It’s been a long year and frankly I have been caught a little off guard by the speed and ferocity of the approach of the festive season. We’re staying in Doha this year, and on the weekend I had a mild panic about who, what, when, where and how. I managed to find the tree in the back of the wardrobe, dust off the ornaments and tinsel and put the whole thing together with a minimum of curse words. Presents have been ordered online and are being delivered at breakneck speed. After that I needed a lie down and a Netflix Gilmore Girls marathon (but basically that threw up more questions than…
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- 12 cheeses of christmas, Accompaniments, Aged Cheese, Artisan Cheese, blogging, Blue Cheese, brie, British, British cheese, Cheddar, Cheese, Food, food festival
How to Make the Perfect Festive Cheese Plate
In my view, whatever the question, the answer is ALWAYS cheese. And, as the weather cools and the year draws to an end, ’tis the season to be…eating as much cheese as possible. Whether it’s catering to a big crowd of friends and family, or settling in to watch Netflix on a weekend, or just because, cheese is the ideal entertainer. I know, I’m biased. But frankly, it can be the perfect end to a dinner party, or served as a spread at any party But it’s not always easy to choose the right cheeses. So I’ve joined with Lulu Qatar and Chocolate Fish Parties to show you how easy it is to creative…
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I Camembert It…
Baked cheese seems to be a theme in my life in recent weeks. Hot on the heels of this extravaganza on Christmas Day I found myself delving back into the gooey mess that is baked Camembert. Last night’s indulgence was brought to me by the good people at French brasserie La Varenne This was baked in the paper container it comes in and served with honey and truffle oil. It was one of those rare moments in dining where many senses were tickled – sight, smell and of course taste. The fact that it’s a tactile dish involving digging the fresh baguette pieces into the oozing hot cheese is even more exciting. Sorry,…
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All Wrapped Up – Camembert En Croute for Christmas
It seems I am developing an aptitude for creating “stunt cheese” or “extreme cheese challenges”. First there was the infamous “Turkey Cheese” for Thanksgiving and now folks, I present to you my latest creation… This is a wheel of Camembert wrapped in puff pastry and baked. I had planned to do this with Brie, as is the traditional way, but believe it or not I struggled to find a suitable wheel. I also had a scramble to find readymade puff pastry sheets big enough (who has time to make puff pastry on Christmas Day) but managed to cobble together a casing from some small squares, well placed egg wash and a lot…
- Accompaniments, Cheese, Cooking, farmers cheese, Food Trends, Hotels, India, Media, Travel, White Cheese
Paneer to the Action
The thing about cheese, is that it’s actually really simple. Milk, a souring agent and time is all it takes to produce a simple white cheese. No complications. It’s when you start adding things like flavor, smokiness, rinds that things get complicated. Kind of like relationships. Except they don’t have rinds.Well, you know what I mean. I’m glad to have introduced my friends to the power of paneer and Indian cheese. It’s to the point where we actively seek it out, like DVD copies of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. We had a couple of brushes with this cheese on our recent trip to Mumbai. This included a unique paneer salad…
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A Dosa the Action in Mumbai
Six women board a plane to go to Mumbai, India. What happened next will shock you. It’s a wonder we all actually made it to Mumbai. With visa and immigration hassles and the copious quantities of bubbles consumed in the lAl Mourjanounge at Hamad International Airport, I was pretty sure there was some kind of black notice issued by multiple authorities. I will admit, there was a moment when I thought this trip would never happen. It was when one of our crew was forced to get her visa at the very last minute. This required the speedy skills of our driver Shafi and many Hail Marys. Many dosa, samosa…
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Fromage Fortifications
As a cheese blogger, having a fridge full of the good stuff is an occupational hazard. As of yesterday I have leftover pieces of Manchego, Parmesan, Swiss, Cheddar, Gorgonzola and several unidentified randoms. Now you know how I hate waste as much as losing perfectly good cheese, so I dug out this recipe by the amazing David Lebovitz for Fromage Fort. Fromage fort is a French cheese spread, literally “strong cheese”. It is traditionally made by blending together pieces of different leftover cheeses, white wine (or other spirits) with garlic, herbs and whatever takes your fancy. I made mine with around seven kinds of odds and ends cheeses The recipe calls for…
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Destination Delhi
An Indian friend asked me recently “What is it with you and India?”. Good question! <a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13089593/?claim=qvjc53vatsk”>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> It’s close to Doha. It’s truly interesting. And they have awesome food. I dragged Alicia and Lesley to Delhi a couple of months ago, promising the Taj Mahal, paneer and seven million people following us around. See in India, tall blondeish well fed white women attract attention. Everyone wants to have a photo with us I mean we’re gorgeous, so frankly who could blame them. The thing about India is when I travel there, I am hungry. All. The. Time. I believe this is because the air is thick…
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Fromage to You – Review of The Cheese Market
OK yes I did a bit of a Gone Girl and disappeared off the food blogging scene for a couple of months. I would love to tell you I was getting drastic plastic surgery, or had eloped with a billionaire. Truth is, I just needed a break from blogging. As you sometimes do. And I also ran out of cheese puns. What dragged me back was several people telling me how they missed the blog. And not just my Mum. So while I was away something interesting happened in Doha. A dedicated cheese shop opened. The Cheese Market requires a special trip to find at The Pearl Qatar. Although I plan to open…
- Accompaniments, Cheese, Cheese in Cooking, Cooking, Doha, events, Feta, Food, Food Trends, Greece, Hotels, Middle East, Promotions, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Travel
Got Greek?
I realized a couple of things this week. One is how much I LOVE Greek food and miss it done well here in Doha. And the other is that at age 42 I seem to have forgotten to get married. One of those outstanding issues was resolved this week. No, there wasn’t a quickie wedding. Rather, the Sharq Village and Spa is hosting Greek Week. Being Australian kind of makes me half Greek anyway. Melbourne is said to have the largest Greek-speaking population outside of Europe, after Athens and Thessaloniki, Melbourne’s Greek sister city. Even in Sydney’s west where I was brought up, you grow up fluent in Greek swear…