Category — Articles

Pasta comes in a huge variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from tagliatelle and tortellini to penne and pappardelle. Matching pasta with a compatible sauce is instinctive for someone that has grown up eating pasta as a staple, but for the rest of us some guidelines are necessary to attain the best complement of flavour and texture.

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Queensland’s Sunshine Coast is a food lover’s haven – the region is blessed with top quality produce and gourmet products grown and made with love by dedicated local farmers and artisans. The fine climate and fertile soil provides ideal growing conditions for a wide variety of produce and foods.      

The rolling hills of Maleny

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Until last weekend I had zero experience in making a child’s themed birthday cake (probably because I don’t have children). I hear from my friends that do have kids just how highly competitive childrens’ birthday parties can be. It seems that all the parents are trying to out-do the other parents, particularly when it comes to the cake. 

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This is a new monthly column to Entertaining Made Easy, which I decided to add after receiving numerous questions from my cooking class students and blog readers about how best to equip their kitchen, what kitchenware to buy, where is the best place to buy it, how much should you pay and which gadgets to avoid. 

Each month I will feature a kitchen tool that I consider is a useful addition to the kitchen. This month’s featured kitchen tool is the digital thermometer.

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Today is officially the last day of summer, but in Australia our climate allows us to enjoy barbequing most of the year round. Everyone loves a good barbeque: less fuss, more fun and flavour, and great for entertaining. Barbequing has come a long way since the days of overcooked steaks and charred sausages. But surprisingly, even in our barbeque-obsessed country, many people are still intimidated by outdoor cooking. Here are a few tips that will have you the master of the grill in no time: [Read more →]

The way a meal looks is almost as important as how it tastes. Food that is pleasing to the eye always tastes better: imagine being served a plate in a restaurant that looked like a dog’s breakfast – your taste would likely be negatively influenced.

Approach the presentation of your meal like an artist would a blank canvas – strive for a pleasing arrangement and be mindful of composition, colour, lines and textures.

As a home entertainer no one expects you to go to the lengths that Michelin Star chef’s go to for their food presentation, but following these basic guidelines will transform your tasty meal into a memorable one: [Read more →]

More and more people are avoiding gluten in their diets. Whether they have been diagnosed with Coeliac disease or have non-coeliac gluten-intolerance, chances are you know someone who falls into this category. But what do you serve your gluten-free guests when they come over for a meal? [Read more →]

It seems most people are watching their pennies these days, and dining-in has become the option of choice to get together with friends and family. However, having guests can be a costly exercise if you don’t plan your menu wisely. Is it possible to serve an impressive meal whilst still keeping a check on your budget? Yes it is! The following winter entertaining ideas should provide you with some inspiration: [Read more →]

For a nation of food-lovers, we also like to waste it: last year over $5 billion worth of food was thrown out in Australia. That amounted to 3 million tonnes, about 145 kilograms per person. Put another way, it is estimated that the average Australian throws away 20% of the food they buy.

Apart from the obvious financial consequences, such waste has a huge environmental impact. We can all take steps to reduce waste: follow these tips and you’ll not only be helping the environment, but looking after your own wallet. [Read more →]

There is a proverb that says “if you can read you can cook”. Whilst not entirely true, it illustrates a fundamental of successful cooking: read the recipe from start to finish, well in advance of commencing food preparation. There are four good reasons for this:
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