“Entertaining is all about having good company. And there are lots of things you can do in the kitchen that will make a good impression on your guests, without you having to spend a lot of money and time on them,” says Adam.
Help & support
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
4 eggs
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
200g thick-cut bacon or speck,
cut into very thick lardons
1 short baguette (about 20cm)
25g butter
½ red onion, finely minced
¼ cup red-wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 head frisée (curly endive)
lettuce, washed, spun dry and torn
Salt and black pepper, to season
Method
Bring a saucepan of water to a simmer and crack in the eggs. Poach the eggs for about four minutes then drain and set aside. While the eggs are poaching, heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the oil and bacon. Fry the bacon for about five minutes until browned and the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon from the pan, reserving the fat and oil in the pan.
Cut the baguette in half crossways and split in half lengthways. Drizzle each slice of the bread with a little of the reserved oil in the pan (leaving plenty in the pan for the dressing) and spread with butter. Grill the bread on the cut side until golden.
Add the onion to the oil remaining in the pan and fry for two to three minutes, until softened then add the vinegar and mustard and whisk to combine. Pour the warm dressing over the lettuce and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide lettuce between serving plates and scatter with the bacon. Top each with a poached egg and serve with a piece of baguette.
Tip: Stress less about poaching eggs
“Poaching eggs is as simple as cracking fresh eggs into simmering water. Don’t overcomplicate or overthink it.”
Honey mustard chicken cutlets
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Resting time: 5 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients
3 red onions, cut into wedges
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup dijon mustard
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
½ tsp salt
10 thyme sprigs, leaves stripped
6 chicken thigh cutlets (bone-in, skin on)
Black pepper, to season
Method
Heat your oven to 200°C (fan-forced) and line a roasting tin with baking paper. Toss the onion in the oil in a large bowl and arrange in the prepared tin, leaving any remaining oil in the bowl. Add the honey, mustard, vinegar, salt and thyme to the bowl and mix to combine. Roll the chicken thighs through the mixture and place in the roasting tin with the onions. Pour in remaining mixture, season with black pepper and roast in the oven for 45 minutes. Allow to stand for five minutes then serve.
Tip: Easy bulk baking
“Tray bakes are easily scalable both up and down and you don’t have to change the cooking time. If you have more people, just use more chicken and onions and put them in a bigger roasting tin.”
Edamame succotash
“Succotash is most commonly made with lima beans but you can use any beans you like.”
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
150g bacon or speck, cut into thick lardons
1 small onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red capsicum, finely diced
2 cups frozen edamame
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and black pepper, to season
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
25g butter
1 tsp apple-cider vinegar
¼ cup roughly chopped basil
¼ cup roughly chopped parsley
Method
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add the oil and bacon. Fry the bacon until crisp then remove from the pan.
Add the onion and garlic and fry for about four minutes until softened. Add the capsicum and cook for about two minutes. Add the edamame, corn and paprika and season well with salt and pepper.
Cook for about five minutes then return the bacon to the pan with the cherry tomatoes and butter, toss together and cook for about a minute just to melt the butter and soften the tomatoes. Stir through the vinegar, basil and parsley to serve.
Tip: Save on fresh herbs
“If you don’t have fresh herbs on hand for this dish, you can also use dried. Add them a little earlier in the cooking process so that they can release more of their flavour.”
Honey-toast sundaes
“When you put a dessert like this out, people think, ‘Wow. I’m going to make that!’ It’s fun, it looks impressive and it tastes great.”
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves: 8
Ingredients
1 loaf soft, unsliced white bread
125g unsalted butter, melted
50g dark brown sugar
¼ cup honey, plus extra to serve
TO SERVE
½ punnet fresh strawberries, halved or quartered
500ml vanilla ice cream
Chocolate topping and crushed
Biscoff biscuits, to serve
Method
Heat your oven to 200ºC. Remove the crusts from the loaf and cut in half lengthways. Place on a tray lined with baking paper.
Combine the butter with the sugar and honey. Brush bread all over with butter mixture. Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes or until golden and toasted. Remove and cool slightly.
To serve, place one piece of toasted bread on a plate. Top with half the ice cream, strawberries and biscuits. Drizzle with half the chocolate topping and extra honey. Top with remaining bread and ice cream, plus strawberries, biscuits, chocolate topping and honey. Serve immediately.
Tip: Keep it simple, folks
“People often try to show off when entertaining but you don’t have to overcomplicate things.”
Some of these recipes are edited extracts from Time for Dinner by Adam Liaw (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $49.99).
To see Adam Liaw entertain The Brighter Side crew with this dessert plus more of his clever kitchen ideas, stream The Brighter Side on 10.
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Published: 14 November 2025