Risotto is really delicious at any time of the day and the addition of beetroot makes this pretty much a super-food, as beetroot are a rich source of potent antioxidants and nutrients. Next time I am going to scatter some

• 200 g Cooked beetroot
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Shallot, finely chopped
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 130 g Risotto rice
• 80 ml White wine
• 400 ml Hot vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp Parmesan, finely grated
• Handful of arugula

1. Puree half of the cooked beetroot and cut another half into small pieces. Ser aside. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Tip in shallot and garlic, then stir until translucent. Stir in rice until well-coated with oil. Pour in the white wine and beetroot puree. Simmer until all is absorbed.
2. Pour in a third of the hot vegetable stock and set the timer to 18 mins. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the stock has been absorbed, then add half the rest of the stock and continue cooking and stirring until that has been absorbed.
3. Add in the rest of the stock, stir, then simmer until cooked. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in most of the Parmesan, arugula and the diced beetroot through the risotto. Serve with Parmesan and arugula scattered on top.

Linzer cookies based on traditional Austrian Linzertorte, are one of the common Christmas cookies in Germany. They are nutty, rich and SWEET. Traditionally they are filled with black currant jam, but any other fruit preserves can be used to fill the cookies. Rather than almonds, nuts such as hazelnuts, pecan, can be substituted to make Linzer dough.

Created in Linz, Austria in the 17th century, the Linzer torte is the world's oldest torte recipe. Tortes use nuts rather than flour as the main dough ingredient. The Linzer torte features an almond-based crust filled with black current preserves and topped with a lattice crust. In the 19th century, the Linzer torte was adapted into the present-day Linzer cookie.

1. Cut the orange into halves, put the half of the orange face down on the juicer and rotate it to get the juice. Place orange juice, red wine, canning sugar, star anises, cinnamon stick, and cloves in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for about 4 minutes. Strain the jelly through a sieve. Set aside.
2. Beat butter, sugar, pinch of salt and egg yolk until combined. Add in ground almond, spekulatius spice and flour. Mix all the ingredients together with your hands until you have smooth dough. Flatten the dough into a 5-inch disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
3. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Roll out the dough into a 4mm thick round between 2 sheets of wax paper. Cut 2-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter and place them on the prepared trays. With half of the rounds, cut a hole from the middle of each round with a heart or flower shaped cutter.
4. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Spread mulled wine jelly thinly on the flat side of each solid cookie. Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with confectioners' sugar and press the flat sides together. Fill the holes with little more jelly. Store them in your cookie box, separating the layers with waxed paper, and store for up to 2 weeks.

The red wine gives the pasta an unique deep purple colour and a sublime, earthy flavour complemented by a handful of rich, peppery arugula and sharp, nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano.

• 200 g Spaghetti
• 350 ml South African Pinotage
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 clove Garlic, sliced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
• 50 g Arugula

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. The pasta will finish cooking in the red wine. Drain the pasta and set aside.
2. Add the pinotage and sugar to the pasta pot. Bring it to a boil over high heat and cook until reduced by half, about 5-8 minutes. Add in spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the red wine is absorbed and the spaghetti is al dente, about 3 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in olive oil, reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in garlic until golden. Turn the heat off. Add in pasta, arugula, salt and pepper, toss gently and transfer to serving plates. Sprinkle with the cheese and serve.

Thank you, Elisabeth at Food and Thrift Finds, and Joudie at Moodfood Blog, for sharing this one lovely blog award with me. And I also want to express my sincere appreciation to Gina at What's for Dinner across State Lines, and Alisha at The Ardent Epicure for thinking of me in the "Tag Game".

Red cabbage, with an attractive dark purple colour and undeserved bad reputation, is Fat-Free, Cholesterol-Free, and rich in vitamin A, B, C, E. Talk about the perfect weight loss food!
My husband simply frowns on the idea of cooking him some red cabbages. He even dislike the word "Kohl or cabbage in English". He didn't touch a single bit of it. Well, take it or leave it. So red cabbage anyone?

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
  
• 1250 g Red cabbages, quartered, cored and shredded
  
• 2 Apples, peeled and cored and chopped
  
• 1 tbsp Ginger root, finely shredded
  
• 2 Onion, sliced
  
• 1 tsp Allspice, ground
  
• 1 tbsp Mustard seeds
  
• 80 g Golden caster sugar
  
• 40 ml White wine vinegar
  
• 300 ml Apple cider©angiesrecipes
  

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan, add cabbage, apples, ginger, onions, allspice and mustard seeds. Cook for 5 minutes until just starting to wilt.
   
2. Scatter over the sugar and pour in the wine vinegar and cider. Cook, covered, over the low heat for 15 minutes, then remove the lid and turn up the heat to medium. Simmer the cabbage for about 35 minutes, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has evaporated.

"Piccata" translates to piquant or piquancy, which in one definition means tart or zesty. When used in reference to a way of preparing food, particularly meat or fish, it means "sliced, sautéed, and served in a sauce containing lemon juice, white wine and capers. Fish piccata can be served with rice or pasta as a side dish.
Recipe Source: Great Chefs Cook Italian

• 2-3 Fish fillets, cut into half
  
• 2 tbsp Plain flour
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• 15 g Butter
  
• 50 ml Olive oil
  
• 60 ml White wine
  
• 1 tbsp Capers, drained
  
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice

1. In a shallow dish, combine the flour, a little of salt and pepper. Dredge the fish lightly in flour mixture.
   
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Add fish and cook until fish just begins to flake. Remove fish from pan and keep warm.
   
3. Add white wine, lemon juice, and capers to the skillet. Stir well and heat the sauce thoroughly. Serve fish with sauce and pasta.

Nothing fancy. Just an ordinary but very delectable white fish and tomato sauce for pasta that works perfectly as a one-course meal.

1. Rinse and dry the fish fillet. Sprinkle both sides lightly with salt and pepper. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until tender, yet al dente, about 8 minutes.
   
2. In a large saucepan over low heat, gently sauté the garlic in olive oil until aromatic. Add in chopped anchovy, stirring briefly, then add in chopped onion and stir until softened. Stir in capers, olives, chilli flakes, and the parsley. Then pour in the white wine and cook until it reduces a bit. Now add in the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil.
   
3. Put the fish into the saucepan, covering with the sauce. Cook 15 minutes until it is cooked through. Flake the fish and continue to cook briefly. Drain the spaghetti and add to the sauce.

Spaghetti With Cape Hake Sauce

This easy and tasty cake is flavored with red wine, chocolate chips and cherry. Do not worry about the alcohol, which evaporates in the hot oven. Best baked a day before serving.

1. Roast the hazelnuts for a few minutes in a dry skillet and allow to cool. Grease a 26cm cake pan. Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F.
   把榛子先烘烤几分钟晾凉备用。26厘米圆烤盘抹油，预热烤箱到180 C/350 F（预热烤箱需要10-15分钟，如果你的工具齐全，那么准备工作很快就好了，这样烤箱预热好了，蛋糕糊也齐了。
   
2. Beat the softened butter with the sugar and vanilla sugar until creamy, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
   把牛油，砂糖和香草糖打发，然后一个一个把鸡蛋加进去搅打均匀。
   
3. Gradually add the red wine while still mixing. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and add to the mixture. Add the cinnamon and the cocoa. Mix the hazelnuts together with the flour and the baking powder and fold into the mixture.
   徐徐把红酒倒进，边加边搅打。把巧克力切碎也一并加入。加入肉桂和可可粉。面粉，烤粉及榛子混合后一起加入拌匀成蛋糕糊。
   
4. Fill the cake pan with the cake mixture and lightly press 200g of cherries into the dough. The cherries will sink into the cake when baking.
   把蛋糕糊倒入备好的烤模中，把樱桃轻轻挤入面糊。樱桃在烘烤过程中会沉到面团里头。
   
5. Bake for approx. 1 hour. The cake is baked through when you insert a skewer and it remains clean. When the cake has cooled decorate with whipped cream and cherries. Or just simply dust the cake with some icing sugar.
   烘焙大约1小时。用支竹签或是细筷子插入蛋糕中间，取出要是干净的就是烤好了。可以配上一些樱桃和掼奶油一起食用。或是洒些糖粉即可。