There's always room for hot cocoa

I feel as I have somehow jinxed the weather in Durban due to my boasts about the sunshine returning. The sunshine is a fickle mistress who has been once again been replaced by the ominous clouds and cooler temperatures this week. I must admit though,I still quite enjoy the soothing repetitions of the rain at times and the chance to catch up on all my TV shows ( crime shows are my guilty pleasure, at the moment I'm hooked on Bones and Castle) as well as reading my favourite books. I wish I could tell you that I ensnare my mind with the classics such as Jane Eyre and The Art of War but it's James Patterson all the way and perhaps a cheffy biography. As wine is a perfect match to cheese, so is delicious hot chocolate to a good book. I'm not talking about the watered down drivel that comes out of a generic hot chocolate mix, but the rich unctuous one made with dark chocolate and full cream milk. Once you have made this version, the former will be but a ghost of hot chocolates past in your mind.
Here is my recipe for the ultimate hot chocolate

Ingredients:

400ml full cream milk
1/2 cup of dark belgian chocolate ( any dark chocolate will do the trick)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp brown sugar
mini marshmallows

yields two glorious cups of cocoa

Method:

In a small pot put all the ingredients besides the marshmallows. Heat on a medium heat until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is piping hot.
Scatter with little marshmallows and enjoy! 

Spring has sprung, let's have some sunshine in a pie!

I can tell you that for as long as I have lived in Durban I have found that our moods are in direct linkage with the weather. Don't try have witty banter with a Durbanite after a few dark and rainy days ( You may get a mumble and a pat on the back for a brief millisecond until they descend into the dark crevice that is the winter moping)
Then Spring arrives, the sun is out, the flowers are in bloom and so are Durbanites! The beaches are full ( so are the gyms), beer o clock falls slightly earlier and sunshine food is definitely on the menu!
With that in mind, this lemon meringue pie will be a treat after an early evening braai, absorbing the last heat rays of the day or any day of the year in fact.

Oh my Isla's lemon meringue pie

ingredients:

Pastry base:
115g caster sugar
225g butter, cubed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
340g cake flour
*egg wash (take an egg add a tbsp. of water and whisk)

Lemon curd:
150g butter
125g sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
zest of 2 lemons
6 egg yolks

Meringue topping

6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 tsp. cream tartar

Instructions:

1. For the pastry base. cream together your butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Add your egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Then add your cake flour until it forms a dough.
2. On a lightly floured surface roll out your dough and press into a tart pan ( mine is a 20cm tart pan)
3. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
4. While the pastry is chilling, let's make the curd.
5. In a medium size saucepan put in your butter, lemon juice and zest. Cook on medium heat until butter is melted. whisk your egg yolk and sugar together and add your melted butter mix. Place ingredients back in a pot on a medium heat and cook until thick. Pop in the fridge to chill.
6. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
7. Take your tart out of the fridge, place some baking paper on top, fill with ceramic baking beans or rice. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
8. Take out the oven and remove the baking beans. Brush with egg wash and place back in the oven for 5 minutes until golden and cooked through. Remove from oven and cool slightly
9. Remove the curd from the fridge and pour into the pastry case.
10. Now onto the meringue
11. Place egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl and place on top of a simmering pot of water. stir until the sugar has dissolved.
12. Once it has, then place in a mixer and whisk until you have a big bowl of marshmallowy looking awesomeness!
13. Spoon your meringue onto the tart and spread around however your feel!
14. Enjoy your pie and sunshine!!

One night in Paris

In my mind I have a Parisian soul, an artist, dreamer and chef all rolled into a short blonde vessel.
I need to remind myself that I live in suburban South Africa and not Paris in its 1920s hey day ( Watch Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris to get my drift)
So I ponder to myself, what is it about Paris that ensnares the senses and captivates the mind? During my short visit to Paris recently I was enamoured more than ever, perhaps because I had classic french songs on a constant loop in my head, my own personal soundtrack. Think Edith Pilaf's La vie en rose and the ballad Du paris.
The food was magical as well as the architecture but I think the wonderment of Paris is the imagination and romance it stirs up in anyone visiting it.
This dish is my ode to Paris.

Parisian chicken, gratin dauphinoise  potatoes and and asparagus with

Hollandaise sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the gratin dauphinoise potatoes

4 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced & 4cm rounds cut out of them
1 cup of cream
1 clove of garlic
salt and pepper
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

Parisian chicken

4 chicken breasts
2 eggs
dash of water
1/2 cup of cake flour
1 tbsp of thyme chopped
knob of butter
1/2 cup of dry white wine
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp of parsley, chopped

Aparagus and hollandaise

16 spears of aspargus
3 egg yolks
1 tbsp of lemon juice
100 grams of melted butter

Method:

For the potatoes:

1. Rub garlic clove into 4 10cm round tins. Divide potatoes evenly amongst 4 dishes. Pour over cream, parmesan and salt and pepper.
2. Cover each dish with foil and bake in a 150 degree celcious oven for 45 minutes.
3. Remove foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes until blistering and golden.
4. Keep them in a warm place while you crack on with the other things

For the Chicken

1. Take your chicken breasts, and bash out into about 1cm in thickness.
2. In two separate bowl, mix together eggs and water and in the other the cake flour and thyme.
3. Dip chicken breast into egg mix and then seasoned flour mix.
4. In a medium saucepan, heat butter and a dash of oil to a medium heat. Cook chicken breasts until crisp and golden.
5. Place cooked chicken breasts in a warm place.
6. In the same saucepan, add white wine and lemon juice stirring until slightly reduced and then add parsley.

For the Aparagus and hollandaise.

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius and roast asparagus until cooked but still crisp.
2. Onto the hollandaise, whisk egg yolks and lemon juice in a bowl over a double boiler and slowly add the melted butter whisking constantly until you have a beautiful sauce.

Assembly.

1.  Place the gratin dauphinoise potatoes on heated plates.
2. Then place the chicken and pour over the white wine sauce over it.
3. Get your asparagus and pour over your hollandaise.
4. Serve with a crisp sauvignon blanc
5. Bon Appetit!!

" When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie. that's amore"

Everyone has their favourite comfort food, the thing that soothes the soul and makes you sleepy afterward. Perhaps that's what a carbo coma is but nevertheless the joy it excudes is incomparable. Mine has always been pizza, since I was a child and my mum would make pizza with smiley faces on them, or the amazing 'dinosaur mini pizza's' of the 90's in the shape a claw. ( I'm sure I've brought back nostalgic 90's memories for some of us)
I've been making my own pizza for years, from square tray bakes from university days to become a slight pizza purist today.
I have googled and tested and I finally have come up with a great recipe that will transport you to the old country.
This recipe doesn't have any additional toppings of saucy sauces, a classic margharita is my favourite any day of the week.

Ingredients:

Pizza dough:

3 cups stone ground cake flour
8 grams dried yeast
1 tablespoon of caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
300ml of warm water
a dash of olive oil

• Mix all ingredients together in a stand mixer and knead for 8 minutes or until when you indent the dough it springs back ( that way you know that you have activated the gluten sufficiently)
• Place dough in a oiled bowl and cling wrap, place in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight ( Cold fermentation creates a more complex flavour but if you are pressed for time, sit the dough in a warm place until double in size)

Pizza sauce

A dash of olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tin whole tomatoes
1 tsp salt
bunch of basil

• Heat olive oil in a small saucepan on medium heat, saute onion until translucent. Add your garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add tinned tomatoes and salt, simmer for twenty minutes
• Add basil and using a stick blender, blend sauce until smooth.

Toppings

bunch of parsley, chopped
1 cup of grated parmesan
3 cups of grated mozarella
olive oil for brushing

Bringing it all together

• If you happen to have pizza stones ( if you're serious about pizza making, you should really get them) place them in a cold oven and crank your oven to the highest setting. If you don't have pizza stones a baking tray would work fine too.
• Heat the oven for one hour, this way you are creating your own pizza oven
• Get your pizza dough and divide into two balls, take one ball and on a floured surface roll pizza dough out until thin and round.
• Take pizza stone or baking tray out the oven and working quickly place dough on heated surface.
• brush pizza dough with olive oil and smear pizza sauce evenly over pizza dough. Scatter parmesan, parsley and mozarella on the dough.
• Bake for 7 minutes until crisp and golden

Heave a sigh of relief- you've got meatballs

What I have noticed of late is the city of Durban is currently going through a period of constant sighdom ( that is most likely not even a word but is fitting nonetheless). Perhaps we are buckling under the weight of miserable weather, doom and gloom in the newspapers or perhaps the recent Sharks rugby performance. I have noticed people loudly sighing in every avenue of my life, be it the gym (perhaps that may be the physical exertion  aspect) or even in the magazine section of my local C.N.A ( anyone near food magazine's really shouldn't be sighing at such an audible level).
I have taken upon myself to be the sigh crusader, ridding our town of melancholy's grip and bringing forth joy with happy meals that are sure to soothe the soul.
This recipe is sure to make you feel nurtured and delighted even with the rain outside. After all life is too short not to enjoy good meatballs.

Isla's Spaghetti and meatballs ( serves 6)

Ingredients:

500g beef mince
1 pack of beef sausages
2 slices of white bread
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp oregano
1 tablespoon chopped basil
salt and pepper
a good glug of olive oil
4 tins of tomatoes
2 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic
handful of basil
pinch of sugar
packet of spaghetti/ fettuccine

Preheat oven to 180

1. For the meatballs. Place bread in milk until soaked. Place beef mince, beef sausage ( casings removed), soaked bread, Parmesan and herbs in a bowl. mixed together and season. Roll into balls. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. Start with the sauce; heat oil in a medium saucepan; add onions cooking until transluscent; add garlic and cook for 30 seconds; seasoning as you go; then add the tomatoes and herbs. Simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Pop your meatballs in the oven for 10 minutes to get the cooking process going. Blitz your tomato sauce until smooth and then put your meatballs in the sauce to finish off the cooking.
4. Place a large pot of water onto the boil and cook your pasta according to packet instructions.
5. Drain your pasta and serve with your meatballs and a scattering of Italian parsley.

Sandwich Symphony

A lot can be said about sandwiches. They are intrinsically linked to everyday eating that it's hard to pinpoint when it really came into being and became the star of the lunchbox. The most popular story is that of the 4th earl of sandwich, a rather keen card player that needed sustenance that would keep his hands free to play. His valet brought him some meat bolstered by two slices of bread and the rest is history.
Sandwiches have become more interesting compared to boring white bread cemented together with peanut butter and jam. Nowadays there are exciting combinations such as parma ham and Gruyere, hummus and carrot, tuna & wasabi, the list is endless.
My simple panini (Italian for sandwich) is a creation that is quick and is sure to honour the sanctity of the sandwich.

Goats cheese & chorizo panini.

A panini of course
A few slices of crumbly chevre goats cheese
A handful of wild rocket
A fair amount of chorizo sliced up.

first things first, fry your chorizo in a little olive oil until warm and crispy. Slice you panini and butter it ( everything is always better with butter). Then put your wild rocket on, crumble your goats cheese and scatter with chorizo sliced. An addition drizzle of balsamic reduction would also be great on this sandwich. Enjoy every morsel!

Strawberries and cream- an afternoon dream

Sundays are starting to become my favourite day of the week. The crazy energy of the work week has subsided, you have most likely gone to friends or done something energetic on a saturday, so sunday has this calm air about it; peaceful serenity. I use these days to tinker in my kitchen, sure I cook all week but on a sunday I can make whatever I want. Yesterday's sunday screamed for a macaroon day. It was sunny with a slight chilly wind, which makes me feel nostalgic of seasons gone by and winter to come.
I have tried so many macaroon recipes and they never came out right. When finally I found my holy grail of macaroon recipes written by Chef Alfred Henry of Capsicum Culinary Studio. It made my sunday a real strawberries and cream dream.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
150 g sugar
50 g water
120 g egg whites
35 g sugar
150 g ground almonds
200g icing sugar
Method:
Bring to the water and the first sugar amount to the boil. Boil to 110°C exactly.
Combine 60g egg white with 35g sugar and whisk to soft peaks.
Pour boiling sugar mix onto the soft egg whites, keep whisking until cold (pour this slowly down the side of the mixing bowl whilst whisking and not into the middle of the egg whites).
Sieve the almond and icing sugar (I blended mine in a food processor first to get it really fine). Add the remaining 60g egg white and mix until smooth.
Mix in 1/3 of the meringue first and then the remaining meringue, and fold through.
Place into a piping bag and pipe out walnut size rounds about 3 cms apart onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Pick up tray and bang on table to remove bubbles and to create the macaron foot.
Leave to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to dry the tops and ensure even cooking
Bake at 160°C for 9 minutes.
Once cooked remove from tray gently.

Filling:

500 ml cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
a dash of vanilla extract
a punnet of strawberries chopped up

Whisk the cream, icing sugar and vanilla until nice and thick. Fold through your strawberries.
Sandwhich filling between two macaroon shells and delve into the delight that is a macaroon!