For me this time of year always heralds the start of the festive season – between Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year (not to mention a lot of family birthdays sprinkled around these dates) there’s a lot of entertaining taking place in the next 10 weeks, yep 10 weeks! Having a few delicious appetisers that can be […]
I’m a big fan of semifreddos. They are the perfect answer to homemade ice cream for those that don’t own an ice cream maker. They’re super easy and a great make ahead dessert. Even though I do have an ice cream maker I find that I veer towards semifreddos a lot more than traditional ice […]
It was the Labour Day long weekend here in Sydney and the clocks went back marking the start of longer days and balmy nights. Right on cue we had the first truly warm day of the season and I could smell all the neighbourhood grills being fired up, ours included. With the start of barbecue season […]
I was recently watching Rick Stein’s television series, From Venice to Istanbul, and it really struck me how different the cooking of this section of the Veneto region is to the rest of Italy. The use of spices such as cinnamon and curry powder bring to the cuisine a real hint of its Byzantine past. This duck […]
I am always on the look out for new and different side dishes. Even though a side dish is the supporting act in a meal and never the star of the show, a really good side can turn an ordinary or plain main into something very special. I guess that’s why side dishes in steak restaurants […]
It’s hard to photograph a risotto that is almost all white and make it look appealing, well hard for me anyway, but I can assure you that this crab risotto from Donna Hay is very delicious and very indulgent. I love the use of miso and ginger that give this risotto just a little nudge […]
Apologies for my long absence – we’ve just returned from a long holiday to Canada and Alaska. I do normally publish posts when we’re away but the scenery and natural splendour of that part of the world were so amazing that I wanted to spend as little time as possible on my laptop. As you […]
If you love unctuous, sticky slow cooked lamb then you need to make this recipe. If you love perfectly cooked, tender and flavoursome cannellini beans then you need to make this recipe. If you love the flavours and textures of cassoulet then you need to make this recipe. Am I making myself clear people – […]
Not all cakes need to be fancy. In fact, sometimes the only thing that will hit the spot is a nice plain cake, nothing too sweet or overwhelming but definitely flavourful and moist. This is that cake. A great all rounder that’s easy to whip up and goes perfectly with a nice cup of tea. […]
Martin Boetz used to be the executive chef at a wonderful Thai restaurant in Sydney called Longrain. Unfortunately he left the helm to pursue other ventures which is such a shame as he really set the gold standard for modern Thai food here in Sydney. Luckily though we can continue to recreate Martin’s amazing food […]
Mustard With Mutton 