Happy days
people - spring has sprung! Which means it’s time to come out of hibernation,
shake off the cobwebs and any traces of cabin fever and do a little outdoor
entertaining without the fear of frostbite claiming your toes.
We went nuts
last weekend giving the backyard a much needed spruce and shovel, clearing up
the mess that winter and all of it’s rain left behind and now, now we are ready
to enjoy the outdoors again.
I’m rather
fond of the old alfresco dining. Vibey tunes on loop, a spread of tasty food
and drink and a gathering of people I love to laugh with. Does it get any
better than that? Nah I don’t think so.
I have a
mental checklist I tick off when I am preparing to entertain as there are
several things I believe are important ingredients to pull of a doozy of a do
without spending all day fussing around. I want to be sitting down and enjoying
the time with my guests, not faffing around.
EASY SPRING ENTERTAINING
CHECKLIST
1.
MOVE IT OUTDOORS
More than
likely you have been couped up indoors during winter, so you are probably keen
to soak up a little bit of that spring sunshine. If you are anything like me,
you may be knee deep in spring cleaning the inside of your house and so you
don’t want to unnecessarily mess it all up again.
Head
outdoors. Set up a table in the backyard or at the beach or park. Throw a
picnic rug or two on the grass, whatever! Start making up for lost time.
2. KEEP THE FOOD TASTY BUT SIMPLE
You don’t
want to be in the kitchen cooking all day, so set a menu and keep it simple.
My basic
menu includes something tasty to whet the appetite, a selection of noms to fill
my guest’s bellies and maybe something a little sweet to wind down to.
3. SET THE MOOD WITH MUSIC
In my
opinion, background music sets the scene. I am one of those weird iTunes nerds
who creates a new playlist for every gathering and I choose my tunes to personally
suit my guests. What can I say? It’s my thing!
4. KEEP IT FUSS FREE
Not only do
you want to be free to relax and spend time with your guests, you want your
guests to feel relaxed and comfy too. I love setting everything out buffet
style so everyone can pick and choose what they would like on their plate and
parents can serve their kids what they know they won’t need to beg them to eat.
If kids are dining with you, leave your fancy crockery in the cupboard and mix
and match your every day faves - you don't want yourself or your guest
stressing about breaking anything precious. You can pick up some great crockery and cutlery
basics from Coles that won’t break the bank.
5. DECORATE
AND SET THE SCENE
You don’t
need to go to a whole lot of trouble, just grab a bunch of flowers when you are
getting your groceries and put them in whatever vessels you have lying around.
Bottles, jars, tin cans, it all works. They are a cheap way of adding some pizazz
to your setting and they never fail to brighten up a space. The sight of fresh
flowers has the power to make everyone happy, who cares why - they just do.
6. DON’T
BLOW THE BUDGET
I went
through a phase where I used to spend a fortune on food for my guests, to the
point that I would get so stressed about whether I could actually afford to
entertain in any given month or not. Your menu doesn’t need to be expensive to
keep your guests happy - just thoughtful.
Take
advantage of the weekly specials Coles has on offer. Each week you will find 12
fresh specials in store from Friday-Thursday including their monthly heroes
line up - a selection of 100% Australian grown, in season products at a bargain
price.
7. RELAX AND
HAVE FUN
Entertaining
is supposed to be fun and nothing shakes those winter blues faster than getting
out in the gorgeous spring weather and chilling out. It’s good for your health
and good for your soul; what better excuse do you need to invite a bunch of
friends around to say “Helllloooo Spring”
Here’s some
recipes I put together taking advantage of the September Hero products at
Coles; Strawberries, Pineapples, Avocados, Asparagus, Snow Peas and Spring
Onions.
GARLIC AIOLI
INGREDIENTS
4 egg yolks
3 cloves of
garlic
1 cup of
olive oil
Juice of 1
lemon
Sea salt
METHOD
Crush and
grind your garlic and sea salt to make a paste.
Add the
garlic mixture with your egg yolks and lemon to a blender or in a bowl ready
for a stab blender.
Slowly add
your oil as you blend until your aioli forms a thick creamy texture.
MUSTARD POTATO SALAD
5 large potatoes
boiled and diced
1/2 cup of
sugar
3/4 cup of
vinegar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon
Dijon mustard
1/2 cup of
sliced spring onions
A healthy
pinch of sea salt
A healthy
pinch of cayenne pepper
4 slices of bacon
diced
METHOD
In a bowl
mix together your vinegar, sugar, eggs, mustard salt and cayenne pepper. Give
it a good beating and set your dressing mixture aside.
Over a
medium heat fry your bacon until crispy and then pour in your dressing mix and
stir constantly until it thickens.
Pour your
mix whilst still warm over your potatoes, toss with your spring onions and
serve hot or cold
PINEAPPLE & STRAWBERRY BREAD
INGREDIENTS
3 cups of
Plain flour
1 teaspoon
of baking powder
1 teaspoon
of salt
2 teaspoons
of ground cinnamon
4 beaten
eggs
1 1/4 cups
of vegetable oil
2 cups of
castor sugar
250g of
sliced strawberries
250g of
crushed & drained pineapple (use a blender to crush your pineapple and
drain the excess juice to drink later)
METHOD
Preheat your
oven to 180 degrees (170 for fan forced ovens)
Mix together
your eggs, sugar, oil, strawberries and pineapple and then set your fruit
mixture aside.
In a large
bowl sift together your flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and then add
your fruit mixture and stir until combined.
Divide your
mixture between two greased or lined loaf tins and cook for 50 - 60 minutes,
checking with a skewer that they are ready.
Cool on a
wire rack and serve warm or cold.
AVOCADO & PISTACHIO DIP
INGREDIENTS
The fruit of
2 ripe avocados
Juice of 1/2
lime
Juice of 1
lemon
30gms of
chopped roasted pistachios (roast raw kernels in a hot oven for 2 -3 minutes)
1 tablespoon
of olive oil
1 pinch of
lemon zest
Sea salt and
fresh pepper to season
METHOD
In a bowl
mash your avocado with a fork adding a pinch of sea salt, lemon juice and olive
oil until your get the consistency you prefer.
Mix through
your chopped pistachio nuts and drizzle with lime juice and a good grind of
pepper.
So tell me -
are you ready to say Hello to spring?
Do you like
to entertain at your joint?
Got any fail
safe tips for fun, budget friendly entertaining you can share with us?