blackberry vanila custard cheesecakey tart

Well it’s been quite a while between tarts, so I thought I’d better get busy. I made this one a couple of times to get it perfect (you gotta do what you gotta do) – so now the pastry is super short with a lovely little crunch and I have made the vanilla custard centre […]

be mine valentine strawberry panna cotta with lemon shortbread

Happy Valentine’s Day for tomorrow!!! I know that chocolate is an obvious choice for Valentine’s Day right, but what if you fancy something a bit different? This Strawberry Panna Cotta is light, creamy and subtly sweet with a perky strawberry sauce spiked with Framboise. Add the delicate, crispy lemony shortbread and I guess you have […]

slow roasted lamb shoulder on flatbreads with minty yoghurt sauce

Many years ago I used to be nervous of cooking large hunks of meat, always a bit panicky that I wouldn’t get the timing right and eat up with a tough result –  until I discovered the miracle of slow cooking. These days if I have 8 or more people coming for dinner I confess […]

light & luscious chocolate espresso cheesecake

Hello Valentines! Well this time last year I was writing up my recipe for Espresso Your Love Chocolate Mousse and bemoaning the fact that Nick would be in Chicago for Valentines Day – this year he’ll be in China! Ah well – at least we got to share some of this cheesecake before he left! […]

summer loving all-in salad

OK, so my last two posts were a soup (albeit a very fresh and bright soup) and lasagne to warm up my northern hemisphere friends. Today we’re back in the southern hemisphere with a super summer salad that I made for Fairfax to share. This is pretty much summer on a plate, perfect for the […]

creamy chicken & leek lasagne

Good Monday morning – well I’m not sure if you have seen this on the blog before, I originally posted it waaaay back in May 2013. It has been a really popular recipe, but for a long time I have been perturbed (yes my family will tell you I actually do talk like this) by […]

fresh pea soup with chedddar & chive scones

We have just arrived back from a wonderful weekend at Waiheke, with incredibly beautiful, hot sunny weather, loads of swimming, bush walks and a pretty spectacular slow cooked pork shoulder on the barbecue. It seems so weird to think of my American friends enduring a really bitter winter – we’ve seen some coverage on TV […]

basil pesto & caramelised onions – the holiday essentials

These are two things that you will almost always find in my fridge as both can instantly bring even the dullest meal to life – and they are perfect to pop in the packing pile to take camping – even a humble sausage is transformed! In winter I often swap out the basil/pinenut combo in […]

herbilicious nutty salad with feta & radish

You may be looking at this salad thinking well that’s a bit boring, but I urge you to look again…see that crumbled feta, the baby herb leaves, the crumbled walnuts, the drizzle of simple dressing, the thin slices of radish – now imagine a mouthful with everything – the salty soft feta, the bitter leaves, […]