Category — Friends for dinner

My food blog, which has just celebrated its second birthday, was created to inspire its readers to entertain at home, so they can experience the joy associated with having guests. In the past 2 years, entertaining made easy has provided its readers with a myriad of recipes, tips and hints, ideas and articles – all designed to take the stress and guesswork out of entertaining. Reflecting on the past 24 months, I felt it was time to take a step back and talk about the basic elements of entertaining - the keys to making your occasion as enjoyable for you as it is for your guests.

Friends enjoying themselves at a Fondue Party

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Christmas in Australia means sunshine, beaches, tropical fruit and outdoor dining. This time of the year I love to entertain and show my appreciation and gratitude to friends and people that have been an important part of my life in the past 12 months. Because this includes around 40 people, the best way to do this is to throw a party!

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If the thought of co-ordinating the Christmas meal fills you with dread, don’t despair – you are certainly not alone. Even competent cooks can find Christmas Day a culinary challenge. What to eat, how much to serve, how to organise and manage the different dishes so everything is ready on time – these are just some of the challenges that confront the Christmas Day host.

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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’s winter in Australia, and time to nestle in and enjoy the culinary delights that the cold weather brings. Whilst we don’t have snow in Sydney, it can still get mighty cold at this time of the year. What better way to warm up than with heart-warming fondue shared with a group of good friends?

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This summer in Sydney has been a scorcher, with temperatures well above average.  This is not the weather to be standing over a hot stove, getting hot and bothered in the kitchen. However, this presents a dilemma, as I love cooking and entertaining. There’s always the barbeque, but even that can be too hot to handle in this heat. So I came up with a challenge for myself:  create a 6 course meal that requires absolutely no heat on my part: no cooking in the preparation and all food to be served cold. Oh, and a meal that will please and satisfy a group of discerning foodie friends!
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December in Sydney is a wonderful time of the year: the weather is superb (lending itself to alfresco dining and barbeques), people are in good spirits, and the produce at this time of the year is amazing. Although there are many people around the globe who find the idea of spending Christmas and New Years Eve in warm weather strange (my Dutch husband is one of them!) I wouldn’t have it any other way. [Read more →]

Every year my husband and I throw a party around Christmas time. It’s a great way to catch up with our friends before Christmas and share some festive hospitality. Continuing this tradition, last weekend we hosted 40+ of our closest friends.  It was a warm summer evening, drinks were flowing, food disappeared before I could refill the platters and everyone was in good spirits.  My type of party!  [Read more →]

Last weekend I had 8 friends over to celebrate my husband Paul’s 10 year anniversary of living in Australia. Paul is Dutch, and I met him in The Netherlands in 1995 when I was working over there. We both moved back to Australia on 19 September 1998 and married in March 1999. [Read more →]