Category — Recipes

It’s the party season, and finger food is a great way to feed your guests.  As well as lending itself to serving a variety of flavours, colours and textures, it encourages people to mingle with other guests (rather than remain in one place if a sit-down meal is being served). The anticipation of waiting for what the next platter will bring is all part of the fun!

This dish is one of the most popular in our Cocktail Food Cooking Class. I’ve not met a person that hasn’t ooo’d and ahh’d over these crispy wonton cases that house a Thai-inspired chicken filling.  Both the cases and the chicken mixture can be made up to 2 days in advance, making it perfect entertaining food.

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As my regular readers would know, I am a big advocate of seasonal cooking. There are so many great reasons for using fruits and vegetables that are in season – they’re at their best, they’re inexpensive and because they don’t to travel great distances it’s better for the environment. Being late Spring, we are currently enjoying a beautiful selection of fruits, including mangoes, strawberries and pineapples. [Read more →]

The onset of the warmer weather to me is a time to start putting lighter, healthier foods back on the menu: barbequed foods instead of slow braises, fresh fruit replaces heavy desserts, and lots of salads! Despite their reputation by some as being dull, salads to me are an opportunity to be creative.  Even the most ordinary salad can be made special with an interesting dressing. My husband, who is not a big fan of greens, has been known to steal my share of the salad and I know this is mainly due to the tasty dressings I make up!
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Appetisers, cocktail food, canapés, finger food….regardless of what you call it, there is something particularly enticing about a selection of small pieces of food, especially when they’re homemade. Because I entertain often and have prepared numerous pieces of cocktail food over the years I know just how much work goes into the preparation, which makes me appreciate it all the more.

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Strawberries are in the height of their season on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia, where I live. As they are so inexpensive to buy at the moment, I have been buying them in bulk and preparing a wide selection of strawberry dishes – strawberry jam, strawberry cake, strawberry daiquiris, strawberry clafoutis to name but a few!

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At this time of the year in many parts of Australia, cumquat trees are bursting with ripe fruit. Many suburban homes have cumquat trees in their gardens as an ornamental, but sadly the fruit is left to rot as it is too tart for most people to eat.  However, cumquats make fantastic marmalade – the perfect way to use that cumquat crop that you didn’t know what to do with.

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An oldy but a goodie, chocolate mousse never goes out of style. It is a perfect dessert for a dinner party as it can be made fully in advance. This adult version has the addition of  liqueur, which of course could be left out but why would you? Any liqueur can be used - use your favourite or experiment for different results. My favourite – Cointreau.

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It’s winter in Oz, and even though I am lucky enough to live on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, we still have chilly evenings. Slow-cooked lambs shanks hit the spot perfectly for a winter-warming meal. [Read more →]

With the temperatures dropping, the time is right for warming winter dishes. At this time of the year I am cooking Beef Bourguignon, Osso Bucco, slow-cooked lamb shanks, Coq au Vin and similar comfort foods.  Many winter dishes involve braising liquids, so it’s nice to serve an accompaniment that can soak up all those lovely juices. Mashed potato is a popular choice, but for something a little different try polenta. [Read more →]

Crème Brûlée originated in England and was known as “Burnt Cream” before it was given the more exotic-sounding French name most people know it by. For some reason, many people hold the belief that this is a really complicated dessert to prepare, but it is actually really simple.  [Read more →]