Review: The Falconer, Darlinghurst

Rocket, radicchio, pear and parmesan salad with aged balsamic - $12 (large)

Oh my god. It's been a while...I can almost smell the mouldiness of the place already...

Apart from being completely bamboozled by what can only be described as an utter black plague of assessments this semester, I've also had my time quickly devoured by a few extra commitments I've taken on. Never mind that, I figure that instead of trying to divulge all the reasons why I haven't had the time to post, I may as well get a move on with the dusting of cobwebs around here.

Crispy shoe-string fries with the Falconer aioli - $8

Thanks to the wonderful Billy, the team here has finally had a few lessons on how to make our photos even more droolworthy. After-all, we are the hub of saliva-generation are we not? I'm still not too good with Lightroom, but practice makes perfect, and I'm happy to say that I've finally gotten over the noobish fascination with mindless clicking of the auto-white balance feature in Lr.

It's awesome isn't it?!

Okay, let's get back to work.

A few weeks ago AY, AW, JL and I decided to hit town for a night of relaxation in the midst of a World War against our textbooks. As we ran from the incessant fire of APV and DCF models, we luckily found a quiet refuge at The Falconer, located on Oxford Street, after a friendly recommendation by FW.

"So what's so good about this place?" I asked.

"Well, apparently they serve rabbit."

Braised organic rabbit ragu pappardelle with tomato, port & mustard seeds - $19

I must admit the thought of hacking up a fluffy bunny and cooking it did not at all seem appetising, but it was a thought which I pushed aside into my cranial Pandora's Box as I gave in to my unfettered weakness for pappardelle. On this particular occasion, luckily, the pappardelle did not disappoint with its bite and flavour. The ragu was beautifully cooked and the bunny meat so amazingly tender that I would have happily devoured two plates of this despite my initial apprehension.
Risoni with sauteed mushrooms, lemon, thyme and white truffle oil - $14

Bunny hackings aside, AW and JL both chose a serve of Risoni with sauteed mushrooms with lemon, thyme and white truffle oil. The flavours surrounding this plate was most definitely earthy and robust, but sadly the risoni was just a tad too al dente for my liking.

Slow-baked Bangalow pork belly with saffron pears and chestnut puree - $24

AY being the awesome solo demolition team at any dinner table, ordered a nice hunk of pork belly just to rub satisfaction in the face of the health-conscious. The amazing thing is, it doesn't seem to show on his body. Feel free to sign here for life-long membership to his hate-club. Jokes.

In all seriousness though, the meat was moist and tender, and so full of flavour that sadly there just simply wasn't enough to satisfy the hungry sonuva-. But in retrospect that was a good thing, especially for those of you reading this...

Because...

Vanilla bean crème brûlée with mango & cashew nut crisp - $11

Ooooright. Giggidy giggidy.

For dessert we had a lovely, smooth Crème brûlée (albeit a little runny still). The mango and cashew nut crisp which came with the dish was so wonderfully crispy and light - a wonderful accompaniment.

Can you tell that my word of the day is "wonderful"?

Not sure if it was because I had a little too much wine and cocktails to drink beforehand, I quickly became unsatisfied with eating the crème brûlée like a normal, healthy-minded human being. Acting in the name of research, I began to enjoy my crème brûlée with the french fries pictured above and oh gollie was it sensational! It was like the childish fascination with dipping you fries into your sundaes at Maccas, except so much awesome-er. Definitely recommended if you're not too fussed about being classy. Perfect for those suffering from a mild-case of Peter Pan Syndrome.

Overall, my the experience here was a big thumbs up. I gave it bonus points for its ability to make me feel like I should be wearing more vintage style clothing that came straight out of Frankie Magazine. If you like that old-fashion diners atmosphere that feels warm and inviting - look no further, this is the place for you.

The Falconer
31 Oxford Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tel: (02) 9267 8434

Review: Moltofino, Dee Why

Last Sunday I caught up with AY for lunch in Dee Why after his exchange in Japan. The original plan had been a three way affair for breakfast, which then changed to brunch, which thereafter changed again to lunch. We are sleep deprived souls.
The afternoon was spent sitting in front of the beach, and since I had my camera with me, I helped myself to a few pictures of the lovely scene. It was a glorious day and too good to waste.

These were originally taken with the DSLR but later converted to a Polaroid thanks to a program JL sent me. My wall-of-Polaroids is finally getting started!

Back to the topic, AW, remaining true to character, showed up late, and missed lunch completely. I often say that I spend half my life waiting for JL, and the other half waiting for AW. Some things just don't change.

AY and I decided to start on lunch without her and settled on Moltofino for a quick Italian lunch.Penne Siciliana - $19.90

I decided to have the Penne Siciliana, which was a deliciously tomatoey pasta dish. There wasn't anything absolutely outstanding about the dish, but it was beautiful and I ate it perfectly happily in front of the waters. The sauce was a tad on the runny side as I like my sauces quite thick, but that is just a preferential thing and I'd be more than happy to eat this again.Linguine alla Panna - $18.90

AY chose the Linguine alla Panna, which was very generous with the sauce and mushrooms. Mushrooms were an absolute delight, but at you may notice from the picture above, the pasta really was quite drenched in runny sauce. If you're a huge lover of cream-based sauces, then there is really no reason why one would not drink the sauce. However, I would personally find it a little on the rich side, and would need a glass of wine to help cut through it.

It was beautifully quiet afternoon spent in front of the beach with two of my closest friends just catching up on the happenings in life - perhaps the best way to spend an afternoon in Sydney.

Moltofino
24/1 The Strand
Dee Why Beach
Tel: (02) 9981 2061

When Penne and Italian Sausages Have Fun

I did two unthinkable things today...
*twiddles thumbs*



...I used bottled sauce...


...and I used pecorino!

Now please allow me to explain.

First, is that there is this wonderful Italian Deli up in Cox's Road in East Ryde and I've been wanting to buy out that store for quite some time now. I am also a regular feaster of their lasagna.

Today, I had a squiz at their selection of pasta sauces on the shelves, and picked out Siena Homestyle Mediterranean Sauce. The original plan was to do a Chorizo and black olives dish, so I thought the sauce to be just perfect for the occasion, but to my shock horror the store was out of chorizo and I ended up having to pick up a couple of Italian Sausages instead.

Now would it not be appropriate of me to end that paragraph with "FML"?

Above is the cast of this pasta. Wouldn't I would be terribly out of character if I remembered everything when I took the picture?

It's missing the garlic and these babies:

Slice up the sundried tomatoes into strips. I'm still torn as to whether I prefer semi-dried or sundried.

First I fried up the Italian Sausages so that I could cut them up into smaller pieces. The smell was really quite divine at this point.

Next the onions, garlic and bacon were sauteed in a saucepan until the onions turned transparent.

Don't you just love the smell of this? It makes me salivate everytime.

After the onions are transparent, I poured in the bottled sauce and black olives, along with sundried tomatoes and the chopped up bits of sausage.

Just let it simmer for a bit on the side while you prepare the prawns.

Use a grill for this if you have one, but panfrying will do just fine. Whatever you do, just don't overcook it. Flip it as soon as the prawn colours.

Next, I grated pecorino. I hate grating things, but I really can't bear to use pre-grated stuff.

Toss the prawns into the sauce and sprinkle with a little pecorino. There's about a tonne in that photo above, and the stuff is really quite strong (stinky). Seeing it was the first time I used the stuff, I sprinkled it quite cautiously.

Mmm cheeeeeeeese.

Forgive me, I love cheese. Just give me a moment here.

Ok, done.

Next, combine the sauce and the cooked pasta. I always like to cook the two together in a pan separately just before serving so that the sauce sticks to the pasta a little better. It also helps when your pasta is drying out because you mistimed the cooking process like I did today.

I also burnt my sauce today and had to change pots. But you don't know that.

Hopefully by the end you should get insanity in a pot. Feel free to demolish half the pan before it even makes it to the table. You will be forgiven.

Penne with Italian Sausages, Prawn and Sundried Tomatoes
Serves: the family

Buy:
3 Italian Sausages
100g Black Kalamata Olives, pitted and sliced in half
10 slices of sundried tomatoes (feel free to use more/less)
1/2 cup Pecorino, grated
1 Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
12 Prawns, peeled (I don't measure prawns by weight. I don't think people would care how much prawn they were getting by weight)
840mL Siena Homestyle Mediterranean Pasta Sauce
2 rashers Short Cut Bacon, sliced
As much pasta as you think you can finish, depending on your pasta-to-sauce ratio
Olive Oil
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Cook:

1. Boil pasta in salted water until al dente. Set aside
2. Pan fry Italian sausages until cooked. Cut into 1.5cm pieces. Set aside
   
3. In a saucepan, saute onions, garlic, and bacon until onions are transparent
4. Pour bottled sauce and bring to simmer
5. Add sundried tomatoes, black olives and Italian sausages. Cover and simmer for 10 mins.
6. Meanwhile, panfry or grill prawns until just cooked
7. Toss prawns into the pot with grated pecorino and stir gently until prawns are coated in sauce. Turn off heat (Optional: add black pepper to taste)
8. Before serving, in a shallow pan, toss sauce with pasta over heat. Serve with extra grated pecorino on top
   

The Empty Fridge Pasta

I wish I lived next to the David Jones Food Hall.

Really I do. Because it saves me the trouble of waking up to an empty fridge and then having the devil and the angel duking it out in my head first thing in the morning before my coffee about whether to go out and buy groceries.

Today I went with the devil, and left my fridge exactly the way it was. Instead, I headed over to my pantry and pulled out the following residents:


Ok fine I lied. Mr. Parmesan and Anchovies and Tomato Paste came from the fridge. But you get the drift.

Oh and I forgot these two friends in the picture:


So what exactly am I making?

Well a while ago I came across this box of really nommilicious Penne Arrabiata we bought from a place up in East Ryde. It seemed simple enough to replicate, especially on days where you're just cooking for one. And with that, I decided to give it a shot today.

I often find that I cook best when I'm cooking for myself. There's something about the lack of a need to impress anyone, or do something superbly fancy that I really like. Portions are also small enough so its easy to handle, and life is simple. Sweet. Effortless.


I made this before guzzling down my morning coffee...

...and this is coming from a person who considers themselves a bigger hazard to road safety when driving without her morning coffee than someone who's driving drunk.

Make it. It's easier than pancakes.


Penne Arrabiata cheat guide
Serves 1

Note: I use the measuring term "handfuls" because this is a recipe for one. Generally speaking, bigger people = bigger hands = bigger portions. See my logic? Oh and feel free to use fresh herbs and chilli. I was desperate.

Buy:
2 handfuls of penne (roughly 1.5 cups for me)
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
200g canned diced tomatoes
1 tblsp tomato paste
2 small anchovy fillets
1/2 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tblsp olive oil

Garnish:
Shaved parmesan
Cracked pepper (optional)

Cook:
1.) Cook penne in boiling water until al dente. Drain and keep warm
2.) Heat oil to a small saute pan
3.) Add anchovies. Cook until anchovies have melted a little
4.) Add chilli flakes into the oil. Gently stir to release flavours.
5.) Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is transparent
6.) Pour in diced tomatoes and bring to simmer
7.) Add tomato paste, dried parsley, dried oregano
8.) Simmer until sauce is reduced and thick.
9.) Add cooked penne into the sauce and quickly reheat pasta. This will help the sauce thicken onto the pasta.
10.) Remove from heat and serve. Garnish with shaved parmesan and cracked pepper.

Nom it while it's hot.