• Australian Cheese,  Cheese,  Cheese in Cooking,  Restaurant Reviews

    Australia on a Plate – Crowne Plaza’s Culinary Journey Down Under

    I have a particularly over articulated life. I write and communicate for living. So it always comes as a shock when I am lost for words. It has happened twice recently. Once when I tried to verbalize just how awful Fifty Shades of Grey the movie was. The second time was last week, when someone asked me what “Contemporary Australian Cuisine” was. Australia has one of those truly unique culinary scenes which draws on a myriad of influences – European, our Asian neighbors, influences from the Middle East and beyond thanks to immigration and of course our traditional Aboriginal owners. To borrow a phrase, it’s “eclectic”. For the next few weeks,…

  • Cheese,  Cheese in Cooking,  Food Trends,  Travel

    Up in My Grill – How Much is Too Much for a Sandwich?

    I have been known to pay a pretty penny for some good food. And usually, I’m happy to do so (with the exception of a certain South American fusion restaurant in Doha who charged me five bucks for three small bread rolls recently – review coming). But when this story popped up on my Twitter feed today, I did a double take. Peter Gilmore is perhaps the best chef in Australia and his Snow egg has passed into culinary legend. But AUD$22 for a grilled cheese sandwich? Well, that’s another matter. $22 in other terms is QR57 or USD$15 or 10 quid in UK terms. According to Gourmet Traveller it has five Australian cheeses:…

  • Cheese,  Cheese in Cooking,  Italian Cheese

    Ricotta Get Outta This Place

    There comes a time in a woman’s life, when she makes the rookie error of mixing her dark and clear drinks and ends up with a banging headache and vague recollections of dancing to Canadian soft rock. This may or may not have happened to me recently. I may also have woken up in a cold sweat realising I promise to bring cheese of some description to a weekend brunch gathering. My options were these: 1. Plead hormonal imbalances and dust off a bottle of vino from the rack 2. Do smash and grab at the local supermarket and lob up with a slab of cheddar and something resembling crackers…

  • 12 cheeses of christmas,  Accompaniments,  Cheese in Cooking,  Food Trends,  French,  fresh cheese

    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…

  • 12 cheeses of christmas,  American Cheese,  Cheddar,  Cheese,  Cheese in Cooking,  Travel

    12 Cheeses of Christmas – Cheddar with Horseradish

    I’m on the record about not being a food snob, but I also have a healthy distrust of processed cheese. But my own rules are meant to be broken. On a recent trip to my local supermarket, I convinced myself to try this cheese from the US.Yes it’s processed but the horseradish had my attention. I’m always up for a new experience and I do like horseradish. The horseradish is apparently ground and added into the cheese making process. While it is an aged NY cheddar (they make good cheese in the great state of NY), it didn’t have the bite I was expecting. While I had it on a…

  • American,  American Cheese,  Cheese,  Cheese in Cooking

    Glazed and Confused – Grilled Cheese Cronuts

    In 2014, “Frankenfood” or sometimes bizarre mashups of food items are king. Think the Ramen Burger, the Zinger Pie and of course, the grand daddy of them all – the Cronut that devilish cross between a donut and a croissant. And apparently now, the Cronut has reached new culinary and hipster heights heights. I present to you my dear readers, the Grilled Cheese Cronut And apparently they are kind of easy to make so I may have a dare on my hands. *Photo credit http://www.ohbiteit.com

  • American Cheese,  Cheese in Cooking,  holidays,  thanksgiving,  White Cheese

    Clucking Good – How to Make a Turkey Out of Cheese

    So here’s the deal. I asked my friend Alicia what I could bring to her annual “Doha Family” thanksgiving event. She said Nothing. Then I offered to bring cheese. Then the ante started to ratchet up several notches. I googled “thanksgiving + turkey+ cheese” the results were alarming. I’m talking about cheese laid out int he shape of a turkey. then I stumbled upon a cheese ball fashioned into a turkey. “Do it,” said Alicia. So the challenge was on. I don’t think anyone actually believed I could do it. About three hours in on Friday with a raging hangover and runny cheese, hell I thought I couldn’t do it.…

  • Cheese,  Cheese in Cooking,  Doha,  Feta,  Greece,  life,  Love,  Restaurant Review,  seafod,  Spain,  Travel,  White Cheese

    Cheese Icecream? You had Feta Believe It

    We spend a lot of our lives doing things because that’s “how they are done”. This applies to our work, our lives and even our relationships. I for one am the chief instigator of this status-quo. Sometimes because it’s just easier. Sometimes because I don’t want to take a risk. Recently I had a chance to return to one of my old haunts Al Dana at Sharq Village and Spa to try their new menu. One of the only restaurants in Doha on the sea, it goes without saying there is a heavy seafood influence. The chef hails from Greece but has lived and worked in Spain and this influence is obvious.…