MANtastic Meals – Part 1

Straight off the back of ‘The Sweetest Thing’ series, I’ve decided to start a men’s version using favourite savoury recipes from some of the blokes in my life.  I sent a call out to almost every guy I know asking them for their favourite savoury recipe, asking why it’s their favourite and where the got the recipe from.  I had a surprisingly wonderful response making me think that husbands, boyfriends, brothers, mates, fellas, guys, chaps and lads really do love to cook and they particularly like coming up with their own creations.  I guess this is no real shock when most chefs in the culinary world are male.

This week we start with my mate Peter.  Pete was a colleague of mine at my previous place of work.  When he is at work Pete is the management accountant and he made ‘crunching the numbers’ and ‘cooking the books’ much easier for me when we worked together.  After all I’m a words person not a numbers person!  When Pete isn’t at work sifting through a sea of figures he is an international cyclist. He rides his bike all around the world ‘tour de France’ style. So the food Pete eats is very important.  He is actually fuelling his body so that he can race.  Pete has shared with us a recipe that he has created himself and throws together when he is touring around Europe.  I’m sure you can make it anytime you are touring around life.  I think it’s a great healthy dish for the warmer months ahead.

Pete’s Healthy Chicken Salad

What you need:

·        Brown rice

·        Chicken breast

·        Seasoning

·        Whole beetroots

·        Spinach leaves

·        Capsicum (Red, Green and Yellow)

·        Cucumber

·        Cherry tomatoes

·        Olive oil infused with garlic

 What you do:

1.      Cook rice

2.      Dice capsicum, cucumber and tomatoes

3.      Add to hot pan with olive oil infused with garlic and lightly grill

4.      Cut chicken into small pieces and grill in a separate pan.  Lightly    coat with seasoning.

5.      Mix rice, chicken, grilled vegetables with spinach leaves.

6.      Cut up whole beetroots and add to rest of ingredients

7.      Enjoy

Thanks Pete. 

If there are any male readers that would like to submit their favourite recipe to be published in the ‘MANtastic Meals’ series please email me at foodforyoureviews@hotmail.com I would love to hear from you.

 Enjoy friends!

Macedon Railway Hotel

After a 12 month hiatus the Macedon Railway Hotel is back.  Open for business with a modern refurb, kids play area and terrific menu - it's ticking all the right boxes.

I arrive as a part of a group of about 30 people, which can upset some venues, but it didn’t impact at all on the service or food quality at the Macedon Railway Hotel.  The menu has plenty of pleasing entree and main options including the usual pub fare and a great specials board.  Kids and vegetarians are also well catered for.   To my delight I found a few of my favourite whites, reds and bubbles on the well thought out wine list.

I have narrowed this review down to two of the mains.  The ‘Chicken Parma’ ($20) and the ‘Chicken Breast topped with garlic prawns in a creamy white wine sauce’ ($24). The old favourite chicken parma didn’t disappoint.  It was well cooked and the flavors in the napoli sauce were rich but balanced and not too overpowering with the smattering of mozzarella sauce.

Chicken Parma

The chicken breast and prawn dish was fantastic.  The chicken was perfectly grilled – flavoursome, juicy and succulent.  Prawns were divine and the white wine sauce topped it off beautifully.  It was a faultless combination of flavor and texture.  The chips and salad on both dishes were also excellent.  It might sound silly but it does surprise me how many venues can ruin chips.  These tasty chips were cooked in fresh oil and cooked for the right amount of time and evenly salted.  The salad was fresh, fresh, fresh.

Chicken Breast w Prawn

After some toing and froing about dessert – should I or shouldn’t I? I decided I should - it was however a chilly Sunday afternoon.  What better way to warm me up than a ‘Hot Choccy Pudding’? (from the specials board).  This was potentially the best decision I had made that day.  It was to die for!  The rich chocolate sauce with the pudding swimming in the middle of it with a dollop of double thick cream and macerated strawberries certainly warmed me right up and I needed to refrain from licking the plate clean.  YUM!

Hot Choccy Pudding

The people of Macedon must be so pleased that the Macedon Railway Pub has reopened.  The new owners have thought about what is important to people when going to a country pub. They cater really well for families as well as a simple but tasteful front bar creating a great place for a beer and a game of pool or chat with the local barman.  It is certainly worth the detour off the Calder Highway to drive up the mountain and be amongst the picturesque surrounds of Macedon for a great pub meal.

Macedon Railway Hotel

33 Smith Street, Macedon
Phone – (03) 5426 3233

http://macedonrailwayhotel.com.au/

Open for lunch and dinner Wednesday – Sunday

Food – 8/10
Service – 7/10
Ambiance – 7/10