What was I thinking?!

You know that moment, right after you've said "yes" to a giant project that you had no intention of agreeing to do?  That moment when you are just beginning to realize the enormity of the task and the full weight of its daunting responsibility?  Uh-huh, that's the moment.

Yup, I had that moment.  It was right after I said "Sure, I'd be happy to!"  It was then that I realized my compulsion to make people happy was a stupid character flaw.

My husband and his best buddy have been friends since well before I ever met him.  They've been through it - thick and thin.  They leaned on each other through failed marriages, career derailments, and a host of other things.  Each has been the other's confidante and supporter.

So, when the best buddy and his gal asked me to cater their wedding, at first I was thrilled that they liked my cooking well enough to ask me.  Next, I was flattered that they thought I could do this.  The voice of reason was banging around in my head trying to get control of the situation and I was sure that when I opened my mouth the words "Thanking you for asking me, but I couldn't possibly do it" would come out.  Instead, I heard myself say, "Oh!  I'd be so happy to - anything you want!"

What was I thinking?

When I had recovered, I quickly went to one of my favorite recipe resources - America's Test Kitchen.  I've watched most episodes of their show on PBS and have tried many of the their recipes.  Knowing that they test and taste until a recipe is perfect, I knew I would find just what I needed to pull this off.

I already had a couple of things in mind, like my Rice-Artichoke Salad and my Chinese Chicken Salad.  But I needed something extra that would round out the menu.  As I expected, they had exactly what I needed.


They had an episode where they used a gastrique* to dress the freshest of summer fruits, which creates complex layers of flavor along with dazzling color and sheen.

I've added the recipes for two of them - the two I used. However, there are four recipes altogether. (The other two recipes are:  Strawberries & Grapes with Balsamic & Red Wine Reduction and Red Plums & Figs with Brandy-Cardamom Reduction.)

When I made these two, I used just Honeydew & Blueberries (there weren't any great mangoes available at the time) and just Nectarines & Raspberries (I didn't think we needed to repeat the blueberries in a second fruit salad).

*A sauce made of a quick acid-sugar reduction.

 

HONEYDEW, MANGO, AND BLUEBERRIES WITH LIME-GINGER REDUCTION

INGREDIENTS

1	T grated lime zest from 4 limes (zest limes before juicing)
1	cup lime juice (from grated limes and additional 3-4 limes as needed)
¼	cup granulated sugar
	pinch salt
1	inch piece fresh ginger , peeled and minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1	T lemon juice
½	small honeydew melon , seeds and rinds removed, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1	mango (about 10 ounces), peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1	pint fresh blueberries

Directions

1. Simmer lime juice, sugar, and salt in small, heavy-bottomed nonreactive saucepan over high heat until syrupy, honey-colored, and reduced to 1/4 cup, about 15 minutes.

2. Off heat, add lime zest, ginger, and lemon juice; steep 1 minute, and strain.

3. Combine fruit in medium bowl; pour warm dressing over and toss.

4. Serve immediately at room temperature or cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate up to 4 hours, and serve chilled.

 

 

NECTARINES, BLUEBERRIES, AND RASPBERRIES WITH CHAMPAGNE-CARDAMOM REDUCTION

INGREDIENTS

1	cup Champagne (or dry white wine)
¼	cup granulated sugar
	pinch salt
1	T grated lemon zest
1	T lemon juice
5	cardamom pods, crushed
3	medium nectarines (about 18 ounces), pitted and cut in 1/2-inch wedges (about 3 cups)
1	pint fresh blueberries
1	pint fresh raspberries

Directions

1. Simmer champagne, sugar, and salt in small, heavy-bottomed nonreactive saucepan over high heat until syrupy, honey-colored, and reduced to 1/4 cup, about 15 minutes.

2. Off heat, add lemon zest and juice and cardamom; steep 1 minute to blend flavors, and strain.

3. Combine nectarines, blueberries, and raspberries; pour warm dressing over fruit and toss to combine.

4. Serve immediately at room temperature or cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate up to 4 hours, and serve chilled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Better than a poke in the eye

A hot summer day and an invitation to a backyard BBQ prompted a search for a refreshing dessert recipe.

My friend, Linda, is a fellow 'foodie' and often hosts large-ish groups at her home.  The fact that she lives in tiny little house doesn't even faze her.  (I use my small house as an excuse to avoid inviting people over.)  The fact that her home isn't perfectly spic-n-span doesn't bother her either.  (I use that excuse even more often than the 'small house' excuse.)  To top it all off, her kitchen is the size of match box.  Even that doesn't stop her from hosting groups of 15 or more.  We all bring a dish or two and she provides the main attraction.

On this particular day, I wanted to find an easy dessert that would keep us cool and be a little more interesting than a quart of ice cream.  Keeping in mind that I had a few limes and a white cake mix, I searched for recipes along that line.  I confess, I cheated.  I did use the cake mix AND I caved (due to the time constraints) to pre-made frosting.  That was my only mistake.  If I had it to do over again, I'd make my own frosting.  That pre-made stuff is overly sweet and had a strange consistency.

I found this recipe for Key Lime Poke Cake from the Betty Crocker® website.  Simple, easy, but with lots of POW factor!

I'm always amazed by kitchen chemistry.  The recipe has you mix lime juice into sweetened condensed milk.  Then you are to wait while it thickens.  I was like a kid at a circus side show.  Watching that dish and swishing it periodically to test its thickness (or not).  It really works!  I was almost giddy with food happiness when the magic happened.

Key Lime Pie Poke Cake

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

1	box Betty Crocker SuperMoist® white cake mix
1¼	c water
1	T vegetable oil
4	eggs

Key Lime Filling:

1	can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
¾	cup whipping cream
½	cup key lime juice or regular lime juice
1	t grated lime jest
4	drops yellow food color
1	drop green food color

Frosting:

1	Container (12 oz) Betty Crocker ®  Whipped vanilla frosting
2	t grated lime peel

Garnish, if desired:

	fresh strawberries
	key lime slices
	lemon leaves

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F (325° F for dark or nonstick pan).  Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with baking spray with flour.

2. In a large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.  Pour into pan.

3. Bake 27 to 33 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 5 minutes. With handle of wooden spoon (¼ to ½ inch in diameter), poke holes almost to bottom of cake every ½ inch, wiping spoon handle occasionally to reduce sticking.

4. In medium bowl, stir together filling ingredients (mixture will thicken).  Pour over cake; spread evenly over surface, working back and forth to fill holes. (Some filling should remain on top of cake.)  Refrigerate 1 hour.

5. Spread frosting over cake; sprinkle with lime peel.  Garnish as desired.  Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

Saucy Affair

Sometimes the recipe is just too much work and you decide to dump the hard part and keep the interesting part.  That’s what happened the other day.  I have this recipe for Broccoli Timbales with Lemon Sauce.  The hard part is the broccoli timbales.  The interesting part is the lemon sauce.  I’d never made this recipe because fussing with ramekins over a broccoli dish just didn’t seem worth it.

The reason I’d never tried to make just the lemon sauce was because the person who wrote up the recipe didn’t see fit to separate the ingredients and instructions for the lemon sauce from the rest of the recipe – bless her pea-pickin’ little heart, if she has one.  (Note to self:  When you write recipes, separate the parts!)  My copy of this recipe (printed from the Internet) has my pencil scribbles all over it, noting which parts are timbale parts and which parts are lemon sauce parts – not just in the Ingredients list, but also in the Directions.

I give you now the extracted recipe (both ingredients and directions) for Lemon Sauce.  I served it draped and drizzled over steamed broccoli (grins!) or asparagus or green beans or any other thing that needs a little ‘ZING’.  I’ve made it a Lime Sauce and an Orange Sauce on occasion, too.  Hope you try it.  It’s really yummy.  In fact, I may have been know to sit and very slowly dip one of my tiny little Espresso spoons into a small bowl of Lemon Sauce and gently lick the spoon clean repeatedly until the bowl was empty, leaving the steamed broccoli sitting on my plate growing cold and rubbery in neglect.

Lemon Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1	cup heavy whipping cream
2	T lemon juice
1	T all-purpose flour
1	T butter, softened
1	t chicken bouillon granules
¼	t salt
⅛	t white pepper
3	T snipped fresh dill

Directions

1.     In a small bowl, combine heavy whipping cream and lemon juice; let stand for one hour at room temperature.

2.     Combine flour and butter to form a paste.  In a large heavy saucepan, combine the lemon-cream mixture, chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Whisk butter mixture into cream mixture until smooth and mixture is thickened.  Add snipped dill.  Remove from heat.

3.     Spoon sauce under, around, or over whatever you like and garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.

Note:  If you decide to switch it up by changing to lime or orange juice, you may want to swap herbs – like going with cilantro for the lime juice or going with thyme for the orange juice.

Um…if you really, really, REALLY want the Broccoli Timbales recipe I might be coerced into posting it here someday.