Saturday, 25. September 2010

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 Hors d'oeuvres

Asparagus rollups

12 fresh asparagus spears 

1 small tub light spreadable cream cheese

100gr crumbled blue cheese 

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives 

12 bread slices, crusts trimmed 

Snap off tough ends of the asparagus, arrange in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam 4 to 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from steamer, and cool on paper towels.  (Altn, char-grill the asparagus). Stir together cream cheese, blue cheese, mayo and chives. Roll each bread slice with a rolling pin to flatten. Spread 1 side of each slice with cream cheese mixture.  Place 1 asparagus spear on 1 end of each bread slice; roll up, and place, seam side down, on a greased baking tray. Brush with butter; sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 200° for 12 minutes or until golden. (Altn: dip each end into sesame seeds before baking for added flavour) Serve immediately.

Bruschetta

(The skins of Roma tomatoes are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice). Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the heat. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centres. Also cut out and discard the stem area.  Preheat the oven to 230⁰C. Chop up the tomatoes and the Feta cheese finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, chopped Feta cheese and the vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 10-15mm thick slices.

Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on baking paper, olive oil side down and bake on the top rack of the oven until they begin to turn golden brown—5-6 minutes. You may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato mix topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

Cheese and Ham Barquettes.

Preheat oven to 220°C or 200°C fan-forced.  Trim the pastry to fit into the individual moulds of a large Teflon muffin tray, ensuring the pastry is pushed firmly into the moulds. Place the milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Pour milk over the beaten eggs. Stir through the ham, cheese and seasonings. Spoon 2 teaspoons of the mixture into each of the moulds. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.      32

Curried eggs.

Salt the lettuce leaves then roll leaves tightly and chop finely, set aside. Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and dash of white vinegar. Partially cover pan and bring water to a full boil. Reduce heat to low, cover completely, and simmer for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and place eggs into cold water to cool quickly. When cool, peel eggs and halve lengthwise then place in fridge for at least 1 hour to chill. Carefully remove yolks from eggs and place in a medium bowl. Add mayonnaise, curry, salt and pepper to taste and mash with a fork until well combined. Spoon ½ tablespoon of the yolk mixture into each egg white half. Top with chopped lettuce and serve.

Curry Mince puffs.

Puffs

Yoghurt

Puffs
Heat oil in a large pan, add onion and almonds and cook stirring until nuts begin to brown and onion is soft. Add the mince and stir until it is cooked through. Stir in the juice. Add the curry and tomato pastes and continue to stir for 5 mins, turn off heat, add coriander and stir in. Using an 8 cm (3inch) round fluted cutter, cut out 9 rounds from each sheet of pastry. Arrange the rounds on baking paper on an oven tray and brush lightly with the egg. Place ½ level tablespoon of mince mixture on the top half of the pastry rounds, then lift the bottom half, roll it over the mixture and tap it down on the top half to form an envelope with the mince mixture in the centre. Brush top of envelope with egg mixture. Cook in preheated 200C oven for about 15 minutes or until puffed and brown.

Yoghurt
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
 

Serve puffs with yoghurt and sweet chilli sauce. Garnish with lemon wedges and fresh herbs.

Devilled eggs.

Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and dash of white vinegar. Partially cover pan and bring water to a full boil. Reduce heat to low, cover completely, and simmer for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and place eggs into cold water to cool quickly. When cool, peel eggs and halve lengthwise, place in fridge for 1 hour to chill. Carefully remove yolks from eggs and place in a medium bowl. Add mayonnaise, red capsicum, sour cream, capers, chives, mustard, salt, and black pepper to taste; mash with a fork until well combined. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the yolk mixture into each egg white half. Sprinkle with paprika and serve. You can fill eggs up to 2 hours before required; carefully cover and chill until ready to serve. Only garnish with paprika just before serving.

Pork Dumplings

Dumplings
 

Dipping sauce
 

Combine the pork, chives, onion, ginger, sugar, say sauce, wine and sesame oil in a large bowl. Place 1 level teaspoon of filling in the centre of each wrapper. Moisten the edges of the wrappers with a little water, press and pleat the sides together to seal. Heat half of the peanut oil in a large frying pan, add half of the dumplings, cook until the bases are brown. Add half of the water, taking care as it will bubble up and steam. Cook covered for 5 mins. Remove the lid and cook until the water has evaporated, Remove from pan, cover and keep warm.  Repeat process with rest of dumplings.

Combine the dipping sauce ingredients in a bowl, topping with extra sliced onion. Serve dumplings with dipping sauce, topped with extra onion.

Prawn masala poppadoms.

Poppadoms

Garnish

Heat oil in a clean frying pan and fry poppadoms 5 seconds each side or until puffed up and golden; drain on absorbent paper, set aside. Heat a small frying pan over a medium heat. Add oil and cook onion and garlic until they soften and become translucent. Add prawns and spices and cook, stirring until prawns are cooked through and coated with the spice mixture. Add the lime juice and check seasoning; set aside. Top each poppadom with a small spoonful of the prawn mixture. Top this with a small dollop of yoghurt and a coriander leaf. 4-6

Rocky Road.

Chop all ingredients into small pieces. Line a slice tin with baking paper, cling wrap or foil. Combine the Cherry Ripes, Turkish delight, marshmallows and nuts in a bowl and mix well. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave on low. Pour dry ingredients into melted chocolate and mix well. Pour mixture into tin. Refrigerate until set. Remove from tin, cut into slices (square or triangles) with a warm knife.

Rum Balls

Mix the icing sugar, flour, cocoa, coconut and sultanas together in a large bowl. Add the butter, rum, and vanila and stir well. Make small balls the size of a rounded teaspoon and roll in coconut. Keep refrigerated. If the weather is hot refrigerate the mixture before rolling into balls.

Stuffed Mushrooms (Deep fried).

Mushrooms                                             Stuffing

Stuffing: 

Remove stems from mushrooms, finely chop and place in bowl. Add mince, shallots, capsicum, celery, water chestnuts, green ginger, sherry, soy sauce, egg white, hoi sin sauce, salt and cornflour and mix well. Evenly distribute the stuffing into the cavity of the mushrooms, packing it in well.

Batter:

Sift all dry ingredients into a bowl, make a well in the centre and gradually add the milk and water. Mix to a smooth batter. Season the additional flour with salt and pepper to taste, coat the mushrooms with the seasoned flour, then dip in the prepared batter.

Cooking:

Heat (do not boil) the deep frying oil in saucepan. If oil is too hot mushrooms will brown too quickly and not cook through. Put a few coated mushrooms in the oil at a time, fry until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Sweet Potato-Feta Rounds.

Preheat oven to 235°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper or foil. Cut potatoes into 2cm rounds. With a melon baller, carefully scoop a pocket into each potato piece, being careful not to scoop through bottoms; discard scooped-out portion. Combine potato rounds, 1 tablespoon of oil and garlic in a large bowl; toss to coat. Spread potatoes out on the baking sheet, scooped-out side up, and roast until potatoes are just tender and edges are starting to brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mash feta, chives, and 1 teaspoon oil together in a small bowl. Season with pepper to taste. Remove potatoes from oven and fill each pocket with a teaspoon cheese mixture. Return to oven and bake until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Zucchini Sticks.

Preheat oven to 235°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Cut zucchini lengthwise into quarters, then cut into 2-inch-long sticks. Combine zucchini, oil, thyme, salt, black pepper, and pepper flakes in a medium bowl, and toss to coat.  Transfer zucchini sticks to baking sheet, with a flesh side facing down. Roast until just softened and golden, turning so other flesh side is up halfway through, about 15 minutes. Carefully turn pieces skin side down. Sprinkle evenly with cheese and continue roasting until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes. Serve warm.