Ginger Pud with the Boys of Breaker Bay

Sunday night is a great night to eat casually (early) with friends to prepare for the week ahead. I recommend it. So Pav and I schlepped off to Breaker Bay to hang with our mates who love food, the fresher the better. Preferably straight out of the sea across the street. We're OK with that too, so we love hanging with these guys.

They're currently searching for Wellington's best chicken pate. I'll let you know what they decide. We had two to compare tonight. I'm not going to give away any brands, but suffice to say they've got a challenge ahead of them as comparing chicken pates is like comparing apples and tennis balls – same, same, but different.

Main course was lovely fresh blue cod and scallops with creamy leeks. Pav and I are fans of 'great ingredients not messed up' and this was certainly that.

I had promised a hearty pudding and had recently been to Ruth Pretty's cooking class at Handmade2001, so had Ruth's booklet to inspire me. Pav and I both love ginger in the extreme (Pav regularly doubles the ginger in his ginger baking, Legend) so it's easy to convince us on:

Upside Down Ginger Pudding

Because I can't leave well enough alone and I didn't have 12 guests (Ruth's recipe is for 13 servings) I made half of her recipe (what I made is set out below) and fed us all enough so we didn't need seconds. Anything you do like in this recipe is Ruth; anything you don't like is me:

Turn oven on to 190C. Put the kettle on.

• juice of 2 oranges (and finely grated zest of about half of one of them)
• half a cup of raisins (jumbo if you like, and I do)

Soak raisins in orange juice for half an hour and then drain.

• 3 pieces of stem ginger in syrup (I use Opies brand), finely chopped (more if you're keen)
• syrup from the jar (a trick I learned from Nigel Slater, who seems to love ginger too)
• 8-10 macadamia nuts toasted (about 7 mins at 180C, shake twice during toasting, remove from hot pan to cool as they continue to cook and burn quickly – don't leave the room while they cook!) and chopped
• golden syrup

Spray individual serving moulds for the number of people you have (I used 4 250ml cup coffee cups, but I reckon you could stretch to 6 or 7 with this amount) with nonstick spray and gloop about a tablespoon of golden syrup and a teaspoon of the ginger syrup in the bottom of each. More of each won't hurt. Then divide the nuts and ginger pieces between the moulds.

Now make the pudding batter.

• 50g butter, at room temperature, in chunks
• half a cup of brown sugar

Cream butter and sugar together until it changes to a lovely pale colour.

• 1 egg

Beat in the egg.

• 1 cup of flour
• 1 tablespoon of ground ginger
• half a teaspoon of baking powder
• pinch of salt

Shift all this together and add the drained raisins and orange zest.

• quarter cup of milk

Gently fold milk into batter.

Divide batter among the moulds, no more than about half full. Place in an oven tray and fill the oven tray with enough boiling water (remember the kettle from earlier?) to come about one third up the side of the moulds. Spray tin foil squares big enough to cover a mould and cover each mould with its own personal silver cap. Scrunch the foil around them so the batter has a chance to steam in its cap. Carefully transfer to the oven.

Bake for 20 mins or so until the skewer test shows they're cooked. Serve upended into bowls with cream or ice cream (we served with Spanish peach gelato, but that's another recipe).

Very sweet. And good and gingery. And I reckon it can be adapted to other flavours. My notes from Ruth's class say that they can be frozen in their moulds (immediately after pouring the batter) and then cooked from frozen for just a bit longer than the recipe says. Might try that sometime too.

Pottery and photo credit: Crown Lynn pottery from mid 1960’s designed by visiting Californian Dorothy Thorpe, pattern “Pine”. Supplied by the fish-guy of Breaker bay. Styled and lit by the architect of Breaker Bay. 

An Ace, a Duke, a Sow and a Camembert

It was time to catch up with Ace who has been a big support to me over the years that we've worked together, so off to Duke Carvell's for 2 for 1 on a Monday night. Now, I've had at least one bad experience at the Duke's before = basically every dish was luke warm when it should have been hot. A sure sign of a busy kitchen cutting corners. But let's give it another shot.

Ace thinks they've changed staff; I'm not sure, but they were certainly graceful hosts. We are both usually such wholesome eaters that we decided to give veges a miss for the night and go for the Pork Board and the Baked Camembert. There were actually some veges in the form of chillis (do they count?), gherkins and some fibre in the form of bread and pistachio nuts, so don't worry for us.

The Pork Board consists of 'House made charcuterie' and pork on a board is a fair description. A terrine/pate, some deep fried crumbed cheeks, crackling (!), glazed ham 'French' salami and then some. An enticing selection which we happily demolished, chillis, pistachios and all. (Before and after photographic evidence supplied)

The Baked Camembert is just that – Camembert de Normandie (au lait cru – raw milk, so not one for the pregnant or immune deficient, so we're in!) studded with slivers of garlic, allegedly splashed with wine and baked in its own box. (Now, you can do this at home, and you should. If you, do make sure the box is wooden and held together with metal not sticky tape!). More of the same salami (no complaints from us), incy wincy gherkins and long bruschetta-like bread to smear the cheese on.

There are healthier ways to eat, but not many nicer ones.

I would have liked the cheese a bit longer baked than it was, but that's a personal preference. And we certainly didn't leave any behind. (Photographic evidence once more!)

Lasting impressions:

food/menu – tasty new menu and it looks good, those that we had certainly hit the spot. Plenty of small plates for sharing, but other options too. And ours were not small at all.

service – smooth operators

noise – noisy, but that's all fine here

kids – safe adults-only zone at night, not sure about during the day

parking – there's a carpark out the front and out the back, but you should walk or take the bus so you can eat the pork!

deals – two for one food on Mondays

Redeemed!
Oh, and I used to go to drama classes upstairs back in the day!

Duke Carvell's – Swan Lane Emporium

Swan Lane

Wellington City

04 385 2240

Hashbrowns and baking in Miramar - Cafe Polo

It's a treat to have Pavarotti with me on a Saturday. The rain has delivered a rare Saturday together, so off for a post-yoga brunch we go. Pav said he knew where Polo in Miramar was, so he drove and took us straight there. Turns out his intensive knowledge of Wellington's football fields has its culinary advantages.

I spotted the hand made croissants within 2 seconds of arrival (they're within 2 metres of the door in a beautiful glass/wood cabinet displaying lots of baked goodies of the savory and sweet variety – more of which later!). So that was 'entree'. A delightful morsel, light but with a bit of density and chewiness, not like some of the flaky exploding varieties you can get.

There were plenty of enticing offers on the wall and written menus, but I plumbed for a favourite – jerusalum artichoke soup. Partly because they're seasonal and a 'get 'em while you can' vege in my book. And partly because I love the fact that they're neither from Jerusalem nor an artichoke. Enigmatic food names hold a definite attraction to me.

Pav had the eggs bene' after much thought – straight with the Harrington's bacon, rather than either smoked salmon or spinach variations on offer. That bacon was very salty, but mixed with the other aspects of the bene it was a fine combo. In a stroke of genius, Pav also ordered a pair of Polo's homemade hashbrowns. We're both partial to a spud, and a grated fried spud especially. These lived up to the expectation we had enslaved them with. A beautiful outer crisp protecting an internal golden hue. Spectacular. Worth the trip alone.

I'm pretty sure that the jerusalem artichokes didn't have my soup to themselves.  The grey with black flecks and the richness make me believe that it should really have been described as mushroom/jerusalem artichoke soup.  But it was smooth and earthy, capturing the special smoky nuttiness of the main ingredient(s). The accompanying slightly wholemeal bread was chewy and rewarding. Pre-buttered, which might bother some people, but personally it saves me struggling with myself whether to have the butter or not. Clearly if the chef believes the butter enhances the bread/soup experience, who am I to argue?

The baking won the day – both of us chose a treat to take home and have later – theoretically for afternoon tea, but actually in the end for dessert. Maple and walnut Schnecken (I've got a German degree so I still feel the need to capitalise german words, bless me) pastry and a 'chocolate croissant' as we insist on calling them in this country. Both of a quality to make swing past Polo just for the baking a worthwhile exercise.

Lasting impressions:

atmosphere – suburban and welcoming

food/menu – well made, tasty and worth the trip to the 'burbs from just about anywhere

coffee – fair trade L'Affare, hot and good

service – charming

kid noise factor – there weren't many there when we were there, but if there were a bunch I think the acoustics would trap the noise if you were seated in the wrong room

parking - easy

We'll be back for dinner.

Cafe Polo

82-84 Rotherham Terrace
Miramar
Wellington

Why am I here?

I love food. I eat it. I make it. I share it. I host with it at my home. And I talk incessantly about it. Now I'm writing about it too. Welcome to my world.

I'll let you into my opinions on food and drink I consume that others have been good enough to make for me (personally or professionally) and what I'm making myself for me and the singer I live with (Pavarotti, let's call him) and for anyone else kind enough to pause in my company. And where I have thoughts on the food related subjects of the day., I'll share those too. Lovely to have you with me.