Nov 27th

cobb salad with honey mustard dressing

Posted by with No Comments

 

Chicken, lettuce, tomato, cheese, egg, bacon & potato…. it sounds so boring. It sounds so American. But while I’m confident Aristotle did not intend for the phrase to be used in this way, when it comes to a cobb salad, if prepared in good taste, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

This is a fun salad – it is colourful, fresh & summery. It has a little bit of something for everyone, and everyone has their own adaptation. In my version, I use prosciutto instead, and rather than having everything cut to minuscule, identical cubic portions, everything is still identifiable. Because all my guests still have their teeth. Let’s call it rustic. (more…)

Read the Recipe
Sep 11th

macarons

Posted by with 2 Comments

 

Macarons are one of those indulgent treats that you only have once every so often. For me, this is just because they aren’t available on every street corner like they are in paris. But now that I have the perfect recipe, this never has to be a problem again! Macarons are a parisian specialty, famous for their thin, crisp outer layer (similar to a meringue, but a little drier) which crumbles when bitten into, revealing a soft and  slightly chewy centre with a beautiful, subtle, sweet almond flavour.  Once you have the basic recipe, you can experiment with the flavours until your heart’s content. I used the recipe from ‘ottolenghi the cookbook’, but substituted the flavours to better suit my tastebuds. The flavours in the cookbook are lime with basil filling, and salty peanut with caramel filling I”m going to try this one next time). I have made chocolate with pistachio filling, and pandanus with coconut filling. Thanks to Louise, Josh’s mother, who had a beautiful chocolate cake topped with macarons at her 50th, which inspired me to post this recipe. (more…)

Read the Recipe
Aug 28th

food & coffee lover’s nyc adventure

Posted by with 2 Comments

A friend who we visited while in New York told us; ‘you will find the best and worst of everything in New York’. This proved to be true in every sense, and food and coffee are no exception to this rule.

There are over 18,000 restaurants/cafes/eateries in NYC.  Adjusted for all the Starbucks, McDonalds, Donut Kings and Subways, there is still only about 1 great find to every 100 terrible ones.  Not to say that I would want to change this… it’s how you know when you have really found a gem! And while I think it is a good idea to have an idea of where you hope to eat/drink, otherwise you could end up overwhelmed, sometimes the best finds are the ones you just happen upon.  This is exactly how we came across Caffe Falai, our favourite food experience of the trip. (more…)

Read the Recipe