All blog posts tagged with italian
Fiasco Ristorante & Bar
What is the Fiasco experience? Bar Fiasco is a modern wine bar with an extensive wine menu of both local and international varieties. Ristorante Fiasco is authentic Italian regional cuisine with all the subtle extras’ which make you feel you are dining in a restaurant in Northern Italy. It is the combination of sophistication and elegance, with a charming honest Italian family atmosphere.
There is something truly wonderful about having a waiter with a strong Italian accent, or listening to the staccato instructions being given to staff in the native language.
It was a beautiful evening and we were seated outside in the courtyard to admire the sunset. The courtyard is a column filled space surrounded by gardens containing fresh herbs.
We were given a complimentary bowl of baby olives and the menus to peruse. At thirteen pages, the wine menu was the most comprehensive I have seen in Coffs Harbour. We were impressed at the varieties of wine on offer, and the regions represented. I can honestly say I have never sampled a true Sangiovese from Tuscany before, and I was excited! This was going to be a complete experience.
If you are having trouble choosing a wine, Bar Fiasco has a resident sommelier that has had an international career spanning three decades. He studied wine technology at Monash University and is certified by The International Court of Master Sommeliers.
Naturally the bar is not limited to wine alone. There is a great range of 18 beers, including local boutique beer from Bellingen, and a range of imported varieties. If you fancy a cocktail there is a full page to choose from.
The menu is mouth watering! The Ristorante uses fresh, local and imported ingredients with a real taste of Italy. Simone (sim-on-ay) our waiter tells us the menu changes regularly to suit the seasons. I chose the Fiori Di Zucchini Ripieni as an entrée to share with my lovely husband. The zucchini flowers are crumbed and filled. They are deliciously crispy on the outside with a smooth creamy pecorino and potato filling. The dish is presented beautifully on a tile with a salad of fresh flowers, heirloom tomato and mint.
The Italian wine certainly compliments the food and the atmosphere. Simone explains that Fiasco is a family owned business involving the extended family. Simone and Stefano (chef) have only lived in Australia for the last 5 years only, which also explains the authentic feel, the passion and the strong accents.
We enjoy a second glass of wine and admire the food being delivered to tables. It is all gorgeously presented and we promise each other that we will be back soon to try more dishes.
Our mains arrive, Mr GG has ordered the Pasta Ai Gamberi which is a delicious house made potato gnocchi served with Yamba prawns and finished with a burnt butter and black truffle sauce. The flavour is perfect; the gnocchi has been cut into cute little pieces to suit the size of the prawn perfectly. The prawn is deliciously light and fresh and the parsley finishes the taste of summer nicely.
My main is the Petto D’anatra, a Hastings Valley marinated duck breast served with caponata and puree of chick pea with juniper berry and port jus. This meal is to die for! There is no other way to describe the mouthwatering brilliance of the sauce. The more I ate the more I craved. I will struggle to go past this dish in future visits.
The duck itself was crispy skinned and succulent, cooked perfectly. It is served on a chick pea puree with tiny diced eggplant, raisin and zucchini, it looked like a Lebanese style of dish but tasted rich and modern. Mr GG and I spoke about how we could have just drunk the sauce straight from a jug.
In my opinion this is the pick of the restaurants in Coffs Harbour at the moment, it easily outshines others in the area. It has the location, the atmosphere, the service, the wine and a delicious menu which suits formal or casual dining. I had noted a Pancetta and Gorgonzola pizza on the menu which I would love to try on a more causal night.
I had managed to save a little space for dessert. The menu includes very tradition Italian desserts, presented in a modern style. I chose the Macedonia di Frutta. Which is a fresh stone fruit salad macerated in moscato and finished with a spiced lemon custard. The dessert was served in a scooped bowl with the fruit hidden under the zesty cheesecake foam. It was deliciously sweet, light and fluffy. It was the ideal summer dessert, a grown up fruit salad with lemon sherbet. The perfect finish to a beautiful evening!
Bar Fiasco is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 4pm. Ristorante opens at 6.00pm, for bookings phone 6651 2006. Fiasco is located on the Jetty strip of restaurants at 22 Orlando Street Coffs Harbour.
Marinated Feta & Garlic Prawn Fettuccini
Woops… I have had a little mishap. I accidentally deleted all the photo’s for the “how to” of this delicious meal. Trouble is, the dish tasted so delicious I really had to share it with you anyway.
It is a super quick dish to make which I thought was ideal for this time of year. I know our household gets very busy leading up to Christmas, so I am always happy for a quick fresh dish.
Can I also be a bit cheeky and say that the rocket, shallot and basil were all from my garden so it was straight from the garden to plate. Beautifully fresh!
Ingredients:
300gm garlic green prawns
3 shallots chopped
1 clove garlic
1 bunch basil
300gm jar of marinated feta. *
¼ bag rocket leaves
1 lemon
375gm Fettuccini
Method:
On a serving platter place a bed of rocket leaves.
In a saucepan bring a pot of water to the boil for the fettuccini. Add the fettuccini when boiling, cook as per manufacturers instructions.
Drain the marinated feta from the oil and reserve the oil for later use.
When the fettuccini is almost cooked, sauté the shallot and garlic in the oil reserved from the marinated feta. Add the prawns to the shallots and cook briefly until they are just coloured. Turn off the heat to the prawns, and add the basil leaves, stir through. Drain the pasta and return the fettuccini to the cooking pot. Pour over the garlic prawn and herb mixture and stir though briefly. Place the pasta on the bed of rocket and add the feta to the mixture. Mix the feta through slightly.
Squeeze some lemon over the dish and serve with extra wedges of lemon and a delicious glass of white wine.
* The marinated feta I used was the High Valley marinated Chili & Feta from Mudgee. The chili added a gorgeous taste to the dish so I would recommend this brand, or else sauté two birds eye chilies whilst sautéing the shallot.
Gorgonzola Tagliatelle
Week 51
Creamy
Can you hear me sobbing… the cookbook challenge is nearly over. Week 51!
When I saw that the topic was creamy I knew I wanted to do a creamy pasta dish. I immediately had visions of the luscious, creamy, blue cheese, Gorgonzola. I just needed a recipe to tie it all together for me. I was flicking through an old “Delicious” magazine when I noticed an interesting pasta dish. It was Green Pea Tagliatelle by Rick Stein.
The dish looked divine. I went through the list of ingredients feeling sure it would have a creamy blue cheese in there somewhere. When it didn’t, I reread the ingredients to determine if the dish would be suitably flavoursome and creamy enough for the challenge without the Gorgonzola I had been planning to use. To my mind, the answer was no, hence, this is the modified recipe of Rick Steins Tagliatelle, as published in Delicious Magazine September 2010. So tell me what you think of my amendment, is it a keeper or would you prefer the dish without the cheese and just a little chili as suggested in the Delicious Magazine.
Ingredients:
600gm Frozen Peas
1 Cup vegetable stock
½ cup grated parmesan
2 T/s olive oil
2 cloves garlic
½ cup chopped mint
1 large sprig rosemary
5 sprigs thyme
6 shallot sliced finely
6 cloves garlic chopped finely
3 T/s olive oil
½ cup shaved parmesan
500gm tagiatelle
100gm gorgonzola
Method:
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and blanch peas for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and drain the peas.
Reserve half of the peas for later.
Place ½ the peas in a food processor with stock, 2 T/s oil, grated parmesan and two cloves of raw garlic. Blend until you have a paste.
Fry the garlic and shallot in 3 T/s for just 2-3 mins, do not allow the garlic to colour. Turn the heat off.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and add pasta. Cook to the manufacturers specifications.
Chop the mint, thyme and rosemary roughly and add to the reserved whole peas.
Roughly chop the gorgonzola cheese and reserve for later.
Drain the pasta and toss into the sautéed shallot and garlic mixture. Mix the pea puree though the pasta and then add the reserved whole pea and herb mix. Stir through the gorgonzola and serve. The remaining shaved parmesan cheese is for serving.
I really enjoyed this dish. Although it doesn’t have a lot of fat and has no cream it tastes creamy and healthy at the same time. I served the dish lukewarm. I had photos to take after all. I really liked the dish served at this temperature for summer.
I will definitely make the dish again as it was really simple, quick and tasty. I also found it really practical because all the herbs came out of my garden (as well as the odd pea). I only had to buy the gorgonzola. I always have peas in the freezer, and pasta about, either in the fridge or pantry, so this is a dish I could make at a moments notice.
In the future I would add more herbs and more garlic. I really felt the dish could stand up to the extra herb flavours with the addition of gorgonzola to the recipe.
di Lusso Estate Restaurant
Di Lusso Estate is dubbed “an Italian Experience, in the heart of Mudge.” The vineyard specialized in producing wine made with traditional Italian grape varities such as Pinot Grigio, and Sangiovese. The vineyard also continues the Italian tradition of growing figs and olives for use in cooking, on the table, and in condiments and oils. These products are available to be tasted at the cellar door.
We were visiting di Lusso to experience the restaurants gourmet wood fired pizzas. We were pleased to notice a table at the lakes edge which was big enough to accommodate our large group.
We had a look over the menu and decided to order all five of the savoury pizzas. This way we could all have a slice of each pizza. I was pleased with the decision as I was struggling to choose just one pizza from the range.
We intended to do a little wine tasting while we waited for the meal, and perhaps choose a bottle to enjoy over lunch. Unfortunately the cellar door was busy the whole time! We were unable to do more than sample the olive oils and figs which are available on a tasting table.
Our table by the lake was an ideal spot to watch the kids play bocce and run around on the grass. My curiosity got the better of me and I wandered over to where the pizzas were being made. The set up was all outdoors so I watched the pizzas being topped and then loaded into the pizza oven. It was fascinating and it made me hungry all over again.
In addition to the pizza range there’s a menu which is changed weekly. Two specials which caught my eye were the chicken roasted in tarragon and a pinot grigio wine sauce, and a chorizo and mushroom risotto. I am pretty confident with our decision to order the wood fired pizza, the aroma while they were cooking was just magic.
It wasn’t long before the pizzas started appearing on the table. They were each cut into six slices which suited our group perfectly. The first pizza I tried was the Quattro Fromaggi, or four cheese pizza. I took a deep breath in to inhale all the divine melted cheese smells. With my mouth watering I devoured the slice! It was the cheeseiest, tasties pizza ever! It reminded me straight away of the four cheese panini hubby and I shared in Paris a few years ago. It’s funny how smells and tastes bring back such clear memories.
Once I emerged from my food daze I tried the anchovy and caper pizza with Italian parsely and mozzarella cheese. It was another immediate favourite, a seafoody, salty and cheesey pizza full of flavour.
I shared my slice of Tuscan pizza with the kids. It was made with Tuscan salami, olives sundried tomato and mozzerella cheese. I am always pleased that my kids will eat whatever we are having, it makes dining out much easier.
The vegetable pizza relies on seasonal local produce and is another changing feature on the menu. We enjoyed a pizza of roasted pumpkin, olives, zucchini, eggplant, cherry tomato and mozzarella cheese. This seemed to be a favourite pizza of the kids.
I had been looking forward to trying the pear, proscuitto and gorgonzola pizza. I love strong cheese and I thought the combination sounded perfect. Whilst the pizza was nice, it wasn’t quite what I had hoped. I couldn’t taste gorgonzola at all, and it seemed it had been given a sprinkle of parmesan instead. As a result it was a little dry.
Not to be deterred we decided we would be able to manage one more pizza. We ordered the dessert pizza special. It featured apple and rhubarb with slivers of almond and Mudgee honey in a double cream. I have become a real fan of the dessert pizza lately. This pizza was moist and lush with a beautiful fruity flavour and a great note to end our meal.
We called the kids over to try a slice of the dessert pizza and it was devoured in seconds, so it is safe to say they gave it the big thumbs up also.
The kids continued to play bocce and the adults enjoyed a quiet moment relaxing by the lake.
Di Lusso Estate is located at 1094 Eurundee Lane, Mudgee. It is open Mon- Fri from 9.00 – 5.00pm and from 10.00am -6.00pm on the weekend. For restaurant reservation phone: 02 6373 3125
Mixed Berry & Mascarpone Calzone
I have been slowly and quietly collecting pizza pans of all sizes. I started with the typical larger pans and over time my pans are getting smaller and smaller. The reason for the change is “The Gourmet Pizza.” With individual pizza pans we can all make a pizza to suit our tastes.
Today I bought my smallest pizza pan yet it has a diameter of merely 15cm. This purchase came about because I a wonderful pizza experience I had yesterday with a “dessert” pizza. It was a Mixed Berry and Mascarpone Calzone and it was sublime. I know I will be exploring the world of dessert pizza’s, and the only problem with the one I made yesterday was that it was too big for one person. I cut it into four serves but I think it would be far nicer as a petite, sweet individual calzone. The recipe below is for a 20cm pan as I am yet to make it in the smaller size.
I have to say a big thank you to my mother for keeping me with a regular supply of berries.
Pizza Dough
500gm Bakers Flour
10gm yeast
5gm sugar
5gm salt
310 ml warm water
20ml oil
Method:
Throw all the ingredients into a bread maker and come back to it when the machine finishes. Too easy!
Lightly oil 5 pizza trays 20cm diameter. Divide the dough into five even balls.
Flatten the dough ball into the pizza trays and allow them to proof again. Once they have proofed as desired they can be refrigerated for later use or topped with fillings immediately.
Mixed Berry & Mascarpone Calzone Filling
250gm mascarpone
3 T/s icing sugar
40 gm melted butter
1 t/s vanilla bean paste
150gm raspberry
150gm chopped strawberry
150gm blueberry
10 t/s sugar
icing sugar to dust
Method:
Pre heat oven to 230 degrees with a pizza stone in place.
Combine the mascarpone with vanilla and icing sugar. Set aside for later use.
Follow the dough method above and press the dough into the 20cm pizza pan and allow to proof as desired. Brush the dough with melted butter.
On a semi circle of the pizza place the mixture of the three types of berries and sprinkle 2 t/s of sugar over each calzone.
Add the mascarpone in dollops evenly over the fruit on each of the calzones.
Fold the Calzone over and seal the join by pressing edges firmly together. Go around the edges with a fork and press again.
Use the remaining ½ t/s sugar to dust over the finished calzone.
Bake in the oven at 230 degrees for ten minutes, checking regularly.
Remove the calzone from the oven and dust with generous amounts of icing sugar.
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3 TOURS DEPARTING 2012
Have Your Say
I wish I had you for my mum when I was 5!
That cake would have been the talk of the town for the rest of the year - fantastic job.
A lot of your blogs will be interactively design and style that visitor share data to read your blog.
Thank you so much, it is going to be a wonderful surprise for my Mum, I wish everyone a great day with your own special people, those who helped you become who you are today.
Mum definitely deserves the hamper, because she is an amazing woman that has brought up 3 kids through tough times. She is the best mum a son could ask for.
She's had it tough, working hard
deserving much more than just a card
So let's raise a glass and toast her true
The best person in the world - Mum, that's you!
Thanks for the info on Rasa Malaysia's book. I used to visit her website for recipes but some time ago, igot a new PC and forgot to bookmark it!
You're too modest Julie! You did a great job with the cake! :D
Yellow strawberries and cream is just perfect for mum as a reward for putting up with two kids who were a pain in the bum.
I would have loved to have seen those martini glasses! Hope Miss A had a lovely time celebrating turning 5 :D
It shouldn't. It should go to me as whilst trying to make sure my mum, step-mum, MIL, Step-MIL, 3 x Grandmas are spoilt on Mother's Day, I always seem to get forgotten!
My poor old mum is battling to care for my step dad who has advanced Parkinsons. My real dad who has had a stroke still expects her to be there for him, my bro is going bankrupt and she lives two states away from her only gransdon. Her life has little joy- JUst wish for one thing nice to happen to her. We all love our mums, good luck to you all!
Perfect place to relax and forget about all the troubles we have in the city and just unwind ~ can't wait to go to somewhere like this hehe
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