BP14: Kid's Party (I wish I was still a child)

Sometimes.. I wish I was still a kid. Around 7 or 8 years old. Old enough to know the rights and wrongs in the world, old enough to learn to appreciate things but still young enough to not be too bothered by the silly things happening around me. I was thinking this as I watched the replay of the eulogy Little Bindi Irwin gave her father, Steve Irwin's memorial service on late night news last night.

Young Bindi at 8 was so calm, articulate and spoke with bright confidence as she recalled the fond memories of her dad, his passion for animals and the good bloke that he was. But it was Little Bindi's speech that touched my heart, her eloquent speech and confidence belied her young age and you'd almost expect her to break down and cry half way through her speech, but she didn't.

I wish I had such maturity when I was at her age. Last I could remember was that I was a real pain in the butt (as countless relatives have reminded me) tom boy, running around with the boys and snapping at anyone who was in my way. LOL. The joy's of youth. Anyway...

Blog Party #14: Kid's party is the theme this month at Stephanie's (the Happy Sorceress) blog: Dispensing Happiness. When I saw this, it had me searching my past for the parties that I had when I was a kid, the sort of food that I enjoyed as a kid and all that I would give to have right now at the old ripe age of 27. (ok, so I'm not that old, but I get constantly reminded that I am OLDER than the friends I hang around with). The last party someone threw me was when I was 15, the one before that was when I was about 5.

I wish I could remember what sort yummy food my mum made for me at that party. The only things I remember from the younger days was:

>> Honey Joys
>> Agar-Agar Santan (Agar Agar Jelly with a Coconut Milk layer)
>> Ribena
>> Authentic Malaysian Curry Puffs (Not the Puff pastry kind)
>> Kuih Lapis (Layer Cake)

Ahh.. those were the days...

In honour of BP14, I threw a little party of my own for my two kids: the Housemate and the Boy.

Menu of the day:
Honey Joys
Agar-Agar Santan
Pigs in Blanket
Ham, cheese and pineapple mini tarts for BP14

Honey Joys

These are my all time favourite kiddy food. No one can resist the temptation of a Honey Joy. NOT EVEN THE ADULTS! These are my party favourites, I have made Honey Joys countless amount of times and each and everytime it has never failed to bring out the inner child in the most mature person at the party. They're quick to make and quick to disappear!

Ingredients:

90g butter
1/3 cup of sugar
1 tbsp honey
4 cups of Corn Flakes
24 paper cases

Preheat oven to 150 deg C. Line a 24 hole patty pan with paper cases. Melt butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan until it becomes frothy and has a caramalised texture. Add corn flakes and mix well. When combined, spoon into paper patty cases and bake in the oven for 1omins. Cool and serve.

Makes 24 serves.

Agar-Agar Santan (Agar-Agar Jelly w/ a Coconut Milk layer)

Agar-agar is the Malay word for jelly. It's a type of jelly that is firmer and crunchier in texture and is a very common dessert in Malaysia. It is a little bit trickier to make, but I love how the richness in the coconut milkoffsets by the sweet rosey jelly.

Ingredients:
30g agar-agar powder
250ml water
750ml hot water (in a large saucepan)
300g sugar
3 screwpine (pandan) leaves, knotted*
180ml thick coconut milk
1/4 tsp any colour (food colouring)

Combine agar-agar powder with 250ml water. Stir to dissolve, then pour into the hot water. (If the agar-agar does not dissolve well, use a balloon whisk and whisk the mixture in the saucepan until smooth) Add sugar and screwpine leaves and bring to a boil for 10–15 minutes over a medium heat. Stir occasionally while cooking. Divide agar-agar into three portions. Add colouring to the two-thirds portion and pour into individual moulds or a large mould.

Bring the remaining one-thirds liquid to a gentle simmer, then add thick coconut milk. When it begins to boil, remove from the heat at once. Test the firmness of the coloured portion. It should be about set. Gently pour spoonfuls of coconut milk agar-agar mixture over the coloured jelly(take care not to break through the surface of the coloured jelly). Leave to set completely. Chill in the refrigerator before serving.

*Screwpine leaves or pandan leaves can be found in the frozen section of your local asian grocery. Alternatively, you may substitute with 1 tbsp of rose water/rose essence.


Pigs in Blanket

This is another of my party favourite. Pigs in blanket, or just cocktail sausages w/ puff pastry. Pigs refers to the cocktail sausages while blanket refers to the puff pastry wrapped around the sausages like being covered like blanket. They're a quick an easy snack to prepare and another of my party favourites.

Ingredients:
15 cocktail sausages
1 sheet of puff pastry (I used store bought pastry)
1 egg beaten (egg wash)

Divide puff pastry into 15 little rectangles, wrap a piece of sausage in each rectangle. Brush lightly with egg wash and bake until pastry is golden.


Ham, Cheese and Pineapple Mini Tarts

These are the little Ham, Cheese and Pineapple Mini Tarts I made previously for HHDD#5.

An adaptation from my favourite pizza, I was thinking of calling it The Mini Hawaiian, but decided against it.

Ingredients:

Mozarella cheese (I used Perfect Italiano's Pizza Plus, which is a combination of Mozarella, Cheddar and Parmesan Cheese)
Your favourite Ham shaved or sliced (I used Virginian Ham
Pineapple pieces (I used canned pineapple)
Puff pastry sheet (I used store bought puff pastry)
1 egg beaten (egg wash)

Begin by cutting puff pastry into mini squares. 1 puff pastry sheet can be divided into 9 squares. Fold about 1cm border along the puff pastry square and paint with egg wash. Bake in the oven at 180 deg C for about 8mins or until it starts rising. At this point, remove pastry from the oven and flatten the middle portion of the pastry to create a cavity in the tart. Then, stuff some cheese into the tart cavity, arrange a layer of ham, cheese, ham, cheese and top with a piece of pineapple and more cheese. Bake for another 5mins until the cheese melts and serve.

Finally, no party of mine is complete without my favourite drink in the world. Ribena. I love Ribena. I love Sparkling Ribena more! A simple concoction of Ribena and Soda water is guaranteed to bring out the kid in me :)

Thank you Stephanie for coming up with such an excellent theme. It has certainly brought out the kiddy side of me (and the kids).