Main courses

Prawn, Pita and Salad Pile Up

Prawn Tostada Gordon RamsayYou might not know this: I really do NOT enjoy week night cooking. I find it an absolute chore: Time is limited and everyone wants my attention – and I’m so hungry after a full day of work that I’m eyeing up the corn chips and the hummus (and the baking) and my willpower is waning.  So, to get week night dinners on the table FAST there’s two ingredients I’ve just got to have on standby: Large wholemeal Lebanese Bread (of the ‘pita’ variety) and frozen prawns.  Both are super versatile and assist with getting dinner on the table in record time. (more…)

Quinoa Salad with Chargrilled Veges and Garlic Yogurt Dressing

Quinoa Salad with Chargrilled Veges and Garlic Yogurt DressingI think this Quinoa Salad with Chargrilled Veges and Garlic Yogurt Dressing could be my best quinoa salad recipe yet. This is actually the third salad recipe on this blog featuring this yummy and healthy ‘wonder grain’ on this blog.  Seeing as the other two recipes have been super popular I thought “why not?”  Indeed, this dish is high in WOW factor. Get in quick and rustle this up before the price of capsicums and eggplants skyrocket Downunder as we scurry into autumn.

Low in fat and high flavour this salad ROCKS as a lunch dish on it’s own, or, it is the perfect accompaniment to a beautifully cooked piece of meat (we’ve had it with steak as well as roast chook) and there’s always lots left for lunches for the next few days (this recipe feeds 6-8 but we are a family of three!).
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Mexican Eggplant Salad

SAMSUNG CSCI went to the gorgeous Mamacita Mexican restaurant in Havelock North.  I can’t decide what I like best… Their food, their service, or their decor:  All top notch, go check it out if you are in the area!

Anyhow, we ordered the most fantastic eggplant salad. It was so good I took a photo, made mental notes and tried recreating it the next night at home. The result? I was chuffed with how it turned out (just quietly, I reckon my freestyle version with the addition of mint and feta took it to a whole new level!).

So, here’s what I did (the photo is my version, by the way, not Mamacita’s!)

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Lemon, Honey and Garlic Chicken Wings

Lemon, honey, garlic chicken wings recipeAsk Hot Hubby what his favourite meal is to come out of my kitchen… It’s quite likely he’ll tell you it’s Lemon, Honey and Garlic Chicken Wings. I can’t take any credit whatsover for this recipe, this comes from Cathie Hamilton, of Cathie’s Cuisine.  I nabbed this recipe when I went on Cathie’s Spanish Tapas cooking class 18 months ago (don’t get me started on what else we made or how good they were, we’ll all be here all day).  I mentioned to Cathie how much we love this recipe and Cathie generously said I could put it on my blog to share with all you lot!  Thanks Cathie! This is a fabulous entree/nibble dish when you’ve got visitors and it never fails to impress.  I’m pleased this recipe is now here on the blog, as I can refer my dinner guests to this – everyone asks for the recipe!

By the way, if you are in Hawke’s Bay and looking to WOW your friends or family with your cooking skills, or even just looking to hone your cooking schools or even expand your recipe collection, definitely consider one of Cathie’s Cooking courses. I did the Spanish Tapas class with Mum (on a Mum and Daughter day out) as well as a Thai Cooking course with a group of colleagues. Both courses were so much fun and I’ve successfully recreated all the dishes many times since.  Cathie runs the courses from her own home in Hastings. You spend the afternoon cooking (and giggling) and then at the end of the class you get to sit down and enjoy the meal you’ve lovingly prepared along with a wine.  On that  note, I really must sign up for her Mexican cooking class. Hmmmm.

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Lamb Rack with Dukkah Crust & Baked Eggplant Layer

lamb racks with dukkah crustYou know when you have a meal that’s so good, you keep thinking about it, over and over? Well, this dinner will have you re-living every forkful for a good week.

Dukkah. Contented sigh. Oh, how how I love you. Dukkah goes perfectly with lamb, and hummus, which was convenient on the night I whipped this all up as I had a couple of jars of dukkah leftover in the cupboard post Christmas and a fresh batch of hummus.  Bonus.  This Baked Eggplant layer dish was a side dish I made by chance: I had the latest Healthy Food Guide sitting on the bench as I was pondering what to cook for dinner and there it was, a picture on the cover, calling out to me as the perfect accompaniment…. I even had all the ingredients (I did tweak the recipe a little, I can’t help myself). Sublime. (more…)

Damn Yummy Christmas Ham

SAMSUNG CSCAlrighty, not long to go till the Big Red Man comes! Time to think of Christmas Day’s menu. Well, think no further, I’ve taken the thinking out for you.  If you asked me, or my family for my best ever recipes, this is IT. Easy. It makes me happy even writing this blog post – I just wish I could capture the smell of it cooking and share it with you!  I always have a lot of ‘friends’ in the kitchen when I make this.

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Asparagus and Feta Quiche

imageI thought I’d better get in quick with this recipe before asparagus season in NZ winds up for the year! I’ve made this on and off over the years and it’s a recipe I always come back to because it’s straightforward and I don’t have to look up a recipe,  I can mix-up the recipe based on what’s in the fridge, it’s filling (as you’d expect with a dozen eggs) and therefore, it feeds the masses (or, in the case of my small family, we can dine on this for days!). (more…)