Category: Mother’s Day

Crème brulee is my dessert of choice if it’s on the menu when I go out for a meal. Many of my girlfriends are also fans, so I reckon this dessert is a guaranteed winner for Mother’s Day. And you’ll get extra Brownie Points for making it yourself!

Ingredients:
Serves 4

• 2 ½ cups (625ml) thickened cream
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 3 tbs caster sugar, plus 1/3 cup extra for brulee top
• 2 tsp cornflour
• Mixed berries, to serve

Method:
1. In a Pyrex 4 cup capacity glass jug, combine cream, yolks, vanilla, sugar and cornflour and whisk. 
2. Microwave on high for 5 minutes and whisk. Continue microwaving in 1-2 minute increments until custard thickens to a dollop consistency. 
3. Divide custard between four Pyrex 1 cup capacity glass prep bowls.
4. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of caster sugar over the surface of each custard in an even layer. Use a blowtorch to caramelise the sugar until golden. Serve with mixed berries.

Tip: Make these up to 5 days in advance and store covered in the fridge. Just dust with sugar and torch right before serving.

This recipe was kindly shared with us by the team at Pyrex. 

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Honey, nuts and cinnamon are such a comforting combination, especially when layered between sheets of filo pastry in this delicious Baklava treat. This recipe can be made in advance, and presents beautifully in a tin as a gorgeous handmade Mother’s Day gift. 

Ingredients:
Serves 15 (or one hungry mum!)

• 200g pistachios, plus extra chopped pistachios to garnish
• 200g walnuts
• 100g caster sugar
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 150g unsalted butter, melted
• 375g filo pastry
• HONEY SYRUP
• 2/3 cup caster sugar
• 2/3 cup boiling water
• 2/3 cup honey
• 2 lemons
• 2 cinnamon quills
• 12 cloves

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced). Grease a Pyrex Simply Store 23.4cm x 18.8cm x 6.8cm (2.6L/11 cup capacity) glass baking dish with melted butter.
2. In a food processor, combine nuts, sugar and cinnamon and pulse to finely chop. 
3. Unwrap filo sheets and cut to fit dish snuggly. Cover with a damp tea towel.
4. Layer one-third of the filo pastry in dish, brushing butter between each layer. Scatter half the nut mixture evenly over. Top with half the remaining pastry, brushing butter between each layer. Scatter over remaining nuts, top with remaining filo, brushing butter between each layer. Cover with the lid and chill for 10 minutes. Use a sharp knife to cut into 5cm diamonds, cutting through all the pastry layers.
5. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until golden. If the pastry is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
6. Meanwhile, for the honey syrup, peel zest from lemon and juice flesh. Combine sugar, water, honey, lemon zest, cinnamon and cloves in a Pyrex Simply Store (460ml/2 cup capacity) glass container. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Cover loosely with the lid. Microwave for 3 minutes on high. Add the lemon juice, stir through and set aside to cool.
7. Remove and discard lemon zest, cinnamon quills and cloves from the syrup. Carefully and slowly pour syrup over baklava so it absorbs evenly. Set baklava aside at room temperature for 6 hours to cool completely (or overnight if possible). Scatter with extra pistachios if liked.

Tip: Baklava will keep in container at room temperature, covered with the lid for up to 3 days.

This recipe was kindly shared with us by the team at Pyrex. 

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This delicious salmon recipe is the combination of lots of healthy ingredients, as well as sensational flavours. This would be a fantastic meal for Mother’s Day lunch or dinner. 

Ingredients:
Serves 2

• 1 salmon fillet
• 2 zucchinis – trimmed and julienned
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 punnet cherry tomatoes
• Small handful basil leaves
• 1 lemon – zested
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method:
1. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil.
2. Place the salmon in the water, return the water to the boil then remove from the heat and pop the lid on.
3. Cook for the salmon for 8-10mins depending on size of the fillet.
4. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan on low heat.
5. Add the chopped toms and cook for 8-10 mins or until softened.
6. Remove the salmon from the water once cooked through and flakes into a bowl.
7. Add the zucchini noodles into the salmon water for 20-30 sec and remove and drain.
8. In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, salmon, lemon zest, ripped basil.
9. Drizzle with olive oil and season.

This recipe was kindly created  and shared with us by Whirlpool Ambassador, My Kitchen Rules 2013 semi-finalist, health coach and family man Scott Gooding. 

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French Toast is one of my all-time breakfast favourites. This recipe gives it an updated twist with the addition of sweet ricotta cream and maple syrup. 

Ingredients:
Serves 2

• 3  eggs
• ¼  cup  (60ml)  milk
• 2  tablespoons  sugar
• teaspoon  vanilla  extract
• 15g  butter,  melted
• 4  thick  (Toast  size)  firm  white  sliced  bread, 
• one  day  old
• Cooking  Spray
• Maple  syrup  to  serve
• Seasonal  fruit  of  your  choice

Sweet Ricotta Cream

• 200g  fresh  ricotta
• 2  tablespoons  thickened  cream
• tablespoon  caster  sugar
• ½  teaspoon  vanilla  bean  paste

Method:
1. To  make  the  sweet  ricotta  cream,  place  ricotta,  cream,  sugar  and  vanilla  extract  into  a  bowl  and  beat  until  light  and  whipped.  Set  aside.
2. To  make  the  French  toast,  whisk  together  eggs,  milk,  sugar,  vanilla  and  melted  butter.  Pour  into  a  large  shallow  bowl  big  enough 
to  fit  the  bread  slices  in  easily.
3. Place  one  slice  of  bread  into  the  egg  mix  and  press  down  lightly.  Quickly,  turn  over  and  repeat.  Lift  out  of  the  egg  mixture 
and  drain  off  excess  egg  mixture  back  into  the  bowl.
4. Lightly  grease  the  inside  of  the  sandwich  rack  with  cooking  spray  and  place  soaked  bread  inside.  Bring  the  handles  together 
and  close  the  clip  to  keep  grids  together.
Insert  the  Sandwich  Rack  into  the  toaster  slot.  Toast  until  golden  and  set.
5. Once  French  toast  is  ready,  serve  warm  topped  with  a  dollop  of  ricotta  cream  and  a  good  drizzle  of  maple  syrup  and  fruit  of  your 
choice. Repeat  with  remaining  French  toast.

This recipe was kindly shared with us by the team at KitchenAid. 

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If you’re enjoying a decadent Mother’s Day lunch or dinner, why not complement it with this sweet and bubbly cocktail recipe. The Lime and Kiwi Sparkles is a fun and fizzy mix of kiwi, lime, simple syrup, vodka and sparkling water and is an easy cocktail recipe to celebrate mum this weekend. 

Ingredients:
Serves 4
• 1 kiwi, diced 
• 1 lime, juiced 
• 1 ½ shots simple syrup 
• 4 shots vodka 
• 1L sparkling water 

Method:

For the simple syrup:
1. Combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan until sugar has dissolved.

For the Cocktail:
1. Prepare the sparkling water: Carbonate 1 bottle of cold water.
2. Crush the kiwi and lime juice in a jug. Add in simple syrup and stir.
3. Serve a quarter of the fruit mix in each glass and add 1 shot of vodka.
4. Top up with ice cubes and sparkling. Garnish and serve over ice.
Tip: muddle the lime and kiwi together to better release the flavours – Enjoy!

This cocktail recipe was kindly shared with us by Sodastream. 

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Risotto is a decadent dish that would make a fantastic entree or main dish for Mother’s Day, especially this mushroom-flavoured, creamy, cheesy version with Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris. 

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups Arborio rice
• 450g mushrooms of choice – sliced
• 5-6 cups chicken stock 
• ½ cup Pinot Gris
• 2 shallots – chopped (Don’t cut too finely.)
• ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 tbsp butter
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Method:
1.    Place stock in a saucepan over low heat. It should simmer very gently, not bubble or boil.

2.    Take half the butter in a large frying pan and place it on low heat. Once melted and foaming, add the mushrooms. Season with salt, then stir to coat well in butter. Cook, occasionally stirring until they are browned. Transfer the mushrooms and any pan juices to a bowl.

3.    Return the frying pan to heat and pour in the olive oil. Once hot, tip in the shallots. Cook on low heat, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes, until softened. Then, pour in the Arborio and stir until every grain is slick.

4.    Allow the rice to get slightly golden, and then pour in the wine. Let the rice fully absorb the wine. The alcohol is going to burn off, and only the flavour will be soaked up by the rice.

5.    When the wine has been completely absorbed, add a ladle of hot stock. Stir, allow the stock to be absorbed. As you stir the rice, you encourage it to release its starch, turning the liquid in the pan into a beautiful sauce. Keep stirring and adding more ladles of stock until each is absorbed.

6.    After you add the last ladle of stock to the pan, add the reserved mushrooms, the remaining butter and the cheese. Stir till everything is beautifully incorporated, ladle out onto plates and serve immediately!

Modify it to your liking – you can always add peas, ham, chicken… the possibilities are endless!

Porridge. It’s good for you and we all know we should eat more of it, but quite frankly it’s not a sexy food, and often reminds many people of their grandparents. But I bet nanna never had porridge like this before! Simply add red wine poached prunes and…ta daa – sexy breaky!


Ingredients:
Serves 3-4

• 4 chamomile tea bags
• 2 cups quick oats
• ​4 cups full cream milk
• 1 tbsp semolina 
• 2 tbsp brown sugar 
• 2 tbsp flaked almonds 

For poached prunes:

• 2 cups pitted prunes
• ​1 cup of light red wine
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 slices orange peel
• 1 star anise
• 1 cardamom pod 

Extra milk to serve

Method:
1. Place the ingredients for the poached prunes into a saucepan and stir to combine. Place over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to about half, stirring periodically. Remove the star anise, orange peel and cardamom and discard. Set aside the prunes to cool. 

2. Place the tea bags into 1 cup of boiling water and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard. 

3. ​Place the oats, brown sugar, semolina, milk and chamomile tea into a medium saucepan. Place over low-medium heat and stir continuously until it thickens up (about 5 minutes). 

4. Serve the porridge topped with poached prunes and flaked almonds. Add a drizzle of extra milk. 

This recipe was kindly shared with us by Michelle Sanchez. Check out more of Michelle’s gorgeous recipes at www.fb.com/diversebymichellesanchez. 

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You can never have enough avo-on-toast recipes in your repertoire, and this one will definitely give you a morning wake-up call with the added hit of Tabasco!  

Ingredients:
Serves 2

• 2 slices of thick-cut country bread  
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 50g celery, diced widthwise (cut to just under 1cm chunks)
• 50g Persian cucumber, thinly sliced widthwise
• ½ tbsp white wine vinegar
• Friendly pinch of salt
• 1 tsp TABASCO® Sauce
• 1 avocado
• 4 slices carved chicken breast (optional)
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds 
• Flaky salt to taste
• Fresh ground pepper to taste 
• 50g of the inner light green leaves of celery (optional)

Method:
1. Brush two slices of bread with the melted butter. Lightly toast bread, if desired, but ensure bread is cooled before adding vegetable topping. 

2. In a bowl, combine the celery, cucumber, white wine vinegar, salt and TABASCO® Sauce. It should be spicy and bright in flavor.

3. Cut the avocado in half. Use your knife, safely, to remove the pit. Take a spoon and place it between the skin and the flesh and gently move it around the top of the avocado and then down around the base in order to carve the avocado out from its skin. Place the two sides of avocado face down on a cutting board and cut each half into 5 or 6 pieces lengthwise. Fan out the two halves of the avocado.  

4. Build your toast: using a slotted spoon, place an equal amount of the vegetable mixture on each toast. Then place your deli meat (optional). 

5. Place your knife underneath the avocado fan to lift up and place on top of the toasts.

6. Finish Avocado Toast with a healthy helping of sesame seeds, flaky salt and freshly cracked pepper.

7. Finally – take the inner celery leaves and give them a quick toss in the remaining celery/cucumber liquid. Place on top of the toasts to give them a finishing touch. Enjoy!

This recipe was created by chef Jessica Koslow of Sqirl (U.S.) to celebrate TABASCO®’s 150th anniversary. 

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This week our call-out was for Mother’s Day recipes, i.e. easy recipes that could be used to create a delicious dish for mum on Mother’s Day. This Stuffed Mushroom recipe certainly fits the brief – it would be perfect for Mother’s Day brunch or lunch…

This recipe was kindly shared with us by Sara Capacci, who has an obsession for Real Food, Self-Love & Connection. Mother of two & lover of simple life, Sara’s mission is to inspire women to reconnect to themselves and the pleasure of life through Food, Love & Adventure. Originally from Italy, she wants to share the ‘Italian Passion for Food & Life’ with the world. Learn more about Sara at www.theconnectionproject.com.au.

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