Transform from novice to confident cook effortlessly with these kitchen hacks, Enjoy!

1 Golden nuggets  

For potatoes that are fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, try this neat trick.

1. Par-boil peeled potatoes in a pot of salted water, drain and allow to cool slightly. They should still be quite fi rm.
2. Place the potatoes into a pot or bowl with a filled lid. Shake them for a few seconds to rough up the edges slightly (it’s the roughed up edges that will crisp up beautifully).
3. Fry or roast them in either hot oil or duck fat until crispy and golden.
4. Season generously to serve.

2 Roast master  

1. Timing

Remember this one golden rule: when cooking any large roast (chicken, beef, pork or lamb), cook for 20 minutes to start, then add 20 minutes per 500g. For example a 2kg roast should cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

2. Colour

If the roast starts to brown too quickly and there’s still loads of cooking time to go, loosely cover it with foil to slow down the browning process.

3. Moisture

A fabulous roast should be succulent. Make sure to baste regularly (every 15 minutes or so) with either melted butter, a marinade or its own pan juices.

3. The stuffing dreams are made of  

To prevent your stuffing from becoming soggy and heavy, use day-old bread to make your crumbs. Stale bread absorbs flavours and is a great binding agent.

Place roughly torn pieces of bread on a greased baking tray with a few sprigs of rosemary and freshly chopped garlic cloves. Spread out into a thin layer to ensure heat is evenly distributed.

Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 180°C for 3-5 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool. In a small bowl, combine the cooked stuffing with one egg to bind.

If you want a zing of interesting flavours, consider adding chopped nuts like pecans or macadamias, or opt for something sweeter such as sultanas or dried apricots. Meat lovers will enjoy a handful of chopped cooked chorizo or bacon too.

Pistachio and cranberry stuffing

Makes enough for 1 roast

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Olive oil 2 tbsp

Large onion, finely chopped 1

Garlic, crushed 2 cloves

Butter 1/4 cup Stale bread, chopped 4 cups

Dried cranberries, finely chopped 1/2 cup

Unsalted pistachios, unshelled and finely chopped 100g

Sage leaves, finely chopped 3

Fresh parsley, finely chopped 1/3 cup

Eggs, lightly whisked 2

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Add the oil to a deep hot pan with the onions and fry until translucent.
3. Turn the heat down to medium and add the garlic. Cook for 20 seconds.
4. Add butter and stale bread to the pain and cook for 8-10 minutes until golden and crispy. 5. Add the cranberries, pistachios, sage and parsley and cook for a further 2 minutes.
5. Remove the mixture from the heat and put it into a bowl. Allow to cool until lukewarm. Add in the eggs and mix well for at least a minute to combine.
6. Use the stuffing with poultry, meat or fish.

Glorious gifts

Cut costs by making cheap and cheerful spoils at home.

Gingerbread men-in-a-jar

 

Makes 30 biscuits
Total time: 20 minutes + 40 minutes chill time

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 ⅓ cups maple-flavoured syrup or molasses

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

5 cups cake flour

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

A pinch of nutmeg

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground cloves

Method

1. Cream the butter, sugar and maple-flavoured syrup or molasses until pale and fluffy.
2. Slowly whisk in the eggs and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the cake flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, bicarb, salt and cloves.
4. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until it forms a dough.
5. Roll the dough into a ball and cover with cling film. Rest for 10-15 minutes.
6. Unwrap and roll out onto a floured surface to 2cm in thickness.
7.  Preheat the oven to 190°C.
8. Using a cookie cutter, cut out about 30 gingerbread men and place on a greased and lined baking tray. Allow to chill in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.
9. Remove from fridge and bake for 15-20 minutes. All to cool completely.
10. Fill jars with a few cookies, a small bag of premade icing and some sprinkles.

Sticky onion marmalade jar  

1. Heat oil in a large pan and cook
2. 4 thinly sliced onions over a low heat for about 12-15 minutes.
3. Add 2 tbsp butter, ¼ cup each balsamic vinegar and brown sugar and stir through to coat onions.
4. Continue to cook over a low heat for about 8-10 minutes until reduced and syrupy. Stir through 1 tsp freshly chopped thyme and season well.
5. Allow to cool completely before storing in sterilised jars.

 Spiced rum jars  

To create a fun rum infusion that will appeal to everyone’s palate, fill a jar with flavourful ingredients like dried citrus slices, star anise, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon sticks. If you’re feeling generous, gift with a small bottle of rum or whisky and you’ll be the toast of the town.

Top tip

If you want to bin the booze, add a bag of rooibos tea to the jar to complete the ingredients for a flavourful ‘hot toddy’ or iced tea!

Also read: Recipe: Sundried tomato, basil pesto and gooey cheese wreath