Tapas in the Top End

Moving to Darwin, Jane decided she would forgo the annual High Tea as the climate is not conducive  to frocking up. Instead she decided to opt for a more mediterranean feel with a Tapas style party. The advantage for Jane is there was no need to frock up and pull out the makeup. The advantage for the blokes is that gossip wasn't going to be a factor, so they would make the cut for the guest list.

We held the party on Sunday 11 Dec, and ended up with 12 guests. My original intent was to take the Friday off to prepare, as I may have (typically) overdone it a little on the menu. Just can't help myself - I see a whole bunch of food I want to make, and Jane never says no...

I ended up having to go to Canberra for a conference, and only arrived back in Darwin at midnight on the Friday. Whilst I could have compromised on the menu, that would have meant I needed to make a choice on what to take out! So I made the only sensible(?) choice, which was to compress three days of prep into a day and a half. The only thing I lost was a little sleep along the way - but that is nothing unusual.

The menu we served follows. Despite my very best intentions, I only managed to photograph a few of the dishes. I promise I will eventually get better at this! The order below wasn't the order we served, but as planned.

• Chargrilled salt crusted pork belly, beef and chicken skewers, with salsa verde
• Lemon, chilli and garlic marinated olives, with feta and bread

• Cognac and peppercorn pate
• Patatas Bravas
• Panfried prawns, Nam Jim sauce

• Thai styled lamb salad in cucumber cups
• Devilled eggs
• Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto with balsamic glaze
• Caramelised fennel with ashed brie

• Tomato and chorizo, with feta and olive
• Caramelised onion and feta tarts
• Goats cheese, thyme and pear tarts, drizzled with honey

• Fish bites wrapped in pasta, fried and served with Aioli
• Beef cheek slow braised, as a 'peposo notturno' (peppered by night)

• Cheddar and lime marmalade Napoleon with honey roast walnuts
• Apple caraway crisps with brie and honey
• Ginger shortbread, burnt toffee mascarpone and candied orange

• Chocolate mousse with raspberries

• Coffee glazed eclairs with coffee patisserie cream

I also made my first sangria - brilliant. The concept of drink copious quantities of wine, diluted with soda water is excellent. On the upside, it is difficult to over imbibe. The downside is that it really does taste like a fruit cordial and life in the tropics is very thirsty! 

For (mostly my) future reference, our recipe was *2 bottles of red wine (Beaujolais) *1 bottle of sparkling Rose *1/2 cup port *1 cup brandy *2 bottles soda water *1 cup sugar syrup (2:1 water:sugar) *2 TBLSPN cinnamon *fruit - sliced apple, oranges and lemon *chopped mint. pack out with ice, and enjoy over a couple of hours!

Jane isn't a fan of fennel (apparently she doesn't do licorice...), but I thought the caramelised fennel was magnificent. I loved the Braves sauce - the smokiness of paprika in the sauce and a touch of heat. Perfect over the fried potatoes - and even better with sangria! The peposo notturno is one of my all time favourites. I first tried the recipe as written in the memoir 'Heat", by Bill Buford. It only has five ingredients - beef, garlic, salt, cracked pepper and red wine. That and 14 hours at about 130 deg celsius. 

The overall favourite dish had to be the coffee eclairs, with several guests taking them home for breakfast! Again, I enjoyed taking the opportunity to cook over coals. Every time I do, I learn a little more about how disciplined you have to be to cook with fire. I look forward to that journey continuing over many years - and many more parties!