Pumpkin Scones for Australia Day

After my last post I could not leave you all without introducing you another truely Australian recipe I love to make on Australia Day and any other time throughout the year that I fancy – Pumpkin Scones

I am sure you have all heard of Scones (In Australia we pronounce them as Skon not Skoan) and most have even tasted a variety or 2.  Some have experienced the joy that comes from devouring a light as air scone, while others have been tortured with a hard as a rock scone. Obviously the aforementioned version is preferable. Very few however have tried the Pumpkin Scone. So allow me to introduce you to a real gem.

My recipe comes from the lady who made them famous, Lady Florence Bjelke-Petersen (or Lady Flo as she’s known), a Queensland senator during the late 80s and early 90s and wife of former Queensland premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. During her time as a senator she became well-known for her pumpkin scones, her reputation for them rivalling that of her political career. “I hope they remember me first for being a senator, who just happened to make pumpkin scones,” recounts Florence. And the secret to these golden nuggets? Cook the pumpkin the night before and chill it in the fridge. I always use Queensland Blue pumpkin but I am sure any deliciously sweet pumpkin would work fine.

 

You can download the recipe from our website by clicking here

Lamingtons for Australia Day

Australia Day in on January 26th. It is a public holiday that is observed all over Australia. Some Australians go to the beach, others have BBQs in their back yard, while others just enjoy a well earned day off. Contrary to believe, very few Aussies throw a shrimp (or prawn, as they are called in our neck of the woods) on the Barbie. Having said that we do enjoy eating them by hand with or without some cocktail sauce. It is more common for Australians to buy a kilo or 2 of fresh prawns (cooked of course) and snack on those while the sausages and steak are cooking on the BBQ. Caramelised Onions are always on the menu, along with buns, tomato sauce, and salad. There naturally are variations to this culinary spread, some are more gourmet than others, but all in all the usual emphasis is on fresh produce with very little preapration required. Normally the woman prep everything and the men stand around the BBQ cooking the food, with a beer in hand. In their eyes they are giving the ladies the day off!

After the BBQ there is always dessert. Some Australian’s serve Ice Cream (after all it is in the middle of Summer, and most of the time the temp is around 40 degrees C (about 100 degrees F). Others like to go with something more traditional like Pavlova or Lamingtons.

Just about everyone  has a recipe for Pavlova (and there are many more variations online) but I would like to introduce you to the LAMINGTON. This is quintessentially Australian, as are pumpkin scones, but I’ll save that for another post. The humble Lamington is a favourite in school lunch boxes and I don’t know an Australian man who would turn one down. It is basically a white sponge cake cut into squares that are then dipped in a chocolate sauce make from cocoa powder and rolled in coconut, then allowed to set before serving. Delish!

You can download the recipe from our website by clicking here

Thanksgiving Origami Turkey Placecard

Origami Turkey & Maple Leaf Placecard

I love it when I find something new and wonderful on the internet. It sparks my creativity. This year I waswanting an elegant but easy placecard for my Thanksgiving table. I had a rough idea of what I wanted in my head and everything I was attemping just didn’t quite cut it. So I thought I would try some origami and went searching for a pattern for an origami turkey. There were a few ‘kiddish’ type ones out there, but my daughter is older now so I wanted something more grownup. I found a couple of great ‘origami master’ type of ones but they didn’t want to share their instructions – and to be quite frank I don’t know if I would have been able to full them off. They seemed much too complicated and time consuming.

That was until I came across a gem on flickr. I made the origami turkey and it looked great. But there was no where to write each guests name, so I designed a lovely placecard to go with it. I am happy with the results and wanted to share them with you.

Please feel free to use them for your own table with my compliments and good wishes for your family and this celebration.

You can download the template for the placecard and the instructions for the origami turkey from my website  at www.abracadabraparties.com.au/freebies

 or here is the original instructions for the origami turkey that I found on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosefirerising/sets/72157594390253060/

Nuts and Spice Couscous Stuffing

I love this time of the year. Christmas is just around the corner and Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. While we do live in Australia and it is Spring here as opposed to Autumn/Fall in the Northern Hemisphere, I still love to join my family and special friends together to give thanks for our many blessings each year.

We don’t get to enjoy a day off work to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday so it is customary in Australia to usually celebrate Thanksgiving on the following Saturday or Sunday. This way we have the time to really get into the festivity, and to roast the turkey.

So in keeping with this wonderful tradition, I thought I would share with you how we celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia. Over the next 2 weeks I will share with you some of omy special recipes and how we like to decorate our table for the day.

Today however I thought I would start with a new recipe I am going to try this Thanksgiving. I found it in the Christmas 2009 issue of Australian Family Circle (currently on the newstands now). If you can’t get a copy don’t worry, this recipe and a number of others from the issue are at this website http://www.luckynuts.com.au/recipes/recipes_christmas.htm 

I think this looks so delicious and I just adore couscous. Maybe you’ll give it a try too. If you do, make sure you let me know what you think, and I will report back to you what I think of it after Thanksgiving Day.

Nuts and Spice Cous Cous Stuffing

Here is the recipe. Bon Appetit.

Nuts & Spice Couscous Stuffing
Makes enough stuffing for a 2kg (4.4 lbs) chicken (I’m going to try it with Turkey)

INGREDIENTS
1 cup (110g) Blanched Almonds
½ cup (60g) Hazelnut Kernels
½ cup (85g) Pistachios
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
1 cup (185g) couscous
1 cup (250ml) chicken stock or water
1 pinch saffron threads or ¼ teaspoon ground saffron
½ cup (75g) currants
Finely grated zest of a lemon
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper

METHOD
Preheat oven to 150°C (130°C fan-forced). 

 Spread out almonds and hazelnuts evenly on separate baking trays.  Bake for 5-10 minutes or until lightly golden.  Rub hazelnuts in a tea towel to remove the skins.   

 Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat.  Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes until softened.  Stir in the couscous and stock and bring to the boil.  Remove from the heat.  Add saffron and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the couscous to absorb the liquid.  Stir the couscous with a fork to break up any lumps

 Transfer the couscous mixture to a large bowl.   Stir in the nuts and all the remaining ingredients to mix well.  The stuffing mixture is now ready.

 To stuff and roast the chicken:
Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).  Spoon as much stuffing into the cavity of the chicken that is possible.  Secure the opening with a metal skewer.  Place chicken in a roasting dish.  Drizzle a little olive oil over the chicken to coat all the skin and season with salt and pepper.   Roast for 1hour 20 minutes or until juices run clear (not pink) when a skewer is inserted into the thigh.

 Serve the stuffing with carved chicken pieces. 

Serving suggestion: 
Serve with roasted capsicum and a spicy condiment such as Harissa.

Vampire Mascarade Halloween Photos

I’ve uploaded a stack of photos from our Vampire Mascarade themed Halloween evening. Here is the link on flickr if you want to view them all http://www.flickr.com/photos/abracadabra_parties/ It took a little longer to put them up that I anticipated because I wanted to add a little info about each one so you can really experience the fun we had on the night.

Ghostly Duo

I have even added some info about our decorating techniques and DIY decorations which I hope will inspire you to make some for your Halloween haunting next year. You would be surprised at how addictive it can be. My daughter and I love to make something new to add to our collection every year. With a little thought and ingenuity it’s amazing how some of the simplest ideas can sometimes have the most effect.  Just like these easy ghosts made from white plastic tablecloth – add a black/violet light near them and they are very errie looking.

I am trying to organise all my photos and Halloween decorating ideas into a special Halloween page on my website at www.abracadabraparties.com.au  so next year when you want some inspiration and ideas, or maybe a few freebies, they will all be available in the one place. When I’m on holidays/vacation after Christmas I hope to get it up and running, so make sure you check back with me. I will make a grand announcement on my blog which will definitely include a GREAT freebie to download.

Till Then,
Cheers, Deb

Vampire Mascarade Halloween Party

Our theme this year for Halloween (2009) was a Vampire Mascarade.  It took us a while to finally settle on this theme for our annual Garage Haunt, but it took me even longer to come up with an invitation I was happy with. I designed about 4 different invitations and none of them were spectacular enough. I have always believed that the invitation sets the tone of the party. A sensational invitation fills your guests with anticipation before the event.  They look forward to it for days and usually put a great deal of effort into their attire/costume.

I knew I had found the right invitation when I showed each of them individually to my daughter. Her reactions were “It’s OK”, “Mmmm”, “Nuh”, and when we came to the very last one her eyes lit up. That was the reaction I was looking for. I find my daughter and my husband are great judges of my work because they have seem everything I have done and are very forthcoming if my creations do not live up to my previous endeavours. I am fast gaining a reputation for unique invitations, and I can’t possibly send out a “plain” invitation. Although I swear one day I might as a joke, just to see the reaction on people’s faces.

Anyway enough with the ramblings. The final invitation style I went with was a 3D coffin that had a removable lid, and the party particulars were laid out in a gothic style plaque. It was attached to the inside of the lid, and you pulled it down to read the details which set out within a rhyming verse, announcing the annual haunting of Beaumont Manor and requesting the pleasure of our guest’s company. The inside of the coffin appeared to be fully lined with satin just like a real one.

It received rave reviews and did exactly was I was hoping it would – get everyone talking about what they were going to wear, who else was going, who missed out on the coveted invitation, what would we be doing at the party, etc, etc, etc – in other words it generated a real buzz about the event prior to it happening.

I shall photograph the invite and upload it shortly so you can see the detail that went into it.

I am also sorting through all the great photos we took that night of our guests and some of the approx 500 trick or treaters we have through our haunted garage on All Hallows Eve. Just give me a day or two to finish packing away all the Halloween props we used.

Over the next week I shall keep adding more details about our Halloween Party and Garage Haunting to inspire you to plan one for yourself next year.

Cheers
Deb

Brain Hemorrhage Halloween Cocktail

Ghastly Halloween Cocktail

As Halloween draws near I somehow seem to slip into a kind of timewarp where anything maccabe just thrills me no end. That is why when I came across this devilishly disgusting concoction I was dying to try it. Can’t wait to see the faces on my guests at this year’s Halloween party when they are served these. But better than that will be there faces when they undoubtly ask, “What’s it called?” To which I will have to reply, “Why it’s a brain hemorrhage of course!”

Here is the recipe.  Enjoy.

BRAIN HEMORRHAGE

Ingredients:
1/2 – 3/4 oz Peach Snapps
Float 1-2 Tbsp of Baileys on top
Drop 1 tsp of grenadine through the Baileys

Theatrical magic … and it tasts like Peaches and Cream.

Original link can be found at http://tinyurl.com/yfghyc6

Twilight Halloween Invitation

FREE invitation for your Twilight Party

Halloween is just around the corner and we are busy with the preparation for our annual Haunted Mansion (well garage actually). This years theme is a Vampire Masquerade. I have no idea how I am going to pull this one off, but I am confident I will pull somthing out of the old creative hat. I was going to go with a Twilight theme and although I do LOVE the movie (haven’t had time to read the book yet) I didn’t want to be predictive. I had however already made a draft invitation one day when the theme grabbed me. So seen as I will not be using it this year, I have made it availabel as a FREE download on my website. Please feel free to download it and use for your own personal Halloween party.
You will find it at www.abracadabraparties.com.au

While I thought this Twilight invitation was quite good, I ended up going for a very dramatic 3D coffin invitation. I will upload it as soon as I can but I am not sure it will be before Halloween.  Check back again soon.

Cheers,
Deb

Surviving Christmas

Christmas is by far my favourite time of the year. Ever since I was a little girl I loved the excitement that builds as Christmas Eve draws closer, and now as a mother I experience that same excitement, albiet from a whole different place. Now it usually involves very long to do lists and great big shopping lines. And just as when I was a little girl – I can’t wait till Christmas Day either, but not for the same reasons.

All the same, I find once I get into the spirit of Christmas I can cope with everything else. Plus over the years I have managed to develop a system for handling my Christmas to do list, and all those other things that just MUST get done, that leaves me with my sanity still in tack on Christmas Eve. Allow me to share my words of wisdom with you…

Indiana Jones Themed Halloween Party

Indiana Jones Halloween Invitation

Halloween has become an institution at our house that just seems to grow bigger and bigger every year. It is eagerly awaited by our daughter, her friends and the regular stream of trick or treaters who visit our haunted house on All Hallow’s Eve. Here is just a glimpse into the prepartion that went into our Halloween in 2008 … Every year we transform our 3 car garage into a spooky haunted maze that is open to all trick or treaters. We usually open it at about 5pm and get a steady flow of children, young and old till about 9.30 at night. Our daughter is allowed to invite a few close friends over to be part of the festivities – which include feasting on goulish Halloween food, trick or treating our neighbours, and other fun antics such as scaring the trick or treaters who come to our house. It is tremendous fun and gets bigger and bigger every year. In fact, when it gets dark there are so many people around our house it is like Pitt Street in the middle of Sydney’s CBD. Plus if all the Halloween visitors from other suburbs come at the same time, it can result in a traffic jam as everyone vies for a close parking spot. 

PREPARATION
This year my daughter, Lauren decided we should give our Halloween an Indiana Jones Theme. So we have spent the 2 weeks prior to Halloween making this happen. First and foremost is the invitation. No matter the occasion we always like to set the scene with an original creation based on the theme we have chosen. I have since found out these are always eagerly awaited by Lauren’s friends, especially when Halloween is approaching. This year I found a great image on the web that I then manipulated in Photoshop to create the affect I was after. Here is a shot of what the invitation looked like. I will upload instructions and a template for this invitation into our FREEBIES section as soon as I can. Please feel free to use it so long as you leave the link to our website mentioned on the back of the invitation. To build on the theme I spent a lot of time surfing the Indiana Jones sites on the net for inspiration. Lauren and I always set aside the 2 weekends prior to Halloween to do some sort of craft activity to add to our ever growing collection of Halloween props. This is a great way to get into the Halloween spirit (pardon the pun) and it has become such a tradition for her and I that we both look forward to the one on one time we get together. We talk about who is coming, what costumes we will wear, and reminisce about Halloweens past. It is also an excellent opportunity for Lauren to develop her own creative style. She is now starting to come up with her own great ideas for Halloween and her birthday parties. In fact we recently organised a Disco party as a mid year function for Lauren and a group of her closest friends, and she designed the invitation. Here is a photo of how it turned out. Very creative I thought.  

  

PHOTO OF DISCO INVITATION COMING SOON  

We eventually decided on two projects that we felt would add atmosphere to our haunted garage, and coupled with some of our other Halloween props would really set the scene. The first project was a replica of the fertility idol from the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark. To accomplish this we moulded it from clay that hardens when air dryed and when finished I took it to work where I was able to get it spray painted in a metallic gold colour. The effect turned out quite good.  

This then inspired Lauren to use the rest of the clay to make a replica of the Holy Grail from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. I also had this painted in metallic gold at work. The hand made finish of this prop was exactly what we needed, given the Holy Grail in the movie is the least fancy of all the goblets on offer.  

Our final prop was a replica of the Chachapoyan Demon statue also from the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on some large sheets of polystyrene at work, that Lauren and I then proceeded to carve and glue together to form a 3D multi layered imitation of an image I found on the web. We then painted it to look like old stone. To attach it to the wall we used the 3M picture hanging strips that come off clear and don’t damage the wall. This was very successful.  

Our last project each year is then usually a neighbourhood notice that we distribute to the letterboxes of our neighbours as a reminder that Halloween is coming up. It is an A6 flyer (which is a quarter of an A4 page) so I can fit 4 to a page to save costs, which has a Halloween graphic and poem on it. This year I was busy trying to get this website up and running, in the middle of organising our Halloween open house, so Lauren took on the task of designing the neighbourhood flyer for me. This is her result. She’s a chip off the old block.  

PHOTO OF NEIGHBOURHOOD FLYER COMING SOON  

OVERVIEW OF OUR EVENING
The rest of this blog is being written the morning after Halloween, as our open house party continued past the bewitching hour and on into the wee hours of the morning. A few of the parents of Lauren’s friends stayed for some Halloween refreshments.  

Once again our Halloween was exceptional. We all had a great time and from the responses we received from our trick or treaters, so did they. I piked out this year on the goulish feast of Halloween food and opted for the easier version of Pizza delivery. No one seemed to mind. In fact I think maybe teenagers prefer something familiar like pizza anyway. After trick or treating they had certainly worked up an appetite, so I timed the pizza delivery perfectly, and didn’t have to lift a finger.  

We guestimate there were approx 300 people through this year. Normally we have no idea how many people there are, we just know it seems like a lot. Especially when you get down to your last bag of lollies and start to worry you will run out. But this year I had a postcard flyer printed advertising this new website and we gave out approx 300 of them last night. If you were one of our Halloween trick or treaters and have come to this website via the flyer please email us and let us know how your Halloween went, and what you thought of our haunted maze. Any suggestions for improvement next year are also welcome.  

It was wonderful to see so many kids dressed in their costumes again this year, but it is always fabulous to see the parents coming along in costume too. There is even the occasional dog dressed up as well. All this adds to the spectacle of the evening. Each year we see a lot of the same faces, but there are always a lot of new faces as well, that have learnt about us through word of mouth. If this was your first Halloween with us, we look forward to seeing you again next year.  

The funniest thing happened late in the evening, around 9pm, I had a group of 3 teenage boys turn up on their pushbikes. They strutted in with all the attitude they could muster, and one of them came out declaring to his mates “that wasn’t scary!”. I asked him if he had seen the Indiana Jones theme, to which he replied, he hadn’t. So back in he went for another look. While this was happening, some of Lauren’s friends still dressed in scary costumes, slipped back into the garage and proceeded to position themselves in selective places throughout the maze. The teenage boy was not expected anything different on his second trip through the maze, so he had the living daylights scared out of him when certain static displays (aka lauren’s friends) grabbed him unawares. He went running out of the maze laughing his head off and totally surprised (and a little embarrassed, I think) that he had been spooked. To top it off, while he was telling his friends about it out the front of our house, Lauren’s friends left the maze and crept up behind him, then waited patiently till he turned around. Not expecting anyone to be behind him this guy got his second shock of the night, which lead him to rolling around on the floor in stitches. It was hilarious to see that no one is immune to our Halloween tricks, not even the all knowing older teenagers.  

Every year, when faced with the overwhelming task of reproducing or bettering the Halloween experience for our daughter and our trick or treaters, we find ourselves questioning our sanity, and the time we put into this occasion. But it is in the aftermath of a great Halloween night, as we clean up the mess and recall the funny things that happen, I just know deep down inside that as October rolls around again next year my creative juices will be flowing – the weary bones and fatigue of Halloweens past long forgotten. So till next year, here are a few of the memories we made last Halloween night.  

Lauren & her friends in costume, ready to trick or treat the neighbours.

 

     

 

 

 

 

                

      

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