This is really easy to cook for breakfast, or lunch for that matter. In the morning, I whip up the ingredients, add them to a cast iron pan and put it under the grill on medium. By the time I’m out of the shower breakfast is ready. Pre light your grill before you start.
For one.
2 med eggs
Small handful spinach (adjust according to the size of your pan, mine is 20 cm diameter)
Two cherry bocconcini, sliced
Slice of American bacon, diced
Cream
Salt and pepper
Beat the cream, eggs and salt and pepper in a bowl while you are heating the cast iron pan on the stove. Once the pan is hot, add in the bacon and render til it starts to caramelise. Pour in the egg mixture. Artfully arrange the bocconcini and spinach leaves in the pan. Remove from heat.
Shove the pan (the egg should still be runny on top) under the grill, make sure it’s on medium (My grill is terrible – no degrees, just dots to show which side is hotter..) Then go get dressed or whatnot.
If you’ve never used your grill, maybe watch it the first time so that you get an idea of how long you can leave the omelette unsupervised. You don’t want it to burn!
You may need to blot off some water from the cheese, put it back under to go golden after you’ve done this, about another 30 seconds should do it. Leave to cool for a minute before turning out onto a plate. Leave it in the pan to serve if serving a guest, or you have cooked a large one to share.
Bacon and Spinach Omelette
Louis Baxters – highly strung much?
It’s not always a good idea to use one of those voucher thingos when going to a restaurant the first time, but I’d heard great things about Louis Baxters in Subiaco, so I wasn’t worried. I should have been.
The interior is very cute, with concrete stools that will throw your back out trying to move; which would be fine, but they aren’t in a good spot to be able to sit down in and eat. Not to worry, my partner and I scored the large couch in the back and settled in.
On presenting my voucher to the server, she rolled her eyes “OH, a voucher, great..” and tossed it towards the cash register. After ordering a toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwich, Spanish eggs, two coffees and a sparkling orange and passionfruit juice she declared, rather smugly, that I couldn’t have the juice with the voucher – I enquired as to why they didn’t want to sell extras when people came in with them, and she humphed and took my $4, obviously thinking that I was bereft of mind and that I couldn’t read what the voucher included. One back handed comment about my eggs taking AT LEAST 15 mins, and I returned to the couch.
Surveying the room, we saw lots of hurried business types ordering coffee and one or two grabbing a cookie on their way out to the train station nearby. If it weren’t such a humid day, I expect they would have sold more coffee out the window, but the arctic temperatures inside were too good to resist. I can see what they are trying to achieve with the place, but with a server that rude on a thursday morning, I can’t say I’m excited about returning..
10 minutes later, we receive our coffees and food. The toasted sandwich was tiny for the price, but contained good ingredients. My eggs were super spicy, a bit more than I would have liked (and I LOVE chilli) but the flavours were all there and worked well. One thing about the eggs – I think they were microwaved on top of the spicy sauce; they were difficult to cut into with a spoon and were very shiny and glassy looking. I tried to cook this dish later at home, in the oven and just got nicely set eggs that were easily eaten with a spoon. Oh well. The coffee was as good as promised, although a little cool.
I realised that I hadn’t received my sparkling juice so I trotted up to the counter to grab it. The server looked at me with no expression and asked what I wanted. My orange and passionfruit juice, I replied. She sighed, turned around and grabbed the first juice in the fridge and rather unnecessarily fast, tried to pick up a glass. She knocked the whole lot over. If she had done this a nano-second slower she would have been ok. I’ve seen people do this when they think they are too busy to show any care, and when they want you to know that you have interrupted them. All I can say to that is get over yourself and do your job properly and with respect. It wasn’t even the right juice. I said nothing and left, the staff outnumbered those waiting at this point and there was no goodbyes when we left, all the staff were too busy looking busy.
Sassellas – 40 years of excellence
This review is long overdue; Sassellas is an oasis in the Perth shopping district, located in Carillon City arcade above all the ruckus. I would probably go to Sassellas once a week for lunch, dinner or a drink and I am never disappointed.
I thought that going to a bar in the middle of a popular shopping arcade on the 23rd of December was crazy at best, certifiable at worst; however they fit two of us at a table meant for four. The table was right near the kitchen, however the alternative was to line up at some of the newer bars around town, and I do not line up for mediocre food and drink. And I knew that Sassellas was far from mediocre.
My friend and I immediately ordered the ‘wine of the month’; Pepperilly Sem Sauv, a bit on the sour side, but at $28 a bottle and ice cold, it hit the spot after a hellish day shopping and visiting family (the heat and the travel..argh!). Other plans thwarted, we decided to stay for dinner. Sassellas has this great system whereby you order at the kitchen counter, and exactly 10 minutes later, your food is ready, regardless of what it is. It’s so efficient, and frees up the wait staff to attend to table service of drinks and a friendly chat with the regulars.
My friend had the lamb salad, which was substantial and satisfying, lamb was a little stringy, but the taste and presentation was fantastic. I had the chicken schnitzel with salad and fries. A very lean piece of chicken breast, lightly crumbed and fried, served with a huge plate of salad and fries, with a rich mushroom sauce. Delicious, and these two meals were around $30 TOTAL.
Apart from the great service, and great food, which although not as ‘gourmet’ as most Perth city offerings, is done very well and would satisfy almost everyone, Sassellas is a clean, cool and quiet place convenient to Perth shoppers, and I would recommend it to anyone who asked. They are celebrating their 40th year in business this year, and based on my last 20 visits, I can see another 40 years ahead of them, well done.
How to stop yoghurt curdling: Indian Food
I remember the first time I made an Indian style sauce, I followed all of Padma Lakshmi’s instructions, however the damn yoghurt curdled the sauce until it looked like the stuff you see when washing the pan. Without trying to figure out what I did wrong, I tried again and again, with the same result.. stupid huh!?
My food tasted good, but the presentation was not good so I simply asked a chef at a local Indian restaurant, and the answer was super simple. Australian yoghurts, regardless of style, have too little fat in them. That’s right, you need to find the highest fat content yoghurt you can, and make sure you mix it into the sauce at room temperature. If you can’t find a full fat yoghurt, first mix a little cornflour into the yoghurt before adding to the rest of the mix, and that should interfere with the separating curds enough to allow a smooth mix.
The Brown Fox – Service with a smile
My partner and I thought that we’d try this newish establishment in West Perth on a Tuesday night, and I must say we were pleasantly surprised. Have previously been home to a horrible nightclub (Onyx) we were worried it would still..smell the same.
image courtesy The Brown Fox website.
Our French waitress Erica seated us promptly in a generous booth and took our drink order while rattling off the specials, all without the benefit reading from a notepad. I think it’s been several years since I saw a waitress do this, it used to be quite normal, but nowadays, you’d think they had to remember a monologue. Brownie points.
For entrée, I ordered a blue swimmer crab, mango and avocado salad. It was served in a neat little tower and was delicious. A relatively small serving, you are sad when it’s over, but satisfied. My partner had the fried whiting and pickled vegetables. He finished this within seconds, and said it was great, I believe him.
The mains were exciting, we both ordered a fillet steak, mine med-rare, his med. I’m always surprised when my idea of medium rare is so wildly different to the chefs. Usually they err on the side of medium, but tonight, I got what I asked for. It was cooked perfectly and was tender. Served with paris mash, which was a little bland; however I did pile the béarnaise sauce on my steak so it might have just been me. My partner devoured his instantly, while I meandered around the meat. There were a few fatty deposits that could have been trimmed, but I was altogether pleased.
Desert for me was a crème brulee – a good serving size, and a good amount of crispy caramel on top. I couldn’t finish it because I was full, and I needed to walk out of the place under my own power so unfortunately I left some behind – looser pants next time, eh?
We left there full and happy – the service was great – thanks Erica, and the food was great quality. The only thing that worries me is that it is a little too fancy for the West Perth crowd, however hopefully the informal dining area takes care of their uncouthness. Recommended.
Steak Sticking to the Pan?
Ever noticed how sometimes, your meat will stick to the pan no matter how new or well oiled your pan is? Well – I recently found out it was due in part to cooking my meat while it was too cold.
Leaving your steak to rest in room temperature (around 18 – 25 degrees C) for about 30 minutes before cooking will prevent it from sticking to the pan (because the shock of temperature change causes a slight contraction of the meat) and will let it cook more evenly.
When you add a cold piece of steak to a hot pan, the outside will cook much more quickly than the inside. Bringing the meat as close to room temperature as you can will allow a juicier steak, as the outside will not have over dried, and the inside will be warm. Don’t forget to rest the steak for 10 minutes after cooking to allow the juices (myoglobin) to reabsorb, so you don’t have that juice rolling around on your plate, mixing with everything. If you let it rest in the pan, you can use the juice to make a sauce.
The Aviary – We shall see…
After the shocking review of Perth’s other rooftop bar in last weeks West, it’s hardly surprising that the Aviary has gone off with a bang.
The Aviary boasts two levels. The first, named ‘The Birdcage’ is a loungey bar and restaurant with fancy décor, and heaps of floor space. I went in last Wednesday after work and it was full of suits, looking to impress. The bar is round, so you would think that the staff would spread out in order to get as many orders filled as they could – but no, urgency didn’t seem to be the vibe, and they all clumped into the same area, almost falling over each other to serve the same section. All in all, I didn’t wait too long for my wine and the staff were polite, however it all looked a little disorganised.
Upstairs to the Nest, you are greeted by a lot of Astroturf. The vibe is pretty good, and feels like a beer garden at a pub, which is odd, seeing as the bar décor is trying to tell me something very different, all modern minimal design. It would have been nice to see more decking and less fake grass – they have a lawn bowls area towards the back, so limiting the grass to that area would have been more attractive.
I visited on a Sunday after using the online booking service, Dimmi. With no one to seat and greet us, I ventured up to the bar to ask about our table. There were approximately 6 people behind the bar, all looking busy polishing glasses, cutting lemons and wiping the bench. Suprisingly, for a Sunday, there were only two other customers waiting at the bar, and wait they did. 15 minutes later, after a gentleman called out to them a few times, we were all served. I was told that you couldn’t book a table on the rooftop, despite the online booking emailing me with a ‘comfirmed’ status. We were shown to a nice table in the shade however, so not sure what that useless jab was about.
When the third member of our party arrived, we decided on a wagyu cheeseburger, and two steak sandwiches washed down with sparkling wine. We trundled up to the bar, and after the requisite 15 min waiting period while the staff all finished communally wiping a bench, our orders were underway – taken by a surly girl with comically red hair, who refused to make eye contact the whole time.
What seemed like mere seconds after sitting back down, one the steak sandwiches arrived. Described as “served with fries and onion rings” we were shocked to see that the “onion rings” were only just literal – there were two. The sandwich itself however, was quite impressive looking.
My friend and I expectantly waited for our burger and sandwich to arrive, but alas, they did not. A good 20 minutes later, the bar was packed, so getting up to ask where our meals were was a non-starter. The lucky friend who received her food quickly, had devoured her steak sandwich, not wanting to leave it to go soggy. We didn’t blame her. Eventually the food arrived, and we dug in. My friend described the wagyu cheeseburger as ‘plain’ but good – there was nothing special about it, but it hit the spot. I’m a burger purist, so I stayed clear of it. My steak sandwich was great – juicy steak, heaps of beetroot and salad on a turkish style bread. You might want to cut it up into smaller sections, because the thing is huge. I didn’t eat my two onion rings because they looked like some sort of mistake or afterthought.
Being a new venue – I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt so far. Teething problems aside – I can see this place becoming a great place to hang out – if they can get their opening hours right – I saw on Facebook that the restaurant and lounge bar isn’t open on Friday nights, and that many times this week, the rooftop was closed in it’s entirety for a private function. Not a good look when you want to attract regulars.
I’ll try again in a few weeks and let you know how they are going!
Pure Bar – My Forgotten Local
I always forget that this place exists, seeing as it’s a few blocks away from the rest of the action. I used to work in the area, so I’d stop by for tapas and a cocktail or two every second week or so, but it had slipped off my radar in the last year. One Saturday, a friend and I decided to stop by for lunch.
It was a warm spring day, only one of a few this dismal wintery spring, and we were expecting the place to be a bit livelier. Apart from us, there were only two tables of two seated and a waitress was setting up a long table for a function.
Looking at the menu, I could sort of see why – although it had a fine selection of salads and burgers, and nibbles, there was nothing fresh and inviting – I know the evening menu is a bit more extensive, so maybe they are bringing their A game for that rather than a few lowly Saturday lunchers.
We started off with the onion rings with garlic aioli, and queso dip with corn chips. Both were atery cloggers, and we didn’t care, they were good. Onion rings were a little plain, which isn’t a bad thing, although the menu goes out of it’s way to mention a paprika sprinkling. Again, not the usual selection for a warm day, but it was either that or the usual suspects in Perth, bread and dips, or chorizo.
For mains, we went for salads – crazy, I know. Don’t worry, I ordered the chicken, prosciutto and parmesan salad. It came out action packed with ingredients and tasted quite good. Near finishing the greens, I realised there was a huge pile of prosciutto and cheese at the bottom. Generous, but not needed. My friend’s salad was less exciting. She ordered a caramelised pumpkin, goats cheese and pine nut salad – only a $1 cheaper than mine, and it had only a sprinkling of ingredients. A few ‘caramelised’ bits of pumkin and cheese over spinach– hardly worth $17, however she maintained it tasted good.
We quickly forgot all of this with a few bottles of wine, of which was served promptly, thank goodness. The rest of the day is a blank, so I’ll probably be back for more, but next time in the evening.
When the Fridge can be the bad guy
For the last few months, I have been lamenting the poor quality of certain fruits and vegetables around Perth. Even market gardens and farmers markets seemed to be turning out utter trash.
My main concern was tomatoes, limes and chillis; three of my favourite cooking ingredients. I haven’t eaten a hot chilli in forever so I have been reduced to using dried flakes. Tomatoes are all mealy and tasteless, and even lime had lost it’s…. lime.
THEN, an old man who dared try to converse with me at the local store told me it was because I was probably putting them in the fridge. Apparently, in Australia, we turn the fridge to freezing on account of the hot temperatures that it ruins the aromatic properties of some fruits and veges.
So the trick is to either turn the temperature up on your fridge, or keep these babies in a cool dry place.
Poaching An Egg – My Two Cents
I know, there are SO many tutorials on how to do this online, and they are all slightly different. I have no doubt that they all work in their way. I really hate the ones that use oil, because that is not poaching, that is frying. I use water only, and a little salt, I don’t like the taste of vinegar in my eggs! For those of you climbing over yourself wanting to tell me that vinegar helps with the coagulation, don’t bother, salt does the same thing – both salt and vinegar lower the temperature needed for an egg to coagulate. You are basically just lowering the PH of the water which helps the albumen lose it’s water solubility quicker (ahem, harden).
If you use vinegar or salt and it’s still not working out, then here is a little secret. If you are like me, then you will leave eggs til last when cooking breakfast. When you start cooking your bacon and other meaty treats, put the eggs you want to poach in the freezer. By the time you go to poach them, the runnier part of the albumen that makes all the trouble, is slightly set, so when you add it to the boiling water, it will set where is is. This has worked for me every time, and was a time saver when cooking in a breakfast cafe. Another trick is to poach the egg in the microwave, simply fill the teacup halfway with water, and crack your egg in. Depending on the power of your microwave, and taste, it will take between 15sec and 1 min. When doing this for the first time, do it in 15 sec increments to get it right.
