Happy birthday shweetie

It was Clare's 24th birthday last weekend. What the bloody hell do you get for a woman who's just gotten back from Thailand, bought everything she needs, doesn't need a holiday and has had as many beauty treatments in the last month that even Ivana Trump would look surprised (or maybe that's just the botox...).

So I thought I'd take her to The Tearoom, situated at the Northern end of the QVB's top level, where I treated her to a morning of sparkling high tea. And what a show they put on for her! The place was whispering with beauty, with fresh flowers, silver and china in abundance and an absolutely radiant birthday girl. Check out the natural light and sky-high ceilings in the photo above.

This is a picture of the three-tiered stand which featured a delectable selection of cakes and pastries, fresh scones and sandwiches (although we smashed these before the photo!). The food was amazing - a wonderful experience I'd love to do every week.

After high tea, Clare and I went shopping for a hat for an upcoming country race meet (I read the paper). Then we went into Hyde Park to read the paper some more and have a bit of a snooze under the sun. Thanks to Mike Bailey for turning out such a glorious Sydney summer Sunday afternoon.

I had to get home before dark though to get into the kitchen and bake Clare her Weis cake. Here's a picture of Clare blowing out her birthday candle.

First, but definitely not the last

I felt like Montgomery at the battle of El Alamein. The first, decisive battle. The first, decisive step toward greatness...

...the first, decisive step toward Australian free-to-air TV glory.

ABC...tick!

Willis, Amelia and I ventured to the ABC studios a few days ago to be on a new show called difference of opinion. It's hosted by Geoff McMullen and comprises of a panel of 'experts' (generally ABC left-wing co-conspirators) and a studio audience itching to get that ABS stat they read on the internet that morning onto national TV.

We didn't need to say anything, our looks said it all:

Oops, wrong photo...here we go - much more serious:

Meils was an absolute hit with the lesbian camera woman, getting a long, loving pause toward the end of the show. She was also the last person to be shown from the audience in the closing credits. Probably because she looked hot. Great genes, you know.

Anyway, so the subject matter was multiculturalism - not as heated as I was expecting, however I found the production process quite revealing, never being in a studio audience before.

Here's a picture of Willis and I with Geoff McMullen. I think he shat his pants. Lucky I didn't ask him for his autograph.

But like every good commander, I don't rest until the job is well and truly done. Clare and I are off to film an episode of Ready Steady Cook on the 7th of next month. Email me or leave a comment if you want to go and see me kick her culinary ass.

Love - more than just a bunch of flowers?

Happy Valentines Day all! Today is a day when frazzled guys are obliged to swing by Woolworths on their way home from work to pick up a box of chocolates and a bunch of flowers for their significant other. With Clare still overseas until tomorrow, I'm thankfully off the hook. But it still got me thinking, what exactly do I love??

• A frosty beer after sweating like a trojan
• My shower at home and the feeling of hot water over the back of my neck after a long day
• Mike Bailey, Juanita Phillips and Kerry O'Brien
• How I can research cool medical stuff and get paid for it
• My sister Cass' dancing style and fastidious approach to life
• The freedom and calmness of an open paddock
• Blue gropers (the fish, not the smurf-like perverts)
• The ABC for it left-aligned 'balance'
• Dawn at the beach, but waking up at 9am
• The intelligence and wit of my friends
• LAN parties
• When it absolutely pisses down with rain
• Talking to old people
• The reaction I get whenever I prank call my little sister
• Canberra and its bike paths
• Being on time
• Matt Hayden's confident Test swagger
• That feeling when you've caught your first wave of the summer
• Playing golf badly
• Garlic and chilli prawns
• Oriental lilies
• My best friend Clare
• Working in a strand of PR that has the ability to actually do some good, and isn't limited to fueling the egotism and financial extravagance of large companies
• Top Gun
• My mother's ability to light up a room full of strangers, friends or family
• Jebediah's 'Slightly Odway'
• Glenfiddich on ice, heaps of ice
• Coopers Pale Ale - No additives, no preservatives, Australian made and owned
• Reading about WWII
• Boston Legal
• My super-talented (and cool to hang with) team at work
• Coming home after a shit day to a mate who acts like an idiot to bring you back up
• Yum Cha
• The fact that I've got about 65 summers of cricket and winters of rugby left to enjoy with my mates
• Thinking about my next overseas adventure
• 70's slapp'n bass guitar
• The smell of the paper on a Saturday morning
• To cook when I've got the time, tools and ingredients
• Milk
• The Lord Wolseley Hotel in Pyrmont and the Hollywood Hotel in Surry Hills
• Bad 80's action movies including a bicep-pumping, gun-shooting montage
• Going fishing with my Dad

The Thai Princess

As most of you know, Clare has been holidaying in Thailand now for nearly 4 weeks. Yes, this is like her 5th trip into South East Asia, and no, I don't know if she's financing these trips by being a drug mule.

Anyway, here's a few photos of her adventure:

Clare standing under a striking coconut tree.

Apparently coconuts kill 15 times more people than sharks.

Clare swimming in some pristine Thai waters.

Where's your bikini Clare??

Clare getting her toenails done. Pink, surprisingly.

Kate, one of Clare's best friends and travel buddies standing in front of their bungalow.

Clare trying to replicate ET. See here for a comparison.

Two curries for under $4. Get me over there!

Clare shopping in Bankok.

Clare canoeing through some caves.

Was the F-Word appropriate?

On Tuesday night, Jules Heaton, Millgate, Karla and myself went to some random restaurant in Woolloomooloo for the filiming of a new Channel 7 reality TV show. Further to my post about setting goals, this was my first exercise to get on every commercial TV station in Australia by year's end. At the very least, I'll be in the background of a conversation between Evan and Bella from My Restaurant Rules' Pink Salt.

The producers were even so kind to move our table so that the camera men could have better access to the 'star' couple. Either way, we had an unobscured view of the kitchen (as you can see above).

Aside from Jules, Millgate and Karla, other stars in attendance included Anthony Callea and Wil Traval (Dr Quade from All Saints). Elton John was busy.

The show is modelled on Gordon Ramsey's UK version, The F-Word, where three amateur chefs cook for a restaurant of 50 people. In our episode there were three butchers.

Chef Matt Moran (not the Slavic soul-party vibraphonist-composer) needed seven takes just to high five his team of three amateur chefs for a job well done. Regular TV, shit talent, or just a 1st class wanker? I'll take votes.

The menu...

Entree - Salt & Chilli Squid w Bok Choy

Mum, you would have loved this one.

In my opinion, the squid was beautifully cooked, perhaps a little overwhelmed by its sweet ginger and chilli sauce - a personal taste, but I would have liked a little more chilli to balance out the strong sweet ginger flavours. The baby bok choy was of a high quality and had the right snap/soft textural balance. After this one, I was thinking that this dynamic could really work for TV and we were in for a night of great taste.

Main - Pork w Kifler Potatoes, Honey Baby Pears, Broccolini & Caper Butter

Unispiring, yes. The pork cut was just divine though.

As I mentioned to my table, when the caper butter resting over your broccolini hasn't even begun to melt, you know there must be something wrong with the vegetable kitchen-plate-table process...a little too cold, considering we were 2.5 metres from the kitchen. Perhaps a group of Iraqi insurgents disrupted the convoy? I don't know.

The pork cut though - sweet mother - amazing. Loved it! There was some consternation at the level of cooking it had had, however in my mind, its medium-medium rare tenderness and texture proved an absolute hit with my tastebuds. The 'crackling' was about 25 minutes undercooked - quite chewy really. But that's not really Moran's fault. He only showed up 5 minutes before filming started.

I was one of only 20 out of the 50 patrons who agreed to pay for the pork. Yeah, sure the vegetables were sub-standard, but a cut of meat like that, which Matt Moran later told us was Kurobuta Pork, was truly a unique experience.

Another diner/blogger suggests that the reason it may not have scored very highly was because not many people dig pork. Seems like Australian Pork Limited still have a bit of work to do...

Desert - White Chocolate Pannacotta w Citrus Salad

This dish was a little like a trip to the Western NSW wheatbelt. Simple, refreshing and a little grainy.

It was simple because I felt, again, the dish was relatively uninspiring. I just wasn't excited when they plonked it down in front of me. In saying that, it would be a great dish if you had kids with you - the jelly wobble of the pannacotta and the simple fruit flavours would have been a hoot for any 5 year-old.

Refreshing for a few reasons. Firstly because I have never experienced a rose water/citrus combination like this. And what about the oregano garnish - now that's novel. Lastly, I couldn't agree more with Millgate's comment that the pannacotta proved to be a wonderful complement to some rich flavours experienced in the entree and main courses.

And grainy - the pannacotta, whilst its flavour proved a treat, its consistency and texture was somewhat disappointing.

Verdict

All in all, it was a great experience. I loved the company, with 3/4 of my table trying to make eyes with buff camera men, tanned waiters and Tony Callea. Sitting down for 5 hours nearly gave me DVT - I think we could have done with about another four bottles of wine.

Would I go again? Probably not. The thrill really was in seeing the magic of TV and having the excitement of a sound man's boom hovering over your face whilst you discuss the different elements of the food. I think I'd rather take Clare out for a pasta, icecream and romantic stroll down woolloomoo wharf for $40.

Shiny, happy people laughing...

Pimp'n it up

I get a call from my mate Jonnie at about 5:30pm on Saturday afternoon that went a little like this:

J: Herro

S: Well herro! Hans Brix, how very rice to shree you...

J: Wow, you're so funny - and good looking. Lil and I are headed up to Palm Beach to stay for the night at some guy's place, want to come?

S: OK.

And so it was, we ventured up to Sydney's beach of the stars (well, Home & Away at least).


Steve Baxter has his own business, Sydney Audio Visual, installing everything from the most pimp'n plasma TV's through to the kind of sound systems you'd experience in Snoop Dogg's own kitchen, but at an affordable price.

Anyway, he had to do some work for one of his clients, who mentioned that whilst there he should take advantage of the place for the weekend and invite some friends over.

Jonnie invited me on Baxter's behalf - I thought it'd be rude not to. So we got up there, had a couple of beers, met some ripper people from Inverell and headed off for a relatively early night (after a cheeky night-ocean swim).

What a place - the living room was literally as big as my apartment. It kind of makes you feel like a bit of a pleb, but at the same time you think the guy who owned the place has either been really smart with his cash or worked his ass off. Either way, good luck to the bloke.

Then again, he could be a professional hit man or drug dealer. However, I digress...

The view from the balcony

Got up the next morning and we paid $45 for a dozen eggs, some bacon, a loaf of bread, 3 tomatos and a paper (bloody Palm Beach locals). Then we went for a bit of a surf down at Whale Beach (I have never seen such a glorious array of silicone in my life). Really really enjoyed my time in the surf - it makes you want to move closer to the beach really...caught some 'gnarley' waves 'dude'...nothing huge, but it was great to see Jonnie do some 'real' surfing. He's absolutely killing it, considering the short time he's been actively surfing. Just hope he remembers me when he's on the Billabong Pro Tour.


This is a picture of Jonnie and I. We're so hot.

What a bloody random, fabulous weekend.

Carn 'straya

I recognise this may be about 12 days old, however I was going through my camera and thought that I couldn't miss a blog about Australia Day. Check out the rock-star glasses Dave's wearing.

Willis, Edwina and I decended on Mr & Mrs D. Halter's residence in Wombat Heights. I was a little tired after seeing a sterling win by the Waratahs and celebrating with some appropriate post-match entertainment - who knew that $2 could bring so much joy!

Similar to many accounts of people here in Sydney, Australia Day was an absolute corker. Dave MANned the BBQ, Willis sourced some delicious lamb snags and I made a salad.

This is a picture of Willis doing some crazy two-handed tennis shit. Edwina looks on lovingly. She has a thing for ambidextrous men.

Thanks to Dave and Kate for a lovely afternoon.

It's all about setting goals

Don't worry, not another rant about being organised...

One of my 2007 goals is to appear on every Australian commercial television station by year end. Sure, sounds easy, but how the bloody hell can I make it onto SBS. I'm not ethnic.

Maybe I should start a fight at the soccer somewhere or something. Anyone got any spare flares??

Plans

On Tuesday of this week, Karla, Tim M and [insert person here - Edwina can't make it anymore] will be joining me at some random restaurant in Wooloomooloo as part of one of Channel Seven's new reality TV shows. It's a rip-off of some UK show which featured Gordon Ramsey.

Basically, three amateur chefs are grouped by profession - from hairdressers and surf lifesavers to surgeons and sports stars - to be guided by Aria's Matt Moran as they prepare a three-course meal for 50 hungry customers. And no, I'm not cooking. I'm eating...now, just to get myself on TV. Maybe some obscene comments perhaps?

Other plans include a trip to the ABC studios in about a week to take part in the filming of the first episode of a new show, Difference of Opinion hosted by Geoff McMullen; and a trip (if Clare can make herself available!) to the Channel Ten studios to be a contestant on Ready Steady Cook.

Look out free TV...

There is nothing fashionable about being late

Message to the world:

Be on time. The occasional public-transit snafu is forgivable, but consistent lateness is rude, annoying, and self-centered. If we didn't care when you showed up, we'd have said "any old time"; if we said seven, get there at seven or within fifteen minutes. Do not ditz that you "lost track of time" as though time somehow slipped its leash and ran into traffic. It shows a basic lack of respect for others; flakiness is not cute anymore, primarily because it never was. Buy a watch, wind it up, and wear it everywhere you go.
- Tomato Nation

Strong, but fair words to those with problems managing their time.

Let's get organised people!

The anointed one

The Captain Cook - was it ever the same? Well, I wouldn't know. Willis and I missed our bus stop, mainly due to my idiocy. On the plus side, we got to the Sydney Football Stadium nice and early, trialled some of their finest new asian takeaway cuisine, had a couple of schooners, met Dave and his brother Andy, and settled in for the footy.

For those who have been living in a (perhaps self-imposed) rugby vacuum, the NSW Waratahs were playing the NZ's Canterbury Crusaders last Friday in a final trial before the main Super 14 competition starts.



The much-awaited home debut of one Kurtley Beale created much excitement amongst the rugby supporters and scribes from across the country. He's an 18 year-old rugby 'prodigy' fresh out of St Joseph's College and has the hopes of NSW rugby supporters, and interestingly, the aboriginal community on his shoulders. Not since Cathy Freeman has a young aboriginal athlete created so much excitement from the sporting masses. I say good luck to him - let's just hope he can keep his head firmly planted on the ground.



He has certainly got some things to work on in defence, his kicking game and in some of his decision-making, but his frenetic unpredictability with the ball in hand may provide the Waratahs with that spark that will hand them a Super 14 title in 2007/08. If only we can find a decent scrummaging tight-head prop...

With all of this chat about Kurtley in the paper, the boys and I decided to pre-empt some sporting headlines:

• When he wins a celebrity game show: "Beale or no Beale"
• When he proves himself to be a quality player: "The real Beale" (This one was actually used the day after WE thought of it...)
• When he kicks the winning field goal in the World Cup final: "Bealey, Bealey good"
• When he is out injured for the season and the team doesn't do so well: "NSW discover their achilles Beale"
• When he goes to the children's hospital to say hi to sick cancer kids: "NSW show their touchy-Bealey side"
• When he starts seeing National Nine News weather girl Jaynie Seal: "Beale bones Seal"
• When he injures an opposing player in a tackle: "Beale makes Crusader's prop squeal"
• When he takes a continuous battering from Ritchie McCaw, but puts in a match-winning performance: "Beale - Man of Steel"
• Well into his career, amid criticisms about his style of play, one scribe goes into bat for him: "No need to reinvent the Beale"
• After a massive night out: "Beery Beale steals cab car wheel"
• When he swaps codes, to play Rugby League with Parramatta: "Waratahs Beale to become Eel"
• When the NSW Waratahs bring out a team cookbook: "Kurtley Beale - Breast of veal with candied citrus peal"
• Named Cleo bachelor of the year: "Beale got sex appeal"
• After he breaks his leg in a freak green-grocery accident: "Beale slips on banana peal"

And I think you get the point.