Provisions Issue 64 - December 2011

Countdown to Christmas

There are just over three weeks to go before the big day – and all preparations are going to schedule at Hill Street.

Our much-anticipated 2011 Christmas Order Form is now out on the counter and available online at www.hillstreetgrocer.com. Our Christmas Brochure explains everything that is on our Christmas Order Form - what's available, who grew it or made it, weights, sizes, ingredients and serving suggestions. Once again we have been able to source wonderful Tasmanian-grown produce to create an impressive and varied Christmas offering.

All three stores are now filling to the maximum with Christmas stock and soon we will have to overflow into the refrigerated shipping containers we hire every year and park outside each shop as the turkeys, hams, creams and cheeses, cherries, berries, cakes and puddings all arrive and are allocated to customer orders.

Remember our competition closes on 12 December - if you put your Christmas order in by 12 December you will be in the running to win your entire Christmas order free! The draw will occur on 13 December in each store.

While this is a busy time for everyone, take some time to remember the essence of Christmas. Pause with your family and decorate the tree. Observe your family rituals, or create some - whether it's baking, starting an Advent calendar or lighting candles in the house each evening to signify the approach of Christmas. Make it a magical time of preparation and anticipation – for the young, and the young at heart!

Merry Christmas from all of us at Hill Street.

Regards,

The Nikitaras family

PS Any feedback on this issue of Provisions can be sent to natalia@hillstreetgrocer.com. The editorial team takes a break after Christmas so there won't be an issue in January. We'll be back in February but will keep you up-to-date with our specials, as always, and any major news, by email.


Try salmon for your festive feast!

We at Hill Street already knew that Huon Aquaculture salmon is among the best in the world. What we didn't expect was it would get even better.

The release of Huon's Reserve Selection range in October is an exciting step forward for the company. Peter and Frances Bender began Huon Aquaculture as a privately owned, family run business in 1988. Through research, hard work and a dedication to the very best practices in all aspects of the business, the family has expanded to include 400 hundred staff across Australia, 290 of those in Tasmania. They are now the largest seafood industry by value in Australia, recognized for excellence, nationally and internationally (particularly in Japan), for their production, innovation, research and development. Passion and quality runs through all their products – so they fit right in on the Hill Street shelves.

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The Reserve Selection takes that passion even further. The range features handcrafted, artisanal products, made (mostly to order) from the best seafood and packaged beautifully. Co-founder Frances Bender says, "We are always striving to produce better products that reflect not only the values of our company, but also the pristine environment in which they are produced."

The range includes hand-milked salmon caviar, smoked ocean trout hung sides, gravadlax, whisky and honey cured salmons as well as hand-rolled banquet slices.

It's an exciting move for the Bender family. "We remain a proud, 100 per cent Tasmanian-owned company that genuinely loves what we do," said Frances. "We could not be prouder of this latest offering to our loyal customers."

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Christmas cooking with Rodney Dunn

It's been a few years since we first met Rodney Dunn and his wife Severine in the pages of Provisions when the couple had just launched their then new venture, the Agrarian Kitchen, in Lachlan.

Now, with the Agrarian Kitchen almost three years old, and Rodney and Severine having been in Tasmania for four years, time has flown and, says Rodney, their venture has grown beyond what they had ever imagined.

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With classes booked out virtually as soon as they go up on their website, Rodney and Severine have had an intense ride as the success of their cooking school, which focuses on preparing dishes from seasonal produce grown on their own farm, has grown.

"We are now employing people, and are enjoying every minute" says Rodney. The move from Sydney has been the right one and he marvels at the wonderful outdoor upbringing Rodney and Severine's son Tristan is having.

 

The Agrarian Kitchen's term ends on 17 December and Rodney says he is having his "first proper break ever", not resuming classes until 11 January – during which the ever-industrious former chef and food writer will be working on his book, a collection of Agrarian Kitchen recipes, which will focus on cooking from the garden and following the seasons. Hopefully it will be published in time for Christmas next year.

Christmas this year will be a family affair, with Rodney's mum and dad, his brother and his partner, all coming down from Griffith in NSW to enjoy lunch at the farm.

After a relaxed morning opening presents, Rodney says the Dunn family will sit down to a late lunch at a "long table of food", set up outside, rather than a formal affair with entrée and main course.

There will be smoked salmon, served simply with lemon and chive flowers. The salmon has been smoked in Rodney's own smoke-house for 8-10 hours after being coated in crushed coriander, brown sugar and salt.

The centrepiece will be duck, slow-roasted for a couple of hours, rendering away the fat, crisping the skin and allowing the meat to fall off the bone. Accompanying the duck will be asparagus, peas, broad beans and hopefully, new potatoes, all grown in Rodney's garden. With over 30 different varieties of potatoes growing the potato dish will be a colourful affair with the usual white and yellow spuds as well as purple, cranberry and red potatoes in the mix.

"I'm a sucker for trifle", admits Rodney, who will leave that part of the Christmas feast to his brother, who is a pastry chef. The trifle will be a traditional one incorporating all sorts of berries growing at the farm – raspberries, currants and strawberries.

Rodney shares a couple of favourite Christmas recipes with us below, including the secret of a moist turkey.

For more information on the Agrarian Kitchen, please visit www.theagrariankitchen.com

Roast brined turkey

Serves 6-8

Turkey is synonymous with the Christmas feast. Unfortunately, this has also meant a lot of Christmas diners eating dry tasteless meat. The secret to a juicy succulent bird is brining, marinating the bird in a salt and water mixture. As further insurance butter placed under the skin of the breasts protects and bastes the leanest and driest part. Feel free to add your own secret family stuffing recipe here as it's not turkey without stuffing.

Ingredients

4 kg turkey
100 gm soft butter

Brine

1 cup sugar
1 cup sea salt
1 bunch of thyme
1 bunch of sage
1⁄4 cup freshly ground black peppercorns

For brine, combine ingredients and 4 litres of water in a large stockpot, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and cool.

Submerge turkey in brine and weight down if necessary. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Five hours before cooking remove turkey from brine and rinse under cold running water. Pat dry with absorbent paper.

Preheat oven to 180C. Spoon stuffing into cavity and truss legs with kitchen twine and tuck wing tips under backbone.

Place turkey into roasting pan and rub all over with butter and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place a piece of foil over breasts and roast, removing foil and basting frequently, for 11⁄2 hours, then remove foil and cook for another 20 minutes or until golden brown and just cooked through.

Cover turkey loosely to keep warm and rest for 10 minutes, then carve and serve drizzled with pan juices.

Goose fat roast root vegetables

Serves 4-6

Prep 15 minutes cook 1 1⁄2 hours

Ingredients

500 gm small potatoes
500 gm baby carrots, tops trimmed
350 gm baby beetroot
700 gm swede, cut into 3cm pieces
500 gm parsnip, halved lengthways
1⁄4 cup goose fat
1⁄4 cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley

Mustard cream

300 ml crème fraîche
2 tbsp hot English mustard
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp freshly grated horseradish
1 tbsp mustard powder

Preheat oven to 190C. Spoon goose fat into a large roasting pan and place into oven until melted. Add vegetables to roasting pan, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine and return to oven. Roast for 1-11⁄2 hours or until vegetables are beginning to brown and crisp and are tender when tested with a skewer.

For mustard cream combine ingredients in a bowl and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve roasted vegetables, scattered with parsley topped with a dollop of mustard cream.

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Shelf Life

With stunning packaging and a huge selection of products, the Christmas chocolates from Fardoulis will make the festive chocaholic happy. Try their bon-bon gift packs as table decorations, or give away a star-shaped box of mixed chocolates in glorious flavours such as passionfruit soufflé, crunchy praline and tiramisu truffle.

50g_bonbon_jewel_GOLD.jpgAlong with sensational preserves such as Raspberry and Kirsch Jam, Apricot and Ginger Chutney, Tispy Lemon and Lime Curd and Port and Tarragon Mustard, Tasmanian company Country Larder have released a Rich Brandy Fruit Cake and Festive Fruit and Nut Cake – perfectly sized for a delicious present.

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Blending traditional Christmas flavours of spice and citrus fruit with local and seasonal ingredients, Phillipa's Bakery, in Richmond, Victoria, have created some fabulously festive cookies and shortbreads for sharing, decorating and enjoying. Gingerbread trees and angels, three wise kings cookies and traditional round shortbread make impressive gifts in their gold and white packaging, or are excellent eaten at the end of a long family lunch with coffee.

Events and Community

Movember aims each year to raise money and awareness of issues of men's health, particularly prostate cancer and depression. Team Hill Street, led by Mr. Mo himself, Nick, helped the cause and raised $482.20! Thanks to all the customers who supported our boys' efforts, and we look forward to raising even more money next year. In the meantime, however, you can still donate to both Team Hill Street and the individual charities at www.movember.com/donate

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The Hill Street Christmas Table is laden with delicious offerings. We are giving customers the chance to sample our own products this weekend at all our stores. Come to Lauderdale from 11am till 1pm Saturday, New Town from 10am till 12pm Sunday and West Hobart 1pm until 3pm Sunday to try our turkey galantine, rabbit ballotine, Hill Street's own ham, our salmon Wellington, prawns and more. All these products are available on our Christmas Order form, so it's a great chance to taste and plan your Christmas lunch.

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Undergoing something of an expansion (and that's not talking about its visitors' expanding waistlines after the fesitval) and in its 22nd year, the Taste of Tasmania Festival, from 27 December to 2 January, will showcase some new and excitingly delicious things to taste and try. A new Brassierie will focus on Tasmania's burgeoning craft brewing and cider making industry with matched foods, as well as a new area and program for food and wine lectures and guided tastings, a retail alley for buying Tasmanian products and a 'Café District' to sit for a coffee and pastry. We all love the Taste, but this year there will be even more to enjoy.  See their new website, www.tastefestival.com.au for more information.