19 minute read
LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL
from The Ridge 129
FAMILY, FRIENDS, FOOD, FUN – THE SECRET TO THE PERFECT FESTIVE SEASON. AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO PUT 2021 BEHIND US AND CELEBRATE THE JOYS, HAPPINESS, FRIENDSHIPS AND GOOD HEALTH THAT AWAIT US IN 2022
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– Lisa Walters-Hunter, Lisa Walters Interior Design
LEFT TO
RIGHT: Large
classic flower ring with lemon quartz and diamonds; small modern flower ring with peridot and diamonds; white gold classic flower earrings with blue topaz and diamonds. All Mark Gold. T he past two years have thrown unprecedented challenges at us, but as we head towards 2022 let’s leave the bad memories behind us and promise that next year will be about making at least one good memory every day. Shining spirits, festive cheer, gorgeous glam, easy food – we’ve got it all packed into this issue of The Ridge.
Flip the pages and feast on ideas galore to bring a festive holiday mood into your home. From stunning table decor, cocktails to celebrate the occasion, party food, glitzy designer outfits and jewellery to dazzle, there is no time to celebrate like the now, so join us on a spectacular festive ride filled with ideas to make this holiday season the best ever. Let’s raise a glass and embrace the New Year with an abundance of hope and happiness.
“The black Christmas tree was the starting point for my inspiration,” says uMhlanga interior decorator Lisa Walters-Hunter. “I thought this tree and look would translate beautifully with the colour palette of my home. I love things to be tonal, so I chose elements that fit well together.”
Lisa wanted the theme to be more of a celebration – not a traditional Christmas. “To me, even though I have young children, times have changed. I wanted to have my own spin on the look and feel, one that could be interpreted
– Wendy-Leigh Cousins, Indigo & Ivory
for a Christmas occasion, New Year party, birthday party – in fact any celebration, not just Christmas. I also wanted the mood to be glam, luxe, playful and fun.”
Two Christmas trees is not the norm, but the new black tree teamed beautifully with Lisa’s old favourite silver tree. And decorated with baubles, faux birds, bows and poinsettias
in shades of gold, silver, black and white – all colours found in Lisa’s home – the look certainly was impressive. The black tree and decorations are all from uMhlanga Rocks SUPERSPAR Decor Division.
Lisa dressed her table with a cloth she had made, and layered it with items she already had, as well as new decor items that blended beautifully with her theme. Each table setting had two underplates – one glass plate, and one black and gold rimmed underplate. The finishing touches to the table were stags with candles, various vessels filled with white peonies, Celebrate candles from the SOH Collection with festive scents, and various decor items that resonated with Lisa.
Homemade Mince Pies With Fresh Fruit & Spiced Gold
Take a break from the mass-produced pies – these beauties are the grown-up version, packed with sweet and spicy festive flavour. “Be warned,” says Ant, “plan ahead, the mincemeat needs a couple of days to develop.” Makes 24
Mincemeat: 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated •250g raisins or sultanas, chopped •110g dried apricots, finely chopped •175g soft dark brown sugar •zest and juice of 1 small orange •zest and juice of 1 lemon •50g almonds, chopped •1 tsp ground allspice •1/2 tsp ground nutmeg •1 tsp ground cinnamon •4 tbsp spiced gold rum, dark rum or brandy
Pastry: 350g plain flour •125g icing sugar •pinch of fine salt •125g cold butter, diced •5ml vanilla extract •2 medium eggs, beaten
Crumble topping: 75g plain flour •½ tsp ground cinnamon •50g butter, diced •50g brown sugar •3 tbsp almonds, chopped
Decorate: icing sugar for dusting
Mincemeat: Simply add all mincemeat ingredients to a bowl. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 48 hours, stirring every 6-8 hours.
Pastry: Add flour, icing sugar, salt and butter to a food processor or mixer, blend to fine crumbs. While blender is still running, add vanilla and egg, process until mixture is clumpy and holds together as a ball. If too wet, add flour, and if too dry, add teaspoons of iced water to bring the dough together. Knead for a minute until smooth, then wrap in cling film and refrigerate until firm, up to 48 hours. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 3mm thick and cut into rounds. Press each pastry round gently into each hole of a sprayed or buttered muffin or cupcake tray. Spoon a generous tablespoon of mincemeat into each pastry shell, then refrigerate. While chilling, preheat oven to 180°C.
Crumble topping: Combine all ingredients into a crumbly mixture, then work with your fingers to form clumps. Top mince pies with crumble. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until pastry and crumble are crisp and golden. Cool, then transfer to a wire rack. When completely cool, dust with icing sugar.
Lisa's tips
Texture: For fairly neutral colour tones, play with varying textures. On the table much of this is evident: Two large pewter stag candleholders (with ombre candles); small glass candle votives in black and gold glass; solid marble candle vessels; bone boxes; linen napery; velvet ribbons on hand-made paper with gold bells made by Indigo & Ivory Designs; gold foiling on handmade crackers (SOH Collection); leather boxes with brass edging; marble look black decorative boxes; mirrored disco balls; glass urns with marble and gold foiling detail; Perspex swizzle sticks; glass Christmas trees; and fresh flowers to add softness. Height: I also like to use decor items of varying heights so that the table is not visually at one height, but has variance, which makes it interesting. I stacked bone boxes for height, and topped with other decorative items. Using candle sticks at different heights also helps achieve this, as do flowers which I used in two different vessels on this table. Mood: I used flowers that were soft, flowing and gentle, and not too structured, with the colour toning with the decor. Lots of candlelight added mood and drama, while subtly-scented candles were placed on the table as well as around the room. In my
– Dean Gorrie, Mark Gold Jewels
Kids Easy Oatmeal Cookies With Cranberries, Apricots & Yogurt Frosting
Get the kiddos away from the screens for an hour to bake up these rustic, delicious Christmassy treats and decorate like the little lunatics they are.
Squares: 2 cups cake wheat flour •2 cups raw oats •1/2 tsp salt •1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda •280ml butter, melted •1 cup soft brown sugar, packed •3 tsp vanilla extract •80g dry cranberries, roughly chopped •1 cup of fruit jam
Yogurt frosting: 2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt •6 heaped tbsp icing sugar •1 tsp vanilla extract
Squares: Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a square or rectangular pan with foil or baking paper (leave a bit overhanging on two sides for easy removal). Spray well with non-stick spray. In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, salt and bicarb of soda. In a separate large bowl, whisk melted butter, brown sugar and 3 teaspoons vanilla until well combined. Add cranberries, stir well until fully combined. Separate out about ¾ cup (just less than half) of the dough and set aside for topping. Add the bigger portion of dough to the prepared pan and press down into a flat, even layer. Bake for 10 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven and carefully spread jam on top of cookie base. Use the reserved dough to crumble over top of jam layer. Return to oven and bake for 14-16 more minutes, until topping is golden brown. Remove and place pan on a wire rack to cool, slice when half cool. These can be soft when they are warm – to firm up further, refrigerate.
Yogurt frosting: Mix yogurt, icing sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla (add a touch of milk if necessary to loosen), and decorate the cooled squares.
Grilled Prawn & Avocado Tostadas With Pineapple Pico De Gallo Salsa
Quick, bright, fresh and tropical. Just do it. •3 flour tortillas of your choice •cooking oil •extra ground cumin •12 medium prawns, cleaned and shelled •dry rub of 1 tsp each of ground cumin, ground coriander, paprika, and a pinch each of salt and black pepper •1 ripe avocado •1 tbsp lemon juice •salt and black pepper •fresh coriander leaves
Salsa: 2 cups ripe plum or jam tomatoes, diced (about 6 tomatoes) •½ cup onion, finely diced •½ cup chopped fresh coriander, loosely packed •2 cups pineapple, finely diced •1 jalapeño or serenade pepper, stemmed, cored and finely diced •1 lime, zested and juiced •½ tsp sea salt •¼ tsp ground cumin
Salsa: Premake salsa by mixing all ingredients except tomatoes, pineapple and coriander. Marinate for an hour. Add tomatoes, pineapple and coriander, refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours before serving (will last up to 3 days in the fridge). Check seasoning and add salt to taste.
Tostadas: Preheat oven to 180°C. Using a round cookie cutter, cut 24 small rounds out of the tortillas. Brush both sides with cooking oil and a touch of cumin. Lay on a nonstick baking sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes, turning once. Cool.
To assemble: Mix prawns with dry rub and grill in a hot skillet for 2 minutes on each side until cooked, set aside. Mash avo with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Spoon a flat layer on to each tostada. Set one prawn on each, cover with salsa and fresh coriander leaves and a final squeeze of lime juice if desired. opinion there is nothing more stunning than a room that smells beautiful in a signature scent you love.
Partnering with Lisa, Wendy-Leigh Cousins from Indigo & Ivory Designs designed complementary stationery to feel festive, tactile and personal with the modern star element, touches of gold and hand-made paper carried throughout. Notecard: For the notecard Wendy-Leigh designed a custom scallop flap envelope in a LUX black cross hatch card. The personalised notecard was made from a pillowy cotton handmade paper with each envelope featuring gold script and fine lurex thread for the closure. Ring in the new year/bells: At each setting we placed a deckled edge note with an oversized velvet bow and carried through the same bell and star element. Menu: A mini glass and gold frame housed the festive menu, with detail of the deckled edging from the hand-made paper.
– The Team @ francoisvedemmefashion
Bar signage and swizzle sticks: The mini frosted Perspex bar sign featured fun 3D Perspex lettering and carried the star element through on to the custom black Perspex swizzle sticks.
Of course, no celebration is complete without food. Durban foodie Ant Ellis adorned his apron and whipped up easyto-make dishes – including his best-ever Mince Pies (no Christmas is complete without this treat). The canape’s – Pear Crisps with Blue Cheese, and Prawn and Avocado Tostadas – were a real crowd pleaser and were washed down with Ant’s favourite entertaining cocktails. The party had begun.
– Ant Ellis, Rock The Kitchen
– Nicole Kruger, Kru & Co
Pear Crisps With Blue Cheese, Onion Marmalade & Walnuts
“Slightly cheaty, very delicious. Take my advice – make double, they’ll disappear fast,” says food guru Ant Ellis. •2 ripe pears •onion marmalade or jam • your choice of ripened blue cheese •raw walnuts, chopped •herbs for garnishing
To make the crisps, preheat oven to 120°C. Cut off the top and bottom of the pears, thinly slice (about 1mm thick) as uniformly as possible, removing any pips. Lay pear slices on baking trays ensuring they do not overlap. Place in oven for 1 hour 15 minutes. After 1 hour 15 minutes, turn pears and return to oven for a further 1 hour 15 minutes. Turn off oven but leave them in oven for 1 hour more to crisp. Lay out on a serving platter and top each with about a teaspoon of onion marmalade, a crumbling of blue cheese and a sprinkle of chopped nuts. Finish with fresh herbs.
Durban fashion designer Francois Vedemme was tasked with creating bespoke garments “fit for a queen” for our festive shoot. Francois spent time with each client finding out their style preference, taking into consideration individual likes and dislikes like preferred length of dress, length of sleeves they were comfortable wearing, neckline, the amount of sparkle they were happy to wear, and the colour theme.
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Francois is wearing a bespoke peaked sateen lapel tuxedo in a Dormeuil superfine wool fabric and a Stenströms pleated fitted body superior two-fold cotton tuxedo shirt. Wendy wears a one shoulder, hand beaded mermaid-style dress with bow detail on shoulder and cut-out detail on bodice. Nicole looks great in a sparkle jumpsuit with built-in corset, draped cup and sleeve detail. Dean is wearing a bespoke sateen shawl collar tuxedo in a Cerruti superfine wool fabric and a Stenströms textured fitted body superior two-fold cotton tuxedo shirt. Lisa wears a classic black gown with a deep V-neckline, puffed sleeves and hand beaded flower detail.
Lamb Chop Tray Bake With Olives, Thyme & Mediterranean Vegetables
Holiday days can be just as busy as work days. If you’ve got hungry family staying with you and you ain’t feeling a complicated dinner, get this in the oven and grab that welldeserved glass of wine. •6 lamb loin chops, half the fat trimmed off •4 tbsp olive oil •1 clove garlic, crushed •zest and juice of 1 lemon •500g baby potatoes, cut into 5mm thick slices •1 onion, cut into eighths •1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced •1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced •4 sprigs thyme, leaves picked from and chopped •1 cup rosa/cherry tomatoes, halved •50g black olives, pitted •3 tbsp capers, rinsed • salt and black pepper
In a mixing bowl, mix lemon zest and juice with half the olive oil, garlic, thyme and a good pinch each of salt and cracked black pepper. Add lamb chops, mix well to coat and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 220°C. Toss potatoes with 1 tbsp olive oil and season. Tip into a large, shallow roasting pan or casserole tray, cook for 15 minutes. Remove dish and shake to loosen potatoes. Add peppers, onion, thyme sprigs and tomatoes. Drizzle with remaining oil, season. Return to oven for another 10 minutes. Mix, then place lamb cutlets on top of vegetables. Scatter olives and capers over. Cook for a further 1012 minutes, turning lamb halfway through until pink inside. Serve straight from the tray with a salad.
Easy Pavlova With Summer Berries & Berry Coulis
“This is my friend Nicky’s top-notch recipe. It’s a classic, simpler than you think and perfect for the festive or holiday table. A great way to end a meal,” says Ant.
Meringue base: 6 egg whites •375g castor sugar •3 tsp cornflour •1½ tsp white wine vinegar •½ tsp vanilla extract
Topping: 500ml double cream or Orley Whip (the latter my recommendation)
Berry coulis: •340g frozen mixed berries •1⁄4 cup water •4 tbsp sugar •pinch of salt •1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
To serve: large handful each of strawberries, blueberries/blackberries, raspberries •sprigs of fresh mint
Meringue base: Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and draw a rough 25cm diameter circle on it (trace a plate with a pencil or similar). Whisk egg whites until satiny peaks form, then whisk in castor sugar, a tablespoonful at a time, until meringue is stiff and shiny. It’s ready when you rub a bit of the mixture between your thumb and index finger and it’s not grainy. Sprinkle cornflour, vinegar and vanilla extract over meringue, fold in lightly with a metal spoon. Mound meringue on to baking paper within the circle and use a spatula to make an indentation in the centre (about the size of a side plate) with high sides in which to place your topping. Put in oven and immediately reduce heat to 120°C. Cook for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave to cool completely with door closed, or leave in oven overnight. Once cool, the base can be stored for up to 2 days.
Berry coulis: Add berries, sugar, water and salt to a pan, cook until sugar is dissolved. Purée if desired in a blender and stir through lemon juice.
To assemble: Carefully peel off baking paper from meringue. Whip cream or Orley Whip until thick, and scoop into meringue indentation, spreading to edges in a swirly fashion and covering over any cracks in the meringue. Drizzle a generous amount of coulis on to the cream (ensuring no contact with the meringue). Decorate with fresh berries and mint.
Out with the old year and in with the new. There’s no better time to celebrate with family and friends than with a glass of the best. With the widest range of gins, whiskeys and speciality champagnes, the Mount Edgecombe KwikSpar & Tops is your one-stop shop for all your festive and holiday celebratory drinks. Try us for gift box ideas to take the stress out of Christmas shopping.
With ample parking, the Mount Edgecombe KwikSpar & Tops offers convenience and personalised service, as well as being able to assist with bar function bulk orders.
Together let’s make special memories Let’s raise a glass to 2022!
FIND US AT: Mount Edgecombe Kwikspar & Tops 1 Flanders Drive, Mount Edgecombe 031 502 7535
mtedgecombekwikspar WMount Edgecombe KwikSpar & Tops Whatsapp orders: The Butler guy 083 382 3037 mtedgecombe1@retail.spar.co.za
Kentucky Buck
Get a surprisingly fresh, fruity and decidedly summery kick from this badass baby, a riff on the world famous Moscow Mule. •2 tot measures bourbon •1 tot measure lemon juice, freshly squeezed •1 strawberry, halved •½ tot measure simple syrup (method below) •ginger beer •2 dashes bitters •1 strawberry for garnish •lemon wheel for garnish Simple syrup: •1 cup water •1 cup white sugar Simple syrup: Heat 1 cup of water in a pot (not boiling), then add 1 cup of white sugar. Stir until dissolved, and cool. Bottle and refrigerate.
Cocktail: To make the cocktail, muddle the strawberry and lemon juice in a glass, then add with the bourbon and simple syrup to an ice-filled cocktail shaker (if you don’t have one, a jar will do). Strain into a tall glass filled with ice, top off with a splash of ginger beer, add bitters, and garnish with strawberry and lemon.
Champagne Margarita
Margaritas rule. Champagne rules. You get where I’m going? Festive and summery all in one, and beautifully fresh.
For each drink: coarse salt for rimming glasses •1 tot measure silver tequila, chilled •1 tot measure orange liqueur • juice of a fresh lime, reserved •½ teaspoon honey (optional) • champagne or prosecco, chilled • lime slices for serving
Cover a saucer with coarse salt. Moisten rim of a glass with squeezed lime, turn upside down on the salt-covered plate and turn until the rim of the glass is coated in salt. In an ice-filled cocktail shaker, shake tequila, lime juice, honey (optional) and orange liqueur. Pour into your prepared glass, top up with chilled champagne or prosecco, and garnish with lime slices.
Credits
Decor & Styling: Lisa Walters-Hunter,
Lisa Walters Interior Design
Pictures: Michigan Behn Photography Creative collaborator: Nicole Kruger,
@KruandCo_official
Food and cocktails: Ant Ellis Dresses: Francois Vedemme Fashion Suits: Armitage Mens Outfitters Jewellery: Mark Gold Stationery: Wendy-Leigh Cousins,
Indigo & Ivory Designs
Decorations: uMhlanga Rocks
SUPERSPAR Decor Division
Crackers and candles: SOH Collection
by Sarah McGregor
Cake: Monz Macarons Make-up: Volenti from Nixon Make-up
