Dawn

Cousin Dawn, daughter of Ivy, took over where her mother left off. Being a fabulous cook she prepares family feasts for special occasions. The ‘duck’ made from the recipe that follows makes a regular appearance. The duck needs to be boned. Get the butcher to do it if you are not up to it. It is lined with a layer of just wilted silver beet, topped with a minced mixture of spiced chicken and ham, studded with pistachios, and decorated with a golden line of soaked dried apricots before being rolled, tied and baked. The sliced result is colourful and spectacular when served cold on a platter. Best of all it can be conveniently prepared, cooked and refrigerated a day before it is needed. Dawn is one of the few people I know who has made an ‘orgy of fowl’ where progressively larger birds are stuffed with small ones; a fowl equivalent of Russian Dolls.

It was Dawn who introduced me to the pleasure of smoked eel. Don’t be put off by the thought of it! Smoked eel is surprisingly delicious. If you can get guests to overcome their abhorrence of eels, this pâté will win lots of converts. My mother-in-law, a great lover of these slithery fish, taught me to look for eels that are not too fat. They are too oily and don’t have a nice flavour.

Whenever I visit Dawn I know that she, just like her mother before her, will have some Chocolate Caramel Slice on hand. She knows that I, just like my mother before me, cannot resist it.