Sunday,29 November 2015

My favourite kind of braai is a small, intimate one with a minimal amount of people but still a considerable selection of food at your disposal. The more casual it is, the chiller it is. A small party makes for an amazing, relaxing braai without the rush of playing hostess leaving you to tend to the food more freely.

Aside from my beer bread, this spring onion bread is my other favourite bread to bake for braais.

The best sangria I've ever had in my life. I was in such disbelieve over how good it tasted and I'd definitely make this drink threefold next time and serve it in a huge punch bowl. Be warned, this stuff is dangerously sweet. 

1 bottle of wine

1/2 cup simple syrup

2 Tbsp maple syrup.

4 nectarines

4 plums

1 orange

Fresh mint leaves

Cut all your fruit into slices. Add everything to the jug, mix well and let stand over night.

Collette whipped us up some watermelon vodka slushies. Frozen watermelon chunks blended with lime Russian Bear vodka and Sprite. Delicious! I want to keep a bottle of that in my own pantry for exactly this drink.

Spring onion bread
 500g self-raising flour                        1ml cayenne pepper

125ml grated cheese                         500ml buttermilk

1 packet thick white onion soup             4-6 spring onions

1ml salt

Mix all the ingredients together. If the dough is a little too stiff, add a bit of milk.

Scrape the dough into a greased tin and bake for 1 hour at 160C. Serve warm with butter. 

For dessert I made peppermint crisp tart. Meh, I've had better.

Strawberry Champagne Slushies

Let me just put it out there that men will drink just about any colour drink as long as it's delicious.

This was too delicious.

So nummy.

I would recommend the recipe to follow be made per person. Yes, an entire bottle for one person. It really is that delicious that each person would want an entire bottle to themselves, any way. Otherwise you end up serving everyone half a glass of delicious disappointment. To be honest, I really didn't think the recipe would make so little and sharing it amongst five people really didn't go far. I was sad because everyone else was so sad at the end.

1x 750ml bottle of sparkling wine
400g punnet of strawberries
Honey

• Hull your strawberries and add to a blender. Pour half the bottle of sparkling wine and a generous squirt of honey.
• Blend until all the strawberries are smooth and pour into a plastic container to freeze overnight. Cover the remaining sparkling wine.
• The next day, scoop the frozen strawberries back into the blender and add the remaining sparkling wine. Blend until a smooth slush is formed. 
• drink responsibly

WARNING! Freezing the strawberry mixture will lead to uncontrollable urges to open the freezer multiple times to sneak a bite of this deliciousness. 

Sesame Soy Marinated Chicken

I love how sometimes I can win people over to eat certain food types they strongly dislike by using it in a way different from how they perceive it. Chad absolutely detests soy sauce. He first had it with sushi many years ago and has since kept well away from it. I'll admit soy sauce is a bit overbearing eaten like that but one bad food experience is no reason to swear it off completely. 

Also, I personally believe soy sauce is a vital ingredient in every household pantry. The list of uses for it is endless and the results are always amazing. That's why I was very excited to make this marinade. I just knew this is what would win Chad over and look at the importance of soy sauce in a completely new light.

1 cup soy sauce                                       

1/2 cup water                                              

3/4 cup olive oil                                        

4 Tbs onions, finely diced                       

4 Tbs sesame seeds

2 Tbs sugar

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic

Place your meat in a bowl. Mix together all your ingredients and pour it over the meat. Cover and let stand overnight turning every now and then. 

Turning it the morning after. Just look at that delicious colour seeped into the meat. I instantly started salivating when I saw this and fantasised about how it would come out. 

Getting ready for the braai and the colour looks even better now.

Don't throw out the remaining marinade, but rather use it to baste the meat all throughout the braaing. That way you get that amazing look of sesame seeds all over the meat.

While Chad was tending to the braai I baked cheese and mustard muffins and made a simple green salad to go as a side. I absent-mindedly threw away the recipe for the muffins but you can just use a basic cheese muffin recipe and add 10-15 ml of mustard powder. Spread with butter and enjoy your meal!

PS. We enjoyed this meal with a glass of chilled Two Oceans shiraz rose. The chopped spring onions on the chicken just livened up the crisp aromas of the wine. I highly recommend this pairing.