Australia Day Goodies

With Australia Day celebrations just around the corner, I've decided to put my baking cap on and cook up a storm. Grab a deal on our fab chunky beef Aussie meat pie and our buttery lamington cupcakes all weekend at my Simmone Logue Double Bay and Cammeray stores.

Get your buddies together and fill the esky with beers and indulge in these quintessentially Aussie treats.

Lamington cupcakes - $3.90 each or $19.50 for 6.

Chunky beef cocktail pies - $19.90 for a pack of 12.

Business is as usual all weekend at both stores, although we will be closed on Monday........ we're going fishing!!

Happy Australia Day!

Simmone x

Grilled Rock Lobster with Butter, Basil and Lemon Zest

Only yesterday, towards the end of my holiday at the beach, with a hankering for fresh shellfish, I rigged up my cray pot and lugged it up the rocky beach to my special spot.

With a lucky feeling in my belly I hung an old salmon head into the cage and wired a few chittins in there for good measure and lowered it down into the hole in the rocks which has rarely let me down.

A few little friends came for the adventure so with hand on heart they repeated after me and pledged not to tell, not even their bestest bestie, where the spot is....

Last night we ate like kings and queens as the average size of the beauties excitedly pulled from the ocean was 350g.

We popped them into the frezer for a while (the most humane way of dispatching them) before splitting them down the center, dotting with butter, basil and lemon zest and grilling them to perfection for just under 10mins.

Doesn't get any better than that!

Happy fishing,
Simmone x

Have You Got Your Pudding Yet?

Like good little elves we are still busy in the Simmone Logue kitchens making fruit mince tarts, wrapping puddings, baking shortbread and biscotti, and boxing my yummy rum balls and coconut ice. Not to mention tying ribbons around relish and sauce jars to bring joy to all my busy customers.

 

 

 

My mum will be in the Double Bay store on Friday 21st, Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd December to hand out samples of my gorgeous fruit mince tarts for all to try. So be sure to come on down for a well deserved cup of coffee and to sample our Christmas goodies!

 

I will also be in store every day from now until Christmas. Feel free to pop in and say hello, I would love to share my Christmas ideas with you all!

 

Merry Christmas, happy cooking and go safe,

Simmone x



My New Cheesecakes

Everyone that I've spoken to about my new cheesecakes have waxed lyrical about some all-time fantastic cheesecake that their mum, gran or Auntie Mavis has cooked for every family function since the time they could remember. Well I'm here to tell you, I reckon I've cracked it and I challenge every cheesecake quaffing expert out there to drop everything you are doing RIGHT NOW and rush into your nearest Thomas Dux Grocer or one of my cafes to  try a Simmone Logue cheesecake for yourself.....

If you don't instantly melt into culinary heaven on first bite then you can get your mum, gran or Auntie Mavis to come and give me a few tips.

I've created three different options all wrapped up in a pretty red gingham box. Perfect to take as a gift if you're going over to family and friends for dinner.

My classic and famous lemon curd is in the mix. Although, for a change, I've added a strawberry curd and a kaffir lime and coconut as well.

 

They weigh 1kg so they're nice and gutsy and go around a table of ten easily with a dollop of double cream on the side and maybe some fresh berries.

These cheesecakes are baked with fresh eggs and, of course, all the lovely natural ingredients you'd expect. Just like.... well, mum, gran or Auntie Mavis would use!

Happy eating,
Simmone Logue (cheesecake connoisseur)

Aussie Farmers Deserve A Break!

It's this time of the year when the first harvest from out west bares it's luscious fruit and I set about making my annual batch of ruby apricot paste to sell in store for Christmas. So, as they do in the country, I swapped my time as the camp cook for a pallet of Earlicot apricots and headed to Menindee to pick, pack and cook for a few days.



 

It was so much fun and if I didn't have such a huge amount of fruit mince tarts to make I probably wouldn't have come home!!



We take so much for granted when we pluck our fruit and veg off the supermarket shelves. As an ambassador for Australian Year of the Farmer I would like to take my hat off to every single farmer in the country. Blood, sweat, tears and a whole lot of worry goes into producing our food. After my time on the orcahrd, I am making a personal quest and urging everyone I know to get behind the Aussie farmers and only buy Australian grown produce. To my mind, this is the foundation on which everything else is built on.

The bees are brought in to do their job when the flowers are setting to pollinate the fruit.




A welcome place to lay one's head after a big day in the orchard and a big cook up for the weary workers.





The long road home from Menindee as I farewell my new friends at the desert fresh produce.

My apricot paste is available to purchase off the Christmas brochure along with lots of other gorgeous goodies for the holiday season. Click here to view.

Happy cooking,
Simmone x

Home Meal Therapy

There was plenty of excitement in my kitchen this week with the launch of my new Home Meal Therapy range.

I cooked up 60kg of my tasty chicken dumplings with slow roasted tomato sauce. Now that's a lot of rolling!

The tomato sauce bubbled away in the brat pan for hours.... the result was rich, sweet and delicious. Then, in with the roasted dumplings and they bobbed away nicely taking in the flavour of the sweet tomato sauce. Luscious! These dumplings will be absolutely divine over the top of some freshly cooked penne and a generous grating of aged Parmesan.

To remind our taste buds they're alive, another dish in the range is my famous African chicken - spiked with lots of coriander root, star anise, cinnamon and turmeric. All you need is a fluffy bowl of steaming cous cous and a green salad with fresh mint and coriander..... and your dinner is sorted!

I cooked up a huge amount of African chicken today, although all you'll need is a 600g tub to feed three (or two super hungry people!).

....and what do I eat when I get home? Simmone Logue Home Meal Therapy!

By the way, naturally I only use the freshest product from the market on the day and there are no preservatives in this range.

My new Home Meal Therapy range is now available in all Thomas Dux Grocer stores in Sydney and Melbourne. Enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Simmone x

Best served with a lovely fruity Riesling!

It was my first day off in a couple of weeks. After a long soak in the tub and a walk along the coast to my local cafe for some caffeine, my thoughts drifted to lunch.

With the sun beaming down hard and the ocean glistening with blue and green, it was a perfect day for a glass of fruity wine and my barbequed chicken and fresh mint salad with Thai dressing and roasted peanuts.

This salad is a no brainer as all you need to do is shred the chicken, snip the salad bags, drizzle with dressing, top with a sprinkle of the toasted peanuts and there! You have lunch sorted!

You will need......

1 barbequed chicken (or, in my case, last night's leftover roast chicken)
1 bag of mixed leaves
2 cups white cabbage, roughly shredded
1 bunch coriander, roughly chopped
1 bunch mint, leaves picked
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
1 handful peanuts, roasted and roughly chopped
2 limes, cut into wedges
1 bottle Simmone Logue Thai dressing
(served 6)

Gently toss all ingredients together except for the peanuts and lime. Drizzle with the Thai dressing and sprinkle with the peanuts. Serve with a generous squeeze of lime and dive in!!

NB. I like to source out the garden variety of mint for this salad rather than spearmint. It reminds me of hot summer days in our backyard as kids playing around the garden tap.... there was always an abundance of that fleshy green and gloriously pungent mint!

Happy cooking,
Simmone x