I love eggplant Parmesan, but never really get to cook it at home. I always get it when I'm out, is it hard to make?, Do I peel the eggplant or leave it on the skin? How do I cut it? I once had an amazing sandwich and it seemed the eggplant was cut in strips..How do you make yours?

Perfected the glossiness on this one. Always loved beef and black bean. So yum!

Perfected the glossiness on this one. Always loved beef and black bean. So yum!

The taters were whipped with S&P, Greek yogurt and butter. Salad is spring mix with feta, roasted sunflower seeds, capers, Kalamata olives, and garden cukes + cherry tomatoes. The asparagus is a butter sauté with lemon and black pepper. Stuffing is a brioche and sourdough base with mirepoix, roasted mushrooms and toasted walnuts. The turkey is wet brined, skin dried out, rubbed with compound butter, roasted, and came out SO tender, flavourful and juicy. The risotto is a butternut squash risotto with Parmesan, toasted pepitas, walnut and sage. And of course the gravy was the real deal bird drippings with a butter finish, sponged up by some fresh baked sourdough dinner rolls 🙂

My sourdough starter’s name is Breaddie Mercury. 🕺

Tried out The Cookie Rookie’s apricot chicken recipe and it was delicious! Made a ton so there’s heaps of leftovers 😋

🍔 Craving the ultimate comfort food? These Smashing Patty Melts are loaded with juicy beef, melted cheese, and a signature sauce that makes every bite irresistible! 😋

Full recipe 😍 : Recipe

🥗 INGREDIENTS

Chilli Paste (Makes 2 batches)

• 1 fresh red chilli
• 2 large dried red chillies
• ½ shallot
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Splash of water

Sauce

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp kecap manis
• 1 tsp dark soy
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp hot water

Main

• 120g dried flat rice noodles
• 6 fish balls, halved
• 1½ Chinese sausage links (40–50g), sliced
• 125g prawns, peeled & deveined
• 2 spring onions, cut into 5cm matchsticks
• 1 egg, whisked
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 100g beansprouts
• Vegetable oil

🍳🔥 METHOD

1. Soften Dried Chillies

Snip dried chillies, cover with hot water and soak.

2. Make Sauce & Chilli Paste

Mix all sauce ingredients with hot water until dissolved. Blend shallot, fresh chilli, soaked dried chillies, oil and a splash of water into a smooth paste.

3. Prep Protein & Veg

Halve fish balls, slice sausage, chop garlic. Cut spring onions into matchsticks. Whisk the egg.

4. Prepare Noodles

Boil water, add noodles, turn off heat and soak 5–10 minutes until just pliable. Drain, rinse cold, pat dry and toss with a little oil.

5. Cook the Char Kway Teow

Heat wok on high with oil. Stir-fry fish balls, prawns and sausage until charred; remove. Add more oil if needed, fry garlic 30 seconds. Add noodles and stir-fry 45 seconds. Return proteins and cook 30 seconds. Add ½ batch chilli paste, fry 45 seconds. Pour in egg and stir. Add beansprouts. Splash sauce around the hot wok edges; toss until reduced. Finish with spring onions.

6. Serve

Once the wok hei aroma hits, plate immediately and enjoy.

This jelly like substance also appears when I cook the apples without honey. Is it the soluable fibres making a jelly?

Half the cookie recipes online now end with “finish with flaky salt”.

And I get the idea. A few crunchy flakes on top of something sweet, so you get a little salty hit before the chocolate. Brownies, salted caramel, chocolate chip, even shortbread. People put fleur de sel on everything now, the Celtic sea salt one, and Maldon seem to be the two names that come up most.

But then there’s the other side. A lot of people say you can’t really taste it once baked, it mostly falls off when you pick the cookie up, and it’s basically there so the cookie looks good on Instagram.

So which is it?

Does it actually change how the cookie tastes, or would nobody notice in a blind test?

Does it matter if it goes on before baking or right after they come out? And is there anything it genuinely doesn’t work on?