The relationship between Nic Peterkin- proprietor and winemaker of L.A.S Vino- and the Petition Wine Bar, has already made for some pretty exciting events. In 2016 Nic opened up a pop-up winery right in the middle of the State Buildings, pressing nebbiolo grapes in a manual basket press. And a year later, he returned with a barrel of Pinot Rose, a hand bottling machine, a milk pan of pink wax and two arms full of empty wine bottles. While I and the remainder of the attendance stammered through hand bottling (A simple process, toward which I was cautious nonetheless, precious cargo.) Nic is always happy to talk his opinions on winemaking, but quick to warn that "Winemaking is 10% fact and 90% opinion, but every Winemaker thinks that their 90% opinion is fact". This particular Rose is almost entirely unfiltered, giving it a cloudy appearance and bold, beautiful flavour. It was a rare treat to get to try wine straight from the barrel, and this rose was a glorious introduction to a style of wine I hope to see more of. On to labelling and dipping in wax, and my left handedness got the best of me, leaving me with a pretty slapdash effort with a golden marker. L.A.S Vino's 2016 Vintage is out now, and The Petition Wine Bar is open every day from 12-Late.
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28/4/2017 0 Comments Highballs: The Tom CollinsBeside the 2:1:1 Sour and the Old Fashioned sits a third very malleable cocktail recipe. Highballs are refreshing, simple, low alcohol and delicious. They're most people's introduction to spirits, and can be deceptively simple. However, a Cuba Libre can be more than just a pretentious Rum and Coke and a Dark and Stormy not just an expensive Rum and ginger ale. The key to exciting highball cocktails is attention to good ingredients in a proper balance. The Tom Collins uses a simple 1.5:1:0.5 ratio of spirit, citrus, sugar, and is topped up with sparkling water. This same ratio can be used with many combinations of spirits and flavours to create a number of classic cocktails: swap the spirit for rum and the citrus for lime, muddle in some mint and you've got a Mojito. Swap out sparkling water for champagne to make a French 75. Or sub Vodka, lime and ginger ale for a glorious Moscow Mule. While we're using a cocktail shaker for this recipe, many highballs can be built right in the glass. The distinction is mostly a point of personal preference, a shaken highball will have a more cohesive mix of flavours, it will also aerate and dilute the cocktail. As a rule of thumb I shake when using less carbonated mixer as in a Tom Collins and French 75, and don't shake when using more mixer as in a Moscow Mule or Dark and Stormy. The history of the Tom Collins is slightly ambiguous, owed in a small part to a number of similarly made and similarly named recipes of the time. We do know that in 1874 a hoax went around whereby people would ask each other if they'd seen Tom Collins, and when inevitably told that they hadn't, the hoaxer would point to a nearby bar and suggest that Tom Collins was in there spreading rumours about the hoaxee. The hoax swept through America and a number of newspapers played ball, reporting on sightings of Tom Collins. Two years later, the first Tom Collins recipe appeared in print, likely using the Tom monicker to specify the use of Old Tom gin (An omission in this recipe, London Dry Gin has come a long way). And by 1880 the drink was a national favourite. Tom Collins
1.5oz London Dry Gin (Old Tom Gin if you have a sweet tooth) 1oz Lemon Juice 0.5oz Simple Syrup Sparkling Water Fill a highball or Collins glass with ice Shake Gin, Lemon Juice and Simply Syrup in a cocktail shaker, strain into the glass Top of with sparkling water The term Artisan is very popular right now. And it's easy to slip into thinking of the term as a specific aesthetic, as an adjective synonymous with 'trendy' or a set of instructions. These definitions open themselves quite dangerously to classification, to oversimplification and mockery. But hidden amongst bakeries filled with Edison bulbs and hired-out handwritten signs, there are artisans like Emma Vinkovic of ERVCeramics. What begun with no commercial intent, but simply as an exploration into a technique she found beautiful. That they fit into so many modern trends toward the local and bespoke, to Hygge and a more general obsession with ceramics— these are only incidental crossovers in Emma's motivations to create the work she finds personally beautiful. Emma is the daughter of Andrea Vinkovic, an accomplished sculptural ceramic artist. Whilst Emma initially had no interest in working with ceramics herself, she recalls seeing a picture of a vase and asking how the artist had gotten such a glaze. Andrea replied that the particular vase wasn't a glaze at all, and offered to show Emma the technique. Emma took the technique and used it to produce a series of vessels, but believed she had no reason to continue producing, and her ceramics practice almost finished there. And it wasn't others similarly stumbled on Emma's vessels, that Emma began to consider continuing to work in ceramics: As part of the Australian Design Festival, her and her mother had hosted four Perth designers to their home. The public were invited to meet the artists and see the home and studio. Andrea had put out some of Emma's pieces, and the interest was immediate. Emma now produces these beautiful ceramics full-time. Despite using a comparatively niche technique, there are no trade secrets going on in Emma's practice. Pointing out some multi-coloured vessels in her latest batch, she gladly tells me they are the result of accidentally mixing two stains, many of which are indistinguishable until the ceramics are fired. The result is a delightful set of two-toned pink and gray marbled cups and bowls.
Emma tells me there are two moments which keep her making ceramics, the first being the unpredictability of the kiln and the nature of the clay: "when you first take them out of the mould and when you crack open the kiln after the glaze firing. The clay really has a mind of its own, I can control the colours and the amounts and so on, but I never really know how it's going to come out in the end. Sometimes I think it's going to have strong colours and it turns out really pastel, or that it's going to be subtle and there's just this wave of colours". The second, she says, is when taking the vessels out from the kiln: "Sometimes I'm really excited, and sometimes really nervous because while I have some idea of what it will look like I can never be absolutely certain. But that's the exciting thing about ceramics - it's all chemical reactions." ERVCeramics are on Instagram and Facebook, and are stocked at William Topp, Mundaring Art Centre and Monde Design Store. Drinks with all of their ingredients in their name are always a hit. A simple Gin and Tonic may well be the best almost-a-cocktail that there is, and in dire moments I can't say I've ever been above a Vodka Soda or a Rum and Ginger Ale (Just garnish it with lime and call it a dark and stormy). If I were a bit more inspired perhaps I would have worked out some clever alliterative name like a Watermelon Whatever Weather or something classy like The Duke. Unfortunately I'm above terrible at naming things, so if you can remember the optional inclusion of ginger, the Watermelon Apple Strawberry Mint Juice has not only all of its ingredients in descending order of quantity, but if you use juice as a verb, it also becomes it's own preparation instructions.
The juice I make is based on a similar drink which saved my life one particularly hungover morning in Melbourne (If you're reading from Melbourne and haven't yet risked life and liver at Spleen, you haven't yet explored your city to its fullest). A week ago I made a batch and posted the recipe on instagram, the next evening I did the same, but had the thought pass it through a fine mesh strainer. Both are delicious, but the straining is an absolute game changer. I also occasionally add Gin to make it a night time drink, or when I find the current four prefixes roll off the tongue just a little too easily. Watermelon Apple Strawberry Mint Juice It's right there in the name, guys. Cut an inch sized chunk from a half watermelon, cut into long staves. Run two Pink Lady apples and (optionally), a thumb sized piece of ginger, through a juicer. Stem four strawberries, Wash 5-6 mint leaves. Blitz everything in a blender. (Optionally) pass everything through a fine mesh strainer. When the strainer starts to choke, empty the juice back into the blender, and tap out the slush into the sink. 8/2/2017 0 Comments The SazeracLet's talk for a moment about my favourite cocktail: Dating back to the 1850s New Orleans, the Sazerac is a simple mix of Whiskey, Sugar, Water and Absinthe. It's cocktails like the Sazerac which caused patrons to ask for simpler whiskey cocktails to be prepared 'The Old Fashioned way', and such coined the name of the most classic cocktail of all time. Whilst since debunked, another rumour persists that the egg cups or 'Coquietiers' used in their preparation are responsible for the origin of the word 'Cocktail'.
Originally made with the Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils cognac from which it derives its name, a pest epidemic in 1970s France forced the bars of New Orleans to turn to local ingredients, and Rye Whiskey became the new spirit base. With Cognac back in full force, in my opinion the best Sazeracs are prepared with half Rye and half Cognac. Traditionally a nightcap, the Sazerac is a heavy drink best sipped on a porch or in front of a fireplace. When a craving hits I make no qualms about using Jim Beam Rye and Black Bottle Brandy, but if anything is going to show off your good stuff, it's this. The Sazerac requires an absinthe rinse. To rinse, simply swirl a teaspoon of absinthe around the glass and then pour out the excess. If you think this is the drink for you, it's well worth throwing some absinthe in an atomiser, and giving the inside of the glass a couple of uniform sprays. The Sazerac 1oz Rye Whiskey 1oz Cognac 3 Dashes Peychaud's Bitters 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters 0.5oz Simple Syrup 1 tsp Absinthe Lemon Peel Rinse a brandy snifter with absinthe. In a mixing glass, stir Rye, Cognac, bitters and simple syrup with ice. Twist a lemon peel over the glass and brush the skin side across the rim and stem of the glass. You can threw the peel in the drink or leave it out. I prefer out. 9/1/2017 0 Comments Ginger AleI've gone through a number of unsuccessful attempts at ginger ale. Some came out way too sweet, others had barely a hint of ginger and one attempt to brew it ended with a supremely delicious but not at all bubbly drink. To date my most successful recipe has also been the simplest, which doesn't require steeping the ginger or infusing weird flavours, just fresh ingredients and a ton of elbow grease. This is a recipe which doesn't require but is made much easier with a Microplane zester, I use this zester every day for zest, grating cheese, garlic or even chocolate, and in this instance it works wonderfully in ensuring you get as much juice out of your fresh ginger as possible. If you don't want to buy a microplane, or you want your ginger ale now rather than later, you can make do with a regular grater and a little more work or by cutting the ginger as fine as you can: Just be sure you don't lose too much juice to the chopping board. Ginger Ale Syrup Fresh Ginger Root Simple Syrup Fresh Lime Peel the ginger and grate it into a bowl Tip the grated ginger into a fine mesh strainer and use a spoon to squeeze the juice into a jug (Every last drop!) Add simple syrup and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. I ended up using 75ml of ginger juice with 175ml of simple syrup. But I find it's easiest to zest all of your ginger, and to add simple syrup to a ratio of 3 parts ginger, 7 parts simple syrup. Note that this results in a fairly spicy ginger ale, which I love. But if a more chilled out ginger ale is on order, simply up the percentage of simple syrup to ginger juice. Simple Syrup 1 Cup Sugar 1 Cup Water Simmer sugar and water on the stove over medium-low heat until fully dissolved Let cool They don't call it simple syrup for nothing I like to bottle my syrups in little milk bottles, adding a splash of vodka as a preservative. If you follow my recipe exactly you should have some simple syrup left over. Bottle that too, because simple syrup is always useful.
Ginger Ale Fill a glass with ice and add 1oz Ginger ale syrup Add 5oz Soda Water Stir with a barspoon or chopstick Garnish with mint and lime. With that, I'm usually just about ready to fetch a good book or some close friends and try above all to forget the heat 28/10/2016 0 Comments Incredibly Easy Tomato Pasta SauceI recently managed to, somewhat accidentally, quadruple my collection of French cast iron skillets (Overzealous gumtree seller) and to try one out, I made a recipe which, whilst unfortunately not mine, perfectly epitomises the way I love to cook. This recipe takes two pots and less than fifteen minutes for a full pasta dish with a from-scratch tomato pasta sauce. The recipe from Kenji over at Serious Eats makes use of the extra ripeness of cherry tomatoes and their high pectin content, in order to whip up a wicked fast and delicious sauce. I think this sauce is perfect because it's not particularly involved, practically foolproof, and from turning on the kettle to serving up in no more time than it takes to cook the dry pasta. Since this is such a quick recipe, I usually make it as a single serve for lunch, my variation of the recipe is as follows, and can easily be scaled up. Easy Pasta Sauce A box of cherry tomatoes One clove of garlic, thinly sliced One cup of any short cut pasta Rosemary, cut fine Parmesan, Pepper and more Rosemary for garnish One skillet and one medium sized Pot, Add salt and bring pot of water to the boil Fry garlic in vegetable oil in the skillet over medium heat (medium-low with cast iron) Add pasta to the pot Once the garlic has begun to soften, add the tomatoes and stir to keep the garlic from burning Press down on the tomatoes as they cook Once the pasta is done (or very nearly done) tip a splash of water from the pot into the skillet Strain the pasta and add to the skillet Cook for one more minute If the sauce comes out too thin, raise the heat and cook for a little longer until it thickens. Conversely, if you find the pasta didn't cook as much as you hoped in the pan, you can add more water from the tap (or if you reserved some, the pasta water is ideal) and cook a little longer in the pan. This recipe really benefits from the starchy pasta water which helps bind the sauce to the pasta.
Some great additions to this recipe without adding any more cook time include feta or goat's cheese, microwaved prosciutto, and the caramelised onions from the baguette recipe. 21/10/2016 0 Comments The 12th Ave Approved Bottom ShelfThis website is always going to prefer Small Batch Australian spirits. But sometimes you may not want to use your best spirits in a new cocktail experiment, or you have a lot of people to provide drinks for, or you wince at the thought of mixing drinks with your top shelf. For these instances, we may not have anything truly inspiring, but there are a number of cheap and widely available spirits which punch well above their weight. Here are some drinks, either under or very close to the $40 mark, which are well worth the space in your liquor cabinet. WhiskeyIf you're a fan of Whiskey it's worth having at least two different styles in your collection. American Whiskey styles such as Rye and Bourbon are very well represented in classic cocktails, many of which originated in and around American Prohibition. Other great whiskys for mixing are blended Scotch, Japanese, Canadian, Irish Whiskys. Jim Beam Rye is my staple for prohibition and classic cocktails, even if they ask for Bourbon. Their bourbon isn't anything to write home, but a number of bartenders rave about the Rye. It gets as low at $35 for a bottle at Dan Muphy's, which probably makes it the cheapest item on this entire list. If you have to have a bourbon, Bulleit is a good place to start, but Buffalo Trace is a very worthwhile upgrade. As for the rest of the world, the pictured Suntory Whisky blend is one of the best sipping Whiskys at the $40 mark. If it has to be Scotch, most bartenders us J&B, but Monkey Shoulder also pushes above its price point. Upgrade To: Whipper Snapper's Crazy Uncle Moonshine and Upshot Australian Whiskey, Rittenhouse Rye. GinOne versatile classic Gin should be more than enough to experiment with most cocktails. Tanqueray (Preferably Export Strength) is one of the few spirits I'm sure never to run out of. It's a classic London Dry gin which has been around since the 1800s. It uses just four botanicals, and really doesn't get in the way of your fancy cocktail, whilst remaining balanced and delicious. Pay just a little more for even more delicious Bulldog, or a bit more again for the West Winds The Sabre, from Margaret River. Upgrade To: Hippocampus Gin, West Winds The Cutlass, Melbourne Gin Company. VodkaA number of small bars use Ketel One as their house Vodka, but since Ketel took a little bit of a price hike recently, Absolut is a perfectly acceptable substitute, which stays at or just under $40. Whilst by no means a traditional Vodka, Zubrowka bison grass vodka is one of my favourite sipping vodkas. And 666 is a slight increase in price but it's Australian and very impressive. Upgrade To: Hippocampus Vodka. RumA lot of books and online guides will tell you that your minimalist bar needs a clear and a brown rum, but unless you're on some major Tiki bent, I think you can get away with one or the other. Stolen White is a brown rum filtered to be clear, so it's pretty versatile in recipes which call for either.Their unfiltered Stolen Gold has a little more flavourful if you don't mind your Daiquiris coming out brown (And you shouldn't) Upgrade To: Ord River, Quiet Canon (If you're lucky enough to acquire some Quiet Canon.. Please don't mix it) BrandyAustralia actually puts out two pretty good and well priced Brandies. Black Bottle, a sub $40 brandy make by the VOK people, is a nice little mixer which pairs well with Jim Beam Rye to make for the cheapest Sazerac ever. St. Agnes VSOP (A big step up from the VS) is a nice upgrade for Sidecars or Champagne Cocktails. Upgrade To: Cognac. Everything ElseIt wouldn't hurt to spend a little of the money you've saved on spirits on some fresh citrus and some decent mixers. Some inexpensive liqueurs like Cointreau, Amaro Montenegro and Aperol make wonderful additions to any bar and whilst they rarely take centre stage, can make great additions to cocktails. Cheap spirits often filter a lot of flavour out in order to remain inoffensive, so some Angostura Bitters will do a great job in adding some punch. Speaking of punch, the one acceptable time to use store-bought lemon juice is to cut 50/50 with fresh lemon juice when you're out of season but just have to make that punch which uses a full litre of lemon juice.
Finally, it's almost always cheaper and to a higher quality result to make your own Syrups. Start with Simple Syrup and Grenadine, then work your way to Honey, Ginger Beer, and even Tonic Syrup. Toward the end of last year a friend and I decided to try out as many bakeries as we could find, he in search of the best sourdough loaf in Perth, and I in search of the best baguette. We tried a few places here and there and had some pretty nice and then some less-nice breads. I developed a metric for my perfect baguette, which had to:
Chu's baguettes come out of the oven at a charitable 11am, which means there won't be any fresh baguettes ready for breakfast. But if, like me, heading to and from a bakery before breakfast was a bit overly optimistic in the first place, then Chu's make for the perfect so-fresh-it's-still-warm lunch. I stopped by The Little Cheese Shop in Bayswater and upon their recommendation picked up a D'argental Brique Lingot, a really creamy French Brie with a lovely and slightly salty finish. I caramelised some onions and chopped up a grape tomato to make a great Baguette which brought me back to the breakfasts I used to scramble together in Paris. (There we had a lady who would bring us fresh baguettes every morning, which is one of the high points of decadence in my life thus far) Ham, Tomato, Caramelised Onion and Brie Baguette Two slices of deli style Ham A large grape tomato Caramelised Onion French Brie Salt I'm not going to explain how to make a sandwich. Very Easy Caramelised Onions A lot of cooking websites tell you even half an hour isn't nearly long enough to caramelise onions, and that you should caramelise onions as low and slow as you possibly can. I'm all for this, but when I'm whipping up lunch, sometimes as long as I have is ten or fifteen minutes. Here are a few tricks for how to speed up caramelised onions:
27/9/2016 0 Comments Places To Visit: Bossman CafeFirst on my list of places to visit absolutely has to be Bossman Cafe in Mt Lawley. Sandwiched between Gelare and Mr. Munchies and facing into Grill'd, it can be easy to miss. But Bossman has never seemed to suffer from being slightly tucked away.
Once, Bossman and its roaster, Twin Peaks, were run by the same person. Tom, who once juggled both ventures, now roasts full time for Twin Peaks roastery. Both Bossman and Twin Peaks have benefited from the split, as Twin Peaks are now able to put out more coffee for more cafes, and non-commercial customers too. Bossman, whilst under new ownership, has had only a few changes, and all of them for the better: They now take card, offer batch brew, and stay open on Sundays. They offer tea and some pretty delicious pastries and desserts. But the focus is really on the coffee, which is consistently excellent. They rock a long black or espresso, and won't snob you off for ordering a soy cappuccino, but for me the perfect order will always be their $4 French Press filter. Which showcase specialty, single-origin coffee from Twin Peaks and other roasters in Perth and Australia. When ordering French Press, you're presented with the Press filled with coffee, a cup, and a ticking timer, so there's some very minor assembly required.Once the timer goes off there's a couple cups of coffee waiting for you. Which is great if, like me, you're prone to guzzling down your coffee. |
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