Post-work entertaining
Lazy lady's chicken casserole
I love having people over for dinner, and with Olive so small we tend to do a lot more of it these days. Even if I’m rushed for time, I like to set the table and have at least a few minutes to chill and relax. My top tips for achieving such zen-like calm before guests arrive on a busy weeknight:
1. Make a chicken casserole: this is my own concoction, comprised of brown onion, garlic, half a bottle of white wine, 2 x chicken thighs for each guest, mushrooms, carrots, bay leaves, oregano and a mixture of chicken and vegetable stock. Brown the onions, chicken and mushrooms, then slosh in the wine, stock and the rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer on a low heat for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally, after which time the chicken’s so tender, you won’t even need a knife. Serve with mash and steamed green beans – the only things to prepare during the entire time you’re entertaining. Voilà.
Silk flowers... why not?
2. Lay a pretty table: the fact you neglected to vacuum, hid the unmade bed behind a closed door and the garden’s a bit weedy will be forgotten with the perceived effort of a well-laid table. A tried and trusted diversionary tactic.
3. Buy-in dessert: it could be icecream, macaroons, tarts or even a nice block of chocolate. Why stress yourself out preparing another course in such a short space of time? (unless, of course, you’ve the foresight to get going on it the night before – in which case, you’re more disciplined than I am).
4. Ask for help: whenever friends ask, ‘what can I bring?’ I used to say ‘just yourselves’. Now, I ask for something little like flowers from their garden, which saves a trip to the florist or market.
After years of hosting dinner parties to varying degrees of success it’s finally sunk in; our friends are coming to spend time with us and, providing we don’t poison them, couldn’t give a fig about much else. Running around like a headless chook only makes everyone edgy and causes them to wonder why they came.
Look at these gorgeous hydrangeas Ella & Keith brought over on Friday night, stored in the crackle-glazed vase from Koskela Mark & Olivier gave us for Christmas. They sit atop the new runner I just made for the living room, a still-living reminder of an evening well spent.
Ah, home.
The chef du jour
Macaroons from Adriano Zumbo
Popped into Adriano Zumbo’s store on Monday to stock up on macaroons (black sesame, fig, pink grapefruit and strawberry balsamic, amongst others) and had every intention of arraying them prettily on a plate and photographing them for the site, but they didn’t last the night.
Took me a while to drop off to sleep with all that sugar in my system… yum.
Manna from Heaven
Delish
I’ve long been a fan of Manna from Heaven treats, available at the Eveleigh Farmer’s Market and all the best cafes around Sydney, but now the talented Rachel Grisewood (recent winner of the SMH Foodies Guide 2010 Award for Excellence in Cakes, Biscuits and Pastries) has brought out her first cookbook through Allen & Unwin.
My clever friend Catherine Milne commissioned Rachel to write it and I can promise you, it’s a beauty from start to finish.
The recipes work, too – a couple of weekends ago the lovely Katrina made a plateful of the lemon polenta cakes and they were just as good as the shop-bought ones… which might be why I ate not one, not two but three of them in one sitting.
New books I’m loving
Bear claws from Bourke St Bakery
I’m feeling too all over the place at the moment to concentrate on a novel, so the books on my bedside table are, if you can believe it, cookbooks. But not just any cookbooks – two beautifully written tomes, each with an ethos I heartily agree with.
A humble sausage roll
#1 Bourke Street Bakery: the ultimate baking companion by Paul Allam and David McGuinness
I love this book – not least because I’m somewhat addicted to eating there every second day. Just looking at the pictures makes my mouth water and has me fantasising about becoming a master baker (whether I will remains to be seen), but the writing’s so evocative I’m actually enjoying just reading through the intros.
“Bourke Street Bakery evolved in a beaten-up old car. Two friends talking about their dreams and aspirations makes for a long drive… Our vision of the perfect bakery was small, rustic, homely and timeless; we wanted to create a bakery people would feel comfortable in and make food that people wanted to buy every day… We kept the focus on the quality of ingredients rather than the aesthetic.” Spot on.
The divine Miss Dahl
#2 Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights by Sophie Dahl
I fell in love with Sophie Dahl’s writing when I read her semi-autobiographical novel, Playing with the Grownups a few years ago. Writing’s clearly in the blood – the gel is a genius when it comes to describing her love of food and the importance of eating well.
“Baked haddock ramekin: Don’t make this in the first throes of love or when you have people coming over. Haddock is not, and never will be, a sensory aphrodisiac. Is is, however, delicious.” Hilarious. Love her. There’s also lots of references to her famous bohemian family, days as a model, travels around the globe and beau, Jamie Cullum if that’s your bag. Buy it now.
More crazy crochet
These are by Kate Jenkins, an artist from Brighton in the UK who was featured recently on Lost at E Minor – what did I say about food theming? Love it.
Birthday treats
Pink cupcake
Today is Olive’s first birthday. I had every intention of baking and decorating cupcakes myself but (what with a weekend of illness befalling the Dousts, and friends for lunch) scrapped the idea in favour of buying in the very best to my knowledge.
The Cupcake Room specialises in these divine, bite-size beauties that look so good it seems a travesty to eat them. But (unlike so many cupcakes) these do not disappoint: the tiny cakes beneath the elaborate decoration are just as good – if not better – than the icing. Hard to believe but 100% true.
Lilac cupcake
Our guests Sophie and baby India just left with these four below, and the two above are hoping to survive until tonight’s dessert. I won’t tell you how many more we packed away.
Set of four cupcakes
Olive received several gorgeous gifts but here’s one to share with fellow crafters: Jemima is hand-knitted from head to toe and is from her much-loved Auntie Maggie & Uncle Derek. Those are sheep adorning her blue bubble skirt (Maggie, you are very clever) and her blank face is deliberate, so Olive can imagine what she’s thinking. Yes, she does look a bit homesick. Her reticence might have something to do with the lock of hair I caught Olive gnawing on.
Jemima (a bit pensive)
Fuel for Crafty Minxes
Praline twist from Bourke St Bakery
Much of the business of crafting can only occur with the aid of morning or afternoon tea for sustenance. So has it ever been, and long shall it continue. I cannot imagine sewing without a freshly brewed pot of tea next to me, and some naughtiness of the baked variety. I could postulate that it stimulates the imagination. Or just admit that sugar and caffeine make me happy. Is it any wonder I’m in the process of making a felt teapot and slice of cake to adorn a little girl’s dress? Or that my new book seems to have a lot of food-themed craft? I’d be lost without my twin vices: T2 teas and the Bourke Street Bakery in Marrickville. Amen.
Mouthwateringly divine lemon tart
And yes, I ate both of these today. Don’t judge me. Sewing is hungry work.
