Dancing on My Table

Yippee! I’m on my way to the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. Grotty day in Auckland – another good reason for leaving. Looking forward to dining with Massimo Bottura this evening (he’s from Osteria Francescana restaurant in Modena, Italy). And tomorrow, a day of FIRE. Described as ‘an EXTREME one-off, off-site, outdoor and on-the-move twilight MasterClass that focuses on food inspired by fire. See Momofuku’s David Chang sizzle and Rockpool’s Neil Perry go for the burn. From North Carolina pit-master Ed Mitchell to Argentinian asador boys Ben and Elvis from Porteno, we’re going the whole hog.’ Now you’re jealous….

I run small and intimate cooking classes in my home in Northcote Point, Auckland.

Each class covers around 6-8 recipes, and variations or extra recipes are given.

All food is sampled and matching wines are served.

There are giveaways and prizes. New products are sampled.

All eggs are free-range from my own chickens. Lemons and other citrus are from my trees, and herbs and vegetables, well those the chickens haven’t eaten, are from my garden.

It’s a lovely way to spend an afternoon – I enjoy it, too!
Contact Julie to register

Cooking Classes – Mid Winter Feast

Saturday 15th or Thursday 20th June

A mid winter feast is just an excuse to have friends around! It doesn’t have to be classic British cooking as in a mid winter Xmas feast – and this won’t be. But it will include great ideas for entertaining, and a delicious menu including comfort foods and seasonal produce.
Oh-la-la …More French with A Trip to Normandy
1.00-4.00pm approximately
$125.00

Thursday 27th or Saturday 29th June

Think Calvados, cider, cream, camembert, coquille St Jacques, crepes (all the c’s!) and galettes! A gorgeous collection, so perfect for this time of year.
And French wines, and gorgeous Calvados, too, and tasting specialties, of course.
1.00-4.00pm approximately
$125.00

General Information

Each class covers around 6-8 recipes, and variations or extra recipes are given.
All food is sampled and matching wines are served.
There are giveaways and prizes. New products are introduced.
All eggs are free-range from my own chickens. In season lemons and other citrus are from my trees, and herbs and vegetables, well those the chickens haven’t eaten, are from my garden.
It’s a lovely way to spend an afternoon – I enjoy it, too!

To book a class, email your choice to biuso@clear.net.nz
I’ll reply and confirm there is a space on your chosen class, then once I receive payment, I will confirm your place.

Classes are $125.00 each

Payment can be made to:
Kiwibank
38-9011-0210194-00
J S Biuso

Please put your name and class details as identification

Classes are held at

2 Faulkner Rd
 Northcote Point (7 minutes from the CBD)
Take Onewa exit off Harbour Bridge, then second on left into Queen Street (as if going to the Bridgeway Theatre/Engine Room), then first on the right into Faulkner Road.
There is limited parking in Faulkner Road but plenty at either end of Faulkner Rd in Church Street and Queen Street.

Comments re classes

Hi Julie,
 Many thanks for the wonderful afternoon spent at your home yesterday – and the fabulous food. It was certainly inspirational, introducing me to new foods (I’d never tasted fennel) and has given me some great tips (things I have been doing wrong for years! – like over cooking the garlic!). 
The memory of some of the tastes you presented to us yesterday are still lingering deliciously. 
My family and friends will hopefully benefit from my more adventurous cooking. 
Thanks so much.
Regards 
Carol Lichkus

Hi Julie,

 thank you for the wonderful cooking class on Wednesday. We both really enjoyed the class and I tasted food in a way I never have before. You really emphasized the quality of the food to get the best out of it and I can really see why paying attention to the core product makes all the difference in the taste. The skills you showed were also really useful. Hopefully next year there will be another weekday course I can attend. Thanks again, it was great.
Regards, 
Linda Hopkins

Dear Julie, 

Meryll, Terry and I just wanted to say how much we enjoyed The Long Italian Lunch yesterday!  We enjoyed it all and you were so generous with you time and tips – not to mention all the goodies!!!! 

We are all inspired to cook a little differently now – I was especially intrigued by what you said of the Italian use of maybe max five ingredients a dish. Thank you again for having us in your home and special thanks too to your daughter for making us so welcome – it was a super day!
Kind regards, 
Pamela Kayes.

A big thank you for such a wonderful afternoon yesterday.  I thoroughly enjoyed the whole class and it was great to meet you and Ilaria (who worked tirelessly). I have always been a big fan of yours and admired your flair for food.  It has been the best birthday gift my two girls could have given me and this whole experience has truly inspired me.
Warmest regards, Ruth McWatt

Corn Talk

Traditional advice, to put the water on to boil before going down to the corn patch to pick the corn, has plenty of merit. As soon as the sweet corn is cut from the plant, the sugar starts turning to starch, so the sooner you get it in the pot, the sweeter it’s going to be. New varieties of corn retain the sugar longer before it converts to starch, but speed is still essential; no amount of care and gentle massaging is going to resurrect withered corn cobs. The other old wives’ tale is true too; don’t salt the water until the corn is cooked, or salt it at the table, because if added during cooking it toughens the kernels.

If you want to check the degree of ripeness on growing corn, open a cob and prick the kernels. If the juice is clear, the cob is not yet ready to pick. If the juices are milky, don’t hesitate – go back and put the water on to boil. If there is no liquid the corn is past its best. Once picked, keep the corn in its husks, put in a plastic bag and refrigerate. Remove the husks just prior to cooking.

Corn is a high carbo food, with good quantities of Vitamin A, B and C. It contains potassium and moderate amounts of protein, and hardly any fat.

Plunge cobs into a large saucepan of gently boiling water (cook in unsalted water; cooking corn cobs in salted water can toughen the kernels). Cook very fresh cobs with small kernels for 5-10 minutes, but more mature cobs, or those that have been picked for a few days, for 15 minutes. Drain and serve hot. If serving cold, or using as an ingredient in a recipe, cool the cobs, wrapping each cob in a piece of paper towel. This will prevent the kernels from drying and wrinkling. Once the cobs are cool use a large sharp knife to slice off the kernels. Corn prepared this way can be added to salads (toss very gently if you want to keep the kernels together in strips), or gently warmed in a microwave, first tossed with butter, herbs or spices (ground ginger and cumin are both good), or briefly pan-fried with butter, garlic, chilli and spices until piping hot – although the kernels will separate – or cooked until golden brown.

Corn cooked on the barbecue is sweet, nutty and juicy. The corn needs to be soaked in cold water first, then it can be put directly on the grill, or cooked on the hot plate on a hooded barbecue and cooked with the lid down. As the corn cooks the water gently steams the corn and the natural sugars caramelize. Gorgeous!

Gardening tip

Along with green beans, corn and zucchini (or other members of the squash family),  form the trinity known as ‘The Three Sisters’ in southern American gardening lore. When beans and corn are grown together, the beans draw nitrogen from the soil, which the corn thrives on. Squash and pumpkin, with their prickly vines, are planted around the beans and corn to stop pesky wild animals destroying the plants. It’s a combination you might like to try in your own garden.

Recipes
Sweet corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad

Fresh Sweet Corn Fritters

Buy in season

Don’t be tempted to buy strawberries or asparagus yet – most are still imported. The strawberries are a disappointment – they taste bitter (probably sprayed) and the asparagus coming in from California are not good quality as they are at the end of their season. Local spring fruit and vegetables are just coming in, and their prices will drop in a few weeks. Be patient.

Buy local

Help support your local growers, manufacturers and suppliers. They need you. Now is not the time to be ordering things off the internet.

Meat and fish

The cheapest meat is pork, but make sure it is New Zealand pork, and if you can afford it, look for free-range. Pork fillet wrapped in bacon is delicious roasted. It can be slit and stuffed with prunes or soaked dried apricots first, or just with thyme, before wrapping in bacon. Pork makes excellent snitzels, but get your butcher to slice them thinly for you – he may be thankful for the extra work.

Mussels are cheap and make a great meal. Steam them, check they’re clean inside, then put them back in the half-shell and cover with diced tomato, chopped herbs, lemon zest and top with crumbs and drizzle with oil and grill until golden. Clams can also be cooked this way.

Make meals go further

Make meals go further by serving plenty of carbs to the proportion of meat, fish or protein. Mashed potato is improved if made with hot milk – it makes it light and fluffy – and it can be flavoured with chopped shallot or onion that you sizzle down in a little butter, and grated cheese if you want. This can then be put in a shallow ovenproof dish, dotted with more cheese and butter and baked until sizzling and golden. Easy. Cheap, delicious, and you’ll only need a small amount of meat to go with it, such as a pork snitzel or two, and perhaps a salad.

Cheap vegetables

Use cheap vegetables such as cabbage. Cabbage makes a great coleslaw, and can be mixed with red cabbage too. Shred it finely and make a slightly sweet creamy dressing with lightly whipped cream, lemon juice, a pinch of sugar and mustard, or dilute ready-made mayonnaise with lemon juice and water to make a thin pouring dressing. Cabbage is also good in a winter salad with green grapes, orange segments, slivered toasted almonds, chopped parsley and a vinaigrette dressing, maybe with crushed garlic. To cook cabbage, soften chopped onion and red pepper in a little butter in a deep saucepan and add a handful of fennel seeds. Toss in chopped cabbage and stir, put the lid on the pot and leave for a few minutes, just until it wilts, then toss. It’ll cook through in a matter of minutes and retain colour and crunch. It’s delicious. And so cheap. And so good for you!

Look also for leeks, cauliflower, carrots and parsnips.

Peel parsnips, slice in half and lay flat in a roasting tin. Rub with olive oil and season with salt. Roast for about 30 minutes, then sprinkle over chopped rosemary and garlic and a cup of grated parmesan cheese and roast a few more minutes until golden. Scrumptious!

Make a salad with cauliflower instead of boiling it to death. Blanch it, drain and dry it off on paper towels. Make a strongly-flavoured vinaigrette with oil, vinegar or lemon, garlic, capers, lemon zest, a little mustard, sultanas if you like them, chopped parsley or marjoram, chives and basil too if you’ve got them and chilli flakes if you like – just get some flavour in there!

Pasta is a boon because it is filling, tastes great, suits everyone’s tastes and can be served hundreds of ways. You can make a nutritious, tasty, filling meal cheaply with a packet of spaghetti, a can of tuna and a can of beans (
Spaghetti with Tuna recipe).

Add extra flavour

Most of these items are inexpensive, and hopefully you might grow your own herbs or be able to get some from generous friends:

A squeeze of lemon over green vegetables brightens them up

A grate of nutmeg over green beans, or on a kumara or pumpkin puree adds a spicy dimension

A pinch of chilli flakes adds a hot accent

A few grates of ginger livens things up, or squeeze the grated ginger and just add the juice

And a tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs adds plenty of flavour and colour too

Cheap ‘n Easy Meals