You know the story, we both work, one daughter, two dogs, two cats, friends, family, life.  In our house there isn’t a lot of time to cook for sustenance let alone for the joy of it.   Quick, simple and plenty of tuppawarable leftovers for the freezer has become the “specialite de la  maison”.  This is one of our staples because you can set it quickly, forget it, then use it as a base for endless dishes.  Most of all it is easily varied based on personal taste, what’s in the cupboard or on a whim.   Google it if my recipe doesn’t take your fancy and you will find hundreds of recipes simpler and more complex. We use a slow cooker, a mate down the road uses a crock pot left on her wood heater overnight and another uses a cast Iron pot in a very low oven.  You could even do it on low on the stove-top if you are around the house.  The quantities are exactly, kind’a, around about unchangeable for our tastes

Cheeky and rich winter warmer. Will hold it's own against a McLaren Vale or Barossa Shiraz.

Ingredients

Serves 4 Beef 4 pieces Beef cheek 1 Carrot 1 stick Celery 1 Onion 2 Garlic 1 Bay leaves 1 Sprig Thyme Salt Pepper 250ml Veal Jus ½ bottle Red wine ¼ bottle Ruby port Mash 2 large Potatoes 100g Butter 10ml Milk Salt Pepper Onions 4 large Onions 75ml Olive Oil Salt Pepper Sherry vinegar

Method

Trim the beef cheeks and seal in a heavy based pan until dark golden on all sides. Remove and reserve and season with salt and pepper. Peel and dice the carrot, celery and onion, crush the garlic and caramelize until golden. Add the beef pieces back into the pan and throw in the thyme, bay leaves, a good pinch of salt and a few turns of freshly milled pepper. Deglaze with a good slouch of red wine and

Our Italian Imports have landed!

We tasted hundreds of wines earlier this year at the massive German Trade wine fair, Prowein, at the Italian wine expo Vinitaly and throughout various Italian wine regions. Overseas we tasted and reviewed the wines at least twice and then we did it all again as a panel back in Australia, tasting and reviewing the best wines from those shortlisted for consideration. We settled on a very select few - just the 17 superb wines which are now in stock. Drum roll please…

Here’s a little info on each of the wineries from which we have chosen to import these beautiful wines:

Ca’ de Lion is a boutique producer which has been based in the Piedmont since 1655, making wine for many, many years. We’ve chosen to start with two of their brilliant Barberas from Asti. These are exceptional examples of Barb

Single Italian star becomes a compelling trilogy. Matt stumbled across Conte di Campiano during his visit to Prowein last year and found their amazing Susumaniello - a wonderfully decadent, full bodied, plush and complex red wine made from one of the world’s rarest varieties – Susumaniello. The word itself comes from Susu meaning “Go” and Maniello, meaning “Donkey” perhaps because in their youth, Susumaniello vines produce massive yields. As the vines age the yield reduced dramatically, increasing the concentration and depth of flavour in the finished wines. The Susumaniello is a big, black wine, bordering on massive. The nose offers a tremendously complex blend of blueberries, flowers, chocolate, spice, dried herbs and cedar and woodsmoke. These can also be tasted along with sour cherries, blackberries and darker stuff. It is voluptuously textured and deep. It struts the line beautifully between fresh zippy fruit and aching decadence.