Faceromance

Australian Lamingtons

It is easier to cut and handle the cake if it is at least 1 day
old.
Any sponge or butter cake can be used.

Cake
6 eggs
2/3 cup castor sugar
1/3 cup corn flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1/3 cup self-rising flour
2 cups coconut - approximately

Icing
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
15 grams butter or margarine, melted
2/3 cup warm water
2 cups coconut - approximately

Grease a 23cm lamington pan (square slab pan).
Beat eggs until
thick and creamy.
Gradually beat in sugar then fold in well-sifted
flours.
Spread mixture in pan.
Bake in moderate oven until done
— about 30 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack.
Cut
cake into 16 squares.

Sift confectioners’ sugar and cocoa into a
bowl.
Mix with warm water to make a smooth, runny paste.
Dip cake
into icing, until coated all over; drain, then roll in coconut.

ANZAC Biscuits

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and
these cookies are so named because they were baked and shipped off
to Australian and New Zealander soldiers during World War I.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 1/2 ounces butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup (corn syrup)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons boiling water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Brush 2 cookie sheets with melted
butter or oil.

Place flour, oats, coconut and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and
stir until combined.

Combine butter and golden syrup in small pan; stir over high
heat until melted.

Mix baking soda with boiling water; add to melted butter and
syrup.
Add to flour mixture and stir until combined.
Shape level
tablespoons of mixture into balls and flatten slightly.
Place onto
prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes
or until crisp and golden.

Remove from oven; let stand 2 minutes before loosening the
biscuits and moving them to a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Aussie Meat Pies

Pastry
2 cups plain flour
4 ounces lard, chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons water (approximately)
2 sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Sift flour into bowl; rub in lard.
Add eggs and enough water to
make ingredients cling together.
Press dough into a ball; knead
gently on floured surface until smooth, cover, refrigerate 30
minutes.

Divide dough into 8 portions.
Roll each portion on lightly
floured surface large enough to line 4-inch pie tins.
Trim away
excess pastry.
Place tins on oven tray, line pastry with paper,
fill with dried beans or rice.
Bake in moderately hot oven about 8
minutes.
Remove paper and beans, and bake another 8 minutes or
until pastry is lightly browned; cool.

Filling
1 ounce lard
2 onions, chopped
1 pound ground (minced) beef
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons powdered beef bouillon
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons cornstarch (corn flour)
2 tablespoons water, extra

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat lard in pan, add onion, cook, stirring, until soft.
Add
ground beef, stir over heat until browned.
Stir in sauces,
bouillon, water and allspice.
Bring to boil, simmer, covered, 20
minutes.
Stir in the cornstarch mixed with the extra water, stir
over heat until mixture boils and thickens.

Spoon cold filling into pastry cases.
Cut eight 5-inch rounds
from puff pastry, brush edges of pastry with a little egg yolk,
gently press puff pastry tops into place; trim edges.
Brush tops
with a little more egg yolk.
Make 2 small slits in center of pies,
place on oven trays and bake about 15 minutes or until lightly
browned.
Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Recipe can be made a day ahead and stored covered in the
refrigerator.

Makes 8 pies.

Pumpkin Scones

1 1/2 ounces butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup mashed, cooked pumpkin
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
Pinch of salt
Melted butter (for glaze)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar, then mix in pumpkin.
Stir in egg and
milk.
Sift in flour and salt and add to creamed mixture.
Knead a
few times on a lightly floured surface, then pat out to a rectangle
about 3/4 inch thick.
Cut rounds with floured cutter or into
squares with a sharp knife.
Brush with melted butter.
Bake for 15
minutes until well risen, golden brown on top and cooked through.
Serve hot, split and buttered.

Serves 4 to 6.

Boiled Peanuts (Hawaii)

2 pounds raw peanuts
2 tablespoons Hawaiian rock salt
1 whole bhat gok (star anise)

Soak peanuts in water overnight, weighing down the peanuts with
a dish and a weight, like a large can of pork and beans.

The next day, wash and rub peanuts until the water is clear.
Put
peanuts in a pot with water about 1 1/2 inches above the peanuts.
(Hold peanuts down with your hand.) Add salt and bhat gok.
Cover
and bring to a boil.
Simmer for 30 minutes.

Taste for doneness.
Peanut should be medium to soft, depending
on the taster.
Cook 30 minutes longer for a softer peanut.
Let
peanuts stand in water for 1 hour.

Pour off excess water.
Package and refrigerate.
Boiled peanuts
may be frozen until ready to use or eaten right away.

Chicken Pupus (Hawaiian Appetizer)

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup dark rum
1 tablespoon wasabi powder
Juice of 1 orange
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless, cubed chicken
thighs or breasts

Whisk together all ingredients, except the chicken, in a mixing
bowl.
Place the chicken thighs in the marinade and marinate for 2
to 4 hours in the refrigerator.
After 2 hours, stir the
marinade.

Preheat the grill until the coals are gray to white.
Remove the
chicken from the marinade and drain or shake off the excess
marinade.
Place on a lightly oiled grill and cook for 5 to 7
minutes on each side.

Continue grilling until the chicken is cooked in the center.
Remove the “pupu chicken” to a serving plate and insert wooden
picks in each of the cubes.
Serve immediately as an appetizer.

Yields 4 to 6 servings.

Masi Samoa

2 cups (4 sticks) butter or margarine
4 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
2 cans coconut milk
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 pounds all-purpose flour
10 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs, coconut milk and vanilla
extract and mix well.
Add flour and baking powder to the mixture.
Mix until it is easier to handle, then roll it out, and cut into
squares.
Put squares onto a cookie sheet and bake until they are
brown on both sides.

Palusami (Polynesia)

About 36 young taro leaves
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cups coconut cream
1 teaspoon curry powder (optional)
6 wilted banana leaves
6 breadfruit leaves
Salt, to taste

Add onions to coconut cream.
Add curry, if desired.
Salt to
taste.
Take about six taro leaves and form into a cup.
Pour 1/2 cup
of the coconut cream mixture into the taro leaf cup.
Wrap with
banana leaf, then wrap again with breadfruit leaf.
Bake in oven for
30 minutes.

Pani Popo (Samoa)

5 3/4 to 6 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 package yeast
2 1/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon shortening, margarine, or butter
1 teaspoon salt

Mix 2 1/2 cups of the flour and yeast.

In a saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, shortening, margarine,
or butter; and salt until warm and shortening almost melts.
Add to
flour mixture.
Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30
seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
Using a spoon, stir in as much
remaining flour as you can to make a moderately stiff dough that is
smooth and easy to pull, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Put some shortening
on your hands.
This will add moisture to dough and make it easier
to handle.
Shape dough into a ball and put in a greased bowl.
Turn
it on both sides to grease the whole ball of dough.
Put a pan with
some very hot water in it on the bottom of the oven.
Cover dough
and let rise in the oven on the top rack.
(The steam from the hot
water will help it to rise.) This should take about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down.
Roll 18 balls and cover for 10 minutes while
you make the following milk mixture.

Milk Mixture
2 cans coconut milk
1 cup granulated sugar

Pour half of the milk mixture into each of two (13 x 9-inch)
pans.
Put in 9 bread rolls on top (or you can make the rolls
smaller to make more rolls).
Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes
or until bread tests done.

Hawaiian Pork

Sweet and Sour Sauce
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Stir all ingredients together.
Set aside.

Pork and Vegetables
2 pounds lean boneless pork (such as shoulder
or butt), trimmed of excess fat and cut
into 3/4-inch cubes
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup cornstarch
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1 small onion, cut into wedges, layers separated
1/4 pound Chinese pea pods (snow or sugar peas) or
1 package frozen Chinese pea pods, thawed and
drained

Dip pork cubes in beaten egg; drain briefly and roll in
cornstarch to coat lightly; shake off excess.
Place a wok over high
heat.
When wok is hot, add 2 tablespoons of the oil.
When oil is
hot, add half the pork; stir fry until evenly browned (5 to 7
minutes).

Lift pork from wok and set aside.
Repeat to brown remaining
meat, adding more oil as needed.
Add remaining oil (about 2
tablespoons) to wok.
Add bell peppers and onion; stir fry until
vegetables are tender-crisp to bite (about 2 minutes).

Add pea pods; then stir sauce and add.
Stir until sauce boils
and thickens; return pork to wok and stir until heated through.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.