Recipe 1: Yummy Ideas for Home-made Take Home Cook Book

As promised, I have compiled some of my favourite easy peasy recipes that you can include in your home-made, take home cook book after a cooking party!

Whirligigs

Delicious hot or cold, sweet or savoury.  Other fillings can include cheese and tomato, chocolate spread or peanut butter!

For cheese and Marmite whirligigs you will need:

- 9 ounces puff pastry (pre-made)
- Marmite - more or less depending how much you love it!
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 ounces cheese, grated (cheddar, red leicester)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 220 degrees/Gas 7. Line baking sheet with non stick paper
2) Roll out puff pastry to about 15x10 inches
3) Spread Marmite thinly on the pastry, leave a 1cm border
4) Brush the edges of the pastry with a beaten egg
5) Sprinkle cheese evenly over the Marmite
6) Roll up pastry as if it is a swiss roll for a whirli effect, starting from the long edge. Brush the outside with beaten egg.
7) Cut the roll into thick slices and place on baking sheet.
8) Cook for 12-15 minutes until pastry is risen and golden.
9) Enjoy hot or cold!

Tip: These also make a great addition to any event including children's parties, picnics, entertaining guests and canapes!

Cheap Party Idea and Take Home Gift for Older Kid's

Wouldn't it be nice if children could stay at those magical ages of 5 and 6, where they are easily pleased by traditional parties and everything is exciting and new for them... But sadly they don't, so you  have to get more creative. Here is a party idea for slightly older children (7+) which should keep them well entertained and best of all, combines the entertainment AND the party food!

I am talking about a cooking party!

There seems to be a bit of a trend for baking and making at the moment, but for a fun party I would recommend keeping it simple - we are talking more decorating rather than flambéing!  Personally, I would opt for pizza and cupcakes, as both pizza bases and cupcake bases are easy to buy and would suit a tight budget.  

For the pizza you will need the following:

- Pizza bases

- Sprinkling cheese

- A large variety of vegetables

- Tomato pizza sauce

- Tuna

- Olives

- Different meats

- Onion

- Whatever else you can think of!

For the cupcakes you will need:

- Plain individual sponge cakes

- Frosting

- Edible glitter

- Sweets (dolly mix, jelly tots)

- Edible decorations - go to any baking section in a supermarket!

And then let the children create their own foodie masterpieces, encouraging them to add their favourite ingredients to the pizzas and cupcakes and challenging them to make it as aesthetically pleasing as possible! 

While the pizza's are baking, you can play some party games with them, or send them on a scavenger hunt around the garden or your house (or both!), and then sit down to a lovely party tea.

A great idea for a take home gift that goes well with the cooking theme is a home-made recipe book.  Put together some yummy and simple recipes that children can make with their parents. Google or check out my next blog for some great ideas.  Get the birthday child to design the front page and then copy and print your pages and bind them, staple them take them to a copy shop to get them bound professionally.  

For some great recipe ideas to put in your cook book, check out my next few blogs!

For some great scavenger hunt ideas, keep reading my Once Upon A Time Parties Blog!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x