Congratulations to Viktor for winning the NSW final of the BBQ Scotch Fillet Steak final! Yes, he wowed the judges with a Kitchen Jazz recipe and now he is off to compete in the international challenge in April in Lexington, USA!!

Article in the Mosman Daily:

Elegant, sleek, highly functional Award winning Japanese knives crafted in the Samurai sword tradition.

I am really enjoying using them and thoroughly recommend them.

Read More on their official website: www.globalknives.com.au

Happy New Year Everyone!

I hope you are refreshed and invigorated after your summer break and ready to cook! I am and I cant wait to start the year!



The 2011 Timetable is now up on my website with bookings available for this year’s themes. It will be a year of variety. New themes will include risotto, cooking with duck, French desserts, seafood and some of my favourite dishes that I love to cook for my friends. Past themes re-visited include Vietnamese, Moroccan and bbq. A variety of flavours, cooking techniques and lots of tips along the way.



It will also be a year of travel with tours to South Australia, Morocco and Italy. Inspirational and picturesque regions with fabulous food and wine experiences. You will find details of these on the timetable page.



Throughout the year, there will be announcements of local Sydney tours, either foodie tours or just plain old fun shopping and lunch tours. Again, variety is the key. There will be new places to explore and new eateries to satisfy our hunger. There are a number of people who over the years have attended more than 15 Kitchen Jazz events! Thank you for your loyalty and enthusiasm. These people will enter my Frequent Fryer Club and will receive rewards and bonuses when they least expect it. I wonder if you are in that Club?....



So much to experience. So much to enjoy. Life is too short to let these moments slip by.



So have a look at the website and see what fun and delicious moments are waiting for you. And remember: Practice safe lunch – use condiments.

See you soon!



Mara

Have a fabulous Christmas and see you in 2011. (Next years timetable should be out Mid February. If you are on the subscriber list, you will receive email notice.)

Yours in the kitchen,

Mara and my wonderful assistants, Caroline and Christine

Holiday season just around the corner. Warmer weather and summer produce depicts holidays for me. Such an array of fruits available - nectarines, peaches, mangoes, raspberries... all of them inviting on a platter while lying on the grass with summer reading. Figs are struggling due to the excessive rains in Queensland, but once the NSW figs arrive, we can have fun with them, mixing with goats curd or prosciutto or truffle honey or simply a glass of champagne!

The crunch of freshly picked snow peas, the rich green of crunchy watercress, the intensity of ripe summer tomatoes, the savouriness of shaved fennel in a lemon dressing.....mmmm.....love summer.

Give yourself a challenge and buy a product that you have never used before, take it home and prepare it in a way to bring out the best of that ingredient. And continue with that thought every season.

I see that spring is in the air by watching my baby herbs resurface after winter. All of those soft, feathery and juicy green herbs poking up their sleepy heads. Chives, tarragon, parsley, mint, oregano, sage and thyme are all ready to pick again, full of juice and colour. I love to chop them all together and fold them through a rich curry just before serving. Or to scatter them over barbecued meat and marinated feta. Or to mix them with seasoned butter to gently press under the skin of chicken before roasting. Plant herbs now and reap the benefits in summer.

Over the weekend, we were in Mudgee where I saw a large bed of asparagus stalks rising to the sun. How delightful to see them growing and then to taste them that evening – lightly steamed and served with roasted baby tomatoes. Heavenly.

The first of local snow peas are arriving and the first are always the sweetest. Serve them raw in a salad or blanched for 10 seconds, in stir fries added just before serving or gently heated in your pan of jus just before serving.

Broad beans are now available and well worth the effort of peeling. Add them to pastas and sauces or just on their own with a little butter and salt and pepper. No need to do too much to them as they shine with their own freshness.

We are nearing the end of the blood orange season, so buy up now and freeze the juice. I like to mix the juice together with other citrus juices for extra depth of colour and flavour. I also like to add it to a bbq lamb marinade with olive oil, mustard, garlic and honey. Serve the lamb with loads of fresh asparagus, baby potatoes and pea shoots. Seasonal simplicity at its best.

An article about Kitchen Jazz was published in the July 2010 edition of Sydney Observor:

Click here for Sydney Observor Article

Yes, it's spanking new..... we have put together some promotional material as an overview of what we do here at Kitchen Jazz. You will find a link on the Home Page. Have a look and let me know what you think!

Kitchen Jazz now has its own Facebook Page which you can access through your personal Facebook account or simply click here. I would love you to visit and post comments on discussion topics. It is a great way of interacting with other foodies, sharing thoughts and ideas and inspiration.

Aaaah Winter Wonderland. These are a few of my favourite flavours in winter. With snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes....

Slow cooked lamb shanks, gently bubbling with sweet potatoes, thyme and preserved tomatoes.
Soups filling the soul with leeks, zucchini, celeriac and parsnips.
Braised succulent beef cheeks sitting on velvety pureed potatoes and served with spiced roasted pumpkin and peas.
Home made pies crusty and tasty on the outside, deliciously oozing with creamy chicken, mushrooms and parsley inside.
Stewed rhubarb tart with warm orange custard.

Yes, these are a few of my favourite things. ..... Let us embrace the beauty of seasonal produce. Let’s get excited about our seasons. No matter how blurry the changes of season are, we should still grow, cook, buy and serve what is growing here and now. Bring excitement back into family kitchens with produce that you haven’t used since last winter.

Go on...... be creative with fennel (roast it with pancetta and serve with chicken), cauliflower (spice it up in a curry), Jerusalem artichokes (peel and pan fry with chorizo, eggs and herbs), quince (poach and make a cordial) and Cavolo Nero (black Tuscan cabbage – delicious with roast pork).

Go organic – take it home in a brown paper package tied up with string................ (one of my favourite things!)