The Centenary

Somehow amidst the business and rush that we modern society people know as life, I failed to appreciate that my previous post was my big one-hundredth. What should have been a major triumph and milestone got lost in my current lifestyle of settling into a new job in an entirely different industry to what I am familiar, a new living arrangement and the planning for my upcoming wedding.

As a result and without much fanfare, I share with you a recent in-home afternoon tea where we had the always pleasant company of Ms Sourdough and Weirdo as guests. They were not long back from a trip overseas to both the United States and New Zealand and had a bounty of photos to share with us – mostly of which were of food! We had a wonderfully relaxed afternoon of sharing food and conversation, and where Ms Sourdough had brought over beautiful friands made from a recipe in the Bourke Street Bakery cookbook.

The following ‘recipes’ are more a suggestion rather than instruction as you can obviously feature whatever finger food you wish. Even better is when you have a baking friend, like I do in Ms Sourdough, who is more than happy to bring along some goodies to help out. This is what I enjoy about life – the moments where there is friendship and love and calm, low-effort pottering about the kitchen. And the resultant food that you share together, of course, is a most welcome by-product!

Mini Sausage Rolls (makes 9)

Ingredients:

·         2 sheets of ready-rolled puff pastry, thawed

·         6 medium store-bought sausages (whatever variety you like), casings removed

·         1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tsp water

·         2 tsp nigella/poppy/sesame seeds (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 9 evenly-sized squares.
2. On each square, place approximately 2/3 of a sausage worth’s filling and roll up to enclose. Seal with a little eggwash if necessary.
3. Place sausage rolls seam-side down on a greased or lined tray and brush tops with eggwash. Sprinkle over seeds, if using, and bake for roughly 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit on tray for 5 minutes before serving. 

Finger Sandwiches (makes 12)

Ingredients:

·         8 slices of white sandwich loaf, crusts removed (TIP: I blitz the crusts and keep them frozen for when I need breadcrumbs)

·         …and whatever fillings you desire! (I had egg salad with chives and ham, cheese and tomato.)

Method:

Butter the bread if you like. Sandwich in the fillings. Season if required and slice each sandwich into thirds to produce neat fingers.

Thin Cabanossi & Haloumi Frittata

Ingredients:

·         1 cabanossi stick, sliced on an angle

·         handful of button mushrooms, sliced

·         4 eggs, lightly beaten

·         1cm thick slice of haloumi, sliced into matchsticks

Method:

1. Preheat grill to 200°C. Heat a non-stick, ovenproof pan over medium-high heat. Throw in cabanossi and cook until crisp.
2. Add mushrooms to the pan and cook until slightly wilted. Pour beaten egg over the top, reduce heat to medium and cook until egg begins to set at the edges.
3. Sprinkle haloumi evenly over the top and carefully transfer pan to the grill to finish cooking. Remove pan from grill and let sit a few minutes before slicing into wedges to serve. 

happy cooking!