Recipes For Star Parties

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At Wiruna this year the suggestion came up that we should have a thread with recipes for star parties.
These recipes should be prepared at home, frozen, and be able to be reheated for a quick nutritious meal with a minimum of fuss.

I will start with my contribution if you have any recipes you feel are suitable please add them to this thread.

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Serves 4
2 tablespoons plain flour
800g chuck steak,trimmed,cut into 3cm pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
2 sticks celery,chopped
1 brown onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled, chopped
200g swiss brown mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup Guinness beer
2 cups beef stock
2 bay leaves


1 Place flour and salt and pepper in a snap-lock bag. Add steak and shake to coat. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook steak., in batches, for 3 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a plate.
2 Heat remaining oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, onion, carrot and mushrooms. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until tender. Add tomato paste. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
3 Gradually stir in Guinness. Add stock and bay leaves. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Return steak and any juices to pan. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
4 Remove lid. Simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes or until steak is tender. Remove bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool then freeze.

We serve tis with cook in the bag Basmati rice or mashed potato if you prefer

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Serves 4
1/4 cup olive oil
800g chicken tenderloins, tendon removed
1 large brown onion, halved, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 large red capsicum, roughly chopped
1 large green capsicum, roughly chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 desiree potatoes, unpeeled, roughly chopped
crusty bread, to serve


1 Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large, frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, in batches, for 1 minute each side or until browned. Transfer to a plate.

2 Add remaining oil to frying pan. Add onion. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until soft. Add garlic, paprika and capsicums. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in wine. Bring to boil. Return chicken to pan. Add tomatoes and potatoes. Cover. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.

3 Remove lid. Cook for a further 12 to 15 minutes or until potato is cooked and sauce has reduced. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool and freeze. Serve with crusty bread.

[[1ponders]]

I'll see if I can weedle my wifes secret recipe for Sticky Date Pudding and Caramel Sauce from her. Yum Yum!!!!

[IanL]

:) Fruit Parcels

1 Cube various types of fruit. Apples, Pears, Pinapple etc
2 Place cubed fruit into tinfoil and add 1 tea spoon of drambue or 2 if you are not driving :) and a little brown sugar to caramelize.
3 Wrap in tinfoil
4 Place on BBQ after everything else has been served just to heat up. Don't not cook them.
5 Add carnation milk to taste
6 MMMMMmmmmm.

[CoombellKid]

So!!! :shrug::shrug::shrug: it's now been three months, I think your going
to have to try a lil harder eh'

...get that thumb out of your Date :whistle:

regards,CS

[[1ponders]]

:lol: I'll get onto it tonight :)

Shame you missed it at Astrofest this year Rob, it fed about 25 people :D (with cream and ice cream )

[acropolite]

You're making me dribble on the keyboard Paul, the sticky date pudding was magnificent in the wee small hours of the morning, you realise the precedent has been set, we expect no less next year....(mojo where's the lick your lips smilie):D

[[1ponders]]

And I never heated up the caramel fudge sauce to with it. :lol:

Not a problem Phil. Just remind me before the event. :D

[astroron]

I'm not normaly a sweet eater, but I had aty least three helpings:D Absalutly Fabulous:):):):)

[jjjnettie]

LOL I managed to get one helping.
We snuck in late on Saturday night/early Sunday morning for some sticky datey sustenance but it was alllll gone. Ah well. The quick or the dateless.

[CoombellKid]

Wow! that must of been one big sticky date:scared: I look forward to rejoining
the fray next year.

regards,CS

[[1ponders]]

This recipe makes enough to fill a good sized baking tray (30cm x 30cm) 4 cm deep (Yumm!!!)

Sticky Date Pudding

340g Roughly chopped dates
600mls boiling water
2 teaspns bicarb soda
340g self raising flour
125g butter
340g castor sugar
1.5 teaspn vanilla essence
4 eggs

Put dates in a bowl, add hot water and bicarb. Set aside
Melt butter in a pot, add castor sugar and stir together
Add eggs one at a time stirring each one in before the next
Fold in flour (don't overmix)
Add and mix in dates, water and bicarb.
Add Vanilla essences

Preheat oven to 150-180 C (slow cook)
Bake in a greased deepish tray for 45 - 60 min depending on oven (use skewer test to tell when cooked. It is meant to be moist!!! Slightly undercook than overcook is best)
Allow to cool before cutting into slabs. Place slabs into large icecream container. 4 slabs/layer with grease proof paper between. Approx 4 layers per container depending on thickness. Freeze immediately to keep for star party :)

Butterscotch Caramel Sauce

150g butter
1-2 cups Brown sugar
0.75 cups cream

Mix together in a pot on stove until rolling boil (not rapid boil!!) for 1-2 min. Stir continuously while cooking and boiling. Turn heat off. Allow to cool sufficiently to pour into take away containers. Chill and keep covered in fridge. Sauce may crystalize but will be fine after reheating to rolling boil prior to serving.

Serving suggestions:

Thaw slabs prior to reheating. Reheat in microwave or small oven or under griller or by any means available (on the end of a stick over a fire if necessary). Reheat sauce to rolling boil (remember to stir! ), preferably in a pot, not a microwave (very messy to clean up out of a microwave if it boils too strongly :scared: ). I like to leave the sauce out of the fridge for an hour or so before reheating so that it is softened before heating. Less chance of it burning on the bottom of the pan. Pour caramel sauce over individual serves of SDP when heated. Then top with BOTH cream and icecream (it's the only way to go :D )

Enjoy

[[1ponders]]

BTW the STP will keep for ages frozen, so why not increase the amounts by half again and do some in some muffin trays for 'ron ;)

[alan meehan]

john i,am glad we finally got round to this one i think it was my suggestion,after the guinness stew,or breakfast
TUNA OR SALMON PATTIES
1 can tuna or salmon
2 three potatoes
3 rice
4 chives
5 corn flakes or bread crumbs
6 egg
lemon
first boil potatoes and rice together peeling the potatoes,add to salmon or
tuna add the egg and mix chop up chives and add ,roll into balls and coat with corn flakes or bread crumbs and lightly fry,sqeeze on lemon.

maybe we can rename our star party astrofeast

[mental4astro]

I've done this a few times, and have taken it observing with me during winter. This uses popcorn you buy just as plain corn, not the microwave stuff. Ends up not as greasy or salty, and the heat depends on how much you like.

Follow the instructions on the pack of popcorn, adding a little salt and the chillie powder now. Don't let the oil heat for too long before adding the corn or the chillie will begin to burn. Shake the pot with the oil, corn salt and chillie to coat the kernals and let pop! Leave it alone until the poping stops, remove from heat and give the lot a good shake.

Use a 4 litre pot, with lid, for no more than 1/2 cup of unpoped corn or you will not have enough room in the pot to allow for shaking the popped contents.

I suggest no more than 1/2 teaspoon for 1/2 cup of popcorn to start with. Even a little less if you are a little gun shy.

A spicy 'pick me up' on cool nights!

[Suzy]

SATAY LAMB
(A traditional, spicy satay)


Oil, for cooking
500g lamb fillet, thinly sliced (you can use beef or chicken instead)
1 onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed (or 2 tspns bottled minced garlic)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (or 2 tspns bottled minced ginger)
1-2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped (or 1-2 tspns bottled minced chilli)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup coconut cream.

1. Heat the wok until very hot, add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl it around to coat the side. Stir-fry the lamb in batches over high heat until it is well browned and cooked, adding more oil when necessary. Remove the lamb from the wok and set aside.

(note: cooking in batches is better for quick browning, otherwise the meat retains a lot of water and boils.)

2. Reheat the wok, add 1 tablesppon of the oil and stir-fry the onion over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until soft and transparent. Stir in the garlic, ginger, chilli, cummin and coriander, and cook for 1 minute.

3. Stir in the peanut butter, soy sauce, lemon juice, coconut cream and 1/2 cup (125ml/4fl oz) water. slowly bring to the boil. Return the lamb to the wok and stir until heated through.

Serve with rice. Easy peasy! It's an excellent, knockout, satay recipe!

For Chicken Kebabs, you can use some of the sauce to marinade the kebabs before grilling/bbq'ing and the rest of the sauce to pour over the kebabs. Just don't double dip the raw chicken the sauce used for pouring over. Actually, I just realised, for a star party, you could have the sauce in a separate container and grill up the kebabs on those camping stoves. Again, serve with rice, and a salad on the side would be nice too.

Enjoy,
Suzy.

[barx1963]

My Lemon and Tuna Pasta

This is one of the simplest recipes, takes no time, and very tasty and filling!

Ingredients (serves 2 or maybe just 1 if really hungry and fuelling up for a long night under the skies)

Pasta (I use Penne) enough to fill one bowl
1 can of plain tuna in oil 185g
1 Medium sized onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic crushed and chopped
Juice of one lemon (or 2 if you like it stronger tasting!)
Olive oil
Sundried tomatoes
White wine
Pitted Kalamata olives (if you like them! but who doesn't!)

Put the pasta on to boil. Drain the tine of tuna and flake it. Sweat of the onion and garlic with a little bit of the olive oil in a non stick saucepan and some pepper, once it is translucent, add tuna, stir and heat through then add a bit more oil, lemoin juice and the tomatoes and olives. Cook stirring for 2 or 3 minutes then add about 1/3 cup of wine and simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Once pasta is OK, drain and add to the sauce, stir through and serve with a nice glass of wine (I like a really nice Pinot Noir, works really well for some reason!) and maybe a bit of salad.

Then head for the observing field.:thumbsup:

[GrahamL]

thats great Malcom.. and you don't need refrigeration for any of the ingreadiants :)


Camping and fast we always take
gnocci( supemarket shelf) one pack
boil water and drop in

to a hot oil
add in order
mushrooms 1 cup
6 whole garlic cloves bruised
cherry toms or other 1 cup
kalamatas 1/2 cup a few capers fit also as an addition to the olives
fresh basil or other

cooking time is but a few minutes
we've tried a few tweaks on this while they work ok , the simple version is easily the best .

[Roobi]

Don't forget the honey joys, marsbar slice and chocolate crackles.
Last snake valley i made a bunch of these and they went down pretty well lol.
Don't worry i'll be bringing some more tomorrow night.

:)

Honey joys:
Ingredients:


90g butter or margarine
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon honey
4 cups Kellogg's Corn Flakes
Method:


Preheat oven to 150°C.
Line 24 hole patty pan with paper cases.
Melt butter, sugar and honey together in a saucepan until frothy.
Add Kellogg's Corn Flakes and mix well.
Working quickly spoon into paper patty cases.
Bake in a slow oven 150°C for 10 minutes.
Cool.

mars bar slice, or in patty cases which is easier for a group:
Ingredients 3 Mars Bars 90g butter 3 cups rice bubbles 200g melted chocolate (cooking or normal eating chocolate)

Method Grease and line slice tin with baking paper Melt Mars Bars with butter and mix with rice bubbles. Pour mixture into tin. Melt chocolate and pour over slice. Let slice set in a cool place (or the fridge). Remove slice from tin and cut into pieces. Ingredients 3 Mars Bars 90g butter 3 cups rice bubbles 200g melted chocolate (cooking or normal eating chocolate)
Method Grease and line slice tin with baking paper Melt Mars Bars with butter and mix with rice bubbles. Pour mixture into tin or patty casesMelt chocolate and pour over. Let slice set in a cool place (or the fridge). Remove slice from tin and cut into pieces or leave in the cases for an easy grab.
Chocolate crackles:

Ingredients
4 cups Kellogg's® Rice Bubbles®
1 cup icing sugar
1 cup desiccated coconut
250g copha®*, chopped
3 tbsp cocoa




Method
In a large bowl, mix the Kellogg's® Rice Bubbles®, icing sugar, cocoa & coconut.

Slowly melt the copha® in a saucepan over a low heat.

Allow to cool slightly.

Add to Rice Bubbles mixture, stirring until well combined.

Spoon mixture into paper patty cases and refrigerate until firm.

[dj gravelrash]

BBQ Salmon fillet in ketjap manis (indonesian soy sauce)

marinate fillet in for at least 12hrs
sear on med/high heat each side for 8min

add diced pistachios
or
chopped macadamias

garden salad with bococini

washed down with
Margan Estate Verdelo (hunter), Pikes Clare Valley Reisling (sa) or Villa Maria Sauv Blanc (nz)
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thum bsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

yummmmmmmmmmo

[Sol-Skysailor]

Here claimed a tiny bit of expertise, such as never claimed in any other areas especially astronomy. A born eater, getting rotundy large and larger, but can’t be stuffed fussing ‘bout food and washing up when starry eyed or needing to be minimalist practical. Happy as vegemite on the first two cases below but Case 3 answers your question… (all from camping and at-sea).

Case 1 Subsist. Various breakfast bars, bananas, other fruits, packet ham 1st day or two, carrots, tomatoes, sugar snap beans, cucumber, cashew nuts, sesame bars, dates, avocado, crackers/biscuits, peanut butter, banana cake or some other dense moist cake (with whiskey in it), water, coffee sachets, Safeway chocolate drink sachets (surprisingly good), maybe tea. If 3-4 days then ‘still no cooking’ pull-open little cans of smoked oysters, tuna, artichoke hearts, champignons, corn, asparagus spears.

Case 2 A bit of cookin’. Just a power point, no need for a kitchen. Use this to boil water for a cuppa first (plus store boiled water in a thermos, plus recharge a snap-trigger gel heat-pack) then cook in it then eat from it then boil water for washing up:
http://www.harveynorman.com.au/kitchen-appliances/small-kitchen-appliances/cooking-appliances/birko-800ml-food-and-drink-heater.html

Use it for boiled or poached eggs, all kinds of soup, cous cous, packet noodles + veg. + packet ham 1st day or two then canned tuna or smoked oyster.

Case 3 Reheat from frozen.
Recipe 1 Beef stroganof (heat oil/butter, cook sliced onion till transparent then remove off oil, add thinly sliced beef for a few minutes only, add a bit of hot beef stock/broth (or packet of French onion soup), champignons, add a little wine, bit of salt but lotta pepper, add flour that has been dissolved in a bit of water. Do not overcook, this is not a stew. Cook rice and freeze separately. Or add boiling water to cous cous. Serve with sour cream if you have it, or a little pack of yoghurt, or a tiny squeeze of mayo to get by.
Alternatively make a beef stew, first with onion, beef, a slosh of Stout eg Guinness and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. When meat half way decent add spuds, carrots (lots), celery, turnip/parsnip, bay leaves, mixed herbs. Thicken with flour that has been dissolved in a bit of water. Tip: do not just boil up beef, you need to fry the thing first. Tip 2: don’t boil the thing, gently simmer. Tip 3: best cuts taste worst.

Recipe 2 Spag. beef balls. Look up elsewhere but…. unless you want it to disintegrate into bolognaise, do beat the beef+salt+sauce+herbs+pepper+flour mixture about and throw it around until the fibres mesh up then shape into balls. Put these in a plastic bag and dust them with a very little bit of flour. Fry in oil to seal around. Then cook through in bolognaise sauce. Tip for all recipes: Carry Tobasco or Sriracha, it will liven up anything.

Recipe 3 Don’t bother. Just buy quality frozen crumbed chicken filets in packets. At event, shallow fry (taters too) or oven. Cook 2-minute noodles for 1 minute ONLY with half the flavour thing, can be with cabbage, drain out water, add a bit more of the flavouring. For luxury, make coleslaw on the spot = v. thinly sliced cabbage, thinner-than-match-stick carrots, tiny bit of celery, tiny bit of onion, mayo (Praise brand, not any other), pepper. To liven up other meals, use portions of fried-at-home bacon bits. Unbelievably, the best tasting meal ever was one time at sea the usually rejected party pies and sausage rolls oven-warmed truly tasted memorably more than excellent. Warm breakfast = crumpets! Use peanut butter and vegemite instead of butter. Other times/meals mash banana, or use avocado instead of cheese. Dessert/snack/supper/breakfast….. Heat up apple pies, ahhh… Custard if you really must, cream’s ideal –so day 1.

You’ll survive well, on the first two cases. Feast when you get home (usually, as adrenalin comes down, I can’t be stuffed so would eat the most basic and crash, happy).

May all feast well, on ingredients in the skies

[jjjnettie]

Favourite quick and easy meals for me. Both are one pot meals.
1. Boiled spuds topped with a portion of "Heinz Chunky Chilli Beef", sour cream, grated cheese with a side salad.
2. Ramen Noodles (Mei Goreng) cooked with a big handful of dry slaw and roughly chopped brocolli then stir through a small tin of shredded chicken in springwater.

Bring along a couple of bags of chopped coleslaw vegies or stir fry vegies.
You can cook them or eat them raw with some garlic aoli drizzled on top. Yum.