Palings @ The Ivy, Sydney

Not everything about The Ivy has to be considered expensive. Until the end of August (Monday-Friday), Palings at The Ivy offers $35 for 2 courses, with a beer or wine. You are able to pick from the salads, mains and desserts. The deal is available for all of lunch, however for dinner it is only available between 6-7pm (with a slight leeway to 8pm).

Palings is located at the back of level one, furthest away from the entrance. I went with my family, so we shared a lot of the dishes which allowed us to get a combination of salads, mains and desserts.

Sauté of mushrooms, walnuts, peas, broad beans, 

pickled onions, sesame yoghurt dressing 

A lovely warm salad to start of the night. All the components accompanied each other well, however, I found the pickled onions to become overpowering over time. 

Watercress, smoked trout and coriander with soft egg, ricotta, toasted almond and pumpkin seed 

Another lovely fresh salad! The smoked trout with egg and watercress reminded me of something you eat for brunch! There was a hint of spice in the dressing as well.

Rangers Valley rump steak, spinach, fries, paris butter (300g grain fed) 

The rump steak was cooked to right degree for all those who ordered it. It was a great serving size for the price we were paying for dinner. 

Friday Roast - Pork belly with apple sauce 

I opted for the roast of the day, because we can never say no to pork belly right? The serving size was more than I expected. There was also the layer of crispy pork skin! The roasted vegetables was a great side. Perfect for a cold winter night.

Strawberry mascarpone

Dessert! We ended up sharing 2 desserts, but it seems like I didn't take a photo of the other dessert which was cookie and peanut butter ice cream sandwich. The desserts are provided by Lorraines Patisserie, which is located downstairs from the Ivy. The strawberry mascarpone was DELICIOUS! The layers of strawberry and mascarpone cream were delectable. Not exactly sure what the cake layers were made from, but the top was blow torched, so I think it may have been meringue or almond based. Either way, the slight caramelisation added the extra oomph.

Palings was a great place to dine, and we went on a Friday night, where there was a lively atmosphere all around. You are able to make reservations for the deal! 

Good food, good times!

100TH POST! Easter Tea Party

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! But also a HAPPY 100TH POST! I am not sure if it is really a milestone, but to me it seems to be. After blogging for almost 2 years, I continue to find joy with it, and hopefully it is helpful to some people. Anyways, going on with Easter, my girlfriends decided to host a high tea at my house, where everyone was to bring a savoury and sweet dish. It was a great first high tea, and hopefully be one of many catch ups! 

My contribution was a Strawberry and Watermelon Cake (the famous one from black star pastry), however the cake part didn't quite turn out, so instead it became a tart (by using puff pastry and used baking beads to flatten it). So I will definitely be trying this recipe again, if you are after the recipe it can be found here on Gourmet Traveller: strawberry and watermelon cake recipe. 

Collection of tea pots

Victorian style tea set that has been with the family for years

My Easter display, lindt chocolates in a basket

Ham, cheese & cucumber, and turkey, spinach & avocado sandwiches

Hedgehog slice

Mini pandan cupcakes and vanilla, coconut, pandan tarts

Date pastries and toasted oregano and tomato sandwiches

Strawberry and watermelon tart

Cross section of the tart

The tart and I

The lovely girls! xx

Good food, good times!

Black Star Pastry @ Newtown

As part of Crave Sydney International Food Festival 2012, Newtown Precinct created Taste of Newtown Food Festival. This was a month long event where various restaurants of the Newtown Precinct offered food deals to diners. As the website said 'Surry Hills is sooooo 2010 – eat your way around Newtown instead…'. Therefore, for my Newtown fix I went to Black Star Pastry with a few friends. The deal was 2 coffees/hot chocolates, 2 savouries and 2 sweets for $25!

When I first laid eyes on the strawberry watermelon cake and chocolate eclair a few years ago I have been a fan of Black Star Pastry . Ever since then, every trip to Newtown involves a visit to Black Star Pastry.

Lamb & Red wine Pie

Australia is known for meat pies, and Black Star Pastry can deliver a damn good meat pie! I didn't even need to add too much tomato sauce, and it was perfect temperature to enjoy without burning my tongue.

Beef sausage roll

This was my friends dish, and she said it was nice, and definitely better than the ones are uni (which are the frozen packet ones).

Proscuitto and rocket in olive infused bread 

I didn't get the chance to try this but my friend said it was really nice. She enjoyed the olive infused bread.

Mushroom, spinach, feta and cheese toasted sandwich 

My friend that tried this stated that she had never had anything like this before. I took a bite, and it was very mushroomy, so if you enjoy mushrooms this is the sandwich for you!

Chocolate & lime tort and Strawberry & watermelon cake

Strawberry & watermelon cake and Raspberry creme brulee tart

The chocolate and lime tort was very interesting, definitely not a dessert for everyone. The layers of chocolate cake and ganache helped the intensity of the lime jelly, however there was still a strong hit of lime. Out of all 4 of us, only myself and one of the other girls liked it. If you enjoy desserts that have a tangy twist, this will be for you.

The raspberry creme brulee tart is a simple delight. With the fusion of a vanilla custard and raspberry centre, it is a perfect treat for a quick sugar hit.

As I said earlier in the post, the strawberry and watermelon cake can never go wrong. Fresh layers of cake, watermelon, cream and topped with strawberries and jelly = Summer in your mouth. Everything about this cake is delightful, the only annoying part is that you can't eat it perfectly. Even though the layers may break apart, it is one of the reason I always go back to Black Star Pastry, an all time favourite.

Good food, good times!

Vanilla brulee tarts with strawberry purée

A crazy amount of 21st birthdays have been approaching, and along with gifts, I like providing some sweet delights. In this case, I decided to make some tarts (I got a bit bored of making cakes). I have always wanted to make tarts, and I finally got around to it.

This recipe is by the famous Bourke St Bakery. Unfortunately, mine didn't taste as good, but I never expected them to. Furthermore, due to some time restrictions and not the greatest blow torch, I couldn't quite get the burnt sugar effect on top.

Also, lucky for me, my sister had a whole bunch of pastry left over from a previous tart she made so I didn't have to make the shortcrust pastry. But the recipe she used was   a Matt Moran, sweet shortcrust pastry as seen on MasterChef Australia: http://www.masterchef.com.au/recipes/sweet-shortcrust-pastry.htm

Vanilla brulee tarts with strawberry puree
Makes 20 (8cm tart)
**I used a large round tart pan (~23-25cm) and 5 small tart cases (8cm)

Ingredients

Vanilla Custard
720 ml of thickened cream
1 vanilla bean (or equivalent = 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste)
10 egg yolks
80g (1/3 cup) caster sugar

Strawberry Puree
250g strawberries, washed and hulled
120g caster sugar



Method:
Vanilla Custard
1. In a saucepan combine vanilla into the cream.

2. Bring to the boil over high heat, as soon as it boils remove from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes.

3. Place egg yolks in a large stainless steel bowl. Add the sugar to the egg yolks and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.

 4. Pour the slightly cooled cream through a sieve over the egg yolks (discarding the vanilla bean pod - if used, and further removing any lumps.)

5. Whisk the mixture to combine.
6. Put the stainless bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water.

7. Continue stirring the mixture with a whisk for 10-15 minutes, or until smooth and thick - continually scrape sides of bowl with rubber spatula.
**NOTE: Do not stop mixing or the mixture will curdle (i.e. the eggs begin to cook).

8. Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk briskly for about 2 minutes to cool the mixture.
9. Once the mixture is off the heart, whisk the mixture every 10 minutes for 1 hour.

10. Place plastic wrap on top of the mixture and refrigerate over night.

Strawberry puree
1. Combine strawberries and sugar into a food processor (blender and hand stick blender will do the same job) until smooth.
2.  Wrap and refrigerate until needed. 

Pastry
1. Roll out the pastry until about 3mm thick. (using flour to prevent sticking)

2. Using the rolling pin, place the pastry into the case and pinch in the sides. Cutting off any excess pastry.
3. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven at 190 degrees Celsius.

5. Place greaseproof paper over the top of the tarts, and fill with weighing beads (or uncooked rice)

6. Bake for 15 minutes.

7. Remove greaseproof paper and beads, and bake for another 10 minutes or until light brown.

8. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool before filling.

Assembly
1. Spoon about 3/4 teaspoon of strawberry purée into the base of the tart shell (that is for the 8cm cases, for the big tart I probably put equivalent to a few tablespoons).

2. Pipe the custard into the tart shells (this is so the strawberry purée stays in the centre). **NOTE: I just spooned the custard around the strawberry purée and put a dollop at the top, this works as well as long as your are gentle.

3. Smooth the top of the tart.

4. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

5. Sprinkle a teaspoon of caster sugar on top of the custard and burn with a blow torch until caramelised. (This step doesn't have to be done, but to get the full effect it is advised.)

Going on with the time restrictions, the custard in the big tart case didn't set as well as the custard in the small tart cases, but regardless, it was still tasty.

Good food, good times!