Winter on a Plate

It's light now when we wake up, and the sun is up over Mt Victoria by seven. Even better, it's not dark when we get home from work. It's not exactly broad daylight either, but it's an improvement. We are certainly emerging from winter, and that's a Very Good Thing.

In spite of the dark and cold, we did manage a few good meals over the past couple of months. Problem is I didn't photograph them properly and didn't keep notes, so this post is just a collage of recent snippets from the kitchen, for general inspiration only.

Instead of wrapping salmon in foil and baking in a moderate oven, I've been experimenting with brushing with oil, salt and pepper, searing it in a very hot pan, then roasting it in a very hot oven for about 10 minutes. I won't go back to baking. The sear/roast combo produces firm meaty flesh and the crunchiest skin. The lemons seem to like a good sear and roast too.

If you haven't had Blackrock pork sausages, you probably should. I start them off in a cast iron pan on the stove top, then put them in the oven at 180 for half an hour. Best ever super quick dinner with mashed potatoes and a dollop of mustard. You can get them at Moore Wilson.

We broke with tradition one night and made meatballs from scratch for our spaghetti and meatballs dinner. I won't bother doing it again. It's so much easier to buy a few good quality sausages, snip the ends off and squeeze out meatball sized... well, meatballs.

I'll put this one down to mid-winter maddness. These little works of art are beef olives. An awful lot of work for a pretty average result. They're stuffed with mushrooms and herbs, then stewed in a tomato and red wine sauce.

And yes, they were served with brussells sprouts, which, I hate to admit, were the best tasting thing on this plate!

In contrast, this work of art is a mushroom and fennel lasagne, which I did not cook, but had prepared for me by the other house chef. It was absolutely moreish and amazing.

Roasted fennel and leeks, heaps of wild mushrooms and a few conservative ones, a creamy cheesy bechamel sauce, a silky buffalo mozzarella, all layered up and baked to perfection. It's from the July 2010 Cuisine, and it has an intimidating (to me anyway) ingredient list, but if you're willing to spend the time on it, you will win prizes.