A for Aussie

Australia

 

 

For our first International day Jeanne chose the theme of Australian.  Despite the temptation there was not one kangaroo or emu recipe.

Mini Beef & Guinness Pies

Julie produced mini meat pies, a variation on the Aussie classic, based on a Beef and Guinness Pie recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joan made Lamb and Haloumi cheese sausage rolls which would have pleased Sam Kekovich, the face of Australia Day Lamb advertisements.

Lamb Haloumi Sausage Rolls

 

 

 

 

Pauline made Chicken and Weetbix sliders with home-made mini bread rolls (Weetbix was developed in Sydney in the 1920s)

Chicken Slider

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kathy prepared Chicken, Mango and Macadamia Salad, capturing the Aussie sporting colours of green and gold.

Chicken Mango & Macadamia Salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris barbequed Lamb loin chops, one of the favourites of Sam, the “Lambassador”.

Barbequed Lamb Chops

 

 

 

 

 

Laura produced Meat pies with mushy peas from her own recipe, a variation on a pie floater.

Pie with Mushy Peas

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeanne made a Lamington sponge, the classic Aussie cake.

Lamington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wendy made a Pavlova with Mango and Passionfruit, surrounded by chocolate rum balls served in chocolate cases.  The argument about whether Pavlova was first made in Australia or in New Zealand will never be settled, but no-one can argue that it is not an iconic Australian dessert.

Pavlova

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Credits:

 

See our Recipes page for more recipes.

H is for … Hunger-busters

We had another successful luncheon for our letter H day and cool weather made us all hungry.  Hosted by Nadine at Wendy’s, the effort that went into preparing the table was overwhelming and equal to the efforts of the hosts at our previous meetings.

We started with Marie’s Haricot Bean Soup.  A perfect start on a cool day, it was served with parsley and cracked pepper.

Haricot Bean Soup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julie made starters; first Ham Balls with Horseradish and Cranberry Sauce, and then sliced Herb-rubbed Rib-eye with Horseradish Cream.  Both of these included her home-grown horseradish.

Ham, Beef and Horseradish

 

 

 

 

Chris was creative producing her own recipe of tasty Hen and Honey Nut Pastries that were served with Chili sauce.

Honey Hen Pastries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kathy’s Grilled Haloumi with  Currant and Seedless Black Grape Glaze was inspired by a Peppered Fig recipe from George Calombaris’ restaurant. He had modified the fig recipe and she modified it further to suit her ingredients.

Haloumi, Currants and Grapes

 

 

 

 

 

Pauline’s individual Beefy Heart and Hog Pies were perfect for the cool weather.  As chestnut mushrooms were unavailable she used button mushrooms in the recipe.

Beefy heart and Hog Pies

 

 

 

 

 

We all complained that we were stuffed but then came dessert.  It only took one taste to encourage us.

Wendy made Honey Mousse with Honey-Almond Filo Pastries and Nadine prepared our final course; a Hazelnut, Date and Chocolate Torte from her own recipe.

Honey Mousse and Filo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hazelnut Torte

 

 

 

 

 

 

Credits:

Beefy Heart and Hog Pies, modified from a recipe at fullasanegg.org.  Pauline included bacon and used button mushrooms instead of chestnut mushrooms

You will find the .pdf recipes in our Recipes link.