Recipes Brisbane | The Weekend Edition

Start your morning right with an egg and bacon galette

27 Jul 2017

They say getting out on the wrong side of the bed is a sure-fire way to start your day on the wrong foot. Well, for us our day starts off poorly if we haven’t had a decent breakfast. Sure, muesli and fruit is great, but in the colder months we find something warm to be preferable. Katrina Ryan from The Golden Pig Food & Wine School contributed to the gargantuan anthology The Great Australian Baking Book, which features great savoury day starters such as Katrina’s delicious recipe for egg and bacon galettes with caramelised onion. more

Food & Drink

Blow away the winter blues with a comforting old-school cheese toastie

06 Jul 2017

If you hadn’t noticed, it’s gotten a bit cold recently. Chilly weather begets cravings for comfort food, but its important not to settle for just any dish because it’s warm. If you are looking to jazz up your winter warmers, we suggest you start with the humble toasted sandwich. Chefs Eat Toasties Too by Darren Purchase is a great resource for anyone that wants to flex their culinary muscles but want to start small. This book can help you turn your grilled cheeses into gourmet, golden-crispy gob fillers, and you can’t go wrong with the old-school cheese toastie. Say goodbye to hunger and say goodbye to the winter chill – we’re moving to toastie town! more

Food & Drink

The Weekend Series: beat your broke-ass blues with these pre-pay day meals

27 Apr 2017

'Twas the night before pay day and all through the pantry, nothing to eat – just bare cabinetry. It’s a grim scenario that we’ve all experienced before – we’ve blown out our budget on UberEATS and online shopping, leaving our dinner options slim and sad. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. There are ways to make the final few meals before payday bearable – you just have to get creative! Take stock of your paltry staples, have a crack at these ingenious recipes and compliment yourself on your resourcefulness. more

Food & Drink

The Weekend Series: desk lunches that don’t suck courtesy of Lettuce Lunch

09 Feb 2017

There’s nothing worse than being (figuratively) chained to your work desk all through lunch. Whether it be because of tight deadlines or simply a mountain of work that must get done, sometimes it’s not feasible to go out for lunch when you want. Desk lunches are an unfortunate necessity of office life, but it’s rarely a source of culinary inspiration. If your desk neighbour is giving you some fierce food envy with their freshly bought lunch or you are sick of your bland sandwiches and tinned tuna, we suggest improving your meal prep game. We recruited the services of Carlton Talbot of Lettuce Lunch to give us some killer recipes to try. Lettuce Lunch is a thriving recipe repository that educates thousands on nifty vegetarian meals that are perfect for work. Without further ado, here are five lunch boxes that’ll be the talk of the office – we guarantee it. more

Food & Drink

Make friends with this killer kale salad

12 Jan 2017

Yeah, yeah, we know. Raw kale salad doesn't sound very killer. But trust us on this one – if your kale salads have been bad in the past, it's because you haven't learnt to massage your kale. Help it relaaaxx into deliciousness and it will change the way you look at the leafy vegetable forever. This is just one of the many hot tips Dale Pinnock, aka The Medicinal Chef, offers in his new book How to Cook Healthily. The cookbook is full of tasty and healthy recipes to help you to kickstart the new year, and introduce nutritional dishes into your weekly kitchen routine. In addition to this killer kale, sweet potato and cherry tomato salad, you'll find Chinese-style roast chicken, feel-good fish fingers, goji berry cheesecake and much more. more

Food & Drink

Munch on sesame crunch chicken tacos with cos, avocado and zesty crema

05 Jan 2017

It’s really hard to go past good Mexican food – the sheer vibrancy in both colour and flavour is a feast for the eyes and the tummy combined. Plus, what’s not to love about foods you can eat with one hand? Chef Paul Wilson has focused firmly on feel-good eats in Taqueria, a cookbook that features tacos, salsas and cocktails as the main event. In Taqueria, Paul explores regional flavours and specialities whilst playing with flavour, proving that there’s so much more to this country’s cuisine than lime and jalapenos. The book celebrates taco culture, showcasing the art behind these little parcels of love. What better way to say hola to Mexican cuisine than with a good old favourite like the taco? Far from humble, this recipe for sesame crunch chicken tacos with cos, avocado and zesty crema will have you rethinking everything you thought you knew about Mexican food. more

Food & Drink

The Weekend Series: five festive cocktail recipes to help spread joyous cheer

22 Dec 2016

The holiday season is ideal for bringing people together, spending time with your loved ones and celebrating the connections you’ve made throughout the year. If you are a serial entertainer, this is either the happiest time of your year or the most stressful. The fun part about Christmas catering is the cocktails, but any seasoned host will know that a your trusty Passion Pop punch won’t tantalise everybody’s tastebuds (no matter how much fruit you put in it). We’ve made a list of cocktails to cater for some specific groups and situations that you might encounter over Christmas. more

Food & Drink

The Weekend Series: five festive last-minute recipes for Christmas lunch

15 Dec 2016

Hey, we don’t want to alarm you but as of the publication of this article there is ten days until Christmas. If that sends you into a full-blown panic-spiral we’re sorry, but we also want to assure you that it’s okay – there is still time to get your shopping done. Of course, there’s more to Christmas Day than just giving (and receiving) sweet presents – there’s a large food component that is equally important. If you’ve promised to bring a dish to contribute to the annual feeding frenzy but are short on time, we’ve decided to give you your Christmas present early. Here are five easy recipes for dishes you can throw together at the eleventh hour to bring to Christmas lunch this year. more

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Food & Drink

Cool off this summer by whipping up a tall glass of Stone’s Paradise Punch

15 Dec 2016

Queensland summers are a whole lot of hard work – every time you have to go outside it becomes a chore to operate and being sweaty for the vast majority of the day is not appealing. At the end of a hot day (or even in the middle of one) it's nice to be able to cool off with a refreshingly chilled drink. When that drink happens to be a cocktail, we start thinking that maybe summer isn’t all bad. Stone Restaurant and Bar in South Bank has recently unveiled a new summer cocktail menu, filled with mixtures that will help ease your heatstroke. For times when we couldn’t even fathom going outdoors, Stone has graciously gifted us the recipe for one of their fanciest summer cocktails – the Paradise Punch. This fruit-topped drink is perfect for sunshine sipping, and is easy to make! more

Food & Drink

Feast on Ristorante la Famiglia’s al prosciutto e rucola focaccia

08 Dec 2016

Focaccia – the often-neglected cousin of pizza – is coming back into vogue thanks to the fantastic work of the kitchen staff at Ristorante La Famiglia. Every Wednesday the restaurant cures the hump-day blues by offering a range of freshly baked focaccia for a song. We’ve been lucky enough to get our hands on the family recipe used for Ristorante La Famiglia’s excellent dough and now you can have a go at whipping up your own at home with a hearty helping of prosciutto, fior di latte and rocket as topping. more

Food & Drink

Drool over Eataly’s pancetta, chicken and sausage rolls

17 Nov 2016

If you have never had the pleasure of stepping inside the wonderland that is Eataly, we're sorry, but your life is lacking. The giant marketplace is a mecca for Italian food, packed full with restaurants, food and beverage counters, a bakery, retail items (there's a whole isle dedicated to pesto) and a cooking school. It's honestly a dream come true. So needless to say, we were pretty excited when we heard Phaidon was releasing a cookbook dedicated to contemporary Italian home cooking in collaboration with Eataly. Eataly: Contemporary Italian Cooking features 250 recipes that take a modern approach to Italian cooking and eating, which dishes such as caper, anchovy and oven-baked tomato risotto, pasta with cavolo nero pesto and clams, and this recipe for pancetta, chicken and sausage rolls. Buon appetito! more

Food & Drink

Get a little spicy with Chinese fish in chilli sauce

03 Nov 2016

From the simplicity of spring rolls to the complex flavours of Sichuan dishes, there's a lot to love about Chinese food. It is one of the world's most-enjoyed and oldest cuisines, and highly regarded Chinese authors Kei Lum Chan and Diora Fong Chan have joyously celebrated it in their gilt-edged compendium China: The Cookbook. The book explores more than 650 authentic traditional recipes from 30 distinct regions of China, including staples such as hot-and-sour soup and chicken in black bean sauce, and lesser-known dishes such as Lai Wan-style congee and laughing doughnuts. This recipe for fish in chilli sauce comes from the Sichuan region – so you can be sure it will get your heart racing. more

Food & Drink

Kick off seafood season by whipping up a chargrilled spicy prawn salad

27 Oct 2016

When it comes to Brisbane’s culinary elite, Luke Nguyen is among the cream of the crop. Not only is he the proprietor of the popular eatery Fat Noodle and Sydney’s Red Lantern, he is also an accomplished television personality. As a regular presenter on SBS, Luke has been able to bring the tastes of Asia into our homes, and his latest show Luke Nguyen’s Street Food Asia is his best and most hunger-inducing show yet. Alongside the series itself, Luke has released a companion cookbook, chock-full of the tantalising flavours and heady aromas Luke discovers in his travels among Asia’s backstreets. If you love the varied tastes of Asian street food, then you’ll love this chargrilled spicy prawn salad – plucked directly from the pages of Luke’s latest culinary compendium. more

Food & Drink

Jump out of bed for avocado and kimchi toast

13 Oct 2016

We're not sure what it is about avocado on toast, but it's something we just never seem to get sick of. Every now and then, however, we like to spice it up a bit. So when we found this recipe for avocado and kimchi toast from Julia Turshen's Small Victories cookbook, we got pretty excited. Julia is no stranger to great recipes – she has co-authored and developed recipes for a number of incredible books, including Gwyneth Paltrow's It's All Good and Mario Batali's Spain ... A Culinary Road Trip. She understands that becoming a confident cook means taking pleasure in each small victory and celebrating them, which is what Small Victories is all about. As well as featuring more than 95 recipes and hundreds of variations, the book also teaches the basic lessons of cooking and the potential inspiration that can come from each small victory. So the next time you get that boiled egg just… more

Food & Drink

You do win friends with goats cheese brulee salad

06 Oct 2016

We know, we know. The general rule is you don't win friends with salad. But we promise that this is the kind of salad that will definitely have your friends knocking on your door. This delectable salad presents beautifully, combining the vibrant colours of red and yellow beetroots and watercress with the pièce de résistance in the centre – an oozing round of bruleed goats cheese just waiting to be dipped into. The recipe comes from Anna Gare's newest cookbook Delicious Every Day, which features more than 100 'mostly healthy, always tasty' recipes, the majority of which are preservative, additive and gluten free. more

Food & Drink

New potatoes in their skin with sage butter will ensure you win at dinner

29 Sep 2016

Mmm ... potatoes. Mmm ... beef. Mmm ... beef and potatoes. Two of the most comforting ingredients around combine to create the ultimate comfort-food cookbook titled (wait for it) – Beef & Potatoes. The book comes from the genius that is Jean-François Mallet, who has dedicated the entire book to recipes highlighting both beef and potatoes, and the glorious pairing of the two. Inside you'll find delicious delights such as fillet steak with truffles and foie gras, paprika beef and potato croquettes, and this drool-worthy recipe for new potatoes in their skin with sage butter, just to name a few. Enjoy. more

Food & Drink

Succumb to food porn with Pornburger’s Bao-ser’s Castle Burger

22 Sep 2016

Hey baby, bring those hot buns and juicy beefcakes over here. Get your mind out of the gutter sicko – we're talking about burgers! Because they are so much more than just a beef patty between two buns. According to San Fransisco chef, food stylist and photographer Matthew Ramsay, a burger is something deeper, spiritual and naughty, a satisfaction of one's most carnal culinary desires. Inspired by his popular blog pornburger.me, Matthew has just released his book Pornburger, featuring 80 recipes for drool-worthy burgers accompanied by some pretty saucy recipes. We're easing ourselves in with the White Castle-inspired Bao-ser's Castle Burger – follow the below recipes to create your own sexy stack. Bao chicka wow wow. more

Food & Drink

Spread the love with some homemade peanut butter

13 Sep 2016

Did you hear the joke about peanut butter? We can't tell you, you might spread it. Okay, on a more serious note, did you know Australians consume approximately 30,000 tonnes of locally grown peanuts every year, all of which are processed in Kingaroy? Crazy, huh?! And if there was ever a week to celebrate these wonderful legumes (that's right, they're not actually nuts) it's the week of September 13, which is World Peanut Day. To spread the peanut love, try your hand at making this simple recipe for homemade peanut butter – just make sure you use delicious Australian-grown peanuts to celebrate and thank our local farmers! more

Food & Drink

Make weeknight dinners delicious with pancetta-wrapped meatloaf

08 Sep 2016

Wake up. Go to work. Go to (insert after-work activity here). Get home. Look at fridge. Cry a little on the inside. Sound familiar? Sophie Gillatt and Katherine Westwood, aka The Dinner Ladies, have heard your cry for help. Balancing families and busy lives, the two ladies came up with the idea of preparing dinners for time-poor friends so they would always have homemade food in the fridge or freezer. Today their idea has grown to a fleet of trucks delivering thousands of homemade meals each week to hungry homes, and a brand-new cookbook aptly called The Dinner Ladies. The book features 170 recipes perfect for cooking now and eating later, so you always have a back-up meal in the fridge or freezer. You'll find everything from veggie-focused thinner dinners to family favourites, such as this recipe for pancetta-wrapped meatloaf. more

Food & Drink

Spice up your evening with asparagus and beef red curry stir-fry

01 Sep 2016

Simple ingredients. Quick to prepare. Minimal clean up. These are the key things we look for in a weeknight after-work dinner. This asparagus and beef red curry stir-fry comes to the party, ticking all the boxes with the added bonus of being super delicious. Even better yet – now that spring has sprung, asparagus is once again in peak season so you’ll be able to get your hands on a fresh local bunch. Woo! You’ll find most of the additional ingredients in your pantry, and you only need one pan to whip it up in a matter of minutes. Guess we just answered your ‘what’s for dinner’ question … more