Italian Cooking Class @ Stella Star Coorparoo

For my birthday this year, my friend took me for a 3 hours Italian cooking class and dinner. It was conducted at a restaurant in Coorparoo called Stella Star.

In the class we learnt how to make cannolo and ravioli. I have never made my own pasta, so this was quite an experience for me. It turned out to be quite an easy exercise. All I need now is a pasta rolling machine! :)

We started by mixing the dough for the pasta. According to this recipe, it does not require any resting time. We started rolling the pasta straightaway to the thinnest consistency and filled it with the ravioli mix.

As for the cannolo, the dough needed to be rested for at least an hour. The chef/teacher explained the process to the class and prepared the dough for us.

When it was ready, we rolled and cut the cannoli dough into squares. Then, it was rolled onto a metal tube and to be deep fried.

The sage butter sauce for the ravioli and cannoli filling was prepared by the chef/teacher.

The end result? A plate of delicious food. Fresh pasta tasted so much better than packet pasta.

The cannolo was crunchy and the filling was very delicious too!

Thanks M for the lovely cooking class present.  I had fun and was inspired to make my own pasta!



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Jamie's Italian Restaurant

Jamie’s Italian was on my short-list of restaurants to visit in Sydney. We saw on their website that no reservations were required for booking of less than 6 people. When we turned up for dinner on a Friday night, we were told that there was a 2 ½ hours wait for a table. It was 7.30pm, I was famished and didn’t want to wait till 10pm for dinner! We decided to go somewhere else and come back the next day for lunch.

The next day, which was also our last day in Sydney, we decided to go early to make sure we got a table. We reached just before 12 noon and most of the tables were still empty. Phew!

The lighting was a bit dark in the restaurant and my pictures did not turn out well. So, please forgive me for that.

The dishes were quite reasonably priced, which took me by surprise. Some of the Italian restaurants in Brisbane’s suburbs are charging a lot more than that. With that in mind, I was not hesitant to order a couple of dishes.

I ordered Prawn Linguine ($16) for entree and Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder with Polenta for mains ($22). The Prawn Linguine was mind-blowing with a great big chilli hit. I did not expect it to be that spicy, but it really liked it!

The pork shoulder fell off the bone and was moist and tender. The crispy crackling was a wonderful contrast against the smooth textured polenta. There was also a slightly zesty taste which helped to tie the dish together. Yum!

The other dishes ordered from my table were Crispy Squid ($12), Risotto Milanese ($21), Osso Bucco ($26), Specials of the Day Bruschetta with Pumpkin ($12.50) and Specials of the Day Pasta ($24.50).

Apart from the crispy squid which was quite ordinary and risotto which was too rich and buttery for our tastes, everything else was amazing!

We really enjoyed the meal and would definitely recommend it!


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Gusto Da Gianni

Gusto Da Gianni is a modern waterfront restaurant with a taste of Italy. With a relaxed atmosphere, cool breeze, an extensive Italian menu and staff that speak with an Italian accent: this is as close to Italy as you can get.

It brings back all the happy memories I had last year on my trip to Italy. Coincidentally, I was meeting up with a friend and showing her the photo book from my trip to Italy. Our excitement and appetite grew as we went through the pictures of Italian sights and food.

We ordered Bruschetta Di Pomodorini ($12.50) to start our meal. It is a classic entree with three pieces of crusty Italian bread with fresh tomato, basil and olive oil.

Being a seafood lover, I ordered the Linguinie Allo Scoglio ($27) for mains. It was a generous plate of linguini with a seafood mix of clams, mussels, scallops, calamari and prawns on a light garlic, chilli, cherry tomatoes, parsley and olive oil sauce. The linguini was cooked al dente but I think the sauce could have done with a bit more seasoning or chilli.

My friend ordered the Cannelloni Di Pollo ($25). It was a bowl of homemade cannelloni stuffed with poached chicken ragout with Napoli and Bechamel Sauce. It looked rustic and delicious.

For desserts, we shared Chocolate Almond Tart with Hazelnut Icecream ($15?) and Churros Con Chocolate ($15?).

I found the chocolate tart a bit too rich and hard to cut through. However, I really enjoyed the hazelnut icecream.

As for the churros, it was very crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. The chocolate dipping sauce was great.

You know you are having a good time when you lose track of time. I am used to having a quick dinner, so sitting in a restaurant for 2.5 hours without realising the time tells a lot in how much I enjoyed being there.



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Il Vagabondo

We were introduced to the existence of this restaurant by Dan’s parents. After hearing many good comments about the food, we decided to give it a try.

It is located behind The Village Upper Mt Gravatt Shopping Centre. The ambience looks a bit plain and ordinary from outside. As we walked into the restaurant, we were greeted by their friendly host, Giovani (John). The plain ambience gradually transformed into a homely feel.

When the food reached our table, we were surprised by the size of our pasta dishes. It definitely represented the generosity of Sicilian (Italian) cuisine. Our initial doubt of not being able to finish the dish diminished when we had our first bite. We love the beautiful flavour combination on the dish: texture of al dente pasta, sweetness of tomatoes, spiciness of chilli, freshness of parsley and perfectly cooked crustaceans. It’s definitely the best pasta I’ve had. (Mind you, the chilli flakes and pepper can be quite spicy!)

Linguini with Moreton Bay Bugs

Spaghetti Gamberi

Their Cannoli is a must try.  I couldn’t decide between vanilla or chocolate filling, so I ended up getting half and half.

Cannoli with Vanilla and Chocolate filling

The only thing I wasn't impressed with is their tortes.  The liqueur taste was too strong for my liking.

Torte al Italiana

Torte al gelato

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Tiramisu

Tiramisu is definitely one of my favourites. Not only it is easy to make, it is very tasty too. What can go wrong with mixing coffee and cream?

I found pictures dated back in 2005 where I made the first Tiramisu for Christmas. Since then, it has been my tradition to have it every year....almost! Here are some pictures of Tiramisu I have made recently.

I am quite pleased to see the improvement in the cake presentation.

This is the adapted recipe from Y3K Cookbooks.

Ingredients:
1 packet of sponge fingers

Coffee mixture:
75 grams of instant coffee granules
500 ml boiling water
50 ml of Kahlua liqueur

Tiramisu Cream:
5 egg yolks
250 grams of castor sugar
250 grams of mascarpone cheese
500 grams of whipping cream

1. To make coffee mixture, dissolve instant coffee in boiling water. Mix in Kahlua liqueur after the mixture has cooled down.

2. To make the Tiramisu cream, beat egg yolks and sugar on high speed until soft peaks form. Add in mascarpone cheese and beat on medium speed until well-combined.

3. In a separate bowl, beat whipping cream until firm.

4. Fold in whipped cream into no 2.

5. To assemble the cake, dip sponge fingers in coffee mixture. Place in a single layer over the loose-bottomed baking pan.

6. Spread half the tiramisu cream over sponge fingers.

7. Repeat layers with sponge fingers dipped in coffee mixture and tiramisu cream.

8. Refrigerate overnight and decorate as you wish.
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Schiacciata Con Fragole

This was inspired by yesterday’s Masterclass (MasterChef Australia). After watching Michael Klausen show the contestants how to bake Schiacciata Con L'uva, I decided to try it myself. I replaced grapes with strawberries and called this Schiacciata Con Fragole, meaning ‘with pressed strawberries’.

I cheated a bit by using an electric mixer with dough hook attachment instead of mixing it traditionally by hand ;-)

Ingredients:
420 gram plain unbleached flour
10g instant dried yeast
10g salt
10g extra virgin olive oil
285g water

1. Pour all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix it with an electric mixer with dough hook attachment until well mixed.

2. Cover the dough with glad wrap and let it rest for 5 minutes.

3. Transfer the dough to the table and knead it for a minute.

4. Then, oil a clean bowl and transfer the dough to this new bowl. Cover this with glad wrap and let it proof for 1 hour.

5. Take the dough out of the bowl and fold it 4 ways into a square. Round the dough and put it back in the bowl. Cover it with glad wrap again and let it proof for another 30 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 210°C.

7. Divide the dough into 2 portions.

8. Stretch the dough into an oval or round shape on a greaseproof paper.

9. Gently press strawberries on the dough.

10. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the dough.

11. Sprinkle some granulated sugar on top.

11. Bake it for 15 minutes.

The Masterclass video from MasterChef Australia is available from the link below (this may not be viewable on other regions outside Australia):
http://www.masterchef.com.au/video.htm?channel=Full+Episodes+Complete&clipid=2729_548MC170610CR&bitrate=300&format=flash 
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Basil Pesto with Chicken Pasta

The basil plant in our garden is thriving and becoming more like a bush than a plant. After it was planted by my father-in-law, the bees went crazy with pollinating it. At one point, it was surrounded with a swarm of bees that we could not go anywhere near it.

There is no way for the two of us to use that much basil in our cooking. A brilliant idea came up while I was cleaning the fridge. I threw out a bottle of expired pesto and decided that I could make one with the fresh herbs from my garden.

Ingredients:
2 cups of basil leaves
2 cloves of garlic
45g pine nuts
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
140g grated parmesan

Cut a bunch of fresh basil leaves from the garden. Wash and dry the leaves. Sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice on the leaves to prevent oxidization.

Grind pine nuts, garlic and parmesan in the food processor for 30 seconds.

Mix in the basil leaves and continue grinding. Gradually pour the olive oil. Continue grinding until a smooth consistency is reached. Transfer to an air-tight container and store it in the fridge. Fresh pesto lasts up to a week in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer.

I mixed mine in a bowl of pasta with pan-fried chicken and semi-dried tomatoes. Yum! :)

Next, I will try to make chilli paste from the fresh chillis in my garden. Stay tuned.
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