Club Food

Aussie Meat Pies

Pastry
2 cups plain flour
4 ounces lard, chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons water (approximately)
2 sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Sift flour into bowl; rub in lard.
Add eggs and enough water to
make ingredients cling together.
Press dough into a ball; knead
gently on floured surface until smooth, cover, refrigerate 30
minutes.

Divide dough into 8 portions.
Roll each portion on lightly
floured surface large enough to line 4-inch pie tins.
Trim away
excess pastry.
Place tins on oven tray, line pastry with paper,
fill with dried beans or rice.
Bake in moderately hot oven about 8
minutes.
Remove paper and beans, and bake another 8 minutes or
until pastry is lightly browned; cool.

Filling
1 ounce lard
2 onions, chopped
1 pound ground (minced) beef
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons powdered beef bouillon
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons cornstarch (corn flour)
2 tablespoons water, extra

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat lard in pan, add onion, cook, stirring, until soft.
Add
ground beef, stir over heat until browned.
Stir in sauces,
bouillon, water and allspice.
Bring to boil, simmer, covered, 20
minutes.
Stir in the cornstarch mixed with the extra water, stir
over heat until mixture boils and thickens.

Spoon cold filling into pastry cases.
Cut eight 5-inch rounds
from puff pastry, brush edges of pastry with a little egg yolk,
gently press puff pastry tops into place; trim edges.
Brush tops
with a little more egg yolk.
Make 2 small slits in center of pies,
place on oven trays and bake about 15 minutes or until lightly
browned.
Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Recipe can be made a day ahead and stored covered in the
refrigerator.

Makes 8 pies.

Pumpkin Scones

1 1/2 ounces butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup mashed, cooked pumpkin
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
Pinch of salt
Melted butter (for glaze)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar, then mix in pumpkin.
Stir in egg and
milk.
Sift in flour and salt and add to creamed mixture.
Knead a
few times on a lightly floured surface, then pat out to a rectangle
about 3/4 inch thick.
Cut rounds with floured cutter or into
squares with a sharp knife.
Brush with melted butter.
Bake for 15
minutes until well risen, golden brown on top and cooked through.
Serve hot, split and buttered.

Serves 4 to 6.

Boiled Peanuts (Hawaii)

2 pounds raw peanuts
2 tablespoons Hawaiian rock salt
1 whole bhat gok (star anise)

Soak peanuts in water overnight, weighing down the peanuts with
a dish and a weight, like a large can of pork and beans.

The next day, wash and rub peanuts until the water is clear.
Put
peanuts in a pot with water about 1 1/2 inches above the peanuts.
(Hold peanuts down with your hand.) Add salt and bhat gok.
Cover
and bring to a boil.
Simmer for 30 minutes.

Taste for doneness.
Peanut should be medium to soft, depending
on the taster.
Cook 30 minutes longer for a softer peanut.
Let
peanuts stand in water for 1 hour.

Pour off excess water.
Package and refrigerate.
Boiled peanuts
may be frozen until ready to use or eaten right away.

Chicken Pupus (Hawaiian Appetizer)

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup dark rum
1 tablespoon wasabi powder
Juice of 1 orange
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless, cubed chicken
thighs or breasts

Whisk together all ingredients, except the chicken, in a mixing
bowl.
Place the chicken thighs in the marinade and marinate for 2
to 4 hours in the refrigerator.
After 2 hours, stir the
marinade.

Preheat the grill until the coals are gray to white.
Remove the
chicken from the marinade and drain or shake off the excess
marinade.
Place on a lightly oiled grill and cook for 5 to 7
minutes on each side.

Continue grilling until the chicken is cooked in the center.
Remove the “pupu chicken” to a serving plate and insert wooden
picks in each of the cubes.
Serve immediately as an appetizer.

Yields 4 to 6 servings.

Masi Samoa

2 cups (4 sticks) butter or margarine
4 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
2 cans coconut milk
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 pounds all-purpose flour
10 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs, coconut milk and vanilla
extract and mix well.
Add flour and baking powder to the mixture.
Mix until it is easier to handle, then roll it out, and cut into
squares.
Put squares onto a cookie sheet and bake until they are
brown on both sides.

Palusami (Polynesia)

About 36 young taro leaves
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cups coconut cream
1 teaspoon curry powder (optional)
6 wilted banana leaves
6 breadfruit leaves
Salt, to taste

Add onions to coconut cream.
Add curry, if desired.
Salt to
taste.
Take about six taro leaves and form into a cup.
Pour 1/2 cup
of the coconut cream mixture into the taro leaf cup.
Wrap with
banana leaf, then wrap again with breadfruit leaf.
Bake in oven for
30 minutes.

Pani Popo (Samoa)

5 3/4 to 6 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 package yeast
2 1/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon shortening, margarine, or butter
1 teaspoon salt

Mix 2 1/2 cups of the flour and yeast.

In a saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, shortening, margarine,
or butter; and salt until warm and shortening almost melts.
Add to
flour mixture.
Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30
seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
Using a spoon, stir in as much
remaining flour as you can to make a moderately stiff dough that is
smooth and easy to pull, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Put some shortening
on your hands.
This will add moisture to dough and make it easier
to handle.
Shape dough into a ball and put in a greased bowl.
Turn
it on both sides to grease the whole ball of dough.
Put a pan with
some very hot water in it on the bottom of the oven.
Cover dough
and let rise in the oven on the top rack.
(The steam from the hot
water will help it to rise.) This should take about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down.
Roll 18 balls and cover for 10 minutes while
you make the following milk mixture.

Milk Mixture
2 cans coconut milk
1 cup granulated sugar

Pour half of the milk mixture into each of two (13 x 9-inch)
pans.
Put in 9 bread rolls on top (or you can make the rolls
smaller to make more rolls).
Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes
or until bread tests done.

Hawaiian Pork

Sweet and Sour Sauce
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Stir all ingredients together.
Set aside.

Pork and Vegetables
2 pounds lean boneless pork (such as shoulder
or butt), trimmed of excess fat and cut
into 3/4-inch cubes
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup cornstarch
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1 small onion, cut into wedges, layers separated
1/4 pound Chinese pea pods (snow or sugar peas) or
1 package frozen Chinese pea pods, thawed and
drained

Dip pork cubes in beaten egg; drain briefly and roll in
cornstarch to coat lightly; shake off excess.
Place a wok over high
heat.
When wok is hot, add 2 tablespoons of the oil.
When oil is
hot, add half the pork; stir fry until evenly browned (5 to 7
minutes).

Lift pork from wok and set aside.
Repeat to brown remaining
meat, adding more oil as needed.
Add remaining oil (about 2
tablespoons) to wok.
Add bell peppers and onion; stir fry until
vegetables are tender-crisp to bite (about 2 minutes).

Add pea pods; then stir sauce and add.
Stir until sauce boils
and thickens; return pork to wok and stir until heated through.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Damper Bread

This bread dates back to the early days of the Australian
colonies.
It may have been named for William Dampier, an early
explorer.

1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup buttermilk

Dissolve yeast in warm water; stir in sugar.
Mix flour, baking
powder and salt in large bowl; cut in shortening until mixture
resembles fine crumbs.
Stir in yeast mixture and buttermilk until
soft dough forms.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; gently
knead until smooth, about 1 minute.
Cover; let rest 10 minutes.

Shape dough into a round 7-inch diameter loaf.
Place on greased
cookie sheet.
Cover; let rise in warm place 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut an X about 1/2 inch deep in
top of bread.
Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes.

Serve warm.
Tear bread into pieces to serve.

Hawaiian Steak

Individual steaks, 1/2-inch thick or less
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pineapple slices
1 large can mushrooms

Punch both sides of each steak well with a fork, then marinate
for 24 to 36 hours in a marinade made by soy sauce, Worcestershire
sauce, vinegar and sugar.

Simmer steaks on a low fire for 10 minutes in the marinade.
Remove them and place steaks in a 350 degree F oven for 10 to 20
minutes, depending on thickness of meat.
Three minutes before
removing steaks, place a pineapple slice on each.

To make gravy, slowly sauté a large can of
mushrooms in butter.
While doing so, boil down the sauce used for
the marinade to make a gravy.
Combine mushrooms and reduced
marinade sauce.

Serve individual steaks with the pineapple on top, over which
has been poured a generous amount of gravy.

Blackberry Pavlovas

3 egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 small box instant vanilla or lemon pudding and pie filling
1 1/2 cup skim milk
1 (16 1/2 ounce) can blackberries, drained

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.
Line a large baking sheet with
parchment paper.
Trace six 3 1/2-inch circles on paper.
Set
aside.

Combine egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla extract in large
mixing bowl, Beat a high speed of electric mixer until soft peaks
begin to form.
Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, while beating at
high speed.
Beat until mixture is thick and glossy.

Spread about 1/2 cup meringue mixture over each circle on
prepared baking sheet, mounding slightly around edges.
Bake for 2
hours.
Turn oven off (DO NOT OPEN DOOR).
Let meringues stand in
oven for 1 hour.
Remove meringues from oven and cool to room
temperature.
Set aside.

Combine pudding mix and milk in a 4-cup measure.
Stir well with
whisk to combine.
Let stand for 5 minutes or until thickened.

Carefully peel paper from meringues.
Place meringues on a
serving platter.
Spoon 1/4 cup pudding into each meringue.
Top
evenly with blackberries.

Yields 6 servings

Coconut Candy (Guam)

3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup milk
3 cups shredded coconut

In a saucepan, boil sugar and milk over medium heat until it
becomes a thin syrup (232 degrees F to 240 degrees F on a candy
thermometer).

Add coconut, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
Color
should be a nice golden brown.
Spread over a flat plate and let
cool.
May be eaten warm or chilled.

Makes 24 pieces.

Sticky Toffee Pudding (Australian)

3/4 cup pitted and chopped dates
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Toffee Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Additional heavy cream for accompaniment (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Lightly grease an
11 x 7-inch baking pan; set aside.

Place the dates in a bowl and cover with the boiling water; mix
in the baking soda and vanilla extract; set aside.

Whisk the flour and baking powder together in a small bowl; set
aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light
and fluffy.
Add the egg and beat well.
Stir in the flour mixture
and mix well; then add the date mixture and mix well.
Transfer
batter to prepared baking pan, spreading out evenly.
Bake for 40
minutes.

Toffee Sauce: Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the
sugar and cream.
Simmer gently for 3 minutes.
Prick the top of the
hot pudding with the tines of a serving fork and pour the sauce on
top.
Place under a hot broiler until it bubbles.
Watch carefully,
as it burns easily.

Serve warm drizzled with heavy cream or, if desired, whip the
unsweetened cream and dollop it on top of the pudding.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Frosted Meringue with Kiwifruit (Pavlova)

This dessert celebrates ballerina Anna Pavlova.
It was created
to welcome her during her tour of Australia.
Another popular fruit
used to make this dessert is passion fruit.

3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced*

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.
Line bottom of 8- or 9-inch round
layer pan with brown paper.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy; add vanilla
extract.
Beat in 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue
beating until stiff and glossy.
Spread in pan.
Bake 1 1/2
hours.

Turn off oven; leave meringue in oven with door closed 1
hour.

Finish cooling meringue at room temperature.

Loosen edge of meringue with knife; hit pan sharply on table to
remove meringue.
Invert onto plate (meringue will be crumbly on
bottom and around edge).
Remove paper.

Beat whipping cream and 2 tablespoons sugar in chilled bowl
until stiff.
Frost side and top of meringue, building up edge
slightly.
Arrange kiwifruit slices on top.
Cut into wedges to
serve.

Yields 8 servings.

* 1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh strawberries, cut into halves,
raspberries, blueberries, or a combination of these can be
substituted for the kiwifruit.

Murrumbidgee Cake

This is a wonderful cake from “Down Under.”

7 ounces whole Brazil nuts
5 ounces walnuts
1/2 pound pitted dates
3 ounces candied peel, chopped
6 ounces glacé cherries (several colors, if
possible)
3 ounces seedless raisins
Grated rind of 1 lemon
3 ounces flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
5 ounces granulated sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Spirit such as brandy, rum or vanilla or clove brandy

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Line a loaf or square baking pan
with greased paper.

Put nuts and fruit into a large bowl.

Sift flour, salt and baking powder together, and add to the
fruit mixture with the sugar.
Mix well and make into a stiff batter
with the eggs and vanilla extract.
Place in the pan; flatten down
with the back of a spoon and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Test for
doneness with a knife or skewer (if the top is browning too
quickly, cover with foil).

Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out.

Place in the middle of a clean tea towel.
Pierce in several
places and soak with the spirit.
Wrap the towel around the cake and
store in plastic wrap or foil.
Keep in the refrigerator.
Add more
spirit every week for 8 weeks.

Pumpkin Soup

2 pounds pumpkin, peeled
2 onions, chopped
6 cups stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup cold water
1 cup light cream
Chopped parsley

Cut pumpkin into 1/2-inch cubes, removing seeds and fiber.
Place
in a saucepan with the onions, stock and seasoning.
Cook over low
heat until pumpkin is soft, about 1 hour.

Purée pumpkin in blender.
Return to saucepan.

Combine flour and water and stir until smooth.
Add to the soup,
stirring constantly, until it begins to boil.
Add cream.
Mix well.
Remove from heat.

Garnish with chopped parsley to serve.

Toad in the Hole

1 pound bulk sausage
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Shape sausage into 1-inch balls and place in a 2-quart
casserole.
Bake 15 or 20 minutes until lightly browned at 400
degrees F.

Pour off most of the fat from the casserole, leaving about 1/4
cup.

While sausage bakes, sift flour, baking powder and salt together
in a bowl.
Add milk and eggs.
Mix together lightly and beat the
mixture together well until very smooth.
Pour into the hot
casserole over the sausage balls and bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees
F.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake another 15
minutes.

Serve immediately with cold applesauce.

Aussie Sausage Rolls

Filling
2 pounds ground lamb
2 eggs
6 slices crustless white bread
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup tomato paste
Salt and pepper

Pastry
3 sheets puff pastry (11/2 packs Pepperidge Farms frozen
sheets)
2 egg yolks
Sesame seeds, untoasted

Thaw puff pastry sheets to room temperature and preheat oven to
400 degrees F.

Make fresh bread crumbs by putting slices of bread through a
blender or food processor.
Combine lamb, eggs, bread crumbs,
Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, salt and pepper in a bowl and
mix well.

Roll pastry into flat sheets and cut into long, wide strips.
(If
using Pepperidge Farms sheets, cut in half.)

Place filling into sausage-shaped lines down the center of the
pastry strips.
Roll pastry over the top to enclose and then turn
upside down so the seam is underneath.
Cut meat-filled tubes into 6
portions and place on a nonstick baking tray.
Brush with egg yolk
and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for 15 to 25 minutes or until golden and cooked
through.

Serve with ketchup.

Caramel Bananas with Rum

2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
3 tablespoons rum
4 medium bananas
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Cook and stir 2/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons whipping cream
and the butter over low heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture
is smooth.
Remove from heat; stir in rum.
Cover and refrigerate at
least 1 hour.

Cut bananas crosswise into halves; cut each half lengthwise into
halves.
Arrange in serving dishes; top with refrigerated caramel
sauce.

Beat 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1 tablespoon brown sugar in
chilled bowl until stiff.
Spoon over bananas and sauce; garnish
with almonds.

Yields 4 to 6 servings.

Ginger Crunch (New Zealand)

1/2 cup (125 ml) butter
3/4 cup (188 ml) granulated sugar
2 cups (500 ml) minus 1 tablespoon (15 ml) flour
1 teaspoon (5ml) ground ginger
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder

Topping
2 tablespoons (30 ml) butter
4 tablespoons (60 ml) confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons (10 ml) golden syrup
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground ginger

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream together the butter and sugar.

Sift together the flour, ginger and baking powder.
Add to the
creamed mixture and knead well.
Turn into a buttered 8-inch square
cake pan.
Bake until the cake tests done, 20 to 25 minutes.

Place the 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan with the
powdered sugar, golden syrup and ginger.
Heat and stir until the
butter is melted.
Pour the mixture over the cake while it is still
hot.
Cut the cake into bars about 2 1/2 inches square before it is
cold.

Yields 9 cookies.

NOTE: Golden syrup is available at upscale markets and British
specialty stores.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake

1 3/4 cups finely chopped dates
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/8 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl combine the dates and baking soda.
Pour enough
boiling water over the dates to just cover them.

Cream the 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of the butter with the
granulated sugar until light.
Beat in the eggs and mix well to
combine.

Add the flour and date mixture (including water) to the egg
mixture and fold to combine.
Pour the batter into one 8-inch round
baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes.
Let cool, slice and
serve with warm Caramel Sauce.

Caramel Sauce: In a small saucepan combine the brown sugar,
evaporated milk, vanilla and the last 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon
butter.
Cook over medium heat and bring to boil.
Turn heat down and
simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Use immediately.

Swaggie’s Lamb Shanks

A swaggie (swagman) is someone who carries a swag (all his
worldly possessions) on his back and roams around the country on
foot, living off his earnings, doing odd jobs here and there, and
from gifts of money and food.
This inexpensive cut of lamb is one a
swaggie might be given and is a real treat when cooked this way and
served sitting around a campfire under the stars in the Australian
bush.
It is more likely, though, that a swaggie would use beer
rather than wine.
This tastes better when cooked in a camp oven (a
heavy cast iron pot with a lid) over an open fire and then
finished, clamped in a grill (broil) rack, over the coals until the
outsides are crisp and golden.
You will need to begin making this
dish two days ahead of serving.

6 lamb shanks
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
3 fresh parsley sprigs
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 head garlic, cut in half across the cloves
1 (2 inch long) piece ginger root, peeled and sliced
6 peppercorns
1/2 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
1 bottle red wine

Arrange the shanks in a large, shallow baking dish.
Scatter the
vegetables, herbs, garlic, ginger root and peppercorns over the
top.
Pour in the oil and the wine.
Turn the shanks over in the
marinade to coat evenly.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven
to 350 degrees F.
Transfer the shanks to a cast iron Dutch oven
with a lid and pour the marinade evenly over the top.
Cover and
bake in the center of the oven until fork tender, about 2 hours.
During cooking, turn the shanks over from time to time.
Remove from
the oven and let cool, then refrigerate overnight in the
marinade.

Drain the shanks over a pot, catching the marinade.
Place the
marinade over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to a good
coating consistency.
Arrange the shanks on a griller (broiler) tray
and slip under the broiler.
Broil until glazed and crisp, about 5
minutes, then turn and grill until glazed and crisp on the second
side and heated through, 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Serve the shanks at once with the reduced sauce spooned around
them.

Serves 6.