Huey's blog

Vegie Magic

Make a super fresh tomato sauce with onion, capsicums, tomatoes, seasonings and a touch of garlic.

Then cook a variety of vegies in a large heavy-bottomed pot of rapidly boiling water until crisp-tender. Drain well.

Toss the vegies with the sauce and some chopped fresh herbs.

Serve with rice or creamy mash or, as an alternative, with a simple grill or roast.

Sensational Fresh Fruit Smoothies

Just blend any of those wonderful Summer fruits with yoghurt, milk and a touch of honey for a delicious healthy treat.

Salads

Make your salad dressing in a screw top jar and shake well, just before dressing, to ensure that the mix is well blended.

Jazzing up the Barbie

Whip up your very own marinade. Start with a little oil and whisk in anything from mustard or red wine to Indian or Thai curry pastes, or even just a heap of chopped fresh herbs and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Huey's Kitchen 2012

As with last year, our show is taking a break over Summer and will return in the middle of the year.

The website will, of course, continue with regularly updated recipes.

And, once again, thank you for your support in 2011 - my 20th year on television.

By the way, don't forget that "Huey's Kitchen" is nominated for Most Popular Lifestyle Program in this year's Logie Awards. Get voting please and show your support!

Head to www.tvweek.ninemsn.com.au for details and voting instructions - use the codeword: GOLD to go into the draw to win the ultimate VIP experience at the Logies!

cheers,
Huey

Huey's 20th year on TV

A few points of interest re: the amazing change in television audiences’ watching patterns.

*   In 1990, when I first approached commercial networks re: a TV cooking show, I was informed that “cooking would never work on prime time TV” – I presume those program directors are now working as janitors.

*   My cooking segments on ‘Healthy, Wealthy & Wise’, which began in 1991, were the first in prime time on a commercial network.

*   Before TV, I was a successful chef-restaurateur who had achieved awards such as 2 x 3 Hats and 2 x Best New Restaurant awards from the Age Good Food Guide and, at one stage, I held 6 Hats from the Guide over 3 restaurants. In 1986, I received the Charles Heidsieck Award for services to cuisine and in 1987 restaurant critic Stephen Downes described me as the most important Melbourne restaurateur of the eighties, while The Age Good Food Guide in 1990 included me as one of the top chefs of the decade.

*   When I first went on TV, my peers said that I had “sold out”. Interesting, because when I retired from ‘Healthy, Wealthy & Wise’ seven years later, most of them applied for my job.

*   Beginning with ‘Healthy, Wealthy & Wise’, I have also featured in ‘A Cook’s Journey’, ‘Huey’s TV Dinner’, ‘Never Trust a Skinny Cook’, ‘Huey’s Cooking Adventures’ and my current show ‘Huey’s Kitchen’ airs at 4pm on Network 10.

During my time on TV, I have been known for cooking outdoors and have travelled throughout Australia and many different countries around the world. Last year alone, I travelled to:
-    the South Island of New Zealand (where I was, unfortunately, caught up in the Christchurch earthquake);
-    down the Danube, Mein and Rhine Rivers from Budapest to Amsterdam;
-    along the Mekong Delta; and
-    on both the Ghan and Indian Pacific trains with stop-offs in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Alice Springs and Broken Hill along the way.

A few of my favourite memories from my time on TV.

*   Arriving at a leading pig farmer’s house in Ireland and finding the farmer and his wife completely legless from drinking their homemade pear cider at 8am in the morning. As it turned out, this appeared to be a pretty normal state of affairs and, as he had been a chef in a past life, he not only turned in a sterling effort, but whipped up a terrific dish to boot.

*   Cooking on the top of One Tree Hill in Auckland (which is now, I presume No Tree Hill, as the tree was blown down) and turning around just in time to see my bowl of salad bouncing down the hill propelled by the rather strong wind. I, of course, the King of Ad Lib, simply said: “I think I’d better whip up another salad”.

*   Being told off by viewers for using a tea towel to wipe the plates (a very clean one, may we add) and then changing to paper towels only to be admonished because of the number of trees I had just wasted.

*   Cooking at a camel farm in Alice Springs where a camel leant over my shoulder and snaffled the minute steak right off the plate.

*   And then, of course, there is the heat, rain, hail, wind, flies, bees and various other insects and animals. And, let us not forget Dr Quack in Byron Bay, who did his business all over my shirt as I attempted to film an intro. Or Keith Floyd, who drank the wine that was supposedly for the sauce. Or the Spanish chef who turned out to be a waiter who couldn’t cook or speak a word of English – his Paella was ... interesting.

But, overall, after 20 years, my philosophy hasn’t changed. Never intending to produce a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous-type show, I began demonstrating to my audience that cooking could be fun. And, at all times, I have concentrated on persuading you to take just one step – from the frozen food cabinets or take away shops into the fresh food departments and then, consequently, into the kitchen where you could whip up something easy and tasty. Admittedly, these days, as his very loyal audience has progressed along with him, some slightly fancy pants-type cooking has crept in – but, at all times, still approachable and using readily available ingredients.

Drying chillies

Thread the chillies onto a length of strong, white string using a large needle, pushing the needle through the stem of the chillies,  not the flesh. Then hang the string of chillies in a dry, hot room or on the side of a building in the sun.

Mayonnanise

The emulsion of mayonnaise is helped by a warm bowl. So, wash the bowl first in warm water, but make sure you dry it thoroughly.

The Seasons - Winter Magic

I would love to start a group along the vein of "I'm not going to eat anything that is not at the height of it's season".

What brought this on was a visit to my local Bi-Lo store, where I watched people ignoring all those wonderful winter goodies (such as parsnips, Swedes, turnips, brussel sprouts, apples and pears). Instead they opted for those many little numbers that purely and simply depend on a good splash of sunshine to be at their very best. (Not that we've had a lot of that in our so-called sunny months this year.)

I don't blame the supermarkets. After all they are in the business of giving us what we want. But we, the customers, should be ignoring ingredients such as tomatoes, strawberries and asparagus and even, dare I say it, prime cuts of lamb and veal. And, instead think of root vegies, Asian greens, the aforementioned apples and pears and any cut of meat that can be successfully stewed or braised.

This is the time of the year for hearty food - rich stews bubbling on the back of the stove as you watch TV, thick soups that can be whipped up at the drop of a hat and roasts with lots of crispy, crunchy roast vegies. And, of course if you are feeling a little fancy, oysters are at their very best in the colder months (they tend to spawn and become milky in the hotter months) and game birds such as pheasant, guinea fowl and partridge are also at their best right now. (All of which everyone whips up for the family dinner on a regular basis, don't they?)

But, at the risk of repeating myself, this is the time for hearty, winter warmers.

And, just to get you in the mood, try whipping up a simple stew by sauteing a few sliced or chopped onions with a couple of crushed garlic cloves in some oil, before adding a kilo of cubed well trimmed meat. Toss until it changes colour and then add 1 heaped tbsp of any Indian curry paste or pre-prepared spice mix and cook for a few minutes. Then add 3 tbsp plain flour and briefly cook, before just covering with stock (and wine, if you like) and a couple of cans of drained, diced tomatoes. Cover the pot and gently cook for 1-2 hours, stirring every now and then. If you like, throw in some green vegies (such as broccoli) towards the end. And, just out of interest, the curry paste or spice mix just adds body and richness and will not be discernable in the end product.

Pepper - What A Grind!

I am beginning to feel that I may have, of late, developed a rather dishonest look. A look which discourages all waiting staff from leaving that valuable piece of restaurant equipment, the pepper grinder, within easy reach.

Because it appears that the minute my meal arrives at the table, there they are brandishing the bloody thing before me in a manner which insinuates that this is my one and only chance for a sprinkling of the freshly ground stuff before they whisk the grinder away and lock it up in a safe place.

Do I really look like the type who walks out the door with salt and pepper shakers and the odd teaspoon in their pocket? Or maybe they just have the feeling that I don't have the skills which are necessary to operate such complicated tools?

Well, whatever the reason, I just wish they'd leave the mill on the table and clear off. Because, in my rather perverse way, I do actually like to taste my food before smothering it in pepper. And, who knows, later on I may even like to add a little more without having to beg for a repeat performance of that waiter's showcase - the pepper grinder ritual.

Here's a dessert recipe you can try at home, with plenty of ground pepper already included.


ANTON MOSIMANN'S PEPPERED PINEAPPLE

100 gm caster sugar
50 ml fresh orange juice & grated rind of ½ orange
75 ml Creme de Cacao
20 ml fresh lemon juice
70 gm unsalted butter
1 small pineapple, peeled, cored & cut into 1 cm thick slices
freshly ground black pepper
vanilla ice cream

Melt the sugar in a pan until it lightly caramelises.

Add orange juice, 50 ml Creme de Cacao and lemon juice. Stir and simmer gently to reduce a little.

In another pan, melt 35 gm butter until lightly brown and add to the other pan together with the orange zest.

Grind pepper over the pineapple slices and set aside.

Melt remaining butter in the pan and add pineapple with remaining Creme de Cacao. Flame, add the sauce and gently beat.

To serve, arrange pineapple on individual plates, top with a scoop of ice cream and spoon the sauce over.