Nick: I asked Tres if I could get a hovercraft.
Me: and she said yes?
Nick: She said no.
Me: Bummer. That's harsh.
Enjo. If that rings no bells then you haven't quite surrendered as completely to the inescapable pull of suburban bourgeoisification as I have. Having been somewhat more the indulgee in our relationship, I found it hard to refuse Toni's decision to host a home sales party thingy and offered to be in charge of light refreshments.
Mediterranean cultures have finger food nailed so I went with a tapas theme. If you have a look at the pic from top to bottom you'll see… toasted pita bread; hummus with pine nuts; roma tomatoes with EVOO, basil, maldon sea salt, and pepper; lightly toasted baguette; pesto; pan fired haloumi; olives; chorizo in red wine; proscioutto, coppa, and home made aioli; and $3 Mount Barker Red Cross wine chiller with freezer inserts.
It looks like a lot but it isn't. The magic hassle-free combo secret is a couple of quick hot dishes, a couple prepared earliers, and a few purchases. Left me with mucho time to have few beers out back with Greg and Holly while the guests watched a shower screen being decalcified in the bathroom and oggled my Blue Stratos After-shave and Mandom Moisture Cream.
You can find the Chorizo in Red Wine recipe way back here . The aioli is here but I'd add the recommendation to stream in the olive oil while stirring, rather than using a blender, it prevents it going bitter. The hummus requires a little explanation. Soak the dried chick peas overnight the place them in a ovenproof dish with an inch of water to cover. Put the lid on and cook in 180C oven for an hour or so. Pureed about 5 cups of chick peas with three garlic cloves . And a few tablespoons of roasted pine nuts and sesame seeds (in a dry frypan, mind they don't burn). Grind a handful of parsley with enough EVOO to moisten and add that. Stream in 3/4 cup of combined lemon juice and EVOO , stirring. Season with pepper and, because it wasn't quite there, I added a few drops of tabasco . Great warm, served with toasty pita bread.
Toni got the hostie present of those yellow moppie things and I got to jump start a bearded guy's chopper with my Volvo. And just to clarify, dry sherry is not a wino's drink, it's a much underrated aperitif. So there.