Sharing Melbourne stories with Kathy Paterson last week - you couldn't shut us up. Kathy ventured to the Yarra Valley eating at her fair share of hot spots. Luckily for us she created a recipe for salmon rillettes and these lamb korma pies with red lentils on return so we can have a taste too.
My Melbourne weekend also focused around food too. Highlights were breakfast at Andrew McConnell's Cumulus every day because, as Kathy put it, you don't want to go elsewhere and be disappointed, the crispy fried chicken at Belle's Hot Chicken and a late lunch nestled in to the window seat at Bar Lourinha (also by Andrew McConnell) where this grilled cos heart with free-range fish eggs pleased me greatly.
Ray McVinnie is bored... bored with people saying they are bored with winter vegetables so he's pulled together a get the idea column to assist in turning swedes, cabbage, brussels sprouts, silverbeet and parsnips in to exciting vegetables.
And as much as Ray is saying don't be a bore, Warren is saying get stuffed. Stuff a buttercup, a fish, a duck, some chicken... or whatever else you have that will hold a mix of deliciousness. Aaron is on the same page with his savoury buckwheat crepes stuffed full of more goodness than I thought possible.
It's the shortest day this Sunday and one of Louise Thompson's strategies to help beat the winter blues is to be social. We can help with that - phone a few friends and book them in for a mid-winter dinner, we have same fantastic menus coming up over the next few weeks, or make a winter fishing date so you too can have a snapper to stuff.
More recipes from this week's Bite magazine:
• Potato and cauliflower curry
• Ask Peter: Hummus
• All in a day's work: Emma the bookkeeper
• Beehive bacon and lentil soup
- nzherald.co.nz