This is a different but lovely new summer soup. Honest!
- 3 cups ripe cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sparkling apple cider (non-alcoholic)
- 1/4 cup Piesporter wine, chilled
- small pinch of Madras curry powder** This is optional.
Puree the fruit with the lemon juice until smooth. Put through a sieve and add the sparkling cider, wine and curry.
Serve immediately at room temperature and enjoy.
This serves 4
Blue Cheese Toasties
This is a great hors d’oeuvre or accompaniment to soup. It makes 12 toasties.
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 12 1/2inch thick rounds of a sourdough baguette
- brown sugar
Preheat broiler. Mix the chese and butter in a small bowl and spread over the bread rounds equally.
Sprinkle each one lightly with sugar. Broil until the topping is just brown and the cheese softens. This will take 1 – 1 1/2 minutes.
Serve on a plate or by the soup bowl, if using.
Honey Cakes With Pears And Sauce
This allows each person to have their own small cake. It is a recipe for 8 people. It can be you and 7 family/guests or friends OR 8 of you….that means you really like it and don’t want to share. Shame on you! Lucky you!
Poached Pears
- 1 bottle of Gewurztraminer white wine
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 3 inch long piece of fresh ginger, sliced
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 4 pears, peeled, halved and cored
Bring wine, sugar, ginger, cinnamon sticks and lemon juice to a boil in a heavy sauepan. Add pear halves and simmer until just tender (12 minutes). Drain well.
Transfer to a work surface and slice lengthwise in 1/2 inch wide wedges. Place 1 sliced pear half in each of the ramekin cups and fan out.
Cakes
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- pinch of ground cloves
- 1 cup honey
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter 8 ramekin cups.
Whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda and cloves in a bowl to blend. Using your eletric mixer, blend together the honey and butter in a large bowl to completely blend. Beat in the sour cream.
Add the dry ingredients and beat to blend. Pour a generous 1/3 cup over the pears and bake for about 25 minutes, until golden . Cool slightly and invert on pretty dessert plates.
Caramel Sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup whipping cream
Stir the water, sugar and lemon juice over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and WITHOUT stirring watch it until it becomes a deep amber (7-8 minutes). Swirl it around the pan and remove from heat.
Slowly add the cream (it will bubble up). If you find any hard caramel bits, simply reheat on low and stir. Drizzle, generously, over the cakes.
Yum, Yum, Yum.
Lobster and Red Pepper Strata
This is an easy dish to make and it can be made the day before. There you go, another entertaining tip for the busy hostess.
This will serve 8 lucky people.
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups half and half cream
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/2 cup peeled and chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped roasted red pepper, seeds removed and skinned
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
- 1 – 1 1/2 lbs. fresh lobster, meat removed and cut into 1″ pieces
- 8 cups 1 inch bread cubes, crusts removed from French bread
- pinch of salt
- pinch of pepper
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Butter 10 inch round cake pan with 2 inch high sides. Whisk together the eggs and cream in a medium bowl to completely blend.
Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the onion and celery, cooking for about 6-7 minutes until soft. Remove from heat.
Add the peppers and garlic and saute for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the thyme and parsley. Transfer all this to a large bowl and add the lobster and bread mixture, folding to combine.
Add the egg mixture, salt and pepper and stir until well mixed. Transfer to the baking dish and let stand for 30 minutes or, if making ahead, cover and refrigerate.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, sprinkle the strata with cheese. Bake until brown and puffed (about 60-65 minutes). Cool on a rack for half an hour . You may find the center will fall a little.
Use a sharp knife, run around the outside edge to loosen and cut into wedges. Serve with a chilled green salad and warm roll. Voila! You did it again.
Now, go get the glasses and wine. Nothing else required.
Lemon Scented Potato Chowder
I love chowders and, in fact, is the one soup I don’t want my husband to make. He makes terrific soups, but not this one. I do.
- 4 cups chicken stock (better if you make your own, but store bought is good)
- 5 slices of bacon, cut in 1″ pieces, cooked crisp
- 2 cloves glarlic, chopped
- 3 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut in 1″ pieces
- 2 stalks celery, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- pinch of pepper
- 1 tbsp. grated lemon zsest
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 2 tsp.fresh, chopped dill
Once you have cooked the bacon to crisp, remove and drain on a towel.
Combine the stock, garlic, potatoes, celery, salt and pepper and boil for about 15-20 minutes until tender. Remove from the heat and puree until smooth. Stir in the lemon and cream. Simmer for about 5-8 minutes over a medium heat and lastly, add the dill. Garnish each bowl with the bacon pieces.
Just remember, this should be a thick soup, so cook it down until as thick as you want it to be.
Anyone sitting at your table will always want more. Serve with crackers or toasted ciabata bread.
Banoffi Tart
This is, originally, an English dessert but we will add just one thing to add a French influence. Banoffi means “can’t take it off” and the English establishment couldn’t take it off their menu it was sooooo good.
Try it. Seeing as how salted caramel is the latest rage, it might hit the top of the list for you too.
Crust
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar
- 2-3 tbsp. cold water
Pulse the flour, sugar and salt to combine. Add the butter and pulse until it becomes a coarse texture. Mix 2 tbsp. water, vinegar and egg yolk together to combine and add to the flour mixture while still pulsing. If the dough doesn’t come together in about 5 pulses, add the remaining tbsp. of water. Shape into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-2 1/2 hours.
Filling
- 2 tins sweetened condensed milk
- pinch of Fleur de sel
For filling, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Scrape condensed milk into a 9 inch pie plate and stir in the fleur de sel. Cover with foil and place inside a larger pan with at least 1 inch of water in the bottom.Bake for about 2 hours, without stirring. Be sure to top up the water in the outer pan throughout the cooking process. Uncover, let sit to cool for about 20-25 minutes. Then scrape into a bowl, whisking until smooth and now chill until read to use.
While the filling is cooking in the oven, roll out the pastry disc to about 1/3 inch thick and place in a 9 inch fluted tart pan with removable botttom.
Prick with a fork and chill for half an hour.
Reduce oven to 375 degrees.
Assembly
- 2 large bananas, sliced
- 2 tbsp. white rum
- 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. fleur de sel
- 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
- toasted almonds and chocolate shavings for garnish
Line the pastry disc with foil and fill with dried beans. Set pan on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature now to 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes more. Remove the foil and bake a further 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
Mix 1 tsp. vanilla and rum together and toss the banana slices gently to coat. Spread into a single layer on the crust. Now carefully spread the toffee on top, covering the bananas and sprinkle with the fleur de sel.
Whip the cream to soft peaks, add the sugar and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Spread this over the entire pie and garnish with the toasted, sliced almonds. Chill until ready to serve.
This can be made the day ahead but keep refrigerated.
,
Very Special Coffee For A Very Special Dessert
Dinner is finished and everyone is sitting at the table, laughing, chatting and you bring in a fabulous dessert. To complement this rich dessert you need a very special coffee.
Perhaps you are a bachelor and want to impress that sweet young thing you just impressed with your culinary skills or ladies…you want to impress that good lookin’ gent across the table or….just want to finish the evening with a spectacular flair. Go for it…this will do it for you.
- 1 tbsp. grated chocolate
- 2 shots brewed espresso (1 1/4 oz. each one)
- 1/4 cup whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- dash of pure vanilla extract
- 2 dashes of white chocolate liqueur (you know what you think is a dash)
Spoon one half of the grated chocolate in the bottom of your 8 oz. serving glass (fancy, heat proof if you have them) or a mug.**
Pour the espresso over the chocolate and stir. Add the sugar and vanilla to the cream while whipping. Add the dash of liqueur and top with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Finish with a sprinkle of grated chocolate.
**You don’t have to add the liqueur if you don’t want it. If you really want to impress, put the mug on a small tray, place a pretty napkin on it, add a long stemmed rose. Am I a romantic or not…..
Now, is this good or what? More than that…it is YUMMY!
Finger Lickin’ Chicken Fingers From The Oven
This is a wonderful item to make if your are hosting a sleepover for your children and their friends or just a fun day outside and you want to “picnic” on the deck. Easy, tasty and fun to present. This will serve 12 kids.
- 3 lbs. boneless chicken breast halves
- 3/4 cup melted, unsalted butter
- pinch of salt
- 2 cups crushed cornflakes
- liquid honey for drizzling
Put oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Spray two cookie sheets with non-stick spray.
Placing the meat between plastic wrap, gently pound out with a rolling pin or meat pounder until about 1/3 inch thick. Just make sure they are even in depth and then cut into 1/2 inch wide strips lengthwise.
Mix together the butter and salt in a shallow bowl. Using one strip at a time, dip in the butter and then dredge in the cornflakes, pressing to adhere. Transfer to a cookie sheet.
After baking for 7 minutes, change the pans around in the oven (rack to rack) and bake for another 7-8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. The crust will become firmer as it cools. Drizzle with honey and place a few fingers in some parchment paper cones. Make the following sauce and let them dip in. You will be the mom of the day on this one.
Homemade Honey Musard Sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup mustard
- 2-3 tbsp. honey
- pinch of salt
Stir together and store in the refrigerator for up to a week if making ahead. Just make sure it is covered with plastic wrap.
The Pendulum Is Turning
The other morning I was watching the news and one of the segments was telling everyone that young women and girls ARE RETURNING to a more classic way of entertaining. Yippee! Returning to good china, crystal glasses, etc.
If you have been a follower of this site for the last three years, you would know from the recipes to the signature drinks to the table settings, we do not simply “throw the food on the table” and hope for the best.
Setting a pretty table may take nothing more than cloth napkins with a napkin ring. It should always have candles, perhaps some fresh flowers. Of course it will have a clean and IRONED TABLE CLOTH.
You can go to the Super Store, Costco or Walmart (or any other big box store) and purchase Charger plates. They don’t have to be expensive but they add another dimension to the table appearance. Try this a few times and then add one more thing for a Sunday dinner or company coming for the evening dinner.
It could be individual salt and pepper shakers for each plate. These are small, inexpensive and they really do have a wow factor. Many, many times at our dinners people will comment on them.
What I have been trying to say is, tell your family or friends what you are doing or they may just notice on their own. I have a fabulous “step-daughter” who is always adding to my collection. I have individual tiny gravy boats and now I have some individual sauce boats. Wow! Again, these are from Suzanne.
My daughter, Kelly, gave me white professional grade napkins (12). They wash up like a dream and iron even better. Ha Ha! You may have to dust off the iron here. She also, is always adding things to be used.
Each time, these astute daughters add on, it makes the table show to those seated around it that they matter. My husband’s niece gave me beautiful, individual place card holders at Christmas. They were black and gold…so was my table setting this year. Perfect! It is great. I have been adding to and have collected now for about 16 years.
Our one-time friends also added…material for table cloths, and many other items. You can ‘t do it all at once, but just take a good long look at the table settings on this site and you can see. I still pick up ‘stuff’ to make a table look beautiful. It only” takes five”. Stand back and take a real good look at the table and in five minutes I will bet you can add something to enhance it.
Go ahead and try it. I am thrilled to see the trend returning.
Gingerbread Scones with Cranberry Butter
Whenever I go to a Bakery/Eat In place, I pretty much always look at their scones. I love scones. Here you can make your own (perhaps to share with a friend over coffee/tea) and the step up is to make your own Cranberry Butter. Truly awesome fare.
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant)
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- pinch of ground cloves
- 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp. molasses
- 3 tbsp. chopped crystallized ginger
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla
- 1 tsp. finely grated zest
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place one cookie sheet inside another one and line the top cookie sheet with parchment paper. (To use two cookie sheets will help prevent burning).
In a large bowl whisk together the sifted flour, baking powder, spices and whisk together with the oats and brown sugar. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until coarse crumbs. Toss in the raisins and crystallized ginger.
In another bowl whisk together the egg, molasses, vanilla and orange zest. Add to the flour mixture and gently toss together until the dough forms. DO NOT OVER MIX OR THEY WILL BE REALLY TOUGH. Turn dough out on a floured surface and press into a 7 inch circle and about 1 1/2 inches thick.
Cut into 8 wedges and transfer to the cookie sheet.
Topping
1 egg
2 tbsp. cream
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
Whisk together the egg and cream and brush over the tops of the wedges and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.
Cranberry Butter
1/2 cup finely chopped cranberries
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup icing sugar
zest of 1 lime
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients until well blended. Place the butter of plastic wrap and roll into a log.
With a paper towel, squeeze out all the excess liquid and place in the rerigerator until really firm.
Cut into rounds and serve with warm scones. OMG…these are fabulous.
Complacent – A Wine Lesson All Should Know
Over the Easter weekend, we were out to dinner with family we haven’t seen for awhile. We ordered the wine and when the server came to pour the wine in the glass for tasting, I asked him to please bring me a clean glass.
This is a top notch restaurant and definitely should know better. The glass was all water spots. The comment at the table was “just leave it, it won’t affect the wine”. This is not the right answer and when the price is up there to coincide with the quality of the restaurant, clean, sparkling glasses should be on the tables. We did note that following getting a clean glass, a young server went from table to table, polishing the glasses.
Yesterday we were at a winery restaurant to celebrate my husband’s birthday. I was seated so I could watch the server pour my glass of Pinot Gris. She removed the stopper and poured all the contents into the glass and brought it me.
Now, here is a lesson all wineries and servers should be aware of ..NEVER pour the entire 4 or 6 oz. of wine into the glass all at once. How can one taste it, smell it, and swirl it correctly if you do not bring the bottle to the table and pour a little into the glass. When the wine is priced up to $14.00 per glass, we should be allowed to do this.
Secondly, NEVER offer to a guest wine that was opened yesterday. Anything left in the bottle at days end should be given to the kitchen for cooking. Also, never empty one wine bottle into a glass and open another to top it off. Major sin!
When I asked the server when this wine was opened, she told me honestly that it was yesterday. She said it was the policy of the winery to do this. Shame on them!
Another thing-when in a top level winery restaurant or dining establishment..they should be using top quality glasses. You cannot serve a special red in a Walmart special.
There…I just vented but please watch what you are served, ask when it was poured and the kind of glass it is served in. If it is a bad wine anyway nothing, of course, will help. Just sayin’.
Chevre, Cucumber and Tomato Salad
I love the taste and texture of a good Chevre…..now add fresh, chilled cucumber and cherry tomatoes and you can enjoy a wonderful flavour explosion.
- 8 oz. chevre
- pinch of finely chopped chives and parsley
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- salt and pepper to taste (a pinch each is great)
- 2 English cucumbers
- 1 dozen cherry tomatoes
- 1/3 cup julienned fresh basil leaves
- 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp. avocado oil (great for your heart and arteries)
Slice the cucumbers into 1/2 inch medallions and scoop the seeds from the centre. Slice the tomatoes in 4 lengthwise and combine with the oil and vinegar mixture.
Place a small ball of the chevre in the centre of each medallion and top with a tomato piece and basil.
Tasty and another terrific way to start off the party; add a signature drink, some good friends and the evening begins. I always try to have a hot and cold starter.
You pick, your choice….