I love good left-overs. There is nothing as satisfying as standing in front of the fridge and knowing you have a few slices of delicious gammon or roast turkey to turn into something delectable. It’s also satisfying because I feel incredible proud of my resourcefulness and the fact that I’m not wasting when I use up left-overs. We always have left-over gammon after Christmas and most often it’s just used for sandwiches or eaten as is but I wanted to turn it up a notch and so I thought of two really great ideas to use up gammon left-overs. Today I’m sharing my recipe for Eggs Benedict with gammon with…
As a teenager, the thought of Gammon repulsed me. Yes, I know that’s a strong word to use but it’s the truth. I hated the way the cold (this is the way my family served it), pink meat was covered in a sweet layer of jelly with pieces of pineapple and cherry in it. I’ve said before that (when I was younger) I hated meat with anything sweet and Gammon was the personification of that hatred. Nobody ever understood how much I disliked Gammon but they left me alone, saying that it was my loss. I was happy to indulge in the turkey and stuffing. Fast forward a few years…
During summer, we all look for delicious desserts which can offer a source of nutrients while still tasting good, and so, when Special K asked me to come with a fabulous recipe I thought this one would be just perfect. An added bonus is that tart requires no cooking. Simply assemble in little time. I decided to use the Special K and make a tart shell from it. I combined the crushed Special K with a little melted butter and sugar and pressed it into tart cases before allowing it to set in the fridge. When you are ready to serve, you pop the Special K tarts out of their tart cases and fill them with…
When thinking about what starter to serve as part of a Christmas/Festive meal, I always get stuck for ideas. I want to serve something special which will impress my guests but I don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. I also like starters to pack quite a lot of flavour and depth without being too heavy or rich. I have always been a fan of serving a tarty-type thing as a starter. In my book I have a recipe for Caramelised onion & Goat’s cheese tarts and even though these would be just perfect as a starter (or, if made smaller a Canapé), I wanted something a bit more complex….
Christmas won’t be Christmas without a deliciously, sticky roasted sausage being serves as a canapé. They go perfectly with almost any drink from beer to cocktails and even bubbly and they are always a crowd pleaser. I wanted to use traditional Christmas flavourings to spice up my little pork sausages and so decided to make a glaze using wholegrain mustard, dijon mustard and maple syrup. I love how the maple syrup caramelises and goes wonderfully sticky and the subtle heat from the mustard. When I made these, they lasted all of 30 seconds with everyone reaching and pushing to get to them. Serve them in bowls and believe me when I…
I will be honest, I will work potato rösti into almost any menu if I can. There are few things I love as much as the crunchy, salty and hot surface of a fresh rösti giving way to the soft, cooked potato in the middle. I’m often surprised that I have any left to serve to guests while I’m frying them as I can almost never resist eating a few as I go. These are particularly fabulous as they are topped with cream cheese and beautiful smoked salmon and finished with some fresh dill. Over the Festive season I like to treat my guests (and myself) by using ingredients that…
When I decided to include starters & canapés in my Christmas special, I knew Melon & Prosciutto skewers would be part of it. Even though you can’t even really call it a recipe, as it is SO simple, it is till one of my favourite snacks to serve with bubbly or a cocktail. Not only is it easy and something you can make an hour or two in advance, it’s also just delicious and always seems to impress my guests. As melon is in season in South Africa at the moment, I try to get the most fragrant melon I can and you can either chop it into bite-sized cubes like…
If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you’ll have seen me talking about and sharing a few photos from my Christmas special that I’ve been working on for the last month or so. I have wanted to do an entire month of posts for Christmas since I first started my blog and I have eventually gotten around to getting it done. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing recipes and ideas for everything from starters & canapes, 3 ways with gammon, fantastic desserts, side dishes and drinks. On the 21st of December I will be sharing all of the recipes in a user-friendly PDF ‘magazine’ so that you can…
I’ve drawn the winner for the Entrepo competition! All your entries were fantastic and I wish I could give the voucher to all of you but alas, there could only be one! Congratulations Lee-Anne. Entrepo will be in contact with you shortly! I hope you enjoy shopping at Entrepo!
I really am easy to impress. I’ve been told my whole life that I’m ‘high maintenance’ and that I’m ‘difficult’ and I honestly don’t know what these people are on about. Yes, I do like things done a certain way and I spend more money on shoes than I should but in all honesty, all it takes to make me happy is good bread, good cheese, a Pâté and a few glasses of Muscato. Especially at this time of the year. Everyone is starting to feel the ‘Holiday vibes’ and all I really want is to lie under a tree and do nothing but relax. Of course, I can’t go longer…
