional smokehouse.  One taster wrote, ‘This ham is so good it won’t last until Boxing Day’. ”

    Before I fully read the article, I was curious as to how one would judge a ham?  And beyond that, how would you or could you come to a group consensus of the best Christmas ham?  Ham to me is all about Christmas tradition.  If it doesn’t taste how I remember it should taste, then it wouldn’t rate to high.  And maybe then it isn’t about the best tasting ham, it’s about the ham that reminds you of what ham should taste like.  Richard Cornish said it best for me when he said, ‘what this taste test proved is that there is no one perfect ham for everybody.  Its perfection lies in the Christmas memories of years gone by – and what was served with it.’

    It reminds me of a quote by Lin Yutang that says, “What is patriotism but the love of the food one ate as a child?”  Saskia’s Black Pig Ham may be the one for me.  Only one way to find out…

    Click HERE to read the full article from The Age – Epicure.

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  3. Giving Thanks with Corn-Fed Turkey

    November 29, 2011 by Laura

    The holidays are always a time remind myself of everything in my life for which to be thankful.

    In America, the tradition of Thanksgiving also falls around this time.  It’s a holiday started by the pilgrims and is specifically dedicated to giving thanks (in those days for the bountiful harvest).  To celebrate, families and friends gather together around a huge feast, the centerpiece of which is usually a turkey.

    This year my husband and I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner, featuring a Saskia Beer Barossa Farms’ free-range corn-fed turkey.  After washing and prepping the turkey, we stuffed it with garlic and a bunch of fresh herbs from our container garden and put a cup of water in the bottom for the drippings for gravy.  We covered the bird with aluminum foil to keep the skin from burning and then popped it in the oven.

    After about thirty minutes we could smell the amazing aroma wafting from the oven.  There’s nothing like gorgeous hints of what’s to come to whet the appetite and build anticipation.

    After about four hours at 170-180 degrees, our bird was cooked.  We let it set covered for 15-20 minutes before we carved it.

    It was the perfect bird!  Moist.  Juicy.  Tender.  Three fabulous words when you’re talking about the feature of your meal.  Corn-fed.  Free-range.  Natural.  You get the sense these six words have something to do with each other.

    One of our friends even said it was “The best turkey” she’s ever had and as much as I love to receive compliments about my cooking, I’m happy to share this one with the bird and Barossa Farms.

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  4. Chicken Marrakesh

    November 21, 2011 by Laura

    Saskia Beer’s Marrakesh chicken breast.  You can never really go wrong with those five words.

    We recently recommended a simple but great way to serve up Saskia’s chicken to Lisa, a Cream customer.  Cook Saskia’s Marrakesh chicken breast, drizzle with a stripe of Greek Yoghurt and serve over cous cous or rice.

    Lisa sent us this pic of her final dish along with her seal-of-deliciousness-approval.  YUM!

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