Patience Rewarded

Way back when I "accidentally" bought a half dozen bottles of Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon. Finally got round to popping open a bottle of the other night cos iso and apparently peak drinking was between 2008 and 2020. Wow does it deserve its status as the pinnacle of Cabernet Sauvignon in Australia! It was like they bottled the year 1996, the creme de cassis flavour just knocks you for six, so powerful and vibrant as if it was still 1996 and the Macarena was on the airwaves. The tannins were as smooth as Tom Selleck, reaching perfection in its mature years. Such a well structured and well balanced wine, like Audrey Hepburn in that LBD from Breakfast at Tiffany's. If you don't get what wine is all about you will after having something like this. A moving feast that takes you back through time yet also reminds you of the rewards of patience. Proof that the class of 1996 was the best year ever!

More Champaggner?

The one good thing about getting older is you generally get more chances to enjoy the finer things in life, Champagne being a prime example. I'm talking about the genuine stuff from France, the best of which leaves our Aussie sparklers in the dust, the worst of which is a rip off.

On the subject of value I've always believed money spent on something you don't enjoy is money wasted regardless of how cheap it is. So a bottle of Bollinger is infinitely much better value than a bottle of Omni Blue, oh the horrors! So without further ado here are the champagnes, I'm still too poor to afford a taste of vintage champagne so it's all non-vintage stuff and scores are out of 20.

Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial 15
Had it on it's own after dinner and again with oysters. A fine mousse, nice flavours but seemed to lack a depth to them. Nice crisp finish. Not my favourite champagne, needs more depth of flavour and a bit more crispness, but it's obviously popular for a reason.

Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial 16

Pommery Brut Royal 14

Piper Heidsieck Cuvee Brut 15

Lanson Black Label 12

Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label 16

Mumm Cordon Rouge 17

Bollinger Special Cuvee 18

Pol Gessener 15

Cattier 16

Pol Roger 16

Charles Heidsieck 15

Pasta Curls with Chilli Salsiccia Fresca

Ingredients

• 500g pasta curls
• 600g Salssicia Fresca
• 100mL of pure olive oil, I acutally used a blend of sunflower and extra virgin olive oil with about 1 tablespoon of extra virgin and 4-5 of sunflower.
• 2 medium onions
• 2 teaspoons of dried chilli flakes
• 6 small green jalapeno chillies
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 large capsicum, roasted
• 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 4 tablespoons of tomatoe paste
• 2 cups of sweet red wine, Lambrusco from a cask will do just nicely
• 1 425g can of diced tomatoes
• 1 800ml bottle of pulped tomatoes
• 6 large button mushrooms

Steps

1. Dice the roast capsicum and onions, the onions should be diced fairly large whilst the capsicum should be a finer dice.
2. Chop the garlic into pieces that are coarser than minced.
3. Slice the mushrooms, if the slices are large cut the slices in half.
4. Slice the jalapenos thinly.
5. Slice the salsiccia in half and remove the casing.
6. Dice the salsiccia into medium chunks, as big as the onions at most.
7. Heat the oil on high heat and fry the onions for 2 minutes.
8. Add the chilli flakes and continue frying for 2-3 minutes until the onions become translucent and acquire a slight golden tinge.
9. Add the jalapeno chillies and fry for another minute.
10. Add the garlic and fry for another 2 minutes.
11. Add the smoked paprika, cumin and cloves and fry for another 2 minutes.
12. Stir the tomato paste in and fry for another 2 minutes.
13. Mix in the can of tomatoes including the juice and stir for another minute.
14. Blend in the bottle of pulped tomatoes and reduce to a medium simmer for 15 minutes.
15. Add the mushrooms to the sauce and simmer for at least another 5 minutes until the mushrooms are tender.
16. Serve with the cooked pasta, blending the more liquid parts of the sauce with the pasta and spooning the chunkier parts on top.
17. If desired top with pepper and a grana cheese, I used pecorino pepato which as the name suggests has flecks of pepper thereby using just the one condiment.

Damn Vista

Windows Update on my installation of Vista Ultimate hasn't been working since May this year. Most times Windows Update would just tell me it can't update which was rather uninformative. Every now and then though it would also provide me with an error code: 80070246.

On and off for months I searched through several forums that provided lots of technical details about the individual installations with the same issue but not much useful answers. Only now did I stumble upon this short and sweet question and answer on Microsoft's own forum site. The short and simple answer lead me to Microsoft's very own System Update Readiness Tool.

To quote Microsoft: "Microsoft released the System Update Readiness Tool to resolve certain conditions that could cause installing updates and other software not to work." which is contrary to my initial thought that it was a tool to prepare your system for an update to another release of Windows. They then go on to say "You do not have to manually run this tool. This tool is offered automatically through Windows Update to computers that have a condition that the tool could resolve." which of course doesn't help me when Windows Update itself doesn't work! In a pleasantly surprising demonstration of foresight, Microsoft do actually provide a link for you to manually download the tool.

So off I went to download the slightly confusingly labelled System Update Readiness Tool. It took what seemed like an eternity to install and then work its magic for some reason, however in another surprise the progress bar was remarkably truthful about the progress! In the end it told me that it fixed and installed whatever it required and I then tried running Windows Update again.

At first I thought the tool hadn't fixed anything as Windows Update did it's usual scrolling back and forth as before. I decided to let it sit for a while and eventually it did inform me that updates were available so I proceeded to let it download and install them. With relief I was given the familiar message that Windows needs to reboot to finish installation. So the lesson to be learnt is that sometimes Microsoft does provide useful product support on its own web site.

Chile Mojo

I first heard about Chile Mojo from the Adelaide Showgrounds Farmers Market which had a Chilli Fest day. The owner of Chile Mojo, Joel Adams, was demonstrating how to make Chile Rellenos in the Market Kitchen. A Poblano chili, the people's chilli as Joel explained, is stuffed with cheese, battered and fried to make a rather delicious snack.

Chile Mojo the store is, or should I say was the store as they're moving to 381 Magill Road, a little bit of Mexico in Adelaide packed with all kinds of Mexican and Tex-Mex products you can't find anywhere else in town. There's a Wall of Flame stocked with a wide variety of hot sauces all with a heat rating out of ten. There's all kind of dried and tinned chillis, various Mexican sauces and spice mixes, bloody mary mixes and even tins of tomatillos which I just absolutely love.

They have a mechanised tortilla press to make their own corn tortillas using freshly made masa and these can be bought frozen and quickly heated up in a frypan. The on-site kitchen produces some delicious frozen meals as well as fresh side dishes. These are superb quality, way better than any from a local Mexican eatery, and very reasonably priced.

A few weeks ago I first tried their taco beef which had just been made. It was a lot better than any taco beef I've made using supermarket ingredients with just the right combination of flavours. This weekend I tried the frozen taco beef along with the frozen bean mix to go with the Chile Mojo tortillas and was impressed again.

The taco beef and beans both lost nothing from being frozen with the beans adding a nice complementary texture and subtle flavour. The tortillas were a cut above the supermarket corn tortillas in terms of both texture and taste. Buying the beef and beans ready to go made everything a lot easier and allowed me to concentrate on making my own take on pico de gallo sallsa: freshly diced tomatoes, canned diced tomatoes, diced red onions, minced chilli, coriander and lime juice.

I also bought a pack of frozen Chili Colorad beef burritos and these were amazing. The beef was deliciously tender with a rich, spicy blend of flavours. The way I put them in the oven, and I suspect the way they were made, these have to be eaten with a knife and fork just like in the restaurants. However these are better than anything that can be had in a local Mexican restaurant and I wouldn't mind paying more than the modest price that Joel, who is originally from Colorado, is asking which is a fraction of what you pay at a restaurant.

Having become hooked on Mexican food whilst travelling to America it is a great delight to find a place such as Chile Mojo. The packaging on the ready-to-go meals goes "THE BEST MEXICAN FOOD IS AT YOUR PLACE" and I would have to agree that it certainly is in Adelaide with Chile Mojo's offerings. For all your Mexican and chilli cravings Chile Mojo is the place, so everyone better go there and support it so I can keep having my Mexican fix!

Patee Thai

Brunswick Street in the suburb of Fitzroy is another of Melbourne's main streets with a diverse range of eateries and bars along with the odd bookshop. I was hoping to have dinner at St. Jude's Cellars which is a wine shop, bar and restaurant all in one. The place apparently does some great grazing dishes made for sharing but was closed on this New Year's Day.

Not to worry though there were plenty of other places to choose from. A little Afghan was a surprise find but Patee Thai caught my eye enough to warrant walking back to it. It has a traditional dining area where diners can sit on the floor against Thai triangular cushions. That was more than enough to get me in the door!

Inside the restaurant was doing quite a brisk trade for a New Year's Day with most tables occupied and quite a few young families. The lighting was noticeably dim and whilst not quite dining in the dark it was the dimmest place I've dined out in a while. This made me appreciate the sleek interior more with its spread of Thai ornaments as opposed to the rather generic interiors offset by a token Thai artifact in some places.

After some a bit of overindulgence the night before light and refreshing was the order of the day. Luckily Patee Thai was more than able to accommodate with dishes a cut above the standard popular "Thai-style" restaurants that are beginning to spread. Service was warm and friendly and dishes arrived promptly.

The prawn crackers in the mix entree platter were quite a pleasant surprise, the first time I've had a prawn cracker that did not resemble styrofoam. Rather these crackers were rather thick and solid, but still delightfully light without the greasy aftertaste. The fishcakes were delicious, I can taste them just thinking about them. They were perfectly seasoned and just right in terms of texture without the excessive greasiness of other fishcakes I've had.

The combination seafood soup with lemongrass, galangal, basil, chilli and lemon juice was just the right mix of flavours and heat to soothe the insides after overindulging the day before. With its tang and hint of sweetness it was enough to awaken the tastebuds from their coma. The Thai beef salad also helped ease a sore body as well with its refreshing tanginess. There was a perfect balance of flavours in the chilli bean dressing without the excessive sweetness that can rear its ugly head with this dish.

Overall Patee Thai was a great place to dine with a lovely ambience from dining whilst seated on the floor. The dishes were authentic and well balanced with just the right combination of flavours to excite the palate. For a great dining experience and quality the price was very reasonable. Definitely one of the best places for Thai cuisine in my experience.

Come Fry with Me, Come Fry, Come Fry, Come Fry

Yeah, yeah I know I've been slack. Perhaps I'll revamp this blog, perhaps I won't, I just don't know.
Continuing the theme of my personal notebook, I've been trying out all those lean cuisines/healthy choice/airline frozen meals.

They're actually not too bad when you compare to them to the slop you get at the cafeterias at the places I've worked. They're slightly cheaper, if you buy what's on special you can get them for under $5 which is actually cheaper than most cafeteria meals. Surprisingly they actually taste better than the stuff that passes for food at cafeterias.

Oh and apparently they're better for you and judging by the nutrition box they are. They're also actually quite filling which is a surprise given that most of them contain only a quarter of your daily energy intake at the most. After some soup, yoghurt, fruit and salad this manchild feels quite full by the end of a day.

Here's a summary of my frozen meal findings so far with the meal name and ratings for taste, texture and how filling they are (5 stars max for each from bad, poor, okay, good to excellent):

• Nestle Lean Cuisine Lean Beef Lasagne [4 | 1 | 3]: Possibly could have overcooked this one, the bottom layers were rather leathery but still quite nice on the top layers.
• Heinz Steam Fresh Beef Stroganoff with Curly Pasta [4 | 4 | 3]: Good flavour, beef was suprisingly tender.
• Nestle Lean Cuisine Creamy Mushroom Tortellini [4 | 3 | 3]: Quite tasty although creamy pasta isn't my favourite, perhaps that's because it's usually rather greasy unlike this one. The green bits lost a bit of texture in the freezing and heating.
• Heinz Weight Watchers Pasta Italiano [3 | 3 | 3]: The pasta and sauce were quite nice texture and taste wise. They were let down by the quasi-salami, horribly textured and more frankfurter than salami.
• Nestle Lean Cuisine Sundried Tomato Tortellini [3 | 2 | 3]: The pasta and sauce tasted alright enough. Texture was quite dry and mushy at the same time, perhaps not microwaved right.

Plenty of water, tea and diet soft drinks also help keep a fat bastard quite full. Here's a few of my favourite ones so far:

• Pepsi Max: I hardly ever drink Pepsi, yet this is a favourite, definitely beats Coke Zero.
• Sprite Zero: Not too much of a weird taste to it, still very lemonadey.
• Fanta Zero: Actually I'd say this is better than normal Fanta, as it's not as cloyingly sweet.
• Schweppes Diet Dry Ginger Ale: All that gingeriness hides the artificialness quite well.
• Solo Sub: Again the lemon tang hides that saccharine sweetness quite well, then again some days I'm ambivalent.

European Cafe

After a few drinks at the Colonist pizza was on the agenda. We decided to give the European Cafe a go, as some people have given it glowing reviews although a few years back I wasn't too impressed. It was rather crowded for a Sunday and we were told ours was the only table available, although funnily enough a few minutes later this couple were told theirs was the only table available.

The pizza menu did not impress me too much with its range or offerings considering people rave on about this place's pizza. As pizza was our objective we went for the European pizza which was a classic salami, ham, capsicum, mushroom and olive. To accompany it we got some garlic bread and green salad with some chinotto (San Pellegrino which is a nice rarity now).

The pizza arrived in under ten minutes which was a surprise, given Fellini took 90 minutes for an uncooked pizza. I suspect though that it and the garlic bread had been hanging around for a while. The pizza was nice but not enough to rise above the mediocrity of most cafe pizzas, although in its defence the toppings were balanced with prudente use of cheese.

It was a nice change to get a pizza that wasn't a grilled cheese sandwich like most cafe pizzas, although there still wasn't enough sauce for my liking. The garlic bread was pretty mediocre as well, a bit cold and stale and the green salad didn't distinguish itself from anyone else's green salad.

Overall I'm still not impressed with the European Cafe, sure it's better than a fair few other cafes but it still didn't distinguish itself well enough. The slippery waiter didn't help with impressions either and the food could have been served warmer. I would still prefer to spend a few dollars more and get a lot better pizza and service from a place like Amalfi.

The Colonist

A few weeks ago I spotted the Colonist pub on the Parade. Had a quick peek and was impressed that they had James Squire Golden Ale on tap. So this week we decided to go in for a Sunday arvo drink to chew the fat.

It's a cosy little pub with a rustic charm and some comfy seating. The crowd was a mix of people from the mid twenties to well into middle age. It had a decent gathering of people yet there was plenty of room and not much noise, a perfect place to relax on a Sunday arvo.

As mentioned the big draw card for me was the Golden Ale on tap. It's the perfect summer drink, so easy to drink with plenty of flavour and a lovely tinge. They also had a few other lesser-known beers on tap including the Steam Exchange's Steam Ale and Pipsqueak Cider.

The Steam Ale had all the makings of a great ale yet probably needed some food to go with it to counteract the slightly more bitter than usual bite. The Pipsqueak Cider wasn't too bad as far as ciders go with a well balanced tang and crisp finish. However it could have done with perhaps a tad more sweetness I reckon cos when people think ciders they usually think of something sweet.

I was pleasantly surprised to find they had whitebait on the menu, a rather big bowl for $8, nothing like eating a whole fish. Makes a nice break from the usual greasy chips and wedges, well whitebait's greasy but it's seemingly good grease. Apart from that I was a bit with the rest of the menu as most items were closer to $20 than $15.

Overall the Colonist was a pleasant discovery with it's old school cool. There was a good range of beers on tap and in the fridge, well any pub with Golden Ale on tap is tops in my book. The crowd was a good mix with some pretty young things.