Caz & Johnny's Christmas in July (4 July 2009)

Aussie-style Christmas in July

Our hosts Caz & Johnny deck the halls with plenty of cheerful Christmas decorations and set the scene for a fun and homely Christmas in July. The main dish is their roast lamb and pork and there's plenty of food with everyone's side dishes added to the table. Funny Kris Kringle presents add plenty of laughter to the day along with liberal amounts of wine, beer and champagne which are kept cold in the bath tub esky. Perhaps dessert should have been a Christmas fruit pudding with warm custard but I felt more confident preparing a lighter dish of meringue with mixed berries and passionfruit. The eggnog served was delicious and I'll have to remember to get the recipe. I'm sometimes a fan of the light Italian wines like Lambrusco and today I discovered Sparking Moscato which is also low in alcohol and tasted pretty good.

Whose made eggnog before?

The food

Dips and crackers

Cheese and crackers

Turkey slices

Charcoal chicken

Potato salad

Falafel and vegetarian sausages

Mash potato

Roasted vegetables

Side condiments

Potato gratin

Roast pork and lamb

Simon's first helpings of a bit of everything

Eggnog

Meringue with whipped cream, mixed berries and fresh passionfruit, Chef Leong :-)

Sparkling moscato and Kris Kringle cat-a-pult swimming in bubbles

The Christmas decorations

The Aussie esky for drinks

The Kris Kringle

Yuletide at Restaurant Atelier: Australian Pork, Glebe (26 May 2009)

22 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSW 2037
http://restaurantatelier.com.au

Fear Not the Pork

A big thank you to Melissa from Fooderati who invited me along to this Australian Pork dinner invite organised by Stewart White from Whiteworks Public Relations. The invitation informed me that Yulefest was created in Australia to celebrate the traditional festive foods of Christmas in the colder months — and the chef Darren Templeman was the Chris Cringle of Crackling and a true Yule PorkStar. So I was very much looking forward to dining on some good crackling and not in the slightest deterred by reading on the Channel 7 news building at Martin Place during the morning that there was 23 confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Australia (and 31 by lunchtime). I also noticed Restaurant Atelier has an excellent rating of 8.0 on Eatability after 77 reviews.

The matching wines were supplied by Piggs Peake Winery which I'm told are only sold via cellar door or to top restaurants like est. and Rockpool. The appetisers were first served on the front balcony with the appropriately named 'Sow Vignon Blanc'. Then we were seated to enjoy a tasting plate of three cooked variations of pork with their matching wines. I enjoyed the Riesling the most and the Pulled Neck Salad with Crystal Bay Prawn. Main course was a generous serve of more Australian Pork and the very tender Boned Shoulder of Pork Roasted was a standout for me — unfortunately my crackling didn't quite have that crunch I'd been dreaming of all day but I discovered a new appreciation for the Wolfie Zinfandel. The Christmas Pudding Ice Cream for dessert was a very interesting and satisfying taste sensation which balanced well with the poached fruits.

I knew before eating tonight that there was nothing to fear about eating quality Australian Pork — and having it cooked by this top notch French restaurant along with their professional and friendly service made it a very Yulefest occasion indeed. With the colder months of winter coming up it's now a great time to get some pork on your fork and enjoy the crackling!

Other food bloggers dining on swine were:

• Melissa - Fooderati

• Lorraine - Not Quite Nigella

• Lili - Pikelet & Pie

• Howard - eatshow&tell

• Richard - Here Comes The Food
• Karen - Citrus and Candy
• Susan - Chocolatesuze
• Billy - A Table For Two
• Helen - Grab Your Fork
• Shez - One More Bite

Chef Darren Templeman - Restaurant Atelier

Dining area

Appetiser: Pork Neck Rillette, Cornichon, Green Beans served in a Witlof Leaf

Matched with 2007 Piggs Peake Sowvignon Blanc

Bread served with butter or olive oil/balsamic vinegar dipping option

Entrée plate

Honey-Glazed Pork Hock with Roasted Apples

Matched with 2008 Piggs Peake Peartree Riesling

Pulled Neck Salad with Crystal Bay Prawn

Matched with 2009 Piggs Peake Sows Ear Semillon

Grilled Pickled Loin of Pork with Celeriac Remoulade

Matched with 2008 Piggs Peake Amanda Love Viognier

Entrée matching wines:

2008 Piggs Peake Amanda Love Viognier

2008 Piggs Peake Peartree Riesling
2009 Piggs Peake Sows Ear Semillon

Pork rack

Main Course Plate

Boned Shoulder of Pork Roasted with Winter Herb Cure on Creamed Parsnip & Buttered Kale

Matched with 2008 Piggs Peake Hogshead Chardonnay

Pot-Roasted Murray Valley Moisture-Infused Pork Rack with Broad Beans, Pomme Cocotte & Pine Mushrooms

Matched with 2008 Piggs Peake Wolfie Zinfandel

2008 Piggs Peake Hogshead Chardonnay

2008 Piggs Peake Wolfie Zinfandel

Dessert: Poached Winter Fruits with Christmas Pudding Ice Cream

Matched with Piggs Peake Little Pig Verdelho Fortified

Piggs Peake Little Pig Verdelho Fortified

Pre-drinks before dinner on the front porch

Dining area with my table in foreground shared with Weight Watchers Magazine, Take 5 Magazine, Fooderati and Not Quite Nigella.

Chef Darren Templeman prepping the entree plates

Chef Darren Templeman prepping the main course plates

Restaurant Atelier co-owner Bernadette prepping the main course plates before serving

Behind the scenes kitchen prep of entrees

Behind the scenes kitchen prep of desserts

Food bloggers table in photographic frenzy — shooting the pork before the fork.

Official photographer Graeme Taylor from Smartset Photography

Sample bag of Murray Valley moisture infused pork rack, Women's Weekly Pork recipe book, Atelier recipes and deb InstantFOAM which kills 99.999% of bacteria

Channel 7 news in Martin Place 'Australian Swine Flu cases rise to 23' - 26 May 2009

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