W Brisbane’s Three Blue Ducks are bringing a fresh new menu that I was lucky enough to sample on Wednesday evening this week. I was getting some seriously fancy Christmas lunch vibes. Dinner at Ducks is always a big deal. On Wednesday last week I was lucky enough to attend the launch of the Autumn 2022 menu and wow- we had fun! We were serenaded by live music (love to see so many venues supporting the arts post-COVID lockdowns), surrounded by beautiful people and ate like royalty. I've had the pleasure of dining at Ducks several times over the last few years and if I could summarise Three Blue ..read more

I adapted this recipe from one I found a few months ago as I needed something easy to remember with delicious results. I call this my '4/2/2/2/2' recipe! Haha. Just remember - 4 cups of flour, 2 of everything else! Enjoy. 4 cups of plain flour 2 cups of luke warm water 2 teaspoons instant yeast 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons salt enough olive oil to make you happy Put the yeast and sugar in the water. Stir the salt in to the flour. Once the water and yeast mix is foamy, add it to the flour and salt. Drizzle in enough EVOO to bring it together - maybe about 1/4 cup. This is not compulsory but c ..read more

It's a fixture on brunch menus nationwide. It'd decadent, rich and I believe, pairs best with Champagne rather than coffee to refresh the palate! Hollandaise. Mainstay of the famous Eggs Benedict and often added to just about every other dish with a poached egg involved. Unless you're my friend Belle, who insists on having it on scrambled eggs because shes's still suffering from a bout of nausea induced by a soft egg when she was pregnant 18 years ago. Hollandaise is one of the first emulsions chefs learn, and yet so many cafes use pre-bought guff. I'm told Maggi distributes big-ass bags of th ..read more

What do you get when you cross Aperol with the W Brisbane and Laura Sharrad of Masterchef AU fame?! You get the Endless Summer takeover, on now at the W. On Thursday night, Dylan and I were lucky enough to trot into the W and enjoy sunset on the Wet Deck. There we were welcomed by an Italian Summer scene - it took me right back to my trip to the Amalfi Coast in 2011. As we mingled with The Beautiful People of Brisbane, we sampled the Endless Summer menu of canapes and cocktails. Rough, I know, but someone has to do it. The idea of this six week menu is to extend those Summer feels right throug ..read more

Look. This isn't difficult. But it's necessary. It's not even slow cooker weather yet in Queensland (is it ever, really!?) But I don't care! I'm a rebel! Truth is you don't even need a slow cooker for this. We have this kickass Baccarat roasting pan with lid that we've had for about 7 years and I use that for this recipe as I like the caramelisation I get from the oven. Also our slow cooker broke last year and I challenged myself not to replace it by using that pan instead and/or the dutch oven/cast iron pot with lid in the oven with a timer on. So far I've not missed it. One less thing to sto ..read more

After the year that was 2020 - I, for one, am looking forward to getting out and about again around our beautiful city. Outside of COVID, I was pregnant for the vast majority of the year and was not feeling overly social! With babe in arms and fork in hand, I am looking forward to getting out on the town for some memorable dining experiences this year. I had a wonderful experience at Dan Arnold in the Valley on Friday actually - I didn't take any photos as it was a work lunch but OMG I highly recommend it! Do lunch if you can, as I've heard it's impossible to get in for dinner. Anyhooooo it's ..read more

If I've made you brownies in the last 7 years, this is the recipe. Absolutely exceptional, gluten free just by chance, and an foolproof crowd pleaser. Even those who proclaim 'I don't like chocolate' Pah! They freeze well, too. Now I swear I'm not going to do one of those food blogs that begin with 'The year was 1975' and make you scroll down a million times to get to the recipe. All I will say is that prior to being given this recipe by a friend in 2013, I was not fussed on making brownies. Every recipe I tried either turned out too dry, or too wet to cut. This recipe is perfect - crackles on ..read more

Wednesday before last I was at Three Blue Ducks Brisbane with the very cute @markthreeblueducks and a whole heap of fab bloggers. Talk about an epic Wednesday! Three Blue Ducks was just named one of Marriott Bonvoy's top 52 restaurants in the Asia Pacific. To celebrate, we got to cook mud crab, eat all the things and drink cocktails! It was so hard! Three Blue Ducks is an East-Coast institution, having started in Bronte and expanding to The Farm in Byron Bay, Rosebery and in Brisbane Quarter as part of the W Brisbane. Mark LaBrooy is one of the three ducks and we were thrilled to have him guid ..read more

Although BYO is the most popular form of 'gatho' nowadays, there's nothing nicer than supplying a bit of plonk to get the party started. Trying to cater for everyone is impossible, and can be downright expensive. With many 'quaffing' wines sitting aroung the $20 a bottle mark, you could drop a grand in a heartbeat! Thankfully, I've done all the hard yards for you, and put together a link bank of all of my favourite party wines! If you live in Australia and have a Dan Murphy's or a First Choice Liquor nearby: you're welcome! Rose: - Sia by De Bortolli Rose is SAAAAA HOT RIGHT NOW. The Provencal ..read more

Got a black banana? Just one? What are you going to do with it? Most cakes need two, or three! Hell, I have a recipe that calls for four! This muffin recipe is a quick, easy, delicious user of your lonely, overripe banana. It's another brilliant one I'm sharing (without permission, because I cannot for the life of me get Maureen's number) from my Mum's Cooking at Weekends by Maureen Simpson, circa 1992. If you liked the banana pancake recipe I posted a while ago (try it here), then you'll love this one two! Ingredients: 1.5 cups self raising flour 1/4 tsp of bi-carb soda 1/2 tsp of cinnamon o ..read more