Tiramisu with hints of bourbon and orange.

Yesterday was the third time I have made tiramisu in a month and each time has been sumptuously satisfying. I have added a few little twists to the traditional recipes but one of my most traditional Italian friends even said that they were an enhancement.

It is sin on a plate, so just accept that before you start, go with it knowing that you don’t do this every day. It really will end off any special occasion meal with little sighs of contented delight. It is rich and velvety, and I feel that my addition of a little bourbon and orange cut the richness just enough to justify eating a few more mouthfuls straight from the bowl after you are done with your first helping.

Tiramisu with whisky and orange

Serves 6 - 8

100g of your preferred strength of dark chocolate, broken up

1/8 tsp of salt

175g Ladies fingers (boudoir biscuits) or more if you like

1 cup of hot strong coffee, sweetened to taste

A few splashes of whisky, I used Makers Mark whisky

4 large eggs

100g of castor sugar

750g of mascarpone cheese

2 oranges

Coco powder or dark chocolate to cover the top of the dessert

Pour the hot sweetened coffee over the chocolate in a bowl long and wide enough for you to soak the ladies fingers in (you can do it in batches too). Allow the chocolate to melt. Pop it into the microwave for 30 seconds at a time if it needs a bit of extra heat. Stir it lightly with a whisk to combine. Add a splash of whisky (or two if you’re feeling it) and the juice and zest of one of the oranges.

Separate the eggs into two bowls. Whites in one, yolks in the other. Add the sugar tothe yolks with a splash of whisky and beat until the sugar has dissolved and themixture is pale and creamy. Mix in the mascarpone and the zest of one of the oranges.

Whisk the whites with a pinch of salt until they form stiff peaks. Add the whites to the yolk mixture and gently fold it in with a spoon until well combined.

Lay the ladies fingers in the chocolate and coffee mixture and allow them to soak up the mixture for a few minutes, turning them if needed to get even coverage.

You can prepare this in portion sized bowls or a medium sized casserole dish. I like to get two layers going in a deeper dish but a single layer in a larger dish is also fine.

Start by spooning a thin layer of the mascarpone into the dish, lay the soaked biscuits across this layer, then top again with mascarpone mixture and again with biscuits and end off with a thick layer of mascarpone mixture.

Allow this to settle in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Before serving, dust with a thick layer of coco powder or grated chocolate.

Quick dinner for friends

Last week Adam and I managed to arrange two dinners which clashed with each other, so I was going to be out for dinner on the night he had invited friend around. He was also going to be working late that night, so wouldn't have time to cook without stressing for the guests he was getting at our place. 


So, I earned myself a few brownie points by cooking his dinner for him before leaving for mine! It really wasn't that hectic as I chose my fool proof mushroom risotto and a light and colorful summer salad to go with it. I had some of my oat and nut bars left over which they had for dessert. I had a happy husband and he had happy guests! 


My dinner out was fabulous, but I sadly didn't take any photos. The recipes were all first attempts of mine and will most certainly be recreated for your benefit!   

Mushroom (and Bacon) Risotto

Serves four main course portions

30 g of dried chantarelle, porcini or shitake mushrooms, soaked in a cup of boiling water

3 Tbsp olive oil

500g button or portobello mushrooms

250g of streaky back bacon, chopped (totally optional)

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

½ tsp of cumin

½ tsp of coriander

½ tsp of mixed spice

1 Tbsp of soya sauce

½ tsp of freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp of salt

750ml of vegetable stock

1 ½ cup of Arborio rice

1 tsp of freshly chopped herbs, like thyme, sage, oregano, basil etc. 

125ml of cream

1 cup of grated parmesan

Get your dried mushrooms soaking in boiling water. Heat the oil in a medium size heavy bottomed pot and add the mushrooms and bacon allow them to fry for 5 minutes before adding the onions and garlic. Fry this on medium heat until the mushrooms have reduced to half their size. Add the spices and soya sauce and fry until the mushrooms start to colour in the pan a little.

Add the stock, porcini and the water it was soaking in and stir until the flavours from the mushrooms have combined nicely with the stock. Add the rice and allow it to cook on a light simmer for about 7 – 10 minutes. Only stirring every now and again so as to ensure that the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

The dish is ready to remove from the heat when the rice is about 90% cooked. It must still have a little bite in it, as it will carry on cooking with the retained heat of the pot and rice. Add the herbs, cheese and cream, stir lightly to combine and allow this to stand with the lid on for a further 10 minutes before serving.

Seasonal salad with lemon pesto dressing

Side salad for 4 people

For the dressing

½ clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar

1 tsp of Dijon mustard

1 tsp of sugar

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp basil pesto

½ tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

For the salad

½ salad pack of your favourite salad

½ a bell pepper, julienne and/or 

¼ cucumber, shaved into ribbons and/or

1 large carrot, shaved into ribbons and/or

12 blanched green asparagus spears and/or

½ a cup of edamame beans, blanched and/or

250g of exotic mushrooms, pan fried and/or

8 baby corn, quartered lengthways and/or

125g of baby tomatoes, quartered and/or

125g of broccoli stems, blanched and/or

1 avo, peeled and cut into slices and/or

½ a cup of toasted seeds and or raw almonds, lightly roasted with spices and a drop of oil

Shavings of Parmesan

Combine dressing ingredients and chill until ready for use.

Assemble salad ingredients on a platter and drizzle with dressing just before serving. 

Super quick cereal bars

This morning a friend of mine sent me a link to a recipe for cereal bars. The recipes was so simple and I had all the ingredients at home, so I whipped up a batch immediately! Naturally I adjusted it here and there to suit my needs and tastes, but essentially it's almost the same!

My only regret is that I have now eaten 8 squares and am not hungry for my very healthy lunch which is waiting for me... I totally deserve these thighs of mine!

So with my over eaters remorse I started packaging them into cute gift packs. I feel much better now!

Cereal bars

Makes about 40 – 3cm x 3cm x 2cm squares (I’m guessing I didn’t measure them ;-))

½ a cup of nut butter (peanut, almond – I used cashew)

½ a cup of honey (use golden syrup for a cheaper option)

½ a cup of chopped nuts (use your favourite, I used raw almonds), roasted

½ a cup of omega mix seeds (sesame, sunflower, flax, pumpkin etc.), roasted

1 cup of oats (rolled or plain jungle oats), roasted

1 cup of rice crispies

¾ cup of dried cranberries (raisins, or your favourite dried fruit chopped up are also fine)

1 tsp of vanilla essence

1 pinch of salt

In a pan on medium heat dry roast the nuts, seeds and oats – keep a sharp eye on these as they can burn easily. Melt the honey and nut butter together and combine until smooth. Mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Pour into a small greased (or lined) cookie pan. Flatten and compact the mixture with two slightly wet spatulas (you can use your moistened fingers too). If your pan is too big for the mixture (as mine was) don't use the whole pan for the mixture, create a rectangle the right depth (about 2 cm) pulling the mixture together with the spatulas and straightening out the sides.

Place in the freezer for half an hour until set and cooled. Turn out onto a board and cut into the desired sizes. Store in an airtight container.

Great for snacks, treats and lunch boxes.

Keeping it simple.

I am all for the simple things in life. Sometimes the simplest things can truly be the most rewarding. The lunch I made yesterday was just like that. I marinated some chicken pieces, baked them for half an hour, tossed together a salad and there was lunch. Succulent and tasty. Naturally, one should have a few good tricks up one's sleeve, but the bottom line is keep it simple.

My chicken marinade was based on one I learned from a Muslim client of mine. The base of the marinade is yoghurt, to that you add garlic, ginger and chilli and then the seasoning of your choice. I added tikka masala; marinated the chicken pieces for a few hours and then baked them in a preheated oven at 200C˚ for 30 minutes (if the chicken isn't cooked through drop the heat to 180C˚ and bake for a further 10 - 20 minutes - if the chicken is browning too much cover it with foil).

The salad is a recipe from my German grandmother - butter lettuce tossed in a garlicy sour cream dressing and topped with chopped chives. It really is heavenly. You start by making the dressing in the bowl you are going to toss the leaves in. Start with a few spoons of sour cream (about 1 Tbsp per person eating) then add some lemon juice, pressed garlic, salt and black pepper (a pinch of sugar if desired). Mix it up and toss the leaves through it. Top this with chopped chives. So simple but way more delicious than you can imagine. You can substitute the sour cream with yoghurt, but it really just isn't the same.

Adding gravy kind of diverged from the simplicity of the meal and really wasn't necessary. So I'm going to leave it at that.

If anyone is devastated that there isn't an exact recipe for the above, mail me and I'll write one for you.

Beyond improvement brownies!

A few weeks ago while I was looking after my sisters kids, we had a super cold and wet day. So I suggested that we do some baking. Oddly enough the boys were more keen on baking than the girls. The youngest chose a gingerbread men recipe (or ginger bread 'people', as I was corrected) and the older boy wanted to bake his favorite chocolate brownie recipe. We have baked this recipe together twice before and this time he wanted to adapt it using milk chocolate as he is not crazy about dark chocolate.

The original recipe is by Jamie Oliver and, in my opinion, cannot be improved upon. It is simply to die for. The only amendments to the recipe below, is Max's adaption using milk chocolate, I upped the nut quantity (I love nuts) and I have increased the baking time, is it really just too runny with only 25 minutes baking time.

I want to add that the below picture is of the brownies, Max (aged 10), made all on his own. I did not help him at all!

I would love to give you the gingerbread men recipe, but it had to improvised a bit as the kids added about 4 times too much butter to the recipe by accident and I had to add a bit here and a lot there to get the consistency right again. They ended up tasting pretty nice too, but I have no idea how I got there.

Chocolate brownies from heaven

250g butter
200g dark or milk chocolate (your preference), broken up
100g chopped nuts, (I like pecan nuts)
80g cocoa powder, sifted
65g plain flour, sifted
1 tsp of baking powder
360g of caster sugar
4 large eggs

Preheat your oven to 180°C. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth. Add the nuts and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar; then add this to the chocolate and nut mixture. Fold this together well with a wooden spoon. Beat the eggs and mix into the main mixture until you have a silky consistency.

Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 35 - 40 minutes. You don’t want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don’t want a skewer to come out all clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still a little bit gooey in the middle. Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares.

PS - I made another batch of these for my cousin and her five year old son, told me that he had never eaten anything as good in his life before!

Kitka'licious!

One of the recipes a client of mine wanted me to teach her housekeeper was how to make kitka bread (challah bread) for their Friday evening family dinners. She gave me a recipe and I tried it out at home so that I could feel sure that I could train the recipe. I was so impressed with the outcome. It had a dense crumb but still light in texture, it had a lovely rich almost sweetish (but not) flavor and was lovely and moist. This is most definitely a bread recipe which will become standard in our household now. We managed to polish the whole lot in 2 days.

My second try, which was in the training session, was just as successful and I am waiting to hear how the lady I have been working with manages to recreate the recipe on her own now.

Kitka Bread (Challah)

Makes one large loaf or two small loaves

1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water

1/3 of a cup of sugar (80ml)

5g of active yeast (½ a Tbsp)

2 large eggs

1/3 of a cup of vegetable oil (80ml)

4 cups of flour (sifted)

2 tsp of salt

1 cup of flour (for kneading and flouring surfaces)

1 egg yolk

1Tbsp of water

In a bowl combine the warm water, sugar and yeast. Leave this for 10 minutes or so to see if the yeast is active. It should start to bubble if it is.

Whisk together the egg and oil and sift together the dry ingredients. Combine the yeast, egg and flour mixtures in a blender until they form a sticky dough. With floured hands roll the dough into a ball and leave it in a mixing bowl covered with a lappie in a warm place and allow it to double in size.

Once it has doubled in size, knead it on a floured surface for 10 minutes or so. Then set it aside again until it has doubled in size. Knead it down one last time.

Pre-heat your oven to 180C˚ and place the rack in the middle of the oven.

Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long sausage on a floured surface. Stick the ends on one side together and plait the bread. Then stick the pieces on the other side together. Click here for a video link on how to plait the bread.

With a pastry brush, brush the bread with the yolk and water mixture. Bake it for about 25 minutes (for the small loaves) or 35 - 40 minutes (for the large loaf) until the bread is caramel brown and hollow sounding when you knock it. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool. Store in a dry place.

National obsessions...

I make no secret about the fact that I hate braaing, and mostly I hate going to braais too. But there is no escaping this national obsession, so if I do attend one I usually try to contribute by making the side dishes interesting, finding something which Adam can eat (being a vegetarian) and trying to encourage and assist who ever is doing the braaing, so that we can eat at a reasonable time...

For today's blog I have compiled a few of my recipes which I have made for braai's in the past. I try to make the salads robust, as that is what you mostly end up eating while waiting for the meat... I love the tenderised chicken fillets because they are perfect to braai while the flames and heat are too high for other meats, so you can get the kids fed and also have a tasty snack while... waiting for the meat. I have added a rare roast lamb recipe which would also be perfect as it is quick and also needs high heat in order to be cooked to it's best potential, so that once the coals are ready... the meat can cook quickly...

I am not saying that all braai's take forever to finally get the meat to the table, but just 95% of all braai's I have ever attended.

These tenderised and marinated chicken fillets are such a winner on the braai.

This rare roast lamb is ridiculously delicious - it can be done as a deboned leg of lamb, butterflied on the braai and then served into pita's as shown above.

I'm not usually a pasta salad kind of person, but this one ROCKS!!! I love ricotta and it's so healthy and filling without the guilty mayo sauce of other pasta salads.

Potato salad just belongs to a braai in my opinion, but once you've made mayo yourself then also made a potato salad you will run screaming into the night at the sight of one. This one takes the guilt out of the salad, but not the flavour!

This roasted butternut, broccoli and barley salad is more than just a salad, it is pretty much a meal on a plate, but is also a great side dish and takes care of the veggie and starch elements of your meal all at the same time. Beware though, it's totally addictive.

The picture right at the top of this blog is one recipe I have not shared here and it's one of Adam's favorite things on the braai - all the other guests will love it too though.

VEGGIE PARCELS FOR THE BRAAI

Veggie accompaniments are few and far between at a braai. These veggie parcels are a 100% winner. They can be pre prepared and kept ready to pop around the sides of the braai about 20 minutes before the meal is ready. Choose a selection of your family’s favourite veggies. You can make a separate parcel for the kids choosing the veggies they like and add milder flavourings, while for the adults you can add a wider selection of aromatic flavours.

Method

Chop up the veggies (about ½ cm cubes) such as butternut, carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes (not too many as they get very watery), onions, courgettes, sweet corn, sweet potato, spinach and celery are good choices. You can flavour the veggies with a dash of oil, a few cubes of butter, salt, pepper, chopped garlic, chopped chilli, chopped fresh ginger, fresh herbs, basil pesto, chutney, crumbled feta and such things. Make the foil parcels from a sheet about 40cm–50cm of foil (use a double layer of tin foil to protect the parcels from burning). Place the veggies and your choice of flavourants in the center of the foil and seal the sides and the top so that the juices will not escape. Set aside until ready for use. Place the parcels around the sides of the fire. Turn the parcels every 5 minutes or so. They should be ready in about 15–20 minutes.

Serve immediately.