Not all is lost after all. bump. for the on going parties.
valentino,
Jan 16, 3:03pm
Lemon Granita ( Serves 6 per batch ) 1 1/4 cups lemon juice, 1 tablespoon lemon zest and 200 grams caster sugar. Place all in a small saucepan and stir over low heat for 5 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Add 2 cups water to the juice mixture and mix together well. Pour the mixture into a shallow 30cm x 20cm tin and place in the freezer until the mixture is beginning to freeze around the edges. Scrape the frozen sections back into the mixture with a fork. repeat every 309 minutes until the mixture has even-size ice crystals. Beat the mixture with a fork just before serving. To serve, spoon the lemon granita into 6 chilled glasses or into a chilled glass bowl. Absolutely great as something to have on it's own, or as a ready stand-by additive to a drink, or simply add to a punch.
valentino,
Jan 16, 8:36pm
OOOps - Typo error. Should be - repeat every 30 minutes - Not 309 minutes. Sorry.
cookessentials,
Jan 16, 9:12pm
Cont. Scrub, peel and quarter potatoes and place in a pan of cold salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for about 15 minutes until tender. Drain immediately in a colander.
Mash potatoes using a potato ricer or push through a strong sieve to create lump-free mash, then place in a large mixing bowl. Beat butter and egg yolks into potato, season with salt and pepper and stir in the chives. Place in the fridge to cool.
Put flour onto a plate, then drop generously heaped teaspoons of mash into the flour. Cover lightly with flour then pat into cake shapes about 5mm thick.
cookessentials,
Jan 16, 9:13pm
Cont. Heat enough oil to cover the base of a medium-sized frying pan and cook cakes in batches of no more than 8, for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden. While frying, keep cooked cakes in a warming oven. Quickly top with chutney, a triangle of feta, a sprinkling of paprika and 2 pieces of roasted asparagus. Serve warm.
How to freeze Place uncooked potato cakes in a sealable plastic container lined with baking paper. Stack cakes with a sheet of baking paper between each layer (as shown in the photograph), then cover with the lid and place in the freezer. The potato cakes will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. To defrost, remove from the container and place on a baking paper-lined tray for 30 minutes at room temperature. Cook as instructed in Step 4, below. It is also perfectly okay to freeze these cakes cooked (they’ll keep for 3 months). After defrosting, reheat the potato cakes in a warming oven, not in the frying pan.
cookessentials,
Jan 16, 9:14pm
Cont. Once defrosted, all the potato cakes must be cooked immediately; if left uncooked for too long they’ll go soggy and become difficult to handle. If this happens, dust them in a little more flour. For the above reason, it is a good idea to defrost and cook small batches at a time.
cookessentials,
Jan 16, 9:15pm
Cont. In a small frying pan, over a gentle heat, sweat the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until soft and lightly coloured. Cool.
Meanwhile combine all remaining ingredients in a bowl. Add cooled onion and garlic and mix well.
In the pan, cook a little of the mixture. Taste and check for seasoning.
Shape remaining mixture into small balls (about the size of a golf ball). Freeze until required. Once defrosted, cook in batches in a little olive oil on medium heat. You may need to turn down the heat to ensure the meatballs are thoroughly cooked but are not burnt on the outside.
cookessentials,
Jan 16, 9:16pm
Cont. How to freeze Place the raw meatballs on a flat baking tray lined with baking paper and freeze. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag or a sealed plastic, airtight container. Label, date and return to the freezer.
The meatballs will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. Defrost meatballs in the refrigerator rather than on the kitchen bench.
If you like, you can brown the meatballs all over in a frying pan to seal them before transferring them to a 180°C oven until they are cooked through. They will feel firm when they are ready.
cookessentials,
Jan 16, 9:18pm
Roasted Pepper Pastries 1 red pepper ½ cup Lisa’s Original Hummus 1 Tbsp capers, drained and chopped finely grated zest of 1 lemon 18 pastry oyster cases 8 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped 1 Tbsp freshly ground coriander seeds tiny basil leaves
Roast the red pepper in the oven, on a barbecue grill, or in the flames of a gas element until charred. Drape a piece of kitchen paper over the pepper and leave it until cool. Rub off the blackened skin, then cut it in half and remove the core and seeds. Slice halves finely, then chop into short lengths.
Put hummus in a bowl and add capers, some black pepper and the lemon zest. Spoon a small dollop of hummus into each pastry case and top with chopped peppers and olives. Sprinkle with coriander seeds, garnish with basil leaves and serve.
cookessentials,
Jan 16, 9:20pm
Broadbean & Mint Dip 500g shelled broad beans, defrosted in the fridge if frozen 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 long green chilli, deseeded and chopped juice of 1 lemon 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 Tbsp chopped mint
Blanch beans in boiling water for 5 minutes if frozen, 10 minutes if fresh. Drain and cool under cold running water. Squeeze each bean from its skin, discarding skins. Mash beans using a fork, mixing in the garlic, chilli and lemon juice, then stir in the oil and mint and season lightly with salt. Cover and refrigerate until required.
cookessentials,
Jan 16, 9:22pm
Seared Scallops with Mango Salsa 30 scallops 1 Tbsp olive oil 2 x 30g packs Timos Filo-ettes (filo cases)
Salsa 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil freshly ground black pepper 1 large perfectly ripe mango, peeled and finely diced 1 Tbsp chopped mint thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated ½ small red onion, finely chopped ¼ tsp Tabasco sauce 1 Tbsp chopped coriander or parsley 1 Tbsp lemon juice ¼ tsp salt
Method:
Wash and drain scallops removing any black or grey matter. Transfer scallops to a bowl and stir through oil. Cover and refrigerate until required.
For the salsa, mix everything together in a bowl. Best used within 2 hours of making.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. When it is hot, put in the scallops and cook for a minute or 2 on each side until browned and just cooked through.
Pile scallops and salsa into Filo-ettes. Serve immediately
cookessentials,
Jan 16, 9:25pm
Cont. Cut eggplant into cubes and layer in a colander, sprinkling generously with salt. Put a plate underneath the colander and leave eggplant to drain for 2 hours. Rinse eggplant well under running water.
Put vinegar and water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil, then tip in the eggplant cubes. Cook for about 10 minutes, gently forcing the eggplant under the simmering water (the cubes tend to float), or until soft and translucent. Drain in a colander.
cookessentials,
Jan 16, 9:25pm
Cont.
Spoon into a warm sterilised jar (capacity 750ml), layering with the garlic, herbs and peppercorns. Level the surface. Pour in enough olive oil to cover the eggplant by 2cm, then leave the contents to settle. If necessary, use a fine skewer to force out air bubbles.
Cover with a lid and store in a cool dark place. This pickle is good after a day or 2 and will last several weeks providing it is always covered generously with oil.
To serve, chop the pickle and place on top of crostini rounds. For a change, spread crostini first with hummus, eggplant hummus or baba ghanoush.
rkcroft,
Jan 18, 6:42pm
Caramelised Onion & Goats Cheese Mini Pizzas Just made these now - so yummy. 2 Large pizza based, Olive tapanade or sundried tomato olive tapanade, Goats Cheese, Fresh Thyme. Caramelised Onions: 20gm butter, 1T olive oil, 4 onions sliced thinly, 1 T chopped fresh thyme. To make the onions: Melt butter & oil in large fry pan over low heat. Add onion and stir to coat. cover & cook for about 20mins then add in the thyme. Cook for a further 25 mins until caramelised. Season. Preheat oven to 240°C. Using a 5cm diameter cutter, cut 24 rounds from pizza bases. Spread with tapanade and bake for about 8mins till crisp. Top with caramelised onion, goats cheese and small sprig of thyme. Season with pepper & serve.
gingerlime,
Jan 21, 1:53pm
Please help with calculating quantities all you experienced party planners. Have not seen this question on the board before so put up my own before thinking that this would be very useful info for all those who keep this thread alive. I have not thrown a big party in ages and as I'm on a tight budget would rather not have any more wastage/leftovers than nessessary.
kaddiew,
Jan 21, 2:42pm
I'd be interested in that too. particularly for dessert fingerfoods for 50. Thanks!
griffo4,
Jan 22, 10:12pm
This is our family punch recipe my Grandma used to make it 2 x 1 Just juice orange 2x1 just juice tropical 2 1.5 litre lemonade 2 1.5 ginger -ale 1litre pineapple juice 2 sparkling grape juice to decorate mint.leaves and slice of orange keep bottles in fridge the night before this will do 40 to 50 people. You can freeze the pineapple juice and put them in as ice cubes to keep it cool
griffo4,
Jan 22, 10:14pm
Cucumber prawns l got this recipe from Alyson Gofton and use it all the time Cook prawns in a bit of oil and crushed garlic l then put them on a paper towel to drain and cool and put them in the fridge as l usually make them the day before. Cut rounds of cucumber and top with prawn and a dollop of good mayonaise and lemon zest and dill They always go so fast
valentino,
Jan 24, 5:06pm
Bumping for redhead21 (I Think) to peruse
cookessentials,
Jan 25, 3:09am
Bumping up for the wedding and ideas.
herself,
Jan 27, 4:58pm
bumping up for adamandeve :-)
cookessentials,
Jan 27, 6:35pm
Up we go again too good to lose.
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