Category — Recipes

These moreish little biscuits are wonderful served as a welcome nibble with pre-dinner drinks. Be warned: you won’t be able to stop at one!

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Limes are not only currently in season but are in abundance where I live on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. As I’m a big fan of seasonal cooking, I couldn’t go past sharing my recipe for Key Lime Pie.  [Read more →]

Although Easter has just passed us by and we are all chocolated out, I reckon you can never have too much chocolate in your diet. This decadent dessert cake is flavoured with hazelnut meal and Frangelico, a hazelnut liqueur. It’s gluten-free, which is welcome news for coeliacs and those who avoid gluten in their diet. This is a great dessert when entertaining, as it can be made way in advance and only needs slicing at serving time.  Serve it with fresh strawberries and cream and a glass of liqueur muscat.
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This stylish yet simple dessert is made in less than 15 minutes in total and tastes as good as it looks. Cannoli are Sicilian pastry desserts, and ready-made cannoli shells are a terrific time-saver. The ricotta filling can be made ahead of time and stored covered in the refrigerator. The cannoli just need assembling at serving time, which takes less than 5 minutes. Your guests will love these!

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I made this divine salad at our Easy Asian Dinner Party cooking class last week and it was a winner. My students wondered how such a quick and easy salad could taste so good? The answer is the combination of the classic Thai flavours of the dressing, sweet prawns and fresh Asian herbs. [Read more →]

With summer drawing to a close, mangoes are starting to become more expensive and less plentiful. I say make the most of them while they’re still around, and this recipe is a great way to enjoy the last of the season’s mangoes.

The divine Thai flavours of garlic, chilli, ginger, lime and coconut marry beautifully with the prawns and mango. The curry sauce can be made in advance – you only need to add the prawns and mango just before serving time. Perfect for entertaining and a piece of cake to make, you’ll make this recipe time and time again. [Read more →]

It’s Australia Day tomorrow, a day when Australians celebrate everything that’s great about this fantastic country. It is also a day when Australians enjoy some of their favourite national dishes – pavlova, barbequed lamb and lamingtons come to mind. I like to bake a batch of Anzac biscuits for Australia Day – everyone loves these tasty treats and they are a cinch to make.

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Happy New Year! As it’s the 1st of January today, I felt it appropriate to make a traditional Dutch New Year’s treat – Oliebollen. It’s a ritual I have been doing for many New Year’s Days, as my husband is Dutch, and I lived in the Netherlands for 3 years (where I learnt how to cook them). [Read more →]

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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The Achacha is a tropical fruit originating in the Amazon Basin of Bolivia and is newly available in Australia. Grown in Burdekin in North Queensland, this season’s harvest has just hit the shelves, and will be available in selected stores including Harris Farm and Thomas Dux Grocers until February.

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