A recipe that will certainly win compliments – if not prizes! Serve as a starter with crispy bread and salad or as a main meal with rice and lightly cooked vegetables. Note: Select large calamari tubes for a quick and neat to make dish!
Continue reading Prawn Stuffed Calamari Tubes With Rosé Sauce
Traditional Irish coffee is a cocktail consisting of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar, stirred, and topped with thick cream. The coffee is drunk through the cream. This variation has similar ingredients, but it is in the form of a set dessert. Definitely worth a try! The popular alcoholic drink, Irish Coffee, was created in the winter of 1943 by Chef Joe Sheridan. The story goes that he whipped up something special to drink for a group of cold and weary passengers who were waiting for a flight at the Foynes Airbase in Ireland. Apparently silence descended on the group as everyone enjoyed this delectable concoction.
Continue reading Irish Coffee Dessert
Anyone who is hesitate about marinating meat is bound to become an enthusiast after tasting the results of this recipe. For maximum flavour and melting tenderness, marinet the leg in the fridge for at least 12 or for up to 48 hours.
Continue reading Buttermilk & Herb Lamb Roast
Pâté is a mixture of cooked ground meat and fat minced into a spreadable paste. Common additions include vegetables, herbs, spices, and either wine, brandy or cognac. Pâté can be served either hot or cold with crackers or crudité. It can be served as an appetizer at a dinner party, or as a light lunch. It takes less than a half-hour to prepare, and it will firm up in the fridge in a few hours. Simply transfer the mixture to a serving dish or individual containers or glass jars, cover and refrigerate.
Continue reading Chicken Liver Pâté With Bacon & Port
An extraordinary light and attractive cold dish to make with cooked chicken or turkey. Use one large ring mould or a loaf-shaped dish with at least 1,5 litres capacity or 6 to 8 x 200 ml or 10 to 12 x 125 ml moulds.
Gourmet food … ready in a few minutes!
Continue reading Muskadel-Espresso Chicken Breasts With Prunes
This very contemporary way of serving a low-kilojoule chicken and salad sandwich would be ideally suited for a casual meal on the patio with friends and family. Prepare an open sandwich for a light meal or a stacked sandwich for a more substantial feast.
Continue reading Cajun-style Blackened Chicken & Salad Sandwich
This versatile sauce can be served as Spaghetti Bolognaise or to make Lasagne. It is one of the most popular Italian pasta dishes. Did you know that the Italians traditionally serve bolognaise sauce with larger pastas such as tagliatelle, tortellini or gnocchi, but never with spaghetti! The thicker pastas are able to hold the chunky sauce easier. See the image below.
Continue reading Spaghetti With Bolognaise Sauce
The Beesting Cake (see image at the bottom of this post) has its origins in Germany. It is said that the cake is called “bee sting” as it is thought that a bee was attracted to the honey topping on the cake, and that the baker who invented the cake was stung. This popular German confection, aka Bienenstich Cake, can also be made as individual pastries (photo and recipe by Carolie de Koster). Also check out my recipe for Beesting Buns. They are a great alternative if you are craving Crispy Creme!
Continue reading Bee-sting Pastries
Fill your kitchen and your home during this Easter time with the spicy aroma of the very best home made Hot cross buns, made with real ground spices and baked with love for your family and friends! One of the highlights on the calendar of worldwide annual baking traditions are these buns. A feeling of expectation arises when the pervasive spicy aroma of flavourful yeast-risen buns fill the air in many home kitchens. Be sure to also try the recipe for Hot Cross Hybrid (Pain Au Chocolat), an Easter-themed pastry.
This recipe is a cross (excuse the pun!) between a Hot Cross Bun and the popular French pastry, pain au chocolat, which is made with yeast-leavened dough and filled with chocolate. “Pain au chocolat” literally means chocolate bread.
Be sure to also try the traditional recipes for traditional Croissants and Hot Cross Buns.
This rich yeast dough has become a timeless classic, baked and enjoyed all over the world! The plait at the top has a custard filling and the plait at the bottom has an apple filling. They are equally delicious!
Continue reading Danish Custard/Apple Plaits
A biscuit which is made all over the world – the origin is thought to be Danish, but the biscuits are associated with Dutch baking and confectionary. The biscuits are made all year round but especially for Saint Nicolas’ Eve.
Continue reading Speculaas Spice Biscuits
Baked paté as good as it gets! Serve warm as a nutritious light meal with mashed potato and steamed vegetables or snack-style, either warm or cold, with favourite pickles or pickled vegetables, sweet chilli sauce and olives. Be sure to also try Carolié’s Chicken Liver Pâté With Bacon & Port.
Continue reading Chicken & Chicken Liver Pâté Phyllo Roll
Recipes for using ripe bananas are uncountable! This one stands out as quick to make and offers health benefits with added Brazil nuts, light olive or favourite vegetable oil and reduced sugar. Serve as is or with yoghurt or Ricotta cheese. Continue reading Brazil Nut Banana Cake
No-bake, soft, yet crunchy bars with a perfect balance of protein, carbs and healthy fat to provide fibre, goodness and sustained energy for all the active members of your family! Individually wrapped in cling wrap or good quality wax paper, these bars make excellent portable snacks to enjoy at any time. Perfect for lunchboxes or the three o’clock snack attack. Continue reading Oat & Almond Snack Bars
Don’t shun biscuits as “should not have” treats! Biscuits are not only tempting – they can play a part to provide essential daily nutrients and fibre. These biscuits can occasionally stand in to replace breakfast cereal and make ideal snacks for travelling!
Finding out how to utilise tamarillos when in season is worth doing! Tamarillo, also known as tree tomatoes, can grow to about two meters tall with clusters of fruit that slowly ripen to a deep red. The taste can be described as “unusual and interesting – even as “an acquired taste”. See the image below. The unique tropical flavour which reminds of a mix between passion fruit and guava and a hint of other fruits, turns a cheesecake into a sublime dessert or tea time treat. Continue reading Tamarillo Cheesecake
When I first came across the Woolworths Basil & Sun-dried Tomato Feta cheese, I just had to include it in this Festive Season-themed newsletter. Here it is covered in dill. Serve with crackers or freshly baked bread or as a center piece for a salad platter. Continue reading Feta Cheese Log
Juniper berries pairs very well with venison. Read the post Juniper Berries for more info on this superfood. To improve the flavour and soften the meat, marinate it for several hours or for up to 3 days in the fridge or freezer before cooking. The Cooked Marinade used in this recipe is by Carolié de Koster from the Art of Cooking Recipe book p. 294. Be sure to also try the recipe for German Pot Roast (Sauerbraten). It is an authentic German dish that is flavoured with Juniper berries.
Continue reading Fillets Of Venison With Juniper Berries