Party Savouries

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 79, Issue 6, 15 December 1949, Page 607

Party Savouries

npHE hostess planning a party for 20 or 30 -*■ people must make careful arrangements for the refreshments. She will wish to serve food which looks attractive and colourful, to have variety so that all tastes may be pleased, and to strike a balance between foods which must be cooked or heated at the last moment and those which may be prepared completely in advance. The last point is very important, as assistance is not always available, and the capacity of the hostess (and of the oven) must not be overtaxed in an endeavour to heat too many things at once. This article by ' Norma K. Metson, Rural Sociologist, Department of Agriculture, Wellington, describes the preparation of a variety of savouries, both hot and cold.

THOUGH many savouries are more appetising when hot, some such as bacon and egg pie and sausage rolls are just as good cold. The usual hot savouries are those with pastry as a base, those which contain bacon, and those which are cooked by being fried in deep fat. Savoury, scones and biscuits, stuffed celery, prunes, eggs, and tomatoes, aspic jellies, and delicacies. such as crayfish and tinned salmon are served cold. Ingredients The selection of ingredients depends to a large extent on what the housewife has on hand (quite ordinary items may become fascinating in combination), on the season of the year (which determines the availability of vegetables such as celery, spring onions, and cucumber), and on whether there are shops within reach which provide ready-made cocktail sausages, olives, tinned mushrooms, and similar exotic foodstuffs. The appetites and preferences of the guests must also be considered; hungry men probably are just as happy with thin bread and butter and a liberal supply of cheese, pickled onions, hot saveloys, and savoury eggs as with, a more elaborate selection. Toothpicks are essential for the preparation of some savouries and for serving others easily and attractively. Puff pastry, thick white sauce, crisp lettuce, thinly-cut medium-fat bacon, and a selection of cheeses —mild, tasty and cream —are the basic foods. To these are added a variety of materials which may be fresh, tinned, or pickled, raw or cooked — sausages, saveloys, luncheon meats, whitebait, onions, prunes, mushrooms, oysters, nuts, olives, fish, chutneys, relishes, and savoury spreads; vegetables such as peas, asparagus, corn, cucumber, celery, tomatoes, radishes, and spring onions, with lemons, mint, parsley, chives, mustard, cress, and watercress for garnishes and added flavour. Only small quantities are required, so though some of the items are expensive they do not represent a

great extravagance. For centrepieces and attractive serving, toothpicks surmounted by savoury morsels may be stuck into a firm, well-shaped cabbage heart or polished grapefruit and cucumbers. Puff Pastry Puff : pastry is used in a wide variety of savouriesas shaped cases for savoury fillings, for pinwheel circles, sausage rolls, small pies, tarts, and turnovers, and for large pies like bacon and egg which are cut for serving. Hollow cases should be made separately in advance and may 'be stored in an airtight tin for several days if necessary. Fillings are put into the cases when the main preparations for the party are being made. The whole savoury is then reheated just before being served. Puff pastry of good quality can be bought, which is a great help to the housewife who lacks the time for the rather long , process of making it, who is unable to obtain suitable fat (lard and butter are best) in sufficient quantities, or who cannot rely on uniform quality in the pastry which she makes herself. Pastry in the making must be kept cold and the ingredients should be chilled beforehand if possible. For puff pastry use equal weights of flour and fat — example, Boz. of flour, Boz. of fat, i teaspoon of salt, and water to mix until the dough just clings together. Divide the fat into 4 equal portions. ' Rub 2oz. of fat into the flour, mix in the water, and roll the dough out thinly. Take another, portion of fat, cut it into tiny pieces, and spread them over the dough. Fold the pastry, sides to middle, . ends to middle, then double, and press down the edges with a rolling pin. Leave it in a cool place for at least i hour. Roll it out again, cover it with another portion of fat, fold it, and leave it to stand. Repeat the process with the last portion of fat. The pastry is then ready for cutting and shaping. Cases Roll the pastry to a little less than Jin. thickness. Cut out circles about 2in. in diameter with a small biscuit cutter or tumbler. In the centre of the circle make a cut of smaller size with a large thimble, a bottle top, or the cap of a salt shaker; press down firmly, but do not cut right through the dough. Cook the pastry in a hot oven (400 to 500 degrees F.) until it is well risen and golden brown. Lift off the centre cap and hollow out the centre of each case, where there may be a ' small portion of partially-cooked dough. When the case has been filled replace the cap on top. One pound of pastry will make about 2| dozen small cases. An alternative method of making the cases is to roll the pastry thinly and cut an equal number of circles and of rings with the centre pieces completely removed. The edges of the circles are moistened with cold water and the rings stuck on top. The central cut-outs may be baked separately for caps or rerolled.

For open tart shells shape the pastry in patty tins, line them with greaseproof paper, and weigh them down with small crusts of bread, or shape the pastry on the outside of the tins, prick them well, and cook them upside down. Tarts may also be baked with the filling in them if a lower temperature (about 400 degrees) is used. ' Suitable fillings for these cases are: Savoury scrambled egg flavoured with cheese or chopped herbs. Chopped bacon, onion, and tomato cooked together and thickened with flour. Thick white sauce to which has been added chopped oysters, chicken, tongue, or ham, whitebait, cooked mushrooms, or tinned ! or cooked corn kernels, with some of the liquid from these foods. Turnovers Roll puff pastry very thin and cut it into circles. Place a teaspoon of filling in the centre of each circle, moisten-half the- circumference with cold water, fold the other half over, and press the edges together. Dip the turnovers in slightly-beaten egg mixed with a tablespoon of water. Fry them in deep fat at 360 .'to 370 degrees and drain them well. For the filling use well-seasoned, minced, cooked meat or finely-chopped ham, tongue, or chicken moistened with white sauce. Croquettes and fishballs, about a quarter the usual size, more highly seasoned, and fried in deep fat, are also good party fare. Aspics Aspics are made by setting flaked fish, finely-chopped meat, and vegetables in savoury jelly. Put them in a large dish and when they are set cut them in sections for serving on lettuce leaves, or make attractive shapes in small individual moulds, patty tins, egg cups, or the ice-cube tray of a refrigerator. Before turning the jelly out dip the mould in hot water for a moment. The recipe given is for salmon jelly, but the ingredients can be varied. For example, cooked, or tinned green peas and cooked diced carrots make an attractive colour combination. To form a pattern in the jelly, pour a thin layer of liquid jelly over the bottom of the mould, allow it to set a little, then arrange on it slices of tomato, radish, hard-boiled egg, cucumber, or tiny beetroot which have been dipped in jelly. Pour a little more jelly into the dish and leave it again to set before the bulk of the jellied mixture is put in. Tomato juice used .as the liquid gives an attractive red colour, but meat or fish stock, the water from cooked vegetables, or juice from tinned vegetables may be used, with a little green vegetable colouring if a more definite shade is desired. If the meat stock has been prepared from bones, it will set by itself. to a soft jelly, so the amount of gelatine in the recipe may be reduced by half. Salmon Jelly lib. of tinned salmon I tablespoon of I dessertspoon of powdered gelatine chopped chives 2 teacups of tomato I dessertspoon of juice chopped onion Salt, pepper, celery z cup of chopped cu- salt cumber or celery

Flake the fish and add the .chives, onion, and cucumber. Soak,the gelatine in 4 tablespoons of cold water for 5 minutes, then add J cup of heated tomato juice and stir until the gelatine is dissolved. Add the remaining tomato juice and the . seasonings. Fold in the fish mixture and leave the mixture in a mould to set. When the jelly is set, serve it on lettuce. Other foods which may be served on curved lettuce leaves are crayfish meat, plain or seasoned with , mayonnaise, tinned salmon or herring sprinkled with tomato juice, tomato quarters, spring onions, radishes, and cucumber slices. Stuffed eggs are also easier to handle if they are served with a lettuce leaf to wrap round them. Savoury Stuffings Stuffed eggs are most popular of the stuffed- savouries, but eggs are not always available, so stuffed prunes, celery, or tomatoes may be substituted. Stuffed eggs are served in halves, so the number of portions will be double the number of eggs used. Boil the eggs hard, having them well covered with water and turning them after they have been cooking for about a minute. When they are cooked, shell them, cut them, in halves lengthways, and remove the yolks carefully. Put the yolks in a bowl, season them well with salt and pepper, add chopped parsley, chives, or cress, and moisten them with top milk or salad dressing. Other possible additions are curry powder, Worcester or tomato sauce for moistening, a few drops of onion juice, or a little tasty cheese grated very finely. Put the filling back into the egg whites and serve the eggs on lettuce. Stuffed prunes: Select large prunes, soak them over night, and cook them gently until they are tender. Drain them and' remove the stones carefully. Prunes tinned in syrup are very good to use but are more expensive. In the hollow left by the stone put a savoury filling such as cream cheese or mincemeat, and close the prune with a toothpick. . Stuffed tomatoes: Remove the skins from small tomatoes, regular in size and shape, by blanching them in boiling water followed by cold water. Cut a slice off the core end of each

tomato and remove the seeds and pith. This may be used as part of the stuffing or saved for use in other dishes in an aspic, for example. Make a savoury stuffing for the tomatoes; cheese is a good base, seasoned with salt, pepper, and chopped herbs. An alternative is mashed potato well moistened with salad dressing, with , mashed green peas, sardines, chutney, or chopped hard-boiled egg added. Stuffed celery: Attractive white stalks with a good hollow should be used. Remove the strings and cut the . stalks into 2in. pieces. Fill the hollows with cheese paste (cream cheese, or ordinary cheese grated and moistened with top milk) to which has been added finely-chopped walnuts (fresh or pickled),. orange juice, or chopped dates or raisins. Bacon Savouries Bacon rolls: Remove the rind from the bacon, using a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen scissors, and cut the rashers into pieces 3 to 4in. long. Use as fillings soaked stoned prunes, raw oysters, or mushrooms. Roll the fillings in pieces of bacon, secure the rolls with toothpicks, and cook them for 10 to 15 minutes in a hot oven or under a griller until the bacon is crisp and the filling cooked. These rolls must be served very hot straight from the oven. The oysters are angels and prunes or mushrooms devils on horseback. Bacon and egg pies: For parties use a rectangular rather than • a round tin in which to make a bacon and egg pie, as this simplifies cutting it into . small pieces. Cut the bacon into . pieces about 2in. square, and to make eggs go further beat them slightly before putting them into the pie or break the yolks and spread them over the dish. Press the pastry well together at the edges, but do not make a heavy double rim. The pies should be baked in advance and may be reheated for serving, but they are equally good cold. Cheese, bacon, and potato pasties: Grate 2oz. of cheese and mix it with i cup of mashed potato and a little chopped parsley. Divide it into small portions, place each on half a rasher of bacon, and. roll it up. Place the rolls on rectangles of short pastry. Moisten the edges of the pastry, fold them over, and press them together. Bake the pasties at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Savoury Mouthfuls All sorts of titbits suitable for one or two bites can be placed on the ends of toothpicks for serving—of pineapple (fresh or tinned), pickled . onions, mild cheese with a variety of crisp vegetables, stuffed prunes or . dates, cocktail sausages, olives, sections of saveloys, or folded rounds of luncheon meat. , Small dishes of salted nuts, popcorn, and crisp potato chips are often set around the room before the party begins so the guests may help themselves during the evening.