Jo's Birthday Meal Recipes

It was Jo's birthday on 10 March and we invited her to dinner. I didn't tell her that I'd invited Peter, Steph and her friend Janine around too. It was a week night so, as I work, I needed to do something that would be quick and easy with minimal fuss. After searching for what seemed like forever, I came up with the following which I thought worked well - everyone said they enjoyed the meal - let's hope they weren't just being polite ;-)

Sangria

This is such an easy recipe thanks to Ina Paarman. She suggests that this be served without soda water or lemonade but we discovered that it really needed lemonade. 2 sips of this neat & boy, you're about ready to hit the sack! I doubled up the recipe and blended it together in a fish bowl (my punch bowl broke on Xmas eve so the fish bowl is a great alternative - minus the fish of course!).

2 Large juicy oranges, washed, 1 sliced, 1 juiced

1 Large Lemon, washed and juiced

1/4 cup Sugar

60ml Triple Sec

1 Bottle fruity red wine (I used Woolies Juicy Red)

Place orange & lemon slices in a bowl or jug. Add sugar and mash gently (I used a wooden citrus juicer) until sugar is dissolved and juices are released but fruit is not crushed. Stir in juice of orange, Triple Sec and wine. Refrigerate for at least 2 or up to 8 hours.

Before serving, add ice & top up with lemonade to taste. Yummy - just ask Steph!

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Penne all Vodka

Again, quick and easy - you can make the sauce ahead of time and cook the pasta and finish off the dish after your guests have arrived. I got the vodka pasta idea from Nigella & tweaked it along the way.

1 Large onion

Crushed Garlic to taste

Salt

2 x 410g cans chopped Italian Tomatoes

Fresh Basil (if desired)

4 Table spoons cream

1 Packet Penne

175ml Vodka

4 Table spoons Butter

Parmesan for grating over at the table

Chop onion and fry gently in olive oil with a good sprinkling of salt. Add garlic and continue cooking till the onion starts to caramelize. Add the tinned tomatoes and simmer gently for about 20 min. Add some chopped basil if desired. Stop here if making ahead of time.

Cook pasta according to directions until al dente. Drain and return to saucepan. Pour over vodka, add butter and salt to taste. Reheat tomatoes, stir in the cream and combine the pasta and sauce. Toss together until the pasta is covered with sauce and turn out into a bowl. Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese and warm crusty bread and salad of your choice. I chose the following:

Baby Spinach, Avo & Pumpkin Seed Salad

Toast pumpkin seeds in a pan until they begin to brown and pop. Set aside and allow to cool.

Place baby spinach leaves in a bowl. Arrange spoonfuls of avo on top. Squeeze over lemon juice. Add pumpkin seeds, salt and ground black pepper.

Add a touch of spice - omit the black pepper but add a half a teaspoon of chilli powder to the pumpkin seeds when toasting (Mexican Toasted Peppitas).

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Orange Ginger Cheesecake

I applaud people who have loads of time to prepare cheesecake from scratch. My time was limited so I chose to cheat a little by using an Ina Paarman Lemon Cheesecake ready to mix box version which I changed in order to achieve the orange ginger combination. This was made the night before so I didn't need to fuss on the night. For those of you overseas who can't purchase Ina Paarman products, use whatever "box" cheesecake you trust or alter one of your own recipes to include orange and ginger - the combination is great.

Blend cheesecake mix according to instructions but substitute lemon rind and juice with orange rind and juice, Use ginger biscuits instead of Tennis biscuits to obtain a ginger base. Refrigerate overnight. Garnish as desired. I found wonderful preserved ginger pieces covered in dark chocolate at Woolies. I placed individual pieces around the cheesecake so that when cut, each slice will include a chocolate. I also cooked some orange zest in sugar water as part of the garnish.