Category: Dinner
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Japanese home style chicken curry
If you’ve never tried Japanese curry bricks you’re missing out. I learned about these flavour-bombs recently and lucked upon them at a specialty food store. They are packed full of flavour but not at all spicy and disintegrate very quickly into a soup or broth. Granted it’s not stew weather here but this was an…
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Chicken Jambalaya with kangaroo sausage
Suffice it to say, I cannot find andouille sausage in Gold Coast, Australia – I really didn’t try. Maybe if I made the trek to Brisbane I could chance upon something similar at a Farmers Market. The best I could do was this “kanga banga” which I’ve wanted to sample since moving to Australia 4…
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Thyme Pizza (Manouche)
No, I have not successfully fed these to the kids, but who cares? Life’s too short to only eat kid-friendly. I received an exciting present in the mail this week from my Mum in Canada – a Cookbook called “Rose Water & Orange Blossoms” by Maureen Abood. Of course, I got straight to work making…
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Massman lamb shank curry with cauliflower
Since I’m on a jar-sauce kick, I dug out a forgotten jar of Massman curry paste I had in my pantry and put it to work. Massman paste is a lovely cinnamon flavoured blend of deep curry richness that creates a dark yellow sauce when mixed with coconut milk. Lamb shanks are my cut of…
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Gado Gado
With another full weekend of insatiably hot and humid temperatures, a cold salad really hit the spot. Plus I figured out how to make my own satay sauce after buying some kecap manis (think treacle mixed with soy sauce). Definitely give this one a go – the veggies were so delicious with the accompanying sauce…
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Coconut Satay Chicken bake
Malaysian cuisine is definitely not one I am familiar with being from Canada with a Lebanese background. My husband however, being from the South, waxes poetic about Laksa, and has taken me on missions around his hometown of Sydney to find that epic bowl of Spicy, tangy, noodley goodness that he craves. So when I…
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Potato gnocchi in a Rosé sauce
To read Diana Henry speak about handling these little dumplings like you would flowers, it is a perfect analogy. They need a light touch and some delicate manipulation but they are a great way to use up leftover potatoes and are far superior to the chewy, hard little nuggets they call gnocchi at the grocery…
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Fried calamari
Don’t do what I did and buy the freshest calamari you can buy – going to the trouble of cleaning it, de-boning it and fretting over how thin to cut your tubes. Only to have your final product turn out rubbery. Don’t do that. Just go to the freezer section of your local grocery store…
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Creamy chicken hand pies
I did not feel I had the strength of make dinner last night after a busy day helping researchers, schlepping children back and forth to school in the 32 degree heat, as well as enduring some pretty wicked joint pain. Alas, I don’t know how these pretty pies made it to the dinner table, but…
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Herbed kofte kebabs
Now that summer has arrived here on Australia‘a east coast, there is nothing better than eating a meal outdoor al fresco. I’ve been reading Samin Nosrat’s Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and came across these super simple kebabs which do very well on the bbq. I’ve made a few adjustments but there is really no wrong…
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Stuffed grape leaves (Lebanese style)
No amount of practice will ever see me attain the mathematical precision achieved by one of the best known Lebanese restaurants in my hometown Daou, of these little meat cigars known as “Yebra”. It does not matter anyways, just do your best to wrap them up tightly and add a uniform amount of filling to…
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Vietnamese noodle salad
Try replacing grains and pasta with rice stick noodles one night. Throw some chopped carrot, lettuce and bean sprouts on top. Add seasoned meat or tofu. Sprinkle a blend of fresh herbs like mint and basil. I admit to not having had this meal in rotation very frequently, until now, but after purchasing some fish…
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Arancini
Such a fun kid-friendly finger food – not to mention vegetarian – Arancini is a great addition to the repertoire. I have experimented with other recipes, but this is definitely my favourite and the most straight-forward. It requires making a good risotto, allowing it to cool slightly so it’s easier to work with, and then…
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Pork Loin braised in Milk
This is an excellent dish to keep in one’s repertoire, especially with many hungry mouths to feed. Pork is widely available and affordable, and I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I have often found pork dry. Well this recipe will change your opinion about pork’s juiciness. I admit that this recipe does not…
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Brodetto (Fish soup Italian style)
Between the endless rainfall yesterday and the exhaustion I was feeling, I decided on soup for dinner. And not just any soup, a soup to make the whole mess worth it. Also, I needed an excuse to visit my special fishmonger and wanted to see what special local catch was available. Lots of special things…
Allspice & Olive 