Di-licious

This week I’m sharing with you a recipe given to me by my one of my best friend’s mum, Maureen. I was bemoaning my lack of a tried and true mince tart recipe for the blog recently when Shelby talked up her mum’s pies – the pastry has orange zest in them which gives it a special lift.  “Just ask her – she’d love to share it with you”, she said. So I did.  And to my delight, Maureen said yes. Chatting with her a few days later, Maureen told me she’s been making these mince pies for forty years.  She found the recipe in a little four page leaflet from The Australian Dried Fruits Association that she picked up in a health food shop. It is so old it is in imperial measure so you will need to convert, she told me.  Like many recipes of its age, it’s deliberately vague about the final quantity it makes. I was able to make 20 using domed tartlet pans but I rolled the pastry out too thin.   Next time I‘ll make the pastry a little thi...

Planning a party? Don't forget the sausage rolls. Want to really impress your guests?  Make them yourself. Appealing to young and old alike, there's something about sausage mince encased in flaky pastry that just demands bottomless bowls of tomato sauce for dunking in. Originating from the UK, sausage rolls are almost a national food here in Australia.  No celebration is complete without them. Like most things, there are sausage rolls and then there are sausage rolls.  Most are lovely, some are terrible and some transcend into the realm of bl##dy fantastic! A good sausage roll will get talked about.  Some people will congratulate you, some may curse you behind their paper napkins and some will beg for the recipe. Planning ahead for Mr Di-licious' recent party, I couldn't lay my hands on my favourite sausage roll recipe (a lesson learnt - if you like a recipe, clip it or write it in your recipe notebook!) Rather than tear the house apart looking for it I...