Recipes

Natasha Lester’s fabulously fun Sidecar follies

2018-10-07T22:57:33+11:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Cocktail concoctions
Word of Mouth TV went to town (or should we say Paris) for the Natasha Lester episode, launching the evening with the oh-so-French cocktail, the Sidecar. The origin of the Sidecar cocktail is disputed but it is believed to have been invented towards the end of World War 1 in either London or Paris. It was, of course, named after the motorcycle sidecar,  a-la Two Fat Ladies, and the Ritz Hotel in Paris claims to be the drink's birthplace. 

Natasha Lester’s lobster and salmon mousse

2018-10-07T15:32:53+11:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Natasha Lester's novel, The Paris Seamstress, is a gorgeous romantic story of intrigue, danger and love set in France and in the USA during WWII. In the book, her heroine Estella Bissette flies back to Paris on a dangerous mission in a boat plane on which she enjoys an amazing meal of piping hot soup, lobster and smoked salmon. That was all the inspiration we needed to concoct this delicious lobster and salmon mousse - with caviar of course! And champagne!!

Pineapple and mint salsa and herby tomatoes

2018-09-21T17:35:21+10:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Something light and fresh was needed to accompany our Balmain bugs for the Holly Ringland interview and this pineapple and mint salsa paired with a tomato and herb salad fitted the bill. It was 29 degrees in the shade for this interview and not a scrap of salad was left in the bowls by the end of the day - simple hot-weather crowd pleasers. We hope you enjoy these salads as much as we did.

Holly Ringland’s Balmain Bugs in lemon myrtle

2018-09-26T19:06:37+10:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Holly Ringland's novel The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is an ode to Australia's unique and exquisite flora, so it seemed fitting to use an Australian herb - lemon myrtle - to dress these delicious local Balmain bugs for our interview. Accompanied by a pineapple and mint salsa, it was the perfect al-fresco meal for this unseasonally hot Autumn day.

Kate’s signature dish: figs, proscuitto and honey

2018-09-25T13:48:50+10:00Categories: Recipes|

Iconic literary food moments
Poets have immortalised food, particularly fruit, over the centuries, tantalising the senses at every turn. One thinks of Pablo Neruda's Ode to Tomatoes, or Thomas Campion's Cherry Ripe. For Holly Ringland's edition, we have chosen D.H. Lawrence's Figs, given it is a warmer climate tree, and because it reminds us that, at the heart of all existence, lies desire and passion.

Garth Nix’s, can’t beat ’em, bangers and mash

2018-09-12T21:04:59+10:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Fantasy author Garth Nix loves food - lots of different types of food - but put his back to the wall (or a tree as was the case with the Kids & YA Festival), and he plumps for bangers and mash - an all-time favourite for many. So we have used the Taste recipe with red onion gravy below because we used the Cleaver's gluten free mint and lamb sausages and red onion gravy (with red wine) because red wine goes so well with lamb. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Jaclyn Moriarty’s favourite chocolate brownies

2018-09-08T16:12:41+10:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Jaclyn Moriarty loves chocolate and she wrote much of The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlesome while sitting in her gorgeous local chocolate shop. So it is not surprising that chocolate features heavily in the book and there is special mention of chocolate brownies. Jaclyn says she switches chocolate brownie recipes all the time, always looking for the ultimate one.

Lauren Chater’s Estonian lamb, mash and root veg

2018-08-27T17:15:04+10:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
The Lace Weaver, the novel by our guest Lauren Chater, is set in Estonia during World War II so I thought I’d cook a feast inspired by that country’s Slavic cuisine. The recipe for Estonian Lamb Shanks is based on one I found on the BBC website, from ‘The Hairy Bikers – Northern Exposure’ show". The Hairy Bikers are David Myers and Simon King, who first met while working behind the scenes on a TV show and soon discovered they shared a passion for cooking and food.

Raymond E. Feist’s fave? Cajun steak

2018-08-07T17:08:46+10:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Fantasy master Raymond E. Feist uses food when writing fantasy in many ways, one of the most common of which is to build his characters: "It's the common things," he says. "The things that we all share." In real life, he proclaims himself a "steak and potatoes" kind of guy, and he is something of a grilling aficionado. His favourite meal is Cajun steak. It must, he insists, be served with sauce.

Charlotte Wood’s divine boeuf en daube

2018-08-04T17:42:19+10:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Stella Prize winner Charlotte Wood is, to all accounts, an excellent cook and her book Love and Hunger is full of recipes - one whole chapter is devoted to pastry. Charlotte says she cut her teeth on Elizabeth David's cookbooks after learning about them one day at a friend's dinner party. "That day ... I suddenly saw how creativity and cooking were completely connected," says Charlotte.