Come here pretty cocktail…

Celebrating the end of the beautiful A’s first year at university, we decided to celebrate with the $45 prix fixe lunch at Marque (voted 70 in the world on the S.Pellegrino list). It’s crazy value from Mark Best…three innovative courses, including complimentary amuse bouche, their famous Sauternes Custard to get you ready for dessert and the most amazing hand made petit fours with coffee. Obviously you will add some beautiful wine, salad, water etc to the bill but it’s still great value.

But that’s not what this post is about. A is gorgeous and she ordered this cocktail, which is also gorgeous, at The Winery after lunch.

Called a Giggly Rose, it is the prettiest looking cocktail I have seen. It tastes like it looks – minty, rosy and boozy.

Tags: Giggly Rose, Mark Best, Marque, S.Pellegrino, The Winery, World's 50 Best Restaurants

A Whale of a Time

Whales are fascinating me at the moment. I was amazed by them recently on a whale watching trip in Harvey Bay, Queensland. They are such majestic creatures and their sheer scale in the flesh is incredible and unexpectedly exciting. I know what you are thinking, she must have had a hellova lens to capture that Free Willy, but no, they really were that close. So close you could hear the whoosh of the air exiting their blowholes and the moan as they called their young. Nature is very cool.

Tags: free willy, hervey bay, whale watching, whales

Artichoke Magazine: Grill’d Hamburgers Darlinghurst

I love Artichoke Magazine. Apart from being one of my favourite magazines anyway, they allow me to explore some interesting interior spaces. I also love Hamburgers. I also love Melbourne. So when the opportunity came up to take a look at the new interior of Melbourne hamburger chain, Grill’d, in Sydney, I said “yes please, extra cheese!”.

Read the article here…

Tags: grill'd, hassell, Steph Williams, The Airloom

Jetstar Magazine: Sailing the Whitsundays

Are you flying with Jetstar this month? Well if you do, keep your travelling eyes out for my story in the Jetstar Magazine about sailing the Whitsundays. It was a fabulous article to write and I loved every moment of the sailing and Hamilton Island.

Read my Whitsundays story here or at least look at the pretty pictures!

Tags: Hamilton Island, Jetstar Magazine, Whitsundays

My cover with Helena Christensen

 

As a forty something woman, Helena Christensen looks almost the same as she did in her 90′s supermodelling hey day. This week I interviewed Danish Jeweller Charlotte Lynggaard from jewellery house, Ole Lynggaard about her new brand ambassador Helena Christensen.

Charlotte Lynggaard is a style icon in her own right and has designed many pieces for Crown Princess Mary if that gives you an indication of her talent. It was an enjoyable piece about her Danish influences and working with Helena. Read more here.

Tags: Charlotte Lynggaard, Helena Christensen, Ole Lynggaard, Stephanie Williams, The Airloom, The Weekly Review

The Terrace Restaurant, Thredbo

This winter I have been going hard with skiing and trying (mostly in vain!) to improve. Besides skiing, it is just so beautiful to be up in the mountains, sucking in the fresh alpine air and taking in the outdoors.

This weekend I was lucky enough to check into the Denman Hotel, right in the village. After a day on the slopes we hit the Apres Bar for a happy hour drink, then headed upstairs to The Terrace Restaurant.

The food, by ex-est chef Hayden Ellerton was intersting, innovative and just downright tasty! Our little amuse bouche of a poached quail egg (how he poached something so small is beyond me!) really set the tone of what we could expect. My entree was a beetroot raviolo filled with goats cheese. I thought I had a handle on what this dish may be like but the raviolo pocket was made from thinly sliced beetroot encasing the goats cheese, which totally surprised me!

Mains were as equally divine as they were interesting. J had a piece of pork belly that had the fat so perfectly rendered I nearly stole his plate. And my venison had so many little points of discovery on the plate that each bite meant you learnt something new about what was in front of you.

And now we come to dessert…the sweetness of my white peach souffle (my current favourite dessert) was perfectly contrasted by the accompanying basil sorbet. J ordered the chocolate caramel dobostorta (Hungarian dessert) which acted like a little stage for the rest of the dessert – choc honeycomb, salted caramel, caramel banana pieces and cocoa icecream.

Chocolate caramel dobostorta heaven

All of this was matched with my current favourite Riesling, Mesh, from the Eden Valley. Divine.I highly recommend a visit to this wonderful restaurant.

Denman Hotel image taken from here.

Foodie Heaven at the Barossa Farmer’s Market

I love any food markets really, but I do find in the city they are always a bit overpriced. Head to the regions however and this all changes – everything is well priced and the quality makes me green with envy for the locals who get to do all their provenance there!

Don't even think about confitting these little cuties from Waechters Dux!

On a recent trip to South Australia’s Barossa Valley I was taken on a guided tour of the local Barossa Farmer’s Market and they were definitely not a disappointment! I started the trip with the local delicacy – Schultz bacon with local organic egg and homemade chutneys in a roll, accompanied by local coffee from the local roaster.

Look at all the Schultz bacon!

For those who, like me, have a creepy cooking crush on Maggie Beer, will be pleased to see her daughter Saskia Beer working the markets with her vacuum packed marinated chicken and pheasants, lacshinken (cured pork), charcuterie, relishes and salads. I tried her melt in your mouth Moroccan Spiced Chicken Confit…wow!

Saskia chopping up the Moroccan chicken I am about to devour

What's left of Saskia Beer's chicken

I love dried fruit and the little Barossa town of Angaston is known for producing some of the best. I visited the Trevallie Orchard stand and sampled their massive array of different style of dried apricots (which, incidentally I am eating as I write this post!). They are tangy and a beautiful balance of being juicy and chewy at the same time.

It was hard going trying to choose!

Because of the Barossa’s German and Italian heritage, there is a bucketload of cured meats, salami and smallgoods wherever you turn and locals are very specific (and one might even use the word ‘snobby’) about which producer they go for. I loved the mettwurst when I was there, happily trying any brand that was put in front of me. Steinys are the lucky salamists that grace the markets and theirs is flavour packed!

Yes sir, I will try one of everything...

Other stalls I enjoyed were Scullery Made Tea, Turners Pure Honey, Smallfry Wines and their verjuice, Waechters Dux and the older lady selling her cakes and jams who said she had been in the CWA for over 60 years…you do the math!

The Barossa Valley Farmer’s Market is on every Saturday from 7:30am – 11:30am at the corner of Nurioopta and Stockwell Rds, Angaston.

Tags: Angaston, Barossa Farmer's Market, barossa valley, Maggie Beer, Saski Beer, Schultz bacon, Smallfry Wines, Steinys, Trevallie Orchard, Waechters Dux

Artist Katherine Bowman in The Weekly Review

My favourite contemporary jeweller Katherine Bowman is featured in this week’s Weekly Review. I have interviewed her a couple of times now and each time I feel I understand her beautiful work that little bit more. This time I gained an insight into her “perfection of the wonky” as she puts it so gorgeously.

The Weekly Review Spread

Read the piece online here. I highly recommend buying yourself a piece or two as she is majorly collectible. I have a divine pair of earrings that I am constantly receiving comments about. Love, love, love them!

My beautiful Katherine Bowman earrings

View more of Katherine’s range on her website www.katherinebowman.com.au or see the inner workings of her studio and mind at www.katherinebowman.blogspot.com.

Tags: contemporary jewellery, earrings, Katherine Bowman, Stephanie Williams, The Airloom, The Weekly Review

Penfolds Make Your Own Blend Session

Concentrating Classmate

I’m pretty interested in wine and even though I have sampled many, many wines over the years, I don’t really know how a bottle is actually blended. Cue the Penfolds Make Your Own Blend experience. On a recent trip to the Barossa region, I decided to take part in one of the classes.

Proceedings kick off with a tasting of Bin 128, a blend of Grenache, Shiraz and the lesser known Mourvedre grape. Then the idea is to blend up three versions using the grapes to your own taste, or to try and match the winemakers blend.

I decided to try and get as close to the winemakers blend as possible. Attempt one was “grassy” to say the least, but quite enjoyable, attempt two was way off and so dry I needed a big glass of water to sort myself out again. The actual winemakers blend was then revealed so I mixed that one up and voila…Bin 128! Amazing.

The Blending Bench

You then get to bottle your own to take away. I decided to bottle my first attempt, purely because I know I can buy the professionally blended Bin 138 anytime! It’s sitting at home waiting for a lovely steak to join it for dinner, but I better make it snappy before it oxidises away!

The Make Your Own Blend experience is perfect for groups but also fine by yourself, like I did. It was a very social group and we enjoyed talking about each others “interesting” attempts!

The Finished Product

The classes are run at Penfolds Barossa Valley Cellar Door. Visit www.penfolds.com.au or call the cellar door directly on (08) 8568 9408. Cost $65.

Tags: barossa, barossa valley, bin 138, make your own blend classes, Penfolds, wine blending

Kylie Kwong’s Sensational Egg Pancake

I love a trip to the Eveleigh Farmers’ Markets. While it’s not the sort of market where you get things cheaper than the supermarket, but it’s the kind where you might be wandering along and see a wonderful chunk of organic pumpkin, pay through the nose for it, but make an outstanding batch of soup.

Or like most weekends, pick up one of Kylie Kwong’s specialties – dumplings or egg pancake. They are without a doubt my favourite part of visiting the market. With the light roti-like casing, she fills it with organic carrots, bean shoots, fresh mint and egg and douses it with sweet and savoury soy sauce. The dumplings are to die for too, but they are simply an entree to my pancakes!

While I am not great with actual stall names, I can also vouch for the mushroom man, the bread stall half way along on your left, Mirrool Creek Lamb, the cupcake guy, Bird Cow Fish, the flower people at the entrance and I love seeing OzHarvest there too.

Coincidentally, the Eveleigh Farmers’ Market won the award for Outstanding Farmers’ Market at the delicious. 2011 Produce Awards this week.

Visit the Eveleigh Farmers’ Market at 243 Wilson Street, Darlington, NSW.

Tags: delicious Produce Awards 2011, Eveleigh Farmers Market, kylie kwong, OzHarvest