Yummy Roast Chicken

Roast chicken can sometimes seem a little boring, this is why we are constantly looking for ways to spice up these good old dishes. I made this delicious Lemon and Olive Roast chicken with Chorizo and Garlic for our last Sunday lunch and it was a huge hit! YUM YUM :)

 
Try this recipe and roast chicken will never be the same!
Lemon and Olive Roast Chicken

The Good Food and Disappointment Show

When I heard that Gordon Ramsay was going to be at this year’s good food and wine show, I knew I had to be there. Unfortunately for me the tickets were super expensive so I spent a lot of time um-ing and ah-ing about whether or not it’s worth buying the cheap tickets and sitting in the back and if I can actually afford to buy the more expensive ticket.

 Eventually I realized that if I could get R100 from 10 people I would be able to buy the ticket, but why would anyone just give me R100? So I decided to sell cupcakes, 1 batch for R100 and they can be claimed whenever the buyer wants them. My first 10 batches of cupcakes sold really quickly and I was on my way to see Gordon.

 

Gordon Ramsay

All I can say is what a waste of money. Everything was so rushed and impersonal. They wouldn’t let us take photos, the ‘canapés’ were cheese and crackers and he cooked steak and creamed spinach. What a let down!!

As for the rest of the show, and this opinion probably has a lot to do with my long day and huge disappointment with Gordon, but how boring can things be??

Apart from a few stands where the owners really loved what they were up too, everyone looked super bored. Most people just stared at me when I looked at their products and didn’t offer any information. And what a rip off, R20 for 1 macaroon at one of the stalls I visited...

That said... there were some delicious and fantastic things going on.

My bosses super clever family for example-

Her sister Amy’s delicious Clarks family original sticky plum sauce...  I don’t even feel the need to explain this any further. 

Amy's Sticky plum sauce stand



Aaaand her cousin heather (aka pronto mamma) and her amazing slow roasted cherry tomatoes, spicy marinated mushrooms and sauces. YUM YUM YUM!!




Pronto Mamma



Other than that there were some interesting stands with everything from cheeses, to cured meats, delicious sarmies, preserves, real French fries, weird and wonderful kitchen gadgets and the hottest hot sauces you’ve ever tasted.




Other Stands and friendly people and stuff

 

But all those good stands just couldn’t make up for the bad ones and the bad taste left in my mouth. Very disappointed this year.

PISSGETTI

Ever since I was a little girl my absolute favourite meal has been spaghetti bolognaise. If ever I was asked what I want to eat for dinner, you could be sure the answer was going to be spaghetti or when I was really young pisgetti.  

From very young on I knew daddy was the best “pisgetti” maker, and it’s really no wonder that it’s the first thing I ever learnt to cook.

But since the days of daddy being the world’s best chef I have learnt a thing or two (yes I actually learnt stuff at my very expensive chef school) and have now perfected the recipe.

It’s become a sort of trademark dish and is often spoken about by my friends and family, and almost always requested for dinner by Josh. Click here to find my recipe!

 Spaghetti Bolognaise

I like making it with a mixture of beef and ostrich mince, but it can be made with any, or the mince can be left out for the yummiest vegetarian bolognaise! I also add a lot of cayenne pepper to give it the nice bite!

Mmm, I’m almost drooling just thinking about it. Must go find something to eatJ

A Birthday Celebration!

So on Friday was one of my very good friends birthday. Seeing as she is the worst organiser ever, her boyfriend and I decided to surprise her by inviting a couple of friends over for home made pizzas and drinks.

Of course I put myself in charge of the food. And of course I had to make her birthday cupcakes!!

  

Chocolate cupcakes with rose meringue icing



After lots of kneading, chopping, frying, roasting, simmering and rolling the first pizzas went in the oven and oh my gosh they were amazing!! Homemade pizza dough and a proper tomato sauce base really made all the difference.

From pizzas with butternut, caramelized onions and feta to pizzas with bacon, pepper dews, feta and avo. Pizzas with just meaty toppings for the boys and ones with mushrooms and peppers and pesto and rocket and different cheeses.

What a delicious evening!! And even though I spent pretty much the whole night in the kitchen, the flowing wine and great company it made for a very memorable one!

Find my delicious cup cake recipe here:

 CHOCOLATE CUP CAKES WITH MERINGUE ICING.

My First Post Ever!!

Today I make my first post. After all my frustrations of trying to set up a blog (and realising that though I thought I knew how to use my computer reasonably well-I might be slightly computer illiterate) I am finally ready to start sharing my thoughts, ideas and recipes, but first- here is a little bit about me.

 I am a Silwood trained chef working for one of Cape Town’s top food stylists. Developing recipes for some of our really big food based companies; prop sourcing, cooking, shopping and eating are what I do on a day to day basis. At any moment I can be up a ladder, cooking up a storm or painstakingly positioning seeds with a pair of tweezers. 

 I am pretty much always around food, whether I’m eating it, making it, beautifying it or just thinking about it.

 I love cooking simple, unpretentious food that is all about flavour. I am more flavour conscious than health conscious but that said some healthy foods just taste amazing.

 I’m probably the messiest chef in the world. Luckily if I’m cooking for my boyfriend, Josh, or my family I mostly get to duck out of cleaning duty but at work it’s just me, and no matter how hard I try not even my Silwood training helps me keep it tidy. They do say a messy chef is a happy chef don't they?? I must be the happiest chef in Cape Town at least.

I LOVE BACON!!!!

...and I am completely obsessed with cup cakes, not so much eating them- mostly just making them and making them  look pretty.

I have 32 sweet teeth and I'll pretty much choose dessert over real food any day- unless it's bacon. I also have an amazing ability to convince myself that sugar is not fattening and as long as it doesn’t have a lot of butter I won't become a tub of lard.

Also wine is good for you. After all, it's just made from grapes, and grapes are fruit and fruit is good for you. No?  

So that is me, in a nutshell.

Join me as I share my passion and love for food. I will be posting recipes and pictures, and writing about places I go and what I eat. Basically anything that has anything to do with food-so basically my life.