Home risotto hurdles

You've got to love a good hurdle in life. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right? Or from a more pessimistic point of view, life is just a series of hurdles (some even call it a race) and you just keep going until you run out of breath. Morbidity aside, it's the hurdles that precede achievement and all the lovely rewards associated with it.

There are always ways past a hurdle - a much less intense word than barrier - over, under, around, not so much through, but my drift is there. There's always a way but the path one chooses is what defines one and their life. And there's always the option of collapsing in front of the hurdle and just whinging.

Path choices abound us and I've chosen the path to a friend's place for dinner one particular night with the incentives of home-cooked food, chilled booze and somewhere to change into my shoes for the night out. Add to that a few laughs, cookbook and fashion consulting, and juicy discoveries and we're all but ready, albeit several hours later.

Fun times playing kitchen assistant as well, we're about 20 minutes cooking time and a few glasses of wine divergent from the Neil Perry recipe for pumpkin and pea risotto. Think onion, garlic, pumpkin, peas, arborio rice, white wine, stock, parmesan and seasoning - and it's an ideal start (and lining, I was told) for the night ahead.

Pumpkin and pea risotto cooking

I find risotto relatively easy to cook, despite constant stirring, but difficult to perfect - especially with crowds including the lactose intolerant, high cholesterols or high blood pressures, not to mention differing preferences on the softness of the rice.

My perfect risotto would be creamy (but not from the addition of cream), just a touch before al dente, loaded with various mushrooms, a bit of spinach or rocket, loads of freshly cracked black pepper and fresh shavings of parmigiano reggiano.

And my solution to edible but not superb risotto? Make it dry enough to roll into balls (additional cheese optional), a thin batter, crumbs and into hot oil for arancini. A herbed or tomato dipping sauce and you've got some pretty impressive finger food.

However, no such problems tonight as we dine on this risotto topped with sauteed baby asparagus with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. To the first time risotto chef: well done, thanks, and we really need to catch up again soon...

A sophisticated, mature dinner for a sophisticated, mature
night out. Really - who am I kidding (on the latter)?

Going gourmet

Indecision plagues me at the best of times. When I and a few others are dinner-less and faced with an extensive menu of gourmet pizzas, I'm seriously lost. It's almost a little like picking out a horse for the Melbourne Cup, once a year punter-style and all.

Do you go for the name: exotic, safe, different, intriguing? Do you go for the categories: gourmet meat, gourmet chicken, gourmet vegetarian, gourmet seafood, or tradtional? Or do you go for the entertainment value: the 'Manhattan' pizza topped with cos lettuce, the 'Jakarta' pizza with a honey teriyaki sauce, or the 'Baghdad' - enough said?

Probably a combination of all of the above, plus the all-important synergy of toppings. Which is sometimes my problem with 'gourmet' pizzas. Yes, it's unique and inventive but do I really want tiger prawns, curry coconut sauce and mango chutney on my pizza?

Thanks to Gourmet Pizza Kitchen, I have that option with their prawn, spinach, potato, capsicum, curry, chutney and coriander 'Madras' pizza. Somehow I manage to whittle down my choices to two gourmet pizzas and excitedly await and pick them up from the local restaurant, which happens to be busier with eat-in diners than takeaways orders.

Morrocco pizza from Gourmet Pizza Kitchen, Anzac Parade, Kingsford

The 'Morrocco' pizza won its place due to its name, conjuring up thoughts of spicy bazaars and folk music a world away. The pizza itself was a world away from many takeaway options, on first sight and taste. The uneven spread of toppings has us clamouring for slices not inundated with cubes of fetta cheese. The tub of herbed yoghurt, much like Indian raita, was distributed over all the slices as was the juice of the lemon wedge.

And the taste test? A little overwhelming and clashing, like what I imagine one's first step into Morrocco might be. The 'Morroccan-spiced' beef fillet slices are wonderfully soft and tender, the fetta cheese upping the dairy and salt content. Both the semi-dried tomatoes and char-grilled eggplant seemed to have minds and flavours of their own, so along with the herbed yoghurt, parsley and lemon, it was a massive, if not sometimes confused, flavour hit.

New Orleans pizza

The second choice was a gourmet chicken pizza claiming influence from 'New Orleans'. This comes with a tub of sour cream and a tub of sweet chilli sauce and immediately looks tamer than its Morroccan partner. Slices of chicken breast fillet are generously spread over the not-so-round pizza base, supposedly marinated in hot Cajun spices. There are also cubes of roasted potato, unhappy clumps of spinach and button mushrooms making for a relatively bland pizza, hence the tubs I suppose.

Both the bases are of mid-thickness holding their toppings strong with a crunchy outer crust. The end overall result? Teamed with a simple home made salad, GPK's gourmet offerings make for a takeaway meal with a difference, proudly a little healthier than others or so it feels, but no comparison to a thin Italian classic pizza, preferably served with rocket and buffalo mozzarella!

B'bye to summer

Digging out cardis from the wardrobe and considering boots so my toes don't get wet are pretty sure signs that summer is well and truly over. Sudden, it seems. And sad. It will be a sad wave goodbye to summer afternoon drinks and impromptu outdoor events, although a sunny winter's day is quite the blissful time to be in Sydney. And there's nothing wrong with afternoon drinks in a cosy pub on a chilly day.

The revamped Beresford Hotel certainly fits the bill: there's a lot to like about the huge variety of beers on tap, lounge-enticing seating and a very stylish restaurant tucked away in the back. Packed and absolutely buzzing on a mid-week night, the restaurant seems a little disjointed with the pub/bar section but is clearly the star of the show.

Menu at The Beresford Hotel, Bourke Street, Darlinghurst

The menu arrives with bread, butter and olive oil in an arty dish that I want to take home. I love the look and feel of the menu although the abundance of sections can be a little confusing. A raft of tempting Italian fare politely screams for my attention and it's a few visits from the waiter before I can choose from the appetisers, entrees, 'classics', pastas, fish, meat, oven-cooked meat and vegie sides.

Seared scallops, fennel puree, capers, pancetta & lemon

The stunning scallop entree looked almost too pretty to eat. The chunky scallop pieces were cooked through and easily devoured with the crunchy fried pancetta and creamy puree.

Roast lamb rump, celeriac puree, parsnips & pine mushrooms

Almost a welcoming party for winter, the hearty lamb main was served rare with stewed parsnip pieces and mushrooms. Tender, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth - all you want from a lamb dish. And on the darker side of the table...

Lasagne, Jerusalem artichoke, porcini mushrooms, hazelnuts & pecorino

A modern-looking vegetarian lasagne consisting of loads of porcinis piled up with soft, silky smooth squares of pasta, unmemorable Jerusalem artichoke, pecorino shavings and roasted whole hazelnuts. Its richness was unexpected but very much enjoyed.

Insalata verde

A side of mixed greenery was doused in a heavily salted dressing - a trend or perhaps just my delicate tastes when it comes to salad greens.

Vanilla panna cotta with figs, cherries/plums (?), almond granita

And the pretty presentation just keeps coming. Dessert wine is one of those things that just make me smile but a beautiful dessert usually deserves a grin. The panna cotta is refreshingly light, its sweet creaminess highlighted by the diced fig and what we deduced were cherries. The granita was a nice textural contrast but I wasn't enthralled with the flavouring - like almond essence or feijioa, just a personal dislike.

Service throughout the night was well-paced and extremely efficient - I don't think there was a moment where my wine or water neared empty. It was also endearing to see the jovial chefs hard at work at the pass. Getting nudged out of the restaurant and then the pub as it closed, I think that The Beresford will be on the list of things to cheer me up when the weather cools.