Brocolli, bacon and Feta Soup - Recipes to impress your fiance with.

Seen as the weather is more for duvets, cuddling and DVD's than summer, I thought a great recipe for today would be a soup. And this is one of my favourites and so easy you can pick up the ingredients on the way home from work and be done in 30 minutes.

Makes for 4 people

Ingredients:

1 Head of Broccolli, cut into florets
1 Packect Bacon, roughly chopped into pieces
1 Onion, chopped
200g Feta cheese cubbed or crumbled
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cream for garnishing.

Method:

1. In a big pot fry up the pieces of bacon to your liking, some like it crispy, others just cooked.
2. Remove the bacon and allow to cool. Fry the onions till they are translucent.
3. Add the broccoli which has been cut into florets (those are the flower clusters that make up a broccoli head, if they are not bite size then cut them smaller.) cover the broccoli with water, and a few pinches of salt. Bring to the boil ( you may use vegetable stock if you choose). Allow to cook just till the broccoli is tender so about 20 minutes.
4. Drain off the liquid but don't throw it away.
5. Place broccoli into a blender and slowly add the liquid from the soup pot. Blend until you have the thickness of soup you like.
6. Return the soup to the pot, add the bacon and the feta cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Reheat just before serving. Pour the soup into bowls and pour a cream swirl on top to garnish.

Serve with croutons or fresh bread.

Tips on how to find the Perfect Wedding Dress!

Struggling to imagine what your wedding dress should look like? What would make you feel like the princess you were born to be on your wedding day? Something to bring tears to your knight in shining armours eyes?

 

Well here are some helpful hints on how to find that perfect dress, enjoy the shopping ladies!

• You know what styles, shapes, colours make you look and feel fabulous, so don’t try to be radical and try make something work that just isn’t. Go with what you know.

• If you have a favourite dress cause it makes you feel fabulous, take it with you to the dress shop or designer so they can see what works on you and make suggestions to help you find that knock out dress.

• It’s always easier to describe something to someone when you can physically show them so collect pictures of dresses that you like or even just a feature of a dress to show them.

• Try not restrict yourself to certain styles or designs based on people’s opinion, try on as many styles as possible till you find the one! It’s like falling in love you just know when you have found the right one.

• Take into consideration the type of function you are having, your dress should reflect your theme. Or you can do it the other way round and make your theme suite your dress. Also it’s not unheard of for people to have two outfits for their wedding, but that depends on your budget and personality. If you are having an informal beach wedding then a formal gown may not be practical and visa versa.

• When considering buying a Summer dress for a Winter wedding, you can be creative and accessories with a white shawl or passmina. Or if you have a jacket to wear that while outdoors and in between photo’s, you can even be creative and get a jacket in your colour scheme or be daring buy a scarlet dress & use it in photos for some fun shots. So don’t let the weather stop you from buying the perfect dress.

• But most importantly it must be comfortable, so not to tight you can’t sit, eat or breathe in the dress. And while trying it on try feel if there are areas that make you itch or straps that are lose and need constant correcting it will irritate you.

Recipes to impress - Chicken, Broccoli & Thyme pie

This pie I used to serve on a cold winters night! While having little time to prepare before dinner on the day, I cooked the chicken and broccoli the day before and made the pastry and kept it in the fridge. People loved it! And it's so easy and so tasty, reminds me of my Grandma's cooking! But try it for yourself!

Serves 8 - 10 (it makes two full sized pies, so you can freeze one, or after people have raved about it  you can send the second one home with your guests - making you the perfect hostess and no one has to know, you planned all along!)

Pastry Ingredients:
750g cake flour
3ml Salt
3ml Paprika
250g Butter, cubed
500ml Sour cream

Filling Ingredients:
500ml Water
1 Large onion
2 Carrots, peeled
1/2 Celery stick, chopped
1/2 Bunch of leeks, chopped
3 Thyme sprigs
6 Chicken breasts, skin removed
400g Broccoli heads, cut the big ones smaller to bite size pieces
125g Butter
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 Onion, diced
75ml Cake flour
450ml Stock
100ml Fresh cream
50ml Fresh thyme, roughly chopped.
50ml Fresh parsley, finely chopped.
Salt and pepper to taste
200g Feta cheese, crumbled

Method:

1. To make the pastry, mix in a big bowl the flour, salt & paprika.
2. Add the butter to the flour mixture and rub the butter into the flour with your finger tips till it resembles bread crumbs. (Rub: to rub the butter in your finger tips is to basically run your thumb up from your pinkie finger to your index finger, mixing the butter into the flour)
3. Mix in the sour cream to form a dough. Lightly knead the pastry (till it is slightly shiny) and chill for 20 minutes.
4. To make a stock with the water, onion, carrot, celery, leek and thyme. Poach the chicken breasts in the stock liquid for about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the stock, strain the liquid, and cool. Slice the chicken and cool.
5. Blanch the Broccoli in boiling water for about 5 minutes, drain and rinse in cold water to help retain it's fresh green colour. Drain and dry well.
6. Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic, fry till the onion is translucent. At this point add the flour and mix into a smooth paste. While stirring, add the stock and allow to cook on a low heat until thick. Add the cream, herbs, salt and pepper to taste and allow to cool.
7. Roll your pastry out to about 3mm thick and line a 24cm loose- bottomed pie tin (if you don't have a pie tin, buy the disposable pie tin's). Roll the left over pastry into a round lid for the pie.
8. Mix the chicken, broccoli, sauce into a mixing bowl and spoon generously into the pie dish, sprinkle the feta cheese evenly over the top. Then place the lid pastry on the pie and fold the edges of the bottom pastry over the edges of the lid to seal in the goodness. Brush the lid with either egg or milk to make a shiny top like in the recipe books.
9. Place the pie in a preheated oven at 180'C for about 30 - 45min until the pastry is a golden brown colour.
10. Serve with vegetables or mash potato.

How to Write your Wedding vows

Here are some quick points to help you write your own vows!! Your vows are a public expression of your deeply personal hopes and wishes!

First ask the person officiating your marriage if they will allow you to write your own vows, some are not open to removing the traditional vows.

• If you are romantic then here is your chance to pull out all the stops and to proclaim why you are marrying the person of your dreams, how much and why you love this person.
• If you are not romantic or creative but feel this is really something you want to do, Google is your best friend. You can look up romantic quotes, poems or bits of them to make the perfect vows suited for you, your personality and the type of wedding you are having.
• Gentleman please be careful not to be too funny and definitely nothing naughty or crude to go into your vows! You will ruin your brides day and you will never live it down!
•  Once you feel you have written a master piece, take what you have written and half it so you don't end up being boring!
• Get someone close who you trust to read through your vows to pick up on any mistakes and may even make some great suggestions. Parents are great for this, or more mature friends!
• If you are still stuck look up www.myweddingvows.com

If you are creative but have writers block try answer the following questions to get you started:

1. What makes you love this person you are going to spend the rest of your life with?
2. What makes you admire them?
3. What makes you laugh with them?
4. Share any personal jokes - nice ones only!
5. What traits do you feel are essential for a happy marriage and work them into the middle of your vows. Also which of these need to grow or go in the marriage?
6. What are the best personal traits you will offer to this union, e.g: loyalty, trust, love friendship etc.

Good luck and if this post helped you please send us your vows I would love to post them!

Chocolat & Hazelnut Mousse

This is the best chocolate mousse, my friends still crave it after 2 years and beg me to make it! I lost the recipe but once they see this I'm doomed! And it's so seasy but no one has to know that! It's a recipe ideal to impress the in laws or friends of your partner when you first meet them! Or opt not to share it and use it for a romantic dinner for two!!

Makes 12 small servings

Ingredients:
300g milk chocolate, chopped
3 eggs at room temperature
2 tablespoons castor sugar
1 cup thickened cream
1/3 cup roasted hezelnuts, finely chopped
Grated white chocolate to garnish

Method:

1. Melt chocolate slowly by either placing it in the microwave or on the stove top on a low heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning it. Place in a large mixing bowl to cool.
2. Add the egg yolks slowly to the chocolate and stir until well combined. To avoid curdling, add a few drops of the hot chocolate while stirring to the eggs to bring the eggs temperature up.
3. Using an electric handbeater, beat eggwhites in a bowl until soft peak form. Sprinkle sugar over eggwhites. Beat until thick and glossy. Using a large metal spoon, fold half the eggwhite mixture into the chocolate mix until combined. Gentlye fold in the remaining eggwhite mixture until well mixed.
4. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Fold cream and hazelnuts into chocolate mixture until combined. Spoon mixture into twelve small serving cups, glasses or something pretty to serve to guests. Place containers on a tray cover with clingwrap and pop into the fridge for about 4 hours or until firm. Just before serving grate on the white chocolate.

To really impress add strawberries, mint, mini chocolate truffles on top for fun. But most importantly have fun and claim the fame for make it!!