A Menu to get my Vibe back
I have lost the will to 'entertain' - completely!
I am on such a mission at the moment but it’s difficult to articulate it, so I am just going to say it.
“Although I cook every single day – I don’t ‘cook’ enough”
Cooking means many things to me, its work, love, passion, focus, escape and it is my joy but recently, it easily overwhelms me.
Not all of it (I love my work!), mostly the social cooking side.
In fact, the thought of ‘having people over’ on the weekend feels like a massive commitment, one that feels like I don’t have the energy for.
Plainly put – I have lost the art & will to ‘entertain’ – completely. Please say you get me?!
My dilemma
I am not a slap-something-together person OR a laid back cook. Choosing what to cook is quite a process for me. (what do I feel like eating, what’s the season, inspiring produce, energy levels, weather – you get my point).
The dilemma is this, I would love to have people over and connect but at this stage I am scraping my weekend energy together to simply meet a friend for coffee.
I need my ‘vibe’ back
I do – I need to cook.
I want the food to feel special, the space intentional but - I can do less of the fretting and faffing tbh. So here is my baby steps to a great tasting menu that was a joy to eat but yet I could cook it in a couple of hours without much thought.
A good menu that won’t overwhelm and is delicious in other words,
for me, this menu is;
The Perfect Start.
The Menu
Roast Turmeric Chicken with Leeks
Olive & Pistachio Salsa
Potato Hasslebacks with Sage & Chilli
Radicchio, Apple & Fennel Salad with Candied Walnuts (Recipe Below)
and possibly a dessert of Grapefruit Possets (that I will make the day before)
The Shopping List
Things NOT to ‘faff’ about
dishes will not be hot ALL at the same time, eating food warm is fine
if making a dessert, and you don’t have to, always make any dessert the day before
flowers, candles and nice serviettes makes all the difference
Things TO ‘faff’ about
try to source the best chicken & produce especially for laid back recipes (pasture raised chickens & in season produce)
think colour – different coloured peppers, interesting potatoes and prettiest salad leaves.
bring out the pretty plates – life is short
The dishes
Roast Turmeric Chicken with Leeks and an Olive & Pistachio Salsa
.Potato Hasslebacks with Sage & Chilli
Radicchio Salad with Fennel, Apple & Strong Cheese (Recipe Below)
Easy Grapefruit Posset
The promise
If you like my vibe and food I would love for you to come and join my membership where I love to share what I cook, what I love to eat, what inspires me with you inside this little membership bubble.
A space free of annoying ‘adds’, sales talk and where I am genuinely trying to solve the friction around how we actually start and enjoy cooking.
Radicchio, Fennel & Apple Salad w Karoo Crumble & Honey Walnuts
Ingredients:
150 g radicchio leaves (one large bulb)
70 g celery (about 3 stalks)
150 g fennel (about 1 large bulb)
100 g apple (about 1, any variety)
1 small lemon
1 cup strong hard cheese like parmesan or pecorino
Honey Walnuts
50 g walnuts
1 tsp runny honey
pinch salt
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Dressing
1 tbs runny honey (16g)
1 tbs thyme leaves (picked)
2 tsp Dijon mustard (12g)
15 g lemon juice (half large lemon)
30 g extra virgin olive oil
pinch salt
black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180c
Toast the nuts: Add the walnuts, honey, salt and olive oil to a small baking dish, mix with a spoon and roast in the oven for 8 minutes or until golden. Remove, the nuts will harden as they cool down. Roughly chop or keep whole.
Dressing: mix the thyme, Dijon and honey together, slowly add the olive oil mixing until a ‘lekker’ emulsion forms, ie all incorporated in a thick even dressing. Season with pinch salt and plenty black pepper.
To make the salad, start with the fennel, finely slice, ideally on a mandolin on its finest (thinnest) setting, wash the fennel pieces well, spin dry, roughly chop if you think they are too large, we are looking for bitesizes. add to a bowl and squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the fennel to prevent them from browning.
Slice the apple on the mandolin too, add to the bowl and mix the apple and fennel together so the apple aborbs some of the lemon juice too (to prevent browning).
Finely dice the celery and add to the bowl. Tear the radicchio leaves and finely chop the white thickish stem. Add to the bowl.
When you are ready to serve, toss the salad well, add half the dressing, the cheese and give the salad a few light mixes to just incorporate the cheese but some cheese still visible on the top.
Drizzle the rest of the dressing and top with the toasted walnuts. Serve immediately- Enjoy!
Happy Cooking everyone
x Adré