The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • 70

Wqt jSjjbnqj Porting jrralb 8 Metropolitan smhxomau Weekend Edition December 22-23 2001 feiH FOOD WINE i WHERE TO BUY CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS SOMMELIER'S CHOICE 0 JERRY JONES TETSUYA'S Have your cake or pudding and eat it By Juan-Carlo Tomas Unless you've thought ahead and have an arsenal of them hanging in the pantry you're better off buying one pudding it was an established part of the Christmas table White Ahnuvedre Monastrell 2000 $20 From a new school of Spanish winemakers utilising New World wine techniques This is made from 40year-old mourvedre vines from the Alicante region Generous and rich Drink tth braised pork RECIPE Muscat Sabayon To make Carol Rota's Muscat Sabayon you will need: 175q caster sugar six egg yolks (at room temperature and one cup of dessert Muscat (Rutherglen Muscat Is perfect) Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a stainless steel bowl then place bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the pan Whisk again adding the Muscat slowly until thick and creamy Be careful not to overcook it or it will scramble You can also use either brandy whisky or a liqueur but use eight egg yolks and a quarter of a cup of liquor For a nonalcoholic version increase the egg yolks to eight and add 160ml of orange juice and the zest of one orange Red Gembrook Hill Pinot Noir 2000 $37 This pinot is at the lighter end of the spectrum but that mean it lacks flavour It Is luscious and earthy Ml Tty with duck salad Photo: Jill Dupleix hristmas is the one time of year when what we eat runs totally opposite to our fiimaty Sure there's a glut of mangos but we tuck into sticky desserts fresh seafood by the boatload but we're roasting hams going on? Christinas food like the tradition itself is perhaps mine about reaching back to what makes us comfortable as opposed to mere sustenance Arid more about symbols: with the Christmas pudding redolent with spice macerated fruits and flaming brandy perhaps die most symbolic Christmas HMi of them all Britons take their puds very seriously The Derbyshire-based Christmas Pudding Information Service says Christinas pudding originated in the 14th century as a porridge known as frumenty Made of mutton beef raisins currants prunes wine and roues frumenty was eaten as a fasting meal in the lead up to Christinas celebrations before being duly banned by the Puritans in 1664 as too rich Revived by King George I in 1714 it underwent several changes including die removal of meat and additions of eggs breadcrumbs and dried fruit At this stage pudding as it was called was not just a Christmas dish but enjoyed year-round and never contained plums Go figure In Vfctorianftimes the traditions of inserting a silver coin to bring wealth thimbles for thriftiness anchors for safe harbours and wishbones for good luck began so that by 1858 its first reference as a The best ones are aged for anything from three to six months to let the flavours temper and meld So unless thought ahead and have an arsenal of them hanging in the pantry better off buying one our selection with all die best for the season Carol Rita's Coolaogatta Estate pud The result of an old Sussex recipe handed down by her grandmother food and wine consultant Carol Ruta of Champagne Food and Wine Solutions was compelled to start making her puds commercially available after giving them to friends as gifts always made them for friends and I firmly believe in homemade gifts really nice to give something done she says all made by hand and Tve just put down the fruit for next lot I soak them for about 12 months By the time you get it all you need to do is steam it in its inner bag for an hour then serve it with cream or a Muscat sabayon see Ruta says an aged pudding takes on the characteristics of a fine wine Rich and dark enough to make any Puritan ban it on sight All puddings are a minimum of 500g and cost $15 Champagne Food and Wine Solutions 9969 1294 versions The largest is 10 kilos Family-size 1kg $2775 Available from Foodchain Parramatta and David Jones Food Halls Manna from Heaven Organic Cake OK so if you tried to boil this one up beforehand have a real mess on your hands but we love the simple packaging and clean flavours found in this organic Christinas cake made by chef Rachel Grisewood asked me to make a lot of Christmas cake this year and I thought I should make an organic one and would do so only if it was better than the standard sort" she says when you go organic it's amazing how much better the fruit is It fits with die philosophy of what we do all handmade" Her cake comes in a simple tin embellished with a poem by Lisa Slatter making it an ideal gift from $25 is a pricey cake and people this year have a lot of money so it is a special gift" At Paddington Markets today and selected food stores including Simon Johnson Manna horn Heaven 9572 7177 of batter a week from raw ingredients boiling it for up to six hours in giant coppers then stringing the puddings up on dozens of Hills Hoists to dry Hodgetts uses a prizewinning recipe handed to her by her grandmother made hundreds of thousands of puddings for this Christmas" she says the tiredness creeping through in her voice like to serve it with custard or brandy sauce -1 always make my own for Christmas -and before I serve it I boil it in the pot for a little bit If you've got any left just put in a container where it keeps for months" Hodgetts offers puds in a range of sizes along with diabetic and gluten-free Sean's Panaroma pud This sleepy eatery by the sea is perhaps the last place expect with a traditional Christmas pud but here it is hanging from the rafters and salami-shaped for easy cutting Chef Sean Moran says they make them infrequently because they always have time to age them good to give them time to he says tradition is to make your pudding on Boxing Day the year before" Dark and glossy offering is a true suet pudding you boil for about an hour before eating With spice candied orange apple and carrot for moisture and loads of rum cognac and brandy for the punch Moran says rich enough as it is without the addition of brandy butter just cut a slice and have it with ice he adds 500g pudding $25 Sean's Panaroma 270 Campbell Parade Bondi Beach 9365 4924 Dawn Hodgetts: Newcastle Pudding Lady Retirement an option for Novocastrian Dawn Hodgetts dubbed Pudding Lady after she made a few family puds for her son to sell at his comer store She still oversees the production process which starts in July each year by hand-mixing up to 25 tonnes Sparkling NV Lanson Black Label Champagne $4995 This is one of the best non vintages around it is fresh and dean with a pleasant aroma of pears One glass is rarely sufficient Ml Eqfoy as aa aperitif TASTY JOHN NEWTON Sydney's most irresistible edibles Kensington Pride Mangos Cronulla Flruit Fair about $18 a box There are 60-odd varieties of mango In Australia we grow 10 of which the Kensington Pride is our favourite Right now according to Flemington mango man Lindsay Tilbrook the KPs from Mareeba in Queensland are best ever Mangos remind us what seasonal foodis all about Buy Gorge Wash face and hands 44 Cronulla Street 9523 2749 Aluminium Chocolate Box Vanderwee Chocolates and Sweets $65 for 150g Quick If you've forgotten to buy for Auntie Maude or anyone who loves good design and good chocolate here's their present IWenty-four hand-crafted Belgian chocolates fresh from Bruges packed in a sexy brushed aluminium reusable box designed by promising young industrial designer Sean O'ConnelL Shop P10 Skygarden 77 Castlereagh Street city 9221 4020- Photo: Sahlan Hayes Photo: George Fetting "Nihon no Santa Kuroosu wa Kimono Eiiru is what one of our students enquired during our Japanese short course INSEARCH Learn a new language Choose from Japanese Spanish Korean Indonesian Mandarin Cantonese Thai French German Italian or Russian Classes commence 7 January 2002 3d uederujoupuiQie am ewes aoQ aieneieuaju tuom InMWchb the UTS praiMar of kwiwallm language and aa0MnicprtfiiMip to unbar Vevaux Grande Reserve Brut Enjoy by the glass at Atria 9ZSZ 2555 Zaaffran 9211 8900 Posh Lounge 9251 1 188 Hotel Mosman 9960 6877 Kistorante cco 9719 9394 WindsorTeak Furniture Homewares Selected in the top 5 Non Vintage Champagnes Forget your preconceptions about the Aube region where Devaux is based or your misgivings about co-operatives The fact is this is lovely The Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine Vec-Jan 2001 -2002 Top 10 Champagne James HalUday Top 100 fragrant and livefy bouquet of apple pear and herbs is followed by a crisp apple-accented palate and fresh acidity to The Weekend Australian December 1-2 2001 18 24m Extending Solid Teak Table Includes 8 Folding Chairs When Quality Counts! 576 Botany Road Alexandria Cnr Shirley Street (Opp Mitre 1 0) PH 8338 8051 ail for trade enquiries call esq 8c Company 0 2 93 13 1832 5" rfyey- Si- isjCj-V 'iS i i vV'1- -f'-k'- 1 '-iTt V1 V- A-.