Birthday Salad

Handful of cos lettuce
Handful of roquette
One pear sliced
Crumbled/cubed blue cheese
Caramelised pecans (put a dessert spoon of sugar and a cup of pecans in a dry saucepan – when sugar starts to melt give the pecans a toss – leave for about a minute on the heat and then allow to cool)
Avocado
Your favourite version of a classic French dressing

Jill would add smoked chicken (shredded) if this was a meal rather than a side salad. Smoked chickens can be bought from any good supermarket. They are usually in an airtight packet and the meat can just be cut off the bone).

The salad is pretty versatile – you could add spinach or basil or cucumber as well if you like however I like to keep it looking very green (no carrot, tomatoes or red capsicum).

Grublover comment
Jessica made me this delicious salad for my birthday yesterday. The caramelised pecans are a winner - so sweet, going perfectly with the bite of the blue cheese. Yum!

Three-Cheese Pumpkin Pie

Serves 4-6

1 Tbspn olive oil
25g unsalted butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
½ butternut pumpkin (450g) peeled, cut into 1.5cm cubes
1 Tbspn brown sugar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 eggs, lightly beaten, plus 2 lightly beaten egg to brush
100ml pure (thin) cream
120g gruyere, grated
2 Tbsn grated parmesan
Fried sage leaves to serve

Pastry
2 cups (300g) plain flour
30 g cheddar grated
150g chilled unsalted butter, chopped

Pastry: place flour, cheddar and butter in a food processor with a pinch of salt. Process until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add 1/3 cup (80ml) chilled water and process until mixture comes together to form a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the oil and butter in a large frypan over low heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the pumpkin and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add ½ cup (125ml) water and bring to a simmer. Cover, return to low heat and cook for 20 minutes or until pumpkin is soft. Stir in the sugar and balsamic vinegar, then allow to cool. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured board to a 30cm disc and place on prepared tray. Place the cooled pumpkin mixture in a large bowl. Add the eggs and cream, and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in half the gruyere, then sprinkle the remaining gruyere over the pastry, leaving a 2cm border. Fill the centre of the pastry with the pumpkin mixture, then fold over the 2cm border and roughly pleat. Brush the pastry edge with the beaten egg and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Serve the pie warm, garnished with fried sage leaves.

Recipe by Genni Wilson

Sweet Potato Thai Green Curry Pastry Puffs…recipe by Jill Anderson

1 small red onion
Olive oil
1-2 tablespoons Thai Green Curry paste
1 large diced sweet potato
Coconut milk or coconut cream
6 sheets Puff pastry - each sheet cut into 9 squares

Egg wash - 1 egg, 1 tablespoon water

Yoghurt Mint Dip
Plain Greek Yoghurt
1/2 freshly squeezed lemon
black pepper
a large bunch of fresh mint leaves finely chopped

Dice a small red onion and fry in a small amount of olive oil.
Add 1 - 2 tablespoons of Thai green Curry Paste (start with 1 tablespoon and add more depending on how hot you like it)

Add a large diced sweet potato. Coat and fry gently for a few minutes to absorb flavours.

Add enough coconut milk or coconut cream to cook the potatoes until soft, then mash gently with a fork.

Add about 1 teaspoon of cooled mixture to the centre of each pastry square.
Fold into triangles, fork the edges and coat in egg wash.

Bake in fan forced oven 180 C, or normal oven 200 C until golden brown.

Serve warm with Yoghurt Mint Dip.
Plain Greek Yoghurt, 1/2 freshly squeezed lemon, black pepper and a large bunch of fresh mint leaves finely chopped.

Could also be good with a Chilli sauce, fresh lime juice and chopped fresh coriander dip!

Enjoy - and we’ll come to help you eat them!

Jill’s Caramelised Onion and Goats Cheese Tart

Shortcrust pastry (you can make this yourself of use the frozen stuff)
5-6 brown onions
2 Tb balsamic vinegar
thyme
1 packet goats cheese
3 eggs
small packet whipping cream

Press shortcrust pastry into tart tin and blind bake.
Fry onions in 1 Tb olive oil until they start sticking. Add balsamic vinegar and thyme and cook a little more.
Pour onions over tart base.
Crumble goats cheese over the top (ok to have big clumps).
Whisk up eggs and cream until combined and pour over the top.
Season and bake until ready (around 10-15 minutes).

Grublover comment
Jill made this for us while celebrating Jessie’s graduation in gtown. It is a really simple recipe that always works and always tastes delicious. Serve with a fresh, crisp salad of rocket and balsamic. Great for entertaining because it is equally nice cold.

7 Layer Mexican Dip

3 medium ripe avocados, peeled, cored and mashed
2 Tb lemon juice
1 tub (350ml) sour cream
1 packet taco seasoning mix
2 cans refried beans
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch spring onions, sliced on the diagonal
1 jar black olives, sliced
1 pack shredded cheddar
salt and pepper
1/2 red onion, chopped finely (optional)
red chilli, chopped (optional)

Mix together the avocadoes, lemon juice, salt and pepper and red onion to make a guacamole.
Mix sour cream and taco seasoning.
Layer ingredients as follows:
- bottom layer: refried beans
- second layer - guacamole
- third layer - sour cream
- fourth layer - tomatoes
- fifth layer - onions
- sixth layer - olives
- seventh layer - cheese
Top with extra sour cream, olives, salsa etc if desired.
You could also add some chopped chillies to spice it up.
Serve with corn chips.

Grublover comment
This dip is so delicious and great to take to a Mexican party or any party where you need something quick and tasty. By the end of the night the dip looks like a dirty mess the colour of refried beans but it is demolished so quickly it doesn’t matter.
It looks really cool if you serve it in a glass dish so you can see all the layers. Make sure you use a nice deep dish so it all fits!

Cheesy Twists

This is a great recipe if you have leftover puff pastry and a lot of drunk friends at your house.

Time: 5 minutes
Cost: $2
Ingredients:
- Puff pastry
- Cheese: I like to use some grated parmesan and cheddar, but you can vary this. It is good to use strong cheeses.

Method:
1. Lay some baking paper on a tray
2. Heat oven to 200 degrees
3. Cut thawed pastry into thin strips, about as thick as one of your fingers
4. Twist each strip lengthways so it is like a spring
5. Sprinkle grated cheese over all of the spring
6. Put in the oven until all the cheese is melted and the spring of pastry is delicious and golden and crunchy
7. Don’t burn the roof of your mouth, try to share.

Mini Quiches

Makes 144

3 packets of shortcrust pastry
1 dozen eggs
600 mL whipping cream
1 bunch spring onion, finely sliced
1 packet of ham, finely sliced
Grated cheese

Whisk together eggs, cream, salt and pepper.
Cut pastry into circles and place in well-greased muffin tins.
Sprinkle ham, cheese and spring onions into pastry.
Fill with egg mixture.
Cook at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.

Grublover comment
These are great because they are quick, easy and impressive. They are nice served hot or cold so you can make them on the day of a party and not worry about serving them hot.
Mix it up - other fillings include:
- smoked salmon and dill
- sun-dried tomatoes and basil

Jamie’s Tender and Crisp Chicken Legs with Sweet Tomatoes

Serves 4

4 chicken legs, jointed (I like to use marylands because then you get the fleshy bit and the leg. don’t use breast - it’s not strong enough)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
a big bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped
2 big handfuls of red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved; and ripe plum tomatoes, quartered (2 punnets if just cherrys)
1 whole bulb of garlic, broken into cloves
1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
olive oil
1 x 410g tin of cannelini beans, drained

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (350 F).

Season your chicken pieces all over and put them into a snug-fitting pan in one layer. Throw in all the basil leaves and stalks, and chuck in your tomatoes, and drained beans.

Scatter the garlic cloves into the pan with the chopped chilli and drizzle over some olive oil.

Mix around a bit, pushing the ingredients underneath and the skin facing upwards.
Place in the oven for 1.5 hours, turning the tomatoes halfway through, until the chicken skin is crisp and the meat falls off the bone.
Squeeze the garlic out of the skins before serving.

Grulover comment
This is a fantastic recipe, taken from Jamie Oliver’s book, Jamie’s Dinners. It is so easy and great to make if you have guests because it is always a winner. It literally takes minutes to put together, but requires slow, gentle cooking.
If you prefer you can make it into a pasta dish - simply remove the meat from the bone and then toss it through a bowl of spaghetti.