recipe

Remember me avocado, prawn and fennel cocktail

2020-02-24T22:09:19+11:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
We chose to kick off our 1970s menu with Richard Glover and Debra Oswald with a prawn avocado and fennel cocktail, because it was the universal starter at restaurants around the world during the decade. Its popularity proved its downfall and these days it is considered incredibly retro, despite being a wonderful, classic dish. It tastes best served with champagne, so of course we found it irresistible. According to the website loveFood, it owes its origins to a California miner, although this is hotly disputed.

Richard Glover’s oh-so-70s Steak Diane

2020-02-29T15:45:03+11:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
We are having a 1970s and Auguste Escoffier double this episode. Not only did the chef Escoffier invent the Peach Melba, which we featured for Debra Oswald's novel The Whole Bright Year, he was also the first chef to mention sauce a la Diane in 1907, which we are featuring here to celebrate Richard Glover's book The Land Before Avocado. The dish of Steak Diane derives from the myth of Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, and hence its designated pairing with meat. Its modern incarnation is believed to have its genesis in the United States, and it was a very popular dish in restaurants in the 1970s.

C.S. Lewis’s oh-so tempting Turkish delight

2019-04-22T14:43:29+10:00Categories: News|Tags: , , , , , , |

Iconic literary food moments
One of the most powerful iconic food moments in literature is in C.S. Lewis's children's book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It is the moment in which Edward betrays his family, even his own soul, in return for the addictive Turkish delight offered him by the White Witch. I read this when I was seven, and have never forgotten it. They say the strongest memories are attached to the greatest emotion, and this was my first taste of betrayal.

Charlotte Smith’s high tea with scones and jam

2019-02-05T15:15:53+11:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Charlotte Smith lives in the Blue Mountains, which is famous for the high tea served at the stunning art-deco hotel The Hydro Majestic. So we thought a high tea would be the perfect accompaniment to an episode focused on fashion, and to honour Charlotte's British heritage. These fluffy English scones accompanied classic cucumber sandwiches (Kate charmed the recipe out of the chef at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford) and chicken, rocket and mayonnaise sandwiches. These fluffy English style scones are light and rise like the sun! Enjoy!

Natasha Lester’s fabulously fun Sidecar follies

2018-10-07T22:57:33+11:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Cocktail concoctions
Word of Mouth TV went to town (or should we say Paris) for the Natasha Lester episode, launching the evening with the oh-so-French cocktail, the Sidecar. The origin of the Sidecar cocktail is disputed but it is believed to have been invented towards the end of World War 1 in either London or Paris. It was, of course, named after the motorcycle sidecar,  a-la Two Fat Ladies, and the Ritz Hotel in Paris claims to be the drink's birthplace. 

Natasha Lester’s lobster and salmon mousse

2018-10-07T15:32:53+11:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Natasha Lester's novel, The Paris Seamstress, is a gorgeous romantic story of intrigue, danger and love set in France and in the USA during WWII. In the book, her heroine Estella Bissette flies back to Paris on a dangerous mission in a boat plane on which she enjoys an amazing meal of piping hot soup, lobster and smoked salmon. That was all the inspiration we needed to concoct this delicious lobster and salmon mousse - with caviar of course! And champagne!!

Pineapple and mint salsa and herby tomatoes

2018-09-21T17:35:21+10:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Something light and fresh was needed to accompany our Balmain bugs for the Holly Ringland interview and this pineapple and mint salsa paired with a tomato and herb salad fitted the bill. It was 29 degrees in the shade for this interview and not a scrap of salad was left in the bowls by the end of the day - simple hot-weather crowd pleasers. We hope you enjoy these salads as much as we did.

Holly Ringland’s Balmain Bugs in lemon myrtle

2018-09-26T19:06:37+10:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Holly Ringland's novel The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is an ode to Australia's unique and exquisite flora, so it seemed fitting to use an Australian herb - lemon myrtle - to dress these delicious local Balmain bugs for our interview. Accompanied by a pineapple and mint salsa, it was the perfect al-fresco meal for this unseasonally hot Autumn day.

Garth Nix’s, can’t beat ’em, bangers and mash

2018-09-12T21:04:59+10:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Fantasy author Garth Nix loves food - lots of different types of food - but put his back to the wall (or a tree as was the case with the Kids & YA Festival), and he plumps for bangers and mash - an all-time favourite for many. So we have used the Taste recipe with red onion gravy below because we used the Cleaver's gluten free mint and lamb sausages and red onion gravy (with red wine) because red wine goes so well with lamb. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Anthony Bourdain’s memorable mafia veal chops

2018-08-16T08:51:45+10:00Categories: News|Tags: , , , , , |

Iconic Literary Food Moments
Celebrity chef and author Anthony Bourdain passed away this year, so it seemed timely to dedicate an Iconic Literary Moment to him. It is not surprising that he incorporated a litany of great food moments into his works. The quote we choose for this episode hails from his first novel, set in the mafia’s kitchen in Little Italy New York, Bone in the Throat, which was later adapted as a movie. The mind boggles at the scenarios a mafia kitchen could offer a writer – if only the chopping board could talk.