There is a huge sense of pride when an Australian wins an award on the world stage and this is exactly what happened to Domenico Cece, founder of Cello Liqueurs. I hosted him on my radio show on Saturday and was amazed to discover a very heartfelt story and some very, very good liqueur?

Cello's Award Winning Liqueurs

This traditional family own an Italian Wood fired Pizza Restaurant in Bargo called “The Local Italian”.  Mum, Franca Cece, is the Head Chef, in fact it seems Mum is an inspiration. One of her endearing creations is her gorgeous Limoncello, which she makes and serves to her customers at the end of the evening as a traditional digestive. It was just so good that many customers wanted to buy it. So Dom put on his business brain and hatched a plan to create a fantastic liqueur brand based on his Mum’s recipe.

He quietly got all the paperwork organised and the product made, I might add that all the ingredients are completely natural and of the finest quality. He then bottled the liqueur and placed a wonderful image and story of his Mum on the back. The day he showed her the new bottle she was a little confused but then when she turned the bottle around the tears of awe started to flow. This Italian boy had made Mama very proud!

Dom entered the Cello liqueurs into the prestigious International Wine & Spirit Competition 2010 in London. The results were announced last week, awarding Best in Class to Cello’s Limoncello. The judge’s notes were “Bright lemony colour with an opaque appearance. Cracking nose, bursting with juicy Sicilian lemon aromas, which follow through in the mouth, vibrant acidity, a slight pithy bitterness and succulent lemon flavours, with very good distillate. A very serious product, beautifully made”.

Dom has adapted his mother’s recipe to create a small range of premium fruit liqueurs including Arancello (orange), Limecello (lime), and Passioncello (passionfruit). The Passioncello, the only one of its type worldwide and is I have to say my favourite. The orange would be perfect for soaking a sponge cake, the lime as a topping for desserts, the Limoncello to be sipped as a pleasure and the passionfruit, well that might be all the passion you will need in an evening.

When in doubt as to what to take as a gift to someone especially if your wine radar is down or at times confused you can take one of these bottles with you and you will have a talking point as well as a gift of distinction.

Cello liqueurs are available from selected premium liquor retailers, and in bars and restaurants.

To find out more contact Dom on (02) 9620-1280 or 0400 829 299   or visit www.celloliqueur.com

Giveaway

To WIN a bottle of this gorgeous Award Winning Liqueur click here

Do you want to know where all the men in Sydney are?

Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe

I discovered a fair few of them at Redoak Boutique Beer Café in Clarence St. When I find a place that excites me I want to tell everyone I know. Beer and food matching is very vogue at the moment and like all trends it is sometimes not done very well. But then you come across a venue that does it so well you can’t help but be blown away.

David Hollyoak started brewing beer at the age of 14 when he created his first ginger beer. Over the years he developed his own unique methods of brewing specialty beers and has used these, along with some more traditional methods, to create the Redoak Boutique Beer range. He is affectionately known as the Willy Wonker of Beer, a man with a mission and zero tolerance for anything but the best.

David and Sister Janet opened The Redoak Boutique Beer Café in 2004 and it has become Australia’s most awarded Brewery. David has stayed true to his dream of brewing all beers without any preservatives or additives, not pasteurised or with any sugar.  Using age old brewing techniques his unique beers range form the smoky Rauch to the lovely rich raspberry Framboise Froment, the velvety Belgium Chocolate Stout to the much loved Honey Ale.

Redoak Seafood Tasting Board

Chris Beard the Head Chef and Simon Beveridge the Beer Sommelier were interviewed on my radios show on 89.7FM and brought in some of their well-designed tasting plates. That day I was lucky enough to be joined by Susan Frazier of Whispering Brook and the two of us indulged in a beer degustation. Each tasting plate has four small dishes matched with a beer. You can select from Fish and Meat to Vegetarian and Cheese, there is even a dessert option. Each plate is $20 great value for money and you get a beer education at the same time!

Chris uses beer throughout the menu in marinades, jus, ice creams, sorbets and even truffles. Some of his biggest hits have been a recent sticky date pudding made with Baltic Porter served with handmade vanilla bean ice cream and caramel sauce.  Simon is a true beer connoisseur; his beer knowledge is encyclopedic, having informed us of interesting little historical anecdotes along the way. I loved the Honey Ale but my favourite was the Irish Red Ale.

Oatmeal Stout and Redoak Handmade Chocolates

Beer Classes: Beer classes we run throughout the month on Saturdays. This is a 2.5hour journey through beer history, beer appreciation and the brewing process, all enjoyed with a 4-course meal with matching beers.  Cost: $75pp Bookings essential. Click here for more information

On my show on Saturday I managed to snare a very good cast of food and wine lovers, creators, authors and know-it-all’s.

Ian Hemphill

Ian Hemphill owner of Herbie’s Spices is a past President of the Association of Food Professionals and a herb and spice master. He has recently released his latest cookbook, Just Add Spice, co-authored by Lyndey Milan. It is a feast of herbaceous and fragrant food. I know this because he brought two sensational dishes into the studio for us to sample. They were simple to make but tasted complex and rich because of the added spices. Stewart White, President of the Association of Food Professionals had the job of wine matching and nailed each match perfectly.

Tom Kime

Celebrity Chef Tom Kime, from Ready, Steady, Cook fame, the sustainable seafood know-it-all, and I say this with affection dished up two fine fish dishes from his latest book Fish Tales, Stewart matched these to a Piggs Peake, 2008, Wiggly Tail Marsanne. The recipes will be on the site soon so keep an eye out for them. So after we had indulged in Tom’s masterful fish dishes we indulged our taste buds with Ian’s equally ‘morish’ Baharat Beef with Olives. Sometimes referred to as Lebanese seven spice, baharat is a beautifully balanced blend with a woody bouquet and aromatic bay-rum notes, balanced with cinnamon and cassia sweetness. It is not hot, yet conveys all the romantic fragrances of everything that is spice.

Stewart White

Stewart paired this to Piggs Peake 2006 Wolfie Zinfandel, he loves this wine varietal and this particular one has a cassis and brambly, spice nose with mouth filling solid blackberry fruit flavours with a hint of cinnamon and elegant tannin.

The dessert recipe is easy, fragrant and light. I am including this dish for my party in June, I now have the starter, which is Regal King Salmon Pastrami and the dessert; Sticky Figs and Dates in Espresso Syrup, served with Greek style yogurt. Fresh figs are wonderful in season, but there are such good-quality dried ones available you can enjoy them all year with this recipe. Use figs or dates or a mixture of both, or even prunes. We paired this with the Piggs Peake 2007 Suckling Pig (dessert) Zinfandell. Made from Zinfandel grapes which were left on the vine until they had raisened up making the crushed juice sweeter. Giving a truly luscious full bodied red that marries brilliantly with quality dark chocolate and heavier desserts.

Piggs Peake

If you have not heard of Herbie’s Spices seek them out, you can drop into the spice emporium in Rozelle and can find their spices in all good food stores (including in the MasterChef pantry).

Herbie's Spice Kits

Their website is fantastic and Ian has written a fair few excellent books on herbs and spices all available on the website, http://www.herbies.com.au/

Recipes

Baharat Beef with Olives

Sometimes referred to as Lebanese seven spice, baharat is a beautifully balanced blend with a woody bouquet and aromatic bay-rum notes, balanced with cinnamon and cassia sweetness. It is not hot, yet conveys all the romantic fragrances of everything that is spice. A traditional mix of baharat is added to Middle Eastern recipes in much the same way as Indians would add garam masala. This recipe is easy and exceptionally tasty.

Baharat Beef with Olives

Serves 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 31/4 hours

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
3–4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 kg lean beef, cubed
Baharat spice mix:
2 teaspoons mild paprika
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander seeds
½ teaspoon ground cassia
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom seeds
400 g can whole peeled tomatoes
½ cup dry red wine
12–15 black pitted olives
½–1 teaspoon salt
mashed potato, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 120°C (100°C fan-forced).
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based flameproof casserole dish over medium–low heat and soften the garlic – do not brown.
3. Toss the cubes of meat in the baharat mixture. Increase the heat to medium, add the beef to the casserole dish and cook briefly until sealed on all sides. Add the tomatoes, wine, olives and ½ cup water. Season to taste with salt, but keep in mind that the olives are salty so you may not need very much.  Stir frequently and bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and cook in the oven for 2½–3 hours until the beef is very tender. Serve over well-mashed, buttery potatoes.

Cook’s note: This recipe is also delicious made with beef cheeks and cooked for up to 5 hours.
To drink: There are long, lingering flavours here that a heavy, jammy wine would overpower – try a cabernet sauvignon. With beer you need something with a bit of body, like a mid-strength ale.

Sticky Figs and Dates in Espresso Syrup

Fresh figs are wonderful in season, but there are such good-quality dried ones available you can enjoy them all year with this recipe. Use figs or dates or a mixture of both, or even prunes.

Sticky Figs and Dates in Espresso Syrup

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons ground espresso coffee
300 g sugar
1/3 cup cognac, armagnac or brandy
Fruit infusion spice mix:
2 cloves
1 cardamom pod, bruised
1 whole star anise
1 cinnamon quill
500 g dried figs and/or dates
250 g thick Greek-style yoghurt, mascarpone or ricotta

Method

1. Dissolve the coffee in ½ cup boiling water. Strain and reserve.
2. Meanwhile, place the sugar, fruit infusion spice mix and cognac, armagnac or brandy in a small saucepan with 2 cups water. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved, then bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute.
3. Add the coffee, figs and dates and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the figs soften and plump up and the liquid reduces to a syrup consistency.  Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Remove the star anise.
4. Serve hot, cold or at room temperature with a dollop of yoghurt, mascarpone or ricotta.

Cook’s note: Left-over figs or dates will keep in the fridge, covered in syrup, for a week or so.
To drink: This is rich and wonderful on its own. However, the rich, luscious flavours of a tokay or muscat would be sublime.

Recipes Courtesy of Penguin and Just Add Spice by Lyndey Milan and Ian Hemphill

The Real Deal

Well it is true that girls love diamonds, flowers, in my case food and very definitely bubbles. The real deal bubbles, the ones from France in a bottle with a label called Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte. Pronounced Foo-yatt this Champagne House is a relative embryo in the grand French scheme of things. Only 34 years old it has introduced a much loved modern Champagne taste with a vibrant, rich palate and clean, natural fruit flavours. This is the most sold Non Vintage Champagne in France and the fourth top selling Non Vintage Champagne in the world. So you can imagine my joy when I realised that I was going to be having this on my show. Tim Boydell the Australian distributor was a true gentleman and brought us five bottles. He is also giving two lucky people a bottle each. This delicious bubbly drop is widely available and if it is not in your bottle shop get another shop yours is rubbish!

Light of Lucia Battesimo Baptism

Serves 10–12

Walnut Torte

This is an exquisitely nutty and excitingly different cake. Frolla means soft and crumbly, so while the pastry may break easily when you’re lining the tin, once cooked it will melt in your mouth.

Ingredients

Pasta frolla
200 g (7 oz) unsalted butter,
chilled and chopped
300 g (101/2 oz) plain (all-purpose)
flour, plus extra for dusting
2 large egg yolks
100 g (31/2 oz) caster
(superfine) sugar

Walnut filling
5 eggs, separated
200 g (7 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
50 g (13/4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
30 g (1 oz) plain (all-purpose)
flour, sifted
Zest of 1 lemon
300 g (101/2 oz) coarsely
chopped walnuts
Icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting

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