SMOKED CHICKEN SALAD

This is an Alstonville (a nearby town) chicken smoked by a mate of our butcher, Paul. Other ingredients in this salad are avocado (from the local markets), sun-dried tomatoes, sheep's milk fetta, rocket, 2011 Joseph extra virgin olive oil and a caramelised tomato balsamic dressing.

SMOKED CHICKEN SALAD

SPAGHETTI WITH PORCINI RAGU

An experiment. Not on the monumental scale of atom splitting or the sheer 'please explain' silliness of 3-wheeled cars. This is a far more modest experiment. No chicken livers to make my usual sauce, so I substituted porcini - and they worked just fine.

SPAGHETTI WITH PORCINI RAGU

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALAD OF WATERMELON AND FETTA

Another salad by my sister for the family Christmas lunch. So refreshing. A mix of watermelon, fetta, red onion, soya beans and mint.

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALAD OF WATERMELON AND FETTA

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALAD OF LENTILS, QUINOA AND FRIED ONION

A France meets North Africa meets South America salad - Puy lentils poached in chicken stock, quinoa, onions (fried until deep brown and caramelised), roasted slivered almonds and pumpkin with an orange vinaigrette.

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALAD OF LENTILS, QUINOA AND FRIED ONION

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALAD OF ROCKET, MOZZARELLA, CHERRY TOMATOES AND BREAD

A fabulous and rustic salad by my sister for Christmas lunch - chunks of turn bread roasted until crisp, torn mozzarella, sweet cherry tomatoes, rocket and a balsamic vinaigrette.

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALAD OF ROCKET, MOZZARELLA, CHERRY TOMATOES AND BREAD

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALMON WITH TAHINA AND HERBS

For Christmas this year, my sister cooked a side of salmon, then coated it with a delicious middle eastern sauce based on yoghurt, sumac and tahina, with chopped parsley and coriander and roasted pine nuts on top. Absolutely delicious.

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALMON WITH TAHINA AND HERBS

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | BLUE SWIMMER CRAB

Which crab species has the sweetest flesh? There are those who swear by a mud crab, but for my money there's nothing to compare to blue swimmer (or sand) crab. Okay, they are fiddly things to work with and you'll never get big juicy chunks of flesh as you do from the claw of a mud crab and other bigger varieties, but what you get is sublimely sweet.

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | BLUE SWIMMER CRAB

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SYDNEY ROCK OYSTERS

A confession: I'm not an oyster lover. As a kid, I found their texture revolting. I'm better now and can eat them - but I don't crave them as some do. Anyway, for the oyster lovers in my family, my folks put a platter of them on the table as part of this quintessential Australian Christmas lunch. (For those in the northern hemisphere, remember it's around 28C here at Christmas.)

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SYDNEY ROCK OYSTERS

GRILLED CHICKEN THIGH WITH QUINOA, BEANS AND HAZELNUTS

The fourth of four poultry dishes - chicken thighs (with bone in and skin ON!) with poached quinoa, blanched green beans and roasted hazelnuts. It somehow feels Christmassy without being traditional.

GRILLED CHICKEN THIGH WITH QUINOA, BEANS AND HAZELNUTS

GRILLED QUAIL WITH PUY LENTILS

The third of four poultry dishes. Quail for a change. Simply grilled and served on a bed of Puy lentils poached in chicken stock. Served with a green salad ... because brown, black or turquoise salads just don't do it for me.

GRILLED QUAIL WITH PUY LENTILS

ROAST CHICKEN WITH BLACK BEANS AND KUMERA MASH

The second of four poultry dishes. This one cooked in Sydney whilst on a Christmas trip to visit friends and family. A roasted free range chicken with three veg - whole black beans, sweet potato mash and roasted asparagus

ROAST CHICKEN WITH BLACK BEANS AND KUMERA MASH

BARBECUED CHICKEN SALAD

The first of four poultry dishes. This one a simple salad of barbecued chicken (from Allstonville, down the road from home) and very fresh lettuces (from the Tweed Valley over the hill). A dollop of roast garlic aïoli on top and a decent dressing (Joseph 2011 First Run EVOO and 25 year old sherry vinegar). Done.

BARBECUED CHICKEN SALAD

THE PERFECT GREEN SALAD

I am reluctant to call anything perfect - but after many, many variations on the basic salad, I think this one has come closest to being the ideal. It started with a mix of really fresh lettuces. Not home grown, but from a family farm here in the Tweed Valley. Mignonette, red lamb's tongue, butter lettuce, baby cos, local Sharwill avocado (the last of the season), roasted pine nuts and a classic vinaigrette of 2011 Joseph First Run extra virgin olive oil, 25 year old Spanish sherry vinegar, Pommery Dijon mustard, Murray River salt and pepper.

THE PERFECT GREEN SALAD

HERBED YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH CANNELLINI COMPOTE

Back when you didn't need a game console to have fun, I remember the pleasure of rolling down a softly grassed hill. If the grass had been recently mowed, blades of grass would adhere to your clothes and there was that wonderful smell of freshly cut grass. I thought of that experience while I was rolling this tuna in finely chopped fresh herbs (parsley and basil). It was quickly seared in a little grapeseed oil and served on a bed of cannellini & eschallots poached in chicken stock.

HERBED YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH CANNELLINI COMPOTE

SNAPPER WITH BLACK BEANS AND MANGO SALSA

This is the tail section - well half of it - of a big knobby snapper. Those of you unfamiliar with snapper mightn't know that a fish that starts out reasonably handsome becomes deformed in maturity by this bulbous growth on its forehead. Never mind. There are no mirrors underwater. The flesh is delicious.

SNAPPER WITH BLACK BEANS AND MANGO SALSA

RICE NOODLES WITH KING PRAWNS

This is the kind of dish they might do at a street stall in Singapore - if Singapore still has street stalls. It's the kind of dish they might do at a Malay street stall - and I'm pretty sure they still exist there ... but possibly not in the shadow of the pointless Petronas Towers. A hot wok, peanut oil, chilli paste, soy sauce and rice noodles, king prawns, laksa leaves, a little lime juice and some crisp prawn skin to serve.

RICE NOODLES WITH KING PRAWNS

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH THAI BASIL

Are cuisines like children? I have been wondering this because I feel I've been neglectful of a couple of cuisines lately and I feel guilty the way a parent might for neglecting one child whilst spending time with others. It's not that cuisines go through difficult phases as kids do. It's not that they become deeply and permanently scarred from this neglect. Maybe the neglected cuisines don't feel anything at all. Maybe it's just me. Anyway, I have been neglecting Thai food and I'm just relieved that it welcomed me back with open arms when I pulled out the wok and whipped up this stir fry of  crispy prawn chilli, lemongrass, fish sauce, lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar, coconut cream and basil. Maybe something Singaporean tonight.

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH THAI BASIL

RED EMPEROR WITH DUTCH CREAM MASH

I've written enough about red emperor in previous blogs. From what I can see nothing's changed since the last red emperor post. They're still red and they're still emperors. The Dutch cream potatoes are still Dutch and still creamy ... in case you're wondering.

RED EMPEROR WITH DUTCH CREAM MASH

POLLO CON MOLE NEGRO DE OAXACA

Had a hankering for some Mexican food. Don't know why I haven't been cooking so much of it lately. One meal won't make amends - but hey, it's a start. Rome has seven hills. Oaxaca has seven moles. This is probably the best know - and maybe my favourite, although I do have a soft spot for pipian verde (a sauce of pumpkin seeds, green chilles, coriander and other goodness for those of you unfamiliar with it).

POLLO CON MOLE NEGRO DE OAXACA

SALMON SALAD WITH CRISPY PRAWN CHILLI

Not a whole lot to explain here. A Eurasian fusion thing going on. Wonderfully plump salmon from the fishmonger, sautéed and flaked and added to a salad of mesclun, watercress and coriander with an olive oil, lemon juice and crispy prawn chilli paste vinaigrette. There. Told you there wasn't much to explain.

SALMON SALAD WITH CRISPY PRAWN CHILLI

RED EMPEROR WITH CARAMELISED CAPSICUM

I've written about red emperor on previous posts - one of the great species of reef caught off the Queensland coast. Given that the ocean is as salty off the Qld coast as it is further away from the tropics, it's surprising how sweet most reef fish is. This is on a bed of something sweeter - red capsicum sweated in olive oil with balsamic vinegar, smoked paprika and sugar. Not shown here: a green salad

RED EMPEROR WITH CARAMELISED CAPSICUM