I was given the challenge of preparing dishes with combinations chosen by Mediterranean Delicacies. For this recipe, their chicken liver pate peri-peri combined with their tzatziki. I must admit, I read the brief a few times to see if I’d made a mistake. I was stumped at first. I knew I didn’t want to mix the two ingredients directly. Then the idea emerged: make the pate into a warm pastry wheel sprinkled with cayenne pepper and offset it with a cool, creamy dollop of tzatziki. The result: fun to serve and eat finger-food!

Kedgeree has always been a versatile dish to use up left overs. In the Cape it is served with a fish (often smoked) like haddock, flaked and boiled egg. The rice is spiced with masala fried with onions. In this recipe, I teamed the Mediterranean Delicacies Peppered Mackerel with their hummus that I spiced using cayenne pepper. A spicy, satisfying meal that showcases the lovely smoked peppered mackerel fillet.

I was given the challenge of preparing dishes with combinations chosen by Medi Deli. In this case, their anchovies with their biltong dip. I combined the salty anchovies with onion to make a deeply savoury beer bread and served thick slices of it with the creamy biltong dip. It’s really fitting I think, to post these recipes right now, as Medi Deli foods have a predominately Greek origin and I am currently in Greece, enjoying not only the warm Greek hospitality but the range of foods and flavors too.

Gooey Beetroot & Pomegranate Chocolate Squares – a Food and the Fabulous endorsed project for Sasko Flour.

An easy but indulgent semifreddo. I love this semifreddo because of the unexpected, refreshing scent of lemon and and the freshness of the zest. It goes surprisingly well with rasberries and is creamy and satisfying.

I received these images from Founding President Régine le Coz today. I’m not sure how she managed to get to the time to sift through the hundreds and share all the pics of me, but I know she works with an incredible “dream team”- her affectionate name for the team that works tirelessly to help her put the event together each year. Some images of the dinner the night before and a little fun.

My experience in Monte Carlo, Monaco – a judge on the panel of 45 for the Women and Wine of the World International Competition 2012 (Femmes et Vins du Monde Concours International). The women, the wines, and the gorgeous city. A Cape Town writer’s experiences

A month or so ago, I enjoyed a dessert pizza at a local Italian restaurant. There’s nothing new about dessert pizzas or using bread as a base for desserts – just think of bread and butter puddings, croissants baked with custard and choc chips and English summer puddings.
I decided to use the Sasko Quick Treats Scone mix to make a very easy dessert ‘pizza’ base and topped with sliced figs, a home-made chocolate sauce and hazelnuts – a Food and the Fab endorsed project

My Sri Lankan style Aubergine Curry is based on a favourite recipe from Rick Stein’s Sri Lankan Crab Curry found in his beautiful Far Eastern Odyssey (Uncle Rick is one of my favourite celebrity chefs- he really understands food, its origins and people). I have made versions of the crab curry with great success and thought the aubergines would stand up to and display these flavours wonderfully. Featured by Woolworths for the MasterChef SA series.

I was given the challenge of preparing dishes with combinations chosen by Medi Deli – in this case their little pack of marinated octopus salad with their tahini paste. I decided to keep the octopus in a salad and combine it with salad leaves, grilled aubergine, mint and tahini (the last three ingredients are such willing partners as it is). Food and the Fabulous endorsed project and news of travel to Monaco today.