Fun ways to make food presentable this festive season

The festive season is officially here. You’re thinking of hosting and looking for fun ways to make food presentable or help to plan your menu. You’ve come to the right place! We have tips, tricks and a recipe straight from a chef and the rest of the people who make your dining experiences worthwhile.

Firstly, we have some tips from chef Thapelo Majafe, pastry chef at The Cradle Boutique Hotel. Majafe has these tips for festive season menu planning:

1. Make sure you have a pantry of dry good staples
2. Shop early
3. Keep it simple if you're feeding a lot of guests
4. Do what you can in advance (loadshedding may mean limited access to the oven)
5. Not everything has to be piping hot. Room temperature is often best – especially for desserts

He also shares his recipe for popcorn-infused creme brûlée:

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup full cream milk
• 4 cups popped buttered popcorn
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Place the cream and milk in a medium pot and bring to a low simmer.
3. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting, add the popped buttered popcorn to the cream/milk mixture, and stir. Take off the heat.
4. Allow the cream and milk mixture to steep with the popcorn for an hour and then strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a small pitcher or liquid measure, pressing the solids with the back of a spoon or ladle to release as much liquid as possible.
5. Place the egg yolks, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl and whip with a whisk until pale in colour.
6. Add a small amount of the warm popcorn infused cream/milk, whisking, to temper the yolks.
7. Continue to add the hot cream/milk into the yolks, slowly, while whisking, until completely incorporated, and warm to the touch.
8. Place four 200ml ramekins in a baking dish and pour the custard mixture into the ramekins, dividing the mixture equally. Place the baking dish with the ramekins in the preheated oven and carefully pour hot water in the baking dish, allowing it to come to about half the sides of the ramekins.
9. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the custards are set.
10. Cool completely, sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar and brûlée with a torch or under the grill until brown and caramelised. 

Cheese anyone?

A cheese board is a wonderful way to welcome guests, whether it’s a tomato and mozzarella pairing or blueberries and brie, cheese is always a favourite. Not only is it tasty, it also contains beneficial nutrients such as vitamins A, B2 and B12 and zinc. The team over at Rediscover Dairy have these cheeseboard tips for you:

Variety works – choose cheeses with different textures and taste profiles.

1. Sweet, sour, bitter and salty – match your cheeses to an array of different sweet and savoury ingredients. 
2. Dazzle with colour – choose fruits and vegetables of different colours, shapes and textures.
3. Fill the space – use garnishes such as fresh herbs, berries, nuts, roasted chickpeas and edible flowers so that the board is entirely covered with an abundance of good foods.
4. Keep it cool – remember that cheeses are at their best at room temperature.  So, keep your cheese board indoors until you are ready to serve.  You can also assemble your cheese board on a marble slab to keep cheeses cool for longer outdoors.

Thinking about a salad?

Don’t worry, the chefs at any of the Radisson Blu hotels have got you! When thinking of making salads this summer start by buying local, seasonal produce. Think about variety, in terms of texture, flavours and colour.

When coming up with new salad creations it can be helpful to think about three distinct categories for the types of salads.

1. Fresh – Fresh salads are made by simply taking different fresh vegetables and layering them on top of each other. The thing that most people forget to add is some crunch (e.g, nuts, seeds or crunchy vegetables) and variety in flavour (e.g, sweet, sour, salty, umami, etc).
2. Cooked – To make cooked salads, you can roast or steam a variety of vegetables and then add a topping of your choice. Some vegetables to consider for cooked salads: eggplant, bell peppers, zucchinis, mushrooms, asparagus, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, broccoli, brussels sprouts and cauliflower.
3. Pre-made salads – Pre-made salads are similar to the salads that you will find in the deli at your local health food store. The nice thing about these salads is that you can make a big batch at the beginning of the week and plate it with some leafy greens or in a bowl on top of brown rice or quinoa.
4. Salad in a jar –  This method is not just reserved for Pinterest photos. It’s really simple, and you can make it at home. Using a different container for your salad can help change things up a bit. You can put your salads in jars at the beginning of the week, and then before you want to eat it just add the salad dressing, close the jar and shake everything up. 

Remember to layer the heavier ingredients on the bottom and the lighter ingredients on the top. For example, chickpeas, quinoa or almonds would be on the bottom, and spinach, sprouts or radishes would be on the top.