So, the other day, I got this idea in my head, right? Australian party food. Don’t ask me why. Maybe I saw something on the telly, or a mate mentioned a barbie he went to. Anyway, I thought, “Yeah, I could give that a go.” Seemed like a bit of a laugh, and who doesn’t like a good snack?
Getting Started – The Grand Plan (Sort Of)
First things first, I had to figure out what to make. I’m no chef, mind you. So, I wasn’t about to tackle anything too fancy. I did a quick search, you know, the usual stuff. A few things kept popping up: sausage rolls, lamingtons, and that fairy bread stuff for the kids. Sounded manageable enough.
So, I made a list, hit the shops. Didn’t go overboard. Just the basics. Puff pastry (frozen, obviously, I’m not a saint), sausage meat, some cheap white bread, butter, hundreds and thousands, an’ all the bits for a sponge cake and lamington coating. You get the picture.
Operation: Sausage Rolls
I decided to kick things off with the sausage rolls. Seemed like a good warm-up. Honestly, the hardest part was getting the pastry out of the packet without tearing it.
I just mixed up the sausage meat with a bit of onion I chopped, nothing fancy. Spread it on the pastry, rolled ’em up, and cut ’em. Some of them looked a bit… unique, let’s say. Not exactly bakery standard, but they smelled alright going into the oven. I just chucked them on a tray and hoped for the best. Watched them puff up, got a nice golden colour. Good enough for me.
Next Up: Fairy Bread Mania
While the sausage rolls were doing their thing, I tackled the fairy bread. This was peak culinary skill, let me tell you.
- Grabbed that cheap white loaf.
- Slathered on some butter.
- Then, the fun part – absolutely doused it in hundreds and thousands.
The kids, if I had any around, would have loved this bit. Made a bit of a mess with the sprinkles, they went everywhere. But hey, it’s called fairy bread, not neat-and-tidy bread. Cut ’em into triangles, because that’s how it’s done, apparently.
The Lamington Challenge
Okay, lamingtons. This was the one I was a bit nervous about. Seemed like more steps. I’d baked a basic sponge cake the night before, just a simple packet mix, nothing to write home about. Let it cool, then cubed it up.
Then came the dipping. What a palaver.
I made up the chocolate icing – just icing sugar, cocoa, bit of butter and milk. And a big plate of desiccated coconut. Dipping the cake into the chocolate, then rolling it in the coconut… well, let’s just say my kitchen looked like a coconut had exploded. Chocolate everywhere. Fingers caked in it. The first few were a disaster, more coconut on me than the cake. But I got the hang of it eventually. They actually started to look like proper lamingtons. Sort of.
The Grand Unveiling (To Myself, Mostly)
So, after a bit of faffing about, there it was. My spread of Aussie party food. The sausage rolls came out pretty good, actually. The fairy bread was, well, fairy bread. And the lamingtons, despite the earlier chaos, looked half-decent once they firmed up a bit.
I had a few mates drop by later, unplanned, so it worked out. They scoffed the lot. The sausage rolls vanished in about five minutes. No complaints about their “unique” shapes. The fairy bread was a bit of a joke, but a few of them ate it for nostalgia’s sake, I reckon. And the lamingtons? They went down surprisingly well. Even got a “not bad, mate” for those.
So, yeah, that was my adventure into Australian party food. A bit messy, a bit haphazard, but good fun in the end. Would I do it again? Maybe. But I’d definitely wear an apron for the lamingtons next time. And maybe buy a bigger bag of coconut.