Peninsula Travels Archives - Page 2 of 3

Movie Night at the Trofeo Estate Winery

The standard of hospitality has been improved each day with the increasing popularity of wine tourism in the Mornington Peninsula. The bar is being raised, no, smashed from time to time. New investments, new ideas and offerings are brought to the market each day. Drinkers and diners continue to be spoiled. There is now much more than a good meal and a perfect matching wine over the peninsula wineries. Live music, Aussie smoked BBQ? Nice but kind of a given these days. How about a sculpture park? If the owner is a real estate tycoon and an art collector, why not. But you can also implement new ideas without having to invest millions.

Fine dining at the 1930s building of The Trofeo Estate Winery

Trofeo Estate has been offering an unique wine & dine experience. We have been visiting their cellar door and restaurant regularly for more than 3 years. We saw their wine and hospitality standard increasing, the food and the dining hall at their 1930s building are always superb. Spending time there is like visiting an old friend at her tasteful heritage home, spoiled with good food and wine of course, in a casual atmosphere, chatting and having some laughs. After dinner, your friend plays a movie and everybody watches it over a few good glasses of wine.

Cine, Wine & Dine at the Trofeo Estate Winery

Yes you saw it right, Trofeo Estate runs movie nights like your friend’s place. You join them for an a la carte dinner, then enjoy a movie and dessert on the house. Dinner service starts at 6pm, movie starts 8.30pm.

With the long summer days, this is quite perfect. We spent the day at the beach, arrived at the estate in the late afternoon, enjoy fresh air and a glass of bubbles over their deck, followed by dinner and a movie night. I swear that I had worst days …

The Rose, Chardonnay and a lesser known and tried Cabernet Sauvignon are my favourites

An old basket press at their cellar door.

Many of the Trofeo Estate wine are aged in their Terracotta Amphorae.

Claire at the Trofeo Estate cellar door, very nice person and very knowledgeable.

Arthurs Seat Climb

It was a cold spring morning in Rye. I woke up in the dark asking myself, “are you sure?” Despite I had readied my cycling gears, getting out of bed for a ride was never easy. The Mornington Peninsula has been a cycling friendly region, cyclists are welcomed and tolerated (yes imagine you are driving behind a big bunch riding at 30km/hr along Point Nepean Road) to ride at anytime of the day. I wanted to start early as I always enjoy riding in the morning, free from the traffic.

I walk quietly towards the living room, with fear of waking up my kids, put on my gear in the dark, turn on the bike light and off I went. I rode along the relatively flat Point Nepean Road with a tail wind on my back, towards Sorrento. You’ll have difficulty finding a better stretch of road for a warm up ride, cars free in the morning, with the sun slowly emerging from the horizon. It was sunrise when I made it to Sorrento. I had a little stop near the Searoad Ferry pier before I turned around for the major objective of the ride, The Arthurs Seat climb.

Brief stop near the Searoad Ferry pier in Sorrento.

For the fit cyclists, the Arthurs Seat climb is steep but short. One climb is never enough and many of them do loops as part of their training. It is a very popular climb for obvious reasons. The climb itself is very well documented, therefore I won’t repeat here.

It is however not just another scenic cycling challenge, but also a monument in Australia road bike racing. For many years the Arthurs Seat climb had been featured as a stage in the Herald Sun Tour. World class cyclists like Simon Clarke, Stuart O’Grady, Bradley Wiggins, Simon Gerrans and recently the Tour de France winner, Christ Froome, had all been sweating along this climb. During a race day, cycling fans and spectators would be gathering at one of the many hairpin turns along the climb, cheering for their favourites.

I took my time riding towards Dromana before I started the climb. I still needed my legs playing with my children in the afternoon, so climbing once was enough.

IMG_5052 (1).jpg — Stopping at one of the lookouts along the climb, with Port Phillip Bay in the background.

At the top I was rewarded with a good view, and of course the descend. If you know what you are doing, descending the Arthurs Seat is a joy. On a dry day in good conditions, there are many hairpin turns to test your skills.

I ended the ride with an easy stroll back to the cottage, time for coffee and of course a dip in the hot tub.

Spaghettini with Just a Handful of Pipis

Pipi has been one of the favourite ingredients in many cuisines. Both their juice and meat add a touch of magic your dishes. Cooked together with a bit of garlic, chilli and wine, I’m in haven. You have it with your favourite carbs, no matter it’s bread, pasta or rice.

Pipis with spaghettini — The amount of Pipis needed is just what you can hold in both hands. Let’s not eat them all!

Pipis are often found in intertidal zone, in plain English, that’s the shallow water section at our beaches. They aren’t often available in markets, not alive anyway. Many people therefore catch their own.

Pipis are protected and illegal to catch in The Port Phillip Bay. It is permitted in other part of the Victorian coastal waters, in a recreational manner, and with your hands and feet only.

The Cottage Chef loves pipis like many of you, but we also want to promote a responsible way of catching them. They are important part to our food chain and marine life. Let’s protect them so our oceans remain habitable and enjoyable for many generations to come.

So in this blog we demonstrated how a little quantity caught from the ocean beaches of the peninsula, can make a great dish for two.

Find your favourite beach, not in any national parks or environmental sensitive areas of course; there are many ocean beaches within 30-45 mins drive of our cottages. Pardon us as we won’t mention nor promote a particular spot here to avoid it becoming a troubled hotspot.

All you need is just whatever you can hold with your bare hands. You don’t need a bucket, esky, nothing. Catch them, put them in a bag, put some sea water from the same beach. When you’re back at the cottage, put them in a bowl and insert a metal spoon or fork. Our cottages are well equipped with cutleries and kitchen tools. Leave them in the room overnight, the pipis will spit the sand out onto the bottom of the bowl, rather than in your mouth!

Chardonnay Fresh Dill — Don’t forget your favourite white wine, I would pair with a light oak Chardonnay from the Mornington Peninsula, and fresh dill of course!

Ingredients:

live pipis in the shell, cleaned

2 tablespoons olive oil

half onion, finely chopped

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

100 ml dry white wine

pinch of sugar

250 g spaghettini or other long, thin pasta

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill and parsley

dash of lemon juice

Method:

Tip the pipis into a large saucepan, heat over medium heat and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for 5 minutes. Discard any that have not opened. Strain the liquid into a bowl and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wide shallow saucepan or deep frying pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Pour the wine into the pan and allow to bubble for a couple of minutes. Add the sugar and the cooking juices from the pipis. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook at a steady simmer, and allow the sauce to thicken. Place a large saucepan of salted water on to boil for the pasta.
Add the pipis to the sauce and gently heat through. Cook the pasta for 4–5 minutes, or until al dente, drain and return to the pan. Stir the fresh dill and parsley into the sauce, season and pour over the pasta. Toss together and serve in large warm bowls.

Tip: add a few pieces of chilli to spice it up!

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil

Bruschetta Tomato Basil Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil Green Olive at Red Hill — Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil made with the cold pressed extra virgin olive oil from The Green Olive at Red Hill

The Mornington Peninsula has long been known as our food bowl. Although some of their produce could be found in good Melbourne stores, visiting the farms, meeting the farmers could be a great trip and certainly an experience to share.

Over fifteen years Greg and Sue O’Donoghue have been cultivating their farm in Red Hill. They established a vineyard; built a farm kitchen and store; launched farm classes, tours and tastings; created their own farm brand of food, cordials and wines, which is now known as the Green Olive at Red Hill.

Green Olive at Red Hill Sunny Day Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil — Enjoy a sunny day in the outdoor seating area of The Green Olive at Red Hill. Photo credit: visitmorningtonpeninsula.org

During my wine tasting tour in the Red Hill and Main Ridge region, I always make Green Olive my last stop. Imagine a sunny day, 3pm in the afternoon, after a great meal and lots of tasting nearby, stopover and relax at their vineyard; soak in the sun, enjoy a great cup of coffee and a piece of dessert, kids have fun jumping on their trampoline, perfect!

Green Olive at Red Hill Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil — The Green Olive at Red Hill Shop, great food, coffee, tea, produce and wine.

Last but not least, get their cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. Here is a simple recipe with this olive oil which you can prepare at our cottage, after visiting the vineyard.

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil
Make 8 pieces as appetiser

Ingredients
2 ripe small tomatoes, seeded
1 garlic clove
1 tbs of extra olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
8 basil leaves, tear into small pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
Baguette French bread
Cold pressed extra virgin olive oil for drizzle

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180c
2. Dice the seeded tomatoes into small cubes, mix with 1 tbs of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, salt and pepper to taste
3. Slice the Baguette on diagonal making 1.5cm thick slices, sprinkle with dash of sea salt, drizzle with olive oil
4. Toast the baguette slices about 6 mins or until lightly brown, while it is still hot, rub one side of each slice with garlic
5. Top the baguette slice with tomato mixture, lightly drizzle each slice with olive oil. Serve while still warm.

I would pair this dish with a local pinot or rosé.

Thanks for reading!

What’s on Your Plate Tonight?

I’m very supportive of food technologies as it helps to reduce starvation. But there’re times I’m just as concerned on what I’m feeding my children with. $6 whole chicken that is available in supermarket just weeks after hatching? You get for you pay for …

Along the peninsula you don’t just find quality produce, you can be confident on how it was grown and raised.

The green wedge zone along the peninsula has made our famers proud. Cheese, truffles, olives, apples, honey just to name a few great produce. While it is fruit picking season, we put a spotlight on our berries. A colder than usual start to spring had delayed their ripening. But from the 25th November weekend many farms have started opening to the public.

Strawberry Sunny Ridge Mornington Peninsula Fruit Picking — A child picks his first strawberries at the Sunny Ridge Farm

Australia is a lucky country when it comes to fruit. Many of us still live the Australian dream, having a yard, growing our own fruit which ripen on the trees, rather than on the trucks. This is a luxury many of our big cities neighbours can hardly experience.

Even more fortunately many Peninsula farmers are doing the hard work for us. During season they open their gates and we can pick our own fruit. There is a huge variety and many other fruit produce, like a delicious cider.

Most importantly they’re from trusted sources. Mornington Peninsula Produce promotes locally grown produce, that has been ethically and sustainably farmed, bred or raised.

The 2017 Farm Gate Map is a great resource. It tells you what’s in season at which part of the peninsula. Follow it to avoid disappointment.

Here are our recommendations:

Red Hill Cherry Farm

Ripe N Ready Cherry Farm

Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm

Fresh strawberry ripen on stem Sunny Ridge Farm Mornington Peninsula — I picked a huge strawberry!

Besides the mouth watering fruits, it is a very good family outing. We’d recommend picking early in the day, to avoid the crowd and the heat. While many of us are used to the city lifestyle, please educate our children and ourselves on the etiquette of fruit picking. At the end these are working farms producing our food. Let’s break less branches, climb no trees; and of course have lots of fun, take lots of pictures and enjoy eating the cherries!

Happy picking!