CAPRI FOR ME

There is a new restaurant in town and is a good un. Capri is so new that it has yet to get a website and its phone number is a bit hard to find but it had a full house for lunch today which shows the power of word of mouth in the Windy City.

Its sited in Featherston Street opposite D4 on the site of one of our old favourites Copita.

The ironic thing is that the outside awning is sponsored by Veuve Clicquot and it is the signature house bubbles - So up until yesterday we had been avoiding the place.. However today was good.

The decor is stunning - girly, a bit mad, a lot sophisticated and very tasteful.

The chef is Simon who has come over from the well established and well regarded St Johns.

The owner is Andy who was the man about the house at Dockside a few years back.

We decided to try a selection of small plates and we were not disappointed. The tastings are a good size for 2 people to share. So we had sticky ribs. They were sticky melty and divine..

The Blondini ordered up the duck parfait and the salmon tartare.. They were better than the ribs, the parfait was incredibly rich and smooth. The salmon tartare came with croutons, capers and shredded egg.

The final of the quads was a lovely little chicken and porcini croquettes. Perhaps they could have done with a smidgen more porcini. To accompany the meal we ordered a Mt Beautiful Pinot Gris from Nth Canterbury.. It was light and with the range of dishes on offer , not obtrusive. It was off dry, smooth with a hint of pear.

Blondini had a lovely light unoaked chardonnay.. Astrolabe and she declared it very fine indeed.

We finished off lunch sharing a rhubarb and strawberry crumble.. It was huge.. and exquisitely fresh..

The service was also fantastic.

GROAN

We engaged in some culinary experimentation tonite with muttonbirds.

Not the well known salted muttonbird which is normally cooked by boiling it and replacing the water a few times to get rid of the excess salt.

No, we cooked fresh muttonbirds. They are not brined.

So what did we do?

Well first you have to catch your muttonbird and Bustedblonde did that a while back.

Then you gut it.

Then we did something we have never done before - we boned it out.

We removed the ribs and backbone and breastbones. So all that was left with the bone in were the legs.

Now muttonbirds are very very oily. More on that later...

We lay the bird skin side down on the chopping board.

Then we got some of our favourite salt - its a smoked herbed version and lightly sprinkled it over the meat . Not too much though..

Then we made the stuffing - its a traditional sage and onion stuffing with good old dried mixed herbs.. And a chopped up raw onion. Then we chucked an egg in to bind and then we used Fejoa and Apple juice to moisten...

Then added salt and pepper to taste.

Then we trussed it up .. ( sorry no camera but it look a bit like a mini version of the goose in the pic)

Then we scored the skin with a knife to let the fat out. This is really important.

Then we placed in an open baking dish with about 1/2 a cup of water.

It was pretty hot oven to start them we turned it down a bit and as the water evaporated the oil drained and roasted the birds for about 2 hours.

We took a cup of oil off when they were finished.

Now fresh muttonbirds have a propensity to dry out. Not these babies... They were divine..

Moist, meaty and rich and the bed of potato and swede mash a perfect sweet foil to the richness.

Just wish Busted had caught more of the buggers.

SEAFOOD PORN

Ahh - more oysters ... Bliss. Ecstacy!

WE REMAIN MILITANT CARNIVORES

sorry but we are militant carnivores and shaggin veges aint our thing.


Peta are weird and this proves it