I went to a party last night.
As it was a party consisting of my language course friends, we each brought along a 'traditional' dish from our respective homelands. After much gnashing of teeth and wishing I was from somewhere that had a readily identifiable national dish, I got down to thinking about what would qualify as traditional Australian cuisine.
Our hosts did not have a BBQ, so my initial instinct for incinerated lamb chops was quickly thwarted.
I weighed my options carefully and tried my very best to channel the spirit of Margaret Fulton circa 1972 (devils on horseback or pigs in a blanket anyone?).
So I made a list of possibilities:
- Vegemite sandwiches - quickly dismissed as lazy, and let's face it, if you weren't raised on the stuff, it really isn't an appetising prospect.
- ANZAC biscuits - already made these for this group and while they were a good option for a day time party, not appropriate for a soiree.
- Lamingtons - lead time too long and I'm likely to eat them all before the party. Also, do not go well with wine.
- Pavlova - don't have a mix-master, also too hard to transport on the tram.
- Fairy bread - come on now, that's just being silly.
Prepared a batch of mini sausage rolls and took them along to the party and heated them up in the oven.
One thing I did fail to take into account - most people at the party were vegetarians.
(Yes, I know, like most iconic Australian things, most of these were probably invented in New Zealand).