I was going to bang on about food budgets and saving money but I thought perhaps we all needed a break from being practical and sensible. So instead I’m going to share with you the details of a party we had for my brother’s birthday this past weekend. He invited 40 friends for Sunday lunch. The sun shone, the birds sang, the bubbly flowed and all was as it should be…

We kicked off with a porcini mushroom soup that took yours truly four hours to make! Think kilo upon kilo of porcini, black and portabellini mushrooms, indecent quantities of cream, wine, brandy and, of course, garlic, onion and homemade chicken stock.  Then there was more than the usual dose of love (it was his 60th after all), much elbow grease and much patient blitzing with a hand blender. The result was nothing short of sublime, if I may say so myself.

Of course there was a catch - I had planned on using fresh porcini mushrooms, it being the season and all, but when the time came the forest was bare so I called Sue Baker of Wild Peacock (021 865 2380), purveyor of all things decadent and exotic (think guinea fowl, gorgeous local salmon trout and trout truffle oil).   She sent over a large bag of flash-frozen sliced porcinis.  They smelled and tasted just as good as the fresh ones and no-one picked up the cheat - so now you know who to call when you run into the same problem.

Evan Faull from Knead Bakery baked us the most divine mini 80g ciabatta bread sticks to serve with the soup, which I served in large cappuccino cups that I hired form Exclusive Hire (021 510 0340).  Talk about living the brand!  I take this Eating-In thing very seriously and use the directory to guide me in just about every purchase.

The main course was roast sirloin.  My brother bought it from Pick ‘n Pay in Sea Point and it was exceptional.  Mind you I’ve started buying most of my meat from PnP. Their prices and quality are streaks ahead of any other supermarket and I’m not saying that because I edit their magazine! Do your own supermarket meat survey and let me know what you find.  My sister-in-law made deliciously creamy, paunch-inducing potato bakes and my niece (it’s a family of cooks) made large peasant-style Greek salads. That’s the one where you don’t use lettuce and all the vegetables  (tomato, cucumber, onion, red pepper) are chopped into chunks.   The feta cheese we used was the Danish-style blocks from Fruit and Veg City (made from cows milk and imported from Denmark). They’ve got a superb flavour and an attractive price. Check them out. Also do remember to only use dried oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil and red wine vinegar or lemon juice as the dressing – anything else won’t be authentic and will ruin the simplicity of it all.
Winter pavlova filled with banana and granadilla provided a sweet ending and my brother splashed out on a ridiculously good hunk of Igor Gorgonzola, imported from Italy (via PnP) – heaven.

So the moral of the story is that lunch at home - even if it’s for 40 - needn’t be a stress. Simply use the Eat In directory, rope in friends and family to help and remember to have fun… we did.

Happy Eating-In.

Tanya Moosman’s Delicious Tomato Soup Ingredients: 6 very ripe tomatoes roughly chopped 1 onion roughly chopped 2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed 1 granny smith apple, chopped 1 tin All Gold Tomato & Onion Mix 650ml chicken or veg stock Salt and a pinch of nutmeg Sugar to taste chopped fresh herbs - basil, oreganum, parsley (optional)

Method:
Sauté the onion in a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the potatoes, apple and garlic, mixing well.  Add the tomatoes.  Let sizzle for a few minutes, then add the All Gold Tomato & Onion Mix. Stir for a few minutes, then add the stock, about a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of nutmeg and let simmer until the potatoes are soft.

Using a handheld blender, blitz the soup until smooth.  Taste the soup and add sugar to adjust the acidity of the tomatoes to your liking.  Finally, stir in the chopped herbs, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needs be.

Serve hot with a swirl of sour cream or greek yogurt, and crusty ciabatta!

(Serves 4)

Tracy Moosman is one of the All Gold winners. We thought the recipe she sent in was perfect for a cold winter’s supper.

Click here for more scrumptious new recipes on our website…

Congratulations to our June winners!
The following people emailed us their favourite recipes that included any All Gold product.
They all won a hamper packed with All Gold products and a beautiful Carrol Boyes pewter serving spoon to the value of R500!

• Tanya Moosmann
• Ilse Trautmann
• Jacky Silk
• Pat Darcy
• Tandy Sinclair
  

Each of the following winners will be sent a Grappa spray courtesy of Profumi D’Italia for taking part in the Eat In/RMB Private Bank SA Producers Awards!

• Vanessa Marle
• Karen Nel
• Mark Chandler
• Eileen McDougal
• Naomi Grey