whole BBQ thai flavoured snapper

I love the idea serving a whole fish for a dinner party.  We’ve done it a few times for Christmas with salmon which is my all time favourite fish.  We had some friends for dinner last weekend and the fishmonger recommended ‘Gold Band Snapper’ – it was sensational served with salad and potato bake.

I must admit that it’s my husband who actually does ALL the BBQ cooking in our house, so whilst I hunted, gathered and prepared, the credit for the cooking goes to him.

Served with my family heirloom fish knives and forks makes for a very special meal.

The recipe….

heaven on a plate (mango & nectarine coconut crumble pie)

This dessert is a total winner! We had some fabulous friends over for dinner last night – I had had a request for pulled pork tacos so that was the main course. Sadly no left overs for today. As for dessert I was on a quest to come up with a delicious healthy dessert that was as close to paleo and AIP as possible but not look and taste like  weirdo diet food. I don’t even really know what to call it- one friend said ‘heaven on a plate’ and another ‘crumble-pie’, so here it is. I think I am officially in love with coconut!

Here is the recipe…

Mum’s pork chicken & veal terrine

It is very apt that my first ‘guest blogger’ is my Mum who taught me to cook and who has inspired me to love cooking, entertaining and of course eating!

There is no such thing as a simple picnic in my family.  No BBQ chicken rolls on our rug.  Mum’s picnics are full of gourmet cheese, spreads, often seafood, fancy salads and condiments. All served, of course with wine or sparkling. So, it should have come as no great surprise when at a recent family picnic in Sydney, out came Mum’s famous terrine!  The standards for the family picnic are ever on the rise.

Over the years, this terrine has been served at dinner parties, on cheese platters and now picnics.  Thanks Mum.

roasted butterflied leg lamb with fig glaze

Are you looking for inspiration for dinner over the weekend? There’s nothing quite like a lamb roast and whilst my husband usually cooks the butterflied lamb in our house on the BBQ (all BBQ cooking is delegated to him), I thought I’d have a go at oven roasting it this time. It was a winner – moist, tender, delicious.

To make it truley paleo/AIP compliant, just don’t glaze with the fig glaze.

choc-caramel bites

(Step 3 (top), step 4 (middle), step 5 (bottom))

Are you looking for something a bit fancy to serve with coffee at a dinner party?  Here is a simple but decadent recipe – combining the winning chocolate/caramel combo.  If you use dark chocolate it’s dairy-free too.

coconut cream caramel sauce

I wanted to take a ‘sweet treat’ to Sydney for a family catch-up whilst my sister was visiting from London.  I also was trying to make something AIP compliant.  Not an easy task! I came up with the idea of making a caramel sauce using coconut cream and then putting it into a chocolate (see choc-caramel bites).  Because of the sugar it’s not really paleo or AIP – you could use honey instead depending on how strict you are, but in the end I came up with a yummy, thick caramel that tasted good and in the end, that was good enough for me!

beetroot slices with avocado mayonnaise

This is a super easy pretty looking starter, nibble or side dish.

paleo pulled pork ‘tacos’

This is a totally fabulous recipe!  Every time I make it, it is completely devoured (although I have to admit my kids aren’t super keen – but really the effort is a bit wasted on them). It is a fairly time consuming meal, so not one you whip up after a day at work, but a great one for a Saturday night with friends. It’s the sort of meal that you can spread out on the table and all muck in and create your own ‘tacos’.  You could even use taco shells or wraps if you’re not strictly following the paleo regime.

 

raw choc-nut raspberry tarts with banana ice-cream

This little bite-sized dessert ticks all my boxes – fresh raspberries are always a luxurious indulgence, it’s got no added sugar and so I can convince myself it’s healthy.  Actually, for a dessert, it is!  It’s technically paleo (although I know desserts aren’t in the paleo spirit), it’s GF, grain free & raw (if that’s your thing).  I made this for Valentine’s Day this year as it’s also I think a completely romantic treat.  Whichever way you look at it, they are delicious.  Try serving on a dessert platter with strawberries and chocolates.

 Mix it up: You can also make these in smaller or larger sizes and play around with the filling and toppings (if you’re not dairy/sugar free try  lemon curd/ dollop cream/ caramel/ chocolate ganache or tiny scoops of icecream topped with blueberries/grated chocolate/sliced banana/toasted shredded coconut etc etc.

roasted field mushroom with rocket, persian feta, sun-dried tomatoes and roasted beetroot chips

Often on a Friday night my kids like pizza because it’s ‘Friday Fun Night’.  I’m often looking for a quick , healthy  and grain-free  ‘treat-like’ alternative for the adults.  Tonight I came up with these roast mushrooms (perhaps very loosely they could be mushroom pizzas).  They were absolutely divine!  The best bit was the slightly sweet crunch of the beetroot chips.  In my mind the beetroot was going to be roasted but still a bit soft, but I got distracted watching YouTube clips with the kids and forgot about the beetroot for a few minutes too long and so my roasted beetroot turned crispy, but it was such a blessing in disguise as it was the highlight of the dish.

We had it as a light meal, but it would be the perfect sexy side to an eye fillet.

My husband has decided that each of my dishes in these posts need a ‘husband rating’ and this one gets a 10/10!!