Seabreeze

Celebration time - Part 8.

Ingredients (serves 4):
1/4 cup vodka
2/3 cup pink grapefruit juice
1/3 cup pomegranate juice

Method:
1. Fill 4 glasses or a jug with ice.
2. Pour the vodka and grapefruit juice into the glasses or jug and drizzle with pomegranate juice.

Tips:
For a non-alcoholic version, substitute the vodka with 1/2 cup of soda water, sprite or 7-up.

Recipe source: Simply Her magazine (Dec 2008)

Red wine and plum upside-down cake

Celebration time - Part 7.

Ingredients (serves 8):
50g unsalted butter
50g dark brown sugar
5 tbsp red wine
6 ripe plums, halved and stoned
225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs
215g sugar
175g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
50g walnuts, coarsely ground
50g almonds, chopped
Vanilla or maple walnut ice cream, to serve

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180 deg C. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar and red wine, then stir. When the mixture bubbles, remove from the heat and pour into a 20cm non-stick cake tin.
2. Arrange the plums in the cake tin with their skins facing down.
3. In a food processor, blitz the butter, eggs, sugar, flour and baking powder till smooth, then fold in the walnuts and almonds.
4. Pour the cake batter over the plums and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. The top of the cake should be golden brown.
5. Let the cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the sides and turn it upside down onto a plate. Slice and serve with ice cream.

Tips:
If you are not using a food processor, cream the butter and sugar till pale, then add the eggs and beat well before folding in the flour and baking powder.

Recipe source: Simply Her magazine (Dec 2008)

Viennese red cabbage

Celebration time - Part 6.

Ingredients (serves 8):
4 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 large red cabbage, cored and shredded finely
1 green apple, peeled, cored and diced
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/4 cup beef stock
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 cup creme fraiche

Method:
1. Heat the olive oil in a deep pot. Add the onions and fry till they start to soften.
2. Add the sugar and stir till it turns golden. Put in the cabbage and mix well, then add the apple.
3. Add the apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper and stir well. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
4. Heat the beef stock and add it to the cabbage mixture. Cook for 2 hours over very low heat, or in an oven at 150 deg C.
5. After 2 hours, add the butter and flour, and mix well. Add the creme fraiche and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Add more apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt or pepper to taste.

Tips:
To reheat leftovers, cook over a medium-low flame for 20 minutes, or in the oven at 150 deg C for an hour.

Recipe source: Simply Her magazine (Dec 2008)

Roast pork loin

Celebration time - Part 5.

Ingredients (serves 8):
1/2 cup dried figs, chopped
3/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
2 1/2 kg boneless pork loin
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup table salt

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 220 deg C. Mix the figs, macadamia nuts, parsley, mustard and bread crumbs in a bowl for the stuffing. Set aside.
2. With the tip of a sharp knife, make incisions on the skin of the pork loin at 1.5cm intervals. Halve the loin so it opens up like a book.
3. Place the stuffing in the centre, and roll the loin to contain the stuffing. Tie it with kitchen string, using the incisions as a guide.
4. Rub the skin generously with oil and salt and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 200 deg C and bake for another 50 minutes. Remove the string, slice and serve.

Tips:
Before cooking, place the pork loin on a plate in the fridge to dry out the skin, which gives it a crunchy texture after roasting.

Recipe source: Simply Her magazine (Dec 2008)

Spicy anchovy pasta

Celebration time - Part 4.

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6):
1 packet of spaghettini
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
100g anchovies, minced
2 to 4 chilli padi, chopped
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Cook the pasta till al dente. Drain and set aside. Keep the water used to cook the pasta.
2. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and fry the garlic over medium heat until it starts to sizzle. Add the anchovies and chilli padi and fry till caramelised, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the pasta and mix well. Then add water, one ladle at a time, until pasta is moist.
4. Add salt to taste. Serve warm.

Tips:
When making pasta for a party, cook half a pack at a time to ensure there's enough water in the pot to cook them well.

Recipe source: Simply Her magazine (Dec 2008)

Braised beef short ribs in red wine

Celebration time - Part 3.

Ingredients (serves 8):
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1.5kg beef short ribs, cut into chunks
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large onion, cut into large pieces
2 carrots, cut into large pieces
2 stalks celery, cut into medium-sized pieces
1 leek (white part only), cut into large pieces
1 tomato, seeds removed and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 bottle dry red wine
3 cups beef stock
2 bay leaves
1 sprig thyme
4 sprigs flat leaf parsley

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 160 deg C. Mix the flour, salt and pepper, and coat the ribs with the mixture. 2. In a large oven-proof pot with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat till hot, but not smoking. Fry the ribs till golden on all sides. Remove and set aside.
3. In the same pot, fry the onions, carrots and celery for 7 minutes. Add the leek, tomato and garlic and fry for 2 minutes. Then add the tomato paste and mix well.
4. Add the wine and cook over high heat for 10 minutes until it reduces by half. Put in the beef stock, bay leaves, thyme, parsley and bring to a boil. Add the ribs and return to a simmer.
5. Remove from heat. Cover the pot with a round piece of greaseproof paper and the lid.
6. Braise in oven for 3 hours. Cool and keep in the fridge overnight. To serve, skim off the fat and reheat.

Tips:
You can make this dish up to three days in advance. The flavour improves when left to steep.

Recipe source: Simply Her magazine (Dec 2008)

Smoked salmon blinis

Celebration time - Part 2.

Ingredients (makes about 30):
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Buckwheat Pancake Mix*
2 eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups water
1 tub creme fraiche
100g smoked salmon, cut into small pieces
A handful of dill sprigs

Method:
1. Put the pancake mix, eggs and olive oil in a bowl and whisk until well-blended. Add water, a quarter cup at a time, to make a thick batter.
2. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a frying pan. Scoop a tbsp of batter into the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove and set aside. Repeat with the remaining batter.
3. To serve, place a dollop of creme fraiche on each blini, and top with a piece of smoked salmon and a small sprig of dill.

* Blinis are Russian buckwheat pancakes traditionally served with sour cream and caviar. You can buy Bob's Red Mill Buckwheat Pancake Mix at Tanglin Market Place and selected Cold Storage supermarkets

Tips:
Store extra blinis in the fridge. To serve, reheat in a frying pan and serve with jam or honey.

Recipe source: Simply Her magazine (Dec 2008)