All posts in Cuisine and Beverages

Last week I sent out a tweet about receiving post cards from Russia, one on the Monday, one of the Tuesday and one on the Wednesday, which went on to say, “Looking forward to meeting you. From Russia, with love” – I was baffled and started guessing what it might be with the gents at work, as you can imagine, it was rather funny.

I arrived at work on Friday to find a bottle of Russian Standard Vodka and an awesome Russian hat, you can see these photographs here.

I gota tell you, the Vodka is surprisingly nice – I’ve had triple distilled, Absolut and a few other brands, but never have I had a Vodka that goes down really smoothly, and that was us drinking it neat!

I went on to look at their website and came across a cool collection of cocktail recipes that include this vodka and that’s exactly what I’m going to be doing this weekend. The recipes include The Berry End, Yellow Fever, The Fountain of Youth, Standardtini, Berryoska Strawberry & Blackberry and Vodka Tonic .. definitely a couple in there that I want to try! Here are the recipes, just click to enlarge:

Oh yes, if anyone’s tried vodka with mustard, please let me know as I’m anxious that this might lead my down a dangerous road!

With the mercury well and truly rising around SA, our hot summer days call for frequent refreshment! Spatula Magazine has brought out some fantastic recipes for healthy juices (great for those who are holding fast to their New Year’s resolutions) and some scrumptious ice-pop ideas.

Exotic pomegranate, mango and coconut squeeze

Veggie booster juice

Applegrass juice

Spatula uses the Oscar DA900 juicer to make these beverages.

If ice cream or ice-pops are more your thing, feast your eyes on the treats below.

Rosé and kiwi fruit ice pops

Smarties and vanilla pops

Dark chocolate and peanut butter pops

Trifle pops

Ice-pops are made with the highly desirable Zoku Pop Maker.

Find recipes for the juices and ice-pops (and more delicious images) at Spatula Magazine.

Christmas cooking and baking can be fairly stressful, especially when you’re feeding a crowd. Enter: Pick n Pay’s website, with a series of easy-to-make (and impressive) Christmas dishes. Have a look at these:

Kettle-braaied turkey with stuffing

Glazed gammon

Christmas pudding

Trifle

Fruit mince pinwheels

Soetkoekies

More recipes include lamb, pork, Christmas cake, fruit flan, cassata and ginger biscuits.

It’s also worthwhile to browse the Christmas tab for festive inspiration. There are activities for kids, a how-to for making your own crackers, cocktail recipes and suggestions for creative ways to wrap Christmas presents, etc.

Visit the PnP website for more useful Christmas ideas!

All images from www.picknpay.co.za.

Awesome, awesome, awesome, Nespresso have just launched three brand spanking new flavors: Dark Chocolate, Vanilla Blossom and Cherry. As always, Nespresso have rolled out an incredible Flash website, which really does make these brands look quite incredible.

Dark Chocolate – Dark and bitter chocolate notes meet the caramelized roast of the Livanto Grand Cru. A rich combination reminiscent of a square of dark chocolate.

Cherry – The sweet and fragrant notes of ripe cherries awaken the toasted ones of the Livanto Grand Cru. Together they create a fruity and full-flavoured taste.

Vanilla Blossom – A delicate harmony capturing the roundness of the Livanto Grand Cru and the velvety taste of vanilla. A smooth blend distinguished by light floral notes.

If the words don’t catch you, take a look at the pics:

Keen on winning a dinner for you and 5 friends, cooked in the comfort of your home by a brilliant chef? Well Nando’s is giving you a chance to do this, but you have to visit the www.mealfor6.co.za website and enter, but to get you started, here’s a hint:

Big thanks to @BangersandNash for my Nando’s goodies this morning:

Are you a Nutella fan? And are you handy in the kitchen? You may want to get out your apron. This home-made Nutella recipe comes from the good people at babble.

Homemade Nutella

• 1 1/2 cup whole hazelnuts
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup powdered milk
• 1 Tbsp. mild-flavored honey
• pinch salt
• 1 heaping cup chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, or chips
• 1 scant cup chopped milk chocolate, or chips

On a rimmed baking sheet, toast the nuts in a 400ºF for 10 minutes, or until fragrant and their skins begin to pop. Transfer to a tea towel, gather into a bundle and rub together to remove as much of their skins as possible. While warm, transfer to the bowl of a food processor and blend until they go from finely ground to pasty and thick, like natural peanut butter.

Meanwhile, warm the milk, powdered milk, honey and salt in a small saucepan just until it starts to boil. Remove from heat. In a glass or stainless steel bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or in the microwave), melt the chocolates, stirring occasionally until smooth.

Add the melted chocolate to the ground nuts and continue to process the mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the warm milk mixture and process until everything is well blended and as smooth as you can get it. Makes about 2 cups. Visit the website for more delicious recipes and let us know if you give this one a bash!