Wednesday 28 July 2010

This has made my week...





WOHOO! Fire and Stone are opening a new restaurant next to work. This has officially made my week. My Pizza pangs will now never go neglected for long.

Their menu has some of the classics, but the rest is inspired by continents and locations within them. The toppings being specific to their geography.

So you can have a Cumin spiced ground lamb, mozzarella, mint yoghurt sauce, green olives, raisins & sliced red onion drizzled with chilli oil from Marrakech.

Or... a Garlic marinated prawns, Chinese Hoi Sin sauce, fire roasted red peppers, sliced spring onions & mozzarella, drizzled with chilli oil from Lombok.

From previous pickings, the Peking Pizza with shredded aromatic duck and hoisin sauce is AMAZING.

Some of them sound scrummy and others perhaps stray too far from the Pizza canon. Let's hope that some of the more unconventional toppings go down better than my experiment with cold smoked salmon!

Pizza, pizza, la vita bella...

X

Monday 12 July 2010

Savvy Safari Party





View my first article for Eat Me Magazine on the latest dating trend... Safari Parties.

Grr, go wild!

X

Friday 9 July 2010

Cute as a button!





Aaaw how adorable are these shortbread button biscuits!? The most gorgeous pastel colours and such a sweet concept.

The simple ideas are always the best. Such an easy way to cutesy up your tea time. Granny would be pleased.

Read how they were made here. I'm smitten!

X

Annabel Karmel's new book!






Annabel Karmel’s got a new recipe book out which is absolutely fantastic! Cooking with kids has never been simpler. The beautiful presentation, full of colourful photos and simple text, is SO easy to follow and will definitely catch any child’s attention.

It is a great educational tool for kids too, introducing texture, colour, hygiene and the right attitude towards nutrition - as well as teaching them how to cook! The recipe content is also fantastic with a great variety of healthy meals. All the sorts of things you’d want to eat. I also really like that is isn’t at all patronising and has some really sophisticated meals in there like lamb tagine and salmon in pastry. It encourages children that they can make proper food too, not just cookies and cakes.

Annabel Karmel instils the right attitude towards cooking and food – fun, easy and healthy. Not only for children but parents too! And it’s a great family bonding activity. I wish had this when I was a child! They look like they’re having so much fun.

I will definitely be buying this for my friend who is a mother to be. And I might just have to go over and help with the baby sitting/cooking fest!

X

Mmmm salsa





If you ever need to spice up a dish, here's a winning number.... This salsa is fresh, sophisticated and colourful! I've tried it with salmon and tuna, and am going to try it with chicken next.

So here's how to make it. This is for 6 people and it makes a lot! There's a lot of preparation but it's SO easy to put together...

1 mini cucumber/1/2 cucumber
1 Papaya
1 Mango
1/2 red onion
2 red chillies
20g fresh ginger
2 lemons
2 limes
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
6 piece of Fish/Meat

- Peel the cucumber, papaya, mango and onion and chop them into 1 cm size pieces or however big you like.

- Cut the chilli into fine slices, removing the seeds. Take the skin off the ginger and chop into tiny pieces.

- Grate the rinds of the lemons and limes and then squeeze all the juice into a cup.

- Now mix ALL of the ingredients into a bowl, and add the olive oil, caster sugar and fish sauce and stir. Easy as that!

- Leave to sit for an hour or two. Or you can keep it in the fridge, will last for about 2 days, and then take out about 30 mins before you serve so it's at room temperature and not freezing cold.

Voila! It is SO fresh and tasty and jazzes up any dish. Love it.

X