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Curried Crab Vol-Au-vents
60 gr. butter ; 1/4 cup plain flour; 1 cup milk; 1/2 teas curry powder; 200g can white crab meat; 3 spring onions chopped; 1 teasp lemon juice; 60 small val-au-vent vases; small sprigs of dill for garnish.
Heat butter in pan until melted. Add flour. Stir in next 5 ingredients. Cook until thick. Spoon filling into cases. Chill.
Preheat oven to 180 celsius. Bake for 15 minutes. Garnish with dill.
(in advance, you can make and fill savouries and freeze for 3 weeks. Then to serve, bake at 150C for 35 minutes then garnish.)

Eggs with Salmon.
30 hard-boiled eggs halved; 100 g smoked salmon ; 1/4 cup mayonnaise; salt & pepper to taste; chives and/or caviar to garnish.
Combine egg yolks in food processor with salmon and mayonnaise. Season. Pipe the mixture into eggs. Garnish.
(in advance you can place cooked egg whites in container with water, refrigerate. Store filling separately. To serve, drain eggs, fill, then garnish.

Caesar Salad.
4 cos lettuce torn ; 1 kg bacon diced and cooked; 55gr. can anchovy fillets diced; 2 beaten eggs;
1 cup bottled French dressing; 1/4 cup chopped parsley; 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese; 10 slices of bread made into small croutons.
Arrange lettuce in salad bowls. Top with bacon and anchovies. Cover and refrigerate. Blend eggs, dressing, parsley and cheese. Top with croutons and dressing, toss well.
(in advance you can prepare salad. Chill. Make croutons and dressing and store separately.
Then to serve, top the sald with croutons and dressing, tossing well.

Roasted Mixed Vegetables.
12 thin eggplants ; 12 thin zucchinis; 12 capsicums quartered; 3 bunches large spring onions trimmed; 1 cup red wine vinegar; 1 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil.
GARLIC MAYONNAISE - 2 cups mayonnaise and 6 cloves of crushed garlic.
Cut eggplants and zucchinis into lengthwise strips. Place all the vegetables into a large container. Add vinegar, oil and basil. Refrigerate up to 2 days. Mix mayonnaise ingredients.
Preheat oven to 210 Celsius. Cook vegetables 20 minutes in 2 batches. Cover with foil. Serve with warm mayonnaise.
(in advance marinate vegies, make mayonnaise, refrigerate. To serve, roast vegetables as above.)

Potato and Avocado Salad.
3kg baby potatoes cooked; 10 spring onions finely sliced; 1 1/4 cups bottled Franch dressing; freshly ground black pepper; 3 large avocados diced
Combine ingredients, toss. (in advance - make salad day before without avocado. To serve, add avocado)

Seasoned Chicken Roll
3 x number 16 chickens; 4 chopped onions; 4 cloves garlic crushed; 1 cup pine nuts; 2 tab. oil; 3 cups seasoned stuffing mix; 1 1/2 cups milk; 2kg chicken mince; 9 rashers bacon; mango chutney to serve.
Get a butcher to bone chickens or do it yourself. Cook onion, garlic and nuts in oil. Add stuffing, milk and mince. Preheat oven to 180C.
Lay the chickens flat. Top each with bacon, then stuffing. Enclose the stuffing and secure with skewers. Roast chickens for 1 hr 45 minutes. Refrigerate. Serve with chutney.
( in advance you can cook chickens 1 or 2 days ahead and keep in fridge. At serving time, serve sliced, with mango chutney).

Garlic Beef with Rich Tomato Sauce
For Sauce -
4 onions chopped; 8 cloves garlic crushed; 16 diced tomatoes; 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil; 1 cup red wine; 1 cup tomato paste; 1 tab. sugar
Marinade -
3 kg scotch fillet steak, sliced thinly; 1/3 cup oil; 8 cloves garlic crushed; 1/4 cup seeded mustard; 1/4 cup red wine vinegar; extra 1/4 cup oil.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a pan and simmer for 30 minutes. Brush meat with oil, garlic, mustard and vinegar. Refrigerate. Heat oil, brown steaks. Placwe in large pan with sauce. Simmer covered for 15 minutes.
(in advance - freeze sauce up to 3 weeks. Marinate steaks day before. To serve, cook as suggested, and serve with sauce.)

Berry Compote & Citrus Cream
1 cup sugar; 1 1/2 cups apple juice; shredded lemon rind; 10 punnets of berries; 3 x 825 g cans peach slices; 2 cups sour cream; 2 cups whipped cream; 1/4 cup grated lemon zest; 1/4 cup brown sugar; pinch mixed spice.
Place sugar, juice and zest in a pan. Cook for 10 mins. then cool. Combine fruits with syrup. Refrigerate. Combine remaining ingredients. Serve with fruits.
(in advance - make compote and cream 2 days ahead, and keep chilled. To serve top with spiced cream.

Chocolate Wedding Cake.
3 cups plain flour; 1 cup cocoa; 3 teasp bicarb soda; 1 1/4 cups caster sugar; 2 cups sour cream; 370 gr butter melted and cooled; 1 cup raspberry jam; 4 eggs; 1 tab. vanilla.

GANACHE - 375 g. dark chocolate melts; 200 ml cream; 2 teas. Grand Marnier; chocolate leaves to decorate.

Preheat oven to 160C. Lightly grease a 28 cm round cake tin. Line base and sides with 2 layers of baking paper. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Add sugar, cream butter and jam. Beat with electric beaters for 3 mins. Add eggs & vanilla. Beat again for 1 min - mixture should become light and creamy.
Spoon into tin, level surface and bake for 1 hr 45 mins or until done. Stand for 10 mins, then cool on a rack.
To make ganache, combine chocolate, cream and Grand Marnier. Stir over simmering water until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly. Pour over cake. Spread with spatula. Allow to set, then decorate with chocolate leaves.
(in advance make cake and freeze up to 3 weeks ahead. To serve - day before, cover with ganache and decorate with chocolate leaves).

Raspberry & Peach Ice Tea
2 litres boiling water; 8 raspberry and peach flavoured tea bags; 2 cups peach nectar;
1 x 150 gr punnet raspberries; 1 x 2.5 litre bottle mineral water chilled; fresh mint leaves to serve.
Combine water and teabags in large heatproof jug; stand 10 minutes. Remove and discard teabags. Stir in juice, and refrigerate until cold.
Divide nectar among 20 glasses. Slowly pour tea mixture over peach nectar and raspberries; top with mineral water. Decorate with fresh mint leaves.

Sparkling Lime Cocktail
2 cups gin; 1/3 cup grenadine; 3/4 cup lime juice; 3 x 375 ml bottles Seaview NV Brut sparkling wine chilled; lime wedges to decorate.
Combine gin, grenadine and juice in jug. Divide evenly among 20 glasses. Just before serving, fill glasses with wine, & decorate with lime wedges.

Smoked Salmon Frittatas (makes 36)
6 eggs; 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese; 3/4 cup thickened cream; 3 spring onions thinly sliced; 125 g smoked salmon thinly sliced; 1 tab. chopped fresh dill; 1 tab drained baby capers; 1/2 teas. finely grated lemon rind; salt/pepper to taste; 1/2 cup sour cream; extra 100 g smoked salmon thinly sliced; fresh dill sprigs to garnish.
Grease 3 x 12-hole mini-muffin pans (1 tablespoon capacity). Whisk together eggs, cheese, cream, spring onions, smoked salmon, dill, capers and rind in a large jug until combined.
Season with salt/pepper. Divide mixture evenly among pan holes.
Cook in moderate oven 180degC for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and set. Stand in pans for 10 minutes; transfer to wire racks to cool.
Just before serving, top each frittata with a little sour cream and extra smoked salmon; garnish with dill.

Chicken Avocado Sandwiches (makes 54)
1/2 x 125 g tub of light cream cheese; 2 teas grain mustard; 1/4 cup mayonnaise; 1 tab chopped fresh parsely; salt/pepper to taste; 18 slices white bread; 400 g sliced smoked chicken; 1 large avocado, mashed; 1 tab. lemon juice; snow pen tendrils to garnish.
Beat cream cheese, mustard and mayonnaise in small bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.
Stir in parsley and season with salt/pepper.
Spread 12 bread slices with 2/3rd's of cream-cheese mixture. Arrange half the chicken over six slices; spread with half the combined avocado and juice. Place 6 bread slices cheese-side down, on top. Then spread remaining cream cheese mixture on top of sandwiches; repeat layering with remaining chicken and avocado mixture. Place remaining bread slices on top.
Cut crusts from sandwiches. Cut sandwiches into 3 fingers; cut each finger into 3 cubes.
Spear a snow pea tendril on top of each cube with a toothpick.

Seasoned Roast Pork (serves 20)
3 x 1kg pieces pork scotch neck; 1 bunch (250g) spinach trimmed; 250 g sliced prosciutto; a cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained, roughly chopped; 1 cup pitted black olives sliced; 1/2 cup each of toasted pine nuts, fresh basil leaves, brown sugar, and balsamic vinegar; 1/4 cup olive oil; 2 cloves garlic crushed;; extra fresh basil to garnish.
Cut pork lengthways along raost, making an incision 3/4 the depth of the roast. Fold back to make one flat piece. Place between layers of plastic wrap; pound with a meat mallet until an even thickness. Repeat with remaining pork.
Divide spinach, prosciutto, tomatoes, olives, pine nuts and basil into 3 portions. Arrange 1 portion of spinach, slightly overlapping over one piece of pork; repeat with 1 portion of prosciutto then a portion of sun-dried tomatoes, olives, pine nuts and basil over top.
Roll up pork from one long side; secure with kitchen string at 2 cm intervals. Repeat with remaining pork, spinach, prosciutto, tomatoes, olives, pine nuts and basil. Place pork in baking dishes; brush with combined sugar, vinegar, oil and garlic.
Cook in moderate oven, 180 degC, occasionally brushing with vinegar mixture, for about 50 to 60 minutes, or until juices run clear when pierced with a skewer. Wrap pork in foil; refrigerate until cold.
To serve, cut pork into slices; garnish with extra fresh basil.

Prawn Fettucine Salad
3 x 375 g packets fettuccine pasta; 4 bunches asparagus chopped; 3 kg medium cooked prawns; 2 large carrots; 6 sticks celery; 2 large red onions thinly sliced; 4 mangoes peeled thinly sliced; chopped fresh chives to garnish.
Dressing -- 1 cup mayonnaise; 1 cup sour cream; 1;2 cup mango chutney; 1/2 cup bottled French dressing; 2 tabs. chopped fresh chives; 1 tab. grain mustard.
Cook 1 packet of pasta at a time. Add pasta to large pan of boiling water. Boil uncovered, until just tender; drain. Rinse under cold water; drain well.
Boil, steam or microwave chopped asparagus until tender; drain.
Shell and devein prawns leaving tails intact.
Dressing - combine all ingredients in bowl, whisk until smooth. Cut carrot and celery into thin 8 cm long strips. Toss pasta with asparagus, prawns, carrot, celery, onions and mangoes into 2 large bowls. Just before serving, drizzle with Dressing.
Serve garnished with chopped fresh chives.

Thai Chicken Rice Cups
10 single chicken breast fillets; 6 cups cooked brown rice (that is 3 cups uncooked rice); 2 x 410 g cans corn kernels rinsed and drained; 1 large red & 1 large green capsicum chopped; 2 cups bean sprouts; 6 stick celery chopped; 6 spring onions thinly sliced; radicchio leaves to serve.
DRESSING - 1 cup sweet chilli sauce; 2 tabs. fish sauce; 1/4 cup peanut oil; 1/4 cup lime juice; 1 tab. soy sauce.
Dressing -- combine all ingredients in alrge screw-top jar and shake well.
Combine chicken with a 1/3 of dressing in large bowl; mix well. Cover; refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
Drain chicken from marinade; reserve marinade. Place chicken in a single layer, on wire racks in baking dishes.
Cook, uncovered, in hot oven 200 deg C for about 20 minutes, brushing with reserved marinade, or until chicken is browned and tender; cool. Thickly slice chicken.
Combine rice, corn, capsicums, bean sprouts, celery, spring onions and remaining Dressing in a large bowl; mix well.
Service rice mixture in radicchio leaves; top with sliced chicken.

Wedding Cake
500 g butter chopped; 2 tab finely grated orange rind; 2 cups caster sugar; 1 cup orange marmalade; 8 eggs; 1 cup desiccated coconut; (1kg) or 5 cups mixed dried fruit; 2 cups red and green glace cherries halved; 1/2 cup chopped glaced ginger; 3 cups plain flour; 1 cup self-raising flour; 2.5 metres ribbon and fresh flowers to decorate (ribbon/flowers in colours that suit your wedding theme)
ICING - 500 g butter chopped; 2 teasp vanilla essence; 6 cups icing sugar mixture; 2/3 cup milk.

Beat butter, rind and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer until just combined (do not overbeat). Add marmalade; beat until just combined. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until just combined.
Transfer mixture to large bowl, stir in coconut, fruit, ginger and combined sifted flours; mix well.
Divide mixture among prepared tins.
Cook in a slow oven, 150degC for about 1.5 hours for the smaller cake and 2.5 hours for larger cake, or until cooked when tested. Cover with foil; cook cakes in pans. When cakes are cold, remove from pans. Leave lining paper intact. Wrap cakes tightly in plastic food wrap, then foil; store in cool, dark place.
ICING - beat butter and essence in large bowl with electric mixer until as white as possible.
Gradually beat in half the icing-sugar mixture, milk, then remaining icing-sugar mixture.
Place large cake on a cake stand or board; top with smaller cake. Spread tops and sides of cakes with icing.
Decorate with wide ribbon and fresh flowers, in colours to suit your theme.