Luke Nguyen makes Vietnamese cooking simple, and this is one of his recipies.  I first saw it on his TV show, and it was so simple I just had to try it, especially as they take just minutes on the BBQ.

You can use beef (fillet steak) instead of pork, and pop it into the freezer for about an hour so that it is easy to slice really thinly.  Make sure the BBQ is red hot and ready to go, but make sure you soak your skewers so that they do not burn. This dish is marinated for at least 2 hours, but overnight is best. 

I serve the skewers with a simple salad with peanuts on top, and a bowl of vermicelli noodles that have a few drops of sesame oil in them, along with some home made sweet chili sauce.  You can sprinkle the skewers with sesame seeds or coriander.

Little morsels of tender chicken.

Thanks to Madue Jaffrey for this wonderful recipie from many years ago.  It is so simple and you can make it in the oven.  But you MUST get the oven to the highest temperature possible, so preheating is the first step.  The chicken needs to be marinated overnight.  Don't be worried too much about the quantity of chicken, it is a forgiving recipie.  I was served Tandoori Chicken with coriander leaves sprinkled on the top at a wedding (the bride was from a traditional Indian family) and it tastes wonderful.

 

Pate for a dinner party

I found this recipie many years ago, and have made it for lots dinner parties as an entree back in the 1970's.  I make it in little pots, one for each person, and serve it with little triangles of toast.  It is a very simple, old school recipie, and I think it came from a french cook book I had.

You can sprinkle each pot with thyme and seal with clarified butter for a very professional look.  You can also serve this with toasted french bread and onion jam.

Rev up a Rissole

These are variations on the basic 500g of lean beef mince rissoles.  Cook rissoles on a char grill or in a non stick fry-pan.  Just change the rissole to suit the mood by adding in these ingredients.

 

Sweet Chilli Sauce

This recipie replaces one standard bottle of the sauce.  Instead of ginger you can use 1 lemongrass stalk.  How hot you want it is determined by what type of chillies you use, and whether you leave the seeds in.  The smaller the chilli and the more seeds the hotter it will be.  You can use it right away, as all the ingredients are cooked it does not need to mature.

 

Found the mousse at last

I lost my choclate mousse recipie, but thanks to a blog called Health Inspirations, (actually, her mum!) I found one that looks exactly as I remember it; and this is also her photo.   

This is a soft, rich mousse that has raw egg, just like the original French one I had, so it is not suitable for anyone who is pregnant.  (raw egg is a problem in some countries, fortunately not mine!)

 You can play around with the amounts of chocolate you want to use. I recommend using 1 bar {which is equivalent to 100g or just over 3.5 ounces} but depending on how rich you want it to be you can modify it slightly. Use at least 70% cocoa butter chocolate, not a compound or milk chocolate. The recipe yields enough for a big bowl which should generously feed 5-6 people for dessert. 

My family's favourite

Lemon Meringue Pie is the favourite dessert for my family.  I don't use the recipie anymore as I know it off by heart.  

Anytime the lemon or lime tree is abundant, out comes the pie.  I use a mixture of lime and lemon when I am using up the limes, as lime on its own is a bit too strong.  You don't have to put the coconut on the top, but we love it that way.  You can make the pie early in the day, don't put it in the fridge unless it is a hot day, and then just do the meringue at the last minute.  The lemon butter can be made ahead of time, and put into the fridge for up to 2 weeks.  To save time, I use a pre-made pastry pie crust, but you can use your favourite pastry recipie.  Most important: have the eggs,whites,  pastry and butter at room temp; and pre heat the oven for the meringue.

If you are in a real hurry, you can make the filling out of 2tbls cornflour, juice and rind of 4 lemons, 250g sugar, cook until thick; then whisk in the 120g butter.  Note, this does not keep.

Once you make this pie, it will be on the menu for the family forever.