Family Potluck - Bexley, NSW

Earlier today, the Mrs and I posted an entry about our visit to Cafe Oratnek, well...that's not all we did (ate) over the weekend. Aside from enjoying a beautiful brunch, the Mrs and I had been invited to attend a potluck hosted by one of my close family friends. For the uninitiated, a potluck is an event or meal where each guest is in charge of contributing one dish. I quite enjoy our semi-regular potlucks as our families have always been close friends (our fathers all worked together at the same restaurant for many, many years) and as a result of being so close to the dining scene, our love for the culinary is equal to each others.

I decided that I'd take this opportunity to try an idea that's been floating around my head for a while: yakiniku tacos with radishes pickled in rice vinegar and asian inspired chimichurri. To make the dish, I marinated a couple of beef flank steaks in a house made yakiniku marinade overnight. The marinade is just equal parts cooking sake and soy sauce cooked with onions, garlic, sugar and honey (next time I might even try to add some fruit like apple or nashi pear in for some acidity). For the pickles, I sliced radishes on a mandoline slicer and pickled them in a rice vinegar pickling liquid overnight. Finally, I made the chimichurri out of the white parts of some spring onions, some garlic cloves, italian parsley, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a green chilli. Overall, I was very pleased with the result. I would have preferred to use a more tender cut (such as harami/skirt steak) and maybe marinade it for less time but the interplay of the sweet and crunchy pickles and the spicy, herby sauce made for an excellent party dish.

My friend decided to make ribs and takoyaki (a weird combination I know, but it worked). The ribs were very tender and flavoursome which really reflected the amount of effort he put in to make the ribs. It would have been even better if it was warm enough to have a backyard barbeque where he could have put some smoke and charcoal on it. My friend also took the opportunity to try out various ideas for takoyaki flavours. My two favorites of the night were the XO takoyaki and the truffle aioli takoyaki. Being that the takoyaki was already very creamy inside, the addition of the tobiko and aioli really pushed it to a new level of decadence....a must try for any truffle fan. The XO was also really nice as the chilli oil from the XO sauce melded with the batter to create a ball of spicy goodness.

Another friend also took the time to make a pot of spicy napolitana penne. Although she did indicate that it wasn't her intention to make it as spicy as it was, we were all really glad that it came out the way it did because it was deliciously appetizing. As with any good chilli dish, the heat built up with each mouthful which made you want to eat more. Additionally, some other friends made quiches in potato cups. The quiches were perfectly contained in nice, crispy and carby cups which made them rather delectable treats.

For dessert, we were served lemon curd cupcakes and a chocolate tart. The lemon curd cupcakes were amazing and had a perfect balance of creaminess to tartness. It really was a wonderful way to cut through the intense flavours we had earlier in the dinner which was great because it gave us the ability to kick on and eat the decadently rich chocolate tart. Topped with sliced strawberries and shavings of white chocolate, this chocolate tart was all manner of lovely. Honestly, I probably hoarded half the tart to take home because it was that good.

I truly love the way our families have remained so close and still somewhat regularly find the time to get together and enjoy some great food. I genuinely hope that even as the Mrs and I move further to the west, our ties will remain strong and we still find the time to get together and cook up a storm.

Catalina - Rose Bay, NSW

You probably might have gotten the idea by now (what with us being food-bloggers and all) but the Mrs and I really like to dine out. Sadly, we haven't really had the chance to go out and enjoy a really nice meal lately because we've had to save some money for a special event we have coming up. That's why I was so excited when a major milestone of ours came up and I used this opportunity to go and book a restaurant that the Mrs had been wanting to try for a while, Catalina.

A little tip for would-be diners: don't fret too much about needing to beat the traffic and find parking. They have ample parking outside the restaurant and you won't really encounter the typical sydney traffic trying to get there. Upon entering, we were seated at a rather ideal table located right by the water, perfect for setting up a romantic evening. Service was also impeccable from the moment you sit down, but is expected of a dining experience of this calibre....still, major points to the staff.

Despite there being sushi and sashimi available on the menu, the Mrs and I fought our temptations and stuck to the regular entrees and mains. For our entrees, we decided to share an order of the crispy whitebait and duck-egg as well as an order of the pan-seared scallops. When the dishes arrived, we were fascinated by how the dishes were presented and served as the duck egg was cut up and tossed before being placed onto the table. To say that we were impressed by the whitebait dish is an understatement. The crispy texture of the whitebait was complemented by the delightfully moorish duck-egg which made the dish extremely tasty. Despite sounding heavy, there was a slightly citrus-like element in the dish which cut through the flavours making it really appetising.

The scallops were also pretty good but I have to admit that in this case, the Mrs did pick the tastier entree. The scallops themselves were cooked perfectly but I can't say there was any other element of the dish which was memorable. That said, I do have a palate that craves heavy and distinct flavours so that's why when we ate the whitebait and the scallops back to back, the scallops wouldn't have had as much impact as the whitebait did. The dish was good in it's simplicity and the freshness of the ingredients.

Quickly thereafter, our main dishes arrived at our table and boy, were we impressed. The Mrs ordered the pan-seared kingfish from the daily menu which was served in a seafood bouillabaisse. Kingfish is possibly my most favoured type of fish when cooked which is great because this piece of fish was cooked beautifully with crispy thin skin and an almost steak-like texture of the fish being just cooked on the outside but still a bit raw in the centre. Just underneath it was refined and elegant seafood bouillabaisse which was smokey and savoury in all the right ways. The dish also had clams and mussels which made it just so much better. For me, this was definitely a highlight of the night.

The star of the show had to be my dish though, the lobster and fettuccine nero with tomato and chilli-infused lobster oil. The dish was magnificently presented with vibrant colours and a smell which was well indicative of how good this dish was. The pasta was cooked to an al-dente snap and was tossed with an abundant amount of plump and juicy bits of lobster meat. The sauce itself was absolutely moorish but had an acidic tang to it which made it irresistible. It was a shame that halfway through I had to give the pasta to the Mrs...the things I do for love. In addition to all this, we also ordered a side of mash just in case the mains weren't enough.

Normally, we'd end the night there (neither one of us is big on dessert) but since we hadn't been out in a while, we thought it'd be a good idea to order a sweet treat just this once. I naturally gravitated to the most chocolatey dish available and the Mrs obliged. We ordered the caramel-centred dark chocolate mousse with feuilletine crumble and valrhona milk chocolate ice cream to share which was a great decision because the dish was so amazing but so rich and decadent. A must order for any chocolate fan.

In addition to the dessert, the staff also provided us with a little gift for our special occasion which the Mrs and I were very appreciative of and thought was a great gesture. That last bit pretty much adequately describes our experience with Catalina, Perfect. The staff provided some of the best service we've had with their attentiveness and care which only made the food and the night even more spectacular. This has to be one of the most memorable dinners we've had and we're both so glad we chose to celebrate at Catalina.