Sex in the Kitchen ~ Opel Khan

Today I'm going to tell you all about Sex in the Kitchen, which I'm quite sure you've been dying to know about but have been too afraid to ask. Fear not, this is a topic I've explored at length and I'm more than willing to share this knowledge with you. There is something very sensual about the culinary experience, passionate and seductive, and Khan is quite unabashed in bringing this to the fore in his book, so let's step inside the pages for a moment and we can experience it together.

Pleasantly surprising, given that I'm sure the book was published with the aim of making sales based on clever marketing, is the fact that the recipes are accessible to the home cook, neatly presented with simple and easy to follow instructions, and each of them with a beautiful glossy photograph of the seductive treat. Further they stand up well to the test of time - published in 2004 the recipes don't feel dated and I'd happily partake in the proffered sex in the kitchen today, had I someone to participate in the experience with me (all the recipes serve two people).

The chapters venture from the sensual and romantic 'candlelit dinner', where you'll find tempting mains like the saffron gnocchi with broad beans & sage burnt butter, lobster with herb butter & spiced fig chutney, or duck breast with rose petal sauce to win over your potential lover, right through to the more base 'lust supper' where you can keep up your energy with a smoked trout salad or perhaps some fried haloumi with capsicum relish.

Elsewhere you'll find ways to remind your lover how sweet they are with the turkish delight soufflé accompanied by some home made vanilla ice cream, or perhaps you want to get straight to the point and pour them a slippery nipple. Personally I'm thinking about sharing a roast pumpkin, rocket & parmesan salad followed by the oven-roasted barramundi with clams, mussels & tomato, rounding it out with the saffron ice-cream & french meringue sandwich and then a pink lady. Anyone for dinner?

This book is recommended for adults - you know you all want it.

- Kath

Dark chocolate and orange truffles

Once upon a time I fell madly in love with a very wonderful person who happened to be rather fond of dark chocolate. We'd go to the movies where we'd hold hands and share a block of Lindt Intense Orange between us. When her birthday came along I was very keen to impress her, so I created this recipe especially, and as she liked the truffles so much I found myself recreating them every time I had an excuse to try and impress her.

The recipe is as follows:

1/4 cup cream
2 tbspn Cointreau
200g dark chocolate, chopped
(I like to use either Lindt 70% or a combination of Lindt 70% and Lindt 85%.)
Zest of 1-2 oranges, very finely grated
Cocoa (rich dark, good quality, to coat)

In a saucepan bring the cream, Cointreau, and orange zest to the boil, and simmer for 3 minutes.
Remove the cream mixture from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until the mixture is completely smooth. Transfer it to a bowl and chill.
Shape the chilled mixture into balls and roll in Cocoa to coat. Refrigerate.

This last step might need to be done in two stages, making rough balls and then firming them up again before smoothing them and dusting with cocoa.

I hope you enjoy the recipe - I have retired it from my repertoire as although the truffles have proven very popular, in the end I lost the girl and now it's finally time to start dreaming up new recipes to make for new girls.

- Kath

Mango magic ~ Bay Books

I once dated a girl who was allergic to mangoes. It lasted less than six weeks, and I haven't dated anyone since, which begs the question was I so traumatised by the possibility of not eating mangoes again that I have vowed off relationships? Perhaps that's not the only reason, so let's suffice to say I am a little bit in love with this fruit, and when I came across this book many years ago it found a place in my bookcase very swiftly.

I'm going to be honest with you here - the book was first published in the late 80's and it looks it, however if you are willing to look past the slightly dated food styling, you'll be pleasantly rewarded by the experience. Bay Books are an experienced cookbook publisher, and the book is easy to read and easy to use. Simply laid out recipes with straightforward methods and loads of big glossy photos provide an easy to use book for cooks of any experience level.

Admittedly I haven't cooked a lot of the recipes within the book, largely because I have to fend off my children to get near mangoes, so they tend to be eaten unadulterated, however there are plenty of reasons within the book to take your mango experience further.

You might start with the Indian mango salad which features chilli, yoghurt and coconut, or the Mango tabouli, but personally I'd skip the Seafood mango mould. For main dishes I feel spoilt for choice - I'd probably cook the Chicken with green mango curry, the Mango pork medallions or perhaps the Devilled mango crab which looks rather heavenly despite the name. And then you move onto the sweet stuff.

This is where the mango is truly in its element. The Mango soufflé, the Ginger mango cheesecake, the Mango ice cream, each and every one will leave you weak at the knees. I'm already thinking about when I'll make myself the After dinner mangoes, slices steeped in lemon juice, water and Cointreau, dried and rolled in cinnamon sugar and frozen for a cooling after dinner treat.

Now really, all this should be enough to satisfy the mango aficionado, so it comes as a pleasant surprise to find additional chapters on baked treats, pantry goodies and refreshing drinks. Personally I'm going to skip past the Mango gingerbread and its like, and drool over the Mango jam, the seven different chutney recipes (the Mango nectarine chutney sounds positively sinful), and the Spicy mango sauce. And while all this drooling is going on, a nice glass of Mango rum ice should keep me pretty well satisfied.

Recommended for mango fans, and those who love them.

- Kath