My girls have informed me that it’s only 37 days till Christmas. So what better time to start thinking about what you’ll be eating, cooking and taking along to your gatherings this year. It’s a good idea to be organised in advance – get in first when the whatsapp message comes through, everyone delegating among […]
Category: christmas
chocolate slab
If you’re looking for something fun to do with the kids, why not make my easy chocolate slab. Simply melt some chocolate and stud it with anything you like. Think lollies, choccies, candy canes, pretzels, nuts, dried fruit, marshmallows and sprinkles. A real special treat to have in the fridge or make some and package […]
maple glazed roast pumpkin with walnuts
Remember that Cadbury Favourites ad where a family has been invited to a friends place for a barbie? They run in to their host at the supermarket and are told “not to bring a thing”. It’s a stroke of genius. Of course there’s nothing wrong with turning up to someone’s house with a box of […]
delegation is key
Popular food blogger, Lo Corcoran of Lo’s Kitchen shares what her family will be eating this Christmas whilst convincing us that delegation is the key to a well planned Chrissie. A friend is getting their family Christmas catered for. Apparently to stop the complaints from those slaving away over a hot stove. Other mates hosting […]
big pav
Julia Child states that “any party without cake is just a meeting”. And I totally agree. Now I know that a pavlova isn’t technically a cake, falling more into the meringue category. But it’s close enough. We had friends over yesterday to watch the Wallabies play (we won!), where Cork Daddy dragged the telly outside, […]
spiced lamb cutlets with mango salsa
I remember going to the Dural butcher years ago when staying at Mum and Dad’s for the weekend. Determined to crumb some lamb cutlets for tea, I recall counting out in my head how many I’d need to feed everyone. “I’ll get 20 lamb cutlets thanks”, I said convincingly as I happily watched the beautiful […]
watermelon christmas trees
We’re big in to Christmas trees in our house. Did you know that my Mum and Dad grow fresh pine trees, selling them at their ‘cut your own’ Christmas tree farm each year? For as long as I can remember we’ve always had a fresh tree, no fake plastic ones in sight. We’ve got many […]
gingerbread house
Hands up if you’ve ever made a gingerbread house before? I love making one at this time of year. There’s something really nice and carefree about setting time aside to do nothing other than faff in the kitchen, designing and constructing your own little gingerbread house. With life feeling increasingly busier and busier, somehow it […]
gingerbread cookies
November is the new December. Or so my good friend Anna tells me. It’s only the 13th of the month and judging by my insta feed, you’d think it was Christmas Eve already. I must admit it felt like Christmas here today. Along with the smell of gingerbread in the air, there were Santa lists […]
christmas tree cake
It was snowing in Boorowa today. Snowing icing sugar that is. The girls and I sifted icing sugar snow not only over our fresh rosemary Christmas trees, but over half the kitchen. Such a sweet little decorating idea that can be used to top any cake at this time of year. All you need is […]
homemade focaccia
Homemade focaccia. Sounds like an effort. Can I let you in on a secret, it’s actually not. This is simple and easy cooking, one for the novice cook. And after making it a couple of times you’ll be able to do it in your sleep. I know for the ‘focaccia first timers’ you might read […]
baked ricotta
I have the memory of an elephant. Oh hang on. No I don’t. Do they have good memories or bad? I forget. I have the memory of whatever animal is really bad at remembering things. Take this recipe for example. I have been racking my brain to try and remember which friend of mine introduced […]
aussie post sultana cake
How good is lockdown. Said no person ever. I have to admit, I’ve become such a lazy writer lately. Most of what I do write is done through texting; favouring the use of emojis to express my emotions, as opposed to actually using the English language. So if I was writing a message saying “How […]
easy + delicious caramel pudding | a tambea kitchen recipe
When I started the blog over a year ago, the ladies over at Tambea Kitchen in Wagga sent me this recipe for their great aunt Lorna’s caramel pudding. And boy oh boy is this my kind of cooking. Talk about easy! Its old school, home cooking at its best – just the way a family […]
seafood paella | as featured in the summer 2018 edition of graziher magazine
Lo Corcoran talks all things Christmas ham, New Year’s resolutions, seafood paella and the beloved game of cricket. How good is Christmas ham. Cork Daddy’s favourite food, I have to admit I’m a bit fussy when it comes to the carving. I love it really finely shaved – please no ham steaks for me! Frequenting many a […]
asparagus wrapped in prosciutto
Has anyone seen ‘The Naked Chef?’ It’s old school Jamie at his best. Married to Jools but pre his 5 kiddies, he looks so young and with more energy than ever – I love it! He serves up this asparagus dish for a lunchtime feast for his goddaughters’ christening, to go with roasted brill and […]
cherry + walnut cake
Come December we take our annual pilgrimage to Ballinaclash in Young. Not only are the cherries plump, delicious and the deepest colour of crimson red, the service is great and their cherry ice cream is to die for. The kids love picking their own cherries, carrying their buckets happily until they get too heavy and […]
ajvar prawns with pineapple + mint
My brother Pete did some very experimental cooking on Christmas Day. Always one to enjoy the ‘theatre’ of cooking, he decided to try his hand at a hāngy. Now I’m sure most of us would at least cook something we were familiar with – if it were me, I’d go for a chook or some […]
the best glazed christmas ham
Whatever you do – don’t do what I did a couple of years ago on Christmas Eve. Staying in Hat Head for Chrissie with the whole family, I was helping unpack the car when I reached for the shopping bag that housed the ham. Now I should of known the bag would be heavy, having […]
summer pavlova
Both the Aussie’s and Kiwi’s claim to own the pavlova – a simple dessert consisting of a meringue base, topped off with whipped cream and fresh fruit. They’ve been fighting over this title ever since the dish was named after Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, when she visited both countries back in the 1920’s. In my […]
