May 26, 2023
Whether it’s keeping the kids occupied while you get your grill on or smashing up a refreshing fruity libation – our friend Evette Rios shows us some fun, easy and creative backyard DIY projects!
Mojito recipe
- 10 fresh mint leaves
- ½ medium lime
- cut into 3 wedges
- divided 2 tablespoons white sugar, or to taste
- 1 cup ice cubes, or as needed
- 1 ½ fluid ounces white rum
- ½ cup club soda, or as needed
Cheese board Fondue in a Bread Bowl
Ingredients:
- 28 ounces mixed cheese, predominantly
- hard cheeses such as cave-aged Gruyère,
- mature Cheddar, Taleggio
- 1 large sourdough loaf 8 ounces or 250ml
- dry white wine
- 1 lemon
- 1 heaped tbsp plain flour
- 1 garlic clove
- A pinch or two of chili powder
- Freshly ground pepper
- Fixins for dipping, bread, broccoli, carrots, pretzel bites, cauliflower, cured meats
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Lay your cheeses out on your chopping board in order of hardness.
- Coarsley grate the cheese, chopping any soft cheeses into small pieces. Keep the cheeses in order.
- Slice the top of the sourdough off. Scoop the inside out of the main piece, creating a large bowl shape (leave a little bread at the edges).
- Pop the hollowed out loaf onto a large baking tray. Tear the lid and scooped out bread into bite-sized pieces and scatter onto the tray around the loaf.
- Slide the bread into the oven and bake for 10 mins, till crispy at the edges.
- Meanwhile, pour 8 ounces dry white wine into a large pan. Squeeze in the lemon juice and spoon in 1 heaped tbsp plain flour.
- Peel the garlic clove and neatly grate it into the pan. Whisk everything together, till the flour is dissolved, then pop the pan onto a medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking from time to time.
- When the wine mixture is simmering, reduce the heat. Add a handful of the hardest grated cheese and whisk continuously, till melted and well combined. Carry on adding and stirring the cheese a little at a time, moving from hardest to softest, till all of the cheese is melted into a thick sauce. The key to this process is not to let the pan get too hot. It should be warm enough to melt the cheese without reaching a simmer.
- Remove the bread from the oven. Ladle the cheese sauce into the hollowed out loaf. Sprinkle the top with a pinch or two of chilli powder and freshly ground pepper. Serve the fondue immediately, with fix-ins
