Banquet recipes #1
Fruit cocktail
This is one of the recipes we gave to the hotel as a guideline, not as a recipe. I’m giving you two here, but it shows the sort of cocktail one can service in this sort of time and place, not the exact cocktail we had on the night (why have one of Canberra’s best chefs if you leave him no choices?).
1) Mix shredded pineapple, halved strawberries, (fresh), grapefruit pulp (pulp in a two to one proportion to the pineapple). Chill and cover with wine dressing. Serve in champagne glass, with top garnish of a large strawberry.
2) Unhulled strawberries served on a mound of sugar – to be eaten with a fork
CREAM OF ALMOND SOUP
Technically, the soups should have both been thin (bouillon) for a fancy dinner. It was impossible to get a decent vegetarian soup this way, though, so we opted for deliciousness above strict authenticity. All the testers liked the cream of almond soup (and very few liked any of the other vegetarian soups we tested, except the tomato and vegetarian diners would have had far, far too much tomato if we had gone that route!!)), so that’s what went on the final menu.
Blanch and grind one-half pound almonds. Let simmer slowly in one pint of milk for five minutes. Melt one tablespoon of butter, blend with one of rice flour. Do not allow to bubble. Add one cup of milk and thicken slightly. Then add the almond mixture and simmer again until creamy. Remove from fire and add one cup of cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cream may be whipped or left plain.
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