Chapter 12 New Year’s Eve Cocktail Party

Shopping List

Meat

• Peking duck breasts (3) or half a duck from the Asian supermarket or China Town. You know – the ones hanging up in the windows!
• beef, sirloin or rump (500 g whole piece or 18 thin slices pre-cooked beef from the deli)
• prosciutto (9 slices)

Seafood

• scallops, good-sized, raw, without the orange roe (9)
• prawns, raw, large, shell on (18)

Fruit and veg

• limes (2)
• lemons (3)
• tomatoes, medium, vine-ripened (12)
• shallots (1 bunch)
• cucumber, continental, small (1)
• watermelon, seedless, small wedge (1)
• cherries, black (500 g)
• strawberries, fresh (1 large or 2 normal-sized punnets)
• coconut, fresh, small (1) optional
• ginger, large knob (1)
• garlic, small (1 bulb)
• thyme, lemon preferably but not essential (1 bunch)
• chervil or watercress (1 bunch)
• basil (1 bunch)
• baby cress (1 punnet)
• rosemary (1 bunch)

Dairy

• cream, thickened (450 ml)
• egg (1)
• milk (1 small carton)

Chapter 12 New Year’s Eve Cocktail Party

Shopping List

Deli/dry

• cheese, parmesan, grated, dried (40 g)
• ground nutmeg (1 small packet)
• paprika (1 small packet)
• Italian herb mix (1 small packet)
• pepper, cayenne (1 small packet)
• sea salt and black peppercorns (for pepper mill)
• chilli flakes, dried, red (1 small packet)
• hoi sin sauce (1 jar)
• rice paper wrappers, Vietnamese (1 packet)
• bread, sliced, white (1 loaf)
• ciabatta bread or French stick (1)
• roasted capsicum (1 jar or 250 g from the deli counter)
• assorted olives (300 g)
• artichoke hearts in oil (1 x 340 g jar)
• tomatoes, semi-dried (250 g)
• oil, olive, good quality (400 ml)
• honey, small (1 jar)
• chocolate, cooking, good quality, dark (300 g)
• hollandaise (1 jar) if unavailable, use mayonnaise
• mayonnaise, whole-egg (1 small jar)
• horseradish (1 small jar)
• oil, vegetable (150 ml)
• coconut, dried, shredded (1 small packet) if not using fresh
• pastry sheets, puff, frozen (1 packet)
• lime cordial (1 bottle)
• lemonade (1 bottle)

Wine etc

• ½ bottle brandy
• small bottle of Grenadine
• 1 small bottle of crème de cacao
• 2 bottles of sparkling Riesling or Shiraz
• 1 bottle of port

Miscellaneous

• drinking straws (1 packet)
• wooden toothpicks (1 packet)
• Asian spoons, white (18) from the Asian supermarket or 18 small white dishes
• cocktail napkins
• some new serving platters if you need them