We’re officially in the month of love.
Valentine's is coming and whether you have a romantic partner to spend it with or not, we have some suggestions for you.
If you’re going to be celebrating at home, we have a cookbook suggestion for you and a pretty and pink champagne float that will have you staring across the table with heart eyes at your partner.
Lastly, there are a few places having some Valentine's special you might be interested in swinging by to get a taste of.
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Grab a guide
Whether you’ll be hosting a Valentine's feast for two, hosting a Galentine's or a singles mixer, you might want to get your hands on this book.
Because every great hostess or host knows that too much time away from your guests can be the death of your dinner party.
So when Mogau Seshoene’s book, Hosting with The Lazy Makoti, arrived at our offices, I couldn’t contain my excitement.
I was intrigued to see whether the recipes in the book would be quick and easy as the title alluded.
I was not disappointed, the book is a bright, easy read dedicated to the doyenne of African cuisine by the late Mam’ Dorah Sitole.
The recipes have a prep time as quick as five minutes to 40 minutes and some over several hours. Of course, the discerning host/hostess knows which recipes to pick and that is the beauty of this book, the variety.
Seshoene has included all the dishes you can think of, with chapters titled Weekend Special for those hosting weekend sporting get-togethers, Proudly Mzansi which celebrates our heritage and serves nostalgia, and there is even a chapter titled Eat More Plants that has lovely plant-based recipes.
Do take a look at the heart-shaped shortbread biscuits recipe on page 188 to add a sweet treat and ambiance to the day.
Seshoene’s rising brand has been an inspiration to watch, her cook-alongs on Instagram are avidly attended and her followers count is always rising.
Her book is a well-rounded map of modern and traditional SA dishes that are a pleasure to make.
Champagne Float
You can have some bubbly pink fun with this champagne float recipe. Jan Kohler, a chef, entrepreneur and author of Pink Gin and Fairy Cakes, has shared her champagne cocktail recipe with us.
You’ll need:
1 bottle champagne or MCC sparkling wine
A punnet of raspberries
1 batch of champagne and strawberries sorbet (below):
250g strawberries, washed and chopped
1 cup water
100g castor sugar
500ml of your favourite bottle of pink bubbly
Juice of one lemon (about 60ml)
How to do it:
Make the sorbet the day before, using the recipe below, and freeze overnight. Use the sorbet straight from the freezer, making sure you use a really cold bottle of bubbles too. The wonderful thing about the frozen sorbet is it ensures a refreshing, ice cold drink.
Pour the sparkling wine into wide brimmed champagne glasses or martini glasses and place a neat scoop of sorbet into the champagne. Expect a bit of fizz! Float a few raspberries on top and add a mint sprig if you like, then serve immediately – these don’t sit around well.
For the sorbet
Serves 8 – 10
Requires overnight freezing
This one is clearly not for the children but will go down a treat on a hot summer’s afternoon with your adult guests.
Here’s what goes in:
250g of strawberries, washed and chopped
1 cup of water
100g of castor sugar
500ml of your favourite bottle of pink bubbly (leaving you roughly a glass and a bit to drink)
Juice of 1 lemon (approximately 60ml)
How to do it:
Combine the water and the sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until the sugar has melted. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Once the sugar mixture has reached room temperature, place this in a food processor with the strawberries and liquidise the mixture.
Now slowly add the lemon juice and champagne, taking care with the fizz. Expect some froth! Pour this mixture into your ice-cream maker and set it according to the manufacturer’s instruction to make sorbet.
Churning the mixture for about an hour will give you the right consistency, but the sorbet won’t set because of its alcoholic content. Alcoholic beverages need a lower freezing temperature, so you need to transfer this to the freezer and leave it at least overnight.
When you’re ready, serve in a fabulous martini glass.
Out and about
If you’d rather eat out to celebrate Valentine's Day you’ll be happy to know that the Radission Red in Rosebank has some specials.
For the full month of February, locals and travellers can book the RED Hot Love room special which includes a stayover for two and an in-room breakfast picnic.
With Valentine’s Day falling on Monday, the hotel is hosting a Lover’s Lunch the day before.
The menu features topless oysters dressed with a sun-dried tomato and chilli pesto, a choice between beef whole shortrib, chicken galantine and creamed spinach and three cheese fettuccine, as well as a Happy Ending platter-for-two of fruit and cheesecake.
Bookings are limited and tickets are R490 each.
The menu will also be available for dinner on February 14.
The Maslow as well be hosting a Valentine's Dinner at a cost of R990 per couple. This includes a welcome drink by Martini, an amuse bouche of prawn tempura or spanakopita, a springbok carpaccio, butternut pea risotto or salmon poke bowl starter and for mains, line fish with Chinese seven spice or a 28-day prime aged beef fillet, butter milk chicken supreme or vegetable lasagna.
A red velvet ‘Valentine kiss’ cake served with Ferrero Rocher, nuts and ice cream, or a chocolate tart with Turkish delight, or fresh strawberries, whipped cream, ice-cream, nougat and shortbread is on the menu for dessert.
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