Tables and Thyme has moved!

 

Please visit us at https://tablesandthyme.co.za

 

or click HERE

Restaurant Review: Daleah's Eatery

 

One of my favourite ways to spend a Saturday morning is to visit the lovely Neighbourgoods Market in Braamfontein. Recently though, we arrived late and found the market to be a little too crowded. So we stepped onto de Beer Street, keen to try something new. We spotted Daleahs Eatery and headed down the road.

Despite its small size, Daleah’s manages to feel light, bright and spacious. We were immediately greeted by a friendly young waitress who found an empty table for us. We had a good view of the large chalkboard that displays the menu. 

I wasn’t in the mood for breakfast yet was nearly tempted into ordering the croissants that the guy at the table next to us was enjoying. Without hesitation, husband ordered the Beef Sliders (R76.00) while I couldn’t decide what I wanted. The waitress jumped in to suggest the Salad with Chicken and  Asparagus (R55.00) and I went with her recommendation. I was tempted by the delicious looking pastas (R50.00 – R75.00) and our neighbours sandwiches (R35.00 – R70.00 with R10.00 extra for pretzel bread) also looked tasty.

 The food arrived quicker than expected and beautifully presented. I immediately helped myself to the fries on the side of the sliders. The fries were crunchy on the outside, soft inside and coated with herbs and salt.  After a taste of the slider, husband declared that he was in food heaven. The two bite size beef burgers were topped with a red onions and a velvety mushroom sauce.  My salad was an excellent combination of crispy cos lettuce leaves, grilled chicken, artichoke, haloumi, sundried tomato, walnuts and of course, asparagus. The zesty mayo on the side was a perfect accompaniment.

 On the counter was a selection of cakes and pastries. As much as I wanted to try a piece of the chocolate cake and the carrot cake, I did resist. We did walk away with a Nutella Chocolate and Banana (named Curios George) Dope Donut (R25) to enjoy at home.  The artisan donut had a crisp exterior and soft, almost gooey centre. (@thedopeddonuts)

Daleahs eatery will be seeing us again soon. The relaxed atmosphere, the full-flavoured food and the friendly service make it a little gem worth revisiting.

6 de Beer Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg

Tel: 011 403 0243
Open Tuesday to Friday 08:30 – 17:30  & Saturday 9:00 – 17:30
Free wi-fi
www.facebook.com/daleahs
@daleahseatery
daleahs.eatery@gmail.com
(An edited version of this review appeared here)

Restaurant Review: The Wolfpack

The original review appeared on The Food Blog Joburg

In our house, Thursday is burger night. We love making homemade burgers and each of us has a secret recipe. While we can appreciate the simple burger, we also seek perfection, ie. The Burger Holy Grail. When we heard about The Wolfpack in Parkhurst we had high hopes.

We stopped by one Thursday night in January, only to be told that they were fully booked… for two weeks. So we made a reservation to find out what the fuss was about.

We arrived to a nearly full restaurant. A friendly waiter presented us with menus for a variety of burgers, craft beers and wine. The crowd was a mix of young and old, small groups and intimate tables. The upstairs area* is popular for parties and a few tables outside for those who love people watching.

The burger selection is extensive and includes an ostrich, a lamb, chicken and a few vegetarian options.

We tried the Harissa Lamb Burger (R93.00) and the Good Ol’ Cheese burger (R72.00). Along with each burger you can choose “Fresh or Fried” sides. As tempted as I was by the healthy sounding Asian salad or the tomato, red onion and oregano salad, I decided on the shoe lace fries with garlic aioli. My burger partner ordered the sweet potato chips with hummus, although the crispy wasabi onion rings were a close second.

Feeling like a MasterChef judge, I cut my burger in half and found it to be perfectly medium – just as I’d ordered. The toppings were generous and the combinations were great. The fries were crunchy,  the garlic not too overwhelming. Knives and forks down, we joined the rest of the crowd and ate with our hands – the only way to enjoy a juicy burger. There was enough crunch, enough sauce and more than enough flavour.

The lamb burger was slightly spicy but softened by the minty pesto, black peppered tomatoes and baby spinach. And the good ol’ cheese? Exactly what you expected from a classic burger – melted cheddar cheese, tomato, lettuce and gherkins. You don’t need to change a classic, you just need to do it well.

The dessert menu is limited to weird and wonderful homemade ice-creams. Not ideal for my burger partner, Mr. Lactose Intolerant. I tried the olive oil and smoked sea salt flavour  – it was the perfect way to end the meal.

The Wolfpack offers a relaxed setting with good, honest burgers. The staff are friendly and the chefs know what they’re doing. Whether it is the best burger joint in Joburg, well, we have a few places still to try, but it’s definitely a major contender.

Thursday Night is Burger Night - Homemade Fish Burgers

Let's catch up on TGIBN "Thank Goodness it's Burger Night"

Thursday night is burger night. It's a thing started by MrB's family and now it's a regular this at our house. Every Thursday we have burgers - homemade, take out or store bought.

It's almost gone viral amongst our friends.

Thursday we receive messages from friends around the world sharing their burgers, the recipes, the stories. It's kinda awesome!

 

We wanted to make fish burgers - homemade of course - but we also wanted something tasty and healthy. So we ended up with affordable and tasty.

They were easy to make and tastier than I had hoped. I am still craving these!

 

Homemade Tinned Salmon Burgers

 Yields 4 good size patties

 

1 tin (200g) tinned salmon

1/2 onion, chopped fine

1/2 green pepper, chopped fine (you can use carrots, celery or get creative with a combo of capers, olives etc)

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp garlic, chopped

1 egg

oil for frying

rolls, lettuce, mayonaise and fresh herbs

lemon wedges

 

Drain the liquid from the salmon. Carefully remove any bones.

Flake the salmon into a bowl and add the onion, pepper etc. Add the breadcrumbs, egg, lemon juice and mix well. Shape your mixture to burger patties.

You can cook these straight away or leave them to set and cook when needed.

 

In a heavy based pan, heat the oil to a medium heat.

Place the patties in the oil and cover the pan. Cook on each side for about 5 minutes or until firm.

 

Chop some herbs and mix in with your mayo (we used coriander).

Assemble your burger:

cut the rolls

place some lettuce on the bottom roll

place your salmon patty

Add some of the herb mayo mix and squueze a bit of lemon juice to taste

 

Enjoy!!

 

July Recipe a Week Challenge: Week 6

 
 

The last week of the July Recipe Challenge and it ends with dessert. A little sweetness to finish off the challenge. Once again I gave MrB the choice of which dish he wanted me to make (let’s be real, it’s for him anyway). I had my fingers crossed that he would select Tiramisu which is my favourite dessert. I just love the richy creaminess and the coffee/chocolate combination. But so few places do it right and often all you taste is alcohol and gelatine.

MrB chose the Lamington Slice. To be honest, I wasn’t very happy or excited when this was the result. I have never been a big fan of these cake and coconut combo. This is part of the challenge though, right? To step out of the comfort zone and to try something new. And if Lauren was willing to try anchovies, I could make this cake.

I decided to make it as a dessert for the family Sunday lunch after everyone completed Walk the Talk (some treats after the 8km walk sounded like a great plan!). It was really easy to make and it didn’t take long at all. Everyone said they really enjoyed it (although I do suspect they are just being nice). I must confess I was a little annoyed that the recipe is all in weight measurements. We don’t have a kitchen scale. I ended up guessing my way through it.

On Monday the leftovers were sent to MrB’s work for his team to enjoy. He shared some photos of the Lamington’s on site.

See the original recipe here

 

Donna Hay’s Lamington Slice

250g butter at room temperature

2 ¾ cups caster sugar
2tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 ½ cups flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
250ml milk

2 cups icing sugar

80ml cocoa powder
150ml boiling water
50g butter, melted

 

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Grease and line a 30cm rectangular cake pan with baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, caster sugar and vanilla extract. Beat well until light and creamy.
Add the eggs one by one and mix well after each addition
In a separate bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together.
Add a little bit of flour to the butter and egg mixture. Mix well. Then add a little bit milk and mix well. Continue adding the flour and milk, alternating between the two. Mix well after each addition.
Spoon the batter into the cake tin and smooth over.
Bake in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes
Remove from the oven and leave in the tin to cool
For the icing, mix all the ingredients together.
When the cake is cool, pour the icing over the cake. Sprinkle with coconut.
Allow to sit for 10 minutes and serve.
 

Enjoy!

 

Go ahead and see what the other ladies made this week

 

Some sweetness during MrB's work day

Adding some life to the site "kitchen"


 

July Recipe a Week Challenge: Week 5

 

 

 

Cold weather and an injury had me craving comfort food. The kind of food I didn't have much of as a child growing up but still made me feel like a kid. I wanted the taste of real Mac & Cheese. Not the tasteless almost cheeseless macaroni we buy readymade in the shops.

MrB and I try to eat vegetarian at least once a week. I was excited to try a few more vegetarian options to add our monthly menu.

This mac & cheese was delicious. Creamy, cheesy, comforting.

Eaten as leftovers the next day was just as delicious. The dish in the pictures looks big but it's really shallow so please don't think we had large portions. Ah, who am I kidding, we had genrous helpings! 

I do need to go to gym or take a run to make up for my indulgence. If only my knee would get better faster!

You can use any three cheeses with mozarella as the 4th for the topping. We used a milky gouda, a mature cheddar for strong flavour and a lite Danish feta to balance the yellow cheese. If we could find a goat's milk gouda I was going to use that along with haloumi but our local store was out of stock and I wasn't keen to drive all over the city. This is a great way to use up your left over cheeses.

Serve as is or with a side salad. View the original recipe here

 

3-Cheese Mac 'n Cheese

Serves 4 or 2 plus leftovers 

 

500g Macaroni

100g margarine

1 cup flour

100ml milk

400ml chicken stock

2 cups grated cheese

1/2 tsp paprika (not too much - just enough to enhance the cheese flavour)

1tsp Dijon mustard (you can use any mustard)

Salt & pepper to taste (not really needed with our feta cheese)

1 cup grated mozarella cheese

 

I put some water on to boil, added loads of salt and got my macaroni on the go. It needs to be pre-cooked but I decided to make it as i made the cheese sauce. Set the oven to 180 degrees.

 

Now to make the basic white sauce. In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and mix with the butter to create a thick paste. Allow to cook for a minute. Add a bit of the milk. Mix it with the paste so that it forms a thicker paste. Add more milk and repeat. Once the milk has been added, ad the chicken stock in stages. If the sauce looks a little runny, don't worry too much.

Take off the heat and add the cheese and the spices. The cheese will thicken the sauce. I used a salty feta so I didn't need to add salt.

Mix the macaroni and the cheese sauce and pour into your baking dish. Sprinkle the mozarella cheese on top. Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until the cheese is golden.

Allow to stand for 5 minutes and serve.

 

 

Go and have a look at what the rest of the ladies made this week in the July Recipe a Week Challenge

A winter's day dreaming - freshly baked bread

 

I don't bake, that I have said many many times before. I try to bake and sometimes I pull it off but mostly, I have no natural affinity for this art.

MrB - the scientist - is much better at baking.

He is precise and methodical - qualities that are important when baking.

 

When I showed MrB the baking options for the July Recipe a Week Challenge, he eagerly offered to make the bread option.

He cooked his potatoes and began mixing the dough. He mixed the potatoes, the cheese and the herbs

The house smelled like a rosemary bush. It felt like I was in heaven. And this was only the dough.

When the bread was in the oven, the aromas filling our home was just incredible. I couldn't wait to break into the warm delicious loaves.

There is something heart-warming about a house filled with freshly baked bread.

 

 

We tucked in. Between 6 of us we finished two loaves of this incredible bread.

We sat outside in the winter sun, eating this bread, drinking wine and laughing at good memories.

Large chunks of bread was dipped into balsamic vinegar and olive oil - a classic combination that compliments the pecorino cheese and rosemary of the bread.

MrB had selected a few cheeses to enjoy with the bread.

What a feast!

If anyone does want to to bake the bread - here is the recipe

 

Have a wonderful weekend!