Cooking Crusade

If you like settling down at the end of a hard day with a glass of wine, then this giveaway is for you!

While I must admit that I don’t drink myself, I do occasionally add a glass of wine to slow cooked meats in my slow cooker or the spag bol bubbling away on the stovetop — and it adds a wonderful flavour.

I’m happy to announce that one lucky reader will receive two bottles of wine, one Taylors Estate Shiraz and one Taylors Estate Pinot Gris.

Taylor Wines ‘Bringing great wines to life.’

Established three generations ago in South Australia’s beautiful Clare Valley, Taylors Wines is a family-owned Australian wine company that was born from a passion of producing exceptional, hand crafted wines. With a philosophy that embraces balance, elegance and finesse in every wine, Taylors truly brings great wines to life.

From a velvety Cabernet Sauvignon to delicate and refreshing Riesling, Taylors Wines boasts a world-class collection of unmistakeable quality and style. Plus, with a comprehensive Environmental Management System and a commitment to sustainability, Taylors Wines understands that green is just as important as red and white.

What you can win: One Taylors Estate – Shiraz 2010 and one Taylors Estate – Pinot Gris 2011 (RRP $20 per bottle).

How to win: All you have to do is leave a comment with your favourite way to enjoy a good glass of wine for a chance to win!

You can score additional entries by:

• Liking my page on Facebook by clicking here (+2 additional entries).
• Follow me on Twitter (1+ additional entry).
• Tweeting about the giveaway (1+ additional entry. You can tweet about this daily and receive 1 additional entry per day!)

If you already follow me on Twitter or Facebook, that of course will entitle you to bonus entries!

Don’t forget to enter your entries below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway opens on Monday, May 20 and ends one week later on Sunday, May 26 at 11:59pm!

The giveaway is open to Australia only. Winner must be of legal drinking age and provide proof of age (you can scan or take a photo of your drivers licence or proof of ID).

Web: Taylors Wines
Twitter: @Taylors_Wines

This post was sponsored by Taylors Wines and Switched on Media.

Hope you all had a lovely, relaxing weekend!
xox
C

Hello! I’m finally back from my trip to Japan and settling back into Sydney life. I am glad to be back but I must admit I do miss Japan (and all the convenience stores) already! I definitely have a few Japanese posts coming your way but, before that, here’s a post on the Earth Hour dinner I attended as a guest of Altitude Restaurant (you may recall my interview with Altitude chef Matthew McCool, which you can check out here).

I was invited along to the Earth Hour degustation at Altitude restaurant. With their million-dollar view, I was quite keen to check it out and was not disappointed!

Earth Hour has steadily been increasing in popularity in recent years. It’s so great to see people at home as well as businesses and restaurants switching off their lights for an hour on Earth Hour day, and it was good to see Altitude restaurant joining in. In fact, with all the lights switched off with dinner by candlelight it was quite romantic, especially with the view of the city right in front of you!

Check out this awesome view! You’d be hard pressed finding a better view than this in Sydney restaurants!

Super cute pear-shaped candles made especially for Earth Hour.

Candle centrepiece for Earth Hour.

With such a romantic backdrop, it’s no wonder that Altitude sees up to several proposals per WEEK!

Absolute Mockery (strawberries, passionfruit, cranberry juice, fresh lime and mint) $16.

A super refreshing berry mocktail – loved the addition of the passionfruit and lime. They have a great range of mocktails that I’d love to try more of.

Freshly baked bread and butter (house made). All Altitude restaurant’s butter and ricotta is freshly made in house – pretty impressive!

Burrawong Gaian duck — smoked duck with walnuts and compressed apple.

This duck was cooked three ways – smoked, then sous vide, then seared – which gave the meat a fabulously smoky flavour and a melt-in-the-mouth soft texture. I really loved the contrast of the smoky duck with the sweetness of the apple and the crunch of the walnuts which gave it a great texture. Definitely one of my favourite courses of the night!

Brown’s mountain yellow fin tuna (with radish, blood orange and fennel jelly).

I really enjoyed the contrast between the freshness of the sashimi with the sweetness of the fennel jelly – a very interesting combination!

Trout with caramelized yoghurt, anise, bottarga (mine came without the caramelized yoghurt due to my dairy-free request).

This trout fillet was cooked sous vide which made the fish incredibly moist and it matched nicely with the sweetness of the carrot puree, helping to even out the richness of the fish.

Riverina Free Range Lamb with cumin spiced dates. (This lamb comes from Cowra, at the head of the Lachlan Valley which is classed by some as the best fertile valley in the world.)

I really enjoyed this (lamb is a big fave of mine!). The lamb was cooked to perfection and I love the cumin spiced dates which gave the dish a slightly Moroccan feel.

Blue mountains berries with meringue and berry sorbet and a blackcurrent berry anglaise foam.

I really loved this light finish to the meal. Many times I’ve been to a degustation and battle to the last course only to struggle through a heavy final dessert – but this was a pleasant change. I really enjoyed the lovely light textures of the crisp meringue paired with the extra sweet and juicy fresh berries an sorbet – the perfect finish to the meal!

I was on a dairy-free diet at the time, along with my usual dietary requirements (I don’t eat shellfish or pork, or drink alcohol) and so they were happy to arrange a special meal for me quite easily, which is good news for people who require special meals for allergies, etc.

If you’re looking for a romantic restaurant for an anniversary, birthday or any other special occasion that warrants good food and an even better view, I would recommend Altitude restaurant!

Christine (cookingcrusade.com) dined at Altitude Restaurant as a guest of Altitude Restaurant.

Wanna keep in touch? Why not like me on Facebook by clicking here, or follow me on Twitter by clicking here

Hope you all had a wonderful relaxing weekend and a fabulous Mother’s day!

xox
C