Recipe: Caesar's Salad and Fig, Apricot and Apple Tarte Tatin

Milk-fed veal ribs ordered from Indoguna, waiting to be grilled after being seared and basted with mustard.


The fish were at least a couple kgs heavier than last year, in fact they were so large, they were hard to roast, which we did, in the oven, with a saffron-infused white wine, lots of herbs like majoram and sage, garlic and served with some wilted cilantro.


Ingredients for Caesar Salad:
1) 3 heads Romaine lettuce, washed and sliced
2) 200g of shaved parmesan reggiano
3) 300g of diced bacon, toasted
4) 300g of garlic croutons, either store bought or toasted from old bread

Salad Dressing:
5) 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
6) 3 Tbsp minced garlic
7) 1 egg
8) 1 tin of anchovies, mashed
9) 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
10) 6 Tbsp olive oil
11) 3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
12) 3 Tbsp lemon juice
13) Salt and Pepper to taste


Our dinner spread...that beef was good-o! I made a vegetable pasta with artichokes, pumpkin pieces, sun dried tomato, olives, cheese, pesto and heaped with cherry tomatoes to go with all the meat.


Cooking up apples in caramel for the tarte tatin.


Recipe for Fig, Apricot and Apple Tarte Tatin:
1) Heat 80g butter in a flat pan
2) Melt in 100g sugar (the sugar and butter quantities can be increased if making a large tartin)
3) Throw in sliced apples, figs, apricots and candied Viennese almonds
4) Stir until sugar is brown and caramelized
5) Turn fruits out onto a flat or pie pan
6) Cover with flaky pastry dough and bake in the oven till dough rises
7) Turnover the pie onto a serving plate, with the fruit side up
8) Serve warm with ice cream


Dessert table with lots of fruit and Colin's panna cotta.


Just for good measure, lots of personalized Christmas cookies and good cheer!