2016 Christmas Baking

Full of amazing ideas for next year! Especially love the candied peanuts!

I really don’t want to worry anyone, but I had to let all you bakers know that Stir Up Sunday is only a week away…I think that means there are only five Christmas baking weeks left! So, it seems like a good time to remind you about the Christmas baking recipes on the blog, which are all linked in the list at the bottom of the page, as well as a few of my favourites from elsewhere on the web.

I also wanted to let you know a bit about my baking plans, so for those who are into a bit of baking nerdery, read on! This post is duplicating a process I did as an experiment in 2014. I had started a list here of my Christmas baking (I usually write one on paper) – what I was planning on making, and when, and noting stages as they were…

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Need New Year’s Canapes? – here’s 14 quick, easy, make ahead ideas

Good canapes + drinks = a great event – and so easy to do at home.

Step 1:

Send the invites

Step 2:

Make ahead and freeze everything you can.

Step 3:

Make ahead the rest

Step 4:

Make room, hang lights, organise platters and glasses

Step 5:

Final assembly

Step 6:

Welcome guests, pour drinks, pass around canapes

Savoury ideas

Dill scones with smoked salmon dip, cucumber, aioli, smoked salmon and dill

Cinnamon and brown sugar pear, blue cheese dip, date, walnut pikelets

Cinnamon and brown sugar roast sweet potato slices with hummus and olive

Roasted potato slices with roasted carrot and cummin dip and semi dried tomatoes

Baby pea and feta cheese pikelets with sour cream and sweet chilli sauce for dipping

Sweet corn chorizo and cheese mini-muffins

Red curry, broccoli and coconut soup (originally made with carrot but great with any vegetable)

Couscous, pumpkin, chickpea, date salad (for something more filling)

Spanish potato frittata

Pinwheel smoked oyster, cream cheese and cumin sandwiches

Crumbled mince pie Christmas ice-creams

Mini trifles

Cheesecake marble brownies

Coffee almond meringues

For more recipes go to:

Finger food ideas

No. 10 – Woden’s new spot for a worker’s weekday lunch

Number 10 is the new kid on the block in the Woden Departmental District and clearly very popular for pre-Christmas catch ups. It’s taken over from Smoque at the bottom of the Abode Hotel on Bowes Street.

It offers three great $15 lunch specials and I particularly like the look of the salad and the steak.

https://www.instagram.com/number10restaurantandbar/

In + Out Lunch $15

Skirt Steak – Chargrilled skirt steak with Café de Paris butter and fries

Fish + Chips- Beer battered fish and chips with No. 10 remoulade sauce and a cucumber and fennel slaw

Roast Pumpkin Salad – Salad of roast pumpkin, roast sweet potato, cos lettuce, pine nuts and fetta

However, on my first visit we were road testing the two salads listed under the small plates.

My Beet Salad was excellent! A perfect amount and full of tasty, well balanced flavored and textures. A great light lunch but some may want to order a side of bread.

Beet Salad – Pickled beetroots with goats curd, candied and pickled walnuts, radish, celery hearts, honey vinaigrette $17 ($24 main size)

My dining partner tried the Calamari Salad – also a good choice.

Calamari – Flashed fried squid with citrus salt, caramelised pineapple, coriander, cucumber, mint and orange syrup $18

Also, very popular for lunch is the Chicken and Waffles – Buttermilk & Bourbon fried chicken with waffles, maple aioli, cress and lemon $21.

https://www.instagram.com/number10restaurantandbar/

But I do think I’d have to have the Beet Salad again next time I’m back, it was so very good!

Burbury Terrace High Tea

The Burbury Terrace is one of Canberra’s High Tea specialty venues, competitively priced with a great view.

High Tea is $50 per person with and extra $10 for sparking wine.

The menu includes sandwiches….

…scones….

….and sweet treats.

While the ambiance and range may not be the same as the Hyatt Hotel, tea and coffee is bottomless and guests are welcome to take home anything they didn’t get to enjoy.

But remember High tea is also great to do DIY!

Paramount Coffee Project, Surry Hills – SMH’s Good Food Guide’s 2017 Cafe of the Year

Never missing an opportunity to try a Good Food Guide hot tip, we braced the rain to try the Paramount Coffee Project, an easy walk from Central Station, on Commonwealth Street, for breakfast.

Wanting to try some of the innovative dishes we shared the very delicious Creole Jambalaya with chorizo, smoked barramundi, charred squash smothered cabbage and caramelised lemon $19.50

….. and the Key lime pie waffle with coconut lime and pepper slice, macerated berries, salted Nutella ganache and green apple $19.50, very moorish, but definitely best shared.

The open spaces are very welcome and while very popular, it’s not too hard to grab a table.

Claypot Chef – in my top 10 for Canberra!

The Claypot Chef has been on my wishlist ever since Karen Really Likes Food did that magnificent piece on Chef Udaya.

Now that the warm weather is here, it was a perfect time to head to the Farrer Shops to sit out front with a lovely no corkage BYO wine and a bunch of friends to share some of the best Sri Lankan food I’ve ever had.

When we arrived Udaya was busy in the kitchen preparing that Sri Lankan signature dish Kothu Roti. The sound of chopping on the hot plate brought back many fond travel memories.

However, Udaya is the consummate host and he quickly arrived at our table with wine and water glasses and complimentary pappadoms. In fact he keep the water filled all night and returned with more pappadoms.

Based on our past enjoyment and Karen’s recommendations – we chose for our group of six, one dish each of the Green Bean Curry $11 with spices and coconut milk…

…Sri Lankan Black Pork Curry $17…..

…Devilled Chicken $15….

…one large rice $3…..

…one roti each $2 each…

And we doubled up on then Lamprias, that classic Dutch Burger Sri Lankan lunch box in a banana leaf oven-baked with a pork/chicken, a fish ball, deep fried egg, potato, eggplant, seeni sambol and spiced rice – delicious!

The real stand out stars were the Pork and Green Bean curries, roti and Lamprias. Udaya also arrived with some complimentary Coconut Sambol (usually $5) which was a perfect condiment – I will get that every time!

Nothing was too much trouble for Udaiya and to complete our meal he brought us some complimentary traditional Portuguese settler inspired Love Cakes – delicious!

We had food left (may have only needed one Lamprais) all for less than $16 per person.

Claypot Chef has won a firm spot on my top favourites in Canberra.

Do drop by over Summer and try it for yourself.

Closed Mondays and Christmas to 11 January for a break – Claypot Chef is usually open Tues to Thurs for dinner 4-8pm and Fri-Sun 10-8pm for lunch and dinner.

Take-away is also hugely popular.

Phone: 62868081 or 0404074440

Poacher’s Pantry – a perfect Country Lunch for a very special day out!

Poacher’s Pantry, just out of Canberra, on the Nanima Road is looking very beautiful after her recent makeover.

With extended opening hours for the Christmas season and a special tasting menu, I was very impressed by how well they have created a very relaxed and gorgeous lunch experience.

Whether you choose to go for one of the shared platters, or the full $59 four course menu I’d really recommend taking the lovely opportunity to meet Sarah, Cellar Door Manager, who will help you choose your Wily Trout Vineyard Wine.

We were very impressed with the locally grown (as in just down the road) wines and bagged several to take home.

Wily Trout Premium Pinot Chardonnay 2013 $35 , Blanc de Blanc NV, Wily Trout Sauvignon Blanc 2016 $25, Wily Trout Chardonnay 2014 $25, Wily Trout Rosé 2016 $24, Wily Trout Sauvignon Blanc 2016 $25, Wily Trout Pinot Noir 2015 $28, Wily Trout Shiraz 2014 $27

Our absolute favourites were the vintage pinot chardonnay, rose and pinot noir.

However, the rose was the perfect match for our Christmas Tasting Menu…

$59 per person

Carrot & ginger gazpacho, seared yellow fin tuna, passionfruit

Pissaladière bread, green asparagus, wild rocket leaves, tallegio cheese, Poachers classic prosciutto

Ocean trout, tomato chilli jam, smoked garlic aioli, eggplant, oven dried tomatoes

Poachers smoked chicken breast, cos, pear, cottage cheese

Baked chocolate mousse, strawberries, coriander, cream, cherry sorbet

All amazing dishes!

Wine pairing is also available at $25per person

Trading Hours

Smokehouse Restaurant

Brunch Sat & Sun 9:30 – 11:30am

Lunch Fri – Sun 12:00 – 3:00pm

Christmas season only

Lunch Monday 19th – Thursday 22nd 12:00 – 3:00pm

Lunch Monday 27th – Thursday 29th 12:00 – 3:00pm

Closed

Boxing Day, 1st – 3rd January 2017

Aubergine, Griffith – Canberra’s two hatted restaurant

Aubergine is the Good Food Guide’s number one pick in Canberra, described as one of the country’s best restaurants. It remains the only two-hatted restaurant in Canberra.

I had it saved for a special celebration, and last week I finally had the chance to try the dynamic and changing menu that prides itself on innovative combinations of local produce in new and imaginative ways.

The decor and service set the scene for elegant fine dining and Cyril, Aubergine’s French sommelier, deserves all the praise he receives in reviews.

We were also well looked after by Marta, who was equally knowledgeable about the menus, warm and thoughtful.

The menu is a set four courses for $90 with an additional chef’s starter plate of savouries. These were one of the highlights of the meal.

Parmesan crisp with cheese fondue

Smoked potato crisp and raspberry salt

Nori cracker with cured blue mackerel, almond cream and cucumber

……all very delicious.

The next course was also fixed, and equally good, sweet and sour sardines with asparagus, grilled avocado and quail egg.

For Entree we chose:

Kingfish ceviche,green mango, nectarine, tomato and kaffir lime

There was the option to add some sea urchin for an additional $8 per person – which I don’t think we would worry about doing again.

Seared wagyu sirloin, smoked eel cream, eggplant jelly and daikon

I didn’t realise that this was a beef tartare dish or I may have chosen the Quail ballotine with purple carrots, beetroot, iso and ume plum sauce instead.

The Mains we selected were the:

Poached John Dory, braised lettuce, celtuce, seaweed and mussels

and the Lamb rump with sweetbreads, caramelised endive and black garlic.

But the pick of the mains was the Pork belly grilled over charcoal, with roasted and pickled fennel and cherries as this had the best flavours.

The bread and cured butter was also lovely.

Thanks

Desserts that we chose were:

…the Brown butter ice cream, almond praline and frozen lemon myrtle milk. It’s easy to see why this is the signature dish that remains constant on the dessert menu..

..and the Capsicum sorbet, red fruits and berries , tapioca and shiso.

There was also the options to swap dessert for a cheese course.

However, the Chocolate Ganache Cake with ginger cream, maple and miso ice cream at another table looked particularly magnificent.

An excellent choice for a special night!

Salad inspiration for summer!

Five Beans Food’s very impressive salad post this week has inspired me to post again about easy ways to create delicious and exciting salads, just in time for the holidays!

Do check out Five Beans Food’s Salad Friday – a Feast of Salads for some brilliant ideas.

And do you remember Great quick and easy mix and match salad idea that wows?

What’s your top salad tip?

The Boathouse by the Lake, Canberra – excelling at private functions!

The Boathouse by the Lake may well be Canberra’s best spot for function dining. This is where they really excel. Food and wine is elegant, delicious and well priced. Staff and service is delightful. The setting is perfect. But most of all, they offer a real sense of generosity.

A well set out Private Dining Function Brochure explains the options well.

Choose from three rooms, East End looking more towards Kingston Foreshore…

…Walters, looking more towards Kings Avenue Bridge and Russell…

…or West End, looking straight across the lake and more towards Kings Avenue Bridge.

All have access to lovely decks, although East End and West End are larger.

The minimum spend, particularly at lunch time, is very reasonable – $1,100 for lunch January and April to October, $2,500 in peak times of Nov-Dec and Feb-Mar.

Menu Options start at $77 per person for 3 courses. The beverages packages are particularly good starting at $31 per person for three hours for lovely Canberra wines, draught beer, juice and soft drinks.

Also good value is the Corporate Two Course Luncheon with 2 hours of beverages for $90 per person.

We were there for a Christmas Party dinner for 23 people and after much consideration we chose:

6 savouries $21 per person (3 is $12) to allow for plenty of time to mix and mingle on the deck…