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by Michéle

On a winter’s day … (at the office).

April 17, 2013 in Chicken

2 Comments »

So if you say I am the most lackadaisical blogger I’d have to agree. But in my defense, there was the sick mother who I had to nurse like Betty and do all her work, lots of work and three kids (four, if you add the husband). But now mother is back at work, not dependant upon me for stuff, the kids are back at school and hubby’s been promoted so he is too tired at night to want attention :-) !  In fact, things are so much better that mother is beginning to write recipes again!

And you know when a person writes a recipe, it has to be tested and guess who tests her recipes? Yes, you guessed it. I call it my ‘day at the office’ .. what a fringe benefit!  Here is a warming, hearty chicken casserole that my family loved. It’s perfect for now, this cold and rainy weather.

Chicken & Red Pepper Casserole

Here is a mild child-friendly version of an easy-and-hearty chicken dish, perfect for cooler days. You can enjoy an adult version by adding as much dried red chili flakes as you fancy in which case sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves before serving.

And you can use any chicken portions that you fancy, with or without skin. Without of course, will render much less fat, reducing the fat content (and your work to scoop that excess fat off after cooking) of the dish greatly.

  • 65 ml cake flour
  • 30 ml ground sweet or smoked paprika (or to taste)
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 chicken thighs (or a mixture of thighs, drumsticks and wings)
  • 6 sprigs of rosemary
  • 30 ml butter
  • 30 ml olive oil
  • 2 large onions, cut into slim wedges
  • 2 – 3 large red peppers, diced coarsely
  • 2 – 3 large garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 30 ml sugar
  • 30 ml red wine vinegar
  • 1 x 425 g can chopped tomatoes
  • 50 g tomato paste
  • 250 ml prepared chicken stock
  • 2 bay leaves

Combine the flour and paprika in a small bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Trim the fat and excess skin off the chicken and place the pieces in a large plastic bag. Sprinkle in the flour mixture. Close the bag and then shake it vigorously so that the flour mixture can coat all the chicken pieces.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the oil. Lightly brown the chicken pieces on all sides, drain on kitchen paper then pack them in a single layer in a large casserole dish. Tuck in the rosemary sprigs.

Add the onions and red peppers to the saucepan and sauté until the onion softens. Add the garlic and sugar and stir-fry briefly. Add the vinegar and stir until it has evaporated then add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste, stock and bay leaves. Bring to a boil then pour over the chicken in the casserole.

Place a sheet of oiled baking paper or foil over the food, cover the casserole with a lid and place in the oven preheated to 190º C for an hour.

Now remove the casserole lid and the baking paper or foil and continue to cook the chicken uncovered until the sauce is reduced to your liking, stirring and basting the chicken every so often.

Remove the casserole from the oven, spoon the fat off the surface and transfer to a serving dish, picking out the rosemary stalks as you go along.

Serve with rice noodles (orzo) and a simple green salad dressed with plain fat-free yoghurt and lemon juice.

Serves 6

Chef’s hint: If you prefer using chicken breasts, use 4 whole breasts with bone and skin intact and cut them in half. Proceed as indicated above but shorten the cooking time to around 40 minutes in the oven. And also reduce the liquids by omitting half the stock.

So also, in-between testing a whole bunch of new recipes from Mom’s pen, I cooked in two video clips that we produced for Werda Salads. Well, ‘cooked’ hardly describes what food blogger Thuli Gogela of Mzanzi-style Cuisine and I did. Using ready-to-eat products as part of a quick meal solution can hardly be called ‘cooking’. Check us in action by clicking on the “watch video” link on the following pages:

I see now that previously, I also posted a chicken recipe. Oh well, we love chicken and so does the greater part of the world. At least you cannot mistake donkey for chicken!

Hope to do this again sooner than later!

 

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by Michéle

Back in action!

March 4, 2013 in Chicken, Uncategorized

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You may have noticed that I haven’t written a post in a while, the post production work after Dinner Diva’s kept me very busy plus my mom had some life threatening complications after an operation in December. In addition to being really busy with my parenting and work commitments, as well as helping my mom regain her strength, I let my blog slip a little.

So I am very happy to announce that Mom has bounced back, and is in the swing of things behind her PC doing what she loves most – writing recipes!  And they are all available on our website I Love Cooking.

In the weeks to come, I will share those delicious recipes with you.  And because chicken is so popular, we decided to start increasing our chicken category, so here is a really delicious one, perfect for the busy working mom:

Italian-Style Chicken Steaks

  • 4 chicken fillets, kept whole
  • 10 ml garlic paste
  • 90 ml low-fat buttermilk
  • 200 g Rosa tomatoes, halved lengthwise
  • salt, freshly milled black pepper and sprinkling of sugar
  • olive oil
  • 1 very large onion, finely sliced into rings
  • 30 ml butter
  • 15 ml dried Italian herbs
  • 125 ml freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
  • small handful of chopped fresh herbs like parsley and basil

Put the chicken fillets in a glass dish. Mix the garlic into the buttermilk and add to the chicken. Toss the chicken to coat it evenly with the mixture, cover and set aside until required.

Place the Rosa tomato halves in a small baking dish with the cut side facing uppermost and season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar. Place in the oven, preheated to 190º C for 25 to 30 minutes, or until sticky and baked to your liking.

Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a large frying pan and add the onion. Sauté until translucent then allow to brown lightly. Turn heat down and cook for about 20 minutes or until the onions have caramelised nicely. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a clean, oven-friendly pan, heat 15 ml of the oil and the butter. Lift the chicken fillets and strip some of the marinade off with your hands or pull the fillets against the rim of the dish to let some of the marinade drip off. Now, quickly flash-fry the fillets on both sides, taking care not to cook them: you just want the surface lightly browned as this adds flavour.

Remove the pan from the heat, season the fillets to taste then top with the onions and baked tomatoes. Mix together the dried herbs and Parmesan cheese and sprinkle the mixture over the top of each fillet. Place the pan in oven and bake at 190º C for 10 minutes, no longer.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Scatter the fresh herbs over top and serve with buttered bow-shaped noodles and a green salad.

Serves 4

Hint: A few slices of mozzarella cheese (before you sprinkle the Parmesan over) will do wonders for the drool factor of this dish. However, it will also increase the fat content … so you decide :-) !

Until next time!

From my busy kitchen to yours,

Michéle

For more easy & delicious recipes go to: 

I Love Cooking

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by Michéle

Only six stages to becoming a food blogger

October 24, 2012 in Uncategorized

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For many passionate cooks and diners, food blogging is the perfect creative and social outlet. Having your own blog means you can share your passion with kindred foodies who already have food blogs as well as your family, friends and online fans. And it could become a highly emotionally-satisfying hobby whilst having the potential to become profitable if you do it well and often. But possible fame and fortune aside, many bloggers simply do it for fun and to let off some steam created by their passion for food albeit planning the menu and buying, gathering, preparing, serving or eating the food!

The blogging world is a fabulous place in which to exchange ideas, information and learn about each other’s habits, traditions, beliefs and way-with-food. It would be wonderful if we could have more men and more cultures joining this world.  As food is central to a culture’s traditions, many of us crave knowing more about other cultures’ habits and traditions and of course, their yummy recipes.

To start blogging is easy, there are six stages to begin with and you require just a few skills: the ability to write well, to cook well and to take (at least) recognisable pictures. You probably have the tools already: a digital camera (a cell phone with a good camera facility will do), a laptop, PC or tablet and of course, access to internet. And then, this is how you go about it: prepare a dish that you are crazy about, style it nicely and take picture of it. Transfer the pictures to your laptop or PC or tablet (you can even take the pictures with your tablet) and then choose the nicest one. On your laptop or PC you can use a program as simple as Microsoft Office 2010 to crop your picture the way you like and then to resize or compress it to a smaller, online-friendly size. Then you type out the recipe, add some information or a little personal story, check your grammar and spelling and finally, save it on your system. You now have a saved document with your yummy recipe-story and a saved picture that you love.

The hardest thing is probably thinking of a name for you blog. And be cautioned, ‘cute’ is not always sellable. People looking for wonderful recipes online will not search on Google for (say) ‘Monica’s Hot Chows’. No, they will more likely use words and descriptions like ‘best’ or ‘easy recipes’ or ‘quick’ and ‘easy cooking’ and ‘simple’ and most probably also ‘delicious’ and ‘tasty’. So make sure you give your blog a descriptive name that will ‘sell’ online when people use words on Google or other search engines looking for great meals and recipes. Think of the food that you love and love to eat and will now write about: Is it delicious? Is it easy? Is it Italian? Mediterranean? African? Asian? Homely? Budget beaters? Baking? Pickling? Once you are sure that the core word you have chosen for your blog’s name is a popular search engine term, use that word in your blog’s name. Create a simple free account for yourself with Google Adwords and play around with your own words (click on Tools and Analysis and then select Keyword Tool on the drop-down list) until you find the word(s) that Google says is most popular. Now use your findings as clue to a name for your blog.

Whatever name you choose, know that your blog is about you, your food, your way of cooking and what your food ‘voice’ is. So also decide on your blog’s ‘food voice’. Is it going to be homely, fancy, using local ingredients, using only fresh ingredients, low-fat, vegetarian, wheat free, diabetic cooking or whatever? Whatever it is, is has to be authentic and be your own sincere lovely voice. It’s good to know that the general public who reads blogs are people who love to eat and want ideas. But beware, they can and do ‘read between the lines’ so, if you are not true in your food passion and not sincere in your intentions and (actually) want to promote your home catering or hubby’s toaster-repair business, your pony will only have one trick and it will be a short show. Blog visitors know their oats, literally.

Right, one last thing before you can start: you need to decide which online blog platform you are going to use to showcase your talents and share your passion. Although there are many, with the biggest being WordPress.com, Blog.com and Blogger, we highly recommend that you start with Food24 as your blog platform. It is the local meeting place of most of our food bloggers and this is where you will get warm and enthusiastic acceptance, meet loads of other passionate foodies, get great advice and support but above all, get traffic! Always remember that traffic to your blog (traffic means people reading or looking at your blog) is what you want because it creates loyal followers and fans which could turn into fame which may lead to fortune J and if not and over and above that, you will have a lot of fun getting all that traffic.

It’s simple to create our own blog on Food 24. You just need to create an account for yourself. On their home page you click on ‘Blogs’, and on the blogs page, you click on ‘Create an account’ and fill in the easy-peasy form. Your account needs to be approved so be patient, within a day you’ll be able to upload your first post.

Finally, once you have:

(1) figured out how your digital or cell phone camera works,

(2) written a good, original recipe in your own words (!) (cutting and pasting somebody else’s work will land you in trouble faster than you can say Pick ’n Pay),

(3) decided on a name for your blog that will attract traffic to it,

(4) created a free and easy account with Food24 and

(5) had a little look-see how the buddy WordPress within Food24 operates,

then you are ready to rock and roll, sister! Or brother …! And then you blog. And blog and blog and blog. The more you do it, the better you’re going to get. But there is a 6th step – social networking As soon as you are comfortable in your blog space and know that it is something that you want and can do forever, begin social networking – Facebook and Twitter for sure. Be active and proactive and tweet and post a lot on Facebook. Post and tweet what you blog about including lots of hints and tips and food-newsy stuff.  And finally, when you have found your blogging ‘boots’ and love it to smithereens, then start doing some serious SEO (search engine optimisation) to improve the traffic to your blog and to showcase your beautiful work to more people. But, more about that another day …

First, just start. Eveeeeeentually when you’ve fallen deeply in love with your blog (and other people’s blogs) and know for sure you want to be a blogger forever, you can start thinking about upgrading your camera and even go for photography course. And if you are sincere and serious about food blogging, always remember that bread dough does not keep, you need to make fresh dough often… and it is the same with blogging.  You have to do it often to maintain the online attention and momentum to your blog.

And finally, when you are an established food blogger – you may want to consider migrating to your own big, unique blog. But never let go of Food24, continue to post your recipes and pictures on their platform. It will keep your traffic alive and your beautiful face and unique blogging voice and work under the foodie and advertiser spotlight.

Just believe this: if you consistently produce great, original work in your own authentic voice that people find safe, useful, fascinating, or entertaining and amusing, you will make a pretty big name for yourself, it’s almost guaranteed. And, who knows what doors your blog can open for you? The future lies online and consistently good, creative and strategically-thinking bloggers will richly enjoy the fruits of their labours.

Click HERE to see an interview with Caro de Waal, editor of Food24 and click HERE to see Andrew Lieber, editor of The Gourmet Guys about their views on food blogging.

Written by Anne Myers for I Love Cooking.

October 2012

OOOOOPS! Thank you for your comments everybody ! I appreciate them all  but I accidentally lost some of them when I deleted 621 SPAM messages as well!! Yes, six hundred and twenty one! Advice any one how I can stop it? Caro of Food24 has already zapped them for me installed whatever flytrap she could, yet they still slip through. Grrrrr. Wish they were nice comments, rather. :-(

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by Michéle

Divas CAN launch!

October 19, 2012 in Uncategorized

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I can safely say that Dinner Divas is now officially launched… and my word, what a launch it was.  I know… some of you are lifting your eyebrows saying that the launch was ages ago!  But the two blonds are still recovering… eish!

As the editor of I Love Cooking, and consequently being the Dinner Diva host, the responsibility fell on my shoulders to MC the whole affair.  And now my little secret is out… I am awful at public speaking, and always a nervous wreck when faced with it – but I tackled it head on, and presented to the contestant bloggers, judges, some more fellow bloggers, and members of the media, our first episode of Dinner Divas, a premiere of sorts… and judging by the response in the room it went down a hit!

Then we could all relax, kick off our heels, and have lunch and loads of wine!  And of course mingle and be merry.  After all, as some of you know, shooting can be grueling, and we thoroughly enjoyed being out of the office and socializing a bit.

So I’m not going to waffle on, I just want to share some of the lovely pics taken on that day.

Enjoy!

Judge Aubrey hanging out with Anél and Lungi Nhlanhla (Drum), gorgeous judge Caro, and ever so willing to take the mike, judge Andrew from Gourmet Guys.

Some of our speakers:  Janice Tripepi, Kristy Snell, SABC2 representative, Lisa Vilakazi and MC, Michele.

Bloggers hanging out.  Does Andrew look hungry? 

And finally, lunch!

And now, on a sober note, remember to watch Sue Green and Tami Magnin this Saturday, 8:30 on SABC2.

Until next week!

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by Michéle

Finding the Ultimate Dinner Diva…

October 10, 2012 in Articles

6 Comments »

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What do you do when you are passionate about marketing, food, blogging and bloggers?  And you are frustrated by the fact that food blogging takes literally hours to prepare a post.  From developing and testing the recipe until it tastes just right.  Then planning the ‘look and feel’ of the photograph, sourcing and scouring cupboards for the right plates, props and decorations, shopping for the most beautiful ingredients, making the recipe with the utmost care and meticulously styling it so that it falls perfectly natural on the plate.  Then taking the picture, ensuring that the lighting is not too bright or too dim, that there are no horrible shadows, and that the exposure is 100% perfect.  To finally, transferring the images to the computer (and dare I say, editing it here and there :) ) adding a signature, and writing a tantalizing, mouth watering blog post.  And you think to yourself: ‘To what end?’ Well the end is nigh… not!  Now you still have to do your SEO and social networking to draw attention to your blog.    

So, having studied this whole lot, producer, foodie and blogger, Anne Myers decided something has to be done to give food bloggers what they deserve – airtime and recognition (and hopefully a secondary stream of income :) ).  And that, dear Watson, is how Dinner Divas was borne.  You can read about the nuts and bolts of this online frenzy in Anne’s blog and the delicious new Dinner Diva blog.

It has taken months of blood, sweat and tears (I swear, she can cry) and hard work to get to this point, where we can say with great excitement and pride, and a warm fuzzy feeling in our hearts, that the first episode of Dinner Divas will be broadcast this Saturday (13 October) at 8:30 on SABC2.

In the first six episodes, our twelve bloggers will each have to face a quick elimination round where they will go head to head in the Dinner Diva kitchen.  The objective:  To prepare a family meal of their choice as well as plate and set a table in 90 minutes.  Then the judges will sit down to judge the meals.  In these rounds our judges do not know whose food they are judging, and the bloggers do not know who they are cooking for.  Our judges will only receive a short written description of the blog, because after all, we are looking for the best blogger, so their blogging skills are also under pressure.  And to add a little spice, the judges can choose to put one, both or nobody through to the semi-finals!

In episode 1 we see Foodmonger – Kristy Snell battling it out against veteran blogger, My-easy-cooking – Nina Timm.  Can you venture a guess who’ll go through?  Well I’m not telling…

 Their recipes will be available on I Love Cooking from Saturday, so visit us soon to get more updates and some Divalicious recipes.

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by Michéle

Our next best blogger

July 10, 2012 in Uncategorized

1 Comment »

Believe me when I say that standing in front of a hardcore reality TV crew, staring into two massive HD cameras and hearing terms like favor the camera, freeze and cut, knowing those are not referring to the culinary terms, can be a little daunting even when you are doing what you love and cooking your own recipes.

Just ask Sue.  She excitedly arrived before sunrise, and in her generous fashion, brandished a large bowl of homemade sausage rolls which she lovingly prepared for the crew and brought them with on her flight to Cape Town.  Once warmed through in the oven, and their aroma filled the kitchen, they flew off the plate before her make-up was even done!

Once Sue took to the kitchen and the cameras started rolling, it only took a short while before she was in the swing of things, baking her delicious and oh-so-easy beat and bake cake.  This is definitely one to put on your to-do-list.  It is easy as pie, and delicious to boot.  And best of all, you can dress it any which way you fancy.   She also prepared an oozingly delicious monkey-gland sauce, crumbed chicken fillets and scrumptious meatballs.  You could hear the crew salivating, and once our director called ‘cut!’ those meatballs had no chance – and they were great with the monkey-gland sauce.

We are extremely happy and proud to welcome Sous-Chef into our Best Blogger category on I Love Cooking, so why not check out her video clips and recipes here.

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by Michéle

Ma se Stronie

June 11, 2012 in Soups, starters and light meals

3 Comments »

Good morning :)

Ahhhh!  I thoroughly enjoy winter.  I actually think I belong in the Northern hemisphere (don’t get me wrong – I do love my country, it’s just a bit too hot for comfort sometimes).  So what I enjoy most about winter is Soup (and warm blankies)!  And what’s even better, my entire family loves Soup.  I made this one last night to warm the heart and soul (and fingertips and bonemarrow), and the recipe is, as the title suggests, from Mom, and it’s called Ma se stronie because there is some creative licence in the ingredients.  It’s also a great Meatless Monday recipe (obviously you’ll omit the ham), and you can really go mad with your own flavor additions :)

Ma-se-Stronie 
 
 
  • olive oil
  • 500 g smoked pork rashers, cut into small dice (optional)
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4 stalks celery with some leaves, thinly sliced
  • 4 young, slim carrots, sliced
  • 1 medium red pepper, grated
  • 250 g white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1 x 425 g can chopped tomatoes
  • 1 x 425 g can white cannelini beans in brine
  • boiling water
  • 2 chicken or vegetable stock cubes
  • 50 g tomato paste
  • 1 x 425 g can of corn kernels or baby peas, drained
  • 250 ml pre-cooked and drained elbow macaroni (don’t be tempted to add more, they do swell up and can overpower your soup)
  • 1 x 55 g packet soup powder of your choice: vegetable, mushroom or cream of tomato
  • seasoning: salt, milled black pepper, sugar, chopped garlic, dried chilli flakes
  • 65 ml chopped parsley
  • to serve: olive oil, parmesan cheese, whole parsley leaves

Heat the oil in a large soup pot and add the smoked pork (if using), the onion, celery and carrots. Start to sauté them. When the pork and veggies have taken on some nice colour, add the red pepper and sauté until some of its moisture has evaporated. Now do the same with the mushrooms.

When you are happy that the pork and veggies are caramelized and have built-up a good flavour base, add the chopped tomatoes and beans with their brine. Cover the food completely with boiling water and add the stock cubes and tomato paste. Stir and bring to the boil. Skim off any foam and then reduce heat. Cover and cook on very low for about 45 minutes or until the pork is tender. You may need to replenish the water a little.

When the pork is tender to your liking, add the corn kernels or peas and the elbow macaroni. Check the consistency of the soup and add more water if you like. Now mix the packet of soup with a little cold water and stir into the boiling soup and allow to cook a few minutes until thickened. Taste and then season to your liking with salt, milled black pepper, sugar, chopped garlic and dried chilli flakes and stir in the chopped parsley.

Serves 6

Hint: there is no hard and fast rule about this soup. You can make it as chunky or soupy as you wish and add as much or none garlic and chilli.

Check out more winter warmers on I Love Cooking
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by Michéle

Chicken pie, anybody?

June 5, 2012 in Baking, desserts & sweets, Chicken, Uncategorized

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The two blonds have been working super hard on some very exciting projects, so therefore the absence, and like a lot of people this time of year, I’ve been battling some winter bug that takes the wind right out of your sails for a while … But, life goes on, and so does my job.  They say chicken soup is the way to go when feeling under the duvet, but I think this chicken pie could come in a close second!

Part of my job is to test the recipes we put on our website, I Love Cooking.  It’s very exciting, because I get to practice my skills a lot, as well as play with my favorite toys – my whisks, spatulas, pots, pans, colanders, zesters, quirky timers and best of all, my Wusthof!  (Honestly, it’s my hubby’s because Mom bought it for him as a birthday present with a card saying every man needs a good kitchen knife,  nudge, nudge, wink, wink… She inadvertently always tries to coax him into the kitchen to prepare stuff, and actually got him to make pasta once – which turned out great – and something which he is very proud of) Needless to say, I am the only one who actually uses (and sharpens) the knife on a regular basis. :)

This recipe is perfect for using the Wusthof!  Taking large veggies, chopping them coarsely. Portioning a chicken – great stuff to get your shoulder into and tossing everything into a large pot and letting it simmer away to release those big flavors – yum!  I suggest donning a crisp white apron to complete the whole experience. Add if the buttermilk pastry is too much for you to prepare this time, use a roll of bought puff pastry.

Chicken Pie with Hearty Buttermilk Pastry

  • 1 free range chicken (about 1.4 kg)
  • plus 4 chicken breasts (on the bone)
  • 3 large carrots, thickly sliced
  • 3 brown onions, skin on, quartered
  • 6 large stick celery, thickly sliced
  • 250 g large brown mushrooms, quartered
  • 3 large bay leaves
  • 8 large cloves of garlic, not peeled
  • 2 generous pinches of ground cloves
  • 5 ml ground nutmeg
  • 1.8 litres cold water
  • 2 chicken stock cubes, crumbled
  • 30 ml canola oil
  • 1 large bunch spring onions, sliced thinly (with the green tops)
  • 250 g white button mushrooms, grated
  • 1 x packet cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup  
  • 65 ml finely chopped parsley
  • milled black pepper
  • some prepared Hearty Buttermilk Pastry  

Cut the chicken in portions and place in your largest saucepan. Add the chicken breasts as well as the carrots, onions, celery, brown mushrooms, bay leaves, garlic, cloves, nutmeg, water and stock cubes.  Bring to a boil, skim off any foam that may develop on the top, and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer gently for an hour or until the chicken is cooked. Remove saucepan from heat and allow to cool in the stock until you can handle the chicken by hand.

Strain, reserving the stock and the chicken. Discard or re-use the veggies as you deem fit. Pour the stock in a jug so that the fat rises to the top then remove as much of that fat as you can. Remove the bones and skin from the chicken and discard or re-use as you deem fit. Flake or cut the chicken meat into small pieces and set aside.

Heat the oil and add the spring onion, fry briefly then add the grated white button mushrooms. Sauté until they are cooked then add the reserved chicken stock. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly until it is reduced to a total of 800 ml. Mix the soup powder with a little water until smooth then whisk into the simmering reduced stock. Stir until thickened now add the chicken meat and parsley. Stir lightly with a fork to mix through (you do not want the meat to break into stringy parts) and remove from heat.

Taste and now adjust seasoning: you may need salt (doubt it), milled black pepper.  When you are happy with the taste, transfer to a deep 20 X30 cm-baking dish and set aside.

Spoon the pastry dough on top of your pie filing. Flatten the dough for a neat finish. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes in the oven preheated to 180 ºC or until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown.

Serve with a simple tomato and lettuce salad.

Serves 6 – 8

Chef’s note:  this is really a very large pie, perfect for those festive extended-family feasts. For normal meals, you can halve the recipe or even just omit the chicken breasts for a smaller pie.  And if you are using puff pastry, crump the edges, make a few small slits in the top and brush with an egg wash made with an egg beaten with a little water.  Bake in the oven preheated to 200 ºC for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. 

Enjoy!

And if you really must, you can see me in action preparing the buttermilk pastry by clicking this link -  and on that note: apoligies for the bad image above. It was lifted staight of this video clip as a JPEG.

 

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by Michéle

Moments in time…

May 24, 2012 in Chicken

2 Comments »

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Moments in time

 I must say, I really love writing blogs, (although I haven’t been very active here – yet) so it is rather frustrating that finding the time to write one, is so difficult!  Having a full-time job, three children and a household to run really spreads you thin, so I think one has to be very disciplined to make time for those things which bring you joy!  How ironic :-)

 Luckily, my other joy, cooking for my family, can be tailor made to suit my time limitations.  So putting a couple of good flavours together in a pot, and then forgetting them in the oven while they slowly develop their character and personality really appeals to me… and to my family.

 When I served this recipe last night, silence befell the whole table; they were either all starving, or they were relishing in the pure simplicity and comfort of this rustic dish.  As I looked at their faces, I noticed Geoffrey, my eldest (and also the actor in the family), sitting with his eyes closed and a barely-there grin on his face!  It was a sight to behold, that look of pure bliss and contentment on his face.  Ahhh, I thought, here comes the moment in time when your child tells you you are the best cook in the whole wide world and he will marry a woman just like you … Then he opened his eyes and saw us all staring at him. ‘Sorry, I had a Steven Tyler moment…’, he said simply and continued eating.  That brought the house down, and obviously opened up a heated debate as to who is going to be the next American Idol, Mom’s ego not in the slightest bruised as pride in her son’s quirky ways overtook all other considerations!

 So here’s to wishing you many happy Steven Tyler moments!

 Although this recipe is not quite a one-pot-wonder, it surely is leisure food.  Take your time to prepare the stock, and please make the effort to reduce it and add that splash of lemon, you won’t regret it!

Big Chicken & Potato Roast

  •  800 ml water
  • 1 chicken stock cube
  • 1 large onion, quartered
  • 2 large carrots, scraped
  • 2 large celery sticks
  • 4 – 6 whole garlic cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 6 chicken thighs
  • 6 chicken drumsticks
  • 750 g frozen potato wedges
  • 180 ml olive oil
  • 90 ml sage leaves, finely chopped
  • 2 – 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • lemon juice
  • whole sage leaves to garnish

Bring the water to the boil and add the stock cube, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaf and cloves. Cook until the vegetables are tender: about 15 minutes. Add the chicken and continue to cook a further 15 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces and drain well. Also drain and reserve the stock.
 
Place the chicken and potatoes in a large baking tray. Whisk together the olive oil, sage and garlic and pour over the chicken and potatoes. Season to taste and toss lightly. Bake in a preheated oven at 190ºC for 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked and crisp and the chicken has browned nicely.
 
Meanwhile, strain the cooking liquids and discard the vegetables. Skim the fat off the reserved stock and place the stock in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook on high until the stock has reduced and become thick and glossy. Remove from the heat and add a splash of lemon juice.  
 
Transfer chicken and potatoes to a serving platter. Season to taste and serve with the sauce on the side.
 
Serves 6 – 8

 Chef’s hint: You can use fresh potato wedges, parboiled for 6 minutes before roasting.

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Avatar of Michéle

by Michéle

Don’t move my cheese!

April 24, 2012 in Eggs, Soups, starters and light meals

12 Comments »

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I don’t know about you and yours, but my family are the Uber ‘don’t move my cheese’ type.  As a mom, I have my standard set of family, kiddie friendly recipes, and I kind of make the same types of meals on a regular basis – I know… B O R I N G!!  But what can I do?  They look at me funny when I place a foreign looking meal in front of them, and then I have to endure all the comments during meal times like ‘I don’t eat this’ or ‘I am full, ma, really!’ or my ultimate favorite, ‘I am allergic to this’. 

But before you start feeling sorry for me or start a Ya Ya sista chant, there is a bright side!  Once they’ve managed to find some room in their already full tummy, or suddenly overcome their allergy, the verdict is more often than not, that it may stay on the meal-time repertoire.  So slowly but surely they are training their palate and will hopefully one day be brave enough to relish everything on the menu.

Here is one case in point:  this beautiful creamy baked crostini is so delicious, my mouth is watering even as I type out the recipe name!  I served this to my family on a mild and sunny Saturday afternoon, thinking it would be an easy sell with all the cream and bacon!  And surely, the minute I put a lovely rocket and tomato salad down next to the crostini, the crostini flew off their plates!  (And then they complained that they don’t eat rocket, and that they are sure they are highly allergic to it!) OY! 

Well, the crostini did get their approval… and I am certain that this will become a firm family favorite of yours too, so here goes:

Creamy Breakfast Crostini

  •  8 slices white or brown bread
  • some soft garlic and parsley butter 
  • 250 ml grated mature cheddar
  • 150 ml grated or diced mozzarella cheese
  • 125 ml grated Parmesan cheese
  • 65 ml finely chopped parsley
  • 6 jumbo eggs
  • 200 ml fat-reduced cream
  • 200 ml milk
  • salt and milled black pepper
  • 4 rashers streaky bacon, cut into batons
  • 250 ml cherry tomatoes, sliced or quartered

Spread the bread generously on both sides with the garlic butter and cut each slice in half, diagonally, so that you have triangles of bread. Place the triangles with crusts pointing upwards into four small individual oven baking dishes (lasagne dishes are perfect).

Mix together the cheddar, mozzarella, Parmesan and parsley. Divide into four portions and place nuggets of each portion in between the slices of bread.

Whisk together the eggs, cream and milk and season to taste. Pour in equal quantities over the bread and cheese arrangements.  At this stage, you can cover the dishes with cling film and chill for a few hours until required.

To complete, arrange the bacon and tomatoes over the top and bake in the oven preheated to 180ºC for 15 – 20 minutes or until the creamy egg custard is set and the exposed bread crusts golden and crisp.  Remove from oven and serve.

 Serves 4

Chef’s hint: You can prepare this in a large dish and bake it a little longer. Also, you can go crazy with types of cheese and toppings and herbs.

Delish!

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