Mini cheesecakes When it comes to party season, my dessert game plan is pretty predictable and heads in one of two directions. If I have the time and really want to make a splash, I’ll go for a big statement piece like the famous Pavlova Christmas Tree or Never-Ending Meringue Tart, the latter aptly named because you can make it as impressively loooong as you want (4 metres / 12 feet is my record to date!...

There’s over 45 recipes that use 6 core Asian sauces that cost ~$12 in total. Can you guess what they are? 🙂 My closest proper Asian store is a 30 minute drive away. So keeping my pantry stocked with Asian essentials requires some semblance of organisation. The good news is, making Asian food is actually less of a mystery than you think, with a handful of sauces that make an appearance over and over again....

*** This recipe is part of a Christmas Special where I show you how to make 3 mains and 4 side dishes that take 1.5 hrs to prepare and can be largely made ahead. So this Christmas, you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your family! 🙂 *** Stuffing is not huge in Australia. We know what it is, but it isn’t at the forefront of our minds....

Singapore Noodles recipe Singapore Noodles are so popular here in Australia that it appears on the menu of most suburban Chinese restaurants, whether they serve other Singaporian dishes or not. Though if you seek out Singapore Noodles in Singapore, it will elude you as much as the mythical notion that there are koalas in every Aussie backyard. And that’s ok. Singapore Noodles are delicious, and we will always love it!...

Make this in your slow cooker – OR pressure cooker, stove or oven. Directions provided for all! Shredded Beef Chili As far as I’m aware, the title for the world’s best Chili still sits with the original Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington DC. It’s an institution, with a run down charm. The kind of place where you have to fight for a table and yell to put in your order....

An elegant smoked salmon egg breakfast I think breakfast is the hardest meal when it comes to being creative. I am always scouring bistro breakfast menus, trying to get inspiration for new ideas. Do-able ones that don’t require gourmet ingredients or special equipment. I like to try to make something different from the usual bacon and egg fry up when I have friends over for brunch. Which I seem to be doing more often nowadays as opposed to hitting up the nightclubs in town....

Beef Cannelloni I think most people think of spinach & ricotta when they think of cannelloni. And while that’s still a firm favourite, this version with a juicy spinach and beef filling makes more of an appearance in my world nowadays. I actually make it more for friends than myself – because it’s a sensational freezer friendly standby and a safe bet (ie one of those meals that both kids and grown ups will love!...

Choose from a classic Aglio e Olio (garlic pasta), tomato basil pasta, Spaghetti Napolitana (tomato pasta), Arrabiata (spicy tomato pasta), pasta with anchovies, spaghetti with olives and tuna pasta! 8 quick and easy Pasta Recipes Here are 8 quick pasta recipes that are simple Italian classic pasta dishes. Don’t mistake simple for bland, because while these are quick and easy, all of these are totally slurp-worthy and you’ll find these on the menu of trattoria’s all across Italy....

Just a great pork chop marinade You know when something hits the pan and it smells so great than even if it’s the first time you’ve made that recipe, you know it’s going to be a winner? This is one of those. 🙂 Plus, the added bonus is that there is a very good chance that all the ingredients are already in your pantry. Checklist: soy sauce brown sugar mustard garlic pepper Worcestershire Sauce (I never spell that right first go!...

Make this with any fruit you want – fresh, frozen or even dried! Blueberry Bread Loaf This is a quick bread recipe, and is aptly named as such because it is so quick to prepare. Once you pull out your tub of flour, sugar and other ingredients onto the counter, it will honestly take you less than 10 minutes to prepare. In fact, you will probably have to start preheating your oven before you start preparing the batter....

The foundation of this recipe is a double duty Enchilada Spice Mix that flavours the homemade Enchilada Sauce and also seasons the chicken filling. Chicken Enchiladas I like my Enchiladas plump and generously stuffed, rather tham skimpy on the filling I want the filling to be JUICY and full of flavour, rather than dry and crumbly inside. And I want the sauce to actually still be there when it comes out of the oven, not just a dried up crusty layer of red....

This is a classic chocolate mousse made the proper French way, as served in fine dining restaurants. Less cream, more chocolate, a more intense chocolate flavour and a beautiful creamy mouth feel. A classic, proper Chocolate Mousse recipe I’ve never been 100% happy with the various chocolate mousse recipes I’ve tried in my lifetime. Not fluffy enough, not chocolatey enough, too sweet, grainy, etc etc. Many “easy” chocolate mousse recipes tend to use too much cream so the end result is more like custard, rather than aerated like real chocolate mousse should be....

I have a feeling that this is the very first recipe I’ve shared that has kale in it. Gasp, shock horror!!! It is not that I don’t like kale, I actually like it just fine. It’s just that it’s usually pretty darn expensive! Damn food trends. It’s ruining so many undiscovered fabulous budget foods. Like beef cheeks. Mussels. Lamb ribs. All these things that were crazy cheap 10 years ago and now not so cheap!...

We make Strata for breakfast – now try it for dinner! Creamy Bacon, Chicken and Broccoli Strata (Bread Bake) This chicken strata is the creamier version of a Chicken and Spinach Strata that I’ve previously shared. And here’s why I love it – and you’re going to love it too: 1. The crunchy, cheesy top 2. Easy 3. The crunchy, cheesy topMade from scratch 4. Everyday ingredients 5. Thrifty – use up leftover bread 6....

(Well, maybe not. Nothing beats the real deal, after all. But this emergency version is excellent for the minimal effort required!) Emergency baked fried rice OK, you’re right, this isn’t fried rice per se! It’s a baked rice. But I call it a baked fried rice because it’s everything we love about fried rice, without the frying! It will save you on all those nights when you’re scrambling for a quick side dish that will go with almost everything and please everyone....

The secret to making raw kale really tasty is to massage it with olive oil and salt. This tenderises the kale, and makes raw kale salads really delicious! Kale and Quinoa Salad Just 3 hours ago, I force fed a giant spoonful of this to a kale/quinoa cynic, and watched with glee as the scrunched up face of “I hate kale – AND QUINOA!” turned into a surprised look of “this is seriously tasty!...

We love the classic Cheese and Bacon Crispy Potato Skins, but anything pizza flavoured is always a winner! I love pizza and I love potato (oh – and cheese), so it was inevitable that I would do a mash up of the two. I’ve made pizza potato skins in the past using full size potatoes, but I found that there was too much pizza sauce and cheese required to fill the potato skin (because the scooped out potato bowl is quite deep)....

Nasi Goreng Anyone who has been to Bali would be familiar with Nasi Goreng and probably had it almost every day because it’s everywhere and darn delicious! So for those who have tried and love Nasi Goreng, you will be surprised how easy this is to make in your very own home. And for those who haven’t tried it, I hope you do! The literal translation of Nasi Goreng is “fried rice” in Indonesian and Malaysian – and that’s exactly what it is!...

Sounds indulgent? That would be because it is. 😈 This cake is not for faint hearts and weak arteries. It’s for serious Nutella lovers only! Nutella Cheesecake I’m a little fussy about my cheesecakes. In the past I’ve publicly declared that baking is the one and only way to achieve a light-and-still-rich-but-not-overly-so cheesecake that ticks all the right boxes. But there are times when baking is not the route to the best result....

For those of you who are doubtful about this one-pot pasta method of cooking, see below for why this one works! Before I start on the recipe, I have a message for the purists out there who are doubtful (and some even offended!) by this one-pot method of cooking pasta: A Message for the One-Pot-Pasta Cynics! I don’t blame you for being unsure about this recipe. I’ve tried my share of total one-pot-pasta duds, with the two biggest offenders being an unpleasantly sticky sauce from all the starch from the pasta, and unevenly cooked pasta....