Popping Cherry Tomatoes

1:53am Saturday 6 March 2010 Sydney (gmt+10)

It's been a pretty hectic week in the kitchen so far. But it's good to know that Pepi's joined the team and is looking after the other side of the pass.

As far as the restaurant is concerned... when it rains it pours. When we get orders they usually come in waves of 10 to 15 tables. And it can be a bit of a puzzle to put together because we have so many things on the menu, plus with the steaks the guests select how they want it cooked (ie medium-rare, well-done, etc), what goes with it (mash, vegies or fries) and the sauce (ie mushroom sauce, pepper sauce, béarnaise sauce, etc). And when it's all happening at once your trusty little pen becomes your most important tool!

I always think of it as sort've like playing Tetris. The blocks keep falling from above and you just have to make it all fit together before you get buried too deep. And to make things more interesting we started selling a new cut of steak, which is the 180gm Petite Tenderloin Eye Fillet. And so far it's been selling like hotcakes!

Another good seller is the Risotto Stuffed Red Pepper. Basically it's a Capsicum that's been stuffed with vegetarian risotto, topped with parmesan and baked in the oven 'til all the flavors are infused together. It's actually a refined version of the Stuffed Capsicums that I made at Aunty Mary Anne's Kitchen in San Francisco back in 2007. Neat! :)

On a steak plate there's usually the sauce, the mash, fries or vegies, the steak itself... and 3 cherry tomatoes with a tiny branch of thyme on top. And those 3 cherry tomatoes aren't just there for decoration. They actually sort've counteract the heavy, fatty, beefy flavor that you get from the steak. And the way I prepare them is that I toss them with rosemarie, sea salt and olive oil, and slow grill them under the salamander. Be careful not to put the temperature too high, otherwise they'll collapse. Once they start popping they're ready. And the whole process brings out the sweet, fruity flavor of the cherry tomatoes. Yummy! :)

Stan and Rob also made some Apple Crumble! We sold heaps of them too! And we just kept getting orders, and we kept sending food out... and it was all good, especially with Carla helping out on the pass. Coolness!