Christmas 08 - Instalment 1 - Soni's table

Christmas '08 started off as going to be , not the usual whole extended family thing, but rather just us and Oumie, with minimal fuss and something tasty but with minimal effort. Well as always....it changed and ended up as being, to quote from that ubiquitous 'Dinner for one' Old Years classic, "The same procedure as every year, James"

As there was multiple dishes and lots to post on, I'll be doing this in segments over the next two days or so.

Instalment 1 - Soni's Table

The colour theme this year was Black and White, with Cerise Pink.

The details of the Look:

Black and White sateen stripe table cloth.

Black and White Polka dot and Pink Rose napkins, layered alternately by place setting, held together with either a pink bauble or faux diamond ring serviette ring.

Clear glass and black cut glass drink ware, with white antique dinner ware, and silver cutlery.

Metallic Black and Silver crackers for the Boys and whimsical pink fairies for the Girls.

Pink double dip candles in silver plates with pink and black jelly-beans, and pink foil wrapped chocolate truffles and party favours.

A centre piece of Cerise Gerbera's floating in a glass bowl with black pebbles.

It blew everyone away, as always! Soni is a creative genius!

16 Dec, Pre-Christmas-Christmas @ Greg and Elsie

On the 16th of December, in the great southern hemisphere summer heat, we had a traditional Christmas Lunch at Greg and Elsie.

There were the girls...

...and a few Good Men...

Greg was a demon on the Weber with a great, big, fat bird! He also juggled the gas braai and delivered perfectly crisp Chirizo to nibble on, (and it wasn't as dainty as nibble sounds!), whilst the Main attraction was being put together.

It was cooked to perfection and I got hustled into carving the Beast....err Bird.

Liz contributed a succulent roasted Gammon, and there was a host of Yummy side dishes, not least of all these mouthwatering, bacon wrapped potatoes, Elsie's Mom's receipe, which She used to make as a tradition for Christmas.

By the time the dessert had to come out, which we'd been responsible for, we were all well oiled!

So I added fat to the fire and served the World's most decadent Chocolate Pots, on demand from Elsie, with a nice sweetish dessert wine.

175g 70% chocolate, 2 egg, 2 tbl spoon of strong coffee, 2 tbl spoon of coffee liqueur and 285ml cream.

Blend all the ingredients except the cream in a blenders, whilst heating the cream to just below boiling. Pour the hot cream into the running blender in a slow stream and continue blending until colour is even and consistent.

Pour into espresso cups and chill until set.

As a variation I did two lots, the first with a chili chocolate, garnished with the chocolate truffle, and the second batch with Kirsch instead of coffee liqueur, garnished with fresh cherries. I served with dessert wine and chocolate biscotti to dip with. Unbelievably Triple Yummy!

13 December - Anniversary Dinner

The 13th of December was our 11th Anniversary, and to celebrate Soni and I had full day and evening planned!

Soni treated me to a whole day of pampering at the Mangwanani Spa @ Sibaya, http://www.mangwanani.co.za/, which was awesome, and we walked away feeling fresh and rejuvenated. Thanks my Baby!

I cooked her a three course meal at home that evening:

*

Heirloom Tomatoes,

stuffed with Ricotta, Spinach and Sun dried Tomatoes, on garden Greens

*

Seared Tuna,

wrapped in Proscuitto di Parma, on Polenta with roasted, seasonal Vegetables

*

Pasteis de Nata,

with toasted Hazel nuts, Honey and fresh Cherries

*

A very ambitious menu, but by Soni's reaction a Winner!

Stuffed Tomatoes

1 medium Tomato per person, a small tub of fresh Ricotta, a small bunch of baby Spinach, 2 or 3 Anchovy fillets and a third cup of chopped Sun dried Tomatoes. To serve, Garden greens like assorted Salad leaves and marinated whole Caper Berries.

Blanch the Spinach till just wilted. Mix the Sun dried Tomatoes, Anchovies and cooled Spinach and chop roughly. Mix in with the ricotta and spoon into the hollowed out tomato cases, and bake in a moderate oven for 15 to 20 minutes.







In the meantime dress the greens with a good quality olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Nest on the serving plates, plate the roasted Tomatoes on top and drizzle with chopped Sun dried tomatoes and garnish with the Caper berries.

Seared Tuna

About 250g of Tuna for two, Harissa paste and 6 to 8 slices Prosciutto di Parma, for the main portion of the dish. Assorted seasonal vegetables(I used baby squashes and zuchinni), trimmed to roast and 150g of instant Polenta.

Rub the tuna with the Harrisa paste and sear in a hot griddle pan. Allow to cool, slice into 2.5 cm fingers and wrap them in the Prosciutto.

Roast the vegetables and when done, pop the wrapped tune into the oven briefly for the Prosciutto to crisp - DON'T OVER COOK THE TUNA!

Prepare the Polenta as per manufacturers instructions.

Plate the Polenta, surround with the roasted veg and top with the Tuna fingers.

Pasteis de Nata

1 cup milk, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 vanilla bean, 1 cup white sugar, 6 egg yolks, 1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups and line bottom and sides with puff pastry.

In a saucepan, combine milk, cornstarch, sugar and vanilla. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Place egg yolks in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk 1/2 cup of hot milk mixture into egg yolks. Gradually add egg yolk mixture back to remaining milk mixture, whisking constantly. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Remove vanilla bean.

Fill pastry-lined muffin cups with mixture and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is lightly browned on top.

Toast half a cup of Hazel nuts in a dry pan, remove from the heat and cool. Drizzle with Honey and swirl around the tart and garnish with the fresh cherries.

I hope you attempt some of these! The tomato starter is really easy, the Tuna fingers takes mostly preparation time but well worth it and the dessert can be done in 2 minutes if you get the tarts from a bakery, (which I have to admit I did!)

NABC - Christmas dinner, 27 November, Gaby's Tosca

The boys gathered for the last dinner of the year at Gaby's Tosca in Durban North , with the exception of Paul B who was in China, Jay had his company Christmas party and Kane? Well we're all still guessing, he'll have to update us at the January dinner, with force if we have to!


Greg, Paulie, Max, Little Sol, Solly, Grey and I were all there and more than made up for it!



The shots are bad and very grainy, but photo quality wasn't the priority of the night.

We had assorted mezzo to start with the usual Portuguese suspects like Peri-Peri chicken livers, grilled calamari, chili steak strips etc.

The food was real simple but really, really great!

Chicken as Peri-Peri spatch-cock or half bird with prawns.

Espatada of beef.
Grilled sardines!

Portuguese steak!

Yum-Yum-Yum!

22 November - Simple Seafood Lunch

Soni had been craving seafood, so whilst doing some shopping I was lucky to find both fresh scallops and clams. It was unbearably hot so there was no way I was spending hours in the kitchen, so this is what we did:

Pan fried Scallops with Mozambican Masavaroo.

Clean the scallops, season with salt and lemon juice and flash fry in butter and olive oil until just done. Put them back in their shells and dress with the chili and serve with lemon wedges.

Spaghetti Vongole

Make a Soffrito:

Take a small bunch of Italian parsley, 3 anchovy fillets and a handful of spring onions, chop finely. Crush 4 garlic cloves and chop roughly. Zest 1 large lemon and braise lightly with all the above.

When the onion is translucent, add white wine to taste (about half a bottle should do), as well as 3 or 4 chopped Roma tomatoes. Season.

In the mean time, whilst the tomatoes soften, ensure the clams are well rinsed and clean. Add the clams to the tomato mix with a handful or so of stoned Calamata olives, seal the pan with a tight fitting lid and steam on a moderate heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until the clams have opened.

Add some freshly chopped parsley and a dash of cream.

Serve on al dente Linguine - Enjoy!

22 November - The best FLATTIE in Durban.

For those who are in the know, in this case Brad Evans, the best flattie (spatchcock chicken) in Durban is at the Ski Boat Club at the Point. In young Brad's own words "Finger licking, best chicken in the whole, entire world! ".

Well he was so right! Juicy, succulent and made even better with a side bowl of the chef's own curry sauce to dip with. Add a few fries and what more could a young man want after a morning in the surf and sun?

The folks all had a few beers to wash this down with, so everyone was happy in the sun!

For those in Durbs, this is a great family venue, no airs and graces, cheap and cheerful, with the best view in Durban.

15 November. Dinner @ Beanbag Bahia

Beanbag Bahia, in Umdloti, north of Durban - The sister restaurant of the Durban stalwart Beanbag in Windermere rd. Soni and I went for dinner with our mates Liz, Greg and Elsie.

The setting is awesome, right across the road from the beach, at night though there is no view, but still the sound of the crashing waves as background.

The interior design is great, a retro feel with tropical wall paper, contemporary lighting and a mix of modern moulded ABS chairs as well as a sence of nostalgia provided by great fifties rattan chairs. This was aproject of the internationally reknowned design team at EGG designs, husband and wife team, Greg and Roche Dry.

We started with a mix of Oyster shots, raw oysters in a Bloody Mary, and the warm Caprese salad, cherry tomatoes and bochoncicni in abalsamic vinegrette on rocket leaves. All Bloody marvelous!

The mains were spicy calamari, served with couscous, Prawn pasta and slow braised rabbit on polenta. Whilst the calamari was great, the balance of the mains were at best ok (WITH ABOUT 3 PRAWNS PER SERVING!), and the rabbit tough and very difficult to eat out of the oversized bowl it was served in.

The service was intermittant, if that.

The evening was great fun tough, due to the copiuos amounts of red wine (great one Liz!) and awesome company and conversation.

I have however, only heard great reports from everyone that has gone there for lunch, it must be the view, so to be fair we'll give it another go - For lunch this time!