Category — Recipes

This impressive yet dead easy dish is equally good served at a casual barbeque with salad, or a more formal affair with all the trimmings. Use a selection of whatever herbs you have on hand, such as thyme, rosemary, flat-leaf parsley, oregano and basil, or use coriander, lemongrass, grated lime rind and ginger for an Asian twist.  The success of this dish is in the quality of ingredients, so make sure the herbs are fresh and the beef is grade one. By all means make your own Aioli from scratch, but as this blog is about making entertaining easy, we do like to offer a few acceptable shortcuts from time to time! A Shiraz is the perfect wine accompaniment.

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With the festive season fast approaching, it’s that time of the year to catch up with friends and family before Christmas. Whether you are hosting a party, or have been asked to bring a plate of nibblies along to a someone’s else’s gathering, these tasty morsels will be a hit. Quick, easy and elegant, the spread can be made ahead of time and only needs to be spooned into the pre-bought pastry cups when ready to serve. Perfect with a glass of bubbles!

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Tarte Tatin is an upside-down tart, made most commonly with apples, where the fruit is caramelised in sugar and butter prior to baking. Because I like to incorporate local and seasonal produce into my cooking, I came up with this version, where pineapple and passionfruit replace the traditional apple. It’s a tropical twist on an old favourite, and it’s really good!

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Ayam, providers of authentic Asian groceries since 1892, generously sponsor the life’s a feast cooking school by providing us with a selection of their products. As Asian food has such a large influence on cuisine in Australia , many of our cooking classes feature Asian-inspired dishes. Quality of ingredients is paramount at life’s a feast, and consequently our alliance with Ayam is an excellent fit as their products are first class.

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I’ve been doing some recipe development for a magazine recently, and they required a recipe for a Zucchini Cake to include in their next issue. I regularly make my Zucchini Pie with Bacon and Cherry Tomatoes, but I can’t say I’ve ever made a sweet zucchini dish. Always one to rise to a challenge, I remembered an old carrot recipe that was given to as a teenager (when carrot cakes were at the height of culinary fashion) and I used it to create this recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Loaf. Like its Carrot Cake counterpart, this is a very moist cake with the goodness of vegetables (in this case zucchinis) hidden in the cake. It’s really delicious served as afternoon tea, or as dessert with fresh strawberries and triple cream. You could ice it with a chocolate ganache, but I reckon it’s perfect just as it is.

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It’s cold outside and at this time of year I’m yearning for some good old fashioned comfort food. I devised this recipe as a change from the traditional beef stroganoff – made with chicken it’s equally as delicious and the addition of sherry gives this dish a lovely flavour. The entire dish can be made in advance – perfect if you’re having guests. It also freezes well, so make double quantity and you’ll have dinner for another occasion. Serve it with risoni (or any pasta for that matter), mashed potatoes or rice. Oh, and a glass of chardonnay.

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There are so many great things about a stir-fry – it’s quick, easy, healthy and tasty.  This Thai-style recipe of mine appeared in the That’s Life! Reader Recipe Cookbook last year, and its a dish I make regularly. I love the use of Kaffir Limes leaves and Thai basil – it gives it a really authentic Thai flavour. You can use chicken or prawns instead of the pork, and substitute broccoli, beans or asparagus for the snow peas. If you’re entertaining, just prep all the ingredients before your guests arrive and stir-fry up a storm just before you are about to eat. Too easy.

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This delicious dip can be put together in a matter of minutes. It’s lovely served as part of an antipasto platter, or on its own with grilled crostini or fresh crusty bread. Confit garlic is available from gourmet stores, but if you’re not able to find it it, just roast 3 cloves of garlic by wrapping them unpeeled into foil and putting them in a 180ºC oven for 20 minutes or until soft when pressed, then squeeze the garlic from the skins. The flavour of the dip improves with age, so you can make it 1 or 2 days ahead of time. Perfect for entertaining.

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Now that the weather has become chilly, there’s nothing nicer that a pot of homemade soup warming on the stove. A friend of mine gave me a gorgeous pumpkin last week that was growing wild on her property, and it reminded me that it has been a while since I cooked up a pot of my favourite pumpkin soup.  Pumpkin, creamy coconut milk and Thai flavourings combine to make a really delicious soup – and the addition of some fresh chilli gives it a nice bite! You can easily double this recipe, which I did as it was a large pumpkin weighing in well over 2kg. If you’re making this ahead of time, stir through the coriander leaves just before serving.  

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I know what you’re thinking……ten minute tiramisu, are you sure? Okay, maybe I’ve used a little poetic licence in the title, but I promise you will have this delectible dessert done and dusted in 15 minutes.

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