say CHEESE!

We are loving having a cheese board full of lovely goodness with a  matching vino in this cool weather! (Actually we love it anytime but hey ;) ) The Togs crew are pretty excited, just arrived from France are some old favourites and a few new cheeses for you to try:

Washed Rind Petit Pont Leveque

Pungent and creamy this cheese is perfect for a winter evening in front of the fire with a sweet pinot noir.

Clarines

A luscious triple cream made even more delicious by warming it in the oven – just crack the seal, add a splash of white wine and bake in the oven for 10 mins on medium heat, dip bread in and enjoy the lusciousness of it all.

Banon – Le Vache de Chalais

A handmade cheese from Givors- France, delicately wrapped in a vine leaf , this traditional cheese made from cow or goat's milk aged a month. The one's in store now are cow's milk .Match it with champagne or sauvignon Blanc. This cheese is as BEAUTIFUL as it is DELICIOUS.

Beautiful Banon

You can find all these cheeses living in the Cheese Room at Tognini's Trattoria Spring Hill and an even larger range at our Milton store.

And then there were three!

The newest addition to the Tognini’s Group, Tognini’s Espresso at 20 Hynes Street, Fortitude Valley has just opened.

Positioned in the Fortitude Valley alleyway precinct, Tognini’s Espresso is staffed by Tognini’s ex State Library of Queensland head chef Claire Van Heerden and headed by Suzanne Walker moving over from Tognini’s Milton.

Tognini’s Espresso offers a fresh new dine in or take away flavour-filled menuTognini’s style menu with a blackboard lunch menu featuring daily specials of burgers, pizzas and tapas. The cabinet is the usual array overflowing with of salads and rolls filled with premium deli produce and special treats from the cabinet for sweet tooths.

The breakfast menu includes everything from Tognini’s famous muffins and organic sourdough fruit bread toast with lemon cream cheese, to more a substantial BLT, breakfast bruschetta or savoury mince with poached eggs. The coffee is, of course, Lavazza.

You’ll love the fun wall, a kaleidoscope of retro Lavazza Mio coffee machines that are all for sale. The new pared-back décor makes the most of the a large bank of folding windows in this green oasis with plenty of space for comfortable breakfast meetings.

Tognini’s Espresso seats 35 and will open from 7am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. P 3852 6230 valley@togninis.com

Pine mushrooms at Togninis

Taste the last of the season's pine mushrooms at Tognini's Spring Hill. They come from Victoria and are collected from the hills outside Melbourne where they grow under the pine trees. The mushrooms become very meaty when cooked and are a real treat for mushroom lovers.

It's wild at Togninis

Enjoy the taste of wild venison from the Granite Belt, now on the menu at Tognini’s Spring Hill.

Chris Cameron of Granite Belt Game is a fully licensed operator who is reviving the almost lost art of harvesting and processing wild game according to traditional methods.

Fallow deer are an introduced pest species in the Granite Belt and harvesting them for meat reduces the stress they cause on the native environment. The deer graze on natural forage and wild mountain herbs making the meat tender and flavoursome. The animal has no abattoir or transport stress which is better for the animal and better for taste.

The animal is traditionally hung to promote a milder flavour while tenderising the meat, resulting in tender, flavoursome game.

Tognini’s purchase the whole animal and serve it in many forms from wild venison ragu with pappardelle (currently on the Spring Hill menu), pan fried venison scallopini with rocket and osso bucco venison shanks with risotto milanese. Find it in the fridge in take home packs of venison ragu and also venison stock. The venison stock is a perfect combo with Tognini’s new duck ravioli.

Venison is a long standing Tognini family favourite. Mark has relatives who live in the alpine village of Bormio (Winter Olympics fame) in far northern Italy nearing the Swiss border. They cure their own wild venison bresola and store it in their cantena (under the house) with home made salamis and cheeses where the average temperature in summer 6 deg!

5 cookies

Ever been caught without a snack for way too long? If you need to eat regularly, you'll know that it can mean problems to go without even the smallest refuel along the way.

Charlie's 5 cookies are the perfect hand bag saver. They come in this cute tube - about the same height as a regular mobile phone - and will rattle around in the bottom of your handbag until you need them.

They'd also be great for travellers or as a mini treat for children. Each cookie is about the size of a 10 cent piece and a couple of centimetres high. They are fresh, moist and taste great.

Flavours include raspberries + cream, cookies + cream, chocolate mud and sprinkles.

Karinda's super sauces

Karinda’s super range of sauces are all you need to brighten up a salad, add zing to your steak or turn a humble sambo into a gourmet delight.

They are made in Victoria, and all gluten free.

Choose from -

• Smokey Cajun BBQ
• Coriander & Lemongrass Mayonnaise
• Coriander, Lime and Chilli Mayonnaise
• Spicy Mango Salad Dressing,
• Dill and Mustard Mayonnaise
• Cabernet Pepper Steak Sauce
• Avocado with Coriander & Garlic Salad Dressing.

Sweet peppers with a bite!

Filled with lightly sweetened mascarpone and other secret ingredients, these stunning red South African Bell Peppers are a real mouthful of flavour.

The slight touch of chilli is perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the filling. Mark says try them with some of the Spanish jamon in store now and feel your taste buds dance.

They are busy in Tognini’s kitchen filling these red surprises with another mixture as well. This one combines mushrooms with truffle oil and the smell is amazing! Add them to a platter with some crisp bread and you have another taste treat that would make a great drinks nibble or entrée.

For a really unusual touch, add some Innes Rosales Sweet Olive Oil Tortas into the mix. These individually wrapped rounds are crisp, light and sprinkled with sugar. The sweetness is great foil for a slice of jamon! Mmm… have to try that again!

Cutest cone ice creams

Are these the cutest ice cream cones you have ever seen? These baby gelato cones come in 12 mixed flavours and are perfect to serve after your next dinner party. The flavours include strawberry, chocolate, apricot, vanilla, spearmint and for the true child at heart - bubblegum! The cones are crisp and the gelato simply yummy. Find the Giotto gelato in 150gm tubs at Togninis at South Bank where children are lining up to enjoy them as a treat after visiting the library or GOMA.

If you want to be a bit more grown up, there are also zabaglione filled mini cannoli and hazelnut gelato baby profiteroles. All in the freezer, just waiting for you at Togninis!

Viva Italia! New menus

We’ve been around the world with our menus but it’s time to come home to our favourite place, Italy! We’re also keen to get back to the source of cooking and we are moving towards slow food – think delicious slowly braised beef cheek in red wine with carrot and turnip mash or twice baked pork belly with fennel, shallots and apple compote.

Breakfast is available until 11.30am weekdays and 2.30pm on Saturdays for those of you who are late risers. New additions include spicy shredded wagyu beef with poached eggs on crusty ciabatta and home made baked beans with ham hock and poached eggs. If you like your breakfast on the sweet side, French toast with caramelised banana and cinnamon mascarpone is for you.

The lunch menu at Spring Hill is filled with dishes that you won’t be able to resist. How about grilled sardine fillets w squid ink spaghetti, chilli + fresh herbs or grilled Atlantic salmon on potato rosti w herb + coddled egg dressing. Other meals to try include house made crab and courgette ravioli with champagne foam and chervil and wild porcini mushroom risotto with porcini cream using snap frozen mushrooms from Italy – delish. Hope this list has made your mouth water! Come in and try it all soon.

Pictured – Top: Twice baked pork belly w fennel, shallot + apple compote; Middle: Slow cooked beef cheek in red wine w carrot + turnip mash; Bottom: Clams + black mussels w orange, chilli + saffron broth.

www.togninis.com