Hurts - Happiness

Don't you love listening to an album where every single track blows you away with it's amazingness! Hurts' debut album Happiness does just this. From start to finish it's a beautiful melancholic journey of epic proportions.
They remind me of Keane, Depeche Mode, Imogen Heap, Lady Gaga(to a degree), and Rufus Wainwright, at their best! If you buy one album this year, this should be it. I cannot stop listening!
I leave you with 2 of my favourite tracks from the album, Sunday, and Stay.






To pre-order the album: Take2: Hurts - Happiness.

Chorizo, Vine Tomatoes, Broccoli and Goat's Cheese Pasta!

Sometimes you're just looking for something light, but  still hearty! You're not in the mood for a moerse stew or casserole, and you also don't wanna pick at bunch of leaves.

I believe this little pasta does the job. It's light and fresh, but still hearty and just rich enough! It goes really well with a glass of bubbles, whilst watching Liza do her thing in Cabaret... 

Ingredients:

(All these ingredients are from Woolworths, sorry Carina!)

1/2 packet of Organic Penne Pasta

1 large packet tender stem Broccoli

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 chorizo sausages (they come in a pack of 6, called Spanish Sausage, or you can use the fancy expensive one that looks like a thick droëwors)

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or a 1/2 teaspoon of fresh chopped chilli

1 punnet of Mediterranean vine tomatoes (15 - 20 of them, taken of the vine and halved)

a good splash of balsamic vinegar

  black pepper

  salt

1 pack of herb and garlic Chevin (Goat's cheese)

Serves: 2

Directions:

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water until al dente; drain and set aside.

2. Steam the broccoli, in it's bag with a 2cm slit at the top, for 3 minutes in the microwave, and then cut in halves.

3. Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. 

4. Cut the 2 chorizo sausages into a number of round disks, add to the skillet, and sauté over medium heat until golden brown on both sides. 

5. Transfer sausage to a plate lined with a paper towel.

6. Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes(or fresh chilli), and sauté until fragrant, for about 30 seconds. 

7. Add the halved tomatoes, a splash of balsamic vinegar, a pinch salt and pepper, and sauté for about a minute.

8. Add sausage and broccoli, cook until heated through, and turn the heat off.

9. Crumble half the Chevin into the drained pasta, with some salt and pepper, and stir through to coat the pasta. 

10.Combine the pasta and tomato/broccoli/chorizo mixture, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve the rest of the Chevin crumbled onto each serving.

Shiny & New: Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow - Shame

So, Robbie left Take That, had a HUGELY successful couple of years as a solo artist, and then screwed it all up by trying to be way too weird! I think he realized he made a boo-boo, and now, he's rejoined Take That, can you handle it!
But first, before the reformed Take That album appears, Robbie is releasing another Greatest Hits, including this song, Shame, a duet with his former arch nemesis, Gary Barlow. It's a sweet little tune, but is it just me, or is the video a little Brokeback Mountain? Judge for yourselves :)

4 HOUR DUCK (because it's worth it!)

Duck is another one of those dishes, that if I see it on a menu, I order it.
But I don't think I've ever had duck in a restaurant as good as this dish!
It's sooo easy, sooo cheap (a whole duck cost me R48 from Checkers!!!), and soooooo goood!!
You have never had such a succulent duck, and the roast potatoes are probably the ones they serve in heaven.
It takes a bit of prep, but it's by no means difficult, and it's SO worth it!




Ingredients:
1 whole duck
(you can buy a whole frozen duck from Checkers - i know, i was just as surprised!
but if you know of anywhere in CT that I can buy one fresh, lemme know!)
Salt
750 grams Mediterranean potatoes
Sage, optional

Serves: 2-3

Directions:
1. Defrost your duck 2 nights before, and then salt your duck the night before and leave it, uncovered, in the fridge overnight. (remember to remove the giblets form the cavity)

2. Turn on your oven to 120 degrees C.

3. In a roasting pan, set your salted duck on a roasting rack, breasts side down (upside down) and cook in the oven for about 3 hours.

4. Precook the potatoes (I usually just put them them in a plastic shopping bag, tie the bag, and microwave it for 10 minutes), and then quarter them.

4. When the 3 hours are done, take out the duck and turn the oven up to 190 degrees C.

5. Using caution, pour out the duck fat that has drained into the bottom on the roasting pan, reserving in a jar. (better as a 2 person job)

6. Use a spoonful or two of the duck fat to baste the duck.

7. Add a few spoonfuls into a heatproof skillet or smaller roasting pan, and add the potatoes, with some salt, to the skillet and mix up so that they get coated in fat.

8. Put the duck, breasts side up now, and the potatoes, into the oven and cook for 1 hour.

9. Remove the duck to a cutting board and let it rest.

10. Set your oven to grill, and roast the potatoes till they're golden brown.

11. Carve your duck and set the pieces in a serving dish (the duck should be tender enough that you can remove the legs by pulling on them), and also add the potatoes over the duck pieces.

12. Optional(but sooo good, fry a few sage leaves in the oil remaining in the bottom of the potato skillet, and scatter over potatoes and duck.

Credit: Robin Damstra

Flashback: Wes - Alane

Do you remember this song!!!! I LOVED this in high school! I use to do the dance in my bedroom! (sad but true, i know!) But seriously, how weird is it that a dude from Cameroon has this huge hit all over the world with a song in an African language called Yoruba, and a video with dancers dressed like Princess Leia!!?? Just shows you what a catchy melody can do for your career!
Take a trip down memory lane with me, and dance along all the way!

Shiny & New: Katy Perry - Firework & Peacock

Two brand new tracks off Katy's new album! Firework, supposedly confirmed as the third single, and quite enjoyable I must say.



And Peacock, a fan favourite already, with lyrics that could not possibly be metaphorical, could it ;)

Irresistible Risotto!

This is my ultimate! My absolute favourite meal, ever! Whenever I see risotto on a menu, I feel like Lindsay Lohan at an open bar! But I always thought it was way too difficult to make it myself, until Jenny Morris proved me wrong! Her recipe is full proof! (as long as you don't drink too much wine whilst making it!)
This is very much a collaborative meal in our home, since my Love always makes the stock, and I make the risotto. And I have to say without an amazing stock, risotto would simply be flavourless rice pudding. I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Ingredients:

10 ml (2 t) olive oil

1 onion, peeled finely chopped

25ml (5t) butter

2 cloves garlic crushed, chopped

250 ml (1 cup) risotto rice, uncooked

1.25 litres (5 cups) boiling chicken stock (and keep it hot throughout the process)

125 ml (0.5 cup) dry white wine

125 ml (0.5 cup) Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan on just-above-medium heat(about a 4 on a 1 - 6 dial stove), and fry the onion - don't burn.

2. When onion is translucent, add the butter, garlic and rice and stir to coat the rice in butter.

3. Add a third each of the stock and wine, stirring constantly. Simmer until almost all the liquid has been absorbed.

4. Repeat step 3 until all the stock and wine have been used, and the rice is tender. (should take about 40 minutes)

5. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

And that's a basic risotto (simple as that!), which is a perfect companion to any meat dish, as a substitute for normal boring rice.

6... BUT, you can also add a multitude of tasty things to zhoozsh up your risotto, so that it becomes a meal in itself!

I love to add some garlic Porcini mushrooms with some sautéed leeks(above); 

or crispy bacon and rocket;

or roasted butternut, rosemary, and crumbed feta!

The options are endless!

Very Important Tip:

Make your own chicken stock! 

It's simple enough and makes the world of difference, because ultimately that's what your risotto ends up tasting like!

We generally make our stock in advance, and sommer use the left over chicken carcass from the previous night's Woolies rotisserie chicken.

Add: 

chicken carcass,

2.5 liters of water,
   1 cup of dry white wine, 

a carrot, 

an onion, 

1 cube of chicken stock, 

and any herbs you enjoy(but don't add too much),

to a large pot, on medium to high heat.

Let it simmer down to about 1.25 liters of stock, for about 2 - 3 hours, and strain. 

Sniny & New: Scissor Sisters - Any Which Way

This video is waaaaay tooo much! But I think that's the point :) They might as well just buy a caravan, since they're camping so much! The song, Any Which Way,  is a  fun, retro, dance tune, but still nothing as epic as the first single, Fire With Fire, which is by far my favourite song of the year!



And as a little bonus, here's the Fire With Fire vid as well:

Listen on the Day! - Natalie Imbruglia

Even though I'm a total pop-fanatic, I secretly dig a little indie-folk-electro-rockishness every now and then :)
Natalie is exactly that for me, from Torn, to Smoke, to That Day, I love it all! Her latest album Come to Life came out last year already, but went completely unnoticed! Critics loved it, but nobody bought it. Total shame! Plus she's got some amazing tunes on this one, and half the album was co-written by Chris Martin!
I present to you today my favourite track from the album, namely Fun, and also the only single that was officially released from the album, Want. Enjoy!

Tava...Nagila, Tava Nagila, Tava!

Doesn't that song make you feel like your sitting in a Greek Taverna? (even though it's actually Hebrew :) Well, this dish, Tava, will for sure, even though it is in actual fact a Cypriot dish, but if you're not Greek you wont know the difference.
The original recipe comes from Tessa Kiros, a true woman of the world, combining flavours from Greece, South Africa, Scandinavia, Italy and many more into her eclectic culinary repertoire. I've decided to give it a Cape Town twist, by adding white wine instead of water (it could only be better!).
It's exotic, easy, delicious, and gorgeous!



Serves: 6

Ingredients:
2 red onions, chopped roughly
1 kg new potatoes, quartered
1 kg lamb, cut into chunks
4 Tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 teaspoons ground cumin
half cup olive oil
4-5 ripe tomatoes, sliced
2-3 tablespoons butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Put the onions, potatoes, and lamb in a large roasting pan or baking dish.

3. Season (generously) with salt and pepper, then add parsley, cumin and olive oil. Using your hands, mix everything up well.

4. Place the sliced tomatoes on top of mixture, season lightly with salt and pepper, and then dot with butter.

5. Pour about a half a cup of white wine around the edge of the pan.

6. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 and a half to 2 hours, tilting every once in a while to distribute the juices.

7. Remove the foil and increase the oven temperature to 200C. Cook for another 45 minutes or longer, until the tomatoes and potatoes are golden browned and the liquid has all but evaporated.

This is delicious served hot or at room temperature.


photo by: Robin Damstra

The Wanted (for trying to be a boyband in 2010)

Seriously, aren't boyband's soooo last decade! Westlife and the Backstreet Boys are a distant memory, and their recent attempts at comebacks have been lackluster and a little sad to be honest...

Enter: The Wanted, a brand new boyband from the UK, formed in 2009 through mass auditioning (because why would guys naturally gravitate towards singing together :).

Their single, All Time Low, is actually quite good though, bar the excessive auto-tuning. The video is a little cringe-worthy, with them trying to be sexy just a little too hard. All that said, I think they might just be able to bridge the gap between Backstreet and Gaga! 

Shiny & New: Taylor Swift - Mine

Swifty had some MAJOR success with her previous album! Who knew country music could be kinda cool? Anyway, she's just released the first single "Mine", from her new album "Speak Now" coming out October 25th.
She once again tries to fit an entire Nicholas Sparks novel into one song, but it's pretty and catchy, and already number 1 on iTunes, making it the fastest debut at number 1 on iTunes ever.

Pork Koftas (or gourmet middle-eastern boerewors :)

This little recipe comes from one of my favourite magazines, Woolworths Taste! It was hidden in a small back corner of the magazine, but grabbed my taste buds immediately! I'd seen an episode of  "Take on the Take-Away" on BBC Lifestyle a few weeks earlier, in which they'd also made some koftas, and I just had to give it a go. It takes a little effort, but is completely worth it! I like serving it on some crushed new potatoes, and if there are any left over, they make the best sandwiches for the next day!

Ingredients:
6 - 8 Pork Bangers
2 Tablespoons chopped Italian flatleaf parsley
3 teaspoons crushed garlic
1 chopped green chilli
2 teaspoons ground cumin
6 Tablespoons olive oil
Half a chopped red onion
1 can tomatoes
1 teaspoon tomato paste

Directions:
1. Remove mince from the pork bangers

2. Combine mince with
2 T chopped parsley
1 t crushed garlic
1 chopped green chilli
2 t ground cumin
2 T olive oil

3. Roll into bite size balls, and flatten into small saugsages

4. In a pan on medium heat, with 2 T of olive oil, fry koftas until golden and cooked.

5. Meanwhile, add half a chopped onion, 2 t crushed garlic with 2 T olive oil to saucepan.

6. Add can of tomatoes and 1 t tomato paste to saucepan ,and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Away We Go...Home

From the director of American Beauty comes this touching tale of finding a place to call home. "Away We Go" is about normal, nice people; not robots, not mass murderers, not fashionistas; just people like you and me trying to figure out life.


Where do I find it?: It's available on DVD.
How's the soundtrack?: Features songs from Scottish singer/songwriter, Alexi Murdoch. Beautiful, melancholic, folk rock.
Got any quotes from it?:
   Verona De Tessant: Burt, are we fuck-ups? 
   Burt Farlander: No! What do you mean? 
   Verona De Tessant: I mean, we're 34... 
   Burt Farlander: I'm 33. 
   Verona De Tessant: ...and we don't even have this basic stuff figured out. 
   Burt Farlander: Basic, like how? 
   Verona De Tessant: Basic, like how to live. 
   Burt Farlander: We're not fuck-ups. 
   Verona De Tessant: We have a cardboard window. 
   Burt Farlander: [Looks at window] We're not fuck-ups. 
   Verona De Tessant: [Whispers] I think we might be fuck-ups. 
   Burt Farlander: [Whispers back] We're not fuck-ups.
Other similar movies?:  Juno, Garden State, 500 Days Of Summer.

Listens of the Day! Kylie vs. Katy

The age-old battle of Britain vs. America has always been most prevalent in the pop music arena. (at least to me :) Whether it's between The Beach Boys and The Beatles, The Killers and Coldplay, or Lady Gaga and Susan Boyle, rivalry is inevitable!

Today I bring you two pop princesses, dueling it out for the title of best second single from their latest album.

In the left corner: Kylie Minogue with "Get Outta My Way", from her triumphant comeback album "Aphrodite".


In the right corner: Katy Perry with "Teenage Dream", the title track from her sophomore album. (the one she's made after kissing all the girls, and is now happy with simply being a California girl)


Who Wins????

Croque Monsieur (it's not complicated!)

Have you watched It's Complicated? It has Meryl Streep in it, which obviously makes it a must see; that woman could play Nelson Mandela! Anyway, it has the most amazing food in it, I drooled in numerous scenes.
My personal favourite was the Croque Monsieur she made for Steve Martin's character. It's basically a ham and cheese sandwich, but oh, it's so much more! It's sour dough bread, gypsy ham, Gruyère, and Béchamel sauce, all grilled into submission (drooling again :) And honestly, it's really not that complicated.




Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups hot milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
pinch nutmeg
5 cups shredded Gruyere cheese (basically one big block, get it at Woolies)
1 cup shredded parmesan
8 slices sourdough bread (use ciabatta instead, if you prefer a lighter meal)
dijon mustard
8 slices smoked ham (gypsy ham is the best!)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, on medium heat, then add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes.
Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter/flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens.
Remove from the heat and add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup gruyere and the cup of parmesan. Set aside.

3. To toast the bread, place the slices on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes, then flip the slices over and bake for 2 minutes more.

4. Spread the toasted bread with dijon mustard, and add a slice of ham to each.

5. Now slather the tops with the cheese sauce you set aside, and sprinkle all the remaining gruyere on top of the sauce.

6. Bake for 5 minutes.

7. Turn your oven up to grill, and grill for +- 5 minutes, until the cheese starts bubbling beautiful brown bubbles.

Listen of the Day!

OK, so we all know the 80's are back, right? I don't have a pair of turquoise jeans in my closet for nothing. Today's listen is from the band Hurts, a shoe-gaze 80's sounding synth pop group from the UK. They kinda sound like the love child of Annie Lennox and Depeche Mode (if Annie was a woman of course). They come across quite avant-garde, dark and tragic, but their music has some great pop hooks! Enjoy!