Party Time

I've got a bit behind and I've got quite a bit to tell you so this might take a few days. I wanted to talk about party food. If you have teenage girls in your house you'll know it's the ball season & we hosted a pre-ball gathering at our house - girls, partners & parents. My advice when having a drinks function is keep it simple. Minimise your effort & maximise effect. Plan a simple menu that includes nibbly things attractively laid on dishes, dips, hot & cold snacks. We found a small piece of steak in the freezer that Peter cooked rare and sliced thinly. He grilled slices of French bread on both sides, spread on a smear of horseradish, then a slice of beef & topped with a sliver of roasted red pepper.
One of my favourites is mini meatballs. Use minced lamb - mix with spring onions finely chopped (I didn't include garlic or onions on this occasion but perhaps I should have!), cinnamon, cumin, allspice, breadcrumbs (or try semolina), an egg to bind, salt & pepper. Make teeny meatballs. About 500g lamb should make 75 meatballs. You can make these up the night before & cover in the fridge - I think they settle & are less inclined to break. When ready to serve, fan grill at 180 for about 15-20 mins - turn halfway through, or gently pan fry browning on all sides. The latter is a bit fiddly for me.
Then skewer the meatballs on those little party bamboo skewers with the curl at the end and put a cherry tomato on the end of each one. These look & taste fabulous. You don't need a dipping sauce.
Peter usually makes little pastry cases which we fill with various things - on this occasion that left over spinach & ricotta I put in the freezer on July 19th. We put a little blob of feta on top for extra salty cheesiness & baked for 12-15 minutes at 220.
Then serve mixed dips with yummy things you find at the supermarket or deli. We had a fantastic Kingsmeade blue cheese called Sunset Blue, classic reduced cream onion dip, guacamole, hummus, Caanan Galilee. One of my favourite snacks is pesto spread on mini toasts. I used to make crostini but you kind of lose the will to live slicing & oiling & turning the breads. I buy Pride of France mini toasts & Genoese pesto. In summer I make my own basil or beetroot pesto.
And lastly don't forget the cheesy feet. Make your mother's cheese straws recipe but use a red cheese - I use Kingsmeade Rimutaka Red - and some Parmesan. Add a pinch of cayenne. I used to make cheese stars but I recently acquired hand & feet shaped cutters. The hands weren't so good, the fingers kept falling off, but the tiny feet were delightful.
Last Saturday we went to a friend's 50th birthday & I made a delicious broccoli salad to go with a glazed ham. I recommend you try this before the broccoli season ends. In a large bowl mix baby cos & spinach leaves, little sprigs of broccoli blanched for 2-3 minutes, 100g crumbly blue cheese (not Kaimai crumbly because although delicious, crumbly it was not), a handful of olives, about 5 rashers of bacon (free range) fried until crispy & crumbled into bits, cherry tomatoes halved - use a variety & cut across the middle not down through the core (Jasper taught me this - it looks prettier). Dress with a lemony vinaigrette and sprinkle on a handful of toasted slivered almonds & a handful of microgreens -the truth is I never know when to stop & always want to add one more thing.