Summer Soiree – Entertaining at Home

Summer Entertaining

Summer Entertaining HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER

PLAN AHEAD WITH THESE SIMPLE RECIPES

Whether you’re hosting a barbeque or throwing a pool party, entertaining at home this summer has never been easier. The key is planning ahead and with these simple recipes, you’ll be able to spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your guests.

PHOTOGRAPHY ASIA UPWARD GLASSWARE SPONSOR RSN AUSTRALIA FLOWERS COPPER BEECH FOOD RECIPES SHARED AFFAIR COCKTAIL RECIPES BEN DAVIDSON

We love to catch up with friends and family over summer and what better way than to invite them over to enjoy a great glass of wine or even better, cocktails.

Entertaining is meant to be enjoyable, but planning and preparing food and drink for multiple people can be a daunting task. That’s why we’ve created a menu consisting of easy share plates and delicious pre-batched cocktails that combine fresh, seasonal produce in a matter of minutes.

Batched cocktails are really popular in Australia right now and allow you to make impressive drinks for all of your guests without taking up too much effort or time. By mixing and chilling the ingredients in advance will not only help you to create great tasting cocktails but also to serve different batches with each course, worry-free.

Rosé sangria batched cocktail

BATCHED COCKTAIL RECIPES

A great idea for home entertaining is the ‘prebatching’ of cocktails so they are ready to serve when your guests arrive. This can be done out of a Punch Bowl or by using a large glass water dispenser with a tap to serve a Rosé Sangria on arrival. Rosé wines are made for summer and the Rosé Sangria recipe is deliciously refreshing and easy to prepare about an hour before guests arrive. Another alternative is to mix a cocktail in advance and decant it into swing top bottles and keep in the fridge until needed. Flavoured Negroni’s are perfect for that mid-afternoon cocktail by the pool. Just pour it over ice and enjoy!

ROSÉ SANGRIA

SERVES: 17 - 18

GLASSWARE: Tumbler or Small Wine Glass

GARNISH: Strawberries and apple slices

INGREDIENTS 2 x Bottles Le Petit Rosé 1 x Bottle Lillet Rosé Aperitif 500ml Cloudy Apple Juice 150ml Elderflower Cordial 100ml Fresh Lemon Juice 500ml Soda Water Sliced Strawberries and Apples

METHOD Add all ingredients to a glass water decanter or punch bowl and gently stir. When ready, serve over ice in a tumbler or small wine glass.

BOTTLED BLOOD ORANGE NEGRONI

SERVES: 10

GLASSWARE: Tumbler

GARNISH: Orange wedge or peel

INGREDIENTS 500ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin 500ml Campari 500ml Sweet Vermouth 500ml Blood Orange Juice

METHOD Add ingredients to a large measuring jug and stir well. Decant into three swing top bottles. Serve over ice in a tumbler glass. Garnish with an orange peel twist or wedge.

ESPRESSO NEGRONI

SERVES: 10

GLASSWARE: Tumbler

GARNISH: Coffee beans

INGREDIENTS 500ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin 500ml Campari 500ml Sweet Vermouth 500ml Espresso Liqueur

METHOD Add ingredients to a large measuring jug and stir well. Decant into three swing top bottles. Serve over ice in a tumbler glass. Garnish with coffee beans.

OYSTERS MIGNONETTE

SERVES: 8 – 10 LEVEL: EASY TIME: 30 MINS

INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar 2 tbs. Eschallot (very finely diced) 1 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper 3 doz. Oysters (freshly shucked) Ice

METHOD 1. Mix together vinegar, eschallot and pepper 2. Leave to infuse for 15 minutes 3. Arrange oysters on a large platter of ice 4. Drizzle oysters with mignonette dressing

GINGER SOY SCALLOPS ON THE SHELL

SERVES: 8 – 10 LEVEL: EASY TIME: 30 MINS

INGREDIENTS 3 doz. Scallops 4 tbs. Soy Sauce 1 x piece of Ginger (thumb size, roughly chopped) 1 tbs. Rice Wine Vinegar 1 tsp. Sesame Oil 1 tsp. Butter 2 x Shallots (finely sliced on an angle)

METHOD 1. Remove scallops from the shells and arrange shells on a serving platter 2. Heat soy, vinegar, sesame oil and ginger over a low heat. Simmer for five minutes 3. Melt butter in a frying pan over high heat. Add scallops to the pan and cook for 30 seconds on one side and 30 seconds on the other 4. Remove from the pan and return each scallop to a shell on the serving platter 5. Drizzle with a little bit of hot dressing and garnish with shallots

SLOW ROAST GREEK LAMB WITH TZATZIKI

SERVES: 8 – 10 LEVEL: EASY TIME: BE PATIENT – THIS ONE TAKES A WHILE BUT SO WORTH THE WAIT. YOUR GUEST WILL LOVE YOU FOR IT. ALLOW A GOOD 6 HOURS

INGREDIENTS 1 x Leg of Lamb 4 x Lemons 1 x bunch Lemon Thyme 1 x knob of Garlic 2 cups Dry White Wine 3 tbs. Olive Oil 500g Greek Yoghurt 2 x Lebanese Cucumbers (seeds removed and finely chopped)

METHOD 1. Preheat oven to 150°C 2. Place lamb in a large baking tray 3. Using a small knife, make 2cm incisions in about eight places evenly spaced over the lamb 4. Peel eight cloves of garlic, halve and press into incisions. Scatter remaining cloves (skin on) around the lamb (reserve one clove for tzatziki) 5. Pour in wine and a cup of water. Scatter over lemon thyme. Juice two lemons and add juice to the pan 6. Drizzle lamb with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper 7. Slice another lemon into rounds and arrange

CLOCKWISE: Slow roast greek lamb, rustic caprese salad, herbed couscous with pomegranate jewels, whole snapper with summer vegetables

over the top of the lamb 8. Cover the tray with a piece of baking paper, then cover everything tightly with foil 9. Roast in the oven at 150°C for five hours 10. Meanwhile to make the tzatziki, juice and zest one lemon 11. Add juice and zest, one garlic clove crushed and cucumber to yoghurt 12. Mix well and season to taste with salt and white pepper 13. When lamb is ready to serve, transfer to a serving platter 14. Place pan over a medium heat on the stove.

Use the back of a spoon to mash garlic cloves into pan juices 15. Allow to reduce for a few minutes 16. Serve lamb drizzled with pan juices and tzaztiki

SNAPPER WITH SUMMER VEGETABLES

SERVES: 8 – 10 LEVEL: EASY TIME: 2 HOURS

INGREDIENTS 1.5 kg Snapper (scaled, gutted and cleaned – ask your local fish monger to do the dirty work for you) 2 x large Carrots (peeled) 2 x large Zucchini 6 x baby Potatoes 1/2 bunch of Parsley (finely chopped) 1 x Lemon (sliced into rounds) 4 x Garlic Cloves (peeled) 2 cups Dry White Wine 2 tbs. Olive Oil

METHOD 1. Preheat oven to 200°C 2. Slice your vegetables into very thin rounds (Use a mandolin if you have one) 3. Scatter 2/3 of the veg in a thin layer over the base of a large baking tray 4. Season well with salt and pepper 5. Score fish three times on each side to allow for even cooking 6. Place fish on bed of vegetables. Pour over wine and a good drizzle of olive oil 7. Place lemon slices and garlic into the cavity 8. Arrange remaining veg over the top of fish in a rough “scale” pattern 9. Season again with salt and pepper 10. Cover with baking paper, then cover tightly with foil 11. Bake in the oven for 55 minutes 12. Baste with pan juices and scatter over parsley before serving

RUSTIC CAPRESE SALAD

SERVES: 8 – 10 LEVEL: EASY TIME: 30 MINS

INGREDIENTS 1/2 kg of Ox Heart Tomatoes 1/2 kg of Assorted Heirloom Tomatoes 3 x Buffalo Mozzarella Balls 1 x bunch of Basil 2 tbs. good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 tbs. good quality Balsamic Vinegar

METHOD 1. Slice oxheart tomatoes into roughly 1.5cm rounds 2. Roughly chop your heirloom tomatoes in rounds and quarters. Different shapes create texture 3. Arrange ox hearts on a serving platter 4. Drizzle with half of the olive oil and vinegar 5. Season well with salt and pepper 6. Tear two mozzarella balls into quarters 7. Arrange over tomatoes and tear over half of the basil 8. Arrange heirlooms on top of ox hearts, repeat process with oil, vinegar, seasoning, mozzarella and basil 9. Serve immediately

HERBED COUSCOUS WITH POMEGRANATE JEWELS

SERVES: 8 – 10 LEVEL: EASY TIME: 1 HOUR

INGREDIENTS 1 x box Couscous 1 x bunch Mint (finely chopped) 1 x bunch Coriander (finely chopped) 1 x bunch Parsley (finely chopped) 5 x Garlic Cloves (crushed) 1 x small Red Chilli (finely sliced) 1tbs. Massel brand Powdered Chicken Stock 3 tbs. Olive OilMETHOD 1. Prepare couscous to packet instructions adding chicken stock to water 2. Heat a lug of olive oil in a large pan 3. Fry garlic and chilli for one minute until fragrant

4. Stir olive oil, garlic and chilli mixture and chopped herbs through couscous 5. Season to taste with salt and pepper 6. Transfer to serving platter 7. Halve your pomegranate and tap out seeds with a wooden spoon, removing any white membrane 8. Scatter pomegranate seeds over your couscous

FOREST BERRY MINI PAVLOVAS

SERVES: 8 – 10 LEVEL: EASY TIME: 2 HOURS

INGREDIENTS 150ml Egg Whites (approx 4 eggs) 1 cup Caster Sugar 1 tsp. White Vinegar 600ml Thickened Cream 1 x punnet of Strawberries (halved) 1 x punnet of Raspberries 1 x punnet of Blueberries 1 x punnet of Mulberries 4 x Passionfruits

METHOD 1. Preheat oven to 150°C 2. Place the egg whites in a bowl and whisk with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form 3. Gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, waiting 30 seconds before adding more 4. Whisk for five minutes or until stiff and glossy 5. Add the vinegar and whisk for two minutes or until glossy and combined 6. Spoon eight rounds of meringue onto a large baking tray lined with baking paper. Using a spoon, make little peas on top and an indent in the centre of each meringue. Reduce the oven temperature to 120°C and bake for 30 minutes or until crisp to the touch 7. Cool in the oven for one hour 8. Whisk the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form 9. Top your meringues with cream and berries, then drizzle over passion fruit

PREP

Preparation is key. Write a list of all your ingredients and prepare as much as you can the night before.

FOOD

Fresh and local produce is key and also a great conversation around the table about where you sourced your food from. Select food that is designed to share, so you aren’t in the kitchen preparing individual plates. Antipasto platters are ideal to start with and can be pulled together in a matter of minutes. And they look great too.

DRINKS

A glass of Champagne upon arrival is always a great way to start and all depending on the session, a summer ale or crisp glass of pinot should always be on offer. Batched cocktail are on trend, so try our selected batched cocktail recipes – you wont be disappointed.

SETTING

Dress your table all according to the season and your taste. Flowers are always a great touch. Also have a range of glassware available to suit the wine, beer and cocktail drinker.

MUSIC

Have background music on and when you’re ready, clear the deck, crank the music and have a good boogy.