My current favourite recipe book is Mamushka by Olia Hercules. A friend told me a while back how interesting and delicious Ukrainian cuisine was and when I read about the book on Twitter towards the end of last year, I immediately…
These Honey Roasted Nectarines with Vanilla Yoghurt is one of those desserts that makes the most of summer and its delicious bounty of stone fruit. It shines in its simplicity yet delivers with full on goodness and flavour. On top…
I would like to have thought I invented a new dessert. Google the words Frozen Affogato, and you see an ice cream recipe of Martha Stewart that plays with the flavours but does not resemble an actual affogato. But then…
One of my favourite Sunday Times features to create was the Heritage Day one which featured this recipe for Monkey Gland Rump Kebabs and it has finally made it to the blog. When I was given the task to create…
With summer in full swing, indulging in the sumer fruit bounty is an absolute joy. Beautiful stone fruit, colourful berries and that all too short season of cherries abound at markets, supermarkets and street vendors. This Fruit Galette hopes to…
Is it hot enough out there?! This heatwave does not seem to be abating any time soon but this No Churn Banana and Peanut Butter Frozen Yoghurt will at least help to cool you down in a delicious way. I came…
I can’t think of a better New Year’s Eve snack than this Caramel Popcorn with Coffee Salt. The rich golden colour adds that celebratory feel and the taste is just phenomenal. I adapted the recipe from the Spicy Salted Caramel…
A good friend mentioned the other day she can not wait to see what this year’s festive drink is going to be so I am feeling a bit of pressure with this recipe for Espresso Martini. I had already shot…
This delicious Boozy Festive Frangipane looks rather homely and innocent but is rich, decadent, so comforting and is my modern take on the usual fruited Xmas pudding. It has a layer of rich almond frangipane, topped with fruit that were…
This recipe for the Perfect Roast Chicken is one I found on the New York Times Cooking site a while back and I have not roasted chicken any other way since. I believe there are few meals that can beat…
Summer time is ice cream cake time, Peppermint Crisp Ice Cream Cake time to be precise. Layers of smashed cookies, a layer of vanilla ice cream flavoured with peppermint extract, another layer of vanilla ice cream mixed with rich caramel…
This Mocha Raspberry Millefeuille is a recipe worth keeping at hand as the holiday season inches closer. Visually so impressive and guaranteed to elicit a few wows from your family and guests but not complicated to make at all. A…
All the beer purists should look away as this Berry and Beer Lemonade will probably annoy them. I’ve been wanting to do a beer cocktail for a while now and found the recipe for this lemonade on The Beernoness‘ blog…
The idea of beer and chicken is not a new one. We’ve all been to barbecues with a chicken being cooked in a kettle braai while resting on a can of beer or braai masters generously dousing chicken on the grill…
This recipe for Strawberry Polenta Cakes is a delicious sweet twist on the usual polenta recipes out there. Drizzled with maple syrup and custard they make for a delicious dessert. Cut the custard and you have a tasty breakfast treat…
All the banters and paleos and gluten frees and carb fiends should look away because this Gourmet Stuff Braai Loaf is fantastic! Freshly baked home made bread stuffed with caramelised onions, roasted tomatoes, some grilled peppers and two cheeses. A…
I think this Cucumber and Ginger Fizz is the perfect drink to welcome Spring. The sun is definitely setting later and this refreshing drink is a gentle forecast to those long summer nights just around the corner. The recipe calls…
This Fried Cauliflower with Whipped Hummus Dip is adapted from a recipe I spotted on Pinterest a week ago and even though I am not a huge fan of deep frying I just could not resist making it. I tweaked the…
These Caramel Poached Clementines has to be my favourite dessert of the moment. So much so that if we had citrus fruit during Xmas this would be my number one Xmas dessert. And as you can see I am so happy…
I have two types of favourite email. The first is a payment notification and the second is a brief for a recipe that includes the words rich, sticky and boozy. And these Boozy Chocolate Coffee Puddings came from receiving such…
What can be better than chocolate brownies? Chocolate Chestnut Brownies. We South Africans don’t seem to “do” chesnuts and the only time they do cross my path will be on a Xmas cooking show from the northern hemisphere. I’m not…
All of a sudden hibiscus is crossing my path and I just had to join the fun with this gorgeous Hibiscus and Rose Spritzer. Roger Jorgensen has flavoured his Primitv Vodka with hibiscus recently and I was spoilt with a…
You just know this Spicy Salted Caramel Popcorn will be good and then it delivers so much more. The sweetness comes through first with the spiciness of the cumin and cinnamon following. On top of that it is super crunchy, leaving…
This is one of those combinations that is a bit out of the ordinary but I think it works really well. The play of salty and sweet has been around for a long time, made even more popular with the…
This is such a good idea. And what a fantastic way to hang on to the last few weeks of summer with glasses filled to the brim with some Frozen Watermelon Lemonade. I had quite a bit of watermelon left…
The last recipe of 2014 and this Strawberry Sangria could not be easier or more delicious. I was not planning to do another drink so soon after the deliciously decadent Christmas Milkshake but wanted to make the last recipe of…
I am sure I got the idea for these Christmas Milkshakes on the treadmill. And it is not the first time that has happened. In all honesty it is such a dull experience being on one, combined with watching…
It does have a nice ring to it doesn’t it? The softest buttery brioche, plump boozy raisins and lashings of brandied caramel with hits of slightly bitter dark chocolate. It all makes these sticky buns fantastic for a Christmas treat…
Yes, it is one month before Christmas and though I am hardly traditional when it comes to this time of the year I can not go through December (and November and January for that matter) without fruit cake. It has…
I have been wanting to make Clafoutis for ages. The classic french dessert made with fresh cherries. Which is fine and dandy until you see the price of fresh cherries. Then you have to think of a plan B. Thankfully…
These Peanut Butter Caramel Slices should come with a warning. They are insanely good and it takes a lot of self control to not have a next one and another after that. If there is one recipe you ever make…
Semifreddo is without a doubt my new favourite thing. It delivers an incredibly delicious ice cream and has to be the easiest way of making ice cream when you do not have an ice cream maker. Cape Town city centre…
It is 1 September and officially Spring in the Southern Hemisphere. And even though there is still a nip in the air, the days are getting longer and summer with its abundance of outdoor eating, stone fruit, berries and long…
Saturday the 2nd saw Cookie Swap 4. An initiative started by Ishay Govender-Ypma, it was also the second year that concurrent swaps were held in Johannesburg and Durban. It is a fun afternoon of loads of cookies and catching up with…
I saw the link to this Frozen Zabaglione recipe on my Twitter feed and immediately wanted to make it. It was originally published in The New York Times by David Tanis, as part of his column titled “An Inspired Lunch Puts…
Once in a while it is fun to give a classic dish a facelift and you can’t get more South African classic than a peppermint crisp tart. This recipe has been in the back of my mind in various forms…
I am taking a huge liberty to call this Sangria but “punch” and “iced tea” just does not have the same ring to it. And with the immense heat the last few days and the Rand/Euro exchange rate forcing us…
I am a huge fan of the Great British Bake Off. It is by far my favourite cooking contest show and I am always in awe of what the contestants create while wishing I can bake as well as they…
There is no way I can go through the festive season without this extremely easy and so delicious cocktail. It has been a December staple for many years. The addition of the frozen berry juice makes it the perfect cocktail…
This is without a doubt my dish of the summer and I will be serving it over and over again. The charred smokiness of the courgette and toasted bread blends wonderfully with the garlicky creaminess of the ricotta tzatziki…
Keep these in your arsenal for Xmas time to impress any annoying in-laws. Mix the dry ingredients the night before, combine with the fruit mince and other wet ingredients first thing Xmas morning and let the smell of fruit and…
This might be my Paula Deen moment. Not THAT moment but rather a deep frying cheesecake moment. I had to wonder if it is necessary to top a mince pie with meringue and the answer was yes, because it is…
Leftovers has never tasted or looked this good! The intention was not to do something festive with leftovers but as I was making these pies it occurred to me that this will be the perfect recipe to make do with…
Also affectionately known as the “Get Me Out of Betty Ford Fruitcake” I am brave enough to say this cake is better than my mother’s and grandmother’s (on both sides) fruitcakes. I absolutely love fruitcake, could it eat all year…
Bill Granger is one of my favourite “celebrity chefs” and I was very lucky to see him in action at the Good Food and Wine Show in Cape Town this weekend. He has a wonderful stage presence and was a…
Last weekend was the 2nd annual Cape Town Cookie Swap. I don’t really have favourite cookie recipes so take the opportunity to page through all my cookbooks and to choose a new recipe to make. Katie Caldesi wrote a…