Wine and Food Guide

This is an utterly scrumptious cake as it is loaded with juicy apples, topped with a light batter and baked until golden.

The texture, or ''mouthfeel'', of a wine contributes to the wine's character and complexity. Alcohol, tannins, polysaccharides and other compounds in wine influence the texture, the tactile sense of the wine on the mouth, tongue and throat.

Daniel Pfyl, hospitality management lecturer at Otago Polytechnic, shares some professional techniques to make your cooking easier. Today, he shares some winter recipes from his native Switzerland.

I've had to drag myself away from making risotto.

If you are looking for unusual cakes, you'll find them in The Caker by Jordan Rondel (Random House).

I love buttermilk and when combined in a dressing, it becomes quite decadent.

Ask a Chef reveals the secrets of those superb dishes you ate in cafes and restaurants and wanted to try yourself.

Some producers are hard to beat. Waipara-based Pegasus Bay is one of them.

Last Saturday night after a few too many wines my cheerful alter ego offered to make dinner for a couple of male friends.