Chili Dinner Party Menu

Thanks to Sarah for these wonderful recipes.

This one was made under extremely poverty stricken conditions! I'd arranged to have a dinner party and realised too late that I had about twenty dollars in my bank account to get me through the week. So this was improvised from things I had in my cupboard. This served 5 people, but there was plenty of food.

Chili Bean Soup

Soak beans overnight. Cook until tender about 1-1/2 hours in the quart of water. Puree. Saute onions, garlic, carrots, and celery until tender. Add beans and their liquid, tin of tomatoes, chilli pwder, salt & pepper, and wine. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Fresh Salsa with Coriander

Mix all ingredients together. Serve with a packet of plain corn chips, or homemade corn bread, if you can be bothered. I did, and then found out that 2 out of the 5 people hated corn bread. You might be safer with the chips! If you want to go somewhere in between the hectic housewife option and the lazy student option, you can always spray some tortillas with oil, sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper, cut into triangles and bake.

Crepes with Rum Bananas

Mix together the bananas, rum and sugar. Bake in a medium oven for about 10-15 minutes until hot and syrupy, but don't let the bananas go mushy. Make the crepes. Serve the crepes stacked with the bananas piled on top and a scoop of vanilla icecream on top. The flavours and fruits can be changed according to season and preference. Try plums and cinnamon in winter, berries and white wine in summer, or peaches and vanilla.