Another Party!

Another party.... this time at home. My son, who is studying to be a chef at Silwood School of Cookery, had to make a 3 course meal for 8 as part of his holiday project. This is the result!

A starter of caramalized onion tartlets (delicious!) with rocket, melon and parma ham salad.

Main course of lamb noisettes, roasted veg and duchess potatoes with mushy pea puree and bordelaise sauce.This isn't the best representation of this course because in all the rush of getting the meal served he forgot to take a picture, so this is a re-creation the next day.

Dessert of poached pears with custard sauce.
We also had homemade bread rolls, cheese straws and spiced almonds.Having only been at chef school for 8 weeks, all in all a pretty good effort!

Winter Fruit

In between all these grey winter days a burst of summery citrus colours!

Succulant Chicken

Lovely succulant chicken with a yogurt sauce and seasonal vegetables. My son, who made this delicious meal, is in his final year of school and will be going away to study next year. Besides missing his company, we are really going to miss his cooking!

Summer Berries

A summer pavlova! I love the way the berries reflect the colours in the table cloth. Anyone who has been to Mauritius will recognize the colourfull, hand embroidered, island figures.Wish I was there now!

Summer Salad

Sunday was a beautiful sunny day, most welcome after all the rain! We celebrated with a summer lunch of spinach filled filo pastry parcels, asparagus quiche and this gorgeous avo, feta and fresh basil salad. Yummy!

Catch of the day!

I must admit I'm not very keen on boats, bait and fishing, but I do love to eat the fresh fish. It does help to have a husband and son who love fishing and another son who loves cooking. Fortunately they can all fillet fish and I get presented with beautiful fresh fillets, ready for the pan, or if they are feeling REALLY energetic, cooked and ready for the plate!

I just love the colour of this 'red roman', living up to it's name ,with all the beautiful shades of pink and gold. I think this would make a great painting don't you?

Strawberry cheesecake

I made this cheesecake for dessert yesterday and as I put it out to eat, I noticed how beautiful the sunlight looked falling across the strawberries. I must add that I don't have the patience to do this type of decoration and would have plonked the whole strawberries on top in a random arrangement! This was painstakingly decorated by my son, the aspiring chef.

Talking of cooking, there are super giveaways on the good life eats.
Competition rules here.

Savoury triangles

Cooking is not one of my favourite passtimes and I am always thrilled when I find a recipe that is easy and everyone enjoys. This is one of those!

Savoury Triangles

1/2 bunch spring onions sliced

30ml butter

30 ml flour

1/2 cup milk

125 gm cooked spinach,drained

salt and pepper

1 cup cheddar cheese grated

1 egg lightly beaten

1 X 500g pkt phyllo pastry

I must admit I don't stick to the recipe exactly. You can use different types of cheese and other fillings like chicken mushrooms and assorted veg.

Saute` spring onions in butter until wilted.

Add flour and cook over medium heat for 3-4 mins, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon.

Add rest of ingredients and leave to cool

To make triangles, open pastry and cut into strips, about 5 per sheet. Brush with a little melted butter and top with a second strip of pastry.
Place a teaspoon full of filling on the corner of the pastry strip.


Fold into triangles, making sure the sides are straight and the corners sharp.

Brush with butter and bake at 200C (400F) for 15-20 min. until puffy and golden!

These are a family favourite and I often get an sms from my boys, when they are coming home for the weekend to "please make triangles!"