prawn & asparagus dumplings
with sesame, chives, & ginger soy
Category: nibbly bits & soup
old-school tomato soup with cheese, olive, onion & rosemary toasties
‘Here comes the rain again, falling on my head like a memory…’ and yes Annie is quite right, apparently the weather is about turn to mega-rainy-crap all throughout the country from today. (Actually I have gotten to know Annie very well over the last fifteen months – she has kindly sung while I’ve been shooting, […]
gruyere cheese & bacon tart with celeriac & cauliflower soup
Helloooo – God it feels good to be back into the swing of things, getting blog posts done, actually doing a bit of house tidying, and generally speaking not working every single minute of every day…well not quite any way! Today’s recipes are two I put together for Fairfax – a gentle, creamy celeriac and […]
beef, Barley & Vegetable Soup with Parsley, Rocket & Walnut Pesto Toasties
Quick l’il re-post of this perfect winter soup, originally posted waaaay back in September 2015!I am writing this as I watch the weather forecast on TV, and despite the fact that it is now officially spring in New Zealand, the weather forecast is predictably grim: 0˚ or 1˚C degree lows in many places over night […]
mini pesto, proscuitto, & kumara loaves with walnuts & semi-dried tomatoes
Good Friday morning – woah that just made me think about Easter coming soon – where is this year going?!? Today’s recipe is one I put together for the lovely Dish magazine, and it’s an ideal super-easy autumn weekend baking project. The mini loaves (or you can make them as muffins) are moist and flavour […]
mini spinach pies with rosemary, lemon, pine nuts & feta
Good morning from the comfy old blogging ground of my bed, complete with second cup of tea. Today’s recipe is one I put together for Dish magazine, perfect for summer drinks parties, picnics, lunch – whatever really – they are gorgeous little pastry parcels filled with iron-rich spinach, salty feta, nubbly pine nuts and sweet […]
queso fundidio, beer, chorizo, chilli & cheese dip
Helloooo, I thought it timely to share this recipe I put together for the gorgeous Dish magazine earlier in the year…I can’t think of anything better for an outdoor, southern hemisphere New Year’s get-together. (Actually it would be pretty bloody fabulous in the freezing north too). I have been making variations on this hot cheesy […]
asparagus, prawn & zucchini bites with sesame mayo
Wooo – Friday with a long weekend ahead – bring it on! I am quickly finishing this before heading off to yoga (Ohmmmm – did first proper one-arm, no-cheaty side crow recently – yeah baby!) so that you can get the ingredients sorted for this recipe today. Even if the weather doesn’t behave, these nibbles […]
kumara & blue cheese balls with honey toasted walnuts
Alrighty then – this is not my standard kind of recipe in that it was literally made with left-overs I had in the fridge, and therefore I can’t give you the exact quantity of potatoes and kumaras required to make your mash – but I can give you the precise amount of mash:cheese ratio […]
French onion soup & rustic croque monsieur
These are two of my all-time favourite French dishes that are featuring in Fairfax newspapers around the country today – so simple to prepare, pretty rustic, but packed with fantastic flavour. The onion soup is deeply rich, slightly sweet and satisfying while the croque monsieur is indulgently good with crispy bread slathered in bechamel sauce, […]
double baked french onion souffle
I am so grateful for good friends – it’s easy to be mates when everything is jolly, but when things get tough it is amazing to have people you can rely on 🙂 Last night I had two of my most lovely friends for dinner. As usual we started with a wee whiskey and some […]
Kapiti to the rescue
Things happen in mysterious ways don’t they? I had, in a spur of the moment manner, invited people for dinner last night, on the same day that I had a note from the good people at Kapiti asking if I would like to sample some of their cheeses. Well, er – yes please – that’s […]
hot smoked salmon & leek pies with aioli
Another (rainy?) Saturday, another All Black rugby test – and another pie! But today’s is completely different to last week’s meaty extravaganza while still being totally addictive and indulgent. These ones involve sweet soft leeks, flaked firm white fish, rich hot smoked salmon, aniseedy dill and sharp lemon zest all tucked up together in flaky […]
welcome home soup
Yesterday Nick arrived back from Shanghai, tired and a little rumpled as usual – it’s a tough gig sometimes, zooming back and forwards between countries. Usually we have a ritual of softly scrambled eggs for dinner on his first night back (along with a catch up of whatever series we happen to be watching at […]