{Winter Wine Pairing} Weekend Competition in the Winelands!

It was a slightly warmer winter's day, on the 10th of May, as I put on my leather farm-ish boots and headed to the beautiful Avondale Wine Estate to taste and be treated like a winter queen, to indulge in Chef Reuben Riffel's delightfully and deliciously wine paired gourmet soups! {Full post click here}

Now YOU can stand a chance to taste Avondale's perfectly paired wines by entering this Winter Weekend COMPETITION!

{PRIZE} One person stands a chance of winning two tickets to experience the Winter Warmer Pairing at Avondale Wine Estate!

{What you need to do}

1. Send us an email at koekiesencream@ymail.com with the answer to the following question before Sunday 30 June 2013, midnight:

What is the name of the Wine Estate hosting the Winter Warmer Pairing?

*T&C's apply.

The Reci{P}e

{Poppadums, Potatoes, Pepperdews, Peas , Parmesan & Pitted olives}

This is definitely a ReciPe! Easy to remember {as most of the ingredients start with the letter ‘P’} and just as easy to make! I woke up this morning and decided that I wanted to document my post instead of just writing it. By this I mean, literally writing while cooking – and hopefully not getting my PC caught in the cooking-crossfire!

10 Warm-hearted Ways to give back {Father's Day}

Father's Day (16 June) is a very special day on my calendar! Being a little Daddy's girl, this is a day that I really get to spoil my Dad for all the wonderful ways in which he supports, treats and inspires us children throughout the year! This year I got really inspired by Pick n Pay's Winter Hot Lists! And some of the great gift ideas that they have in store!

I have great memories of my Dad and I doing grocery shopping together, particularly those where I would secretly slip in a few packets of sweets or chocolates while he was busy selecting the right and best cut meat or unpacking the trolley. I decided to make my own Winter Hotlist, not for myself, but for my Dad, putting together his all time favourites. This is a definite recipe for success! {See Easy-to-find Pick n Pay Shopping List below}

I also decided to make my #10 a recipe I know will immediately warm up the winter cold and most definitely any Father's heart: A Warm Dark Chocolate Island Pudding! {See recipe below}

{Uniced} Naked Cake Collection!

A dear friend of mine Celesté Prince from Aglow Photography sent me a picture of a ‘Naked Cake’ one day. Little did I know how much I would grow to love this picture! European wedding blogs are going crazy {cakes} about a trend that I think will soon take on in the South African Wedding Cake industry. It’s called Naked Cakes or un-iced cakes. Au natural! I think it’s beautiful! So much of your time as a baker is spend perfection the colour, texture and taste of the cake inside, that I feel it only does justice to also have all of that on display. KoekiesEnCream in collaboration with Jana Jonsson Photography did a shoot last week to put the trend to the test and I must say, I really like the end result. There are just an endless amount of creative ways to display Naked Cakes! Flowers, birds, sweets and lovely treats, all used to decorate these contour cakes – whether it’s for an inside or garden wedding, a girly tea party or just a pretty birthday cake, naked cakes will certainly leave your guest asking {to see} more!

For more information or to order a Naked Cake contact koekiesencream@ymail.com or visit our Facebook page: KoekiesEnCream

{The KoekiesEnCream Naked Cake Collection}

A Turkish {KitKat} Chocolate Delight!

There is no doubt about it, Winter is here! Snuggle up, get the fire place going, stock up on your favourite Pick n Pay goodies and wine and dine at home! After a lovely dinner with friends, just like the KoekiesEnCream Ham, yes ma'am recipe, what will you serve for dessert? Quick? Easy? Tasty? AND visually attractive to the 'gourmet' eyes out there?

KoekiesEnCream created a Turkish {KitKat} Chocolate Delight Dessert just for you! This is a delicious sweet {with a hint of lemon} dessert. One log will definitely be more than enough for four guests. So, while the fire sets the ambience of the evening, let your canapé style dinner {Ham, yes ma'am} create the excitement among your guests and leave their tummies with just enough space for the delight that you are about to serve them! {Easy-to-find Pick n Pay Shopping List below}

The Perfect Pair{ing}

Ladies and gents, I’m not referring to shoes, chocolates or clothes. I talking about the best gourmet tasting-size soups created by Chef Reuben Riffel paired perfectly with the delightful vintages in Avondale Wine Estate’s collection of wines. Without a doubt – Winter is here!

Ham, yes ma'am!

It was only recently that I was introduced to the world of all the different types of Ham from Pick n Pay. Smoked, parma ham, lemon & herb ham, you name it! And...yes ma'am, I do like ham, I discovered. Cooked and ready to eat! That's what I call Living in Luxury. A beautiful meal that can be prepared and plated within less than 45 minutes! Ham, gammon and pork is normally associated with the festive season, dressed with pineapple and cherry. So for today's recipe I decided to try and incorporate fruit to stay true to the sweet & sour taste that goes so well with ham, by incorporating peaches and a honey & soy combination as a side dish. But the combinations didn't just stop there!

{Soup} Butter Chicken & Sweet Potato

I couldn't have chosen a better day to post this lovely winter warmer! On Sunday, for Mother's Day, I made a Sunday Starter to get our guests into winter-mode, get comfortable, but still have more than enough space left for the food that was to come. I didn't want to spend too much time in the kitchen, but I wanted to keep my food fresh, looking delicious and be able to enjoy the day without having to be overly concerned about rushing back and forth from the kitchen every now and again. So to you it might look like a pumpkin or butternut soup? Nope, guess again...

Here is my quick and easy mystery soup recipe, thick and saucy!