January is a new beginning, so I’ve made some other resolutions as well. You know, the usual ones—lose weight (about 4kg), exercise more (3–4 times a week for 20–30 minutes), eat healthier (smaller portions, healthier choices)…

My general approach to these resolutions is “everything in moderation”. Words to live by and, for me, much easier to stick to than some crazy fasting diet or detox.

One part of “lose weight, eat healthier” means me starting fresh in 2014 by giving up alcohol for the entire month of January (five days in and feeling good!). I did it last year and was surprised at how amazing I felt after a couple of weeks. One or two glasses of wine slows me down the next day so it’s good for me to give my body a break, particularly after all the rich foods and excessiveness of the holiday season. Once February comes my resolution is changes to allow a couple of drinks on weekends but none during the week. Again, that’s something that I did last year and it really helped how mentally sharp I was during the working week.

In terms of eating healthier I’m taking a good hard look at my portion sizes and leaving more space on my plate when I serve up food. I know I’ve been eating too much, especially at night and this affects how well I sleep. Lack of sleep in turn makes me feel sluggish in the morning and more likely to make bad food choices during the day.

I’m also trying to eat lighter in general, meaning more salads and not many heavy things like potato, pasta, pastry and creamy/buttery things. Some of my meals since New Years’ and on the menu for this week are:

• lamb and haloumi skewers with a variation on a Greek salad—lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, capsicum; no olives or feta
• slow-roasted chicken with Ottolenghi: The Cookbook’s chargrilled cauliflower with tomato, dill and capers
• BBQ steak with artichoke and herb salad (an old favourite found in the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet Book 2
  )
• smoked salmon with lemon and garlic chive cream cheese (just a smidge!) on a slice of rye plus a simple salad—lettuce, tomato, radish, cucumber and carrot
• seared lamb with quinoa tabouli
• grilled sweet corn salad with black beans and almonds
• thai turkey salad
• Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals tuna, coconut rice and jiggy jiggy vegetables
• and another Jamie Oliver dish—Keralan veggie curry

I’ve also know that I don’t eat enough fruit. Sometimes I just forget about it for days at a time, I’ll admit I’m not a massive fan of fruit, much preferring to eat vegetables instead. So I’ve committed myself to 1–2 serves a day, which is the recommended daily intake.

What are your food resolutions for 2014?

There are so many mouthwatering recipes in Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals it’s hard to choose, but eventually I settled on an Asian style beef and noodle salad (page 68).

Challenge #2 Seared Asian Beef, Best Noodle Salad & Ginger Dressing

All of the recipes in this book start with the instruction “ingredients out” and this recipe also suggested boiling the kettle and setting a frypan on high heat.

Ingredients: cashews, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, rice noodles, romaine lettuce, carrot, cucumber, radishes, coriander, spring onions, cress, alfalfa sprouts, steak, Chinese five spice, pickled ginger, limes, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, olive oil, red chilli

So I set about weighing ingredients and getting various tools ready to go. This took 10 minutes and 44 seconds. Slightly longer than the first challenge but not by much.

Start cooking

First is toasting the nuts and seeds until golden then setting aside. Next pouring boiling water over the noodles to heat them through; then rubbing the steak with Chinese five spice, salt and pepper, and cooking in the pan until done to your liking (medium-rare for me). All very straightforward.

Next was the ginger dressing, really just mixing the pickled ginger, lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and chopped chilli together. Not difficult.

Now on to assembling the salad—separating lettuce leaves, grating carrot, chopping radishes, cucumber and spring onion (by hand, not with the food processor like most of these recipes call for), grabbing the coriander leaves, cress and alfalfa, then arranging them on a platter or board—there’s nothing complicated here. All the while flipping your steak and, when cooked, resting it.

Finally, draining the rice noodles and scattering them over the salad, slicing the beef and placing the slices on top, then scattering the platter with the nuts and seeds.

It all sounds like the simplest thing in the world, and it is, but it still took me 22 minutes and 20 seconds to complete it. Although I have to admit, I wasn’t trying too hard because after last time I’d decided I preferred my own cooking pace.

That brings the total cooking time up to 33 minutes and 4 seconds. OK, so not 15 minutes but I still think that’s really quick to produce a delicious healthy dinner.

My thoughts

Positive: This dish had fantastic Asian elements—sweetness, saltiness, heat, fabulous crisp vegetables, amazing crunch from the toasted nuts and seeds, soft noodles, and tender juicy meat. I loved the combination. There were lots of beautiful textures and every mouthful was just a little bit different, depending on what ingredients had ended up on the fork.

Negative: Who am I kidding—brilliant dish! Just took a little longer to prepare than I expected.

Next time?

I will certainly make Jamie’s Seared Asian Beef, Best Noodle Salad & Ginger Dressing again but will start by cooking the steak, and allowing it plenty of time to rest. The nuts and seeds can easily be toasted in another pan—extra washing up but not a big deal.

I’ve been watching Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals on TV and was given the accompanying recipe book for Christmas. Always on the lookout for great recipes to add to my work-day dinner repertoire, this book is full of my kind of food and I thought it best to get stuck in and give it a go this week. And why not put a time limit on myself for once. Could I actually cook a meal in 15 minutes? Challenge accepted.

I’m notoriously slow at preparing food, partly because I like to clean up as I go and partly because of a previous kitchen mishap (picture a tough-skinned Queensland Blue pumpkin, a blunt knife and a self-stabbing—the pumpkin won that day).

I’ve read quite a few reviews of the book and blogs of people challenging themselves in the same way. Not too many seem to have managed it so my expectations for success in the 15-minute timeframe were not high.

Challenge #1 Golden scallops, sun-blush mash & greens

The golden scallops, sun-blush mash & greens recipe (page 144) appealed to me as a good starting point—all the flavours I love and maybe, just maybe, achievable in the timeframe because there’s not a lot of ingredients or chopping to worry about.

Ingredients: scallops, bacon, sage, potatoes, cheddar cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, milk, broccoli, asparagus, frozen peas, lemon juice, olive oil

Ready, set…

I should start by quoting the instructions in the book to get ready for cooking “ingredients out • kettle boiled • large shallow lidded casserole pan, high heat • medium pan, high heat • food processor (bowl blade) • large frying pan, medium heat”.

Rightly or wrongly, I took “ingredients out” to mean weighing out quantities, and some vegetable peeling and trimming. It took me 10 minutes and 27 seconds to get prepared (yes, I was keen to really test myself time-wise).

Now to the cooking. GO.

The idea was to get the potatoes on the heat first, as they would take the longest to cook. Jamie’s idea of 1cm slices going into a hot pan and covering them with already boiling water was a good one—the potatoes took a lot less time than normal to cook. Although I can envisage a few kitchen mishaps with boiling water going into the hot pan. It bubbles, hisses and spurts a lot!

Next was cooking the greens. Boiling water for 3 minutes—a no brainer really. Jamie says to toss with lemon juice and olive as soon as they have been drained. I personally think they need to be refreshed in cold water first, but I guess that would take up a bit more time and it’s something I can do next time.

Continuing on with the sun-blush part of the mash, the cheese and sun-dried tomatoes go into the food processor to blitz in readiness for when the potatoes are cooked—easy.

Next, slicing bacon and scoring scallops ready for the pan. Jamie says to cook the scallops first. For me, scallops are so quick to cook I think the bacon (I used proscuitto instead) should hit the pan first because it takes longer to melt the fat. Then the scallops and sage leaves could be added so they cook in the bacon fat. Another personal choice…

While that’s happening the cooked potatoes are drained and go into the food processor to create the mash.

Then plate up. It all comes together quite well. My cooking time: 16 minutes, 6 seconds. So not far too off the 15-minute timeframe.

Total time: 26 minutes, 33 seconds. Probably the fastest dinner I’ve ever prepared and cooked. Definitely the messiest state I’ve cooked in, physically and mentally.

My thoughts

Positive: I like the concept of Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals and the resulting dish was delicious! Sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, sage, scallops—these work so well together. Salty, meaty, sweet—brilliant! The mash, despite the rich flavours of sun-dried tomato and tasty cheddar, was surprisingly light and had a gorgeous creamy texture. It’s made me completely rethink the way I make mash.

Negative: I felt really rushed and disorganised, even though I had read the recipe several times and had everything out, weighed and ready to go. I know it’s not meant to be a race but I’m sure many people would struggle to get this done in 30–40 minutes, let alone 15! Oh, and perhaps I am guilty of gluttony but the dish needs more scallops (4 each is simply not enough of these tasty critters).

Next time?

I will most certainly make this dish again…but for me cooking should be an enjoyable experience, so I’ll do it while sipping a glass of wine and without the mad rush. I don’t really mind if this means it takes me longer.

Eating tapas at Ole Restaurant can be as light or as filling as you want, with a long list of tapas and more substantial plates (raciones). The atmosphere is casual, relaxed dining and the staff are very friendly and helpful with the menu, not to mention the food being delicious. Here’s what we had:

• chickpea fritters with hot sauce (bolitas de garbanzo)
• crispy spiced potatoes (patatas bravas)
• beef cheeks braised in pedro ximenez, green pea and radish salad (mejillas de carne)
• tomato, rocket, walnut and manchego (ensalada de tomate y manchego)
• Spanish cold set custard with warm toffee and blood orange (crema catalana)

The beef cheeks were the stand out dish of our selection—the meat was soft, melt-in-the-mouth and oh so rich, and the pea and radish salad was a good fresh palate cleanser so you could keep going back for more of that dark, decadent goodness. The crunchy patatas bravas were also brilliant for soaking up the pedro ximenez sauce leftover on the plate. Yes, it was that good! They weren’t lying about the hot sauce for the chickpea fritters (thankfully there’s sangria) but everything we ordered was delightful.

Will we be going back? Yes, definitely. We simply have to try the Spanish classic—paella—and there were three types on the menu. There were also many more appealing tapas and raciones to sample so at the very least we’ll have to make a second trip.

Ricky’s Restaurant is located at Noosa Wharf on the river just a short walk, ferry ride or drive from Hastings Street. We like it for the escape it offers from the hustle and bustle of the main beach area. With its perfect riverfront location, it’s easy to while away the hours at Ricky’s. On a clear Noosa day the sunlight reflecting off the water is mesmerising, not to mention watching the many boats that pass by. There’s a distinctive vibe about Ricky’s—it’s open glass walls, high ceilings and polished wooden floors remind me of a beach house—I just want to stay, relax and enjoy.

Now to the menu…so many choices, all of them appealing. Even the gluten free (GF) menu had a few different options for entrees and mains. Here’s what we had:

Entrees

• BBQ quail, spiced carrot, medjool dates, rocket salad, honey yoghurt dressing
• WA octopus, pork belly, baba ganoush, slow roasted cherry tomatoes, haloumi, eggplant jam (GF)

Mains

• Char grilled Grainge eye fillet, potato leek gratin, confit shallot puree, asparagus, olive, manchego butter (GF)
• Herb crusted lamb rack, spiced quinoa, roast pumpkin, goats feta, almonds

Desserts

• Deconstructed cheesecake, strawberries, rhubarb sorbet
• Chocolate cake sundae, mascarpone ice cream, hazelnut panna cotta, strawberries (GF)

For me, the dish of the day was the herb crusted lamb with quinoa. The sweet and soft roasted pumpkin, wonderfully spiced quinoa very Moroccan in flavour, creamy goat’s cheese for a hint of saltiness, toasted almonds for crunch, and delightfully tender savoury lamb, each mouthful was a pleasure.

I cannot fault the food. The ingredients were as fresh as fresh could be, and the dishes satisfying without being too filling. I like to eat this way, it’s this kind of food that makes me happy. Ensconced in a light-filled restaurant with a stunning view, served by attentive wait staff, my smile widens with every bite. I feel privileged to have such a wonderful eating experience. And rest assured we will be back as soon as we possibly can.

Esquire has a unique approach to the menu. Rather than offer any al a carte options, it simply has degustation—you can choose between the short menu (6–9 courses) or long menu (9–15 courses). Each day the menu changes to use the best produce available so you can never be quite sure what you’re going to be served.

Esquire’s degustation-only menu is not necessarily going to appeal to everyone, there’s something quite adventurous about it—unusual textures and striking flavour combinations that some may find challenging. But those willing foodies should have faith in the talent of chefs Ryan Squires and Ben Devlin, they put forward sublime plates of food.

On the night we dined, we opted for the long menu ($150 per person) and were treated to:

• Kim chi
• Air dried beef
• ‘BBQ’ kettle chips
• Truffle and ham
• Scampi nigiri
• Ike jime coral trout with avocado and perilla
• Squid with bisque and cauliflower
• Corned beef with quark and cavalo nero
• Itchi bai with almond and apple
• Deckle of beef with yoghurt and parsley
• Popcorn with chocolate, berries, hazelnut and coconut and cocoa rocks
• Campari with orange, curds and whey
• Strawberries, tea and cake

As each dish was brought to the table the produce and processes used to prepare it was explained to us…and the final product was flawless—like art on a plate that tasted absolutely amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed eating at Esquire—each dish served to us seeming better than the last, made up of lots of little elements all complementing one another perfectly.

It was a leisurely dinner, accompanied by beautiful wines chosen for us by the sommelier. You would expect the bill to make your heart skip a beat, but really, for the quality and care taken with the food, wine and service, it was quite reasonable. Something we would happily go back for.

The key to tackling a food festival, and managing to sample plenty of dishes, is to sit down and plan everything you want to try before wandering around and becoming overwhelmed with the selections—your eyes are always bigger than your stomach so it’s good to prioritise. After thorough and careful assessment, we began.

Our first dish was Ortiga‘s chicken and lemon croquettas. These had a rich, creamy filling, cut with a hit of zingy lemon, and a delightfully crunchy deep-fried breadcrumb shell. The ultimate comfort food, and still being a bit crisp in the late morning, it made for a good start.

In search of wine, we happened upon the next on our food tasting list—Moda, which was serving a tapas plate of marinated Hervey Bay scallop with lemongrass and grapefruit; Gold Coast prawn ceviche with orange and vanilla; and piquilla pepper and fish salad. The chef, Javier Codina, is quite simply a genius. His food is so enticingly full of flavour. It sounds simple but has a complexity that leaves you wanting more and more.

After a quick sip of 2011 Stonier Chardonnay, it was off to Brents for crispy confit duck with eureka lemon and liquorice. Delicious! The duck was so soft it just melted in your mouth and the liquorice crisp was a brilliant textural change that held its flavour in the mouth and cut through the richness of the duck. Loved it!

Next stop 1889 Enoteca. We’ve tried to visit this popular restaurant three times (always booked out), so it was great to finally try their food. On the menu, potato gnocchi with pork and fennel sausage, black truffle tapenade and, parmesan cream. Great dish, you could really pick out the aniseed flavour of the fennel in the pork sausage and the gnocchi was light and fluffy, but I fear the sauce was just too rich for such a hot day. About half way through this dish we were full, but assisted to the finish by a glass of 2010 Stefano Lubiana Primavera Chardonnay.

In dire need of something lighter and fresh, it was off to Armstrongs for crisp fried Toowoomba range pork cheek, caramelised onions and apple puree. OK, so that doesn’t sound lighter, but it came with a refreshing salad of lettuce and apple with a vinaigrette. The pork was like one of Nana’s slow-cooked Sunday roasts—soft, salty and wonderfully intense. There’s no room for the health conscious at a food festival, you just have to embrace it.

The last of the savoury dishes was Aria Brisbane‘s daube of Darling Downs beef pie with Paris mash and a glass of 2010 St Hallett Faith Shiraz. Talk about died and gone to foodie heaven…buttery pastry around a thick meaty filling, topped off with creamy mashed potato, it really doesn’t get any better.

I have to admit, we both needed to sit and relax (with a glass of 2010 Wirra Wirra Catapult Shiraz) for quite some time before even considering dessert, of which there were plenty on offer. In summary:

• Custard tart with fresh local Red Hill raspberries from Confit
• Macaroons (caramel, chocolate and strawberry) from Boucher French Bistro—light and luscious
• Meringue with mascarpone cream, Babinda banana and salted butterscotch sauce, also from Boucher French Bistro—game over, this dessert was amazing!
• Chocolate sour cream cup cake with real Red Hill raspberry butter cream, again from Boucher French Bistro—gorgeous and just the right amount of sweetness.

You could not ask for a better day, venue and setup for the Delectable Food Bowl, it was perfect. A great showcase not only of Brisbane’s favourites, but of well known local restaurants and cafes as well. The organisers had arranged plenty of tables and chairs, and the chosen area in Botanic Gardens offered both shaded and sunny grassed areas for lounging around. And with three stages for live music, visitors to the festival could experience a different vibe from each of the three different precincts.

The only down side—massive queues for “delectable dollars” (I’m sure some people waited for well over 30 minutes to purchase the only currency accepted at the festival) and then currency sellers ran low later in the afternoon. This would certainly have affected sales at the food and drink outlets, but it did seem to sort itself out after the mad lunch-time rush.

All in all I think the event was a success…and judging by the crowd, an event that Brisbane-based foodies have been crying out for. Looking forward to 2013!

‘A first-class restaurant in a shopping mall?’ you ask. I was a little dubious too. The surprisingly intimate experience starts at the front door—wrought iron covered in leafy vines. Guests are greeted at the door by a staff member who leads you down a long hallway, decorated with branches and vines. To me, it felt like being welcomed into an enchanted forest. The hall opens out into the elegant dining room, with a honey-hued sandstone feature wall, large arched windows and more branches and leafy vines amongst velvet-clad lounges. The atmosphere is very warm and inviting, at the same time it feels luxurious…and all this before the food and drinks begin!

The seven-course degustation actually ends up being about nine courses with the extra bits and pieces that are brought out as part of the dining experience. Our degustation included:

• Snacks—tapioca crisps, soubise mousseline, fried bread, cured lardo
• Becasse artisan bread, olive oil butter
• Local radish, melon, oloroso and green zebra gazpacho
• Chilled ocean consommé, Pacific oyster, scallop and octopus
• Spanner crab, chamomile, young coconut and crab jelly
• Flame-grilled mussels, caramelised calves sweetbread, duck prosciutto and kohl rabi
• Extra course (not on the menu so I don’t know precisely what to call it): a smashed potato gratin
• Slow-cooked lamb shoulder, pine smoked summer heirlooms, cardamom jus OR Slow-roasted pork, endive, olive, fennel and lemon myrtle
• Autumn still life
• 68% Alto Beni Zokoko chocolate cadeau, dulce de leche, peanut and milk sorbet OR Verbena crème caramel, golden peach, blueberry and lemon balm
• Petits fours.

The overall dining experience could only be described as decadent. The food is breathtakingly beautiful in presentation and, combined with the sommelier’s wine selection to complement each course, a foodie’s delight to eat. The flavours are delicate and refined as you would expect any good French restaurant to serve.

I’m not sure that I could pick a favourite course but I was pleasantly surprised by the calves’ sweetbreads. Having never eaten brains before, I wasn’t sure what to expect but they tasted like perfectly-cooked tender veal, although a bit softer in texture. Delicious…

At the end of the degustation it feels like you’ve been on a very exclusive journey with your fellow diners. Like a secret shared only with a select few. And taking excellent customer service to the extreme, when signing the bill we were given takeaway bags with lovely breakfast pastries from the Becasse Bakery. It certainly leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling about the evening. A very nice touch indeed.

A Mediterranean feast is also very easy to prepare with the help of a good providore. Our staples for eating this way are:

• olives—we love smoked kalamatas, Sicilian olives marinated in lemon and garlic, and green olives stuffed with either feta or blue cheese
• ciabatta or Turkish bread—1cm slices lightly toasted
• garlic dip (this is essentially fresh garlic cloves ground with salt and olive oil till it’s light and creamy—delicious)
• dolmades—vine leaves stuffed with rice and herbs
• baby Roma tomatoes
• marinated Persian feta
• marinated artichoke hearts.

Just today we had a variation of this for lunch. If you wanted to have meat as part of this then you could add some finely sliced salami or ham.

When we are entertaining or having a Mediterranean feast for dinner we add:

• Greek salad
• Grilled haloumi (with onion, parsley & lemon)
• Chicken souvlaki (I use Jamie Oliver’s wicked souvlaki recipe, but substitute pork for chicken)
• Marinated lamb skewers.

There are many ways to make a Greek salad but I have a simple and effective recipe that can be put together in no time.

Greek salad

2 cups salad leaves, torn
1 Lebanese cucumber, diced
200g baby Roma tomatoes, cut into halves or quarters
12–16 pitted kalamata olives
250g marinated Persian feta, drained but retaining the liquid to use as salad dressing
½ a Spanish onion, finely sliced (optional)

Combine these ingredients in a large salad bowl. Drizzle some of the marinade from the Persian feta over the salad and toss to coat. Once the salad is dressed, serve immediately.

Grilled haloumi is something I love. Haloumi has a high melting point so, despite being fried or grilled, it holds its shape and chewy texture.

Grilled haloumi

250g packet of haloumi
½ a brown onion, diced
Juice of half a lemon
⅓ cup of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Combine the onion and lemon juice in a bowl and leave to stand (this will soften the onions and take away any astringency). Meanwhile cut the haloumi into 5mm slices. Heat some olive oil in a fry pan. Fry the haloumi over medium heat until golden on both sides. Remove from the heat and drain the slices on paper towel. Add the chopped parsley to the lemon and onion and toss to combine. Arrange the haloumi on a serving plate and sprinkle the onion, parsley and lemon over the top.

We spent several very enjoyable hours checking out wines, cheeses, dips, smallgoods, coffee—you name it, it was there for the sampling. The show merchandise was very clever too. Upon entry, if you wanted to sample wine, you had to buy a glass. We bought the wine glasses with neck straps—an excellent idea for keeping the hands free for picking up food samples and carrying purchases. After about an hour we’d bought so much that we then had to buy a trolley so we could wheel our purchases around instead of lugging them. If only they had cooler bags…

Going on Friday instead of over the weekend also meant that the crowds weren’t too bad and we never had to wait too long to be served.

A couple of downsides though…

Firstly the convention centre in Brisbane lacks any kind of style, which detracts from the overall atmosphere of the event. It’s rather soulless and very much likely wandering around a huge tin shed.

The second issue was that while there were ample food stalls to sample, the eating area serving lunch was expensive. Whatever happened to the gourmet sandwich or pizza, or what about a meze platter? We’re not particularly interested in paying $20+ a plate for lunch just because some ex-MasterChef contestant developed the dish…a real chef, maybe…

Overall, it is certainly a great way to try lots of different wines without having to commit to buying a whole bottle. I just think that the Brisbane Good Food and Wine Festival lacked the breezy vibe of Taste of Sydney (which we’ve just booked to attend again in 2012). Mind you, they are quite different events—the Sydney one focuses on restaurants serving samples from their menus, whereas this one focuses on food and wine producers showing off their wares.