Lunch 22 July 2014

This week, the pelleton found itself in Spain, as chef John "El Cid" Rourke, assisted by Peter Madden, whipped up a terrific dish based on oxtail (and that's no bull!). In addition to the food, we had the experience of some top wines, all generously provided by Ted Treister to celebrate his 65th birthday. Would that all members were this generous.

Starters were light and appetising in the tapas style: pieces of marinated octopus on toothpicks, and ditto of smoked eel. The initial aperitifs were some Hooten beer left over from the ale extravaganza a few weeks ago, and a sherry which was good but not up to the usual Lustau standard. But then we sat down to table to be greeted by a 2008 Corton Charlemagne white burgundy by G C Bonneau du Martray, a painstakingly made and superb example of the style, with piercing passionfruit acidity on the nose and palate matched by top chardonnay fruit sweetness yet to develop fully, and a finish kilometres long.

The oxtail had been cooked sous vide with a prepared sauce based on tomatoes, stock and herbs for 16 hours at 82 degrees. It was succulent and needed nothing more than the sliced baked potatoes and red onion that accompanied it. The wines were also Spanish: a 2004 Felix Callejo Ribera del Duero and a 1998 Cosecha Rioja. Both made from tempranillo grapes, the first a big wine with sweet jammy fruit partly balanced by good drying tannins, the second much finer and softer with nice slightly floral fragrance on the nose and good soft tannins to go with more developed fruit.

We stayed in Spain with the cheese, a Manchego sheep's milk cheese with great grassy but lactic notes and a slightly oily texture which held it together well. Roasted capsicum and whitlof leaves provided a contrasting note of bitterness, needed to balance an enormous Barossa shiraz in the form of the 2002 Elderton Command with ripe fruit, and sweetness as yet unintegrated with the rather tough underlying tannins. The other red was a Grant Burge Filsell from the same year and district, also typical of Barossa but with better balance and elegance.

Coffee was a medium roast from Colombia, not in the usual US bland style, but with good strong mouthfeel and a distinct citrus note which carried through to the finish.

Lunch 15 July 2014

On the day after Bastille Day, 40 enfants de notre patrie gathered for the usual lunch, this year provided by Peter Kelso assisted by Society Francophile Paul Dressler.

For canapes, there was a choice of Burgundian gougeres, little choux pastry shapes flavoured with gruyere cheese and very popular, and a smoked eel pate served on crisp bread rounds and rice crackers. Besides the ever-reliable Lustau sherries, the aperitif was a sparkling Vouvray from Marc Bredif. Refreshing (if a little warm), with the apple flavour typical of chenin blanc much in evidence.

For the main course, we moved to S-W France with a traditional cassoulet de Toulouse. Lamb shoulder, pork belly, a smoked pork hock and Toulouse pork sausages were slow cookd with white haricot beans, rind from the pork and a few aromatic vegetables, served topped with breadcrumbs. The beans were still quite separate and, despite liberal additions of liquid during cooking, some found it a bit dry. Still, plenty of rich meat 'n' beans flavour, and well matched with a cold grated celeriac salad, bended with grated nashi pear, lemon juice and some finely chopped kale for colour and texture. The wines were also "local", a 2009 Dom Alary Carianne Cotes du Rhone Villages, and a La Gerbaude Cotes du Rhone from the same maker and year. It was an interesting contrast, the first with sweeter fruit but lighter, the second bigger and more tannic, with a longer life ahead of it.

The cheese went from the peasant food of the main course to the aristocracy of Beaufort, a fine (and costly) semi-hard unpasteurised cows' milk cheese from the Rhone-Alpes area, with terrific firm but creamy texture and a lovely sweet fruity flavour. The two Aussie wines served with it were a 2006 Macquariedale Reserve Thomas shiraz, a pretty good example of a modern, savoury but clean Hunter red, and the Bowen Coonawarra cabernet from the same year, also a typical example of the area, with big fruit, some mint but all held in balance by fine tannins. Walnuts, dried figs and dried muscatels went well with both cheese and wine.

And finally, to Ethiopia, the home of the coffee bean, whence we enjoyed a brew made from quality Yirgachef medium roast beans, producing a rich and smooth, but assertive, palate with the usual citrus notes leading to a long finish.

Lunch 8 July 2014

James Tinslay and David Madson were new boys in the kitchen, and deserve full marks for a well thought out and presented meal.

For starters, there were tasty bites of pork char sui with a dab of hoisin and diced water chestnuts on rice crackers, and some rich and sweet duck liver pate by Keith Steele (who also presented the wines in place of the Wine Master), enriched with pedro ximenes sherry, on lightly toasted crunchy bread rounds. These were washed down with a 2002 Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling, bottled under stelvin and in very good nick, although a bit of bottle variation was starting to show. There were also the Lustau fino (terrific) and manzanilla sherries, and a brief look at some other stray bottles from the frig.

The main course was long and slow braised beef cheeks, cooked for 6 hours in a braise of vincotta, star anise and juniper berries in red wine, and served rich and unctuous on a bed of mashed potato with some slightly crunchy carrots for colour. The meat was great and the combination of flavours and colour a joy to consume and see; a pity that cold plates detracted from the final product. Some shiraz, naturally, went with it: a 2002 Cliff Edge from Langhi Ghiran in Victoria and a Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna from the same year. Each had its supporters, but the consensus was that the Cliff Edge was better on the day with the food, finer and smoother than the still rather hard finishing tannins on the Penfolds, probably needing more time.

The cheese, presented by James Healey in the absence of the Cheese Master, was a Comte semi-hard chesse from the Rhone-Alpes area of France; smooth and grassy with sweet nutty overtones in the gruyere style, in top condition and simply matched with nuts and dried fruit. The wines were cabernets, and again from 2002: the Bowen Coonawarra, typically big and gutsy with lots of American oak; and the Huntington special reserve from Mudgee, more restrained and elegant, though lacking nothing in strength of fruit except perhaps on the finish.

The coffee, provided by Spencer Ferrier but unidentified, was clean and nicely bitter on the palate with a long ,slightly citrus, finish.

Lunch 1 July 2014

Beer, glorious beer! That was the theme for an unusual, and brave, lunch produced by John Silver, recently returned to the fold after a long absence and back in the kitchen for the first time. It was an all-Silver affair, with all the food and drink provided by him except the coffee. Starting the adventure was a Deus Cuvee des Flandres, a Belgian beer brought to France and matured in old champagne casks before being bottle under cork and wire in the traditional champagne manner. It was interesting, with a good mousse and a citrus, almost sour, note on the palate which reminded some of ginger beer. Served with it were some roasted spiced cashew nuts in little paper cups, just right for the footy.

In another break with tradition, John gave us a sit-down entrée featuring some large freshly-shucked, and briny, Sydney rock oysters, universally acclaimed. To match them, the traditional stout, but this one a dark toasted malty brew called Sinha from Sri Lanka, regarded as one of the best stouts in the world. It was terrific, but tended to overpower the shellfish.

On to the main course, a very presentable Singaporean (or Malayan, more accurately) chicken curry, made on skinless thigh fillets and containing the usual panoply of ingredients, including tomato paste, tamarind, coconut milk and blachan or dried shrimp paste. It was medium heat, with chopped birdseye chilis on the table for those who wanted to step it up a bit, and grilled naan bread on the side. The accompanying beer was a light and relatively bland Hooten lager from Holland, refreshing but not much more.

The cheese saw another ale, aBlue Chimay Trappist dark beer from Belgium, with a fine and subtle malt and hop blend and 9% alcohol to give it punch. It was a good match with a super-ripe Red Square washed rind from Tasmania, nicely oozy but with bit of ammonia on the rind which some found acceptable and others not.

Spencer Ferrier gave us a repeat of last week's blend, a superior coffee from an estate near Victoria Falls in Uganda, with plenty of rich bitter chocolate in the mouth and a good lingering slightly tangy finish. No need for a beer with this one.

Wine Tasting 24 June 2014

Wine Tasting

On the table, wine master Paul Ferman gave us 6 reds: 5 cabernets, 5 from WA and 1 foreigner which might or might not be from WA. The permutations were many, as were the opinions on which was the odd man out, but most settled correctly on no. 6 as a shiraz, before the wines were revealed as all from WA except one: 2010 Vasse Felix cabernet, 2008 Vasse Felix cabernet, 2008 Yalumba The Cigar cabernet (from the Coonawarra), 2002 Vasse Felix cabernet, 2000 Vasse Felix cabernet and 2001 Vasse Felix shiraz. It was an interesting lineup, with no one picking the SA stranger, and most favouring the youngest wine on the table. The 2002 Vasse Felix, which together with the Yalumba was the biggest wine on the table, also attracted support, reception of the rest being warm but restrained.

In the kitchen, the sous vide wizard Nick Reynolds did it again, with a Moroccan-influenced dish designed to complement the cabernets. Preceding that, some spicy merguez sausage, made on beef and pork, was served with slices of cleansing radish, and with the usual potpourri of aperitifs, including a 2000 Alkoomi riesling which was in surprisingly good , if soft, condition; various Tyrrells whites below the top Vat numbers; and, of course, the reliable Lustau fino sherry. Nick's other canape was an attempted seafood roll, containing scallop and calamari with lemongrass and chili which failed to set and was served as a light subtly flavoured mousse on rice crackers.

The main was shoulder-end lamb backstrap, rubbed with a multi-ingredient Moroccan spice rub and cooked sous vide at 57 degrees for 48 hours. It was fall-apart rich and sweet, served on a bed of pequillo peppers, oil and garlic, mild and slightly smoky, with crunchy green beans and some slightly mealy Israeli couscous with chopped parsley. It was a dish more than worthy of the tasting wines.

The cheese course moved west, with an excellent Cabot clothbound cheddar from Vermont in USA, a great rebuttal of the received wisdom about US cheese. Soft-textured with low salt content and a sweet caramel palate with mushroom hints, it went well with a choice of dried fruits, including dates, muscatels and a dark organic dried apricot. The tasting wines continued into this course and were an acceptable match.

Last, but definitely not least, came coffee made on beans from Pacific falls estate in Uganda; a new region for the Society but a beauty, with rich satisfying mouthfeel balanced by a long soft finish ; more, please.

Lunch 17 June 2014

The cooler weather is definitely with us at last, and no doubt contributed to a disappointing attendance of 32 at lunch. In the kitchen was Martin McMurray, assisted by Peter Kelso, Paul Ferman was on wines, Ross MacDonald on cheese and an absent Spencer Ferrier in charge of coffee..

Canapes were some old time but ever popular salmon gravlax, served on toasts and some rice crackers with toppings of crème fraiche and salmon roe, and mustard dill sauce. Accompanying them was the last remnants of our 2002 Rothbury semillon, and it will not be missed, with even the best bottles thin and tired. Thank heavens for the ever-reliable Lustau amontillado sherry also on offer.

The main course was thickly sliced seared then baked pork fillets which came to the table moist and tender under a good demi-glace sauce. Also on the plate was a melange of vegetables: glazed carrots, lightly steamed green beans with a strongly vinegar-influenced walnut sauce and braised celery with apple slices (for the pork, you know). Great colour and some good mainstream flavours. Served with it were a choice of 2013 Tellurian marsanne from Heathcote, big and sweetish with 14% alcohol, but a good fruit salad palate and length to go with the dish; and a 2008 Hahndorf Hill blaufrankisch from the Adelaide Hills, pleasant enough but certainly not the Austrian pinot as touted, and a bit hard for the food.

We were spoiled again with the cheese, this week a superb Papillon Roquefort, wonderfully soft and creamy with the expected, but not excessive, salty ewes' milk lactic character. A simple green leaf salad with a good tart but not acid vinaigrette was all that was required. It was a step up in quality with the accompanying wines, in the form of a 2004 Burton McLaren Vale shiraz and a 2002 Rufus Stone shiraz from Heathcote. The Burton unanimously won out, with its rich fruit and drying tannins matched by some elegance on the palate and finish; whereas the Heathcote, while equally flavoursome, was a touch overripe and straightforward. A touch of a basic French Sauterne left over from another function was passed around to vindicate the Wine Master's view that stickies are a better match for a blue cheese.

The coffee was acceptable, but unidentified.

Mixed lunch 10 June 2014

A gratifying 43 members and guests turned up to appreciate the culinary efforts of James Hill, supported by Paul Thorne in the kitchen, and by Paul Ferman on wines, the same James Hill on cheese and Spencer Ferrier with coffee ( and tea).

Canapes were a cultural mix, with a well-flavoured and nicely textured duck consommé served in mini plastic cups , and an Eastern-influenced prawn mix, hotted up with chili, black garlic and palm sugar, on ceramic spoons. The customary eclectic selection of wines accompanied these, featuring a variety of whites both still and sparkling, a couple of reds and the Lustau amontillado sherry

The main course was worth the wait resulting from a doneness problem, and the deboned and flattened chicken marylands came to the table cooked through but still moist and juicy. The chicken was braised in a liquid built on star anise, chili, kecap manis and ginger which served as a sprightly slightly sweet but not too spicy sauce over a bed of nicely done jasmine rice and accompanied by an Asian dish of green beans with ginger, shallots and some sliced garlic which had been a little burned in the cooking. Served with this dish (as distinct from matching it) were a 2008 Stoney Rise Riesling from the Tamar Valley in Tasmania, soft with inviting powder puff fragrance but no match for the spice in the food, and a 2006 Epsilon Barossa shiraz, with a surprising balance of fruit and wood, but still hot (14.5%) and awkward with the sweet and salt subtleties of the sauce.

We almost ended our tryst with Asia when the cheese arrived; a Comte Gruyere from the Franche-Comte region of France and presenting in perfect condition with a cream-coloured, slightly elastic curd showing sweet milk and nutty overtones. It went well with the vestigial Asian influence of a sweet-pickled thinly sliced cucumber and daikon salad. They were well matched this time by the wines: a2008 Craggy Range shiraz from Hawkes Bay in NZ, showing top cool climate fruit in excellent balance with fine tannins, a touch of class; and 2000 Stepping Stone Cabernet from Coonawarra, a budget-range wine which has lasted extremely well, with Coonawarra softness in the fruit, although starting to tire.

For coffee, Spencer showed us a rare bean from Panama, picked and left for 12 months before roasting and showing high acid content with a touch of licorice on the palate, and a long and refreshing finish. It was well set off by a drop of Lustau Pedro Ximenes liqueur sherry, green in colour with wonderful complex sweet flavours akin to a top Aussie tokay (or whatever it's called now). Also on offer was an Earl Grey tea, dry and fragrant with bergamot (orange rind) oil

Some good comments, including contributions from the ladies, to complement good food and wine

Lunch 3 June 2014

The 1st lunch of winter saw the return to the kitchen of the maestro, Ted Davis, with the faithful Gareth Evans in support. On a beautiful day, it was fowl on the plate, starting with some Davis duck rillettes, moist and flavoursome on small sourdough bread rounds and a sweet and succulent pate, made from the livers of the same bird, with plenty of brandy and orange juice to kick it along and similarly served. The aperitif wines were a 2009 Ocean 8 Verve chardonnay from the Mornington Peninsular, fresh with light fruit against the fat of the entrees, a 2010 Swinging Bridge cabernet from Orange with cool climate characters which stood up to the food well, and the Lustau amontillado, big, nutty and a joy to drink.

The birds were downsized for the main course, boned quails stuffed with a forcemeat of pork, breadcrumbs and 4-spice mix, with a (shelled) quail egg buried in there too. The birds were roasted well after being basted with truffled butter, and served on a bed of pureed cauliflower and kohlrabi with an intense madeira sauce made on the quail bones with added chicken necks and sundry herbs. It was a deceptively simple meal of quality and we hope Ted can be coaxed out of retirement at least one more time. The accompanying wines were a 2009 Marlborough pinot from Wairau River, sweet and simple but quite good with the food; and a 2000 Willow Bridge shiraz from Geographe in WA, big with hot fruit and 14.5% alcohol, but coming into balance after 14 years, although it tended to overpower the food.

Nostalgia reigned with the cheese and salad: a perfect dolce latte gorgonzola, sometimes referred to as the Society cheese, and a salad of good ol' iceberg lettuce dressed generously with olive oil and a big hit of vinegar. The wines were a bit more up to date, featuring an unlabelled wine which turned out to be the 2007 Rosemount Balmoral shiraz rich and soft in tannins although needing more time to integrate. Also on the table was the 1998 Wynns black label Coonawarra cabernet, showing typical cassis notes but a little extracted, mature and current drinking.

The coffee was an El Vulcan bean from Guatemala showing a full, slightly bitter mouthfeel but short on the finish.

Wine tasting 27 May 2014

Acclaimed as the tasting of the year, Paul Ferman put on a vertical look at Penfolds Bin 389 cabernet shiraz. He was ably abetted by Josef Condrau, assisted by Greg Sproule, in the kitchen, starting with some canapés: whisky marinated smoked salmon with crème fraiche and shaved fennel on porcelain spoons, crème fraiche topped by fresh and tangy salmon roe on crackers and some wild boar terrine on crackers with the obligatory cornichon on top. To wash them down, there was a 2002 Tyrrells Vat 4 semillon, still young fresh and lemon zesty, great with the canapés.

The 389's on display were, in descending vintage order, 2004, 2002, 1998, 1996, 1990 and 1986. It was interesting to note the increase in body in the more recent vintages, with 2002 and 2004, both still babies, having 14.5% alcohol as against the 14% of the 1998 and the 13.5% of the older wines (another Parker legacy). In general, the older years won favour, with the 1986 a glorious example of the style, and 1990 and 1996 also popular. The 1998 was disappointing, with evidence of dirty "bret" spoliation in most bottles.

The accompanying food was in keeping, Norman-style Black Kurobata pork neck marinated in calvados and served with a sauce based on the marinade, apples and cream. Some terrific crackling was in evidence and the accompaniment was a melange of cabbage, potato, shallot, leek and speck, based on the traditional Irish colcannon.

Naturally the cheese was Swiss, a semi-hard Blumencase cheese in the appenzeller style, with good texture, grassy notes on the palate and a pleasing sweet caramel finish. It went well with the tasting wines, and with the two grape varieties which came with it.

Special mention should be made of the Infinity sourdough bread, a baguette with the main course and a walnut loaf which complemented the cheese well.

The coffee took us to Sumatra, the beans providing strong flavour with a good clean acid finish, a fitting end to a great testing of a classic Aussie brand. Hats off to the Winemaster.

Lunch 20 May 2014

Another first timer appeared in the kitchen, this week Peter Black, with a helping hand from Paul Thorne.

Proceedings kicked off with two varieties of terrine – chicken liver and pork, and chicken breast and pork – enriched with sundry herbs and brandy and served on sourdough half rounds topped with a piece of cornichon, or with a sweet and luscious onion jam. The flavours were good, if subdued, and very moreish. The aperitif wine was a 2000 Alkoomi Riesling from Frankland River in WA, still holding but showing traces of oxidation on the nose and past its best. Also on offer were a choice of the fino and amontillado sherries from Lustau, always reliable.

For his main course, Peter followed the sous vide trend, with beef ribs vacuum packed and cooked for about 72 hours on low heat. There was a surprising variation in doneness for a process designed to give uniformity, but in the main the meat was soft and (almost) falling off the bone. A rich mushroom sauce, with lots of wine and stock, was poured over, and served with a creamy mash enlivened with celeriac, and crunchy brussels sprouts producing the usual division of opinion. The accompanying wines were both in the big and bold SA mould, a 2008 HardysardysH HRB/D646 cabernet/shiraz from McLaren Vale and Clare, and an Olivers Taranga Shiraz from McLaren Vale. The former showed good hot fruit (14%) but an extractive hardness on the palate, whilst the straight shiraz, although a hefty 15% alcohol, was in excellent balance with sweet fruit but drying tannins and a clean finish.

The cheese, showing soft buttery texture and a lifting mushroom-flavoured blue mould, turned out to be a Shadows of Blue from Tarago River in Victoria, made in the soft blue castello style and very well received, as was a tasty salad of rocket, sliced pear and shaved fennel in a plentiful bath of vinaigrette. The matching wines were a 2010 La Zona barbera from N Victoria, lighter in style and with dry tannins but needing a bit more time to settle down, and a great old 2000 Ingoldby McLaren Vale shiraz, with developed sweet fruit in harmonious balance with soft tannins and good residual acid.

The coffee this time came from Sumatra, an Apko Gaya plantation bean producing a strong dry cup with a distinct burnt orange tinge. Just the thing with a superb Morris Black Label liqueur muscat, fruit cake in a glass, provided by birthday boy Terry Stapleton