Shoalhaven Foodies: A High Tea with a Difference

There’s nothing quite as delightful as a high tea. Ever had one? The Shoalhaven Foodies indulged in a high tea recently and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

However, this was a high tea with a difference. Instead of the usual fare of little cakes, savoury morsels and tiny sandwiches, we added to the brief. We were to make a high tea dish inspired by an artist. After all, the Shoalhaven Foodies motto is Food is Art.

None of us knew what the others were making, just that we were allocated sweet or savoury dishes. I think you’ll agree that the results were outstanding.

It was held at Kim’s place, and she turned her outside dining/living area into a truly beautiful high tea venue, with off-white filmy gauze draped from the ceiling, beautiful old lights and a selection of wonderful cup, saucer and plate sets on the table. There were also vases of fabulous roses on the table and around the room (brought by Freddy from her own garden), so that it was like stepping into another world.

Unfortunately, Christine was unable to come, due to art study deadlines and we missed her. However, two guests came along, Freddy and Pam who entered into the spirit of the afternoon just like Foodie professionals.

Have a look at the photographs. You’ll see what we made and what we ate – delicious and very clever!

Kim

Kim was inspired by the beauty of Monet’s work and by the time he spent in Japan. Kim made a variety of dishes using beautiful hand-made dishes featuring waterlillies.

Prawn & Lemongrass lollipops with sweet chilli & lime dressing, Dates with goats cheese and prosciutto.

Tsukune (Japanese chicken meatballs)

Prawn & Lemongrass lollipops with sweet chilli & lime dressing
Makes 12

1kg green prawns, or 500gms prawn meat

2 tbs coriander leaves

2 tsp Thai red curry paste

1tbs fish sauce

1tsp caster sugar

2 lemongrass stems (pale inner core only)

1 tbs peanut or sunflower oil

Sweet chilli & lime dressing

2 tbs sweet chilli sauce

2 tbs lime juice

1 tabs fish sauce

1 small red chilli, sliced

Place prawns in food processor, pulse to a paste, Add the coriander, curry paste, fish sauce, sugar and half teaspoon of salt and whiz until smooth. With damp hands form into 12 small patties.

Cut lemongrass into 12, 6cm lengths, then insert one into each prawn patty, so it looks like a lollipop.

Sauce. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. Preheat a chargrill pan on medium-high heat. Lightly brush each patty with oil, then grill for 8-10 minutes, turning until cooked through.

Giggly rose champas for 6

Bunch mint leaves

Petals of 3 unsprayed rosed, plus 6 small unsprayed roses to garnish

Ice cubes

Champagne

Rose Syrup

150g caster sugar

1 tbs rosewater

Chill 6 tall glasses.

Syrup

Place sugar and 100mls water in pan over medium – high heat. Bring to boil stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, stir in rosewater then chill until it has cooled completely.

Bruise mint and rose petals. Stuff them into the glasses, with ice. Fill with champagne, add roses.

Dates with goats cheese and prosciutto

Makes 12

12 fresh dates

Parsley

Goats cheese

6 thin slices prosciutto, halved lengthways

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Heat oven 180 C . Cut and slit along the top of each date. Remove seed, tuck parsley and goats cheese into each date and gently squeeze closed. Wrap prosciutto strip around each date and tie off with a knot. Trim. Place dates on baking tray and drizzle with oil bake for 5-8 minutes. Serve.

Tsukune (Japanese chicken meatballs)

Makes 16

500 gms chicken thighs

1 small onion grated

1 garlic clove grated

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp lemon zest

1 table barbecue sauce or ketchup manis

1 tsp caster sugar

1 eggwhite

1 tbs white sesame seeds

1 tbs black sesame seeds if available

1 sheet nori seaweed, cut into thin strips

Sauce

2 tbs tomato sauce (ketchup)

2 tbs bbq sauce

2 tbs Worcestershire sauce.

Preheat oven 180C. And line a tray with baking paper. Whiz chicken, onion, garlic, zest, bbq sauce, sugar and half teasp. salt in food processor for 1 minute, or until sticky. Add egg white and whiz to combine. Using damp hands roll a heaped teaspoon of mixture into balls. Bake 10 minutes, brush half sauce over the meatballs, sprinkle with sesame seeds, cook for 10 more minutes, until golden. Serve with dollops of sauce, scatter with nori strips.

Chere

Chere was inspired by artists Christo and his wife Jeanne Claude who were born on the same day, June 13, 1935. Jeanne Claude died in November 2009, but Christo continues with his work to this day. Together, they created environmental works of joy and poetic beauty by wrapping huge areas in order to create new ways of seeing familiar landscapes. All of their materials, labour and impressive results were only temporary as their works were wrapped in cloth.

Chere wrapped up a three level cake stand in cheesecloth and wrapped little mushroom tarts and prawn sandwiches in paper and string. She made:

Mushroom and Crème Fraiche Tarts

(makes 18)

filo pastry (or sour cream pastry would be good too).

40 g melted no salt butter

olive oil

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of finely chopped chives

1 large clove garlic, pre roasted and smashed

6 large field mushroom caps, diced

good squeeze of lemon juice

100g crème fraiche

for decoration:

rocket sprigs, leaves

Colleen

Colleen was inspired by the street art of Blek le Rat, otherwise known as Xavier Prou who was one of the first graffiti artists in Paris, and has been described as the “Father of Stencil Graffiti”. He began his artwork in 1981, painting stencils of rats on the street walls of Paris, describing the rat as “the only free animal in the city”, and one that “spreads the plague everywhere, just like street art”. His name originates from a childhood cartoon “Blek le Roc”, using “rat” as an anagram for “art”. Colleen decorated her chocolate mud cupcakes with mini versions of some of his gritty stencils.

Chocolate Mud Cupcakes
Makes 12

125g butter, chopped

100g dark chocolate, chopped

Half cup (125ml) hot water

2 tsp instant coffee powder

1/4 cup (60ml) coffee liqueur

1 cup (200g) brown sugar

2/3 cup (100g) plain flour

1/4 cup (40g) self-raising flour

2 tbs cocoa powder

1 egg

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C and line 12 80ml muffin pans with paper patty cases.

Combine butter, chocolate, hot water, coffee powder and coffee liqueur in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes or until chocolate and butter melt and the mixture is smooth.

Remove from heat, add sugar and stir to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes.

Sift combined flours and cocoa over chocolate mixture and use a balloon whisk to stir until combined. Stir in the egg and combine.

Pour the mixture into prepared patty cases and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Cool completely before decorating.

Decorating the cupcakes

Colleen decorated the cakes with a fondant-style icing with the intention of stencilling directly onto the cake. The icing was very sweet and Colleen recommends a simple butter icing would suit these cakes more. You live and learn. Eventually she printed the stencils onto light card and ‘hovered’ them above the cakes with the aid of toothpicks.

Frances

Frances had a Pop Art (1955-70) theme. Her dish was a plate of truly yummy gaudily iced dougnuts. Actually they weren’t too sweet, but were deliciously decadent. Her doughnuts were inspired by pop artist Claes Oldenburg, but Frances dressed up as Andy Warhol to represent that era, and truly looked the part in her orange jacket, striped pants and wild blonde wig.

Pam