Warm winter salad of radicchio, wild rocket and feta

Hello everyone, this week I am wondering if you can do something for me. My beautiful cat Bellatrix has gone missing and I am trying to do everything I can think of to find her. She disappeared on Wednesday 11 August from our home in Cromer. I have searched the surrounding streets, calling her name, and done a letter box drop with a flyer with her photo asking for assistance. My brother in law has searched under the house and I have scoured surrounding bushes, surveyed the roof and called her name until I am blue in the face. If you happen to know anyone at all who lives in Cromer, I implore you to direct them to this photo of Bellatrix and ask them to look out for her. Her name, my mobile number and her Vet's details are on a tag on her collar and she is microchipped so any Vet who scans her could contact me. All help very much appreciated!!

This week's recipe comes from the July edition of delicious magazine. It is a Jamie Oliver recipe.

Jane

Warm winter salad of radicchio, wild rocket and feta

Serves six

What you need:

• 3 radicchio lettuces, outer leaves removed


• 3 slices good quality bread


• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced


• A large handful of pine nuts


• A large handful of raisins


• Olive oil


• 200ml balsamic vinegar (I'd recommend using half this quantity, and taste and adjust if you think it needs more)


• 75g wild rocket


• 200g feta cheese

What you do:

1. Cut radicchio into quarters.


2. Grill in a dry, very hot pan on top of the stove for 3-4 minutes until nicely charred on all sides. Remove to a large bowl.


3. Chargrill the slices of bread.


4. To make the dressing, fry the garlic, pine nuts and raisins in a little oil over a medium heat.


5. When the garlic starts to colour, take the pan off the heat and pour in the balsamic. Most of the liquid will evaporate when it hits the pan, so you end up with a sticky dressing. Leave to cool a little.


6. Roughly tear up the radicchio and bread, then place back in the bowl and toss with the dressing.


7. Divide the radicchio and bread among serving plates.


8. Top with rocket, any pine nuts and raisins left in the bowl and crumble over the feta before serving.

Sicilian Potato Salad

Hello everyone, a chair that I had sent away to have re-upholstered has just been delivered back to me. The chair belonged to my great grandmother and was passed from her to my grandmother's sister, Aunty Sheelah. When Aunty Sheelah died some years ago the chair came to me. I've wanted to have it re-done for years, as it was in a rather old lady-ish pink, so I'm very excited to have it all done! I have gone for more of a neutral look, using a linen fabric in a colour that might be described as a slighter darker shade of oatmeal. The possibilities for cushions to dress it up are endless! I will look forward to sitting in my chair at some stage during the weekend and continuing to devour an anthology of short stories by one of my favourite authors in the world (who has sadly departed this world), Carol Shields.

Now as regular readers know, I love my potatoes, and am firmly of the view that you never can have too many potato salad recipes. This week's one is from my favourite food writer, Matthew Evans. I found the recipe years ago in his column in Good Weekend magazine. He says that the dish originates in Palermo. It's certainly delicious and best served warm or at room temperature.

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xx

Sicilian potato salad

Serves 4-6

What you need:

• 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 kg potatoes, preferably waxy, washed and/or peeled and cut into cubes
• 1 large Spanish onion, peeled and chopped
• 60g capers, preferably salted, soaked for 15 minutes and rinsed
• 150g green olives, rinsed well
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons salt

What you do:

1. Heat enough oil in a frypan to fry the potatoes until nearly cooked through.
2. Add the onion and fry until it becomes translucent and the potatoes are fully cooked.
3. Add the capers and the olives.
4. Whisk the vinegar with the sugar and some salt and pour over the potatoes.
5. Simmer for a few seconds, then turn off the heat and allow the vinegar to soak into the potatoes.
6. Season to taste and serve in a pretty serving bowl.

Linguine with lemon, parsley and mint

Hello everyone, this week's recipe is one I cut from the newspaper some time ago. It's one of those really simple pasta dishes that you can whip up in a hurry (after you have prepared the lemon oil ahead of time). It's lovely and delicate with a good tang from the lemon and mint.

Have a lovely week! Love from Jane xx

Linguine with lemon, parsley and mint

Serves four

What you need:

• 1 lemon
• 150ml extra virgin olive oil
• 500g linguine
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped mint
• Freshly ground pepper
• Sea salt

What you do:

1. Finely grate the lemon rind and squeeze the juice of the lemon into a bowl.
2. Mix in half the olive oil with the rind and juice and leave for an hour so that the lemon flavour seeps into the oil.
3. Cook the pasta.
4. When the pasta is nearly ready, warm a serving bowl.
5. In that bowl, whisk together the lemon oil mix, the remaining oil, cheese, parsley and mint and 5 or 6 spoons of the pasta cooking water.
6. Drain the pasta and toss in the bowl with the sauce, adding pepper and a little salt if needed.
7. Serve immediately.

Red cabbage salad

Hello everyone, this week's recipe is something that I have copied from one of my favourite Italian restaurants. It's very simple and you can work out the quantities to suit your tastes.

Combine finely shredded red cabbage with raisins (which you may wish to plump up ahead of time in some verjuice), walnuts and chunks of gorgonzola dolce. Dress with your best extra virgin olive oil and balsamic. Toss together the ingredients, transfer to a deep bowl and serve with pizza, pasta, lamb, fish...whatever you are having for dinner.

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xx

Gnocchi with gorgonzola, spinach and walnuts

Hello everyone, I had such a piece of luck today. About six months ago I was out shopping with my friend Anne in Lane Cove and we spent some time in a small local art and craft gallery. A gorgeous brood of crackled pottery hens had just arrived and I was enormously tempted to buy them. I resisted at the time, although I really loved them, as there was something about the chickens that made me keep picking them up and stroking them. Today we went in there again and guess what, there were two chickens left, sitting on a shelf as if they were waiting for me! Of course I snapped them up straight away this time and they are now happily adorning my home.

This week's recipe is one of my favourite combinations of ingredients. It's a recipe from Good Living from a few years back, a good one for winter. It's definitely time for me to cook it again as I happen to have all of the necessary ingredients laid in, to be used in a couple of other dishes.

Have a lovely week! Love from Jane xx

Gnocchi with gorgonzola, spinach and walnuts

Serves four

What you need:

• 500g good quality gnocchi
• 100ml chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 100g gorgonzola, crumbled
• 75g baby spinach
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/3 cup fresh walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped
• Freshly chopped flat leaf parsley, to serve (which is code for optional)

What you do:

1. Cook the gnocchi in a large saucepan of boiling water until tender. Drain well.
2. Place the chicken stock and butter in a large pan over a medium-high heat.
3. Stir the stock until the butter has melted, then simmer for 2-3 minutes or until reduced by half.
4. Add the gorgonzola and stir until the cheese has just melted.
5. Toss the gnocchi with the gorgonzola sauce and baby spinach, and season with pepper.
6. Serve sprinkled with the walnuts and parsley if using.

Maple glazed roast potato and apple

Hello everyone, I've had a lovely week off work these last few days and seem to have spent a lot of time in the car driving all over Sydney running endless errands that have been piling up. One advantage is that on several occasions my trips took me close to specialty food shops that I have wanted to try but which aren't normally on my way anywhere. I was particularly fortunate to strike two specialty chocolate shops on one day. One was Adriano Zumbo's chocolate shop in Balmain, at which I had heard there was very good hot chocolate to be had. So I stopped there to sample it and it was really quite good. Not as good as Koko Black in Melbourne, but good enough to make me think about going back to try the various flavours of hot chocolate on offer. Then later that day I noticed a shop called "Christophe...Ses Chocolats", a chocolate maker, which is in a suburb called Russell Lea. On my way back I stopped in and bought a handful of chocolates and they were delicious! So nice and fresh and there were so many beautiful sounding flavours it was hard to choose! I think it will be a good thing to go back to work and remove myself from all these temptations.

This week's recipe is a great winter time dish and just luscious. The original recipe uses kumara, but being the potato lover that I am I substitute potato. You can use either or even both. It's from the Autumn/Winter edition of SOS and a very good dish to have in your cold weather repertoire.

Have a wonderful week. Love from Jane xxx

Maple glazed roast potato and apple

Serves six

What you need:

• 1.5kg potato and/or kumara, peeled and cut in chunks
• 2 large Granny Smith apples, cored and quartered
• 100g unsalted butter
• 180ml orange juice
• 125ml maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• Sea salt and cracked pepper

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 175C.
2. Place the potato and/or kumara and apple into an earthenware dish which will hold them snugly.
3. In a small saucepan over a medium heat, make a syrup with the butter, orange juice, maple syrup, ground cloves, salt and pepper.
4. Pour the syrup over the potato/kumara and apple.
5. Cover the dish with foil and roast in the centre of the oven for an hour, basting every 15 minutes.
6. Remove the foil and continue to cook for about a further 30 minutes, or until caramelised, basting as necessary.

Tagliatelle with onion sauce

Hello everyone, last night I was meeting some friends to see the wonderful Irish writer Colm Toibin as part of the Sydney Writers' Festival and we went for a bite to eat beforehand at the GPO Cheese and Wine Room in the city. It was great! It's a very atmospheric kind of place and the staff were warm and welcoming. The menu was wonderful - I really had trouble choosing. In the end my friend Ann-Maree and I shared a vegetarian dips plate and a plate with three cheeses matched to three half glasses of red wine. It was all so good. I really can't wait to go back there again and again! With some evening sessions at the upcoming Sydney Film Festival there should be more opportunities.

This week's recipe is a very simple and beautiful pasta dish. It comes from one of my favourite writers, Diane Seed, in her book The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces. I hope you like it too!

Love from Jane xxx

Tagliatelle with onion sauce

Serves four

What you need:

• 500g tagliatelle
• 100g butter
• 500g onions, thinly sliced
• Chicken stock
• 200ml cream
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Grated nutmeg
• Parmesan cheese for serving

What you do:

1. Melt the butter and cook the thinly sliced onions in a covered pan over a low heat until they are soft. Do not let them brown.
2. Cover with chicken stock and simmer, with the lid on the pan, for another 25 minutes.
3. Start cooking the pasta following the packet directions.
4. Allow the onion mix to cool a little, then puree it.
5. Stir the cream into the onions, then add the salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
6. Drain the pasta and stir through the onion sauce.
7. Serve the pasta and sauce with Parmesan cheese served separately.

Spicy potato tagine with olives

Hello everyone, I was prompted to share this particular recipe today following two different conversations this week. On Tuesday a friend was telling me about the tagine he'd made on the weekend and as soon as I arrived home I started searching through my cook books for some lovely tagine recipes I remembered cooking previously. I love a good tagine and they are so warming and comforting in winter. Then this morning I heard an interesting early morning discussion between Angela Catterns on local radio and a potato grower, who was setting up his stall at the Penrith markets. I think he reeled off the names of about ten different varieties of potatoes he had brought to market for sale and they all sounded very enticing.

Hence another recipe indulging my love of potatoes. This recipe is a different take on the usual tagine as there's no meat, so it works for vegetarians, as a side dish or just as a dish on its own for anyone who likes potatoes and olives! I found the recipe in Spectrum in the SMH and it says that it is adapted from Paula Wolfert's book, The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen.

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xx

Spicy Potato Tagine With Olives

Serves 4-6 when served with couscous or rice

Peel and thickly slice 900g of yellow fleshed potatoes and place them in a bowl of cold water. In a heavy saucepan (or well seasoned tagine), heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil and fry a finely chopped onion for 3-4 minutes, stirring. Add a chopped tomato, 1/4 teaspoon each of paprika, ground ginger and cumin, and 2 crushed garlic cloves. Stir for two minutes.

Add the drained potatoes, a bay leaf and a quarter of a lemon (whole). Toss, then add a handful each of chopped parsley and coriander (or you could substitute mint if like me you don't like coriander) and a couple of good pinches of salt. Toss, then add 5 saffron threads and 1 1/2 cups of hot water.

Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to a warm serving dish and discard the lemon. Add 24 pitted green olives to the liquid remaining in the cooking pot and boil until the juices have reduced to a thick sauce. Pour over the potatoes and garnish with half a preserved lemon, chopped.

Bill's Creamy Semolina With Bay Leaf And Parmesan

Hello everyone, last night I was lucky enough to have dinner at Barrenjoey House at Palm Beach. I've been wanting to go there for a while and was really looking forward to it, although somewhat disappointed that Darren Simpson was such a recent departure from the head chef role. It turned out to be just the kind of place I like - large and airy, with a real "by the seaside" feel to it. The food was gorgeous. They had fish and chips on the menu and I just knew it was the sort of place that would do it well, which was the case, and then I followed up with chocolate souffle which was divine - all warm and melting chocolate. The only downside was that just before I left home to go there I realised that the shops wouldn't be open this morning, being ANZAC day, and I still had a few items to buy for the lunch I was serving today that I had planned to buy fresh! So at 11.00 last night I was wandering around a supermarket snatching up herbs and croissants.

Now today's recipe is another from the ever reliable Bill Granger. It dates from the time he used to do a breakfast segment on Angela Catterns' breakfast show on local radio (yep, 2005). I loved listening to that slot, and obviously the sound of this particular recipe appealed as I printed it from the ABC website and have made it a few times now. I really love semolina (very similar to polenta) and this is a good one for dinner on cooler nights.

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xx

Bill's Creamy Semolina With Bay And Parmesan

Serves about four

What you need:

• 1 litre of milk
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons of sea salt
• 170g semolina
• 60g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Freshly grated nutmeg, if you have it

What you do:

1. Place milk, bay leaves and salt in a large saucepan and bring to the boil over a moderate heat.
2. Reduce the heat and slowly add the semolina in a thin, steady stream, stirring constantly with a whisk to prevent lumps forming.
3. When all the semolina has been added, adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles, and stir constantly until the semolina pulls away from the side of the pan, which will take about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Stir through the cheese and a sprinkle of nutmeg if you have it.
5. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Croutons of fried apple and goat's cheese

Hello everyone, well, for those of you wondering where I ended up having dinner last Saturday, it was Aki's at Woolloomooloo Bay Wharf http://www.akisindian.com.au/. It was a perfect early autumn evening and we were seated outside so could soak up the setting sun and all the atmosphere down there. We had a gorgeous meal and best of all, Chris gave me a very treasured farewell gift - Matthew Evan's new book, The Real Food Companion http://www.readings.com.au/product/9781741967203/the-real-food-companion. How lucky am I? I know that this will be a book I use very regularly and refer to all the time. I can't wait to start reading it over Easter!

This week's recipe is a hint of the cool evenings that must be going to reach us eventually, although I don't mind summer playing out as long as possible. It comes from the Autumn/Winter edition of SOS and is heaven.

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xxx

Croutons of fried apple and goats cheese

Serves eight

What you need:

• 250g butter
• 6 fresh and crisp red apples, cored and sliced
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 loaf of country style bread
• About 500g mature goats cheese, sliced

What you do:

1. Melt half the butter in a large pan.
2. Toss the apple slices in the butter and cook gently for about 15 minutes, turning until tender and a little caramelised.
3. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a dish and keep warm.
4. Cut 8 slices of bread.
5. Fry the bread slices in the remaining melted butter until golden on both sides.
6. Pile the slices of apple on to the croutons and top with the slices of cheese.
7. Serve immediately with a green salad.

Roman summer skewers

Hello everyone, I just had my regular visit from our local Jehovah's Witnesses. I know that many people don't like having these people turn up on their doorstep, bible in hand, but I must say I don't mind it at all and in fact really enjoy the couple of minutes they spend with me. I'd much rather the JWs than those annoying sales representatives flogging pay TV! (Who always reel in shock when I admit that actually I rarely turn on the set...) Anyway, in the eleven years that I have been living here I have been visited by various representatives of the JWs and they are always very lovely, gentle people who aren't afraid of talking about their faith. Usually they give me a couple of their magazines and read me a line or two from the bible and we have a bit of general chit-chat. Currently it is a teenager called Imogen who calls by with her Mum and today her little sister Ruby as well. They are such nice people and I feel blessed to have a minute with them.

But you are here for my recipe, not my musings on who arrives at the doorstep! This week's recipe is another great party one that I have tried out. I found it in Good Living in a feature from a book that had been published recently called Party: The Complete Guide To Food And Drinks. This one is soooooo simple but very effective. Try it next time you are asked to bring a dish to a party and you'll see what I mean!

Have a lovely week. Jane xx

Roman Summer Skewers

Makes 20

What you need:

• 20 cherry bocconcini
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon pesto (Even better if you make it yourself; check my recipe in November 2008)
• 40 small fresh basil leaves
• 20 cherry tomatoes
• 20 pitted black olives
• 20 cocktail sticks (supermarket)

What you do:

1. Drain the bocconcini and place in a bowl with the olive oil and pesto.
2. Stir until coated, cover and leave to marinate for 15-20 minutes.
3. Thread the bocconcini, a tomato, two basil leaves and an olive on to each stick.
4. Arrange on a platter and serve.

That's it!

Patatas Bravas

I love potatoes. Have I ever mentioned that? I think they are one of my favourite foods, right up there with chocolate. I find myself indecently excited whenever potatoes are on the menu, and it takes all my willpower to not shout "Let's choose the potato dish" when out with friends and selecting a side to share. This week's recipe is a really yummy potato dish from one of my favourite recipe writers, Matthew Evans, from his book Weekend Fare. I could eat kilos of it (but I know where the kilos would come to rest).

Have a good week, love from Jane xx

Patatas Bravas

Serves 5-6 as as side dish

What you need:

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons of a good vinegar - a Spanish sherry vinegar is ideal
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 125 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste (or ordinary pepper)
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika, preferably smoky Spanish paprika
• 1 kg good frying potatoes, washed well
• Olive oil for frying

What you do:

1. Beat the egg yolk, sherry and garlic, drizzling in the olive oil in a stream as you whisk, in the same way as you would make a mayonnaise (if you do indeed make your own mayonnaise).
2. Whisk in the tomato puree, pepper, salt and paprika and check the flavour. This sauce should be reasonably bold tasting.
3. Cut the potatoes into roughly 2-3 cm dice and fry in plenty of olive oil until cooked through and lightly browned.
4. Remove the potatoes from the pan and drain on a couple of paper towels.
5. Serve the potatoes warm with the sauce either on top, or served on the side as a dipping sauce.

Roasted walnut and preserved lemon salsa

Hello everyone, last week I reported on my broken down fridge from the previous weekend. The new one is working beautifully, but my goodness, even though I think I don't have a lot in my fridge usually, I am very conscious of how much rebuilding I have to do. There are so many basic things that I reach for and then remember having to throw out whatever the item is. Slowly, slowly I am restoring things.

I tell you what, the fridge wasn't my only disaster. Last Saturday the clutch in my car went! It was terrible at the time (particularly as I was so flustered that I couldn't find the hazard lights!) This morning I was out and about in the car and so thankful that if the clutch had to go, thank goodness it wasn't today in the pelting rain. It could have been a lot worse!

On Sunday my friend Cathy and I went and tried a fairly recently opened restaurant called Cavallino http://www.cavallino.com.au/ in Terrey Hills of all places! Trust me, if you like authentic Italian food, it's worth the trip. I had really delicious hand made pasta (although the sauce was rather salty), and we indulged in profiteroles with a wicked chocolate sauce for dessert. Definitely worth a return visit, that one.

Today's recipe is another one that I snipped from the pages of Good Living, so I don't know whose creation it is. But I can assure you that it is luscious. And a bit unusual which is always good when you want to impress family and friends. The key is using fresh walnuts, which you can easily get at Harris Farm or nut shops, rather than packet walnuts, and rubbing them with a teatowel to remove as much skin as possible. Trust me, it doesn't take too long and once you have tried it you will see the difference it makes to the flavour of the nuts. The original recipe is made with coriander, but as I loathe that herb I used mint instead and it was lovely. The salsa is sensational served over barbecued fish, but of course you could do it with fish cooked any way you like, or serve the salsa with other meats or vegetables. It is very summery and refreshing.

Have a happy week! Love from Jane xxx

Roasted walnut and preserved lemon salsa

Serves about four

What you need:

• 80g walnuts (shelled)
• 3/4 of a preserved lemon
• About 1 cup coriander or mint leaves, chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or less, use your judgement)
• Sea salt

What you do:

1. Roast the walnuts in a hot oven (200C) until golden brown (probably about ten minutes - stay close to the kitchen so you can judge the timing by the aroma).
2. When the nuts have cooled, wrap them in a clean teatowel and rub vigorously to remove as much skin as possible.
3. Roughly chop the walnuts and place in a bowl.
4. Rinse the preserved lemon (does anyone actually do this? I don't), discard the pith and finely chop the skin.
5. Add the lemon to the nuts.
6. Add the chopped coriander/mint, lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt to taste.
7. Spoon over whatever you have cooked to go with the salsa.

• Note that the dressing is best when made just before serving.

Fig, watercress and blue cheese salad with candied walnuts

Hello everyone, I had a kitchen disaster last weekend when my fridge broke down on that very hot Saturday. The fridge repair man came on Monday afternoon and diagnosed....yes, dead. It was the first fridge I had ever bought and nearly sixteen years old so it has given me good service, but really, it would be helpful if they flashed up warning messages like "One week to go!" Of course I had a freezer full of food and quite a few things in the fridge and had to throw it all out. And of course, with the public holiday intervening, my new fridge didn't arrive until Wednesday morning, so it was four very hot days with no way of chilling food! It was a challenge and I'm glad to have the new one in place. Now I'm busy filling it once more!

This week's recipe is one that I made during the week and it was lovely and refreshing. It comes from the December 2009/January 2010 issue of delicious magazine. It's one of those great salads that makes a meal, although of course you could serve it as a salad with other things if you were feeding a few. The walnuts are very easy and taste delicious, probably even better made with butter as in the recipe - I had to use olive oil as I had tossed out my almost melted butter!

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xx

Fig, watercress and blue cheese salad with candied walnuts

Serves four

What you need:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon for the figs
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• A squeeze of lemon juice
• 3 ripe, fresh figs, quartered
• 2 teaspoons caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 bunch watercress
• A handful of seedless red or green grapes, halved
• 200g blue cheese, sliced

Candied walnuts

• 20g unsalted butter
• 1 cup walnut halves
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon caynenne pepper (optional; you could sprinkle over normal ground black pepper if you prefer)

What you do:

1. For the candied walnuts, line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
3. Add the walnuts, sugar and pepper, then stir for 1-2 minutes until the sugar melts and coats the nuts.
4. Remove from the heat and use a spoon to spread the nuts out on the baking tray. Leave for a few minutes to set.
5. Combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard and lemon juice in a small bowl.
6. Season the dressing with sea salt and pepper, whisking to combine, then set aside.
7. Place the figs, cut side up, on a small baking tray.
8. Sprinkle with the sugar, balsamic vinegar and additional olive oil.
9. Place the figs under a grill for five minutes or until golden and bubbling. Remove from the grill and set aside.
10. Arrange the watercress and grapes on a serving platter and top with the grilled figs. Lay slices of cheese over the top, drizzle with the dressing and serve sprinkled with the walnuts.

Cranberry and walnut brie

Hello everyone, I've managed to meet friends for lunch four work days out of five this week, all in different cafes in the city, and all have been really good lunches (as well as delightful company, of course!) On Monday I went to Bacco, a great Italian cafe on the ground floor of the Chifley Plaza, which does a roaring trade, and when you try their gorgeous salads and super fresh sandwiches, you can see why. They also get a big tick from me for their yummy hot chocolate. Order the large and it is like a soup tureen the cup is so large.

On Tuesday I went to the cafe in the Kinokuniya bookshop at Galeries Victoria. I have to say that my expectations were low and there was only a very small selection, but I had a really lovely vegetable frittata.

On Wednesday I went to Salon on the ground floor of Governor Macquarie Tower where they also do fabulous sandwiches and salads. I had two salads, one of which was the most beautiful combination of rocket, shredded carrot, grilled haloumi and lovely plump sultanas, in a tahini dressing in which you could see and crunch the sesame seeds. It was so good I went back and had the same salad the next day as a takeaway!

Finally on Friday I went to Taste on Sussex Lane, as I have had a yummy baguette there before. This time I had a baguette with roasted vegetables and bocconcini and fresh tomato and rocket. Again, it was very good. So unusual to have consistent quality all week! Of course all of this means that this coming week I will have to eat in at my desk, taking in my own home made salads and sandwiches...

This week's recipe was something I made to take to a Christmas party. It comes from the December/January issue of delicious magazine and is so yummy! Everyone loved it. And best of all, you actually get two treats out of it! I found that there was so much cranberry sauce I was able to freeze half of it and serve it as the most divine (and pretty) granita. The alcohol in it saves it from freezing to a solid block of ice, so when you want some you can just pull it out of the freezer and scoop into bowls to eat or drop some into your champagne flute!

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xx

Cranberry and walnut brie

(The recipe is a huge quantity as it's for a crowd, so adjust as required to your own crowd)

What you need (for a crowd):

• 1 cup port
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 cups (240g) frozen cranberries (in the freezer section of the supermarket)
• 2 teaspoons cornflour
• 300g soft goats cheese
• 150g gorgonzola dolce
• 1 large (3kg) wheel of ripe brie
• 2 cups (200g) toasted walnuts, chopped
• Watercress and toasted baguette slices, to serve

What you do:

1. Place port, sugar and 1 cup of water in a pan over a low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
2. Increase the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes or until syrupy.
3. Add the berries and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring, until the berries start to burst.
4. Mix the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of cold water to make a smooth paste.
5. Add to the pan and cook, stirring, for one minute until thickened. Cool. (This sauce can be made up to four days ahead and stored in the fridge).
6. Whiz the goats cheese and gorgonzola in the food processor until smooth.
7. Split the brie through the centre (horizontally) into two rounds and place the bottom half on your serving platter.
8. Spread with half the goats/gorgonzola mix, sprinkle with half the walnuts and pour over as much of the cooled cranberry sauce as you think works.
9. Top with the remaining round of brie and repeat with the goats/gorgonzola mix, walnuts and berry sauce.
10. Garnish with the watercress and serve with the toasted baguette slices. It really is spectacular and will be devoured.

Jamie's Waldorf Salad

Hello everyone and happy new year. I think everyone who lives in my street went to see the fireworks this year, as it was very quiet around here. I was completely engrossed in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood so the peace and quiet made me very happy.

Now I have to say that I am not a huge fan of Jamie Oliver himself, but over the years I have tried many of his recipes in delicious magazine and always thought they were very good. When I saw his latest book, Jamie's America, I had to get it. It reminds me very much of a book in a Time Life series on food in different countries that Mum had when we were children. I was entranced with the book on America as I found the cultural context, and the range of cooking styles and influences around that big country, fascinating. So I had exactly the same feeling when I came across Jamie's book.

Funnily enough, at the community dinners in which I participate, my team mate Margaret made a great waldorf salad one night. She kindly sent me an email with the details - she had found this recipe in a magazine at her hairdresser and copied it. (Well, the list of ingredients - someone had ripped out the instructions). So I had already tried the salad and had Margaret's list of ingredients in hand ready to make it myself when I discovered that the recipe came from Jamie's America. It's great, a really good summertime meal. (The comments in brackets in the ingredients list are mine).

Have a wonderful new year! Love from Jane xxx

Jamie's Waldorf Salad

Serves four

What you need:

• 4 large handfuls of interesting green salad leaves, washed and spun dry (I have only recently started using a lettuce spinner, gosh they are good!)
• 2 large handfuls of seedless green or red grapes (or you could have half and half), sliced in half
• 3 medium sticks of celery, trimmed
• 2 large handfuls of walnuts (approximately 100g), roughly chopped
• A handful of fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1 red apple
• 150g mild blue cheese, such as dolcelatte (there's a nice mild King Island blue that comes in a roll which you can buy at Woollies which would work well)

Dressing

• 1 heaped teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar
• Good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1 heaped tablespoon natural yoghurt
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

What you do

1. In a large bowl toss together the leaves and the grapes.
2. Finely slice the celery sticks and add to the salad.
3. In a dry pan over a medium heat toast the walnuts. Keep an eye on them - they will only take a couple of minutes.
4. Discard the tougher ends of the parsley stalks and finely chop the rest of the stalks, then put to the side for a minute.
5. Chop the parsley leaves finely and add to the salad.
6. To make the dressing, combine the mustard and vinegar and add the reserved chopped parsley stalks.
7. Pour in three times as much olive oil as the dressing you have made so far (or less olive oil, depending on your preference) and mix together.
8. Add the yoghurt and a good pinch of salt and pepper to the dressing and mix again.
9. Drizzle a little of the dressing over the salad so far.
10. Finely slice the apple into matchsticks and scatter over the salad.
11. Add the toasted walnuts and dressing and toss everything together.
12. Transfer the salad to a large serving platter, piling the grapes and walnuts over the leaves. Use a knife to break off little pieces of the cheese, scattering over the salad and serve.

Tomatoes braised in olive oil

Hello everyone, I was lucky to have a gorgeous few days away this week in Port Douglas. I did very little, other than lie by the pool, voraciously consuming novels, and having the occasional swim and a delightful massage. Sad to say that the food wasn't a highlight, although I picked a winner on my last night there, having dinner at a fabulous Japanese restaurant, Zai. I had spanking fresh sashimi to start and followed that up with one of my guilty pleasures, pork belly, which was luscious. It really made me conscious of how lucky I am to live in Sydney with an abundance of good cafes and restaurants that have imaginative menus, loads of good fresh produce and reasonable prices.

This week's recipe is one of those relatively simple dishes to which you can add good bread, prosciutto or ham or jamon, some nice cheese and all of a sudden you have a fabulous meal! It is excellent for summer and comes from my SOS Summer cookbook.

Have a great week. Love from Jane xxx

Tomatoes braised in olive oil

Serves six

What you need:

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 6 peeled cloves of garlic
• A handful of basil leaves
• A few sprigs of thyme
• 6 peeled medium, ripe but firm vine ripened tomatoes (retain the stem if you are able) (To peel, cut a cross in the base of each tomato, place in a heat proof dish and cover with boiling water for a minute, then plunge into cold water - the skins should slip off)
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• A pinch of caster sugar

What you do:

1. Cook the oil, garlic, basil and thyme in a large, heavy pan over a low heat, until the garlic begins to soften.
2. Add the tomatoes, stem side down, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and sugar.
3. Cover and cook very gently for ten minutes, then turn carefully, sprinkle again with salt, pepper and sugar, and cook, covered for a further twenty minutes, basting occasionally with the oil.
4. When the tomatoes are tender when pierced with a skewer, remove from the heat.
5. Allow to cool and serve at room temperature with fresh basil leaves, the garlic cloves and a little of the olive oil in which the tomatoes were cooked spooned over, as well as some bread, cheese and other accompaniments.

Parmesan ricotta on toast

Hello everyone, it's definitely party season and getting busier and busier every day. Usually around Christmas time I start to feel a little overwhelmed by all the alcohol and party food but for some reason it seems to have started earlier this year and I already feel I've had way too much wine to drink and desserts to eat. I met some friends for a quick sandwich yesterday and found I was enjoying the iceberg lettuce the most!

So I'm just going to have to squeeze in some simple meals with lots of vegetables whenever I can. Thankfully I made a bucketful of a very vegie-rich pasta sauce from last month's delicious magazine so I can always dig a container of that out of the freezer when it all gets too much.

I thought I'd give you this recipe this week because I had an email a few days ago from a reader who declares that she is not a cook but did the baked ricotta I posted earlier for guests and it was a hit! I adore good, fresh ricotta and love this very simple little dish, which is a Brigitte Hafner recipe I found in Good Living four years ago.

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xx

Parmesan ricotta on toast

Serves four

What you need:

• 500g really fresh ricotta
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 4 slices of sourdough bread
• 1 bunch of rocket
• 2 lovely ripe tomatoes, sliced

What you do:

1. In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, Parmesan and oil.
2. Season to taste.
3. Toast the bread.
4. Drizzle with a little oil and spread a thick layer of the ricotta mix.
5. Top with rocket and tomato.
6. Season with a little salt and pepper and drizzle with a little more oil.

Crostato Di Riso

Hello everyone, this is one of those recipes about which I wasn't enormously excited, but found the finished dish was delicious! I think it's yet another example of a simple dish that when made with good quality ingredients really shines. It comes from a book called "Italian Rice Dishes" by Diane Seed. I also have two books of pasta recipes that she has compiled. They are very good books that I have been using for years!

Have a lovely week. Love from Jane xxx

Crostato Di Riso

Serves four

What you need:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 litre light stock, or water
• 2 1/3 cups arborio rice
• 2 cups fresh tomato sauce (make yourself or buy at a good deli, or use Savion tomato dip if you can find it, I've seen it most recently at Coles at Chatswood Chase in Sydney)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
• 6 basil leaves, torn
• 300g fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 30g butter

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 175C.
2. Lightly oil a large round oven proof dish
3. Heat the oil in a large pan and gently cook the onion until soft.
4. In another pan, bring the stock to the boil and pour in the rice.
5. Simmer for ten minutes, then drain and stir the rice into the onion.
6. Cook for five minutes and mix in three quarters of the tomato sauce with the parsley, salt and pepper.
7. Stir in three quarters of the Parmesan and the basil.
8. Spoon half of the rice mix into the ovenproof dish, levelling the top.
9. Cover with the mozzarella slices and top with the remaining sauce.
10. Make another layer with the remaining rice and sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan.
11. Dot with butter and bake for 35 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for ten minutes before serving.

Crusty onion and cheese muffins

Hello everyone, I am so happy to tell you that I am writing this post with a beautiful warm and cuddly cat curled up on my lap! I adopted Bellatrix on Friday night. She is about one year old, white underneath with black and ginger on top. She has been to two households where it didn't work out (one with a child who turned out to be allergic to cats, one with two boisterous little boys who terrifed her) and I am the lucky one she has chosen. Bella is absolutely gorgeous - very affectionate and cuddly and on a cool day like today, lovely and warm! I think we are going to be very happy together.

This week's recipe is another of those absolutely standard ones that I use all the time, particularly when I'm entertaining a crowd. Being a cold and rainy long weekend, it's the perfect time for whipping up a batch of savoury muffins with a delicious butter. They are beautiful eaten when they are warm from the oven. They can also be stored in the freezer and then popped in the oven or microwave to thaw and warm up . The recipe comes from the Womens Weekly Muffins, Scones and Breads book, an oldy but a goody.

Have a lovely week.

Love from Jane xxx

Crusty onion and cheese muffins

What you need:
· ¼ cup plain flour
· 20g butter
· 1 teaspoon water, approximately
· 1 tablespoon vegetable or light olive oil
· 1 medium onion, halved and sliced (I use red onions)
· 1 ¾ cups self raising flour
· ¾ cup plain flour, extra
· ¾ cup grated tasty cheddar cheese
· 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
· 1 egg lightly beaten
· 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
· ½ cup vegetable or light olive oil, extra

Chive butter
· 50g cream cheese, softened
· 50g butter, softened
· 2 teaspoons lemon juice
· 1 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

What you do:
1. Place plain flour into a small bowl, rub in butter, and mix in just enough water to bind the ingredients.
2. Press dough into a ball, cover, freeze about 30 minutes or until firm.
3. Prepare either a six or twelve hole muffin tin.
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion.
5. Cook, stirring, until soft and lightly browned; set aside to cool.
6. Sift self raising and extra plain flour into a large bowl.
7. Stir in half the onion, half the cheese and all of the chives.
8. Add the egg, buttermilk and extra oil.
9. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tin.
10. Coarsely grate the frozen dough into a small bowl and quickly mix in the remaining onion and cheese. Sprinkle the mix over the muffins.
11. Bake in a moderately hot oven for about 25 minutes (if you are doing six large muffins they may take a little longer).
12. Serve with the chive butter.

Chive butter
1. Beat the cheese and butter together in a small bowl until smooth.
2. Stir in juice and chives.