The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 38

JULY 14. 1978 Now my goblet runneth over 3 Dear Ed law lav. sjuiy couraea commanca WINE Ith Flltlval 17lh Fntnnh a Jponal 19th. Ethnic Cakas una I fraitnai Stn cninaia Basic 26th. Ethnic Vagatanan Popular 27th Indian Aug.

GESii g35 i am in ii doni mifsoul iTHTCTHAIlfi ICjoKInO School LfiZS Z03 Z07 2110. and a reprieve of cheese, a mur-mcr of passionfruit souffle and a diminuendo of poached fruits and sorbets. With coffee, a platter encrusted with petit fours With this meal we drank a Swiss. white of vineyard and vintage such was our enthusiasm for the food, escaped my attention, and a red wine from the Dole I think it was a '74 Whatever, it was perfectly harmonious and in complete sympathy with the food We finished our meal with a glass each of cremant champagne So that was Girardet's The only real comment I think I can make about this restaurant this "temple of it you want to be. that silly is that Girardet's is rated only three stars in Michelin (as high as it is possible) surely the best in France is only two stars in comparison.

But then that is comparison, and comparing the meal at Girardet's to others is reducing to the comparative that which is superlative The pleasure I get from recalling this meal is over-shadowed by the melancholy I feel at being so distant from Crissier. Besides. I almost fear to go back, I'm too much the cynic and naive enough to think that the meal could not be equalled and then where would I be? Without a god. The about whom I will tell you more later, manages to get to Girardet's about every two months. So far he's been seven times, and he says it just gets better How he manages to return I just don't know, for after another six visits I'm sure you'd find me weeping at the threshold in anticipation, unable to enter the dining room.

Today, the Remarkable Lady, the Thrower of the Brick and I lunched at Girardet's, near Crissier in Switzerland, This restaurant has the reputation of producing at the moment the finest food not only in Europe but the world. So, after the glut of three-star restaurants to which our trio has been exposed over the past couple of weeks, Girardet's had a lot to live up to. If nothing else, we hoped that the restaurant would have the magic of superlative food that basically had been denied us in France. Girardet's. To start at the beginning We were shown to our table by a head waiter who was actually smiling.

We ordered an aperitif of Cre-mant Champagne with a drizzle of raspberry liqueur. It arrived. Presently the smiling head waiter returned with three menus and a wine list. "You have come a long way to dine in our restaurant," he began and making a gesture of attempting to offer a menu continued: May we prepare a degustation (tasting) that will show you M. Girardet's cuisine?" Awe-stricken, we nodded in the affirmative.

"And for wines?" This time he almost offered the wine list; "May we select them also? The total competence of his manner, the quiet understanding, the charm and confidence with which he addressed our table left no room for uncertainty. Taking his advice could only be in complete sympathy with our pleasures. But it was not it was so much better. It so surpassed the confines of former gastronomic experience that, for my part at any rate. I felt like the concertgoer who has heard only by ANDERS OUSBACK chamber music and is suddenly exposed to the full symphony We began with a slice of duck foie gras that has been shown to a hot pan and served with sauce vinaigrette It was the best foiegras I've ever tasted.

Next a cassoulet of triple 'O Belon oysters cooked in champagne with a little fish gelee. The flavors of this dish beyond the first oyster are a Hue confused in my mind, they were so exquisite that emotion overcame me, and I wept at the simplicity, perfection and refinement. This was followed by a soup of Langouste and courgette about which the only comment I can make is that, again, tears overcame me. By now embarrassment had overcome emotion and I left the dining room to splash some cold water on my face in order to regain a little composure. By the time I returned to the table, a ragout of lobster cooked with tiny broad beans and truffles had arrived.

I find myself at a complete loss to describe the magnificent union of flavors that this dish embraced. Then, naively imagining that it would be impossible to ascend the gastronomic scale of pleasure even higher, a thin slice of salmon cooked with limes "enpapillote" arrived to prove me wrong. Why should I search for words that fall so short of such flavors and textures? Conversation at our table had been' reduced to an occasional sigh of disbelief and the odd murmur of incredibility. Then came what menus of old main a saddle of hutch-bred rabbit roasted with a little basil and doused with dolls-house vegetables. Perfection.

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(056) 232262. IN 64 Luu, Anders FOOD Sweet 'n' Sauer by SUSAN TOMNAY A FEW WEEKS ago. Mrs. Christine Weber, of Cheltenham, who was brought up in Germany, gave us a recipe for red cabbage. Here are three more from her: Almond and Carrot Cake: 375g ground almonds.

31Sg finely grated carrots. 18Sg plain flour. 250g castor sugar. eggs, separated. Finely grated rind of half a lemon, pinch of salt.

I. Line of 22cm (9 in.) spring-form cake tin with foil and grease it well. 2.. Boat the egg yolks and the sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy. 3.

Add the grated carrot, lemon rind, salt, ground almonds and sifted flour 4. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff. 5. Fold the egg whites into the carrot mixture carefully. 6.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin. 7. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), put the cake in, then reduce the heat to 170C (325F) and bake thocake for one to VA hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 8. Allow the cake to cool in the pan, then remove on to a wire rack.

9. Ice it with a lemon glace icing if you like. Mrs. Weber says that she had a surfeit of green tomatoes one year and she made this jam. She says it's quite delicious on pancakes or as a filling in a chocolate sponge with a little rum in the whipped cream.

Pinch of cinnamon. Vt litre water. litre wine vinegar. Other ingredients: lkg topside steak, in one piece. 1 tablespoon butter.

2 tablespoons oil. 1 large onion, sliced 4 sticks celery, chopped. A small piece of carrot. A small piece of pumpkin. 1 slice pumpernickel bread.

2 tablespoons tomato paste. Freshly ground black pepper salt. Prepare the marinade by placing the vinegar, water and spices into a saucepan and bringing it to the boil. Add the sliced onion. Put the beef into a bowl, pour the hot marinade over it When it has cooled, cover the bowl and store it in the refrigerator for three to four days, turning the meat over daily.

When you are ready to cook it, remove the meat from the marinade and dry it well. Sprinkle it with plenty of pepper and salt. In a heavy saucepan, heat the oil and butter and brown the meat in it on, all sides. Add the sliced onion and fry it for five minutes. Now add one cup of water, the celery, carrot, pumpkin and tomato paste.

Cover the pan and simmer the meat for Vt to two hours or until the meat is tender. During the last half hour of cooking, add the slice of pumpernickel. Remove the meat and strain the sauce. Slice the meat and pour the sauce over it before serving. Green Tomato and Quince Jam: 3kg green tomatoes, lkg quinces.

2 cups water. Juice of 2 large oranges. Grated rind of 1 orange. Wash the fruit and core the quinces, but don't peel them. Cut everything into small pieces.

Put the fruit and the water into a large pan and simmer it until it is soft enough to be able to strain through a sieve. Measure the pulp by cups. To every cup of pulp, add one cup of sugar plus an extra cup at the end. Return the pulp and the sugar to the pan, add the orange juice and grated rind. Bring the mixture to the boil and cook for about l'i to two hours or until the jam turns to jelly when it cools.

(This means that after l'j hours, remove the pan from the heat, put a teaspoon of the mixture on a saucer, let it cool and then press it with your fingers. If it wrinkles and feels set, the jam is ready. If it remains runny, put the pot back on the heat and cook for another quarter hour or so before you test it again). Sauerbraten: Marinade 1 onion, sliced. 5 peppercorns.

3 all spice berries. 2 cloves. bayleaf. 4 mustard seeds. Pinch of mace.

Pinch of powdered ginger. Pinch of thyme. Pinch of coriander. Cellar Door Sales A colourful reference book for both the beginner and the wine enthusiast An invaluable guide to Australia's Wineries: Covers 356 vineyards all over Australia 39 Location Maps, state by state, showing you how to get there Visiting times clearly shown Information about wine areas. Wine Maker Calendar Convenient Digest size for your bar or glove box 100 pages packed with everything you want to know about wine and the people who make it Buy one for the bar and one for the glove box.

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