Red Ball 2012

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Red Ball - the annual fundraising ball for the Fight Cancer Foundation, (formerly the Bone Marrow Donor Institute).  FCF originally founded with the aim of establishing an Australian bone marrow donor registry but after successfully achieving this some years ago it has broadened its scope to include other programs which support patients with leukaemia and other forms of cancer.

On a recent Saturday night approximately 1400 guests celebrated this milestone at the Crown Palladium ballroom.  In attendance were FCF patrons - Deborra-lee Furness and Hugh Jackman!  Hugh and an 18 piece orchestra performed numbers from his 'Back on Broadway" New York show.  It was a great night and Hugh was definitely the highlight!

The room looked stunning.  Each table had a gorgeous red centrepiece - all variations of the same theme and all donated by a generous South Yarra florist.  Our table was beautiful red gerberas.  One table had a gorgeous ball of red capsicums!

The drinks were flowing - wine, beer, champagne or strawberry daiquiris and the meal was beautiful. The wine, donated by Prancing Horse Estate, was superb.

Tandoori roasted chicken thigh and king prawn with vegetable and pineapple achar, mint chutney and yoghurt raita

The tandoori chicken entree was a delicious start with just the right amount of heat.  The spicy prawn was a nice touch.

Lamb duo: grilled double cutlet and braised lamb shoulder with coconut sweet potato mash, buttered sugar snaps, port wine jus

Main course alternated between lamb and fish.

Hiramasa king fish on Parisian potato puree with grilled king prawn, tomato, artichoke and olive salsa, lemon beurre blanc

I had the fish and it was divine.  Sweet fish, creamy puree, a salsa with just the right amount of contrasting bite.  Those that had the lamb were equally impressed.  The lamb was perfectly cooked and was meltingly tender. No mean feat with such a large function.  A fresh salad accompanied the main courses.

Mesclun salad with shaved vegetables, tomato confit, fresh herbs and walnut dressing

 Dessert was a Custom Dessert platter.  Delicious little bites.

Sour cream chocolate cake, Lemon meringue tartlets, Raspberry curd tartlets, Fruit tartlets, Hazelnut chocolate mousse in chocolate cup

 
 And to finish - beautiful chocolates to enjoy with coffee.

But, by far the highlight of the night was the entertainment.  Hugh Jackman specifically! 
Hugh performed for about an hour and was warm, witty and engaging.

At one stage he was joined by his long time friend, Matt Hetherington, for a duet.  Matt, who was a contestant on 'The Voice' this year, also provided the entertainment at the end of the night in the adjoining River Room.

A number of celebrities were in attendance on the night.  House Husbands stars Firass Dirani and Leah de Niese, actress Kerry Armstrong and actress/singer Alyce Platt just to name a few.  All were very charming and happy to pose for photos.   



Firass Dirani




Leah de Niese



Hugh wowing the crowd!

Karl Stefanovic was MC for the event and did a great job.  As well as a silent auction which was held in the foyer, there was also a live auction conducted with items including a year of Donna Aston Personal Training and an Angus Breeding Bull!  

At the end of the live auction, music guru Molly Meldrum announced he would auction his hat, signed by himself, Elton John and Katy Perry. Molly added that the winner of the hat would have to come to his house to collect the prize and put up some Christmas decorations whilst they were there! Great to see Molly joking about his near fatal fall less than a year on!

Molly Meldrum and MC Karl Stefanovic

As mentioned earlier, the evening concluded with dancing in the River Room.  It was a wonderful night and I am already looking forward to next year! 



Kale and Chorizo

I've wanted to cook with kale for a while but found it a bit daunting and, to be honest, wasn't really sure what to do with it!  Then one day I saw this baby at my local supermarket and I could not resist.

A quick search on the internet did not produce a recipe I was totally happy with so I just winged it and I must say I was quite happy with the result. 

Kale really is a "superfood" with lots of impressive health benefits.  This leafy green vegetable, a member of the cabbage/broccoli family, is full of vitamins - A, B folate, C and K.  It has cholesterol lowering benefits, cancer risk lowering benefits and is a powerful antioxidant with lots of anti-inflammatory benefits.  I can recommend reading about the many health benefits of this food - fascinating! 

I sauteed a thinly sliced red onion, thinly sliced chorizo sausage and some garlic in a little olive oil.  When the chorizo was nice and crispy I added about half the bag of kale (60grams) and put the lid on the pan.  After a few minutes the kale had wilted so I added some toasted almonds, cracked black pepper, gave it a good stir and it was ready. 

The end result was quite delicious and full of flavour - salty, crunchy and sweet! I had this as a meal but it would make a lovely side dish for chicken or fish or tossed through pasta.

Do you have a favourite way to cook kale?  I would love to hear any ideas/recipes for this wonderful vegetable!

Zucchini Slice

This zucchini slice is easy to make and delicious to eat.  It is a wonderful recipe for those occasions when you need to bring a plate.  I originally got the recipe from the taste website but as I tend to do I have changed it a bit! 

The main difference is that I like to cook the onion and bacon first with some garlic.  Not only do I love the aroma of these three beautiful ingredients cooking but I think it adds something to the dish.  And, everyone loves this slice, even my 18 month old niece so whilst the garlic enhances the flavours it is very subtle.

The ingredients...

Please imagine there is some minced garlic in the picture as I forgot to include it!  I use the minced garlic you buy in a jar for this recipe as I don't want chucks of garlic in the slice.  Also, I had run out of vegetable oil so used extra virgin olive oil and it was fine.  This is a very forgiving recipe! 

Sautéing the onion, bacon and garlic

Cheesy zucchini goodness

Adding the cooked bacon and onion

Ready to bake

Golden deliciousness!

Zucchini Slice

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 200gr bacon, finely chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 cup of self raising flour, sifted
• 5 eggs
• 375gr grated zucchini
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper
• Butter or olive oil spray to grease the pan

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Grease a baking pan of approximately 30cm x 20cm in size.  The Pyrex dish I use is slightly smaller than this.
3. Sauté the chopped onion, bacon and garlic until soft and golden.  Around 5 minutes should be long enough.  Let it cool slightly.
4. Beat the eggs, add the flour and mix until smooth.  
5. Add the zucchini, cheese, oil, onion and bacon mix to the flour and eggs. Combine well.
6. Season with pepper and salt to taste.  I never add salt as I don't believe it needs it.
7. Pour into the greased pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until cooked through.
8. Allow to cool slightly in the pan, cut into squares and then remove carefully!  Delicious served hot or cold.

Co Do

Co Do
196 Victoria Street
Richmond 3121

A cold, wet Melbourne Monday night.  My friend and I wanted a quick, cheap, filling meal.  I also wanted something that wouldn't derail my diet and had been craving chicken soup.  So we headed to Richmond where we knew we would be spoilt for choice.  Co Do fit the bill perfectly.

  
Wine and tea to begin the warming process!


We shared the prawn rice paper rolls to start.  My friend who has eaten at many of the Vietnamese restaurants along this strip declared them not the best he'd had but they were still very fresh and tasty and a very generous size.  

We both had the soup with rice noodles. 

Chicken

Bean shoots, fresh mint, lemon and an array of chilli sauces to add to the soup.

Chicken and Beef

The soup was lovely.  The broth flavourful, heaps of yummy noodles and the chicken and beef beautifully cooked.  A very generous serve.

Our total bill was just $24.50.  Excellent value and exactly what we wanted.  We left very full and warm from the inside out!



 

Eau De Vie

Eau De Vie

1 Malthouse Lane

Melbourne 3000

Eau De Vie is a cool, intimate city bar which specialises in cocktails and spirits.  Located at the end of Malthouse Lane, off Flinders Lane, there is no signage, just impressively big doors with brass handles.  

The cocktail menu is extensive, the drinks we tried lovely and the food sampled delicious. Loved the retro glasses! 

Our party was in a private room - the walls lined with bottles locked in their own little glass lockers.  These temperature controlled lockers can be rented to hold your treasured whiskey or wine.

The spicy prawns were served with a coriander aioli and were delicious.

Ocean Trout, creme fraiche, cucumber on soda bread.  Divine.

A cute finale - jam donuts!

Unfortunately I was unwell on the night and couldn't indulge in the lovely cocktails.  I think a return visit is definitely in order!

 

Stuffed Mushrooms

Like this pasta, my stuffed mushrooms are a quick, low fat, low calorie dinner.  They are a light meal yet filling at the same time.  Not the most attractive looking dish but they taste great and mushrooms are so good for us!  Mushrooms are nature's super food - high in antioxidants, nutrient rich, full of vitamins and minerals including vitamin D, and they are inexpensive! Perfect.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. In a little olive oil saute diced onion, sliced mushrooms, garlic, red capsicum, spinach leaves, chilli flakes and cracked black pepper.  Chopped bacon is a nice addition.  Once soft remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Whilst the onion mix is cooling prepare your mushrooms.  I use the flat BBQ mushrooms but you can use any large mushroom like Portobello.  Remove the stalk and peel.  Spray both sides lightly with olive oil spray and place on a tray lined with baking paper.

Once the onion mix has cooled combine with low fat ricotta cheese and fill your mushrooms. I use the ricotta you buy in the tub as I find it easier to work with in this recipe but fresh ricotta from the deli is fine too.

Adjust quantities to suit how many mushrooms you want to fill.  For these four medium mushrooms I used one small onion, about a cup of sliced mushrooms, a quarter of a capsicum, a large handful of spinach leaves and a generous tablespoon of ricotta.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the mushroom is soft and cooked and the mixture golden.

Enjoy with a crisp salad for a healthy, delicious meal!