Good Food and Wine Show and Confit Duck with Star Anise and Cherry Sauce

Belated post but here goes. On 2 July 2011 Ms P and I attended the Good Food and Wine Show. I attended with Ms P last year and again we had a great ol' time stuffing our faces. 

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This year it seemed spread out in terms of the layout of the stands. Last year I felt the walkways were too narrow and restrictive. I felt that the restructuring this year became pointless with the introduction of the great ol' trolleys. Every corner you walked a trolley came rocking up behind you, in front of you, on top of you.... everywhere! Drove me slightly mad! My advice to the organisers for next year.... please get rid of them! 

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The infamous trolleys.

Manu Feildel at the Fisher & Paykel Celebrity Theatre

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Excuse the shocking photograph. Now this was very entertaining. It was interesting to see Manu uncut. Boy does he enjoy the attention. He was hilariously funny and oh so inappropriate. Often you were laughing at him. It was 10.30am at the morning and boy was he on fire. Earlier in the year at the Sydney Taste Festival Ms P and I had met him. Flirtatious as they say. Let's just say he couldn't stop flirting with Ms P. I was hoping he would somehow miraculously recognise Ms P among the hundreds of people and select her as part of the audience members to taste the food but that didn't happen. Oh no!

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Pukara Estate Stand - always popular and always a joy to see at food festivals and events. Big fan of their garlic mayonnaise, their truffle oil, garlic oil and just about everything else.

Real Chai Stand - On display and available for taste testing was their normal chai tea mix and their chocolate chai tea. Both delightful. I purchased the normal chai. I have been savouring each cup made. They have their tea available to purchase online. 

Butch's Smallgoods of the Riverland - Loved their pepperoni. I bought some and it didn't last an hour at home before my husband and I finished it. We are little piggies.

D'Licious Drinks - Wild Beverages - Lots of interesting drinks on offer. Big fan of the watermelon flavoured water by "Sparkling".

Ezy Aussie Prawn Peeler - I've purchased this peeler and I haven't managed to work out how it works.  Looked so easy to use in his little informercial. Must try again! 

Dilmah Tea Stand - Tea stands are always quite popular. Prior to the day I hadn't heard of Celestial Seasonings tea. I fell in love with the Sleepytime Vanilla and the Goji Berry Pomegranate Green Tea. 

Wine Testing is always popular. 

Sabor Portuguese Mousse - Their mousse was beautiful. I purchased some of their hazelnut mousse and wish I bought some more. 

Barilla Pasta Stand - Food demonstrations and samples on offer.

My Kitchen Rules 2011 Winner Bella at Barilla Pasta Stand

Marion Grasby

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For lunch we went to the Oxford Landing Estates Restaurant where dishes from Poh Ling Yeow and Marion Grasby's cook books were available. Their were two menus. A Poh menu and a Marion menu. We choose one from the Poh menu and two from the Marion menu.

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Entree: Poh's Malaysian Beef Satay Skewers with Fruit & Vegetable Skewer. 

This was nice but slightly disappointing. I liked that the fruit and vegetable skewer was a refreshing accompaniment to the meat. The meat was slightly dry. The satay sauce was tasty but nothing special.

Main: Marion's Confit Duck with Star Anise, Cherry Sauce and Mash

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This was one of the highlights of the day. The duck was cooked perfectly. The cherry sauce was sweet and lovely. The mash was great to soak up the lovely sauce. See below for the recipe. The recipe doesn't include the mash component. 

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Dessert: Marion's Coconut and Kaffir Lime Panna Cotta with Strawberries and Lime Syrup

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This was light and heavenly. The coconut and the lime worked together so well. Check out  the recipe here. Can't wait to make it myself. 
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After trying the main and the dessert, I'm looking forward to checking out Marion's new book. Should be interesting. 

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Confit Duck with Star Anise and Cherry Sauce

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Recipe from Marion Grasby's Recipes & Stories from a Hungry Cook via brochure from the Oxford Landings Restaurant

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Ingredients (serves 6)

2 tablespoon sea salt

3 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 star anise

6 thyme sprigs

6 duck marylands

2kg duck or goose fat

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Cherry Sauce

1/4 cup red wine

680g jar Morello cherries, drained, 1/4 cup syrup reserve

2 tablespoon white sugar

2 star anise 

1 cinnamon stick

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Method

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1. Use a pestle and mortar to lightly pound the salt, garlic cloves, peppercorns, star anise and thyme springs. The garlic needs to be slightly crushed and the spices cracked. Rub the salty mixture into the duck pieces, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to marinate. 

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2. For the confit, the following day, preheat the oven to 100 degrees. Rinse the duck under cold water to remove the salt mixture. Pat dry and place in a caserole dish or deep roasting tray that's large enough to fit the duck into one layer.

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3. Heat the duck or goose fat in a saucepan until just melted. Pour over the duck, making sure all the pieces until the meat is soft and shrinking back from the bone. Remove from the oven. Now you can crisp up the duck skin and enjoy immediately or store the confit duck to improve the flavour. If you would like to store, transfer the pieces into a large sterilised jar or container. Strain the fat into the jar to completly cover. Cool, then store in fridge until you're ready to serve. It can be stored for up to 2 weeks.

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4. When you are ready to eat it, heat the oven to 160 degrees. Heat a heavy based frying pan over medium heat. Remove the duck pieces from the fat. You will need to scrape away the excess fat, if you've been storing them in the fridge. Add the pan, skin-side first, and sear for 3-4 minutes or until the skin is golden and crisp. Turn the duck pieces over and cook on the other side for about 2 minutes or until warmed through. Transfer to a roasting tray and keep warm in the oven while the cherry sauce is made.

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5. Pour off most of the fat from the pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon and put it back on medium heat. Pour in the red wine and sizzle for half a minute, using a wooden spoon to scrape off any crisp duck bits from the base of the pan. Add the cherries and reserved syrup, sugar, star anise and cinnamon. Simmer for about 15 minutes to infuse the flavour and let the cherries collapse and thicken the sauce slightly. Serve the duck with generous spoonfuls of sweet cherry sauce.

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Disclaimer: I have yet to try this recipe out. I have only eaten the dish with joy.