I needed a Burmese recipe and a dessert recipe for my South East Asian date night menu so was very excited when I came across a Burmese Semolina Cake by the Spice Island Tea House. I paired it with a Low Carb Coconut Ice Cream which I am happy to say turned out to be my best attempt at ice cream making so far.
I wanted to redeem myself after overcooking the beef fillet at the girls’ lunch in June, so I decided to make Beef Wellington for date night. Keeping in line with the English theme, I made Haddock Fish Cakes for a starter and Lemon Posset for dessert.
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My date night dish last week was inspired by a meal I had at Arugula Bistro & Bread. I decided to change it a little bit and make Cider Pork Ribs with a Jalapeño and Pistachio sauce.
Comfort food was in order for this week’s date night and nothing says comfort more than slow cooked Cajun Seafood Gumbo.
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As a starter for my date night gourmet burgers, I decided to make some chicken, pesto and coconut cream pies.
I thought I would try my hand at charcuterie and start with something simple like bacon. I got a book from a friend of mine called Charcuterie – The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing, written by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. In this book the necessary steps in making homemade bacon are clearly explained.
To celebrate the month of October I decided to have a German date night. German cuisine is renowned for their Wurst (sausages), Kartofelln (potatoes) and Sauerkraut (sour cabbage).
I have always wanted to make a proper Mexican mole sauce (a rich blend of chillies, spices, and chocolate). Alas I could not source the proper Mexican chillies you need for this dish in SA so never made it.
Then I came across a company called Mexican Imports SA in Plettenberg Bay that imports all kinds of goodies from Mexico. As luck would have it I had friends going to Plett that weekend and they were kind enough to bring me back some Ancho and Guajillo chillies.
One of Belgium’s classic dishes is Moules Frites – mussels steamed in a white wine sauce with fries. Adrienne makes a great mussel potjie in a garlic cream sauce, so the challenge was on to see whether I could make a mussel dish that would measure up.