However, despite all that deliciousness, my favourite thing we made was a simple roast duck, all succulent meat and crispy skin.

Since the class, I've put my new found skills to good use, making roast duck a few times at home. I'll go through it in a bit more detail (including slightly gory preparation photos), but essentially what you need to do is roast the duck at 200C for 40 minutes a kilo. Easy! (Quite some time ago, I tried Nigella's poach-then-roast method of roasting duck, but this is much easier and works just as well, if not better.)

A bit of butchery is required - sharp knife and steady hands! (Having said that, if you're squeamish or not good with knives, I'm sure you could ask your butcher to prepare the duck for you).

Raw duck

You start by cutting off the wing tip (the bottom third of the wing), so it doesn't burn. You can keep these wing tips for stock or gravy. Then you need to chop off the neck. (Pretty much at that line of lights you see in the next photo, where the sun streaming through my kitchen window blinds is hitting the duck).

Raw duck

If you want to keep the neck for stock or gravy, and the skin for roasting potatoes, you'll need to peel the skin off the duck neck. You'll also need to remove the treachea and oesophagus and discard those (with apologies to those of you who are squeamish! I'm also assuming that any vegetarians have clicked off this page a long time ago...)

Trachea, Esophogus

The final preparation step is to cut away any excess fat around the cavity. Strictly speaking, I think it's fine to roast the duck with the excess fat there, but you'll end up with lots of messy oil in the roasting tin. Even if you're saving the fat to roast potatoes, it's easier to remove it now, and render it separately in a little saucepan, rather than trying to spoon molten fat from the hot tray once the duck is roasted.

The first time I ever had Germ Knödel was back in Berlin in 2006, on the recommendation of my friend Dan, who described them as "oh my god the yummest thing ever, they're like buns filled with jam and covered in custard!". They weren't easy to find, but I eventually did get one, at a stall in Berlin where they were screening the World Cup final, and they were just as good as Dan described. (Now I realise they were probably difficult to find because they're more Austrian than German.)

After I came back, I kind of forgot about them... until a few weeks ago. At a recent dinner party held by the fabulous Alae and Kristine, we decided we all had to get together sometime and watch Sissi, a classic romantic Austrian film about Princess Elisabeth of Bavaria. I think there was a vague suggestion of combining the movie night with a birthday dinner I'd promised to cook for Kristine, but that idea was quickly quashed by my yelling, "No, no! I'll make an Austrian-themed lunch to match the film!!!!!"

And here's the menu I (eventually) decided on...


An Austrian Lunch for 5

Wiener Schnitzel
Bratkartoffeln
Cucumber Salad
Germ Knödel mit Vanillesoße


My main challenge was finding powidl, the sticky plum stew that is traditionally used as filling for Germ Knödel. And, as I only did my shopping on the morning of the lunch (oops), I wasn't able to make the trek out to Balaclava, North Fitzroy or St Kilda, where some lovely Twitter folks suggested I might find it. I decided to try my luck at the local deli, thinking that I could make Buchteln filled with dried apricots as a back-up if powidl wasn't available.

But luck was on my side - my local deli had powidl AND Pflaumenmus, the German version of powidl. You can guess which one I bought.

The Pflaumenmus is dee-licious, I've been having it on toast with cream-cheese.

I couldn't find Germ Knödel in any of my German recipe books, so I googled one. I used this recipe, but I steamed the dumplings instead of boiling them. You'll see that I baked some too, but more on that later. Afterwards, I realised that "Germ Knödel" is the Austrian-German word for "yeast dumpling", but in German-German they're called Hefe Klöße. I actually already had a whole bunch of recipes for Hefe Klöße in my books. D'oh! (Or as Homer says in German, "NEIN!")

Not that it was a bad thing, because the recipe I googled produced the most wonderful dough...
It started off raggedy and messy, but a good 10 minutes kneading (with the dough hook in my Kithchen Aid, of course), produced a super-smooth and pliable dough.

I divided it into 10 pieces, and then filled them. I flattened the balls (heh) slightly, added a spoonful of Pflaumenmus, pinched the circumference to be thinner and then squished it closed around the jam. I rolled them around lightly in my hands to smooth the outside.

I was surprised by how easy this was; the dough came together without any trouble and no jam leaked out. You can see below how smooth the 2 filled balls (heh) at the front were compared to the ones at the back which hadn't been filled yet.

Then I let them rise while we ate lunch. In case you're wondering how all that food magically appeared, we cooked and prepared it in all the gaps when the yeast dough was resting and rising. (Sandra was head Schnitzel-fryer).


The cucumber salad was pretty much the same as the filling for the cucumber sandwiches from my recent tea party, just in thicker slices. We served tomato sauce, mustards and lemon wedges with the schnitzel as well.
Inspired by the fabulous Figelmüller in Vienna.

After lunch was finished, we put the Sissi DVD on, and I finished off the Knödel. Look how much they rose!

They did deflate a little bit as I transferred them to little squares of baking paper and then into the steamer, but they rose back up after being cooked.

Level 1 of the steamer...

Level 2 of the steamer was a hastily improvised tea-towel (it's the way Austrian housewives do it!)

And then, I put a larger pot on top to trap the steam in. Yes, this is what many recipes suggest to do, but I don't think it was the most stable arrangement...
Don't try this at home, kids!

I think a wide Chinese bamboo steamer would be a much better option, as it would be more stable, and it would keep all the steam in.

I only managed to fit 5 of those giant Knödel in my steamer contraption, so I brushed the rest with butter and baked them (this was, again, a suggestion from one of my googled recipes).

While they were steaming, I whipped up a Vanillesoße to go with (from scratch, I don't do packet custard). And as you can see in the top photo, I sprinkled them with a mixture of icing sugar and poppy seeds. The one I ate in Berlin was plain, but I think the poppy seeds and sugar topping is a traditional Austrian thing.

We paused the DVD, brewed a pot of coffee, and I brought the Knödel out on a board, and the custard in a jug. Then we dug in.

Ta-dah!

Let's look inside...

And this is what the baked ones looked like.

I loved them! Especially when swathed in rich custard. The dough was fluffy like a char siu bao, and not overly sweet. It really soaked up the custard sauce well. Both baked and steamed versions had their own charms - the baked ones were like a baked donut! As for the steamed Knödel, the ones in the bottom level of the steamer were nicer. The top level wasn't airtight (or steam-tight, as it were), and they developed a very slight skin on them. I have since invested in a 10-inch bamboo steamer, so I won't have that problem next time. Not that anyone noticed! They went down a treat. After the lunch, we had a couple leftover, and I enjoyed them as toasted breakfast buns the next day.

Happy New Year everyone! Hope y'all had a great night last night. We got Pizza Hut for dinner (my other local pizza place was closed!), and went down to Fed Square to see the fireworks. Boy howdy, it was crowded! My new year's resolutions are to eat healthier, exercise more, save money, keep my house clean, and to learn German properly (inserting random Deutsch words into my sentences doesn't count).

Anyhoo, I've still got a couple of Christmas posts to get through, so please enjoy these pics of our Christmas dinner!

All the best for 2009!

xox Sarah


Christmas Dinner for 7


Roast Turkey (How to Eat)
Roast Potatoes (How to Eat)
Red Cabbage
Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Chestnuts (Feast)
Baked Carrots
Bread Sauce (How to Eat)
Cranberry Sauce (From a jar)
Gravy (How to Eat)

Christmas Pudding with Brandy Cream (The Roux Brothers on Patisserie)







A few short notes - I wouldn't bother brining the turkey. I tried this last year for a Christmas in July, and it still turned out dry! I just do what Oma Resel in Germany does: cover it in butter, and baste it in beer. I could only find frozen Brussels sprouts and canned chestnuts, so they were a little fluffier and more mealy than I'd normally like. I got my cranberry sauce out of a jar this year. It's easy to make, but expensive, and buying a little jar means you're less likely to waste it. The Christmas pudding was beautiful, but very boozy. My family seemed to like it, but it was quite strong for me. Instead of the brandy cream, I would have preferred plain wHipped cream, or custard.

2 bio-dynamic T-bone steaks, grown on Avonmore Estate


Aussie Rules Grand Final Lunch
T-bone steak, Italian-style with wilted spinach (Neil Perry's Good Food)
Baked new potatoes on a bed of salt (Bill Granger's Holiday)
Asparagus steamed in a paper bag (Tyler Florence's Tyler's Ultimate)

Yes, I know the Grand Final is on. And yes, I know my team's in the final. (GO THE HAWKS!) But I'm too nervous to watch, so here I am blogging, and getting updates on the game from hearing my dad yell at the TV.

There's nothing like the footy to put you in the mood for barbecue. So this morning, I had a leisurely stroll to my local grocers, and picked up 4 massive T-bone steaks, 2 big bags of spinach, and an incredibly gorgeous bunch of sage.

Sage

Spinach

When I got to the butcher, I couldn't see any T-bone in the cabinets, but the friendly butcher got some for me from out the back. He brought out a freakin enormous side of beef, started trimming off the fat, and cut up 4 thick slices for me. He then used one of those big electric saw things that butchers have to slice through the bones and finish the job. Wow. I love watching butchers work. (Maybe that's why I like Dexter so much).

The total weight of 4 steaks was 2.4 kilos, and came to $70!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahem. I guess it really does cost a lot to produce biodynamic beef, and to have a skilled and trained butcher cut it up for you. Neil Perry's recipe suggests one T-bone per person, with a small side of wilted spinach. I, however, realised there was no way we'd each eat a whole 600g steak each, so I carefully double wrapped 2 of them and stashed them in the freezer.

This picture shows you 2 of my favourite things - my labelmaker and gratuitous umlauts.

The other accompaniments - potatoes and asparagus, were the result of some fruitful rummaging through the fridge and pantry.

Bill Granger suggests serving these potatoes with a massive La-Plancha style rib-eye, so I knew they'd go great with my T-bones. You put the potatoes, oil-less, on a bed of sea salt, and roast at 200C for an hour, turning once during cooking.

I found 2 bunches of asparagus in my fridge crisper drawer, and vaguely recalled a beautiful picture of asparagus in my Tyler Florence book. Upon reading the book, I realised that Tyler cooks his asparagus in a brown paper bag. I happened to have a brown paper bag, (it had previously held free cookies from my local bakery), so gave it a go. Apparently, steaming the asparagus means you keep all the nutrients, rather than having them leach into the cooking water. So, you pack up all the ingredients in the bag: asparagus, lemon slices, salt, pepper, a bay leaf and a drizzle of olive oil.

Then you wrap it up tightly, drizzle the bag with olive oil to prevent it from burning, and bake it for 20 minutes at 180C. Easy!

While all that was going on, I prepared the steak. Perry suggests a mixture of sage (above), rosemary and oregano to press onto the meat. I have both rosemary and oregano growing in my garden, so that saved me a bit of money.

My little herb collection. As you can see, my oregano (at the front) and my thyme (on the right), are going great guns, but my coriander and parsley have seen better days.

And I have a massively wild bush of rosemary growing in the garden. I think Mum planted a little seedling of it a few years ago. Look at it now!

Then it was time to light up the barbecue and slap on the steaks...


In a stroke of fantastic timing, the whole lunch was ready just as Hawthorn ran onto the field...
Two big steaks were a great amount for four of us. I'm glad I didn't cook all four!

The spinach just needs a quick toss in a pan with some garlic and oil. Super easy!

Paper-bag steaming was a great method of cooking the asparagus; it was so vibrant and green.

I adored these potatoes! Blistered skin on the outside, super, super fluffy on the inside.


Great lunch. Ok, gotta watch the match. 3 minutes to go. GO THE MIGHTY HAWKS!!!!!!!!

Sarah: I can't think of a starter to make before the beef on Monday...
Richard: Fuck the starter, let's get straight into the meat!

Good idea.
Rib-Eye Beef Roast, Rendinas Bio-Dynamic & Organic Butchery
Big pointy fork, Kitchen Drawer
Peer Sorensen Chopping Board, Gift from Uncle Mike
Freakin' Sweet Santoku Knife, Kappabashi Kitchen Town in Tokyo


***From the Archives*** I see the photos for this post were uploaded and saved in APRIL, and I'm only publishing them now! Whoops. Better late than never. Enjoy!


I love cooking roasts! I developed a taste for it when I made dozens of them during my How to Eat Project. (Notably from the meat-heavy Weekend Lunch chapter). I don't make them that often any more, but when I do, I like to go all out. We had a meat-loving family friend over for dinner, who we knew would appreciate some good quality beef. I tried to keep the menu quite simple, and let the amazing rib-eye do the talking. Now, a big-ass hunk of organic rib-eye beef will not be cheap. In fact, it will be eyebrow-raisingly expensive. It's totally worth it though - even if just for the improvement in taste from conventional beef. Besides, we only have roasts once in a blue moon, so it's not too bad on the old hip-pocket.

Richard kindly donated dessert, and even more kindly, cleared this with me in advance. Some of you may remember that my biggest pet peeve is when people bring desserts to dinner parties without asking or telling you first. What gives? Anyway, back to the menu.


A Meat-Lover's Dinner for 5
Union Square Cafe Bar Nuts (Nigella Bites)
Rib-Eye Roast of Beef (How to Eat, Feast)
Blue Cheese Dressing (Tyler's Ultimate)
Garlic Creme (Sydney Food)
Goosefat Roast Potatoes (How to Eat, Feast)
Rocket Salad
Triple Layer Chocolate Mousse Cake (Thank-you Richard!)


Union Square Cafe Bar nuts - my staple pre-dinner nibble. I've recently realised that these can be made a few days in advance, left to cool, and stored in airtight containers. They're better warm, but still great cold, so don't beat yourself up about it.


The table - It was very simple - I didn't want to go OTT, but I still wanted to make sure the table was set before anyone was due to arrive, to give a welcoming impression.

The Sauces - I really went to town with the sauces! I guess I wanted to be like Vlado and let my guests choose whatever condiment they wanted with their beef.
In the background: Tyler Florence's blue-cheese dressing (including blue cheese, chives and buttermilk). In the foreground: Bill Granger's garlic crème (from his steak sandwich recipe).

Impossibly cute condiment set, sent to me by the lovely Lisa as a graduation gift. From left to right: Dijon mustard, Wholegrain mustard, Hot English mustard (hoo-ah!), Tomato Sauce, BBQ Sauce. We only really needed the mustards, but I couldn't leave 2 pots empty.


Goosefat roast-potatoes - These seem to have become my signature dinner-party dish, which I didn't realise until Richard actually started requesting them at various times during the preceding week.
Mmm.... crispy.

Rocket Salad - lightly and astringently dressed to counteract the heaviness of the beef. And to be healthy... oh, who am I kidding?

I bought a 5-pronged rib-eye (one rib per person), which worked out at just over 2 kilos, from memory. It was easy to slice into individual portions.
Who's your daddy?

That's a lot of meat. I used to always have heaps of leftovers whenever I made a roast. Not this time. We devoured all the meat, inhaled the potatoes, and after a glass or two of wine, I was classily gnawing the meat off the rib bones. Damn tasty. (I'll add here that I should have made more potatoes. Fearful of waste, I only made 1 kilo of potatoes, and despite the meat-fest, we could have easily eaten more. No-one said anything on the night, but I noticed that people were eyeing off the last of the roast potatoes. Don't tell Nigella! Oh, the shame of being undercatered!)

And then we got stuck into dessert...