All the best dishes to create and taste and the foodie events to get to over the long weekend.
DINING OUT
Looking for a new inner-city eating spot? Hugo's is a great option for CBD diners, finds Jesse Mulligan.
Labour Weekend Food News: Waiheke eats, pumpkin brulee and Oktoberfest
Get ready for Oktoberfest. Photo / Getty Images
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"The menu choices are mostly tasty twists on standards, a selection of small plates for sharing and then some bigger dishes which act as mains.
"One favourite from those tapas was the capsicum, grilled, peeled and stripped then served with goat's cheese and smashed almonds - with beautiful ingredients like that, simple is good."
See his full review over on viva.co.nz.
• New opening: The Courtyard, Waiheke
Park yourself in this dream spot this summer, and sip on a glass of Aperol spritz, writes India Essuah.
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"Open all day in Oneroa, The Courtyard's menu is a mix of hard-to-beat classics and innovative dishes. For breakfast you can choose between smoothie bowls and bacon and eggs or branch out into Indo crumpets with banana maple, salted peanuts and cheese, or cauliflower rice nasi goreng."
Find out more over on viva.co.nz.
DINING IN
• Use your nuts in the kitchen
Nuts are one of the most versatile ingredients. They can be used raw, roasted, blanched, chopped, slivered or ground to a powder-like substitute for flour. Ray McVinnie has a few ideas on how to use them in both savoury and sweet dishes.
See the story over on bite.co.nz.
• Recipe: Orecchiette with anchovies and asparagus
Orecchiette is a distinctive Puglian pasta roughly shaped like small ears - hence the name. Pair with asparagus or broccoli florets and anchovy for a quick and easy meal.
See the recipe here on bite.co.nz.
A simple pumpkin custard with a sprinkling of parmesan is roasted to caramelised deliciousness in this intriguing savoury brulee by Viva's Angela Casley.
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See the recipe on viva.co.nz here.
HEALTH FIX
• The dirty truth about clean-eating
Could this gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, fat-free (fun-free) life actually be doing you more harm than good?
• Have you been making cheese toasties wrong?
The dish is seemingly simple. But what if we told you there's a better way to make a toastie to ensure that your bread is always perfectly crispy, without having to use even a lick of butter?
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• The secret to making butter spread further
One Kiwi cooking teacher may have the answer to help you save on what's becoming a notoriously expensive staple.
And you'll reduce the saturated fat levels at the same time.
FOODIE EVENTS
• Cloudy Bay pop-up opens at Prego
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Ponsonby Road's iconic Prego restaurant has created a secret garden oasis in a previously unseen back courtyard of the restaurant.
The Cloudy Bay pop-up bar is now open for the month of October and Aucklanders are being encouraged to head along and try the unique food and Cloudy Bay wine pairings.
Prego's head chef Lennox Bull will showcase his creative gastronomic skills and introduce new food and wine offerings to the Prego menu.
Now open to the public for the next month until Wednesday 15th November.
Check out Ostro's new look dining room with dinner and a show by Jason Kerrison. Enjoy tasting Mt Difficulty wines as you sample a menu created by chefs Josh Emett and Daniel Na plus a special addition cheese course by Puhoi Valley Cheese.
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Book online for dinner and a show here.
• Celebrate Oktoberfest and watch a sausage dog race
The German festival will be celebrated in style with Steins of beer, homemade pretzels, spot prizes and tunes at Ponsonby Road's Chapel Bar and Bistro.
As an added bonus, the bar is bringing back their highly popular sausage dog race. So if you have a speedy sausie dog and want to get them involved, head to the Facebook event here.
