Jasmine Bradley

You might look at the stellar photo of a particular dish and think there’s no way that you could ever make that, but thanks to straightforward instructions you will be taken step by step through the entire process and before you know it you’re eating what you never thought you’d be able to recreate. The red chimichurri simply involves blending everything up in a food processor (red onion, cherry tomatoes, garlic, parsley, coriander, chilli, smoked paprika, cumin, olive oil, red wine vinegar and lemon juice) and then setting aside until the rest of the meal is ready. The Peri Peri sauce from Life in Balance is made up of crushed garlic, paprika, thyme, chilli, red wine vinegar and salt. While the chicken is cooking on the grill, roast a head of garlic until it’s all squishy and caramelized and then add to Greek yogurt for a tasty accompaniment, drizzle fresh lemon juice over the bird and voilà

The book starts off with a glimpse into the recipe testing process and what insights came about for Alice and her recipe developer cohort Maya Klein as they got to know each of the different flours. These muffins are also dairy-free, with the wet ingredients consisting of egg, vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil) and brown sugar, which is then mixed with white rice flour, sorghum flour, baking soda, baking powder and mashed bananas. I’ve made my share of gluten-free muffins and usually find a straight GF all-purpose flour swap usually works the best and garners results most similar to the gluten-filled variety. The main difference between this recipe and others I’ve tried in the past is the addition of white rice flour in the soufflé base, which Alice uses because of its delicate flavour that won’t overpower the chocolate and which also gives it a creamy, luxurious texture.

But when the January issue of Food & Wine Magazine arrived in my mailbox and I laid eyes on the piri piri chicken and fries gracing the cover, I was filled with a strong sense of determination. My plan was to make the piri piri marinade in the morning before work and then leave the chicken to infuse with all that spicy goodness until we got home. After the morning mayhem I can’t tell you how lovely it was to have Mr. Spock pick-up the kids and start barbequing the wings, so that by the time I got home the house smelled delicious and all I had to focus on was the glass of wine he put in my hand. The mission of Food & Wine Magazine is to find the most exciting places, new experiences, emerging trends and sensations in the culinary and wine industries.

John’s Fried Chicken Wings with Spicy Honey Butter Rating: 5 out of 5 The dough is traditional gnocchi style with potato and flour, but the addition of sweet potato (or yams like I used) and ricotta gives this Italian staple a slight twist. Insert entertaining interlude here: When it came time to add the flour I forgot I’d doubled the recipe and was baffled by how much ‘extra’ flour I had to keep adding until the dough achieved the necessary loose and shaggy texture. The dough could have used more seasoning and the texture wasn’t as fluffy as I’d like, but I credit that to all the extra flour I kept having to add and the additional stirring this required.