Dinner Party Club “From Scratch” Menu

It seems that we’ve barely recovered from the Degustation Menu, and it’s time for another dinner party club.  This time, the Urban Gardeners are hosting a “From Scratch” theme, in order to soothe the She-Urban Gardener’s need to make mascarpone from scratch.

We started with the Visitors from Hawkes Bay providing little cheesy biscuits with bubbly – I was clearly so excited by the little cheesy biscuits that photography was forgotten, and then they were gone!  So, little cheesy biscuits are definitely a good thing to make from scratch.

The MOTH was keen to try his hand at pâté [recipe to come], so he made delicious pâté, while I experimented with breads – brioche and spelt.

Some red onion jam completed the entrée.

The main was a delicious beef pie, made by the Bean Counters.

The Creative Cooks rustled up a salad, along with asparagus (some home-grown) and hollandaise made with HOME MADE BUTTER!  Wonderful.

The Urban Gardeners made a wonderful baked cheesecake, with the base biscuits made and then crushed, the mascarpone made from scratch, and raspberry coulis to top it off.

Just to make sure there was no room left, the Visitors from Hawkes Bay added these little morsels to finish us off.

It was another successful evening.  To round things off, our rhodos are flowering... I don't know the name of this one, but it provides a lovely flash of sunshine.

I spy with my little eye…

Something that looks like PIE!

Recently, I decided that I needed to expand my lunchtime cooking repertoire to include pies.  I haven’t made pastry for at least 10 years, so I thought some help would be needed.  Happily, Anne over at SomethingElse To Eat had reviewed Mr Dean Brettschneider’s recently released little gem, so I went out and bought it.  It’s a great book, with lots of pastry variations, as well as wonderful things to put inside the pastry.

The pies I’ve made have done the good thing of ACTUALLY looking like the photos in the book, as well as tasting delicious.  They all tasted great the next day too.  So go along and buy the book, and you too can turn:

Walnuts,

Potatoes, and

Leeks

Into Gooey Leek, Potato and Vintage Cheddar Pie!

 

And then you could whip up a Sausage, Sun-dried Tomato and Potato Tart.

 

Both pies were delicious, matched with a fresh green salad.   I’ll talk about my other new project – perfecting walnut bread another time.

Kids in control

About 25 years ago, I spent a summer teaching my brother and one of my cousins to cook, in exchange for gin (supplied in a glass, with tonic, ice and a squeeze of lemon).  This year, the brother returned the favour – introducing me to pick’n’mix pasta, now firmly at the top of the food requests for Miss 9 and Miss 7.  This is the perfect solution to family food fights – simply provide a wide selection of possible choices and let everyone choose the selection that they like.  It’s also great for birthday party dinners, where there may be long lists of likes/dislikes.  We’ve always found something that everyone will eat.

Pick’n’mix pasta

Dried pasta shapes – we use large spirals or shells, allow at least 60g dried pasta per child – or more if they are looking ravenous!

Sauces

Basil pesto – bought or homemade
Tomato – could be roughly chopped and just warmed, or a rich, thick passata that has spent an hour or more reducing down
Red onion –  thinly sliced, gently sautéed in olive oil, then add 1 tbsp sugar, ½ C white wine, a dash of sherry vinegar and slowly simmer to a thick, sweet paste, add salt and pepper to taste,  it may need a bit more sugar or a dash of lemon juice to reach perfection

Pick’n’mix selections

Protein supply – sliced ham, salami, biersticks, shredded chicken (roast or smoked), smoked fish, anchovies
Veges – cherry tomatoes, corn, capsicum (we generally select for food requiring no cooking!), olives, any other vege quickly blanched
Cheeses – feta, haloumi, parmesan, Colby (for the less adventurous)

Prepare any sauces or veges that require cooking, to be ready at the same time as the pasta is cooked.  Line up the pick’n’mix selections on the kitchen bench and let the children loose.  Replenish bowls, and await the call for seconds.