Pork belly & ribs stewed in orange, soy and spices

This is my mum’s best classic, comforting winter dinner dish and a firm family favourite. It fills the house with an incredibly enticing, warming fragrance from the star anise, cinnamon and orange, and reminds me of the happiest moments of my childhood. The pork is stewed until incredibly tender, so that the fat just melts in the mouth and the meat is worthy of ‘pulling’ pork status. The ribs are a treat for those who aren’t into pork fat (i.e. crazy people, and my sister).

In The Spotlight: Beef Cheeks + Recipe: Beef Cheeks Mole Poblano

This week, I have been mostly eating beef cheeks.

Like the humble lamb shank, and osso buco before that, beef cheeks have suddenly experienced a revival. They’ve leapt onto the plates of diners who are paying top dollar for what was once considered an offcut.

Feature dish: The Eathouse Diner’s beef cheeks

The Eathouse Diner, Redfern

Earlier this week we returned to The Eathouse Diner in Redfern, where our very fantastic and talented friend Kieran Day is a chef. The menu is dominated by American-style offerings such as delicious southern fried spatchcock with creamed corn and “slaw”, truffle mac ‘n’ cheese with taleggio, cheddar and grana padano (as good as it sounds) and the beautifully simple okra fritters with tomato and lime salsa.

Pork and eggplant adobo

This is one of my absolute favourite comfort dishes. It’s perfect for when you have no fresh vegies, and are feeling unwell or tired, and need something warming and hearty. (Tick, tick and tick!) The ingredients might not sound exciting, but trust me, this dish is more than the sum of its parts! 

Low(er)-carb veal schnitzel

Tonight I experimented with two pieces of delicious (happy, well-treated) veal. Both pieces were dusted with flour and dipped in eggwash, but then Mr Black’s was coated with a traditional combination of breadcrumbs and grated parmesan, while mine was coated with parmesan and almond flour.

Essen Restaurant and Beer Cafe, Ultimo

A restaurant which serves a variety of local and imported beers, deep-fried camembert and eight kinds of schnitzel? That’s a Mr Black kind of place. So I took him along to Essen using a Jump On It voucher, and to my surprise, I liked it so much I took another friend there a month later!