by Jess
April 21, 2013 in Breakfast, Meat, Recipes
Do recipes that include the word bacon, even need an introduction? Probably not. Since I made this smokey bacon and onion marmalade, we have already demolished a jar of it. The sweet sticky smokey salty moreishness of this spread is hard to describe in words, you are just going to have to make it for yourself to see what I mean.
by Jess
March 26, 2013 in Baked Goods, Recipes, Sweets
Looking for something simple to make this Easter? How about my Easter S’mores
Or, perhaps you are feeling a bit more adventurous. Why don’t you try my Easter chocolate kisses? Hollow chocolate Easter eggs, filled with home made ice cream. Yum!
You can follow me on twitter or like my facebook page for updates and more
by Jess
March 15, 2013 in Recipes, Sandwiches, Win
I did it! I won! My Bobotie sandwich was voted the winner of the Capsicum Mzansi Gourmet Sandwich Competition.
I get a whopping R10 000 Yuppiechef voucher (probably the nicest prize I have ever won). I’m going to buy myself some Le Creuset pots 
Thanks Capsicum!
The recipe for this winning sarmie can be found here
by Jess
March 4, 2013 in Baked Goods, Recipes
I think I have gotten to the point when I can admit that I am totally obsessed with carrot cake. I’m not sure if it’s the fragrant spices that permeate through the house when it’s baking, or the fact that I can consider it healthy because it contains a vegetable. 
So when I came across carrot cake cookies on pinterest, I knew I had to make them. I adapted Martha Stewart’s recipe from her Cookies recipe book.
These carrot cake cookies, with white chocolate chips, are complemented beautifully by a lime buttercream frosting.
by Jess
February 20, 2013 in Recipes, Sandwiches
by Jess
January 31, 2013 in Recipes, Sandwiches
Which dish can be more ideal to turn into a sandwich for a Mzanzi Sandwich Competition, than Bobotie. Instead of baking the bobotie with a custard topping, I used the custard mixture to make french toast. I piled on bobotie mince, tomato and onion, carrots and a yoghurt topping, to create the ultimate Mzanzi sandwich.
by Jess
January 2, 2013 in Baked Goods, Recipes
I have finally found the ideal cookie recipe for using with cookie cutters. And luckily my friend Brad, happened to give me a whole lot of Christmas themed cookie cutters for my birthday (the perils of having a birthday in December). I made these condensed milk cookies for a Christmas party I had with my friends. The recipe makes a ton of biscuits. I.e. unless you have an industrial sized oven, expect to spend a lot of time putting cookie sheets in and taking them out, however the end result is completely worth it!
My boyfriend ate most of these condensed milk cookies. And he isn’t one to actively choose sweet things to nibble on.
Click here for the recipe.
by Jess
December 14, 2012 in Drinks, Recipes, Win
To enter the competition to win a box full of Consol Glass products – please head on over here
Ah, cocktails, magical concoctions, that if brewed just right, leave the recipients feeling like they have been transported to a faraway place, filled with sun, sand and umbrellas. I enjoy a good cocktail, and I like to measure a place by the quality of their Strawberry Daiquiris. That being said, I hardly ever make my own cocktails, opting for premixed or the creation of some talented bartender.
However, cocktails are super fun to make. We went on a team building for work once, where we got split into teams and had a competition to see who could make the best cocktails under instruction from very patient bartenders. I don’t remember who won, but I do remember that it was probably one of the best team building’s I have ever been on. Although making Mojito’s with your boss is kind of weird.
When I saw the cocktail making classes on offer at the Taste of Christmas festival this past weekend, I knew I had to fork over my crowns (the currency used at the festival) to participate. I anxiously waited for the class to start at 5, and when we began, we were given an explanation of all the fancy cocktail making tools (like a muddler and a hawthorne strainer – sounds like something out of Harry Potter) and proceeded to make a “Full Moon” cocktail. This was a mixture of rasberries, cranberry juice and a Castle Milk Stout. Now I am not fond of beer, and even though this was my least favourite cocktail of the night, it was still sweet enough to drink without gagging.
We then moved on to making a cocktail called a Blue Dissolve (mine was actually pink) with candyfloss, cranberry and vodka. The cocktail is poured over the candyfloss and it disappears like magic (just like my candyfloss lemonade)
The final cocktail, A Sergenti Swirl consisted of Mint, Honey and a Savanna, and the boyfriend and I both agreed that this was the winner.
The coolest thing about all these cocktails was that they were all served in awesome glass jars and bottles. (From Consol obviously)
The recipe for the Serengeti Swirl is given below, the other recipes (with instructional videos) can be found on the Consol Facebook page
Jam jars seem to be a popular choice for serving cocktails now days, and paired with a quirky paper straw, make awesome signature drinks for events. These are some of my favourite Jam Jar cocktail pictures (mostly found on pinterest):
Watermelon Cooler, Bomb Collins, Summer Cherry Sours,
The Southside Fizz, Cherry Lemonade, Sake Champagne Mojito,
The Scarlett O’Hara, Apple, ginger and cranberry vodka cocktail
If you would like to enter the competition to win a Consol hamper, please head on over to http://jesska.co.za/2012/12/14/shaken-not-stirred-giveaway/
by Jess
December 14, 2012 in Drinks, Recipes
With all the hoo-ha surrounding caramel and chocolate vodka, I decided I would try to create my own drink along a similar theme, and at a fraction of the cost. You only need 2 ingredients for this shooter, and it really couldn’t be simpler to make.
There are tons of methods and recipes on the net to create infused vodka’s from storing it in the freezer for a couple of days, to putting a tightly sealed bottle through a cycle in your dishwasher. I settled on using some freshly boiled water to infuse the chocolate into the vodka.
I used Rolo’s, in order to combine the caramel and chocolate taste into one, but you can use any chocolate you prefer (as long as it doesn’t have nuts, fruit or biscuits that would cause it to go a bit manky)
2 Packets of Rolo’s (about 100g of chocolate)
150ml of vodka
Enjoy, and drink responsibly, as this mixture can get quite potent.
*If this post looks familiar – it is because it is a repost from my old blog 
by Jess
October 2, 2012 in Baked Goods, Recipes
So my favourite online store in the entire world (for realsies – they are epic) Yuppiechef, has decided to host a “Spring Cake Pop Challenge” and they have got Bakerella (the cake pop prodigy) on board to help judge the entries!!!
I love entering competitions – especially food related ones, so how could I pass up this opportunity? What ensued was a 2 day kitchen takeover. Chocolate and sweets covered every available surface, and cake crumbs littered the floor (sorry Tyron).
Since pictures speak louder than words, this is how the troll doll cake pops came to be:
I was action tweeting and instagramming during this challenge
You can follow me on twitter – @JessKa_F and on instagram just search for @jesska_f
