This is a reader favourite included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”! THE Apple Crumble recipe This is The Apple Crumble recipe I’ve been making for years and years. Ever since my sister made an Apple Crumble by a well known celebrity chef for my birthday dinner (yes I’m weird, I seriously requested Apple Crumble instead of a birthday cake) and it was terribly disappointing. Crumbly topping to be sure, but it was awfully dry and the filling was watery....

Bacon, Egg and Mushroom Tart Hi, I’m Nagi and I’m a Puff Pastry-aholic. Actually, that’s pretty poor form to joke about my addiction to puff pastry. But I couldn’t help it. Because if there was a 12 step program to wean me off my addiction, I’d be there in a heartbeat. It actually takes me a lot of will power to not post a puff pastry recipe every couple of weeks....

This salad is made with soft cooked green beans, tomato and avocado with a sprinkling of chopped capsicum/bell peppers and red onion, then tossed with a creamy avocado dressing. Love the avocado on avocado in this. 🙂 Green Bean Avocado Salad – copycat recipe Chargrill Charlie’s is a charcoal chicken chain here in Sydney. I don’t really go for their chicken. But they are known for their salads! This Green Bean Avocado Salad is a copycat of one of their more popular ones which I’m sharing pursuant to a reader request....

Cherry Tomato Salad This is my “go-to” salad that I make whenever I have ripe cherry tomatoes. One that I’ve been making for as long as I can remember. There’s nothing groundbreaking in it, it’s just a really classic combination of ingredients and flavours. But the one essential is to use juicy, ripe tomatoes. If you don’t, it kind of defeats the purpose! What goes in this cherry tomato salad Fresh basil with tomato is a match made in heaven, plus thin slices of red onion for freshness then a simple vinaigrette made with cider vinegar, olive oil and mustard for thickening....

This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”! Chicken Fricassée Pronounced “fri-ka-say”, this is a terrific recipe to get a cosy stew fix any night of the week without hours of slow cooking. This dish is a traditional French chicken stew made with a creamy white sauce with mushrooms, instead of the more common rich, dark brown sauce like you ordinarily see with stews, such as with Coq au Vin and this baked Chicken Stew....

Chicken with creamy mustard sauce This is one of those recipes that will save you on those nights you’re staring at chicken breast or thighs and wondering, “What the heck am I going to make for dinner, fast?” Here, chicken is seared until golden and served with a creamy mustard sauce that takes barely a minute to come together. The trick to making such a simple cream sauce delectable is to mix the cream with 2 types of mustard....

Simple to make, loaded with classic Greek flavours: chicken marinated in lemon, garlic and dried oregano then threaded onto skewers. Served with a homemade Tzatziki, all bundled up in pita bread. Or in my case, a simple homemade flatbread that’s made without yeast! Chicken Souvlaki “Just make something quick and easy,” I told myself sternly. “Your To Do List is out of control at the moment. You don’t have time to blog something that will take too long....

Try this with a side of Fried Rice and Asian Slaw, or Asian Mushroom Ramen Noodles! If you’ve strolled through Chinese neighbourhoods, past Chinese BBQ shops with the bronzed, glistening ducks and Chinese Barbecue Pork hanging from hooks in the window dripping with sticky glaze, then the smell when this hits the hot pan will be familiar. And even if you’re not familiar with that smell, you will just know, you will know that this is 100% lip smackingly delicious and a total crowd pleaser....

Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe A long awaited reader request…. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had people writing in asking for my chocolate chip cookie recipe! In truth, I was sitting on it because I wanted to make sure I tested it properly for different measures in different countries. If you’ve ever tried a cookie recipe written by someone in another country and had it fail miserably, chances are that it’s because of the difference in cup, tablespoon and teaspoon measures between countries....

As I started writing up this recipe to tell you how good homemade custard is compared to store bought, I realised that I had never actually bought custard before. So this morning after my daily caffeine fix (shameless coffee addict here), I popped into the supermarket to buy a (small) carton. Just so I could truly describe the difference. Because it’s easy enough to say that homemade is always better....

The best part is breaking open the golden brown balls to reveal the dazzling green insides. Dip them in tahini sauce and pop them straight in your mouth, or make wraps! Falafel recipe There are many things I do not know, but I do know this: Falafels are the highest and best use of chickpeas. Perhaps not the most common use – hard to beat a batch of creamy hummus whipped up in mere minutes using a can of chickpeas....

(PS. Once you’ve done salmon, do it for steak!) Garlic Butter Salmon I was a bit hesitant to share this recipe, thinking, “Salmon cooked in garlic butter? So obvious. So simple,” But as I thought about it, I realised that I did actually have some things to say about this “simple” recipe. Like: finely chop the garlic with a knife; don’t use a garlic press/crusher. Garlic crushers make the garlic bits too small such that they burn, and they force out the garlic juice so it spits everywhere when it hits the butter....

And if that wasn’t enough, this just happens to be made in ONE POT and is on the table in just over 20 minutes. It’s outrageous! GARLIC SHRIMP MAC AND CHEESE – A DREAM COMBO! The last time I wrote that I love Mac and Cheese so much it would be my Last Meal, I received alarmed messages from readers who thought I was on the way out. I quickly wrote back to assure them that I was only joking, that I was perfectly fine, and no I wasn’t secretly an incarcerated food blogger in the unfortunate position of having to start thinking about my Last Meal....

Plus, a bonus no-knead version – the world’s easiest hot cross buns recipe! Hot Cross Buns Big, fluffy, fragrant Hot Cross Buns just like what you get from your favourite bakery are easier to make than you think. Especially if you have a stand mixer. Homemade Hot Cross Buns become a dump-and-mix job to make the dough. Definitely my preferred method! These Hot Cross Buns are way better than the stock standard ones you buy from grocery stores....

And there’s something so impressive about placing a giant bowl of mussels on the table for family and friends to get stuck into with their hands. No cutlery around these parts – just lots of napkins! How to cook mussels This recipe I’m sharing today is a very classic way to cook mussels – steamed in a garlic butter white wine broth. It’s very quick and easy, and really makes the most of mussels:...

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and nothing in this post should be interpreted as medical advice. I’m just sharing a recipe that is loaded with good-for-you nutritious vegetables! Immunity-boosting Green Goddess Soup Half of Sydney is out of action with the flu or COVID right now. So here by popular demand is a big pot of nutrition packed goodness that actually tastes great! I’m not going to lie....

It’s simple to make, cosy and comforting yet also luxurious and elegant. I love how this Leek Soup can be Couch Food OR an elegant starter for a dinner party. Good food is a universal language! Leek and Potato Soup Though France might be the epicentre of Michelin star restaurants (second only to Tokyo!) where sauces come in the form of foam and dishes are given excessively fancy names, the heart and soul of French food is simple food made well....

It’s like a giant salad version of Mexican Avocado Salsa – with the addition of chicken to complete the meal! To fill it out even more, try it with a side of Easy No Yeast Flatbreads, a southwest Cowboy Rice Salad or try some of these amazing easy No Knead Bread Rolls. Avocado Chicken Salad – with Mexican flavours! I’ve had a Giant Salad* almost everyday for the past month or so....

Mexican Corn Salad This recipe generated a tizzy of excitement among my group of friends when I first started making it a few years back! Something a little different to the usual steamed-butter-slathered corn on the cob (and there is nothing wrong with that!!), it’s bright and colourful, and it’s a brilliant dish for sharing. Mexican Corn Salad is essentially the giant salad form of Esquites which is a popular Mexican Street corn that is sold in cups by street vendors....

Also see Baked Mushroom Rice! A Mushroom recipe for mushroom lovers! This one is for mushrooms lovers! Though….in all honesty, I know not of any mushroom haters. I’m a Banana Hater (slimy horrible, stinky thing!). I know a hater of all things “bouncy” (fish cakes, tofu etc), a capsicum hater, and a hater of all things that smell like…..errr…. wind. Egg, popcorn and corn apparently fall into this category. But I’ve never heard of a Mushroom Hater....