As stated in an earlier thread, I am having a finger food dinner party on Sat for my birthday. I am still a bit bamboozled about what to make, but after reading earlier threads am thinking of making fillings for mini pastry cases.

Where can I buy these pre-made cases?

I am thinking of fillings with: Pecan pie mix, Lemon curd, caramel. Any other suggestions or recipes for these?

I am also doing blini and am thinking of topping with:
-salmon, creme fraiche, dill
More ideas?

you can get these lovely little fillo pastry cases from woolworths/foodtown , i think they are in the same aisle as the eclair cases and meringues

Tessa....

"A computer and a cat are somewhat alike - they both purr, and spend a lot of the day motionless.
They also have secrets they don't share."

If you are in Auckland Eiffel en Eden - a French cafe/bakery sell them at much the same prices as the supermarkets - but perhaps with a little more care n'est pas?

Four legs good, two legs bad. George Orwell

Another idea for cases is to roll white sandwich bread (with crusts cut off) as thin as possible with a rolling pin. Cut circles and bake them in mini muffin pans until crisp. If well rolled it is hard to pick that they are in fact bread.

You can also get the pastry caes at New World. They are very popular though so I would buy up large when you see them ! If you want to go savoury you could try :

A blob of sour cream topped with onion marmalade or fresh salsa
A blob of cream cheese or guacamole topped with smoked salmon

Jo Seagar has a recipe for mini pecan pies (including the pastry but I often use shop bought sweet pastry) which you might be able to adapt to fill the cases -

[www.joseagar.co.nz]

I did savoury ones recently with balsamic caramalised onion & bacon which went down a treat. Hot smoked salmon mixed with small amount of horseradish cream & sour cream is another favourite topped with a dill sprig.

Helen Bell.

Hello and hope you have a lovely birthday!

In the past I have used lincoln bakery pastry cases...from Henderson. They are very good and come in different sizes and work out way cheaper than ones from supermarket. The unopened packets can also keep for a very long time...until your next big event! Try them - www.lincolnbakery.co.nz and they also have lots of great ideas on their website - and no I do not work for them!!

Rare roast beef and horseradish cream (would work for the pre cooked pastry case and blini)
Baby quiches
Hummus and roasted capsicum
Feta and garlic dip (ready made)
Cherry tomato, bocconcini and basil

I saw a nice idea in Gourmet Traveller where the unfilled cases and fillings were laid out a platter to make your own. dessert tarts - lemon meringue, fruit compote and chocolate raspberry.

Thank you so much for the finger food ideas. I just made Jo Seagers pecan pies (Pie crust and all). The hardest part was shaping the pastry into the mini muffin tins. They did not turn out looking perfectly symmetrical or so that the cases have an even thickness around but I guess this adds to the character.. What do you think? Wish I could post a photo here. The filling is a wonderful, easy recipe and they came out of the tins clean. Thanks for this recipe link.

I also made a rather nice looking choc mint slice and caramel slice to cut into small bits.

I bought today for the blini I am making (Oh to have a Gilmours card and be able to buy them):

*smoked chicken, brie, apricot salsa
*smoked salmon, dill, creme fraiche
*Chickpeas to make hummos with to put on top with roast capsicum.

Was it creme fraiche I was supposed to get or is that a sweet thing?

Might try rolling out white bread too. How do you caramalise onions? What would go with pineapple? So many questions, so little time...!!

Hi Just wondering wanting to make this For family so if anyone Knows how to make apple crumble fast and easy Please tell me

Thank you

HI Tina
I used to have a few apple crumble recipes and when I wanted one - couldn't find any so rang a friend in a hurry and this is hers and it is the only one I make now - we like it - it is tasty and is fairly quick and easy.
1/2 cup plain flour: 1/2 tsp cinnamon: 1/2 tsp mixed spice
3/4 cup sugar; brown or white - I used brown - very nice!
75 gm butter: 1/2 cup rolled oats:
crumble - or melt the butter and mix with dry ingredients. Add oats - cover the lightly stewed apples and bake about 180o for about 45 - 60 minutes or until you think it looks crisp and goldy/browny. maybe shorter cooking depending on your oven. Serve with custard and cream. WE don;t have desserts much and it is a while since I made it so can't remember if I did this amount, or one and a half times for a fairly big pan of apples.
I usually melt the butter although I made it last time with it grated and was just as nice. you need to mix well in if melted as it goes a little 'gluggy' I also tend to put extra cinnamon and spice in as we like a stronger flavour. I also used to make one with flaked rice but not sure now what the rest of the mix was. Enjoy!

Um, just wondering how Tina's "How to make apple crumble quick" thread ended up tacked onto the end of the 'Mini Pastry Cases" thread. Not complaining, just puzzled ...

Momma, it's because instead of starting a new thread, Tina just changed the subject of the Mini pastry cases thread and put her posting there.

Anyway, Tina, here's another tip for your apple crumble: I always sprinkle a tablespoon of custard powder mixed with a tablespoon of caster sugar over the apples before putting the crumble mixture on top.

Chopped or sliced nuts of your choice add a nice touch for a 'special' crumble.

Oh, and another tip: for super-quick crumble, I always make about three times more crumble than I need then I freeze the leftover uncooked mixture. It stays crumbly when frozen so you can just take out the amount you need the next couple of times.

For super quick and comparatively healthy crumble use a food processor to grate cored (but unpeeled apple). Put in microwave proof dishh or without other fruit. Put blade in the processor and add 3/4c rolled oats, 3/4c wholemeal flour, 1/4c brown sugar and 60g butter (you can also add nuts and/or spices). Pulse till it resembles breadcrumbs. Put the crumble on top of the apple and microwave on high for 10-12 minutes.