Happy Easter!!!

Hi everyone! So, Easter has arrived and the only thing I can think about is CHOCOLATE!!! (In an egg shape perferably, but rabbits have bigger ears therefore more chocolate!!) hehe

So, my sweet special this week is an Easter theme involving chocolate! So, take a look at...

Chocolate parfait with a coconut foam and lemon curd filled egg nestled on kataifi pastry and salted caramel

Kataifi is a thin shredded pastry used by the greeks in savoury and sweet dishes. It is lightly coated in clarified butter then baked until golden brown in the oven. I sprinkle icing sugar to add sweetness to the pastry. The egg shell is actually an egg covered in plastic wrap and dipped in tempered dark chocolate. I also added the chocolate meringue sponge to create a different texture compared to all the others presented on the plate.

This week's souffle is...

Passionfruit souffle with Apricot puree, yoghurt sorbet and isomalt sugar garnish



Pure, simple and tastes awesome!!

Sweet bites this week has changed to Yoyos with lemon scented butter cream and rose flavoured marshmallow.

In case you wanted to know what yoyo's were, it's a butter shortcake that is crumbly in texture.

Enjoy more pictures on behind the scenes at CODA! Above is a nest made of toffee, and with a few minutes to spare I poorly decorated an egg with different coloured sharpies..I think my little nephew Lachlan can do a better job hahaha. And another quick shortbread sketch of the easter bunny! HAVE A GREAT EASTER! EAT LOADS OF CHOCOLATE! AND TAKE CARE!

nap nap time before work!

Ciao ciao now xx

The love of all fruit!!!

Hello everyone!!! I am glad to say this week is the start of my new menu change. A couple weeks of trial and error through planning and the result is good! Tell me what you guys think!

Citrus semifreddo with grapefruit, lime, orange, pomegranates

The Semifreddo is a frozen dessert whipping yolks, citrus juices, sugar and a hint of mandarine liqueur together before folding through the whip cream and the zest. While whipping, the bowl is lightly heated while whisking and the mixture becomes a pale light consistency. The base is a thin layer of biscuit crumbs for a different taste and texture and also helps the semifreddo sit on the plate without directly melting straight away. The dish is garnished with candied lemon zest, micro rocket shoots and a beautiful flower called pineapple sage. They are supplied by Sweet Sunflower whom delivers our organic micro herbs and flowers. The flowers are amazing! You get this HIT of pineapple flavour after biting into the petal, then there is this weet pleasant after taste. REFRESHING!!

White chocolate fondant with poached rhubarb and pear sorbet



Fondant is like a self saucing pudding. It is baked to order at 190C for 8 minutes. The pudding is lightly coated in dessicated coconut to add additional texture to the sponge and gooey centre. The rhubarb brings out the tang in the dish while the freshly churned to order pear sorbet produces the refreshing cool effect in your mouth in contrast to the warm creamy pudding. To garnish, a toffee shard brings out the crunch. YUMMY!!!

Vanilla bean creme brulee with Autumn fruits and shortbread

Creamy vanilla brulee always hits the spot! It goes well with everything or even just on it's own! The persimmon, longans and asian pear refreshes your mouth with every bite. A great end to the night. The shortbread is to compliment the brulee and also...because I wanted to eat it! haha

Apple souffle with fresh grapes salad, vanilla bean ice cream and oat crumble

I was thinking about apple pie at the time of thinking up flavours. Some recipes use sultanas or raisins in their apple mix, but i thought, grapes are in season now, why eat the dried stuff when there are nicer fresh grapes from the markets. So I use seedless red and green grapes for the salad. I guess you can call this deconstructed apple pie flavours in souffle format?

Chocolate Truffles

These truffles are suggestions made by my work colleague Renee. Although when she made them, she had hazelnuts and turkish delights in the centre. These are just creamy ganache truffles with a hint of Frangelico, coated in Dutch cocoa powder.

So I guess...there you have it! I hope I have made you salivate over your keyboard just a little. And as a good night gift, I want to share with you what goes on behind the scenes at CODA sometimes... hehehe xoxo

Good night

Xx

My sister Suzii makes Awesome CAKES!!!!

My sister Susan makes awesome cakes and macarons!! She's done a few cake decorating workshops and gets creative at home baking for friends and family. Here are some of her work...

She makes chocolate cake, white choc mud cake, rainbow (as above), butterscotch... the list goes on!! She also makes cupcakes as well!! Here are a few to wanna make you go ..nhom nhom nhom!!

And then..she also makes a few decorations she's learnt from books..

gelatin flowers

Cute figurines

..and many types of flowers (these are just a few).

She is talented by teaching herself to make macarons which are easy yet hard to conquer first time round, and has done a good job into even creating her own flavours.

Neapolitan Macaron: chocolate shell, strawberry shell with a white chocolate fudge filling

Lamington Macaron: Chocolate shell, dark chocolate ganache and jam filling coated in coconut

Jaffa: orange shell with chocolate filling

Susan's top 10 flavours are Ferrero Rocher, Cookies n cream, Green tea, Dinner mint, Jam Doughnut, Neapolitan, Lamington, Butterscotch, Jaffa and Golden Rough.

However, she does have 26 flavours to choose from and there are 11 more in the making.

So, if you would like to order a special cake or some Macarons, please don't hesitate to email her at suziisdelights@gmail.com

The Deanery!

I visited the Deanery, a restaurant on Bligh Place (off Flinders lane between Queens and Elisabeth St). It was fantastic!!! My friend and I went on a Monday and it wasn't overly busy, however that was a good thing because we had the whole top part to ourselves. The cellar was amazing! It took up the whole back wall behind a glass wall and the space of the whole restaurant was simple and beautiful. We sat at the top of the stairs so we could view diners sitting on the bottom.


The food was beautiful. I couldn't help myself but to share through blogging the savouries as well as the sweets with you guys. I'm salivating thinking about the food as I recall and type this.


We started off with homemade sour dough bread. I stuffed my face with it because I was so hungry and it was so good. However, I did regret eating too much bread because when the charcuterie platter came out, it was massive and Oh so GOOD!!! Also worth the value!

Charcuterie Platter

Starting from the left: Spiced venison terrine with pickled cherries, Warialda Belted Galloway bresaola, Rabbit rillettes with prunes, Jamon Serrano and Organic chicken liver parfait with cornichons.

It was awesome!! I loved every bite but became a bit too full for main course. I always finish food and leave nothing to waste, but that night, I was struggling!

My friend 'Mr Food Buddy' (who usually goes to dinner with me once a month) had the Chargrilled lamb shoulder, cracked wheat, peas, fetta, mint. I had the Duck pie, preserved mushrooms and sweet onion puree. We shared slow roasted carrots with parmesan cream and green beans with almonds. It was delicious, and I struggled big time trying to finish it all. The duck pie was very rich, but was cut down by the mushroom which were tangy. The lamb was so soft and everything had a balance. I literally had to go lie down on the floor because I had to straighten my stomach. I just couldn't sit there anymore, I had to get the food down ready for DESSERTS!!!!! So, after half an hour, we ordered....

Steamed lemon curd pudding

The egg shell had more lemon curd to pour on top of the pudding and it was also served with a quenelle of cream. To die for if you love tangy!!

Donelle one of the owners was so kind and gave us an extra treat which was the..

Strawberry and tomato salad with granita

The tomato was surprisingly lovely. It was peeled and soft poached in sugar syrup. It went really well with the strawberry and granite. A beautiful and refreshing end to the meal.

Thank you Donelle for such a lovely evening!!! Sorry I made the Deanery my home, got a little too comfortable and lied down on the floor. OOps. But I can't wait to come back with a few more friends to eat the charcuterie platter again and try other items on the menu!

Please visit http://www.thedeanery.com.au/ for more information and a look at their simple but delicious menu!!

Night Xx