Archive for the ‘Brunch’ Category

Brunch, Recipes, Red Meat

Eating only when hungry (possible?) & an easy roast beef picnic sandwich

Brunch, Eggs, Recipes

Eggs en cocotte – a simple breakfast or brunch dish. Eggs in a little pot, flavoured the way you like. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Bread & Pastry, Brunch, Featured Articles, Food & Fab Endorsed, Mediterranean Delicacies

I was given the challenge of preparing dishes with combinations chosen by Mediterranean Delicacies. For this recipe, their chicken liver pate peri-peri combined with their tzatziki. I must admit, I read the brief a few times to see if I’d made a mistake. I was stumped at first. I knew I didn’t want to mix the two ingredients directly. Then the idea emerged: make the pate into a warm pastry wheel sprinkled with cayenne pepper and offset it with a cool, creamy dollop of tzatziki. The result: fun to serve and eat finger-food!

Brunch, Eggs, Food & Fab Endorsed, Recipes, Woolworths & MasterChef SA 2012

The first in my contributions to the MasterChef themes is on Eggs. I submitted three recipes and my Rich Dark Chocolate Soufflé with Honey Almond Cream was featured on Woolworth’s Pantry page. I also encourage you to have a look and try out this easy step-by-step Healthy Poached Eggs with a Spicy Tomato Chilli Sauce and my fantastic all-in-one Bacon and Egg Breakfast Cups too. Tips on cooking with eggs as well a s step-by-step photo series on poaching eggs

Bacon, Brunch, Eggs, Food & Fab Endorsed, Recipes, Woolworths & MasterChef SA 2012

Bacon, eggs beaten with cream, a slice of baguette and spring onions in the convenience of a large muffin cup. In the original recipe I fried finely diced onion till just brown and added that over each bread slice before spooning over the beaten eggs. This recipe is even easier, as you add chives or snipped spring onions for the same oniony taste without the effort. It’s a good way to work in small space and get everyone to enjoy a hot breakfast at the same time, cook included. Looks darn cute too.

Bacon, Brunch, Food & Travel, Recipes, Starters

So, while contemplating how I was going to use the delicate squid ink vermicelli, salts, unusual rices, dried mushrooms, tinned anchovies and the hoard of really lovely chocolate (oh, that required much deep and meaningful contemplation), as well as relate the culinary tales of trotting and discovery, I needed an afternoon snack.
Step in, plump ripe figs, sweet and succulent, sprinkled with Spanish pepper smoked salt, extra virgin olive oil, a blob of fresh ricotta cheese, baked and then topped with crispy bacon bits.

Brunch, Recipes, Vegetarian

On one of my daily iPad magazine browses, my eye caught sight of a triangle shaped pastry topped with slices of fig (one of my very favourite late summer fruit) and drizzled with a thick chocolate sauce. I didn’t quite note which magazine featured the pastry, but the visual stayed with me. An adaptation of a sweet tartlet, these savoury asparagus, mini vine tomato and fresh bocconcini pastries use ready rolled butter puff pastry and are drizzled in a thick and rich sweet and slightly tangy crema di balsamico which I love using with sweet fruit as well.

Brunch, Recipes, Salad & Snacks, Starters

The potatoes in this dish, are steamed (or boiled) and dressed in a coriander and pistachio pesto that will blow many a standard tater salad dressing out the water and far away. The dressing is enhanced with the bite of spring onions and the freshness of lemon – both juice and zest. Feel free to use almond or walnuts for the pesto if you don’t have pistachios. Pickled quail eggs make a humble potato salad something you want to serve guests at lunch or at a weekend brunch.

Brunch, Fab Fix, Food & Travel

I really do travel to eat and sample the delicious. I unearthed these pictures last night, of myself in 2009 in London (two or so days after long and complicated root canal surgery). And what was I doing? Standing in a 25 minute queue, in the on-off rain, in Portobello road, Nottinghill (their first ever store) waiting for my turn at the counter of the Hummingbird Bakery. Have I mentioned that I seriously dislike waiting? For anything. But for this, I was determined. I even allowed my swollen post-surgery cheeks a smile.

Brunch, Recipes, Starters, Vegetarian

Quick puff pastry tartlets perfect for brunch, made with marinated sun-dried tomatoes, milky Buffalo Mozzarella, spring onions and lemon zest.