Guzman y Gomez, Crows Nest + Newtown

Miss Piggy dined as a guest of Guzman y Gomez.

I've sadly never been to Mexico so I really have no idea what "real Mexican food" tastes like. Ergo, I do not know if the food at Guzman y Gomez is authentic or not.  Nothing is covered in tonnes of melted cheese, and the Burittos have rice in them...so that's pretty authentic sounding to me. What I do know however is that every single Guzman y Gomez store I've ever been into is packed to the rafters with Spanish speaking employees, so that's got to be a good nod towards authenticity (no idea if they're Spanish or Mexican, but that's not the point really.  I have no point, it's just sometimes it's hard to start off a blog post so this seemed as good a way as any).

I was lucky enough to be given a few vouchers that allowed me to eat at Guzman y Gomez THREE times. Arriba!  I was meant to wait until The Boy and I could hit up this Mexican canteena together but we never got it together so I took VegeTARAian instead. You snooze you lose.

My first visit was to the Crows Nest store and we kicked things up with some snacks.  The delicious guacamole + corn chips ($5.00) seemed like a good place to start. The corn chips are quite salty which I LOVE and are not the artificial yellow colour of those Doritos we're all addicted too.  Tara and I also shared the Barramundi Quesadillas ($7.50 for 2). I was really happy to see a fish option on the menu as it meant a few more options for me, the Selective Carnivore. The Barramundi is sustainably farmed too, so props to Guzman y Gomez for that. 

The Burritos here are HUGE, but I had no trouble polishing off my half of this Veggie Burrito ($10.50) despite all the snacks we'd indulged in. The burritos come crammed full of rice, black beans, cheddar cheese and salsa. Guacamole is normally $2 extra, but with the veggie burrito it's included. Score! We washed all of this down with some Mexican soft drink called Jarritos ($4 a bottle). I love the Mandarin flavour, but the Guava was a tad sweet (I'm sweet enough).

Fate had it that The Boy and I were back in Guzman y Gomez territory a few weeks after Tara and I betrayed him at the Crows Nest store.  We were just looking for a quick bite to eat so both choose the Mini Burrito option ($6.50) which is perfect if you have a small appetite or aren't looking for a big burrito feast.  It was the Barramundi Burrito for me and the Chicken Burrito for The Boy. 

It seems to be apparent that I have developed a "thing" for the Barramundi at this place as it's not long before I am back (at the Newtown store this time). This time I opt for a Burrito Bowl ($10.50)...or Naked Burrito...or Burrito without the wrap...or Gluten Free Burrito.  Call it what you will, but man this stuff is GOOD - it's basically just a huge, rice filled salad that will keep you going for the rest of the day.

Sadly the vouchers have now run out...but I'll be back and spending my own coin on MORE Barramundi goodies.

Guzman y Gomez are all over the place - check out their website for locations.

Paella Cooking Class at Extra Virgin Fine Foods, Crows Nest

Miss Piggy attended the Paella cooking class as a guest of Extra Virgin Find Foods.

It seems that the Chefs of Sydney are taking pity on me and my self-confessed lack of cooking skills. The invitation to attend a Paella cooking class at Extra Virgin Fine Foods in Crows Nest comes as my third such invitation in as many months. Pretty soon I'll be able to put away the 2 minute noodles and cook some "real food" (seriously though, I can cook a little bit, I just get a bit flummoxed when things have too many ingredients or steps in the recipe).

Owner Mauricio Moreno (picture thanks to Helen Lear PR).

Owner Mauricio Moreno is a Uruguayan native who grew up in Western Sydney and his passion for Spanish food comes across loud and clear as he happily chats to us.  In addition to the restaurant in Crows Nest he also has a little bit of a deli happening in store (as well as an online store) which stocks various spices, pastes and small goods.  I'm particular taken with the Sangria mix - DIY Sangria in less than 20 seconds. Ole!

It's only after we're ushered into the kitchen to meet Head Chef, Vincent that I realise this is a hands-on cooking class - unlike the many demonstration classes I've been to this year!  I'm expected to cook my own lunch AND photograph it as well. This is too much for me to cope with and I quickly defer all cooking to my cooking-buddy VegeTARAian to I can take happy snaps.  Somehow though we end up having Chef Vincent do most of cooking for us. Nice work team.

 So without further adieu, let me take you on a photographical journey of Chef Vincent's cooking!

We begin by cooking the seafood in a hot hot hot Paella pan - each seafood has its separate turn in the pan.

In go the muscles (make sure they all open so you don't die) and then a Soffrito (which you can buy on line) is added to the pan (once all the seafood is removed).

In goes the special rice and Tara stirs whilst I take blurry photos.

Stock is added to the pan - Vegetarian for us on this occasion, but the others have a veal/vege stock to work with. Their Paella also has a generous portion of Chorizo.

A pinch (or two) of Spanish Paprika is added and the pan goes in and out of the oven a few times with more stock being added each time.

Set the stove on fire (surprisingly this wasn't my fault - I was on the other side of the kitchen) and char some lemon on the grill (THIS is a great tip - it makes the lemon extra juicy and it's perfect squeezed over the finished Paella).

The Paella is dressed with all the delicious seafood and we sit down to eat - really really delicious! The pre-prepared Soffrito certainly makes cooking Paella a much quicker and easier proposition.

Enjoy a few extra tasty morsels that we learnt how to cook during the class.

Once again I've been invited into somebodies professional kitchen and once again I'm overwhelmed by how willingly chefs and restaurant owners open their kitchens to show us the ropes.  It's an absolute privilege to be given this opportuntiy - for these people to give up their free time and let me get under their feet, nose about and ask all sorts of questions.

Extra Virgin Fine Foods is at 17 Alexander Street, Crows Nest. Phone them on 9436 0733. Visit their website for information class times and products available at their online store.

MUMU Grill and Heart of Food Photography Class, Crows Nest

I’d luckily purchased my new DSLR just a week before I was due to attend a food photography course being run by Simon from the Heart of Food. The photos on Simon’s food blog are pretty drool worthy so I knew I was going to come away from the class with some tips and tricks on how to operate my new baby.

The class was a mix of food bloggers, a few food technology teachers, a chef and other food industry people. I think my jaw nearly hit the floor when some asked half way through the class what a food blog was? OMG – you mean you don’t read my blog? Heartbroken!

Simon did a sterling job teaching the class – especially as we sidetracked him by asking a million questions, telling anecdotes, and asking about things there were going to be talked about later on.  His teaching style is great, very casual and patient with no jargon to confuse us.

The course was being run at MUMU Grill in Crows Nest, a restaurant that had always interested me because a) it serves tapas b) it serves meat, and lots of it and c) it has a strong philosophy on sustainable produce. Not only that, their beef is all grass-fed which means no nasty feed lots associated with “grain-fed” beef. I try to eat free-range meat and eggs whenever I can (it’s mostly what we eat at home when we can get our hands on it but it’s not always possible when you live in the wild wild west – a place not exactly heaving with eco-butchers). When I eat in a restaurant like MUMU Grill I feel happy knowing that the meat I’m eating has had a happy life...for its entire life.

Learning about ISO, White Balance, Aperture, Shutter Speed, Rule of Thirds and Composition can sure make a girl hungry! The sight of the MUMU Grill staff marching in plates of food for our lunch was a welcome sight.

Of course there was no eating until a thousand photographs were taken of each dish which gave us a chance to test out the various rules and techniques we had just learnt. I set my dial to Manual, set my own aperture and shutter speed, but cheated by leaving the white balance on Auto as well as avoiding Manual Focus at all costs (I think my eyes are fully dodgy, so Manual Focus usually means fuzzy pictures no matter how clear they seem through he view finder). I took all of these photos using my new 35mm f/1.8 lens (that I bought brand new for $320), and set the Aperture to between f/1.8 - f/2.4 for most of the shots so I could get a really shallow depth of field (which means all the stuff in the background is soft and out of focus).

Lunch starts with the softest, fluffiest wood fired bread I’ve ever eaten which is served alongside a selection of dips. It was a pretty hard task to not to scoff all the bread and pile it high with the creamy bean dip, or slightly spicy capsicum dip.

Dainty little bowls of Sicilian Green Olives accompany wooden boards piled high Jamon Serrano.  The Jamon, which means Mountain Ham in Spanish, is sliced wafer thin after being salted, washed and dried for 18 months. The Jamon melts like butter in the mouth - so good!

The Szechuan Fried Prawns with Pickled Chilli and Soy was one of my favourite dishes of the day – even though by the time we got to eat the dish it was stone cold - probably as they had a slightly salty taste to them!

I’m such a bogan that I thought the Duck and Shitake Mushroom Empanadas were Curry Puffs – I’m quite the foodie aren’t I? Again these were stone cold by the time we ate them, but the flavours were still lovely. I’d like to go back to MUMU and try these babies whilst they are hot hot hot.

The first main of the lunch was the Organic Chicken with Maple Roasted Sweet Potato and Spinach – look at the charring on the chicken, lovely! The sweetness of the sweet potatoes was accentuated by the maple syrup and formed a nice outer crunchy crust.

What can I say about the Sirloin Tagliatta with Duck Fat Potatoes and Greens other than it was AMAZING! Now, I’m normally not a fan of meat that hasn’t been cooked to charcoal point (or beyond) so I was a bit hesitant to try this dish as I could see pink bits...and lots of them. But oh my, the beef was melt in the mouth soft, tender and so flavoursome. Cooking the potatoes in duck fat takes them to a whole new level – whoever came up with this concept deserves a Knighthood! I like that the restaurant popped some “token greens” on the plate to help alleviate any guilt by those who scoffed more than one tatter (which I didn't, just for the record).

The Cherry Tomato Salad with Feta Cheese was a light, simple accompaniment to the meaty mains. Enough said.

Class resumes for a while and we all get a chance to digest lunch before dessert rolls on in which means a chance to take more food photos.

The first dessert item to arrive is a simple fruit platter dusted with icing sugar.  The platter contains a selection of pear, pineapple, watermelon and a fancy orange segment to make it pretty as a picture.

The arrival of the Dessert Platter gets our full attention - wow what a spectacle.  The Dessert Platter has a selection of three of MUMU's desserts: the Chocolate Mole Tarte with Hazelnut Gelato, a Brown Sugar Pavlova topped with fresh Pineapple and Passionfruit sauce; and, a Ginger Bread and Vanilla Ricotta Sandwich with Poached Peach and Spiced Vanilla Syrup.  My only complaint with dessert is that there was only two platters to share between the group - I could have quite happily polished off a platter all to myself...or at least had full possession of the Ginger Bread and Vanilla Ricotta Sandwich.

MUMU Grill is at 70 Alexander Street, Crows Nest.  You'll find them on the corner of Alexander Street and Ernest Place.