Tag: summer
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Bar Idda’s Purpetti Dolce (Sicilian Meatballs)
If you like in Melbourne and make some time to visit Bar Idda in Brunswick for gorgeous Sicilian inspired fare. The food is to die for! Here’s a recipe they they give away their secrets to. I’m not really much of a meatball eater, but these are something else..
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Karen’s Black Pepper, Walnut and Cumin-stuffed Chicken roasted with Pumpkin
Karen, Karen, Karen. She never fails me and I love her. Another winner flavour combo and simple to make. I mean, you’ve gotta love a roast on a Sunday night, shove it in the oven and wait. But this, with the walnut pesto and enough butter to please Julia Childs stuffed under the skin, is…
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My Moussaka
I call this ‘my’ moussaka only because it won’t ever compare to Giagia’s Moussaka. Mine is a shortcut on a classic, leaving out the potato and using lamb mince. I’m told everyone does this dish a little differently, so hopefully it will hold up against the classics.
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Japanese Pancakes (Okonomiyaki)
You know how no matter how small a piece of cabbage you buy, you’ve always got way too much left over? A little bit of cabbage goes a long way.. This is a great way to use it up and a dead easy Friday night dinner that you can hide heaps of veg in for the kids.…
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Silverbeet, Ricotta and Sopressata Tart (Pizza Rustica)
I thought calling this pizza was a bit far fetched really, but apparently the word ‘pizza’ actually means ‘pie’, so that makes a bit more sense..
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Asian Style Ribs
How good are ribs? I confess I’m a late-comer to this sticky world but I’m glad I’ve now arrived. They’re not something I’ve cooked often and I never order them out cause they leave me feeling like I’ve got a big saucy face and in bad need of a toothpick.
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Chicken, Sausage and Pumpkin Bake
What a cool few weeks we’ve been having. Very unusual for mid-summer Melbs, but in some ways a nice break from the scorching heat and an opportunity to turn the oven back on and cook up some warming fare. As any one who I’ve caught up with lately knows, I’m having a bit of an affair…
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Crispy Skinned Salmon on Red Curry Coconut Spinach
I used to make this dish years ago when I wanted something quick, easy and impressive for dinner guests. I don’t normally go for fish in curries, but this is a worthwhile exception. The buttery soft salmon holds its own in the spicy sauce and looks so good on the plate on a bed of spinach.
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Simple Homegrown Tomato Salad
The tomato plants are teeming with the first fruit, the cherries, at the moment. I was super excited because it gave me the opportunity to take my new flash bottle of sherry vinegar for a spin and try out our new Strathbogie Ranges extra virgin olive oil – I know, what a food snob – anyway..…
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Freekeh Salad
What a tasty little grain this is. Freekeh is young, green wheat which has been toasted and cracked. One of the so called ‘ancient grains’ which have made a resurgence in recent years, it is packed full of goodness and tastes great too. I can’t get it at my supermarket, but I think some fancy…
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Baked Cannelloni with Spinach, Ricotta, Feta and Bocconcini
We recently had a little holiday at the beach and had a night off to go out for dinner, just Pete and me. We went to a local Italian, very simple but lovely homemade fare. I had cannelloni, which was absolutely delish. Interestingly, instead of pasta, they used crepes, which I’d never seen before. Anyhoo, it…
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Another Bean Salad (Lemony White Beans with Pecorino)
I was short on time today and decided to bust out the tins of cannellini beans once again. Instead of making my usual Easy Bean Salad with Goats Cheese, I tried this version from my new Date Night In book by Ashley Rodriguez. She serves it as part of an antipasto platter, but it was great…
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Fennel and Radish Salad
Raw fennel is way yummier than cooked in my opinion and this is such a refreshing salad in either summer or winter. It’s fantastic with fish and chicken on a hot night, or will lighten up a heavier meal, such as pasta in winter.
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Ray’s Spanish-Irish Christmas Pud
I’m a bit late putting this recipe up now that we’re in Jan already, but perhaps it would make a good Xmas in July dessert and there’s no doubt that Christmas puddings always get better with time, so make it ahead. It was Raymondo’s turn this year to make the pud and I have to…
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Easy Bean Salad with Goats Cheese
When you’re feeling a bit cooked out this time of year and really can’t be bothered, this is a great quick, light and healthy little salad which goes well with chicken, meat or fish. I usually serve it with spiced lamb back straps, but it would be good with roast chicken (store bought is fine…
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Raw Carrot and Beetroot Salad
This is a lovely fresh salad, which goes with just about anything really. The earthy beetroot is great raw with the lemon and it’s really healthy. A good one for all ages (if you leave out chilli or add it at the table for the grown ups) it’s another Karen Martini fave. She pairs it…
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Ricotta Salata with Tomatoes, Onion and Basil
Who’s sick of the tasteless tomatoes selling at the shops right now? Even in the peak of summer, green, yellow, orange or red, they just don’t seem to have any flavour. Farmers markets are definitely the go until our tomatoes are ready later in the summer. When they are, this salad makes the most of the…
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Em’s Famous Guacamole
My lil’ sis loves this guacamole and it gets a run pretty often, disappearing in the flash of an eye. Lizzie, this one’s for you, so you don’t have to wait for me to make it.
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Christmas Salad
I call this my Christmas salad, because it has all the right colours – red, white and green and really does look the picture on the Christmas table. Even the feta added before serving looks almost like snow, aw…
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Baby Mac’s Pickled Cucumbers
I love pickles and nothing is better than homemade. I usually do pickled mushrooms this time of year but decided to try Baby Mac’s pickled cucumbers instead. They are very Maccas-esque but way more delish! We will be having cheeseburgers Saturday night for sure, and I’m looking forward to a Friday night nibbles of cheese,…
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Rotelle with Prosciutto, Sour Cream and Chives
This is a tasty little pasta salad which has flown out the door the times I’ve made it. It will go great with any grilled meats, and so it’s a great side for a barbie, perhaps in place of potato salad.
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Salmon Log
Now for a bit of retro food glamour and a walk down memory lane. My Nana used to make this dish a lot, and when I say ‘a lot’ I mean, A LOT. She brought a salmon log along to every occasion, big or small and always had some spare logs stashed in her freezer…
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Beetroot and Balsamic Relish
I haven’t made this relish for ages. For a while there, it was something everyone received for Christmas, but I have moved on to olives and sweet things in recent years. That said, this is a delicious little accompaniment to cold meats, perfect on the table on Christmas Day with turkey and ham and great for…
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Spiced Beetroot Salad
I just love beetroot. The flavour of fresh beets from the ground can’t be beaten, so earthy and sweet, and the colour is just so gorgeous.
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Raspberry sorbet
This is a great thing to do with leftover egg whites and something cool to ease the heat on a hot summer night. I honestly can’t remember where I first came across this recipe, but it has to be the all time quickest and easiest ice cream – well sorbet, but it has a pretty ice-creamy texture…
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Spiced Chicken Tortillas
Karen Martini produces some of my all time favourite recipes. Her flavour combinations are always spot on and almost without fail simple to put together. I only made this Mexican inspired recipe for the first time a few weeks ago.
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Ricotta and Parmesan Dumplings with Tomato and Basil Sauce
I never got the hang of potato gnocchi. The couple of times I’ve made it, it’s turned out heavy and tough. I think it’s a case of too much flour, anyway, I gave it away for this lighter, simpler ricotta version (taken from the Two Greedy Italians), which I’ve made many times.
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Asian Coleslaw
There will always be a place for mayonnaise-based coleslaw packed into a piece of white bread with a snag on a summer’s day – yum! That said, there’s nothing worse than a bowl of coleslaw sitting out in the heat at a barbie and turning that gross watery, yellow colour – blurgh!
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Pete’s Lemon Potatoes
Pete adopted this recipe from his mum. These potatoes are a bit of a winter staple, although they’re not too bad in summer either, and go with pretty much anything, particularly roast chicken or Fish with Garlic, Lemon and Tomatoes.
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Big Mac Potato Salad
My sister in law loves this salad – this one’s for you Casey! It’s a variation on the mayo-only potato salad using some mayo, but mainly sour cream. But don’t be fooled, it’s very rich and the sauce tastes suspiciously like Big Mac Special Sauce, only yummier.
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Fish with Garlic, Lemon and Tomatoes
When I first started dating Pete, I remember he couldn’t recognise the flavour of garlic in food. We’d be eating something laden with garlic and I’d say “gosh, this is garlicky” and he’d look at my quizzically. With a Greek background, garlic was so prevalent in his diet, that he actually didn’t know what it…
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Israeli Cutlets (Schnitzel)
In keeping with the Israeli theme and something to go perfectly with the Israeli salad, this spiced up schnitzel recipe from The Nosher gives new life to an old favourite. I use chicken but the recipe suggests turkey breast, which you don’t see often here in Oz, but which could be rather festive this time…
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Sophia’s Israeli Salad
My good friend Sophia first gave me this recipe. She’s a great food related resource and I always tell her what we’re having for dinner! The boy loves his salad and the Israeli kind gets a regular run at our place. You can mix it up anyway you like – add fennel, spring onions, radishes –…
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Bang Bang Chicken
Ignore the image (if you can)… This is a great easy summer dinner which takes poached chicken salad to a whole new level. The recipe I use is from SBS Food, but there are more than a few different versions out there. I remember reading that this is a traditional Chinese street food snack