Quarterly Newsletter – Summer 2011

December 2011

Another year has passed, Christmas is upon us, and we are all trying to find time to plan our own special celebration. Whether you are contemplating a traditional feast or a simple casual affair, we are sure that we can offer suggestions, not to mention gourmet creations, to make your life a little easier and more relaxed.

We trust you will enjoy your Christmas festivities.

From all at Wursthaus we wish you and your families a safe and happy Christmas and a great New Year.

HOLIDAY OPENING HOURS ...

Over the festive season, Wursthaus Kitchen will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day only. The store will open all other days.

Wursthaus Christmas catalogue 2011

Our catalogue this year features another of Tom Samek’s Christmas originals. Printed copies are available from the Salamanca store, or you can download it here » (pdf file 400kb)

Home-baked festive treats ...

Our team of chefs is busily preparing the most superb home-baked festive treats to help make your Christmas an enjoyable and memorable one. We continue to concentrate on our ‘Home Made Range’ of Christmas treats. They are made with 100% natural ingredients – all prepared in the Kitchen at Salamanca.

Our KITCHEN-made Christmas goodies include:

• Wursthaus Fruit Mince Pies ...

  Well known and loved, our delicious recipe remains unchanged. These fruit mince pies are legendary.

• Wursthaus Rich Fruit and Brandy Christmas Cakes ...

  our moist, rich cakes are laden with fruit that has been soaked in brandy for weeks. They are as lush as home-baked Christmas cakes can get.

• Yule logs – GLUTEN FREE

  A gluten-free treat, decorated for the festive season with white and dark chocolate, sprinkled with glacé cherries.

• Decorated Gingerbread Men, Christmas Trees and stars ...

  These provide excellent decorations for the Christmas tree, or simply to eat. Ours are made in the old fashioned way with a generous helping of spices. A great gift idea for those hard-to-buy-for friends.

• Traditional Shortbreads are also on offer ...

  Freshly baked at the Kitchen. Who can resist a shortbread at Christmas?

• Spiced Stainglass Cookies ... NEW THIS YEAR!

  New to our range, these are deliciously spiced shortbread cookies with a rock candy centre.

• Almond & Pistachio Bread ...

  A real show-stopper, this complements summer desserts and ice-cream beautifully.

• Brandy Butter and Brandy Sauce.

  We have saved you the trouble of making your own to serve with the Christmas Pudding. Which one do you prefer? Both are handmade with a heavy hand on the brandy!!

• We are more than happy to prepare your turkey this year.

  It is done with our traditional Christmas stuffing - sage, speck and onion. The fresh breadcrumbs are made from the bread of Jean Pascal or Richmond Bakery.

It is strongly recommended that you purchase the HOME MADE RANGE early, as quantities are limited.

Gift ideas ...

Are you out of ideas for that special Christmas gift or corporate present? Our very popular gourmet hampers can be customised to suit the recipient in accordance with your gift budget. Or a Wursthaus Kitchen gift voucher, could be the ideal present. These can be purchased at the store.

Contact us for more information.

Immediately after Christmas, from 28th December to 3rd January, Wursthaus Kitchen will be continuing the holiday celebrations at the Taste of Tasmania. Once again, you will find us in the Brasserie with Tasmania’s Micro Brewers and cider makers.

This year we will be promoting two of Tasmania’s best beef producers:

• Robbins Island Wagyu Beef
• Cape Grim Beef

We will have a Wagyu Beef Sausage, a Wagyu Beef burger and Cape Grim Scotch or Porterhouse Steak grilled to order.

Our Taste Plate will feature a selection of our finest smallgoods, the perfect acompaniment to some of Tassie’s finest handcrafted beers.

Christmas Puddings

Nichols Christmas Puddings are available again this year, in 500g, 1kg and 2kg sizes. For added choice, we also have Christmas puddings from Home Style Puddings based in Launceston. As the name suggests, they are home-made and delightful! We will have 500g, 1kg and 2kg cloth-bound or in a log, as well as a gluten-free pudding. All are very reasonably priced.

If you want to break slightly from the traditional Christmas recipes, we have four puddings from Mandy’s Kitchen. They are boiled in cloth in the traditional way in gas-fired coppers then hung to dry. We have Date & Toffee, Macadamia & Brandy, Chocolate Rum & Raisin, and the decadent Triple Chocolate.

Bay of Fires Sea Salt

Nicole Frith, former co-owner of Wursthaus Kitchen, is now producing a beautiful range of Tasmanian products under the name of Entrepot Tasmanian Providore.

Entrepot supports ethical, sustainable and organic farming practises and uses only Tasmanian seasonally grown core ingredients. We’ve already had in store her honeyed walnuts, truffled honey and organic oaten biscuits which have been received with great enthusiasm.

We’re now very excited to introduce Entrepot’s Tasmanian Bay of Fires Hand-Harvested Sea Salt – exclusive to Wursthaus. This pure, premium quality sea salt, harvested from the pristine waters of the Bay of Fires on Tasmania’s east coast, has a uniquely pungent salty flavour which reflects the pure environment from which it is harvested. The result is it’s ‘essence of the sea’ charactertistics. This salt perfectly complements all array of seafoods and asian dishes. It is also a beautiful seasoning for all meats.

This Christmas the cheese rotunda will be brimming with all your favorite cheeses – St Agur, Delice de Bourgogne, Clarins, Gorgonzola, Brie de Meaux, Briat Savarin, Heidi Raclette, Tilsit, Gruyere and others. We hope to have all your favourites covered.

Just for Christmas we also have Stilton Pots are now available. In addition to the regular Stilton pots, we have a few special Christmas flavours available ... Cider & Brandy Stilton pots, and Port Stilton pots. These won’t last long, so please order early to avoid disappointment.

For something extra special for Christmas, look out for the Truffle Brie from France – also available in our cheese rotunda.

A good bottle of Tasmanian or European wine makes a great Christmas gift. Let us know if you are purchasing wine as a gift, and we will be more than happy to gift-wrap it for you, free of charge.

Tasmanian Wine ...

We have a limited release of D’meure 2008 Special Reserve Pinot Noir. 2008 D’Meure is one of my favourite vintages, and we have now been fortunate enough to secure a small quantity of the Special Reserve. Only one barrel was made.

The wine is full bodied and spent 12 months in new oak. It is a rich, powerful Pinot with intense sweet charred oak. Will cellar for many years.

Imported Wine ...

Good news for Chardonnay and Pinot lovers

It has been a very long time since the wine world has had an outstanding new Puligny Domaine emerge from the Cote d’Or firmament. Thanks to the fresh faced Bachelet brothers we now do.

This young duo not only have outstanding Puligny holdings where they are fast establishing themselves as a benchmark. They also make delicious Santenay and are setting new quality standards in Maranges, an appellation rarely seen on our shores.

Bachelet Monnot was only formed in 2005 but it has been cranking out the hits from the beginning, with each release outdoing the last.

2009 Bachelet Monnot Bourgogne Blanc

The Bachelet boys own 1.3 hectares of Bourgogne in Puligny (30 feet from the edge of the AOC). The vines are between 20 and 50 years old, and this wine is made in a mixture of old and new (roughly 25%) oak. Really lively, creamy textured yet piercingly fresh, minerally and floral white. Very Puligny and brilliant value.

2009 Bachelet Monnot Maranges 1er Cru La Fussière

Here’s an example of a seductive, creamy textured, 1er cru, packed with crisp, apple and white peach fruit, a lovely tangy finish. The price is remarkably fair. The “Fussière” vineyard covers an area of almost 35 ha, which makes it the most extensive 1er cru of the Maranges appellation. It is predominantly planted to Pinot, so this is a rarity, but what a tasty one! Brilliant value.

“Bright pale yellow. Aromas of peach and butter. Creamy, rich and soft, but with a calcaire underpinning and the acidity characteristic of a high-altitude site giving surprising lift to the back end. These vines are 35 years old, according to Marc Bachelet.”

2009 Bachelet Monnot Bourgogne Rouge

This wine battles well above its class, bringing mass and depth and a luscious balance. At the same time, the wine clearly exhibits the classic, spicy, southern Cotes de Beaune tightness you would expect from a young red from these parts. Wonderful value for those who like some grip and savoury elements in their Burgundy now, and will develop richness over the next few years.

2009 Bachelet Monnot Santenay Les Charmes

Les Charmes is a site just under the Clos Rousseau 1er cru on the western slopes of the Santenay Hill. It tends to produce a textured red and this supple example, from 45 year old vines, is very smart. Crunchy blueberry fruits, huge intensity and a fresh, long finish. Another brilliant bargain from the Bachelet boys; ultra impressive for this commune not to mention for this level.

Something special from Bruny Island ...

Goat meat

We are delighted to have found a Bruny Island supplier of excellent quality fresh goat meat. This is meat from young kids, beautifully lean, sweet and tender. The flavour of goat kid meat is somewhat similar to that of spring lamb.

Game meats

Also from Bruny Island, wallaby backstraps and fillets. Wallaby has a rich burgundy colour, a surprisingly mild – even delicate, flavour and a wonderfully tender texture. Think of it as the ‘veal of kangaroo’. Wallaby meat is high in iron, high in protein, low in fat and low in food miles, ticking all the boxes. Other cuts (eg, shanks) are also available to order.

Like most game meats, wallaby is great either cooked quickly (pan-fried use fillets) or cooked very slowly (eg, slow braised shanks).

As always, our Cooking School takes a break through the summer season. Details of the exciting new classes planned for the Autumn will be posted here at the beginning of March 2012.

It’s easy to feel a little intimidated when facing the preparation of a large turkey for Christmas lunch. Our recipe with detailed instructions mean you can approach the task with confidence.

Roast Turkey with sage, pancetta, apricot & citrus stuffing

Ingredients:
50g butter
Sprig of fresh sage
12 pieces of (mild) pancetta
Bulb of garlic, broken into cloves
4 med red onions
2 sticks celery, trimmed and chopped
1 big handful breadcrumbs
1 handful dried apricots
300g pork mince
Zest of 1 lemon
Grated nutmeg
1 egg
Salt & pepper
12 small rosemary sprigs, plus a few extra
4kg turkey
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 orange
2 tbsp plain flour
1 ltr chicken or vegetable stock

Method:
One of the biggest challenges when cooking a turkey is that the legs take longer than the breasts. The breasts dry out while you’re waiting for the legs to cook. Pushing stuffing between the skin and breasts increases the thickness of the breast, so they take the same time to cook as the legs.

1. Pre-heat the oven to maximum. Heat a saucepan over a medium heat, drop in the butter, sage leaves and 6 slices of pancetta. Peel and chop 2 cloves of garlic and 1 onion, add to pan and fry everything gently till soft and golden brown.
2. Remove from heat. Add breadcrumbs while the mix is cooling down. Chop apricots roughly, and stir in. When stuffing has cooled, add the pork, lemon zest, nutmeg, egg and lots of seasoning and mix everything together well.
3. Place remaining pancetta on a board and roll up with a sliver of garlic and a small sprig of rosemary. Stab the thighs and legs of turkey and push pancetta rolls inside each hole until it just peeps out. This will give the thighs great flavour and will keep them moist whilst they cook.
4. Chop remaining onions and slice the carrots thickly,
5. Give the turkey a good wipe with kitchen paper, inside and out. Place it on a board with the neck facing you. Find the edge of the skin that’ss covering the breasts and gently peel it back. Work with your fingers, then your hand, under the skin, freeing it from the meat, keeping it attached at the sides. Go slowly and try not to make any holes.
6. Lift the loose skin at the neck and spoon in the stuffing between the skin and breast, tucking the flap of skin underneath to stop anything leaking out. Any remaining stuffing can go into the cavity of the turkey.
7. Pop the orange in the microwave for 30 seconds and stuff it into the cavity. Weigh the turkey and calculate cooking time – approx 20 minutes per 500g.
8. Place the bird on a large roasting tray, rub all over with olive oil and season well. Surround with chopped carrots, onions and remaining garlic, cover with foil and place in pre-heated oven. Turn heat down immediately to 180 degrees and roast for the calculated time, or until juices run clear from the thigh when pierced with a knife or skewer. Remove foil for the last 45 minutes to brown the bird.
9. Carefully lift the turkey out of the tray and rest on a board, covered loosely with foil for 20 minutes whilst you finish off the sauce.
10. Skim the fat from the surface of the pan juices, add the flour and mix in well with a whisk until smooth. Add stock, then reduce until sauce thickens to desired consistency.
11. You are now ready to carve your turkey and serve to your guests.

Bread sauce

Bread sauce is a quirky, old fashioned accompaniment to a roast dinner. The comforting, thick creaminess will complement your roast turkey beautifully.

Ingredients:
Half med onion, finely chopped
500ml milk
2 bay leaves
2 cloves
6 slices of good stale bread
Half teaspon English mustard
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Put onion in a small pan with the milk, bay leaves and cloves.
2. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then remove and discard bay leaves and cloves. Slice the crusts off the bread and discard. Add the bread and simmer for 5 minutes, or until bread has absorbed all the milk and softened, stir occasionally. Add the mustard and season well to taste with the salt and pepper.
3. The finished product should have a loose porridge consistency. You can simmer it for a little longer to thicken it up, or loosen it by adding a splash of water if needed.

We are always happy to hear from our customers. Contact us by email or phone with your feedback.

When you are in the store, if you have questions about any of our products, do ask our friendly staff. We look forward to serving you.