The Perfect Party Dip

Today my son turned 5 and out of the vast quantities of weird and wonderful foods that arrived on the party table for 50 adults and children - this ended up being my favourite. I must confess I didn't take this photo, I found it on the interweb to give a good idea as to what the finished product looks like, but it will be replaced soon when next I make my favourite party dip.

This dip works really well with anything from celery/carrot sticks to plain crackers or pita strips and still tastes great hours after it's been removed from the oven.

1 big fat round loaf of bread(white or brown)

1 bag frozen spinach defrosted and drained

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp curry powder

2 tubs cream cheese

2 onions finely chopped

3 spring onions finely chopped

1 cup grated cheese

1 cup mayonaisse

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Cut the top off the loaf of bread(as in a lid that you will place back on top when cooking the bread) and scoop out the inside soft bits leaving the crust to form a shell. Mix all the remaining ingredients and spoon into the loaf. Place the lid on top and bake for 2 hours. Serve warm with your favourite dipping vegetables/breads/crackers.

My kind of Chicken Pasta

On a recent tour of the South Island, my cousin made a beautiful chicken pasta dish one night which I loved as it contained some of my favourite ingredients. I have adapted it slightly to suit my palate better by adding spinach, as it seemed to be more naughty than good for one, but the addition of spinach allows me to think I am being virtuous.

This makes a good amount for 4...

500g of your favourite pasta
2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite size chunks
1 chopped onion
crushed garlic
chopped bacon
1/2 tub cream cheese (use the light variety if you are watching your fat intake, it works just as well)
sundried tomatoes
olives
capers
spinach(I use baby leaf or frozen parcels, defrosted)
parmesan cheese
pine nuts

Boil the pasta as per the packet instructions...

While the pasta is cooking, saute the garlic, onions and bacon in a little butter/olive oil and put aside. Fry the chicken breast in a hot pan until golden and cooked through but still moist. Put in a mixing bowl along with bacon/onion/garlic. Stir through the tomatoes, olives, capers and spinach, and the cream cheese. When the pasta is cooked stir this through too, and the season with salt and pepper (remembering not too much salt as the bacon and olives are salty). If you need to add more cream cheese do so. Grate parmesan cheese into the pasta and sprinkle over toasted pine nuts. Serve up with your favourite green salad. Bon Appetito.

Bake a Cupcake

Finally getting back into the swing of things after a lovely hiatus on the South Island of New Zealand where we survived on the red wine, dark chocolate and french fry diet. Was very pleased to see my kitchen again as campervan cooking is rather challenging.

Tomorrow my eldest son is finally having his kindergarden graduation. To celebrate this momentous occasion, he has to arrive armed with treats for all his friends. His suggestion was to bake cupcakes which ended up being a fun activity for both him and I, although I must confess I don't think I'd ever attempt more than 4 dozen at a time because just dealing that amount of sugar is a bit disturbing, let alone the colouring and decorations.

Cupcakes are the easiest things in the world to make, and there is no limit to what you can put on top of them in terms of colour and decorations. You can keep it simple by simply icing the tops, or add cherries, sugarcraft or any edible naughty you might like.

To make cupcakes in a food processor mix together 2 eggs, 125g soft butter, 125g self-raising flour, 125g castor sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 tbsp milk. Divide evenly into 12 cupcake paper cases placed in a 12 muffin baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes on 170 degrees C. Remove and allow to cool. Cut the tops off to level the cupcakes. Mix icing sugar with a little water to a thick icing consistency. Add colour of your choice and ice the tops of the cupcakes. Decorate to your hearts content and enjoy.

Peppadew Picante

I have recently been introduced to a lovely new ingredient named Peppadew. Described as whole sweet piquante peppers coming in mild and hot varieties - these unusual and flamboyant fruits can be enjoyed in unexpected and extreme ways. This product is blended with a secret recipe that makes every juicy mouthful unforgettable.

So far I have enjoyed these delicious morsels on home made gourmet pizzas and also chopped them up into sexy salads. But the options are endless. I highly recommend and for my next peppadew experience I'm hoping to stuff them with some interesting fillings. Recipes to follow...

For more information check out the website on http://www.peppadew.com/

Thaislaw

It's mid-week and I'm trying to control my calorie intake as I seem to have overdone the naughties over the weekend. Had a peek in the fridge in the hope of finding some kind of healthy but tasty ingredients. Spotted a bag of coleslaw - ie ready shredded carrots and cabbage with a couple of sachets of dressing which inspired me to whip up some of my favourite asian flavoured coleslaw...

Thaislaw

500g shredded cabbage and carrot (ready bagged from the supermarket or do it yourself)

3 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice

2 Tbs sweet chilli sauce

1 Tbs fish sauce

1 Tbs oil

1 handful coriander leaves

additional chilli if required

Open bag of coleslaw and empty contents into a mixing bowl. I discard the dressing sachets straight into the rubbish as they usually have that fake mayonaissy taste which I really despise. In another bowl mix the remaining ingredients to make a dressing. You will need to check the balance of salty/sweet/spicy flavours and adjust accordingly. If chilli is your friend, add more in the form of fresh birds eyes, or the dried variety. Toss the dressing through the slaw to thoroughly coat all the vegetables and leave to infuse for about 20 minutes. Serve with your favourite cold cuts. I find cold shredded roast chicken or beef works pretty well. Today I added some shaved beef from the deli. If you really want to posh it up, you could add some dried shrimp and crushed roast peanuts. This dish is reminiscent of my favourite thai green papaya salad.

Friday Night Dinners...

Our family runs by the 80-20 rule - healthy food most of the time, but we do also need our treats. And so began the Friday night tradition... Basically the most well behaved person in the house gets to choose their favourite dinner and dessert. This person almost always turns out to be my 4 year old son Jack who has a penchant for fish and chips and all things junk. The challenge is to health it up a bit and also add a new spin on it. So tonight Jack would like Chicken Burgers and Chips.

Chicken Burgers are a firm favourite in this household and here follows the recipe for my favourite style of burger - chicken accessorised with bacon and avocado. I like to serve my burgers in mini pita breads as a healthier option as we prefer more protein and less carbs in our diet. Normally I am quite a purist when it comes to all things culinary but when it comes to chips - I can't be asked. I usually resort to buying ready fried chips hot from the local chip shop smothered in salt and vinegar or bags of the cholestrol friendly variety from the frozen section. These are best served with cheats aoli which I whip up by mixing my favourite mayonnaise with roast garlic(chop the top off a whole garlic, drench in olive oil and roast til soft before squeezing it out and mixing it into the mayo).

Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Burgers

2 chicken breasts
4 rashers bacon
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1 tbs plum sauce
salt and pepper
4 wholemeal pita breads
avocado
tomato
lettuce
gherkins
aoli

In a food processor whizz together chicken, bacon, egg, flour, plum sauce and seasoning. If you don't have plum sauce(a personal favourite of mine), cranberry sauce would be a great substitute. Divide your pulverized burger mix into 4 and shape into burger size patties. Place on a greased baking tray and grill for about 7 minutes on each size until golden.

Spray pita breads with a little olive oil spray then grill on either side to crispen up. Slit open the pita bread and spread some aoli on the base. Then add layers of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, chicken bacon burger and finally some mashed avocado.

Serve with fries on the side and a dollop of aoli.

Tonight these burgers were enjoyed with a bottle of french pinot noir and followed by some very dark and delicious chocolate.