<![CDATA[Curious Cook - News Blog]]>Fri, 12 Jul 2019 11:09:59 +1200Weebly<![CDATA[Autumn Quarter 2016]]>Thu, 28 Apr 2016 20:24:52 GMThttp://www.curiouscook.co.nz/news-blog/autumn-quarter-2016IN THIS EDITION:
Experience: Wine & Cheese with Juliet Harbutt
Taste: Cheese of the month
Free: Mother's Day Promo (free gift!)
Recreate: Recipe
To do: Upcoming Workshops

Experience: Wine and cheese with Juliet Harbutt. On the 3rd of April, I was fortunate enough to attend a wine and cheese Masterclass with one of the worlds leading authorities on anything 'cheese', Juliet Harbutt. It was held at the Batch Winery on Waiheke Island and boy did I have fun! We had just sat down at a beautifully presented outdoor table waiting for the class to begin when the skies opened up! That certainly didn't phase Juliet - we were moved under cover and she started the class while the tables were re-set for the tasting. Over the course of two hours we tasted our way through eight delectable New Zealand artisan cheeses and four 'Batch Winery' wines. The most interesting discovery for me was having a wee myth dispelled - white wine does not always pair nicely with fresh/white cheese and red wine is not always the best option when eating harder cheeses.
Some notable cheeses sampled on the day were: Whangapiro's 'Mt Tamahunga', a delicious soft white buffalo milk cheese, Origin Earth's 'Sleeping Giant', an organic sheep's milk hard cheese and Cranky Goat's 'Mt Court' made from, you guessed it, goat's milk!


Taste: Cheese of the month:
This was another of the cheeses I sampled during Juliet's class and I thought it was so good that I promptly came back home and ordered a kilo of it! Gluttony I know, but it is that good. This blue cheese comes from Wangapeka and is called 'Blue Rock'. It's a soft and silky textured blue-cheese with veins of blue running throughout and is extremely creamy and yet has intense bursts of blue that are like no other I have tried in New Zealand. I'm hooked.


Free: Mother's Day Promotions
I offer you two promotions this edition...!
1) Buy a Mad Millie Italian Cheese kit for $38 + delivery, and I will throw in a stylish Mad Millie Apron free. (Available until the 6th of May only.)

2) Enrol into any of my hands-on workshops that I have scheduled May, June or July - and as long as the workshop proceeds, I will give you a butter making kit on the day, worth $24 free! Just enter the coupon code 'Autumn' during checkout when registering online via Curious Cook.


Recreate: Gazpacho
My favourite soup - and it is not just a summer treat either. My friend Tracey served this up for me earlier this year and it has become a regular in our household ever since. I upped the anti by using some tarragon infused olive oil made by Peta Mathias rather than plain olive oil which makes this even more irresistible.
Don't let the amount of ingredients put you off - it is worth it!!

Ingredients:
4 cups cold tomato juice, 1 small minced onion, 2 cups freshly diced tomatoes, 1 cup green minced pepper, 1 tsp honey, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 diced cucumber, 2 scallions, juice of 1/2 lemon, juice of 1/2 lime, 2 Tbsp wine vinegar, 1 tsp tarragon, 1 tsp basil, dash ground cumin, 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley, dash of tabasco sauce, 2 Tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper to taste.
Method: Combine all ingredients and chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with crusty fresh bread.


To do: Autumn Workshops
For those of you wanting to up-skill or simply for those who are curious about how milk can be turned into one of your favourite cheeses, why not join me on your next food making adventure?
Remember that everyone who enrols online and attends one of my May, June or July workshops, will receive a free butter kit on the day. You must enrol online via the Curious Cook website and use the coupon code 'Autumn' when checking out.  (The workshop must have enough enrolments to proceed.)
Wellington Workshops:
Farmhouse Cheddar
Brie with Halloumi Demonstration
Masterclass - Camembert & more
Palmerston North Workshops:
Halloumi and Ricotta
Masterclass - Camembert & more
4 cheeses in one day (feta)

As always, I look forward to seeing you soon!
Best wishes,
Alexis
Curious Cook
]]><![CDATA[Spring Quarter]]>Tue, 08 Sep 2015 23:41:19 GMThttp://www.curiouscook.co.nz/news-blog/spring-quarter
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IN THIS BLOG:
New Website
Cook Club
Foodie Day Out in Otaki 2016
Recipe: Raw lemon, raspberry and choc 'cashew cheese' cake.
2015 Workshops
 
Hello new Website
It has been a while between letters and for good reason. I finally pressed the 'publish' button for the new, improved Curious Cook website last week! For anyone who has  attended a workshop of mine over the last few months, you know that this has been top of mind so I am pleased that it is now live! It is bigger, brighter and easier to navigate. To launch the site, I have a special offer for readers so click here to find out what it is!

Cook Club
I'm a little jealous. My husband is part of a Cook Club which a friend of ours started about 8 months ago. This club happens to be only for men and they meet up once every 4-6 weeks. The idea is that when it is your turn to host, you will cook your guests a starter, main and dessert - from scratch. Now these men love their food and so the bar was set to a high standard at meal number one when Venison Wellington was served up as the main dish.
As a full round has now been completed, I asked the boys to name some of their most memorable dishes. Steamed chilli mussels in white wine, a salad of young spinach, pear, blue cheese, walnuts and parma ham and a starter of quail egg served on toasted ciabatta with fresh homemade butter were the dishes that stood out - thus far! The Raclette was also mentioned a few times and if you don't know what that is - then I have some pictures of what one is on the Curious Cook facebook page here for you. I'm looking forward to hearing what they come up with next round!

Foodie Event in Otaki
Trinity Farm, It's All About The Taste and the Curious Cook are looking to team up early next year to provide you with the perfect excuse to head on up (or down), to Otaki for a day out. This event will be held at Trinity Farm early 2016. We are currently in the planning stages but it is looking like over the course of 3 hours, we will have tasting platters of beautifully made preserves and chutneys, samples of rose petal chocolate and other yummy rose items, along with a talk from Trinity Farm's Karen Piercy about using rose products in food. I'll demonstrate how to make a cheese which will then also be used to make a platter for you to enjoy. You'll also get to wander around the rose gardens afterwards and then perhaps head off to Otaki to do a spot of shopping. Sound good? If you are interested in attending, let me know and I'll keep you posted.

2015 Workshops
There are not too many more workshops scheduled between now and then end of the year so if you want to learn a new skill and perhaps make your own Christmas presents, then, enrol into one of my practical hands-on classes now. Halloumi & Ricotta, Farmhouse Cheddar, Camembert Masterclass or Feta are all on offer.

Though I don't have any scheduled, I also run a 1.5 hour hands-on pasta class where you learn to make perfect pasta dough, learn how to use a pasta machine and then use it to make fettuccine and ravioli. Perfect for team building or even a hens party. If you can get a group of 6 or more together, then give me a call to arrange your private workshop.

Recipe - Raw lemon, raspberry and chocolate 'cashew cheese' cake.
While I don't belong to Cook Club, I do belong to a Book Club. The last review I went to was hosted by my friend Kirsty and I can tell you that while the book had mixed reviews, this cheese cake received very high accolades indeed.  I thought I would share it with you...

Ingredients:
Crust: 1/2 cup chopped raw almonds, 1/2 cup chopped Medjool dates, 1/4 tspn salt, 3 Tbsp cacao
Filling: 1.5 cups raw cashews soaked in water over night, 2 lemons, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/3 cup coconut oil, 1/4 maple syrup.
100gm fresh raspberries to garnish
Chocolate Ganache: 1 cup coconut cream, 1 cup dark chocolate.

Method: Place all crust ingredients into food processor and pulse till mixture holds together when rolling it in your hands. Scoop into lined ring mould tin. Press firmly.
Warm coconut oil and maple syrup in small pan on a low heat until it becomes liquid. Add remainder of ingredients in food processor and blitz on high until very smooth. Pour half the mixture onto base, arrange some of the raspberries over it, then add remainder of the filling. Place in freezer until solid.
Warm cream in pot, add chocolate and stir to combine. Pour on top of filling. Now place in fridge to set.
Remove from mould, serve - and impress!
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