Recipes for Starters

WHY GRAVADLAX? My grandfather was Danish, born in a windswept little town on the North Sea. Whether it was chance, fate or good fortune that lead him to marry a Melbourne girl, he ended up in Australia, and apart from a handful of brief visits, he never really went home again. In his dotage, with my grandmother long-dead, he slowly succumbed to a wistful sort of homesickness, and in the year before he died, he would spend hours sitting on a bench on Melbourne's Brighton Beach, gazing forlornly out to sea, quite unable to articulate his loss. Certain things cheered him, however, and my mother's ... more

As I do like cooking for friends and family on special events I like to go that extra mile with 3 course meals. Here are some of the starters I've done more recently that my guests and I very much enjoyed. Prawn Parcels Ingredients (Serves Four) 10z Canned water chestnuts 4 Spring Onions 8oz Peeled cooked prawns 2 tsp Hoisin sauce 1 tsp Caster Sugar 2 tsp Dry Sherry 2 tsp Cornflour 1 Egg white 8 Chinese rice paper wrappers (wonton wrappers if unable to get rice paper) Vegetable oil for deep-frying Plum or Hoisin sauce to serve 1 - Beat your egg white, mix in the cornflour, dry sherry, hoisin ... more

What is it with tomatoes? Every summer I find myself dealing with a glut of tomatoes. I find myself dealing with a glut of courgettes too, but that is a whole 'nother story. I would bet a shiny English pound to a smelly, sweaty sock that many of you, like me, find yourself dealing with a glut of tomatoes. Even people who really do not grow anything to eat have a few tomato plants, do they not? More probably, even those who do not grow their own tomatoes know someone who does. What everybody forgets is that tomato plants are very heavy fruiters. One plant gives you a lotta those little red ... more

These are all very quick easy starters to prepare, cook and serve. You can add your own choice of finely chopped up meat to the ingredients if you prefer. One large mushroom is sufficient for a starter. If you wish to serve two mushrooms per person just double up the recipe ingredients given. Place each mushroom on a small garnish of salad leaves and serve with some crusty wholemeal bread or on circles of hot buttered toast. · STUFFED MUSHROOMS 1 Serves six. Eat hot Ingredients 6 Large mushrooms 3 Shallots 50g Butter 50g Chopped ham 150g Fresh breadcrumbs 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley 1 ... more

I have not had a cigarette for 11 days now and all I can think of is food, so instead of eating it I thought I would write down some of my own recipe starters for dinner parties (how retro) and hope that I don't succumb to a ciggie in the interim, I shouldn't as it is always the after dinner one I find so hard to resist and as these are starters I should be safe. BUT they can all be increased to make a light lunch, oh my how I want a Benson's. Never mind nearly lunchtime!!! By the way if you are on a diet don't look down. I do not do diets as they make you fat and you will probably become more ... more