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Memories of Brown Onions and Smoked Cheese on Flaky Pastry

August 23, 2011 in Soups, starters and light meals

My bags are about to be packed in the next twenty minutes so that I can leave for location for our next shoot – this time we are going to build rafts, hold surfing trials, do relay races with quad bikes and have a …. tadaaaaa…. camp cook-off! No respectable producer can ever have such a large and long television series without one shot at cooking! So mamma’s little darlings are going to cook and we will soon see who are mommy’s little kitchen helpers and who are daddy’s little game buddies behind the Xboxes while mommy and siblings cook, hey?

Anyway, so I wanted to share this recipe for ages and typical of a frenetic high achieving workaholic, instead of taking a leisurely shower and packing methodically, I write a post about it now of all times!

So here is the recipe and it celebrates the decision for us to do our own photographs in future. We got the gear now we need the skill and the practice. It’s ironic that we have published 17 of my own books with the best images imaginable, that we do gorgeous food television shows but we cannot manage a camera! Instead, we hire at tens of thousands of Rands per week, photographers and stylists to do it all for us … or , we buy with expensive Dollars images online!

So a while ago I threw what I call my f**kit switch and we decided to get liberated from that expensive way of doing things. So here is out first awful attempt … but I have great memories from the attempt and spending time with my daughter and how silly we were (imagine these high-powered producers knowing paai gaai bugger-all of their own cameras … LOL) but anyway, soon we will go for training and then we may be able to present you with images that we are less embarrassed by …. J

However, the tart-thingie is gorgeous and it went down very well that day as it always does, regardless of who I serve it to. Although you could imagine this as a starter, don’t even think of doing it. This is a rich as well as rich-tasting tart, even a small slice will satisfy, so it’s perfect as an almost-meatless main served with a simple salad. Believe me, this unassuming dish will delight your guests time and time again. If you feel like the trouble, do make small, individual tartlets. So much more elegant and lots more of that delightful flaky edge!

Right, that’s me for now. Back in a week.

Smoked Cheese & Brown Onion on Flaky Pastry

Click here for the recipe.

by Michéle

Wild rides and mighty meatballs.

August 17, 2011 in Meat, Pasta & rice

17 Comments »

We’re barely back from our wild ride and we’re shooting again today here in my kitchen (cookery clips for the website) and then we pack again and we’re gone again yes to shoot the wild flowers and rapid rides again.

Whenever life is so hectic around me I think of the statement “You are the sum total of your experience,” and albeit it wise words, what strikes me time and time again when I am in a stressful situation, are my own adaptation of that philosophy: “You are experiencing the sum total of your decisions.”

There were many times over the last two weeks that those very words played over and over in my mind. And they were happy words of gratitude and humbleness: happy that I took the decision to see this series through regardless of the challenges and grateful that at my age I can still do the craziest, most insane, thrilling work with people who are masters of their craft and that are a third of my age. Even as we were trudging between fynbos in Elgin just after it got light one early morning, I looked at my incredible dream team crew bracing winds of 80 kms per hour and temperatures of around 3 degrees, I thought to myself: “You better be good at what you’re doing otherwise you may have to find a real job!”

The series – Challenge SOS (Sink or Swim) – revolves around eight schools who compete against each other for the title of the Unsinkable Outdoors Class of 2011 and after a series of extreme high octane outdoors elimination heats, the finals will see one team taking back to school with them an incredible full-state-of-the-art computer lab for their peers and those learners who come after them. Talk about ‘playing’ it forward! Let me tell you when I was at school teenagers were not this cute or clever or kind …! Times have changed most certainly from a confidence level. These kids have bucketsful!

Aldene, Navorane, Tersia and Oswald from Groenberg High, Grabouw.

Shannon, Camilla, Aaron and Graham from Milnerton High, Cape Town

We have not done any big shoot for over a year and after some traumatic personal experiences with people burduned by their egos in this time, being part again of a team of people who work long and hard and serious and fastidious and tireless and completely devoid of arrogance and ego for the pleasure and benefit of others knowing that all they get is a small, almost ilegible line entry at the end when the program titles roll (fast), was a much-needed emotional and spirtual shot in the arm for me. Anybody who is burduned by a sad and insatiable yearning to be noticed and the perpetual work it requires, should join a television crew for a few days. There were moments on that shoot that profoudly refreshed my faith in man again. Even through the hardships and tensions that popped up occasionally, I had the top-of-mind awarensss that, until my last breath, this is what I want to do: work with these people so that we can make stories come to life on a screen. It was also profoundly humbling to receive the everyday reminders that actually, we are small and insignificant and our little issues count for nothing when faced with the sheer spectacle of our nature’s beauty and its beasts.

White Shark Cage Diving, Kleinbaai (Gansbaai)

We literally had wild rides. From boot-camp style obstacle races to orienteering on the mountain fynbos of Elgin to shark cage diving and abseiling, we kept up with the pace of the competing teams. Those were eight teenagers from Milnerton International High School and Grabouw Groenberg High School. Awesome is too mild a word to describe the scenery and I am still thinking of a word to describe the footage. Meanwhile these images will have to do…

Abseiling Caste Rock, Kleinmond

At Tri Active Lodge we had Riaan as our chef … and there was this killer veggie soup … I am still working my way to get the recipe and promise that before this shoot ends in mid-October, I will have it for us. This soup is so delicious that I saw a teenager boy who claimed he loathed veggies and soup equally much, go weak at the knees eating this soup and what’s more, going back for more and the next day ask for another helping!

Our accommodation (base camp!) in Elgin

And then, darlings, there was the mighty meatballs over spaghetti … No, chef Riaan did not give me the recipe, but I could figure it out! As usual, with a simple recipe using simple ingredients, go for the finest quality and taste you can afford. Since I can remember I have taken the lazy route and used sausage meat (good quality meat though!) for many a meatball or meatloaf. Enjoy the free time!

Sausage Meatballs over Spaghetti

Click here for the recipe.

by Michéle

From Soups to Sharks!

August 5, 2011 in Soups, starters and light meals

10 Comments »

Today, our massive television shoot starts and for the next four days we’ll be running after teams of teenagers – we are a crew of 26 and they will be running … Yours truly shall be languishing under a blanket at the bottom of the mountain with coms (it’s like a walkie-talkie, Miranda except we are wireless this time because of the distances these kids are going to run) and other fancy wireless gear like monitors to communicate with the crew and kids hanging from rocks above my head.

We wil be shooting in bursts of three to five days at a time – just because of the scope and complexities and sheer hard physical work. We won’t be able to sustain more days at a time. Besides, we are shooting (with cameras, Miranda – do not fret, pet!) teenagers doing extreme outdoor activities, so we dare not keep them from shcool that much! Hence us shooting over weekends and only a day or so into each week.

We’re also doing shark cage diving and ditto – I will sit on the boat with a large ginger tea (it helps for sea sickness) and watch and communicate with the brave hearts in the water on the wireless stuff. We’re also going to do like a boot-camp thing with enormous logs (talk about a different kind of login lol!) and orienteering on some or other mountain top currently in full bloom with all sorts of fynbos flowers. Yours truly will go up that mountain only becauce the 4 x 4 vehicles can get there!

And in between all that physical and emotional excitement I will be instant-messaging chef Riaan back at base camp Tri Active in Grabouw about what’s cooking. Literally. A crew is like an army. They can’t run on empty. And from much experience, I know that wheat and fat slow us down and there is not a sight scarier and more pathetic than us lot (motley crew!) trudging stuffed and slow and discombobulated behind a perky little presenter. And why is the presenter perky, pray ask, Miranda? ‘Cause they are always on a special diet, strue’s Bob! This time our Mpho is a vegetarian.

But I have work to do … rather hectic here but believe-it-or-not, rather organised! So here is a recipe my son swears by – he loves it and I think it is perfect for this Cape Town weather. See you on the other side some time next week, stay well and warm.

Roast Butternut & Brandy Soup

Click here for the recipe

by Michéle

Buttered both sides …

August 4, 2011 in Sauces & side dishes

3 Comments »

One way to know if you’re being interviewed by a cook-turned-interviewer and not-quite Piers Morgan or Larry King is being asked what you would like to have as your last meal. And that is also the litmus test that when a seasoned journo interviews you and asks the same question, you know that the poor sausage is really not into food. Honestly.

Now albeit that I get the hypothesis (really I do) but when I’m asked that question, my mind instantly revolts at the image of a man hours away from the gallows, his mouth as dry as the ink on his death sentence from fear and nerves, being offered anything he fancies to eat. My mind also repulses at the image of a terminally ill wife and mother with pleading eyes and fallen veins whispering through blistered lips over and over again: croquembouche, croquembouche … And alas, I also see myself clutching my bleeding chest from a bullet wound during a high jack incident grasping for air and expelling rasping-breath sounds like feed me, feed me …

Just to explain: death is – for me – a human experience that releases the spirit whereas food – for me – focuses on the pleasure and sustenance of the body. (Note the order mentioned!) And the concept of “a last indulgent meal” presumably before death is just too flip and cutie-pie from my perspective, having seen death and those who met her many times. So I think about the question intellectually whereas the poor interviewer probably means it socially.

That said … should I survive that hypothetical bullet wound mentioned above, I would like to have a first meal afterwards consisting of something fabulous made with butter like the humble hake grilled simply and basted with a lemon-butter sauce or fresh thin slices of ciabatta topped with shavings of ice cold firm butter . Yes, it’s the simple truth based on my love for the simple. Butter is my all-time favourite food and ingredient and the food item I spend the most money on because and here I will duck again from all the brownies … I prefer Danish butter and read my lips: it’s not because they are clients on my website. I’ve used Danish … here I better duck again … as well as Irish butter literally for decades before I started my website. In fact, I approached my Danish butter client to join me on account of their excellent quality, not the other way around!

But I digress. Another superb butter brand is the Woollies brand. If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that my food style is predominantly local, seasonal, simple and unpretentious. Fancy and expensive ingredients are often slated and if I do share an expensive recipe like prawns, I call it my month-end (meaning pay day!) special. The list of what I do to minimize my carbon footprint is ridiculously long except when I open the fridge to get out my delicious and imported butter and why? Simple again … it tastes better and stays fresher longer. It’s a question of go big or go home for me. And you know what? If you cannot afford it, then rather buy the butter spreads – they too taste better and lasts longer than our local pure butter. And I hope local butter brand managers read this …

Worth knowing is that the taste and colour of butter can be affected by what the cows eat but moreover, the taste (and longevity) is seriously affected by how thoroughly you wash the butter after churning and how you protect the cold chain from factory to store fridge. Imported butter distributors and Woollies are almost paranoid about not breaking the cold chain and that makes a huge difference to the taste of the butter on your table. Butter exposed to temperature differences separates (that washing is an issue – all buttermilk should be washed out) and goes rancid. It is the simple consequence of not doing a brand justice by schnoeping (ai Miranda, means being stingy) on brand-quality development and sustainability. If local brands up their game, I will be first in the line to use it and write a positive comment. Until then, I am buying imported quality and that’s the end of that.

Now. Have you ever made flavoured butters and kept them ready to use and enjoyment in your fridge or freezer? Well, if no, then try and fit a session of butter-flavouring in this coming weekend. You can buy the ingredients tomorrow with your weekly shop and spend a couple of hours over the weekend improving just about anything you’ll cook for the week ahead with delicious moisture and taste. Depending on how you choose to store your flavoured butters (fashioned into a log or in small containers) you either cut disks or take spoonsful of the cold butter and place it on the piping hot food. It will melt and baptize the food into a new name: magnificent!

On the website this recipe also has a video, presented by the lovely young, sincere and humble Adelie, chef-lecturer at the fabulous Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch. And again a word of apology: images not the best as we ripped them off the videos we made as JPEGS – but what video images! We coined the phrase food porno when we shot Wilna Snyman in Food for Life, a food television series to celebrate the huge success that year of my book with the same title … it was 1992! Sigh.

Sweet-Pepper-Chilli Butter

Excellent to serve with grilled fish, chicken, lamb, beef or veggies.

Olive-Anchovy Butter

Delicious with pasta, rice, veggies, breads, grilled fish or chicken.

Honey-Mustard Butter

To-die-for (not a last meal J) with roast pork, ham, bacon, lamb or chicken.

Click here for the recipes

by Michéle

Quiche me quick – I smell of onions and herbs!

August 3, 2011 in Soups, starters and light meals

2 Comments »

Contrary to what you may have heard or read, I can tell you that quiche has not and probably will never lose its appeal. After producing and directing eleven television cookery series, each between thirteen and twenty-six episodes long (do the math, Miranda!) during which two to six ordinary people per episode either cooked or ate the food, I can tell you that real men not only eat quiche, they also cook it! So there goes the old cliché that real men don’t eat quiche, goodbye! However, quiche can be a little rich at times so my favourite is the plain ole onion and herb quiche .. or the plain ole asparagus quiche.

As with all simple recipes without much glamour, PR and hype, you need to meet only the most basic of requirements: quality ingredients. Those are most importantly and foremost your eggs and cheese, and then the cream and milk. If you cook your onions well and long until they reward you with golden caramel, you’re almost home and dry. All you still need is the single most important ‘ingredient’, the crust. If it’s a hard, thick, sticky, gooye crust, your entire quiche wil be yugh-ish. But if it’s a thin, crumbly-crisp crust, you’re A for away! You hardly need to fuss much about the filling – any good cheese, eggs and cream or milk will do!

Both the recipes I share today have accompanying videos. Check out especially the crust. It is prepared by the humble and brilliant chef-lecturers of the Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch, our location partner in the venture. When you land on its recipe page and you want to see the light and informative video, click on watch video. Enjoy the fact that no blind baking is required! It is, after all, 2011 …

Apologies for the baddish image – it was taken straight off the video footage when we shot the chef …

That’s it for the day – I am off to discuss a bus or shark boats …!

Cheesy Onion & Herb Quiche

Click here for the recipe

by Michéle

Everybody’s everyday Milk Chocolate & Cinnamon Fondant

August 2, 2011 in Baking, desserts & sweets

7 Comments »

Who knows when the humble lava cake became a chocolate fondant? Who cares? Well, maybe the informed foodies and the winies who droo-la-la for a living do, but having now completed a thorough research amongst my run-of-the-mill chocoholic sisters and brothers, the general consensus is not good for refined choc fondants. Maybe we’re a hellofa common lot with little taste or finesse but it seems that the solid, humble good-old-fashioned self-saucing chocolate pudding is the one that brings water to the mouth and eyes around my part of town …

But nevertheless … read on …

So here I was until a few days ago (in spite of knowing my peeps’ preferences) obsessing almost daily about a chocolate fondant that delivers without the cost of that ever-so-refined Swiss chocolate zhooshness.

But as to a bit of background, I must tell you that I’ve always reckoned that chocolate fondant is a much-ado-about-nothing pudding and its main glory lies in the breaking open and observing the molten ‘lava’ being released. But I still obsessed about fondant even though I know that what oozes thrillingly from its belly is really just the still-raw-flour-egg mixture combined with melted butter and chocolate … Ai tog, I even bought a chocolate recipe book that delighted me to no end before it was snatched from my eager hands by Anna my granddaughter who now, weeks later, informs me that my chocolate book is doing the rounds in her class …!

Anyways, here’s more background …

What started this new chocolate fondant obsession of mine (and a few other blog obsessions) was a recipe that nearly flopped. I downloaded it and let it sit in a folder a week or so until I was ready to tackle it. Had it not been for my daughter’s quick and keen observations during the preparation of it, we would have sat with a dog’s breakfast, I tell you. As I especially bought the very best ingredients as claimed to be the big secret of the recipe, I went screaming back to the blog to warn the writer to fix her recipe before somebody else may also face the same dilemma but too late – another reader had already suffered great misfortune with this recipe … And that was a defining moment because right there and then I realized that recipes were being copied verbatim and in this case, the copying did not go very well, shame … Some ingredients were left out of the method and although we spotted it at the time of making it, it was still too late to fix what was sold as the perfect fondant recipe …

Well, since then it’s gone downhill with me and chocolate fondants until finally after batch number 9 & 1/2, I decided it’s the chocolate. It’s too dark, too bitter, to not-sweet, too precious, too intimidating for this cook. And in the process I also realized that one needs to be a highly evolved special soul to love bitter, highly refined chocolate where the percentage is higher than ones age. For those who love it, there has to be something in one’s chemistry and the chocolate’s innate enzymes that cause the alchemy that places one in euphoria. If that is you, lucky you! We mortals with slower frequencies vibrate slow and low on the level of American and South African chocolates like Smarties and Mars Bars and Cadbury’s and Beacons ‘cause they’re chewy and rough and sticky… like cousin Jackie’s voice: chocolate brown, as in milk chocolate’s brown. So, once I figured out the folley in the recipe, I did what I can do in my sleep: I panel-beat the recipe and added ordinary, plain common cheap local milk chocolate – the chewy, crude variety.

And here is the result of my re-writing and down-grading of the perfect chocolate fondant recipe. The milk chocolate taste is not as intense as the dark chocolate in the recipe, so I added some cinnamon for a warming, homely aroma and taste. And of course, a brandy-chocolate truffle (homemade) popped into the centre of each mould before baking was also not a bad idea. Perhaps I can now say that I have an everyday chocolate fondant recipe for everybody – esepecially those on a budget and for those will much less refined taste.

But in the end, sorry to say, it’s still a much-ado-about-nothing dessert for me. The bleeding centre is still mostly raw egg and flour oozed on with the help of melted butter and chocolate. Worst for me is probably that you cannot drink and chat as you want …. no, you’ve gotta drop everyhting (and everybody!) the minute it leaves the oven and start to slurp to enjoy the lava centre. Why? Becaue Miranda, the insides solidify as it cools down …! That melted butter and chocolate go back to their original state … sigh.

So yes, I agree with my pals: give me the good old-fashioned self-saucing chocolate pud … But as lava cakes-of- old go, this one is worth a try. At least if it flops on you, it won’t break the piggy banks’ spirit like it did mine, silly girl. I should know better, after all to let such things upset me.

Hopefully my cheap chocolate fondant version has broken the spell it had over me and we shall see the end of the chocolate fondant recipe obsession! So far, so good.

Everyday Chocolate-Cinnamon Fondant