Three Dishes for Three Moods

What are your family’s top 3 favourite meals?

1. Garlic Sesame Crumbed Chicken with Mango Salad
You always know summer is on its way when the roadside stalls start shouting the news before anyone else can: “Mangoes.  $10 per tray”. In our family, that’s the signal. The starting gun. My wife will inevitably call out, “Mangoes are in season—you know what that means!” and suddenly we’re all thinking of this meal. Fresh, crunchy, bright, it’s the first hint that holidays, long evenings and outdoor dinners are almost here. This dish didn’t just become a favourite—it announced its own arrival each November and has held its place ever since.

2. Baked Mushrooms with Garlic, Parsley and Cream Cheese
This one surprised us. It began as a simple attempt at a vegetarian option but quickly became “the dish.” Every time it appears, someone says, “This tastes like it belongs in a restaurant,” and they mean it. The mushrooms come out bubbling and golden, the garlic and parsley doing exactly what garlic and parsley were created to do. It’s the quiet achiever that became a classic.

3. Rabbit with Mustard Sauce
This dish has roots. It feels traditional—something slow, simple, and generous—but it also carries the brightness of crème fraîche, mustard, ginger, shallots, parsley, garlic, rosemary. We first made it on a whim, and it immediately became one of those meals that makes the house smell like more than dinner. Rabbit is always good, but this version gave it a freshness that surprised everyone around the table. It became a favourite because it felt both old and new at the same time.