Buzz! night: quesadillas, halloumi, BBQ drumsticks, dips

Had Jo, Kish and Laura round last night for some post-work Friday night Buzz! based shenanigans. Obviously it fell to me to provide suitable nourishment to the troops. We had:

• English asparagus
• Chips 'n' dips - carrot, orange and cumin, broad bean and Parmesan and hummous
• Quesadillas - re-fried beans, bacon and cheese and red onion marmalade and Cheshire cheese
• Honey BBQ chicken
• Halloumi in chilli and lemon
• There was also a specially made pud, but I can't write about that yet as one of my sister's getting one as a surprise, so will reveal once I've seen her.

Red onion marmalade and Cheshire cheese quesadillas. Marmalade was made with two finely sliced red onions, a de-seeded chilli, a handful of soft brown sugar and a splash of red wine vinegar.

I also made some with re-fried beans (well, half a chopped onion, fried with black eyed beans added, mashed with water and fried until dry and some cayenne added at the end), crispy bacon and cheese.

Carrot, orange and cumin dip, Honey BBQ chicken and broad bean and Parmesan dip. The broad bean was lovely; it had seemed a tad bland when I made it the night before, but I think that may have just been tiredness. The chicken was a revelation too, I've not had a go at barbecue sauce before, but this was a good first try.

On to the recipes:

Dips - both the dip recipes came from http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/2332/three+dips

Carrot, orange & cumin dip

Ingredients:
3 small (about 500g) carrots, peeled, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 brown onion, halved, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
60ml (1/4 cup) fresh orange juice

Method:
1. Place carrot in a steamer over a saucepan of simmering water. Steam, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and cumin and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onion softens.
3. Place carrot, onion mixture and orange juice in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth. 3. 4. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Broad bean & Parmesan dip

Ingredients:
250g frozen broad beans, thawed, skins removed
60ml (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1tbsp fresh lemon juice
50g Parmesan, finely grated

Method:
1. Cook the broad beans in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain well.
2. Place the broad beans, oil, garlic and lemon juice in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth. 3. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
4. Transfer to a bowl. Add Parmesan and stir to combine.

Honey BBQ chicken - adapted from Cook it Simply

Ingredients:
2oz butter
4oz onions, skinned and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, skinned and finely chopped (optional)
396 g (14 oz) can tomatoes, with juice
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp honey
salt and freshly ground
4 chicken drumsticks

Method:
1. To make the barbecue sauce, combine the butter, onions, garlic (if used), tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, honey and plenty of salt and freshly ground pepper in a saucepan. Gently cook for 30 minutes.
2. Slash the chicken drumsticks a few times and then put in an oven proof dish and cover with the sauce.
3. Leave to marinade
4. Bake for 30mins at 200°C