As every festive season goes by, I tend to forget the irresistible overexposure to sugar from boxes of Lindt petit deserts, Guylian’s marine life truffle art, Ferrero Rocher’s classic hazelnut balls and of course, the Cadbury Celebrations and Milk Trays. Chocolate marketeers must love this time of year – the spirit of giving is well and truly alive in the giving of chocolate. If Christmas was to have an icon – why shouldn’t it be chocolate? And so, with a tummy, heart and undoubtedly, a series of clogged arteries from eating way too many chocolates, my sweet little bubble cakes treated me to another chocolate slice of Paris for my birthday with the decadent and indulgent Lenôtre Afternoon High Tea at the Sofitel Wentworth.
My Darjeeling Summer tea transported me to heaven. The humid claustrophobic December weather outside was now a distant memory. Suddenly, in this private lounge surrounded by socialites and worldly ‘corporate types’, it was just us and heaven in a teacup.
Our tiered stand adorned with chocolate cones made from the freshest cream and strawberries. The music: ambient lounge, the cutlery: Villeroy & Boch, the tea: Ronnefeldt and the coffee: Vittoria.
A slice of ‘Opera’. To be enjoyed half-inch to half-inch to half-inch… followed by citron tarts, also to be enjoyed bit by bit by bit.
After 2 hours… the feeling was still rich but incredibly light. There is something so luxurious about pouring tea and then to be treated to Lenôtre cakes. We were then joined by three other guests, festooned in designer yellows, cruise collection white hats and Louis Vuitton bags to boot.
After 3 hours… Oh my god we’ve been here for 3 hours? We capped off with more decadent finger sandwiches and coffee, full of feel-good vibes. The cakes were lush, the tea was healing and the romance was high. What a beautiful afternoon!
Filed under: Food, Photography | Leave a Comment
Some sort of stir-fry
Tentative pre-planning of our next European holiday has brought back wonderful memories of us travelling in the winter time. In a land that is or until recently, use to be perpetually blessed by sunlight and hot, muggy evenings, I miss walking through snow ladened streets with fog steaming out of me with every step. I remember glancing at Nicholas and behind me, were the roaring mountains of Zakopane. The trees faraway were topped with a fresh cream of powder and the icicles seemed to ethereally melt with the sun. The memories seem to have taken a life of their own as we now turn to visiting Scandinavia for the first time in our lives. Even though it will be summer, it will be so inspiring to walk the streets of Stockholm and spend hours in an Icelandic thermal lagoon. The thought gives me shivers and it’s no wonder that after a day of work, I felt like some sort of pseudo-European inspired dinner.
I’m going to make a beef peppercorn stir-fry with potato soup.
Nicholas looked at me quizzically but I knew I was onto a winner. The Asian-inspired beef peppercorn with beef stir fry strips in an oyster, cracked black peppercorn and cherry tomato sauce served on a hotbed of jasmine rice had a great balance between the Australian humidity and my European nostalgia. At the same time, the creamy potato and leek soup on buttered sourdough bread was enough to transport me to old town Warsaw again.
Beef Stir Fry in Black Peppercorn Oyster Sauce
500g beef ’stiry fry’ strips
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 tbsp oyster sauce
10 tbsp chicken stock
2 tbsp freshly cracked black peppercorn
5 spring onions, diced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
4 cherry tomatoes, blanched, seeded and diced
Fresh coriander
Salt and pepper to taste
In a saucepan, boil the carrots and blanch the cherry tomatoes. After 30 seconds, remove the cherry tomatoes and peel, seed and dice them. Let the carrots boil gently until tender
Heat a skillet with the oil until very hot. Toss the beef strips, garlic and peppercorns and stir-fry for about 4-5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and add the spring onions for a minute whilst continually stir frying.
Add the chicken stock, oyster sauce, cherry tomatoes and coriander and allow the flavours to infuse and the sauce to thicken for 2 minutes. Dice the carrots and add it to the beef. Cover the skillet and allow everything to simmer for a few minutes.
Serve immediately on jasmine rice or with some bread.
For the potato soup, I tried Bea’s recipe (albeit, without salmon) and it was exquisite. Unfortunately, there was no sage or bay leaves lying around so I added coriander leaves instead which gave a lovely kick.
Nicholas’ Watermelon Juice
1/4 watermelon
1 cup of water
1 punnet fresh strawberries
Half a handful of cherries
Some ice
In a blender, mix all ingredients until a smooth and well-blended texture is achieved. Serve fresh.
And so we had our decadent dinner picnic on the floor of our Sydney apartment, dreaming of Icelandic scenescapes.
Filed under: Food, General | Leave a Comment
Tags: Beef, Cooking, Food, Juice, Life, Stir Fry
