Sue wanted to invite some of her friends over for an enjoyable evening together. She also wanted to make the evening interesting. Playing Bingo, Careers or even Uno wasn’t going to cut it.
For some time, Sue had been toying with the idea of having some sort of home cooking competition. The friends she thought of inviting, all knew their way around a kitchen. Not only could they follow a recipe but they were pretty imaginative as well.
An idea played in her mind. Would her friends fall for it?
Sue phoned around, when the first 4 friends accepted her invitation, she stopped phoning.
She didn’t say exactly what the evening held, but the visitors were instructed to bring an apron, any utensils that they favoured when working in a kitchen and perhaps a favourite pot or pan and some spices.
The friends all expressed the same amount of inquisitiveness. Sue gave nothing away except to say they were going to play a game that involved cooking, and that they should arrive early. Needless to say the suckers, as Sue called them, when she put the phone down, after talking to them, were all highly intrigued.
The evening arrived. So did the friends. Sue wondered if they would remain friends after the evening was over.
There were two men and two women. Sue hadn’t planned it that way. It just happened to be the first 4 people who said ‘yes’.
Five people arrived, nearly all at the same time. Two of the ‘suckers’ were single, and came alone.
Tom, one of the married men who had been invited, came alone. His wife was a nursing sister at the local hospital and was unfortunately on duty.
Gail, one of the married women, brought her husband Steve along.
They all stood on the front porch exchanging pleasantries until everyone arrived. Sue then ushered them inside. As if on cue, all the visitors stopped, when they saw the banner hanging across the entrance to the dining room. It read…
Sue’s Mystery Ingredient Cook-off
Feigning dread, Sue’s friends reluctantly entered the room.
Sue, secretly smiling to herself, took the stance of a sergeant-major.
“OK everyone, bags down, coats off and aprons on.” she ordered.
By this time everyone started to play along and scrambled to stand at mock attention. Sue grabbed a wooden spoon and hooked it under her arm, like a real sergeant-major. She continued,
“In front of you, on the table, are 4 identical boxes. Inside each box is a mystery item. You will each pick a box and open it. Whatever item of food you find inside the box, you will use to cook a dish. The item must be the hero of the dish. I have made space on 4 tables for each one to work. You can use my stove and there are 2 gas stoves and my induction stove top. “
Sue took a deep breath and relaxed. She laughed as she said.
“Firstly, thanks for coming. Please don’t look so serious. I want this to be a fun evening. Secondly, this is not a competition. It’s just going to be fun to see the concoctions you all make with your mystery ingredient. Time is a ticking, so open your boxes and let’s see what’s in each box!
Each of you hold up your food item.”
Everyone ripped open their boxes.
Tom held up a 2 tins of baked beans.
George held up 2 onions and 2 bunches of leeks.
Gail had 2 tins of tuna in her hands.
Lastly, Cynthia had to make a dish with some bananas.
Tom scratched his head.
George bent forward and supported his chin on his hands.
Gail just read the labels on the tins, over and over, as if a recipe would pop out at her.
Cynthia was in the zone and was busy peeling the bananas.
Sue lent over and whispered in Steve’s ear.
“I hope you know you’re on washing up duty!”
Below are the dishes Sue’s friends came up with, or something close!
Tom’s Spicy baked beans
INGREDIENTS
- 4 T sunflower oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 T ginger, crushed
- 1 T garlic, crushed
- 30 g fresh coriander, chopped
- 2 green chillies, split lengthways but only halfway (if you want it spicier, split them all the way)
- 2 x 400 g cans baked beans in tomato sauce
- 6 T tomato paste
- salt, to taste
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Braise the onion in the sunflower oil over a medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic. Once the onion has turned a light brown, caramel colour, add the coriander, curry powder and chillies and braise for a further 2–3 minutes – make sure not to burn the masala.
2. Add the baked beans and tomato paste and cook until the beans have heated through. Sprinkle with salt. Serve hot on toasted sourdough and top with a soft fried egg and crispy bacon. Or eat the beans as they are directly from the bowl with a spoon.
Cynthia’s Banana flapjacks
INGREDIENTS
- 2 T sugar
- 1 large ripe banana, mashed
- 2 free-range eggs
- 1 t vanilla paste
- 1 cup full-cream milk
- 220 g flour
- 1 1/2 t baking powder
- 2 T canola oil
- butter, for serving
- honey, for serving
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine all the ingredients except the canola oil, butter and honey and mix to form a smooth batter.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and add spoonfuls of batter to the pan. Cook until small bubbles have formed, then turn over and cook on the other side.
3. Serve warm with butter and honey.
George’s Two onion tart
INGREDIENTS
- 4 T butter
- 4 onions, peeled and cut into eighths
- 4 baby leeks, halved lengthways
- 3 T balsamic vinegar
- salt, to taste
- 2 x 250 g xv Woolworths puff pastry
- 30 g Woolworths onion sprinkle
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Melt half the butter in a 24 cm ovenproof pan. Add the onions and cook until just browned. Remove from the pan.
2. Do the same with the leeks in the remaining butter and brown slightly.
3. Place the cooked onions on the leeks, drizzle over the balsamic and sprinkle over the salt.
4. Place two sheets of pastry on top of each other and gently roll out to fit your pan. Place the pastry on the leeks and onions and tuck in the edges. Bake for 40 minutes, or until puffed up and browned. Cool for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto a serving plate.
Gail’s Tuna fish cakes
INGREDIENTS
- 2 x 170 g tuna cans, drained
- 3 potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed
- 3 free-range eggs, beaten
- 3 T parsley chopped
- 1 t lemon zest
- sea salt and ground white pepper, to taste
- 2 cups sunflower oil
- 3 T flour
- 200 g panko crumbs or breadcrumbs
- lemon wedges, for serving
- For the tartare sauce, mix:
- 2 large gherkins, diced
- 8 capers
- ½ cup good-quality mayonnaise
- 2 T parsley chopped
- ½ lemon, juiced
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Mix the tuna, potatoes, 1 beaten egg, parsley, lemon zest and seasoning. Shape into 4 large fish cakes.
2. Dip each one into the our, then into the remaining egg and coat with the panko crumbs or breadcrumbs. Chill for 30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil and deep-fry the fish cakes over a medium heat until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with the tartare sauce and lemon wedges. Season with salt.
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