A few of my girlfriends and I got together and cooked up a storm recently. We had an amazing and sumptuous 3 course meal fit for a king – and we made it all from scratch! Here are a few of the winning recipes.
STARTERS
Cheese meatballs
Ingredients
· 3 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
· 1 cup bread crumbs
· salt
· black pepper
· 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
· 1 kg lean beef mince
Method
· In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into balls. Place meatballs on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan.
· Bake at 190° for 12-15 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink
Recipe from keyingredient.com
Grilled flat bread
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl and brushing
• 1 1/3 cups white bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Method
· Heat a grill or grill pan until hot. Place water in a medium bowl, and sprinkle yeast on top; stir to dissolve. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
· Add olive oil, flour, and salt; combine. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 1 to 2 minutes.
· Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place for 30 minutes. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into four equal pieces, and roll out each into a 1/8-inch-thick round.
· Lightly brush both sides of each portion with olive oil, and place directly on the hot grill. Grill the flatbread until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from grill, and season with salt.
Recipe from keyingredient.com
MAIN COURSE
Grilled salmon
Ingredients
· Salmon steaks
· Chillies
· Garlic
· Fennel
· Olive oil, salt and pepper
Method
· Preheat oven to 190°
· Finely chop the chillies, garlic and fennel and place in bowl
· Add olive oil and some salt and pepper to taste and mix well
· Lightly dip the salmon in the olive oil mix and place on a greased oven tray
· Bake for approximately 15 minutes
DESSERT
Tiramisu
Ingredients
· 1 packet of Lady fingers (approximately 400g)
· 2 eggs
· 500g mascarpone cheese
· 4 cups brewed strong coffee, cooled
· 120g sugar
· Cocoa powder
· Coffee liqueur
Method
· Separate eggs in a medium sized bowl. Mix egg yolks with sugar and beat until smooth. Gently mix yolks with mascarpone cheese until smooth
· In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites into cheese
· Dip Lady fingers in the coffee and line the bottom of a large glass bowl. This needs to be done quickly as they absorb moisture very quickly and become soggy
· Spoon half of the filling over the lady fingers until completely covered
· Add another layer of lady fingers on top of that
· Top up with the rest of the mascarpone cheese filling
· Dust with cocoa powder and refrigerate for at least 4 hours
