​​​Recipe adapted from the Family Circle 'Cocktails and Party Drinks' Cookbook

Makes 1 large drink

Ice
60ml bacardi
30ml dark rum
15ml Cointreau
15ml lemon juice
90ml pineapple juice
90ml orange juice
15ml sugar syrup
dash grenadine
​

Half fill a large goblet with ice.

Add Bacardi, dark rum, Cointreau, lemon juice, pineapple juice, orange juice and sugar syrup and grenadine. Stir.

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​This daiquiri is in the highly spirited chapter of my cocktail book, and I can understand why.

It's strong, but delicious. 

You always have the option to add lemonade or soda water if you want when you find cocktails strong, I don't here as I love it, but the option is there.

If you don't like strawberry seeds, strain it, I don't strain it, as they don't bother me.

This is easy to make and delicious.

​Recipe adapted from the Family Circle 'Cocktails and Party Drinks' Cookbook

Makes 1

45ml Bacardi
30ml Cointreau
15ml Strawberry liqueur
30ml lime juice
4 Fresh strawberries
Ice
​

Place Bacardi, Cointreau, strawberry liqueur, lime juice, strawberries and ice in a blender. Blitz until well mixed. Pour into a large goblet or martini glass. 

Decorate with an extra strawberry if you like.

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​These are my best rolls ever. Probably my favourite bread recipe.

And it is so easy. Mix the ingredients together, that's it. Then you just wait a few hours, no kneading involved. Then shape them into balls, rest, then bake.

The secret to no knead bread is the rising time, by allowing the dough to rise for several hours, it allows the yeast to do it's thing, which is create bubbles in the dough, resulting in a fluffy, airy, textured bread.

The dough is quite sticky, so ensure you flour your work surface well. The moisture in the bread is necessary as once baking, it creates steam to produce the amazing crusty crust.

I add baking paper to the cast iron pot I use, as it can stick. It is optional however. I don't bother with covering the raw dough with plastic wrap, I just pop the tight fitting lid on.

This bread is even great the next day.

This is my favourite bread recipe, I make it when I don't want to go to the shops for just bread. It's easy and delicious and something you need to try.

​Recipe adapted from Donna Hay magazine

Makes 7 rolls

4½ cups (675g) 'OO' flour
1¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ teaspoons table salt
2⅓ cups (580ml) water


Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix to form a wet, sticky dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 4 hours or until dough has tripled in size and has large bubbles. Turn out onto a well-floured surface, divide into 7 pieces and shape into rounds.

Place a piece of baking paper in the base of a 30cm-round heavy-based ovenproof saucepan, dust with flour and place the rounds inside.

​Cover the pan with plastic wrap or the tight fitting lid and allow to stand for a further 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 220°C/200°C fan forced. Remove the plastic, if using, cover the saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for a further 20-25 minutes, or until the bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped lightly.

​Turn out and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

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​It's Easter time again, and I'm constantly looking for new things to try.

Now my kids really don't like hot cross buns, but they really like doughnuts. So when I came across this recipe in a pile of magazine clippings I was going through, I had to make them.

They were delicious and my kids loved them.

They can be filled with jam or nutella, but to make things easier, I leave them as, and just serve jam and nutella on the side, for those that want it. 

These are easy to make and delicious. Well worth a try.

Recipe adapted from Super Food Magazine

Makes 28

1 teaspoon instant dried yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 cups plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
50g butter, melted
1/3 cup milk, warmed
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup strawberry jam or nutella
Vegetable oil, for shallow frying  

Flour paste:
1/3 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons water


Whisk yeast with warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar in a small jug until yeast is dissolved. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until mixture is frothy.
​
​Combine flour, mixed spice, 1/4 cup remaining sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Make a well. Add yeast mixture, butter, milk, egg and vanilla. Mix until a soft, sticky dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 2 minutes to form a smooth ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, using cooking spray. Stand in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.

​Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface (add a little extra flour to surface if necessary, only if your dough is sticky). Knead for 2 minutes. Now roll it into a large sausage shape and cut out 28 even pieces. Shape into a ball shape. Place on prepared trays.

​Make Flour Paste: Mix flour and water in a small bowl until smooth, adding a little more water if too thick. Spoon into a snap-lock bag. Snip off 1 corner. Pipe a cross onto the top of each dough ball. Stand for 20 minutes.

​Place remaining sugar in a bowl.

​If you want to pipe jam or nutella into the doughnuts, place jam in a piping bag fitted with a 7mm plain piping nozzle. I tend to serve it on the side.

Pour oil into a large, deep frying pan until 1/3 full. Heat over medium-high heat.

​Cook doughnuts, in batches, for 1 to 2 minutes each side or until golden and puffed. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a tray lined with paper towel to drain for 10 seconds.

If filling your doughnuts, pierce doughnuts with a knife. Fill with jam.

​Toss in sugar to coat. Place on a plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Best eaten on day you make them.

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​Patka s mlincima is a specialty originating from the northern parts of Croatia, especially the regions of Zagorje and Međimurje. 

Cardiologists look away this recipe is not for the faint hearted. Now it is not the duck that is the issue, it's the mlinci, which are mixed through the duck fat that renders out of the duck during baking that would cause concern. But once a year this dish is fabulous, absolutely fabulous, and we enjoy every single bite. Mlinci are the ultimate comfort food, they are delicious.

I first had this on a trip to Croatia and my mother in law made it for us, she is from Međimurje. I was hooked, it was delicious.

Mlinci are always fabulous, it is after all pasta dough that is fried first, no oil, then you pour boiling salted water over them, then you mix it with duck fat, and bake it, think roasted potatoes in duck fat, but better.

As for the duck I have made it a few times and just never got it right, the duck was dry or tough, but not now, I have finally got the duck roasted to perfection, where the meat is soft and delicious. The simplicity of the ingredients in this dish, means that you really need to get the duck cooked right.

This is something my mother in law would serve for Christmas, it's cold outside and this dish would be perfect. My daughter has been asking me to make this for a while, so this year I thought I would make it for Easter, a special occasion that deserved a special dish. I'm so glad I did, it was perfect.

I served it with sauerkraut. All I did there is sautéed an onion until translucent, then added 2 tablespoons tomato paste, then added a 800g jar of sauerkraut, 1 teaspoon vegeta and season with salt and pepper. I gently sautéed that for about 30 minutes, adding 1/3 cup of water every now and then to ensure it doesn't burn and helps cook the sauerkraut. As the water evaporates, just add more. 

I love traditional family recipes, I love that I continued this from my mother in law, and I can see my daughter will be continuing the family tradition for years to come.

Recipe adapted from Nikice Gamulina-Games cookbook Hrvatska Kuharica

Serves 4

Mlinci:
400g pasta flour
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup water

Duck:
1 x 1.9kg duck
1 large red apple, peeled, cored
salt and pepper, to taste
2 onions, peeled, halved
3-4 tablespoons sunflower oil
​​ 
Make the mlinci: Place the flour on a board or on your kitchen bench and make a well in the centre.

Crack the eggs into the well, add the salt. Then with a fork, mix the egg into the flour, don’t worry if there are lumps in the dough, there will be. Keep mixing, add the water, little by little, say a tablespoon at a time, until you have a dough that just forms, put it on a flat surface and knead together, for about 5 minutes or until you have a silky, smooth, elastic dough. You are aiming to achieve a playdough texture. If your dough is crumbly (too dry) add a teaspoon more water. If the dough sticks to your hands (too wet) add a little extra flour.

Cover with cling film and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
​
Cut off portions of the dough, and roll the dough portion as thin as you can, about 1mm thick. Roughly cut up the dough into pieces say, 10cm x 5cm, I seriously don't measure this, some pieces I cut into triangles. Continue with another portion until you have rolled out and cut up all your dough.

Now heat up a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add a few pieces of the dough to the dry frying pan, fry until the dough is cooked and has a few dark spots, flip and cook the other side. Place on a plate while you cook the remaining dough.

​Now for the duck: Preheat oven to 150C/130C fan forced.

Rinse duck with cold water, including the cavity. Let water drain out of cavity, dry skin with paper towels.

​Place the apple inside the cavity. Season duck with salt and pepper, to taste.

Place 2 tablespoons of the oil in a baking dish. Place duck breast side down in baking dish, pour over the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add onion halves, next to the duck, in the baking dish.

Place in your preheated oven for 20 minutes. Now turn the duck over so the breasts are on top and continue baking for 1 hour. 

Increase the heat to 170C/150C fan forced, continue roasting the duck for a further 1 hour, every 20 minutes or so baste the duck with the fat that is in the base of the baking dish.

While the duck is roasting bring a pot of salted water to the boil.

Once the meat is cooked and soft, the skin browned, remove from the oven, drain the cavity liquid into the baking dish, place duck on a chopping board.
​
Tear up the mlinci into smaller pieces and place in a colander. Pour over the boiling water, tossing the mlinci about as you pour the boiling water over it. Break up the onion in the baking dish and place the mlinci into the baking dish, mix it through the duck fat and onion and keep mixing it until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the mlinci.

Cut up the duck into serving size pieces, place over the mlinci in the baking dish, skin side up. Place back in the oven for 10 minutes. If the skin has not browned, evenly, just turn on the grill for 5 minutes to make sure all the skin has browned.

Serve duck and mlinci straight away. I served it with some sauerkraut. 

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​Simple to make, it's got sweet and sour flavour, which I love.

Recipe is for the glass size above.

For the glass below, double the quantities and make it straight into the glass which is filled with ice.

Recipe adapted from Family Circle cookbook 'Fantastic Cocktails & Mixed Drinks

Makes 1

ice
30ml Malibu
30ml Midori
15ml lemon juice
15ml lime juice
​
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, shake well. Strain into a martini glass.

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​This is a really simple pasta dish that my family loved. The sauce is light, the prawns and scallops are delicious, it's a great mid week meal, as it comes together quite quickly.

It was actually on Ash Wednesday that I made this for the first time, I always have prawns and scallops in the freezer, so I decided to try this.

Linguine is the perfect pasta for this dish, I wouldn't even try another one.

With the tomatoes, I grill them while my pasta water is coming to the boil, it gets them out of the way and ready for cooking. If you don't want to grill them, you could just cut them in half and add them after you sautéed the garlic, then just sauté them until just warm, you don't want them cooked through as they will continue cooking in the recipe.  

The original recipe uses just olive oil, I changed it to extra virgin olive oil, as it has more flavour. You can use parsley, instead of chives.

This is quick and easy to make and we all loved it. Will definitely be something I will be making again and again.

Recipe adapted from delightfulplate.com/ 

Serves 6

450g linguine
450g scallops
450g prawns, peeled and deveined
340g cherry tomatoes
6 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2-1 teaspoon chilli flakes, to taste
1 cup white wine
42g unsalted butter
1-2 tablespoons finely chopped, chives
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste


Preheat your grill on high. 

Put a large pot of salted water over high heat, bring to the boil. Whilst this is happening, prepare all your other ingredients.

Spread cherry tomatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil. Grill for 5-6 minutes until burst, remove from oven and set aside.

Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. Reserve some pasta cooking water.

Pat scallops and prawns dry with paper towel, sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. In a pan over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and when it’s sizzling hot, add scallops. Leave them untouched and sear for 2-3 minutes until the bottom is brown (amount of time depends on size). Flip and sear the other side for 1-2 minutes until brown. Transfer to a plate.

Add some more oil to the pan if needed. Add prawns and sear for 1-1 1/2 minutes until the outside is no longer pink and shrimps are almost cooked through. Transfer to the same plate with scallops.
​
Reduce heat to medium, add some more oil to the pan and then add garlic and chilli flakes. Sauté for about 30 seconds until fragrant and then add white wine. Deglaze the pan and let it cook for about 30 seconds. Add the cherry tomatoes, pasta, butter, prawns and scallops along with any juice on the plate. Mix thoroughly until butter is melted and flavours are combined, and the pasta has soaked up some of the sauce. If the pasta is too dry, adjust with some reserved pasta water. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

​Sprinkle chives on top and serve immediately with a drizzle more of extra virgin olive oil.

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​This is one my daughters favourite cocktails.

​So easy to make, super easy to drink

​Recipe adapted from the book Frozen Cocktails by Cider Mill Press

Makes 1

1 cup ice
45ml coconut rum, Malibu
45ml pineapple juice
90ml red ruby grapefruit juice
​

Place the ice in a blender and pulse until crushed.

Add the malibu, pineapple and grapefruit juice and blitz until smooth.

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​Frosé is made by blitzing together frozen fruit and rosé wine. It's a grown ups version of a slushie.

Make it using different fruit combinations, just pair it with whatever rosé you like to drink. My favourite fruit combination is watermelon and strawberry. But other combinations I like are 

Strawberry and Sweet Cherries
Raspberry and Peach
Strawberry and Peach
Mango and Peach
You also can do one fruit only, in that case I like just strawberries or just watermelon.

I've tried other recipes where you had to freeze the rosé in ice cube trays, which isn't a problem, unless you feel like a frosé and you have done that. So I prefer this version easier, as I always have frozen fruit in the freezer as my kids love smoothies, and the wine just needs to be cold, the fridge will do, and I always have wine in the fridge.

You can make the frose thicker by adding more frozen fruit or thinner with more wine added, you get to make it how you like it. The addition of sparkling wine is optional, I love it, but you can leave it out. Some recipes add a shot of vodka to their frosé in the blending process. This is one of those recipes you can play with and make it how you like it.

Sugar is added if the wine or fruit are not sweet enough and then you control the sweetness with sugar, this is purely optional. 

The original recipe say you can try making it with different wines, which won't then be called a frosé, but it could work flavour wise, she suggested sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, and moscato, I might try this.

If you prefer to make it ahead, you can make it up to a week ahead and transfer to a freezer safe storage container and freeze it. It will thicken, so just let it thaw out a bit before serving. 

This is amazing on a hot summers day as it's quick and easy to make.

​Recipe adapted from celebratingsweets.com/

Makes 6 servings

6 cups frozen fruit, I love watermelon and strawberry
1 cup ice
1 bottle rosé wine
1 -2 tablespoons sugar, optional (to taste)
sparkling wine, optional (to serve)
​
Place the frozen fruit, ice, rosé, sugar, if using, in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into glasses and top with a splash of sparkling wine, optional.

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​This is an Emalee original recipe. Emalee is my daughter and she had the task of making a cocktail for us. I told her I wanted something refreshing, something with raspberries and she came up with this. She used my mojito recipe as guide then modified it and it was delicious.​

She made it in a cocktail shaker, then strained it into a glass, but you can make it straight in the glass.

​Serves 1

10 fresh mint leaves
1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges
3-4 raspberries
1-2 tablespoons caster sugar (depends on how sweet you like your drink)
30ml white rum
​15ml raspberry vodka
125ml soda water
Extra mint sprig, to garnish
​
Place the mint, 3 lime wedges, raspberries and sugar in a glass. Use a muddler (I use the end of a rolling pin), to crush up the mint, juice the limes and dissolve the sugar.

Add enough ice cubes to almost fill up the glass. Add the rum and raspberry vodka. Top with the soda water. Garnish with remaining lime wedge and the extra mint sprig, put in a straw.

Serve immediately.

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