Roast Duck with Cherry Sauce

Juice of 1/2 lemon or of 1 orange

3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoon red wine

1 tablespoon honey

3 tablespoon extra virgin live oil

In a bowl mix the marinade ingredients. Place the duck breast in the marinade skin side up, cover and marinade in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the duck breast from the marinade, pat dry

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

440g can pineapple thins in natural juice, drained
125g butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup plain flour, sifted
1/2 cup milk

Pomegranate, Orange and Pecan Salad

100 grams of Rocket
100 grams Baby Spinich
2 Oranges peeled and sliced
50 grams of roughly chopped Pecans
Seeds of one pomegranate
Layer and Serve

Grilled Peach and Prosciutto Salad

100g baby rocket
10 mint leaves, torn roughly
70g parmagino
8 slices prosciutto, torn into little strips
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts
4 firm but ripe yellow peaches, cut into thin wedges
Vino cotta

Grilled Asparagus and Zucchini Salad

2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of honey
Salt and Pepper



3 bunches asparagus, trimmed
3 Zucchinis, thickly sliced
100g baby rocket
60 grams of roughly chopped, pecans.

Combine dressing. Grill zucchinis and asparagus. Place rocket on a plate, top with grilled vegetables, dress and sprinkle with nuts.  

Sticky Bourbon Apples

½ cup brown Sugar
½ Cup bourbon
4 pink lady apples, quartered
4 red onions, halved.

Mix all together until fruit is coated. Grill until soft. 

Drunken Oysters with Salsa

3 shots worth tequila

12 oysters, shucked

1 t finely chopped coriander

Sumac and Beer Roast Pork

3 Kilos rolled pork loin on the bone

2 heads of garlic, peeled and cloves slightly smashed

50g sumac

1500ml beer (or enough to submerge pork up to the skin)

Cracked black pepper

3 star anise

1 tablespoon cloves

The rind of two large oranges

A slug of whiskey

Cut slits into the pork through the skin, at regular intervals, force a clove of garlic into each one. Add any remaining garlic to the marinade. Combine all remaining ingredients,  and submerge pork in marinade, leaving the skin out of the liquid. Rub a little salt on the crackling to prevent moisture. Allow to sit, fully covered in the fridge for 3 days. 

Pork is always best cooked over medium heat. Too hot and the meat will have a tendency to dry out. Pork (like all meat) continues to cook after removal from heat. For best results, let your dish rest uncovered for 1-2 minutes in a warm environment prior to serving. Always cut meat across the grain to keep tender. Avoid frequent prodding of the meat while cooking.For best results, meat should be brought to room temperature prior to cooking

Preheat barbecue on high; reduce temperature to low. Place pork on grill. For the first 30 minutes, cook pork on high heat (around 250 deg c) to obtain premium crackling then drop the temperature to 200 deg c Close barbecue cover and cook for approximately 1 ½ -2 hours more. Or until just done, set it aside to rest for about 10 minutes before carving

Checking the temperature and cooking times for each cut

Eggnog and Meringues

Meringues

4 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of cream of tarter
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste



Preheat to 120°C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
Use an electric mixer to whisk egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whisking well between each addition, until sugar dissolves.
Once all the sugar has been added, continue to whisk on high for 3 mins. Whisk in the vanilla essence.
Use two teaspoons to spoon meringue onto lined trays. Reduce the oven temperature to 90°C.

Bake meringues for 1 hour 30 mins. Turn oven off and leave meringues in the oven to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Optional: add flavorings such as nuts, chocolate chips or spices.

Eggnog

4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups cream
4 whole cloves a cinnamon stick
4 slightly crushed cardamom pods
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
A pinch of all spice
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 tsp mixed spice

½ cup of Drambuie

1/4 cup of bourbon

Combine the cream, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Slowly heat on medium heat until the mixture is steamy hot, but not boiling. Set aside to cool, then strain.

Beat the egg yolks in a large bowl placed over a boiling pot of water. Gradually beat in the sugar. Remove from heat and keep beating until pale and thick. Beat in cream mixture, spices and bourbon and Drambuie . Chill.

Will keep for at least a week in the fridge.  

Chocolate Torte topped with Whiskey Mousse

6 egg whites
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
1 1/4 cups ground hazelnuts
3 tablespoons of cocoa powder

Pre-heat oven to 150C (300F). Grease 2 x 20cm (8 inch) springform pans with butter then line with baking paper. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Beat in half the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.  Fold in the remaining sugar, cocoa and nuts with a metal spoon, being careful not to deflate the egg whites. Divide between cake tins and place in the oven for 40 minutes.  (The cakes should be dry and crisp on the top). Allow to cool.

Author: Tamara Novacovic

Ingredients

4 oz (120 g) good quality semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate
2 tbsp (30 g) butter
2 tbsp strong coffee
2 tbsp (30 ml) whiskey
2 large eggs, separated
4 tbsp (60 g) sugar
½ cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream

Melt chocolate with butter and coffee in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Remove from heat and stir in whiskey.
Whisk egg yolks with 2 tbsp sugar in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, just to cook them slightly, until they become foamy. Combine them with chocolate mixture.
Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Gradually beat in 2 tbsp sugar. Add gently to the previous mixture.
Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form and add to the mixture. Combine well, pour over the torte. Cover and refrigerate.
Garnish and serve chilled.

Shoo-Fly Pie

Recipe adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients

For the Crust
1 unbaked 9 inch pie crust 
1 large egg, lightly beaten 

For the Crumbs
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon Ground Ginger

1 pinch each nutmeg and cloves

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

 
For the Filling
2/3 cup molasses
1 large egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water

Procedures

1. Preheat oven to 180c. Roll out your pie dough and place in pie dish.
2. In the bowl of a food processor add brown sugar and flour. Pulse several times to combine. Add butter pieces and pulse several more times until crumbs begin to form. Divide mixture and set half aside for the topping.

1. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer add molasses, egg, cold water, hot water and baking soda solution and whisk to combine. Add crumb mixture and whisk until just combined.
2. Brush pie shell with egg wash. Pour filling mixture into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top. Bake 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before cutting.