Most of my family’s meals are home cooked. I find home cooking has many benefits; it can be healthier, more economical, comforting and at times more convenient than eating out (especially if it’s pouring with rain and the prospect of rummaging around for parkas and piling children in and out of cars is too much to attempt). 

Having said that, I do enjoy eating out – VERY much. This is especially the case when the food is made by a skilful hand, using good quality, seasonal ingredients and served with a smile. The inspiration for some of my home cooked dishes comes from memorable meals that I have eaten in restaurants and cafes. 


One of my family’s favourite dinners is home made pie with fluffy mashed potato and a crisp, lightly dressed salad. The older ones still recall eating a similar meal at The Berry Farm in Margaret River, Western Australia a few years ago. 


I have an excellent recipe for a chunky beef and vegetable pie, oozing rosemary infused gravy which I must make once again and add to this blog. This evening however, I took a delicious short cut and picked up a freshly made Osso Bucco pie from one of my favourite local cafes, Locantro Fine Foods. When I’ve served this up in the past, my family thought I had made it, that’s how high the “home made factor” is.

Busy people with extraordinarily long “to-do” lists need to have a reliable standby. If you have a Brady Bunch Alice style of family cook/maid in the kitchen; or a mother willing to cook up meals at short notice who lives around the corner and not 3,500 kilometres away, then there is no need to consider the standby option. For most multi-tasking mothers, me included, a standby option is essential to help lower stress levels.

I warmed the pie in a preheated oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees. Meanwhile I made the fluffy mash, using 8 large Desiree potatoes, 125 grams of unsalted butter, half a cup of warm milk, ground sea salt to taste. A gorgeously colourful, crisp green salad that I call my “Sicilian Salad” was served alongside the pie and mash and wolfed down in record time.

Sicilian Salad (to serve 8)

2 Baby cos lettuce, washed and torn into smaller pieces


1 punnet of super sweet grape tomatoes

1 tub of baby bocconcini (about 200-250 grams)

125 grams Sicilian olives

The dressing is made with 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard. Whisk together and toss through the salad.