My sister Elles Belles went to a dinner party recently. The host, Christine, who in her words “is a beautiful cook”, put on a magnificent spread; she sent me a photo and boy did it look good. From memory there was a bean dish, a loaf of homemade bread and a few scrummy looking salads. […]
Category: friends for dinner
italian chicken pasta bake
I’m really excited about this recipe. Excited because it’s so easy to make. Excited because it tastes great. Excited because it feeds a crowd. Excited because you can make it ahead of time. I know pasta bakes are pretty daggy but they serve their purpose as an easy family meal. This recipe uses a store-bought […]
classic potato bake
Potato bakes are like spaghetti bolognese. In the fact that although most versions use virtually the same ingredients, they always seem to taste so different. I find myself asking the question “what do you put in your potato bake?”, always curious to know what others do… come to think of it, I often find myself […]
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 […]
chocolate self saucing pudding
It’s been a while since I’ve written a new blog post. Reason being is that I’ve been so crook with morning sickness. They say that being pregnant with twins will do that to you! I’ve wanted to share this no fuss chocolate pudding recipe with you for ages. It’s such a good one to have […]
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, […]
chocolate sponge cake
The only thing better than a sponge cake is a chocolate sponge cake. Here I am finding a couple of quiet minutes in the day to bring you this celebration cake recipe. Early in the morning before the house is awake. Before the school rush starts and when everything is still; a thick frost outside, […]
family lamb curry
Busy week here with our beautiful Annabelle darling turning seven. You know how kids birthdays seem to go for days! We’ve taken cupcakes to school, made the birthday cake, filled the piñata, blown up balloons, written invitations and wrapped presents. A jam packed weekend, we’re heading to our nations capital this arvo to watch the […]
everybody’s favourite potato bake
I remember not long out of school going to a friends place for dinner. New to the whole ‘cooking on my own’ thing, I decided it’d be cool to put my hand up, “I’ll bring the potato bake”. I remember quizzing Mum to make sure that I had all the right ingredients. Potatoes, check. Bacon, […]
curried chicken pie
Food blogger, Lo Corcoran of Lo’s Kitchen shares the recipe for her comforting curried chicken pie, highlighting the importance of being neighbourly whilst reminiscing on her childhood. ‘Sharing a fence’ I still remember our neighbours growing up. On one side there was Toula. A warm and bubbly Greek woman who lived there with her husband […]
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 […]
homemade potato gnocchi with burnt butter + sage
We didn’t grow up eating potato gnocchi. My sister Casey can attest to that. During high school she was in a public speaking competition. Dad reckons she “had it in the bag” after absolutely killing her prepared monologue and of course without bias thought she was a shoe in for a place. The contestants were […]
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 […]
prawn + asparagus spaghetti
It was my birthday yesterday. I had the most magical day, being absolutely spoilt rotten by Cork Daddy and the girls. The day started with a delicious hot breakfast of perfectly poached eggs, sautéed mushrooms and spinach, topped off with what I call ‘bacon sprinkle’ and hot buttered toast, all made by my incredibly capable […]
incredibly tender osso bucco
It’s a myth that osso bucco is difficult to cook; I don’t know why, but there seems to be someone going round telling people that it’s hard to make. Same goes with polenta. How many of you haven’t even tried it because you think it’s too fiddly or chef-y? Well I’m here to tell you […]
tarte tatin
I was pulling this out of the oven tonight when Timbo got the phone call from his mum; his grandma Lyn had sadly passed away. Lyn, more commonly known as ‘Nin’ to her 6 grandkids, 10 great grandkids (and counting), was an absolute larger than life character. Always with a huge smile on her face, […]
lamb + vegetable tray bake
It’s getting colder and if you’re anything like me – you’re looking for something ‘winter-ey’ to cook. Something new and a bit different, that’ll have you feeling satisfied and all warm inside. Something to make when you have friends or family popping over for dinner. So many comfort food recipes end up in the ‘slow […]
broccoli soup | simple + delicious
My favourite soup in the whole wide world is Mum’s pea and lettuce soup (or green soup as Charlotte calls it). This broccoli soup is nearly as good. So easy to make, simply whack it all in a pot and let it cook until the veggies are nice and soft before giving it a whizz […]
cork daddy’s chorizo pasta
Cork Daddy’s been making this chorizo pasta forever; since his flatting days in Randwick and he’ll freely admit that it was the only dish he knew how to cook back then. My sister and brother in law, Lou and Matt (who are both really good cooks) make this pasta all the time too, having made […]
