Conference turris::cooks

    This recipe consists of two parts
    
    SPONGE CAKE
    
    3 eggs
    1/2 cup castor sugar
    3/4 cup cornflour
    15g (1/2 oz) butter
    3 tablespoons hot water
    
    Beat eggs until light. Gradually add sugar, continue beating until
    mixture is thick and sugar completely dissolved. Sift dry ingredients
    several times. Melt butter in hot water. Sift dry ingredients over
    egg mixture, fold in lightly; then, working quickly, fold in
    hot-water-and-butter. Pour into lightly greased 18cm x 28 cm (7in
    by 11in) lamington tin. Bake in a moderate oven approx 30 minutes.
    
    CHOCOLATE ICING
    
    500g (1 lb) icing sugar (pure)
    1/3 cup cocoa
    15g (1/2oz) butter
    1/2 cup milk
    
    Sift icing sugar and cocoa into heatproof basin, or into top half
    of double saucepan. Add softened butter and milk, stir with a wooden
    spoon to mix thoroughy. Stand over hot water, stir constrantly until
    icing is of good coating consistency.
    
    HOW ITS DONE:
    
    1. Make cake the day before cutting and icing. Thinly trim brown
    top and sides from cake. Cut cake into 16 even pieces.
    
    2. Hold each cake on a fork (a two-pronged fork is best, it is less
    likely to break cake). Dip each cake into icing; hold over bowl
    a few minutes to drain off excess chocolate. If icing becomes too
    thick too quickly, stand it over hot water while dipping. If still
    to thick, add a little warmed milk or water.
    
    3. Put cakes indivicually into a bowl of coconum - you'll need about
    375g (12oz) coconut (dessicated). Sprinkle coconut over evenly,
    or gently toss in the coconut. Stand on wire rack until completely
    dry.
    
    VARIATIONS:
    
    After they are dry, they may be cut in half and spread thinly with
    strawberry jam and cream, or just cream
    
    Scrumptious.

    Hope you like this one. There is a "proper" recipe written out if
    this is not clear, but thought I had better start for you Dave.
    
    Serves 1
    
    1 piece either eye fillet or rump steak (I prefer eye fillet)
    Oysters (about 4 or five, depending on size)
    Butter (not marg!!!!)
    Garlic (1 clove)
    Parsley
    
    Make a pocket in the eye fillet and stuff the oysters in (The best
    way is to make a small slit with a sharp knife and kind of then
    wave it across in an arc fashion, so that the slit is smaller then
    the pocket (know what I mean??)). Heat a cast iron pan or a griddly
    that get very hot, saute garlic in butter. Do not let the garlic
    brown, and then remove it. If you leave the garlic in, it sort of
    takes away from the flavour of the oysters when you serve it. Cook
    to haw you like it - rare to medium rare. (if you cook it to well
    done, the oysters will not be terribly appetising to look at!!).
    Remove from pan to a plate. Clean pan, add fresh butter, melt, throw
    in the parsley and cook until ever so slightly wilted and drizzle
    over steak.
    
    This is more of a summer recipe and as fillet is quite rich, I usually
    serve it with a green salad (that is just different lettuce types
    and a light french dressing) with side salad of other vegetables
    (eg: tomato cucumber onion etc)
    
    Hope you enjoy this, more to come....

    This was created by a cook in Western Australia in honour of the
    ballerina Anna Pavlova when she was out here touring (I think) Hope
    I'm not thinking of Peach Melba (in honour of Dame Nellie)
    
    Pavlova
    
    Make up a meringue mixure with egg whites and castor sugar. (Can
    give you this receipe if you need it.
    
    Form the meringue of a pizza dish (with alfoil on it) into a circular
    bottom with the sides built up to about 2-3 inches (like a basket).
    
    Cook in a slow oven until the merigue is slightly browned (the inside
    should be still soft and sticky
    
    When cool, fill with cream and top with fresh strawberries.
    
    This is the traditional way but there is nothing stopping you from
    adding lots of other fresh summer fruits (eg: pinapple, mango, chinese
    gooseberries, rasberries, blueberries etc...) Don't use cannned fruit 
    or winter fruits (eg apple etc...)

    In the "Australia The Beautiful" cookbook there is a suggestion for
    Sandwich Kebabs.  Basically, they are mini sandwiches on skewers with
    mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, pickled onions and radishes (to accompany
    the usual chicken, ham, etc).  Sounds like a good idea for an
    appetizer, what do you think???  Many of the recipes call for salmon,
    crab, mussels, prawns, oysters, etc.  How elaborate do you want to go?
    
    Here's a good one for CHICKEN-SHERRY SOUP, appropriate for wintertime.
    	Place 1 lb chicken pieces in saucepan, add 5 cups water, 1 small
    	onion stuck with 2 cloves, 6 peppercorns, salt to taste. Bring to a
    	boil, cover and simmer for 45-60 min.  Pick meat from bones and cut
    	into small cubes.
    	Return stock to saucepan with chicken meat and bring to boil.  In a
    	separate bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup cream, 2 egg yolks and 2 tbsp
    	sherry.  Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in cream mixture. 
    	Serve at once with chopped parsley.  Serves 4-6.

    
     Rep. 0
    
    
      How about the Oysters Kilpatrick the Australian national oyster dish,
    
    
     For 24 oysters,
    
     1/2 lb lean bacon cut into fine julienne strips and blanched for 10
    	    minutes in boiling water.
    
     Open the oysters <however you like I use the can opener on the rear
    hinge technique> and place them on a tray with either thin layer of
    rock salt or very lightly crinkled aluminum foil. This will keep the
    oysters level and upright also the tray has to be ovenproof because
    the oysters get broiled.
    
     In each oyster place a dash of worcestershire sauce <more if you like
    it> a small dash of garlic powder and then cover with some of the
    blanched bacon. Place the oysters under the broiler for 8-10 minutes 
    or just under the bacon browns. Serve with a dry white wine like a
    chardonnay or a sauvignon blanc. I like the sauvignon blanc from Roo's
    Leap.
    
     -mike 
                                   

    Vegemite on biscuits (crackers) I have seen Aussie's eat it but most
    people probably would not like it.
    
    Lamb is very popular, the default roast is lamb.
    Then there are prawns on the barbie.

    Hi,
    
    Well I asked around the office here and the general feeling was that
    the most likely thing to have as a first course is either a shrimp or a
    seafood cocktail. (A cocktail glass, layer of lettuce, several large
    shrimps and a few more hung over the edge, covered with some mayonaise
    - or a spoon of small shrimps, mixed with crabmeat or similar inplace
    of the large shrimps).
    
    As for the munchies - 99% probablity of chips and nuts
    
    regards
    kevin
    Melbourne, Australia

        There is an Australian Restaurant in Woburn called Digger's Ltd,
        you may wan't to call them for ideas. Another popular Oz appetizer
        is Pate (particularly on Damper Bread).
        
        q
        

    It was excellent and I hate bananas.
    
    Here is the recipe:  It does have an Austrialian sounding name but I
    can't remember it.
    
        4 pieces of steak with a slit cut in each
        sherry about 1/2 cup
        2 bananas
        4 pineapple rings
        4 TBL parsley butter
    
    At least 4 hours before cooking, slice bananas and put inside the steak, 
    also put in 2 TBL of sherry, secure with toothpick.  Pour remaining
    sherry over the steak.
    
    After the steak has set for at least 4 hours broil to taste, place 
    pineapple ring on the top and broil briefly just until the pineapple
    is heated.  Place 1 TBL parsley butter on top of each steak and serve.  
    
    Judie             

    Re .7/.8 I, too, have lived and eaten all my 38 years in Australia, and
    have NEVER heard of fruit-stuffed steak!  (What a waste of good meat!)
    
    For your next Australian meal, try this:
    
    Eucalyptus Lamb
    ---------------
    6lb leg of lamb
    6 cloves garlic
    Olive oil
    30 fresh gum leaves (This may be a problem, but I am sure they grow in
                       California, if nowhere else.  You may need to utilise
                       the company internal mailbag in an imaginative way!) 
    
    Cut the garlic into long slivers, cut small slits all over the lamb, and
    insert the garlic into the slits.  Rub the meat well with the oil.
    Meanwhile, heat your Weber kettle for 30 minutes by following the
    instructions TO THE LETTER.  (I have seen some good roasts spoiled by
    Weber operators who insist on doing it "their way".)
    Place handfuls of the leaves at each end of the roasting rack (not
    above the coals) add the meat, and cook for 1 hour per 2 pounds of
    meat.
    Serve with fresh mint sauce and gravy.
    
    Mint sauce
    ----------
    Half cup chopped fresh mint
    1 teaspoon brown sugar
    Half teaspoon black pepper
    1 cup light vinegar
    2 tablespoons boiling water
    
    Crush the chopped mint, sugar and pepper thoroughly in the bottom of a
    heat-proof bowl with the back of a spoon.  Add the boiling water and
    allow to steep for about 20 minutes.  Add the vinegar, pour into a jug
    and serve.
    
    (Let me know if you want my gravy recipe as well.)
    (Incidently, most Australians I know eat Indian, Thai, Lebanese,
    Polish, Italian, Greek, Japanese, French, German, etc. - the concept of
    the traditional Australian grilled chops and three veg went out when
    our grandmothers retired!)
    
    Regards,
    Robin   8{)