On Sundays in South Africa, you can smell these curried lamb skewers cooking over live fires throughout every neighborhood as families gather around the braai, an Afrikaans word that describes both the social event and the actual technique of grilling over a live fire. These sweet and savory skewers can be made with pork, beef, or lamb and are displayed in almost every South African butcher’s counter or grocery store, already prepped and marinated for convenience. Stateside, I make my own sosaties with boneless lamb and marinate them overnight when time permits. We love serving these to guests who visit our home for a braai, with a round of Springbokkie (a traditional peppermint liqueur shot)—the best conversation starter!
My nonnie loved a good dinner party and was a pro at effortlessly entertaining a crowd. I can’t say she enjoyed spending much time in the kitchen cooking, but she could conjure up a delicious dinner with minimal effort. One of her tricks was using a mix of store-bought and homemade ingredients, perhaps leaning heavily on the former, but her food always tasted GOOD. Nonnie got this recipe for apricot chicken from her neighbor in Florida. She served it the night we arrived to visit her for Easter one year—she called it “First Night Apricot Chicken.” Apparently, she made it the first night any of her many guests arrived. (When you spend the winters in Florida, you get a lot of visitors.) Well, we devoured it. This recipe is really all about the sauce, and it’s a combo I never would have dreamed up. The three main ingredients sound odd together but are magic. They create a sticky, sweet, and savory chicken that will satisfy all your cravings. I serve mine with roasted broccoli and rice, but Nonnie often did mashed potatoes and asparagus. Take your pick! Either way, you’ll end up with a stress-free dinner that’s full of love.
The ability to serve French toast for a brunch party without slaving at the stovetop for hours is a beautiful thing.
You can spread the sauce on tortillas, roast chicken or meats in it, use it to dress a jicama-orange salad…you get the gist. This sauce is meant to be hot, but if you use only one can of the chipotles in adobo and the full amount of the jam, it’s fairly calm.
Sweet, tart and snappy with healthy shots of hot sauce, and grilled to near potato chip crispness, in our book the chicken wing approaches celestial perfection. Neither light meat nor dark, they are a coupling of both, and nothing pulls in flavor and crisps up in cooking quite like wings. It’s that wonderful proportion of luscious skin to meat and bone.
Excellent hot, at room temperature, or cold, these will keep 5 days in the refrigerator and reheat nicely.
One year when I attempted a traditional Christmas cake, I did as required, at least to start off with. The requisite months before, I bought dried fruit, chopped and stirred and steeped the mixture in alcohol. When the time came to make the cake, I was so exhausted with seasonal demands I didn't have the energy left actually to make it. So now I have evolved an easier, process-leaner method. Well, when I say I have evolved it, this is no more than my take on an old boiled fruit cake.