à l'amour et la vie ..

Life without love is like a whole year without summer…

- Swedish Proverb

Naima is a very very dear friend of mine from work, over the three years of knowing each other we developed an instant connection with our glorious obsession and passion for food with her being a previous chef and me being an aspiring one. 

After a whirlwind romance with the wonderful Demetri, the couple got engaged in sweet, sweet fashion on the 15th of April this year while having a fabulous dinner in Naima's hometown, Adelaide. From then on, it's wedding bells a-ringing! The couple hosted their engagement party on Friday, 15th of June in an intimate gathering of close friends in which I was very lucky to be a part of, let alone having the honour of providing them with engagement cupcakes for the night! Oh what a joy that was, the laughing, the eating and the dancing! 

Raspberry & Dark Chocolate Red Velvet cupcakes with Rosewater Creamcheese frosting

Cheers to the Happy Couple!!!
Congratulations Demetri & Naima!

Journey to the Dark Side...

Journeying to the dark side of commercial cookery is never a bad thing... if delivered in small dozes that is. Late night finishes and long hours are exactly what working in Hospitality and Retail consists of. Add to the mix the busiest season of the year, Christmas and it can only equate to one word - exhaustion.

So in the midst of it all, I thought to spread a little Christmas cheer and host a few dinners showcasing Italian food for the first and French food for the next one.

And with vino in hand...

Menu: 

Pan fried Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Basil and Fetta Pasta drizzled with Lemon oil.

Fetta and baby spinach stuffed chicken wrapped in Prosciutto

Fresh Oysters & Baguettes

And for a second session, this time a French inspired menu ...

 

MENU:

Selection of cheeses

Marcel Petit Gruyère

Rouzaire Truffle Brie 

Fromage D'affinois

Saint Agur blue cheese

served with baguette

Entrée:

Marinated asparagus beets, toasted hazelnuts, goat cheese and hazelnut emulsion

Main:

Ratatouille and roasted potatoes with stuffed chicken with lemon thyme and herb butter topped with beurre blanc & speck

Dessert:

Apple Tart Tatin with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel

Surfing in the bushes!???

What's better than a weekend away with friends...!? 
I say.. A weekend party bender and a Luau in a 3 story mansion in the middle of nowhere with an outflow supply of delicious food and alcohol...!! 


Mid-June marked the 25th Birthday of my dear "Kuya" Matt/Louie.. and a weekend full of partying hosted by Ate Angeli with the Beach Boys playing on the background is the only way it can be done!!! 


Aloha!!! 

       

        

Ate Angeli & Kuya Matt

        

And as we all know a party isn't a party without a cake ... 

and what's more suited to a Luau than a Hawaiian T-shirt Cake!! 

Happy 25th Birthday Kuya Matt!!! 

Panna Cotta au Frais ala Juju et Hobo..

Juju.. or Justin is my little brother from another mother who lives in Melbourne.. we go way back since 2 years ago and have always had each other's back since then. He recently got in touch with his 'foodie soul' and was intrigued enough to make some Strawberry Panna Cottas... and with great success actually did and I heard it tastes delicious!

Juju & Hobo 

photographed by Janet Chan

But of course my own curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to see how it tastes like! So when Justin gave me the recipe .. I just had to make it .. with a few tweaks here and there ..

Strawberry Panna Cotta with Vanilla Bean infused Strawberry Coulis.

Dear Winter June..

Winter hits Sydney on the first day of June and the chill radiates through my bones leaving me as lazy as can be. My entire being is reduced to such a sedentary lifestyle of over- sleeping, over-eating .. and rolling around my bed encased in my very warm and comfortable blanket. The only thing that ruins this for me is work... which requires me to wake up in insane hours of the morning. It is also during this time that I thought to myself that I do not want to do this anymore.. I don't know what had struck me .. but I had a sudden loss of inspiration which was my main drive to do these wonderful desserts.


And just like a passing storm - the lack of passion left as quickly as it came in... I woke up one day and I decided to battle this demon by making two cakes in a day.. I decided to redo the classic blackforest cake and something a little bit more experimental.

Inspired by my bestfriend, Natali's insane obsession over Nutella-- I decided to surprise her with my take on a Nutella cake....

Happy 22nd Birthday Natty!!

Mocha Hazelnut Torte filled with Dark Chocolate Mousse and covered with Tia Maria and Hazelnut Ganache sprinkled with hazelnut and toffee crumbs and topped with Hazelnut Toffee

Domesticating Natali...

So tonight, I was looking through my photo albums and I found a little treasure!

This day was from probably around a few months ago during summer in which I decided to help my bestfriend, Natali become somewhat domesticated... Now this girl does know how to cook (trust me hands down BEST Chicken Tikka Masala in town!) but with baking .. not so much. She's been obsessing over these Lemon Polenta Cakes at work and when I saw a Manna from Heaven cookbook, I just had to get it and make it with her!

Melbourne ♥ ...

Sometimes when I feel like Sydney is getting the best of me rather than me getting the best out of Sydney, I like to do a little get away.. may it be an hour drive away for a diverting hiking trip for an hour and a half or a 3 day getaway in the Southern part of New South Wales. It's nice to get out from the hustle and bustle of the Sydney City life - considering I'm pretty much there every. single. day.

So when a much needed holiday is in order - It's time to hit up Melbourne & pay a visit to the wonderful Bellos.. and what other fantastic time to visit than Tita Cecile's Birthday!!
During the stay there, Kat and I organised a day for a baking session complete with Mudcake & Macarons and look what we came up with...!

Dark Chocolate Mudcake with Dark & White Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate & Coffee Macarons with Mocha Ganache filling

Happy Birthday Tita Cecile!!!