Recipe: May May's Tasty Meatloaf

Meatloaf is a real budget breaker that gets a bad wrap in sitcoms but is actually the perfect family meal - cheap, easy and kid friendly. As we enter the cooler months we start to enter my favourite comfort food territory so here's my meatloaf recipe perfect for those nights in.

All the better is that most of these items can be stored in the freezer or bought cheaply making it a great option to stretch out the budget or just keep yourself filled at the end of the month. For staple foods like this I have no problem with buying the cheaper grocery options as you can see from the pictures making this meatloaf coming in around $10 to easily serve 4 portions.



Meatloaf

500g mince lamb or beef
250g middle bacon
1 carrot
1 onion
1.5 cups breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Method



Get a large mixing bowl and put the mince meat into the pan. I prefer lamb for meals such as this, it mixes well with the bacon and has a higher fat content than beef but if you have fussy kids beef is just as good and will taste more like hamburger.



Dice the onion into very small pieces and grate the carrot - this is a great way to hide vegetables from fussy kids. If you think they won't eat carrot substitute for a second onion because you want to retain the moisture. Place the vegetables in the mixing bowl with the meat.



For the bacon buying cheap bacon is actually for the best, you want a high fat content to render through the mince meat as it cooks so middle bacon with lots of streaks is perfect. Don't use Picnic or Short cut bacon as this won't render and look for higher fat content bacon - often the cheapest is the best for this recipe. Cut off the rind and dice into small pieces.



Place the diced bacon in the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients and mix.



Season as you go, when the ingredients are well mixed through add a cup of breadcrumbs and knead with your hands or two wooden spoons.



When it is complete it should look similar to uncooked hamburger.



Place into a loaf tin, if you've made too much it is okay if the mixture mounds over the top of the tin because it will shrink slightly as it cooks.



You should still be able to see the sides of the tin however. You do not need to line the tin with paper or oil as the fat from the meat will stop the meatloaf from sticking to the tin.



Wrap the tin in foil and place into the oven for an hour at 180 C



After an hour take the meatloaf out of the oven and remove the foil, return to the oven for an additional 10 mins to crisp up the outside before serving.

Don't forget to run a knife or plastic spatula around the side of the meatloaf before attempting to remove and slice. Serve with your favourite vegetables and gravy or mustard.

Valentine's Day Dinner

I eat out so much it seemed to be a waste to go out for an overly crowded set dinner menu for Valentine's Day so instead we had a romantic dinner at home. The good thing about dating another foodie is that you know you can trust him to pick up the pieces without guidance!



For once the dining table isn't covered in gaming equipment!



Tintilla Estate 2005 Shiraz



Grain fed aged Scotch Fillet



Heirloom tomatoes and Spanish onion macerated with sugar and balsamic



Salad of mixed leaves, onion, avocado and herb goat's cheese dressed with olive oil and lime



Coconut tarts and Walnut macaroons



Assorted chocolates from Bon Bon Fine Chocolates

... all wrapped up with kisses, cards and the right kind of off colour humour.

Review: Sean's Kitchen, Star City Casino Pyrmont

When you think of Casino food you probably think of cheap buffets and $5 steak vouchers, but Sean's Kitchen is anything but. The warm classy interior is hidden on an elevated floor above and behind the gaming floor so that the blinking bleeping poker machines are out of sight and out of mind.



Sean's Kitchen specialise in European charcuterie and good quality Australian beef and seafood and it is a great restaurant for a celebration meal. We were off for a birthday, the boy's this time and after a not so pleasant day at work for both of us it was time to wash away the stress with some good wine and excellent food.



Veuve Clicquot by the glass $27



Flavours of Jamon Charcuterie plate $40

If you've never had Spanish ham this is a great way to try it as a progression of Fermin Serrano, Seven Hermanos Iberico de Bellota and Fermin Iberico de Bellota. Jamon Iberico de Bellota is a high quality ham cut from acorn fed Black Iberian pigs. High in fat and raised without stress this is the kobe of pork and the small amounts in the serving are deceptively filling. Served as it should be with good quality bread and pickles this is a great start to any celebration meal.



Liver Parfait and toasted brioche $17

I of course have to order the liver parfait and this is an excellent rendition made with chicken livers but cut with duck fat and sieved to perfection. This is a very heavy and large serving and would probably have done for both of us if only the boy ate liver. Generally I am not a fan of aspic sealing on pate however this is a sweet balsamic jelly that I am rather fond of, especially as the dish did not come with a chutney or other sweet acid to cut through the fat. The brioche is simply excellent, heavy and rich and toasted perfectly.



2005 St Henri Shiraz $157

It's a celebration meal so I decide to splash out on a bottle of the St Henri, easily one of my favourite wines and just perfect with a rich steak meal. The St Henri is the more affordable second cousin to the Penfold's Grange and the 2005 is a recent release but already at drinkable age, especially after being properly decanted. The wine itself is dark and luscious, heavy on berry tastes with a spicey touch similar to tobacco leaf, highly recommended with aged beef.



Dry aged Rib Eye 500g (on the bone) $58



Grass fed Greenham Natural Scotch Fillet 350g $42

Both steaks are perfectly cooked, my rib eye shows no innappropriate scorching on the bone and the more delicate grass fed beef is perfectly rested and sealed. I am less of a fan of the grass fed beef which has a 'younger' taste but we both enjoy the meat spectacularly. Be aware that Sean's Kitchen is of the "if you order a steak, you only get the steak" philosophy of things so be ready to order sides separately.

A choice of sauces is given, we ask for both mustards and veal jus. The jus is to be recommended they have a marvelous sous chef preparing this to perfection; rich, clear and succulent the tiniest amount provides a lingering taste sensation. There are a number of higher marble steaks on the menu including two wagyu steaks however after our experience of being bested by the meal at Glass we decide to avoid the richer choices.



Mustards and Murray River Salt provided with main meal



Butter whipped potatoes $9

Why yes that is a small pool of melted butter you can see in the side of the image. Be sparing with the spoon as this puree is more butter than potato and could easily remove your appetite for the delicious meats.



Baby cos salad with Chardonnay dressing $9

A kitchen hand with OCD has carefully selected and placed these lettuce leaves with peculiar care however they really are delicious and the perfect accompaniment to the rich food.



Remy Martin $15 (back) and Hennessy $18 (front) VSOP Cognac

Nothing particularly fancy here I just rather like a glass of cognac at the end of a rich meal. To be honest I rather wish I'd poured it in my coffee (because I am a bad person).



Panna cotta with Mango $12 with Espresso $5

The test of good service is to be fussy and see how they respond. Sean's Kitchen dutifully brought me soy milk, on the side, removed elements of the dessert and replaced them to order. This dessert should be served with strawberries and a coulis, neither of which I'm particularly fond of. The staff changed the orders readily and brought all items out as I had asked for them in record time, to be commended. The panna cotta sadly I cannot recommend after all that, it was a "yoghurt pannacotta" twist on the classic that left the texture slightly dense and not at all quivering. Sad news indeed.



Valrhona chocolate mousse with Blood orange sorbet and caramelised blood orange $12

The boy's dessert was far more successful (his photography not so much so) and much larger than expected. The dark chocolate mousse goes surprisingly well with the bitter sweet blood orange - if you're expecting overtones of Jaffa you will be disappointed. Still the heavy sweetness and crisp acid make an excellent mix particularly with the textural surprise of the chocolate crisp.





I must make mention of these delightful vintage style butcher's etchings that are printed on the tableware, it's this kind of sweet but macabre note that I think makes Sean's Kitchen a little more endearing.

The service at Sean's Kitchen also deserves a serious nod, while not silver service the hustle and bustle is kept out of chaos by an army of service staff that somehow still make you feel as though you are being especially attended to. That itself is an art form and here it is executed wonderfully. Sommelier's are dispatched with care, French bread boys appear like Carbohydrate Ninjas and the waitress managed to memorise the entire meal order prattled off by a starving gourmande without so much as a blink or a flash of paper. Combined with my fussy dessert ordering it really is something worth noting.

Next time you're looking for a really good steak in Sydney think about Sean's Kitchen, keep your head down in in the gaming room and march upstairs for a rich but soul satisfying dining experience.

Sean's Kitchen at Star City

http://www.starcity.com.au‎

80 Pyrmont Street

Pyrmont 2009, Australia

(02) 9777 9000

Formal dining, fully licensed

Not family or party friendly

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Review: Best Friend (Chung jin dong), Sydney CBD

Continuing on for my current love of Korean food I recently went to one of the more casual offerings Best Friend on Pitt St.

It has all the tell tale signs of a good city Asian eatery; it's humming with young couples and groups of friends and the crowd is primarily made up of the ethnicity of the restaurant. Any Korean eatery where the primary menus and signage are in Korean is always a good sign. We're by no means the only anglo people in the room but I can't help wondering how many of the boys here were introduced to the food by their girlfriends.

Like many similar city restaurants there's a large screen pumping out variety shows and Kpop videos in the background, this is always a love hate relationship for a diner. Kpop has all the glitz and choreagraphed dancing of similar Japanese Pop offerings but with a slightly more 80s feel and often a lot more humour. While we're eating a clip shows where the protagonist sings a heartfelt love song while wearing a chicken suit, sadly I failed to get a decent photo of it.

Banchan - included with meal

The dinner is more casual than many Korean restaurants and I gather a bit cheaper so the Banchan are hardly fancy but still welcome. A small salad, kimchi, fish cake and rice jelly are brought out with our drinks.

Boiled mandu 10 for $6.60 or 20 for $9.90

When boiled these mandu dumplings are more akin to wanton than gyoza but they remain one of my favourite relatively guilt free starters. Minced pork, shallot and glass noodles are wrapped in a wheat based dumpling skin. The soy/chilli/sesame sauce served with these is filled with umame and one of the better examples of dumpling sauce I've tried.

Special set - spicy pork $13

Best friend has a number of bento style casual meals available at a reasonable price. This comes with a spicy pork bulgogi, rice, salad and miso soup for $13 making it a great place for a quick reasonably priced bite on the way home. It's not ground breaking food but for a quick pre-cinema meal or post drink dinner it's not a bad option.

Gochujang tteokbokki - Korean rice cake with chilli sauce $19.90

This dish is my current obsession, I could eat it day in and day out and the version at Best Friend is a great rendition. Soft sausage shaped rice cakes are reminiscent of rice based gnocchi, they're soft with a pleasantly chewy texture. This is then cooked in a gochujang chilli sauce not for the feint hearted - if you don't like spicy food stay away from anything Korean and spicy, they like it super hot one of the reasons I love their food! This version has a bit of texture too it so I suspect they have used tomato in their sauce, it is also laced with chunky vegetables and slices of fish cake. Being lactose intolerant I can do without the cheese but it does go well with the sweet spicey sauce.

Be warned this meal is huge, it's designed for 2 people - or me and my lunch tomorrow! If you are going to heat it up make sure to use a wok or oven with a little extra water as the rice cakes lose moisture over night and can be chewy. Definitely avoid microwaving.

This and Darling City are easily two of my favourite casual Korean diners, great for a quick bite at a reasonable price but nothing fancy. Great for when you're sick of Thai food in Sydney. For those out for a rowdy evening $9 bottles of soju and meat dishes bound to soak up the drinks are a great pull as well.

Best Friend (Chung jin dong)

Google Places entry

377 Pitt Street, Sydney 2000
(02) 9261 8326 ‎

Fully licensed (Asian alcohols only)

Casual family atmosphere

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Review: Glass at Hilton Sydney CBD

It was recently my 30th birthday and as a treat my boy took me out to Glass at the Hilton. Glass is the latest venture by celebrity chef and restauranteur Luke Mangan.



The decor is modern and chic, well thought out and subdued, just as you would expect from a top tier restaurant in a leading 5 star hotel. Most importantly for a restaurant such as this the sound engineering is such that you can't hear the conversation at the next table. The high ceilings and glass wall lend a huge air of spaciousness and it is all helped along by views of the beautiful Queen Victoria's Building across the road. Sadly it was under renovation at the time of our dinner and I couldn't get a photo that would do it justice.

We are presented with the menus and here is the only criticism I will make of the evening; the food menu was on a large clipboard and when I say large I mean A3 in size, far larger than my actual table setting so I could not set it down at any point. This made it rather awkward to hold and review and eventually I gave up and balanced it over my forks. The wine menu was also ridiculously large but not in dimensions - just in content! The menu is the size of a slim novel (a full 45 pages) and takes in every major wine producing country and most wine regions of the antipodes. I deliberate for some time and argue with myself about choices until the waitress wonders if I might like to speak to the sommelier, however her question only prompts me to make a decision.



Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve $27 by the glass

Those who know me well know I like Champagne, and I can't walk past a Billecart, especially as a toasting glass in a celebration meal. Being a traditional Champagne it's a blend of Pinot Noir, Muenier and Chardonnay with a citrussy front and a clean finish, just perfect with lighter summer appetisers.

We ponder the food menu once again and decide that the tasting menu isn't for us - the boy doesn't eat liver and much of the menu is seafood that we are not fond of so we order a la carte more to our tastes.



Fresh breads are brought to us and served simply with Mangan's signature olive oil which has a fresh grassy taste, lighter than the Spanish oils I usually use but fresh and well blended.

Chicken Liver Parfait, Pear Chutney and Brioche $15.40

It's my 30th birhday, I'm feeling poorly, the only thing I want in the world at this moment is a liver parfait. I brightly smile at the menu and my dining companion knows exactly what is coming. This liver parfait isn't my favourite in Sydney (that probably still goes to Danks St Depot for the texture and the parmesan) but it is good and served with a pear chutney and toasted brioche. This makes for a happy goth gourmande.

Yellow fin tuna, wasabi, yuzu and avocado $28.60

Continuing the birthday wishlist the menu provides once again with this raw tuna dish, served with a bright fresh yuzu sauce and lotus root chips as if the chef had asked for my favourite foods before I arrived. The meat is light and fresh, not as meaty as some tuna I've eaten but immaculate quality and the flavours mesh perfectly together - a definite must order.

Charcuterie plate $19.80

Three entrees is probably too much but again it's my birthday and another all time favourite has to be charcuterie. This plate doesn't disappoint either; marbled beef carpaccio, prosciutto and pork salami are served with crisp pickles. We are brought more of the sour dough bread to eat it with and the acid of the pickles cuts perfectly through the fat of the meats.



Torbreck 'The Steading' 2007 $93

I love a Grenache Mourvedre with aged beef and after much arguing with myself over the wine menu I chose this Torbreck, sadly the 2006 listed wasn't available but they did have this 2007 which honestly was more than ready for drinking. Torbreck has really made a name for itself as a fantastic Barossa winery and this bottle is no different. The sommelier approaches apologises for the change in vintage, we do the taste and approve dance and then he decants it beautifully using an aerator.



200g Rockdale Fillet with truffle mash and Cafe de Paris butter $51.70

Originally this meal was served with parmesan and truffle fries however I'm not so much one for chips and so changed this order to a truffle mash instead. This may have been my downfall, between the 3 appetizers and the richness of this meal I couldn't eat it all and rather wish I'd ordered it with a salad. Nonetheless the meat was beautifully cooked, dripping in melted Cafe de Paris butter and the truffle mash was rich and flavourful. Definitely worth ordering, think about skipping the entree if you really want to fit it in.

300g Rangers Valley Wagyu Scotch fillet (5+ marble score) with pork sausage and a celeriac remlouade $73.70

I was too full to try all but the smallest amount of my companion's meal but it was beautiful, the pork sausage particularly was spiced well and set off the wagyu. I've never tried the Rangers Valley beef prior to this meal and I must say I was impressed. The chef too knew how to handle the steak, all too often kitchens will leave high marble steak to cool too long while resting and the fat becomes gelatinous; not so here.

Rocket (arugula) salad with walnuts and blue cheese $14

I think we were a little optimistic about how much we could eat, but it's summer and I like a salad with my meal. This was probably the only lowlight of the meal, it wasn't very exciting and could have been dressed more.

No matter how stuffed we were though a celebration meal deserves sweets. Here you can see the chamomile tea that I needed for the illness.

Vanilla creme brulee with macadamia biscotti $18.70

One of the best things about creme brulee has to be cracking the sugar on top so this large flat bowl of brulee was just perfect and filled with extended sugar related glee. The smooth vanilla bean custard underneath was just icing on the cake really.



Petits fours $16.50

Figuring myself to be too full and ill for a whole dessert I ordered petits fours and then was served with an entire platter of the things, so much so that I took most of them home. Mini truffles, quince jam, pistachio nougat, home made marshmallow, mini Cannelles Bourdalaises and mini Madeleines served two by two so you and your companion can share the tastes. Each mini mouthful was wonderful and there was a temptation for every palette. As someone who loves a small bite of many things this was a real delight.

The comment I must make which is sadly not always true was that the service was immaculate. On arrival we are seated and tended to, I point out to the waitress that I am not well and I would like her to bring more water than normal, she courteously refills my glass with my preferred water time and time again without requiring prompting. Eventually when I have drunk significant imported water she makes sure that I still want bottled rather than free water in a very polite manner. Additionally due to being ill I had drunk little of the bottle of wine we had ordered, at the end of the meal they looked sympathetically at me and not only offered to let us take the rest of the bottle but also decanted it back into the bottle and gave us a signature carry bag to take it home in. At no time was I left without my needs attended to but I never felt like the waiters were hovering or imposing; the perfect balance of front of house service to be duly commended.

Some high quality restaurants you go to just to try, others become emotional favourites and this was definitely in the latter category. I am often dubious about celebrity chefs but I can't help but feel that Mangan has earnt his reputation; the menu, food quality, service and decor are on top all the way. I can only recommend Glass for the next time you have a special date or reason to celebrate.

Glass Brasserie at the Sydney Hilton

http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au/

2/488 George Street
Sydney 2000, Australia
(02) 9265 6068

Formal dining atmosphere, private dining available
Bookings advised unless staying in the hotel


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