http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au One of Australia’s leading food and travel writers and stylists Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:34:44 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I'll never forget the first time I saw octopuses hanging out to dry.   They were strung along a pole outside a taverna on the Greek island of Spetses - and I walked slap-bang into them! Large and knobbly with long dangling tentacles, they were hard to miss and my exclamations ... http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/03/08/greek-island-food/ This is Evi Mitchell's recipe, from her village on the island of Lesbos in Greece. Evi runs the homely C'Aphrodite restaurant in Cremorne, Sydney. Preheat oven to 200deg/180degC Fan Forced.  Spray 24 x 1/2 cup muffin tins with cooking oil spray. In a bowl, combine the zucchini, cheese and flour and combine ... http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/03/08/evis-zucchini-muffins/ It wasn't until I lived in Italy that I realised the value of having my own pot of basil.  I'd gone to Perugia to study the language and was living with a typical Italian family. Lunch was the main meal of the day during that long hot summer (followed by ... http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/03/02/king-of-herbs/ Quick and easy, the secret to success for this soup is to add fresh organic herbs to the soup base as it is being liquidised. Melt the butter and sweat the onion and potato for 3 - 4 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the stock, bring to the boil ... http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/03/02/fresh-from-the-garden-green-herb-soup/ The Nashi season coincides with the celebration of Chinese New Year - The Year of the Tiger, February 14th - 28th.  The Tiger, deemed a manifestation of royalty in Asia, shares centre stage with the fruit of Emperors – the Nashi, which the Chinese first grew in Australia during the ... http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/02/23/elizabeth-chongs-roast-duck-nashi-salad/ Sydney's Chinatown offers something for every budget and every tastebud. At the bustling Dixon House Food Court, you'll find a range of reasonably priced Asian dishes, representing the cuisines of northern China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Here, the most popular dish is the sizzling beef, ginger and shallot ... http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/02/21/chinese-new-year/ On a recent visit to the Top End,  I stumbled across Ken's Crepe stall at the Mindil Beach Markets in Darwin. Scott Harris and Heather Pope-Daley were busy ladling out batter onto large French non-stick crepe-makers, rounding them out with a wooden swizzle stick and enclosing a wide variety of ... http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/02/16/about-pancakes/ The perfect breakfast dish for Shrove Tuesday - or make them for dessert tonight. Put the buttermilk, eggs and oil into the bowl of a food processor or blender.  Process until well combined. Sift together the dry ingredients onto a piece of greaseproof paper and add to the buttermilk mixture.  Process 1 ... http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/02/15/buttermilk-pancakes/ [caption id="attachment_1716" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Chocolate fondue at Chocolate @ No 5 Hahndorf Adelaide Hills"][/caption] Potent, irresistible and ever so smooth.  You might think I'm talking about one of the world's legendary womanisers, and why not?  Indeed, the 18th century Casanova had a penchant for chocolate.  Apparently he consumed gallons of the ... http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/02/09/forget-the-roses/ A lovely light starter to kick off your Valentine's dinner. Lightly spray inside of moulds with oil.  Press plastic wrap into moulds to sit evenly.  Drape two slices of salmon over each mould so that they slightly overlap each other. Press into the sides to give a good shape.  Refrigerate until ... http://www.sheridanrogers.com.au/2010/02/09/heart-of-salmon/