What would you need to prepare the Deli plate:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Glass bowls for marinating
Marinated Mushrooms
Ingredients:
2 table spoons lemon juice
2 table spoons olive oil
2 teaspoons soft brown sugar
1 table spoon chopped parsley
1 clove crushed garlic
Salt and pepper
300g button mushrooms
Method:
1. Combine all the ingredients except mushrooms in a medium glass bowl
2. Mix well
3. Stir in mushrooms
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 – 4 hours
Marinated artichokes
Ingredients:
1 table spoon chopped fresh lemon thyme
1 table spoon white wine vinegar
2 table spoons olive oil
1 clove crushed garlic
½ teaspoon grated lemon / lime rind
1 teaspoon crushed pink pepper corns
Salt
410g tinned artichoke hearts
Method:
1. Combine all the ingredients except artichokes in a medium glass bowl
2. Mix well
3. Cut artichoke hearts in halve
4. Stir artichoke hearts in
5. Cover and let it stand for at least 3 – 4 hours
Marinated Feta Cheese
Ingredients:
¼ cup mustard seed oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon chopped chives
1 teaspoon chopped marjoram / origanum
½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
¼ teaspoon garam masala
Freshly cracked black pepper
300g Feta cheese cut into cubes
Method:
1. Combine all the ingredients except feta cheese in a medium glass bowl
2. Mix well
3. Stir in feta cheese cubes
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 – 4 hours
Chilli Herb Olives
Ingredients:
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped red chilli
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped oregano
2 teaspoons chopped basil
2 teaspoons chopped chives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup black olives
Method:
1. Combine all the ingredients except olives in a medium glass bowl
2. Mix well
3. Stir in olives
4. Cover and let it stand for at least 3 – 4 hours
Cornish Pasties
What would you need to prepare the Cornish Pasties:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Baking tray
Spreading knife
Small bowl
Whisk
Pastry brush
Tea spoon
Rolling pin
Sauce pan
Ingredients:
Filling:
225g lean minced beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 potato, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 teaspoon plain flour
Stock to moisten
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A few drops of Worcestershire sauce
Method:
1. Brown the mince and vegetables in a non-stick pan
2. Add the flour and cook over a low heat for about 1 minute
3. Add the stock, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce
4. Cook until the vegetables are just soft
5. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before dividing the filling between pastry rounds.
Ingredients:
Pastry:
225g plain flour
Pinch of salt
170g butter slightly soft
85-135ml cold water
Beaten egg for egg wash
Method:
1. Sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a large bowl
2. Rub in a 1/3 of the butter
3. Add enough water to mix with a knife to a doughy consistency
4. Turn onto a floured board and knead until just smooth
5. Chill for 10 minutes
6. Roll into a rectangle about 10 x 30 cm
7. Cut half the rest of the butter into tiny pieces and dot them evenly
8. Dot the evenly over the top 2/3 of the pastry, leaving a 1cm margin
9. Fold the pastry in 3, folding first the unlarded third up, then the larded top third down
10. Press the edges to seal them
11. Give a 90 degree anti-clock wise turn so that the folded closed edge is to your left
12. Repeat the rolling and folding process (without adding any fat) once more so the folded, closed edge is on your left.
13. Chill for 10 minutes
14. Roll out again, dot with half the remaining butter as before.
15. Fold and seal as before.
16. Roll out as before
17. Chill for 10 minutes
18. Roll out again, dot with the remaining butter as before.
19. Fold and seal as before.
20. Roll out as before
21. Chill for 10 – 15 minutes
22. Pre heat the oven to 200 C
23. Roll and fold once again
24. Roll out and press out rounds with a pastry cutter
25. Put a spoonful of filling on one half of the pastry round
26. Fold over and seal
27. Brush the pastry with beaten egg
28. Place the pastries on a greased baking sheet
29. Bake for 10 -15 minutes until golden brown
Savoury Rectangles
What would you need to prepare the Savoury Rectangles:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Baking tray
Fork
Spreading knife
Small bowl
Whisk
Pastry brush
Tea spoon
Rolling pin
Heavy cardboard
Scissors
Ingredients:
3 Rolls ready made puff pastry, defrosted
1 Egg
Method:
1. Pre heat the oven to 200
2. Cut a cardboard strip long enough to cover the width of the puff pastry measuring 7 cm
3. Cut a cardboard rectangle measuring 7 X 4cm
4. Cut another cardboard rectangle measuring 5 X 2cm
5. Lightly roll out the puff pastry in the length until the pastry is even and flat
6. Place the cardboard strip on top of the pastry and cut a 7cm strip of pastry.
7. Repeat until all the pastry has been cut into strips
8. Use the 7 X 4cm rectangle to cut the pastry strip into smaller rectangles
9. Place the 5 X 2 cm rectangle in the middle of the rectangle that you have just cut and make sure that 1cm of pastry sticks out on all 4 sides
10. Lightly score the pastry around the smaller rectangle
11. Make sure that you do not cut through the pastry
12. Once you have done this to all the rectangles use a fork to prick the inside of the pastry where you have scored the smaller rectangle
13. Lightly grease a baking sheet
14. Carefully lift the pastry rectangles onto a baking sheet
15. Bake for about 10 minutes until they are pale gold in colour
16. When you remove the pastry from the oven use a spoon to gently press down the pastry that has been pricked
17. When it has cooled down, carefully remove the pastry rectangles and place on a wire rack
18. You should now have a square of pastry with a little edge that looks like a little box
19. These little pastry boxes are used to hold the fillings which will be added later
20. Repeat step 5 – 17 with the remaining 2 rolls of pastry
21. When all the pastry boxes has cooled down, beat an egg in a small bowl
22. Use a pastry brush to paint egg wash on the inside bit of the pastry box
23. This will seal the pastry and prevent it from becoming soggy at the bottom when the fillings are added
Tomato, Brie and Salami Filling
What would you need to prepare the Tomato, Brie and Salami filling:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Baking tray
Spreading knife
Tea spoon
Ingredients:
1 Triangle Brie cheese (cut into chunks)
2 Vine ripened tomatoes (cut into eights)
Salami slices (cut into thin strips)
Whole grain mustard
Method:
1. Pre heat the oven to 200
2. Spread a thin layer of whole grain mustard on some of the prepared puff pastry rectangles
3. Arrange tomatoes, brie and salami in each rectangle
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes
5. Serve immediately
Mushrooms en croute
What would you need to prepare the Mushroom en croute:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Frying pan
Wooden spoon
Baking tray
Spreading knife
Tea spoon
Cheese grater
Ingredients:
15 ml Olive oil
1 Clove garlic, crushed
1 Small onion, chopped
375 g Portabellini mushrooms, finely sliced
15 ml Dry sherry
30 ml Cornflour
85 ml Sour cream
15 ml Finely chopped parsley
65 ml Grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Method:
1. Pre heat the oven to 200
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan
3. Add the garlic and onion
4. Cook, stirring over low heat until onion is soft and translucent
5. Add mushrooms and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until tender
6. Season with salt and pepper
7. Pour in the sherry
8. Blend the corn flour and sour cream
9. Add to mushroom mixture and stir until mixture boils and thickens
10. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the parsley
11. Set aside to cool
12. Spread the mushroom mixture into some of the puff pastry rectangles
13. Top with parmesan cheese
14. Place on a baking tray and bake for 5 – 7 minutes
15. Serve immediately
Mozzarella, tomato, basil and balsamic filling
What would you need to prepare the Tomato, Brie and Salami filling:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Baking tray
Spreading knife
Tea spoon
Cheese grater
Ingredients:
250 g Mozzarella cheese, grated
1 Punnet vine ripened bella tomatoes (small)
Basil leaves, torn into big shreds
Balsamic vinegar
Method:
1. Pre heat the oven to 200
2. Spread grated mozzarella in remaining puff pastry rectangles
3. Arrange 1 tomato on top of the cheese in each rectangle
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes
5. Sprinkle the torn basil leaves over the rectangles
6. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar
7. Serve immediately
Herb pepper crisps with blue cheese dip
What would you need to prepare the herb pepper crisps and dip:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Baking tray
Spreading knife
Electric beater
Small mixing bowl
Spoon
Ingredients for crisps:
4 Sheets lavash bread
100 g Butter, melted
Dried herb and spices of you choice
Finely chopped chives
Method for crisps:
1. Pre heat the oven to 180
2. Brush each sheet of lavash bread with the melted butter
3. Sprinkle with dried herbs and spices
4. Sprinkle with chopped chives
5. Cut each sheet into squares
6. Cut each square into 2 triangles
7. Pack triangles onto a baking tray
8. Bake 5 minutes
9. Remove and cool
Ingredients for blue cheese dip:
250 g Blue vein cheese, chopped
60 g Butter, softened
15 ml Sweet white wine
10 ml Chopped fresh mint
5 ml Chopped fresh rosemary
10 ml Chopped fresh oregano
85 ml Crème fraiche / sour cream
Salt and pepper
Method for blue cheese dip:
1. Beat the cheese and butter with an electric beater in a small mixing bowl until smooth and creamy
2. Add wine, mint, rosemary and oregano and mix well
3. Fold through crème fraiche or sour cream
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste
5. Spoon into serving bowl and serve with crisps
Cherry and Bacon Skewers
What would you need to prepare the Cherry and Bacon skewers:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Baking tray
Tooth picks
Ingredients:
250 g Streaky bacon
1 container red glace cherries
Method:
1. Pre heat the oven to 200
2. Separate the streaky bacon slices
3. Place a red glace cherry at one end of each piece of streaky bacon
4. Roll the cherry in the bacon and secure with a tooth pick
5. Place the cherry rolls in a baking tray
6. Bake for about 10 minutes until bacon is crispy
7. Serve immediately
Sweet Chilli Chicken Wings
What would you need to prepare the Sweet Chilli Chicken Wings:
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Baking tray
Measuring spoons
Mixing bowl
Ingredients:
2 kg Chicken wings
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
Pinch salt
5 ml Ground black pepper
15 ml Oil
65 ml Sweet chilli sauce
30 ml Honey
15 ml White vinegar
65 ml Soy sauce
30 ml Grated ginger
15 ml Soft brown sugar
5 ml Crushed dried chillies (optional)
Method:
1. Cut each wing into 3 sections and discard the tips
2. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl
3. Mix well
4. Add the chicken pieces and stir until coated
5. Cover and refrigerate over night
6. Preheat oven to 180
7. Drain the chicken pieces and reserve marinade
8. Place chicken pieces on a roasting rack over an oven tray
9. Bake for 1½ hours or until chicken is crisp and cooked through
10. Brush the chicken pieces with reserved marinade every 15 minutes during cooking
11. Serve hot
Sesame Chicken Skewers with Honey Mustard Dressing
What would you need to prepare the Sesame Chicken Skewers:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Baking tray
Bamboo skewers
Small non stick pan
Frying pan
Large glass bowl
Ingredients for chicken skewers:
400 g Mini chicken fillets
Juice of 1 lemon
45 ml Olive oil
Sesame seeds, toasted
Salt and pepper
Method for chicken skewers:
1. Thread each chicken breast on a skewer
2. Layer the skewers in a glass bowl and marinade in lemon juice and olive oil for an hour
3. Sprinkle skewers with salt and pepper
4. Fry skewers in frying pan over medium heat
5. As soon as you remove them from the heat, roll them in the toasted sesame seeds
6. Serve warm with honey mustard dressing
Ingredients for Honey Mustard Dressing:
125 ml Dijon Mustard
30 ml Honey
Method for Honey Mustard Dressing:
1. Mix honey and mustard
2. Transfer to serving dish
Leek and Mushroom Quiche
What would you need to prepare the Leek and Mushroom Quiche:
Large mixing bowl
Measuring cup
Measuring spoon
Fluted loose-base quiche tin (25cm in diameter)
Knife
Small frying pan
Small jug
Whisk
Chopping board
Ingredients:
Use the recipe for the short crust pastry that was done for the Autumn brunch on page ??????
25 ml Olive oil
6 Leeks, cut into rings
500 g Mixed mushrooms (finely sliced)
120 g Gruyere cheese
4 Eggs
250 ml Cream
Finely grated parmesan cheese
Method:
1. Pre heat oven to 180C
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan
3. Fry the leeks until soft, but don’t let it get brown
4. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft
5. Remove from heat and let it cool
6. Combine eggs and cream
7. Season with salt and pepper
8. Cover pastry case with gruyere cheese
9. Add leeks and mushrooms
10. Pour egg and cream mixture into the pastry case
11. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top
12. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until set and lightly browned
Cocktail Burgers
What would you need to prepare the burgers:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Frying pan
Spatula
Spreading knife
Tea spoon
2 x Mixing bowls
Ingredients:
24 Cocktail rolls
400 g Beef mince
400 g Chicken mince
1 Onion, chopped
15 ml Finely chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
2 Slices white bread (crusts removed and soaked in milk)
1 Egg yolk
Rocket
Tomato slices
Onion marmalade
Method:
1. Put beef mince in one mixing bowl and chicken mince in the other
2. Divide the onion, parsley, bread and egg yolk between the two bowls
3. Season with salt and pepper
4. Mix al the ingredients together and mould into small round patties
5. Make a little indentation in the middle of each patty and refrigerate for an hour
6. Heat oil in frying pan and fry patties in batches over medium heat
7. Cut cocktail rolls in half and spread with butter
8. Place a rocket leave on 1 half of each roll
9. Place a tomato slice on top of the rocket leave
10. Add the patty
11. Lastly add a dollop of onion marmalade
12. Place the other half of the roll on top
13. Secure the burger with a thin skewer
Capsicum rolls
What would you need to prepare the Capsicum rolls:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Tooth picks
Wooden spoon
Baking tray
Spreading knife
Measuring spoons
Cheese grater
Mixing bowl
Rolling pin
Cling wrap
Ingredients:
1 Red capsicum
1 Green capsicum
85 ml Grated parmesan cheese
125 ml Grated cheddar cheese
30 ml Mayonnaise
30 ml Chopped parsley
5 ml Chopped fresh oregano
Salt and pepper
2 – 3 Drops Tobasco sauce
10 Slices fresh white bread
45 g Butter, melted
Paprika
Method:
1. Pre heat the oven to 200
2. Grill capsicums in oven until the skin is black and blistered
3. Transfer capsicums to glass bowl and cover with cling wrap until cool
4. Peel and discard skin
5. Finely chop the flesh and combine in a medium mixing bowl with cheeses, mayonnaise, herbs, salt pepper and Tobasco
6. Cut crusts from bread
7. Flatten slices with a rolling pin
8. Brush both sides with melted butter
9. Spread capsicum mixture on each slice, leaving a 1cm border
10. Roll up and secure with a tooth pick
11. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours
12. Pre heat oven to 180 C
13. Cut each roll in half
14. Ensure a tooth pick secures each roll
15. Place on an oven tray
16. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until rolls are crisp and have turned a pale golden colour
17. Sprinkle with paprika
18. Serve warm
Smoked Salmon Blinis
What would you need to prepare the Smoked Salmon Blinis:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Frying pan
Wooden spoon
Spatula
2 X Mixing bowl
Tea spoon
Sieve
Ingredients:
Blinis:
250 ml Self raising flour
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
125 ml Milk
15 ml Sour Cream
Topping:
125 ml Sour cream
30 ml Mayonnaise
10 ml Lemon juice
15 ml Finely chopped chives
15 ml Finely chopped mint
125 g Sliced smoked salmon
Method:
1. Sift flour in a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre
2. Add combined eggs, milk and cream
3. Stir until batter is smooth and free of lumps
4. Let stand 10 minutes
5. Heat a large non-stick frying pan
6. Brush with a little oil
7. Drop teaspoonsful of mixture into the pan
8. When bubbles appear on the surface, turn blinis over and cook the other side
9. Remove from pan and set aside
10. Repeat with rest of mixture
11. Combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, chives and mint
12. Spoon a small amount of sour cream mixture on top of each blini
13. Top with a slice of smoked salmon and decorate with strips of lemon peel
Berry Butterflies
What would you need to prepare the Berry Butterflies:
Chopping board
Small sharp knife
Double Boiler
Whisk
Mixing bowl
Measuring spoons
Measuring cups
Small glasses for serving
Ingredients:
1 Egg yolk
50 g Castor sugar
1 ml Vanilla Extract
1 Vanilla pod, stripped
350 g White chocolate
250 ml Cream
2 Egg whites
1 Punnet raspberries / black cherries
Method:
1. Over a double boiler, whisk the egg yolk and sugar together with the vanilla extract and vanilla pod seeds to a light fluffy sabayon
2. Melt the white chocolate and whisk into the sabayon
3. Whip the cream to soft peaks
4. Whisk 1/3 into the sabayon, then fold in the remaining 2/3
5. Whisk the egg whites until soft and fold into the sabayon
6. Place a cherry or raspberry in the bottom of small glass or container. A liqueur glass is about the right size as this is incredibly rich.
7. Pour the chocolate mixture over the cherry
8. Place half a cherry on top and decorate with a silk or paper decorative butterfly
Post Mortem
Let me just say, “this whole let’s bake pies idea” was not the brightest one I have ever had. I now understand Mariette’s apprehension. The biggest problem could be that she assumed I could be left to my own devices. My first mistake was that I assumed I owned a rolling pin, but when I discovered that this was not the case, I figured I could buy one. Yeah right, not so easy at 7 o’ clock on a Thursday night. Let’s just say the dog and I were covered with flour along with the Klippies bottle I used as a poor substitute for a rolling pin.
My home made pastry - well I guess my father would have been slightly proud that I reflected my Scottish roots, because it tasted a hell of a lot like short bread. Really vile with a meat filling, however. I quite liked the fillings and even made an extra one with steak, mushrooms and onion. I used store bought pastry for this. Now that is another story - I bought the puff pastry on the same night as I planned to bake the pies. I didn’t realize it had to defrost before it can be used. So I nuked it in the microwave. Let’s just say not the best way as I had to toss out some of the crispy and overly melted butter bits, but I reckon it tasted okay in the end
Food in general - my word was there a lot. I never actually realized how much work snacks were and based on the number of people we over catered slightly – now that is an understatement. But better over than under I reckon. We all had food for a week after that.
Luckily Rochelle came to help - okay granted I whined like a baby, that she was getting all the cool jobs. Only to realize there were no cool jobs, just a lot of damned hard work. I did discover that I was the pastry forking queen, those little pastry shell things were divine. I had so many but they were all so tasty. The teeny burgers were most cool.
My marinated thingies for the deli platter were quite entertaining as I did those alone as well. So before we could serve them, we had to melt them in the microwave, because I had them in the fridge for 2 days. They soaked up all the marinating liquid and were a bit congealed. The quiche was fantastic. The little homemade chips were so much fun to make.
The most amazing snack was the little pepper rolls, because they were made with bread. You would never guess it, and apparently they were really tasty.
The strawberries - tut tut - messily dipped because I did it. The berry butterfly mousse was divine. Even my mother got a take out., The crème Brulee always a hit. And then my favorite part of dessert - Rochelle’s forte - those little cupcakes with the world’s best icing - melted chocolate..
So the evening was very successful as all the ingredients were there - a lot of food, good company and lovely wine. I served the Raka Biography 2003 and the Lindhorst Max’s Shiraz 2003. Sue, bless her heart, brought a divine bottle of Steytler Vision. So all in all, it was a fabulous evening. A great excuse getting presents and having friends come round and see my house. So in essence I got my housewarming party catered. Sneaky don’t you think…
