Three easy ideas and crowd pleasers

Bruschetta

While everyone is arriving, I love a board of bruschetta as an easy snack. Use up stale bread this way!

Slice your ciabatta or French loaf, and season with salt, pepper, and oregano;

Drizzle with olive oil, and place on a baking sheet in the oven, turning over when golden brown;

Top with guaco and chopped baby tomatoes, and some crumbled feta or ricotta if a milk meal;

You can also add chopped, sauteed mushrooms.

Guaco

Pulse avocado, add salt, pepper, spring onion, a dollop of mayonnaise, a dash of chilli flakes, and season to your own taste and leave it slightly chunky;

Top bruschetta with chopped tomato, avo, garnish with red onion, and fresh herbs.

Arancini balls

I always say one extra-effort side dish goes a long way. I love to keep my home entertaining simple and fresh, but always add something that shows you have made an effort! Arancini balls do just this.

4 cups pre-made risotto, or I often use orzo

200g mozzarella, cut into small chunks

¾ cup of mushrooms, or asparagus or peas

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 large eggs, whisked

2 cups of breadcrumbs – I season with Italian herbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil for frying

Take three heaped tablespoons of the risotto, and roll into a ball;

Add three to four chunks of cheese, and a little bit of the selected vegetables;

Add more risotto to fully cover the veg and cheese, and roll into a ball or oval shape;

Repeat!

Mix together the flour, salt, and pepper;

In a separate bowl, mix the whisked eggs, salt, and pepper;

Lastly, add some herbs to your breadcrumbs;

Roll each ball in flour until completely coated;

Roll the ball in the egg mixture until fully coated;

Lastly, roll the ball in the breadcrumbs;

Bread all the arancini;

Place in hot oil in small batches and fry for about eight minutes until the cheese has melted in the centre;

Drain on a paper towel;

Serve with a napoletana dip or a sweet cranberry and chilli dip.

Pastrami in Mustard Sauce

A deli-style meal is perfect for the sukkah. Home-cooked pastrami in mustard sauce is the part that requires effort, then use fillers – rye bread, pickles, Piccallili, coleslaw, and classic potato salad, and you have an easy and delicious meal.

Spice mix for pastrami

For a 4kg pastrami:

Coarse black pepper, coriander powder, mustard powder, brown sugar, paprika, crushed garlic, and onion powder. Use a few teaspoons of each, and mix together to create a delicious rub.

Preheat your oven to 130/140C;

Cover a baking sheet with heavy duty foil, and coat with some oil and garlic;

Lay the pastrami on the foil and drizzle with remaining oil and garlic;

Cover generously with your spice mix, and cover with foil to create a parcel;

Bake for about six hours until tender. I baste with more spices during this process;

Let the pastrami cool before slicing thinly or slice on a board when serving.

If you want to serve in the sauce here is one idea for a hot mustard sauce, or you can serve with bowls of different mustards alongside:

One cup mayonnaise

One cup yellow mustard

4 tablespoons grainy mustard

1 tsp honey

Dash of lemon juice

Dash of barbeque sauce