Did you know it is only 2 weeks to Christmas. I thought this picture found by Kay H is a great one KV

Movie review - The Woman

Mary Haines is a clothing designer who seems to have it all--a beautiful country home, a rich financier husband, an adorable 11-year-old daughter and a part-time career creating designs for her father's venerable clothing company. Her best friend, Sylvie Fowler, leads another enviable life--a happily single editor of a prominent fashion magazine, a possessor of a huge closet of designer clothes and a revered arbiter of taste and style poised on New York's cutting edge. But when Mary's husband enters into an affair with Crystal Allen, a sultry "spritzer girl" lurking behind the Saks Fifth Avenue perfume counter, all hell breaks loose. Mary and Sylvie's relationship is tested to the breaking point while their tight-knit circle of friends, including mega-mommy Edie Cohen and author Alex Fisher, all start to question their own friendships and romantic relationships as well.

Martini of the week!!!!

Saganaki martini
Serves 4


10 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic
5 basil leaves
5 mint leaves
To taste: gin
100 gm Kalamata olives, pits removed
50 gm caster sugar
2 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed and finely chopped
1 Lebanese cucumber, peeled, seeds removed and finely chopped
½ bunch chives, finely chopped
1 punnet mâché, optional (see note)
200 gm haloumi, cut into 1cm cubes
1 tbsp olive oil


1 Combine tomatoes, garlic, basil and mint in a blender and process until smooth. Pour mixture into a fine sieve over a bowl and stand, without pressing, for 2 hours until you have 500ml liquid. Discard solids and add gin to strained liquid, then chill until required.
2 Preheat oven to 60C, or lowest setting. Finely chop olives and place on a baking paper-lined oven tray, scatter with sugar and roast in oven for 15 minutes or until dried.
3 Combine Roma tomatoes, cucumber and olives and spoon into the bottom of 4 martini glasses. Scatter with chives and mâché, and top with tomato and gin mixture.
4 Skewer cubes of haloumi onto 4 bamboo skewers. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and cook for 4-5 minutes, turning occasionally, over medium heat until golden brown. Place a skewer over each glass and serve immediately.

Note Mâché, also known as lamb’s lettuce, is a small green leaf with a nutty flavour.

RECIPE George Calombaris, The Press Club

Choc Vino Cotto Pavlova
Ingredients
Serves 6-8

6 egg whites, at room temperature
1.5 cups caster sugar
3 tablespoons best quality cocoa powder
1 tablespoons vino cotto
40g finely grated bittersweet chocolate
Pinch cream tartar
1 tablespoons vino cotto or balsamic vinegar

To serve:
300 ml crème fresh
1 punnet strawberries, or raspberries
2-3 tablespoons coarsely grated bittersweet chocolate (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Draw a 23cm circle onto the paper, and then set aside.
Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, adding a pinch of tartar once the machine is going, and then, a spoonful at a time, beat in the sugar until the meringue is stiff and shiny. When it’s stiff, sprinkle in the coco and beat again. Then fold in the chopped chocolate and the vino cotto gently by hand.

Mound onto your baking sheet within the marked circle, smoothing the sides and top just little. Place in the centre of the 180C conventional oven, then immediately turn the temperatures down to 150C and cook for 55 minutes.
When it’s ready, the pavlova should look crisp around the edges and be dry on top – but when you prod the centre, you should feel the promise of squidginess. Turn off the oven, open the door slightly and let the chocolate meringue disc cool completely.

To serve, invert meringue onto a big, flat bottomed plate. Whisk cream until its thick but still soft, then pile on top of the meringue and scatter over the strawberries. If you want to add the chocolate, coarsely grate it so you get curls rather than rubble, and sprinkle it haphazardly over the top, letting some fall on the plate’s rim.