Deus Ex Machina, relax.

November 30, 2008

Deus Ex Machina. A cafe attached to a trendy motocycle shop. How very Sydney. Line up to order at the counter. Find a spot at one of the large shared tables. People watch while waiting for the meals to arrive. You won’t be waiting long.


Steak Sandwich $14

Chips are so easy to ruin, but these were divine, crunchy and just salted enough. The steak sandwich, was a little light on the steak and a bit too heavy on the horseradish mayo. But the chips!


Grilled Asparagus, prosciutto, poached egg $16

I think that this choice was the winner. Runny yolk, grilled asparagus and salty prosciutto seemed a decadent combination. I’m not sure about the superfluous half plate of cress, left untouched.


Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon $14

A generous serving of smoked salmon and spinach, dredged with hollandaise, this meal would have been great, if only the yolks were runny. The two who ordered this were disappointed with the hardness of the eggs, as would I have been. Though I do understand how difficult it is to poach eggs in a cafe situation.

On a previous visit I was entranced with the space. High ceilings, wharehouse style, exposed beams, mismatched artworks, distressed wood juxtaposed with shining stainless steel. The cafe is buzzing but not filled to the brim.


Smoked trout, kipfler potato and watercress salad with a poached egg with hollandaise, $15.

I love smoked trout, so when I spotted this salad up on the blackboard menu I was happy. Unfortunately, I failed to register the hollandaise in the description. Emulsion sauces aren’t my favourite, so when this salad came out doused in mayonnaise and hollandaise I was a little disappointed. Despite this, the creaminess of the mayonnaise offset the crisp shards of fennel, the sharp cress and rich trout pieces well. The egg was deliciously runny, and this salad would have been perfect without the extraneous hollandaise.

Prosciutto pizza, $8.50

The service here is smiling and personable. Young families with prams mingle with too cool youngsters in tight jeans and big sunglasses. Deus ex Machina is a great inner city place for a relaxing coffee or extended brunch, if only the food lived up to expectation.

Deus Ex Machina Cafe
98 Parramatta Road,
Camperdown

Cafe hours
Mon-Fri:7:30 – 3
Weekends: 9-3

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Cheese and Spinach Rolls, the pure option

November 23, 2008

I eat meat. I love meat, but I don’t eat a lot of meat. That statement isn’t entirely true. Yes, I don’t eat alot of meat, but I also don’t eat much purely vegetarian food. An anchovy here, a splash of fish sauce there, and a sliver of speck for flavouring elsewhere means that much of the food I cook are tainted with flesh.

In China, where often the vegetarian options only contain a small amount of meat, to indicate your vegetarian status one must state that you ‘eat pure’. I’m sure my vegetarian friends would agree, so in attempt to make something that is actually vegetarian and pure I whipped up the classic vegetarian option. Cheese and Spinach Rolls. Crisp and flaky pastry wrapped around a cheesy spinach goodness, homemade and fresh from the oven. You won’t miss the flesh.

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Banana Fudge Cupcakes, Cream cheese icing. Just because.

November 16, 2008

The cupcake craze has well and truly hit town, cupcakes are almost passe, but I am only just getting on board. I thought that cupcakes were all dry with overly sweet bland icing. Oh, how wrong I was.

Luckily I have the Crabapple Bakery Cupcake Cookbook to get be back on the cupcake lovin’ straight and narrow.

Banana Fudge Cupcakes
Makes 12
adapted from the Crabapple Bakery Cupcake Cookbook

1 3/4 Cup plain flour
1t bicarb soda
1t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
125g softened butter
1 1/4 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup yoghurt
1 cup mashed banana (or more, I used 1.5 cups)

For icing:
1/4 cup icing sugar
150g cream cheese,
1t vanilla essence.
Preheat oven to 170C and grease a large muffin tray.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy and the sugar has almost dissolved. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each. Add vanilla and combine.

In a separate bowl sift the dry ingredients.
Add a third of the flour to the creamed mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Add half the yoghurt and half the banana and beat until combined. Repeat. Fold in remaining flour gently, taking care not to overbeat.

Spoon into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

When cooled, ice with cream cheese icing. These cakes will keep well in the fridge for a few days.

For Icing:
Cream sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla and beat for a further minute.

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Blood Orange Jelly with Cardamom Mousse

November 9, 2008

Surely these are the last blood oranges of the season, and potentially the least blood orangey of the offerings that I’ve seen, but here in Sydney the colour is all just the luck of the draw.

Yes, the last of the season, but the strawberries have finished the mangoes aren’t here in full force yet, so there is still time for blood oranges. Especially in jelly. Tart but mellow, with a beautiful lush orange blushed pink. Don’t make it too sweet, but make it middle eastern with a cardamom mousse, like I did.

Moreish jelly is a perfect foil for rich and creamy mousse with an underlying tinge or gently cardamom. Or you could add rosewater, or orange blossom water.

Who doesn’t love grown up, homemade jelly?

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Asparagus and Ricotta Tart

November 2, 2008

I know, I know. Another asparagus recipe. Another idea for a vegetable which hardly requires more than a quick blanch. The best though, is enjoying them straight from the plant, with no adulteration at all.

So why so so many recipes? Well, the asparagus that we buy here is too old and tough to eat unadorned. Also, the season is so short that I buy it every chance I get (except when its imported, or too expensive – the local, cheap asparagus season is considerably shorter).

Raw Asparagus Tart

Raw Asparagus Tart

The final reason for so much asparagus is that I have only recently discovered it. A few years ago I thought that those limp, grey stalks from the tin were asparagus in all its glory. How quickly it was moved from the despised list to the desired one when I finally realised!

Ricotta and flavours for Asparagus Tart

So, for now, it is another asparagus recipe – a simple, quick and tasty tart. But don’t worry, soon asparagus will disappear and it will be post after post about stone fruit.

Asparagus Tart fresh from the oven

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