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Dare to Entertain with Dairy!

If the idea of entertaining few friends, let alone a crowd, sends you into a spin, then these great tips for smooth entertaining with dairy will help.

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Smooth Entertaining - tips for entertaining with ease

Entertaining? Do it with Dairy!

Dairy is one of the world’s most versatile foods and when it comes to entertaining it can easily find a place in entrée, main and, of course, dessert!
Here are some tips for adding a delightful touch to your entertaining with dairy:

• With drinks, serve bruschetta made with toasted baguette slices spread with Australian cream cheese, topped with smoked salmon and capers or roasted capsicum strips and black olives.
• Thick Australian natural yogurt makes an excellent dip base - just stir in a mashed avocado and chopped coriander, a puree of roasted garlic and eggplant or even pureed beetroot with a little mint – season to taste and serve with toasted pita wedges or crackers.
• Roll Australian baby bocconcini in strips of prosciutto and thread onto skewers with a cherry tomato, pitted black olive and a fresh basil leaf. Season to taste and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar before serving as a pass-around.
  Blend Australian sour cream with a little pesto and serve on top of halved slow roasted roma tomatoes or tiny baked potatoes as party finger food.
• Spread thinly sliced salami or ham with fresh Australian ricotta and a little pesto and roll around grissini breadsticks to serve with drinks, or as part of an antipasto platter.
• Spread soft tortillas with Australian mascarpone and mashed avocado, top with smoked salmon and capers, roll up, slice and serve with drinks.
• For a show-stopping, summer salad sprinkle some watermelon wedges with Australian feta, mint, thinly sliced red onion and black olives.
• Char-grill blanched asparagus then toss with crumbled Australian blue cheese, roasted hazelnuts and a light lemon dressing, for the perfect barbecue salad.
• Homemade thin crust pizzas make delicious entertaining food, try unusual combinations like blue cheese, thyme and onion; potato, rosemary and raclette; or prosciutto, bocconcini, rocket and olives..
• Soups are an easy option when entertaining a crowd. Add a special touch by swirling in Australian sour cream or natural yogurt blended with pesto or a puree of roasted capsicum.
• Simply grilled or barbecued seafood is transformed by drizzling with melted Australian butter mixed with fresh basil and lime juice.
• Creamy pannacotta is a luxurious end to a meal, and can be made well ahead of time, serve with fresh or poached seasonal fruit.
• Add a homemade touch to store bought Australian ice cream by stirring through ground coffee and kahlua; raspberries and rosewater or chopped pistachios and Turkish delight and serve in a martini glass or mini ice cream cones for a bit of fun!

Smooth Entertaining - tips for entertaining with ease

• A beautiful invitation always sets the tone for the occasion. Even for less-formal events, a hand-written note dropped in the letterbox will make your guests feel special (rather than the everyday informality of the text message!).
• Take the time to plan and write down your menu and drinks list complete with shopping list and order-of-preparation to ensure everything is covered.
• Place your list of menu items in a visible spot (on the fridge is the best place!) so you can refer to it in the heat of entertaining to ensure nothing has been forgotten.
• If possible, set the table the night before.
• Always consider where people will congregate for drinks and allow space for this. At parties, try to ensure that the bar, food and dance sections are in different areas to encourage circulating.
• Candles create marvellous ambience – dot the room with tealight candles for great mood or use candelabras for a touch of glamour – or even consider fairylights in the garden for a magical effect.
• Arrange fresh flowers that suit the room’s colour scheme in vases or floating in bowls around the house for a visual treat.
• Add a wonderful scent to the house and combat unwanted cooking smells, by burning a blend of ‘edible’ essential oils such as vanilla, bergamot, rosemary, cinnamon, lavender or citrus.
• Don’t forget to ensure the guest bathroom is well stocked with luxurious hand towels, guest soaps, soft tissues and flowers.
• Make sure the camera and video recorder are on hand, fully charged and have film/tape so they are ready to record your event for posterity.
• Background music is very important for setting a tone to the event. Cool, classy crooners, a touch of jazz or an eclectic acoustic mix is a great way to start the party and you can progress to dance tracks later on.
• Don’t forget to put out jugs of iced water, salt and pepper, and condiments such as mustard, sauce, chutneys or pickles.
• If slicing bread beforehand, keep it in plastic bags until serving time to avoid drying out and don’t forget to serve butter at room temperature.
• If holding a bbq, place all bbq utensils and requirements such as oil, lemon, salt and pepper, absorbent paper and garbage bags on a tray ready for the barbeque-master to grab and go!
• Make sure you have a back-up plan for outdoor entertaining and that your indoor space can fit the number of guests you have invited.
• Birthday and celebration cakes are quite consuming to make and decorate, so plan to do this the day before rather than leaving it to the last minute….and don’t forget to buy candles!
• Make sure you enlist the help of friends and graciously accept when they offer to bring something – it will take the pressure off so you too can enjoy your event and have time to mingle with your guests.