I have just discovered how to throw the perfect birthday party!
Step 1: live with a gorgeous partner, breed nice children and select lovely friends.
Step 2: give a list of your favourite people to the designated contact person from Step 1.
Miraculously, a beautiful invitation will be invisibly generated, guests contacted, the number of people attending estimated, the equipment needed estimated and the amount and type of food and alcohol needed will be assessed. All while you relax!.
Step 3. Even though the people in Step ! say they will do everything, buy the disposable cutlery and crockery, serviettes and glasses because you know there is a sale on in Aldi. Buy beer and soft drinks and store in son's fridge. This makes you feel you contributed. In the meantime, the people fromn Step 1 will order 1 roast pig,
several roast ducks, roast barbeque pork and cooked chicken from Hill's Barbeque Noodle Shop in Station street, Box Hill. They will also buy wine.
Step 4: Spend weeks cleaning your house and tidying up your garden so that about 60 people can be comfortable accomodated.
Step 5. Cook a Jamaican black cake, using gluten-free flour since a lot of the guests can't eat gluten. Also, make and freeze Ginger balls dipped in chocolate. Make and store meringues. (This is because you want to. The people in Step 1 have told you not to do anything)
Step 4. Do a deal with the weather gods so that you get a lovely day in May.
Step 5. The day before, put lots of flowers and nice smelling candles in the rooms to be used. Make a berry sauce for the meringues and buy some cream. A delegation from Step 1 will decorate your house and garden with balloons, lanterns and garlands. Another delegation will vaccuum for you. Another will pick up wine glasses from the local hire shop. Others will provide and install tables, benches, a marquis and a floor cover for muddy bits of the garden.
Step 6: Relax.
Step7 : On the day of the party, get changed into something nice. Make 2 salads. Relax.
Step 8: Watch in awe as the people in Step 1 arrive with the ordered meats, home made salads, home made desserts, jerk pork, curried goat, bottles of bubbles for the visiting children, extra chairs, ice for the drinks and music.
Step 5. Have a wonderful time! Relax.
A big thank you to all from Step 1. It was wonderful. Here is a sample of the food we had:
The entrees included dips, like this green tomatillo chilli one with nachos:
cheeses, olives, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and cold meats.
The salads included Morrocan lentil salad
Potato salad
Russian carrot salad
Freekeh salad
Greek Salad
Quinoa and Eggplant salad
Desserts included a spiced chocolate cake, tiny sponge cakes with icing, fruit, chocolate brownies, ice creams, tiramasu and persian delights, as well as lots of other yummies.
(the Jamaican black cake is at the front to the left)
we all certainly enjoyed the food,
One of my friends took the Jamaican black cake to work and someone asked for the recipe. Here it is:
Jamaican Style Black Cake
Ingredients:
1750 g dried fruit including prunes, raisins which have been soaking in alcohol like rum, brandy, port, and sherry.
250g butter
185g flour
250g brown sugar
4 eggs
12 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice'1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup alcohol that the fruit have soaked in
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tspn vanilla essence
2 tablespoons Parisian essence
finely grated rind of a lime or lemon.
Method:
Process the fruit into a mince.
Cream butter, sugar and Parisian essence until soft and fluffy.
Beat eggs and alcohol together, then add to butter mixture.
Add fruit
Fold in flour.
Bake for 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.
This keeps very well.
