Gadabout Media » Cooking

Easter dessert has got to be trompe l’oeil eggs

Christina — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 09:00:17 +0000

Occasionally, one dish’s remnants become the inspiration for a breathtaking work of culinary art. Three left-over egg yolks from a baked coconut shrimp dish became the basis of what’s sure to amaze and delight guests for Easter dinner…

A clever, delicious dessert: trompe l’oeil ‘eggs’, complete with ‘toast’

(For complete instructions for preparing the egg shells, lemon pudding, lemon curd, and ‘toast, please visit Epicurious)

Trompe l’oeil is French, literally meaning, “Fool the eye.” Usually, it refers to illusory paintings on walls that trick the viewer that some new vista lies beyond, where truly, it’s just a wall. These little eggs go a long way to maintain the illusion of a poached delight.

Don’t be intimidated. Making pudding and curd is fairly simple and quick, and the ‘toast’ is a snap if you have a stand mixer. When I made it, I didn’t have any anise seeds, so I substituted 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground ginger, which I think cuts the sweet lemon taste of the ‘eggs’ well.

The ‘toast’, really a modified biscotti, can be baked and stored, unsliced and un-toasted, for a few days. The pudding and curd can be made the day before you put your ingredients together to make your eggs. If the idea of using real eggshells doesnt’ appeal to you, don’t abandon the dessert… simply create ‘fried eggs’ and serve them over your toast.

I’m A Sucker For Aprons – And Contests!

Deanna Dahlsad — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:10:24 +0000

I’ve got a serious thing for aprons. So much so that they don’t need to be vintage for me to collect them (as that other post of mine should tell you lol). Which is why I hesitated a bit to tell you about this contest at Blommi, where you could win a fabulous apron from Swanky Aprons. ‘Cuz you know, the fewer of you who enter, the greater my chances… But I’m a nice girl; so I’ll share.

I’m drooling over the Solid Black Lace Bib Sophia Apron (second from the right in the photo below) — thank heavens it has a bib! *wink*

Easy Last Minute Mothers Day Gift Ideas to Make

10 Great Holiday Cookie Recipes

Linette Gerlach — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:41:59 +0000

I love baking cookies during the holidays. Whether it’s for a cookie exchange, a holiday party, to leave for Santa on Christmas Eve or just to enjoy on a cold winter’s day. Holiday cookies are always extra special, and extra delicious.

Here are a 10 of my all time favorite holiday cookie recipes, for your last minute holiday baking. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies have a festive holiday color and flavor.
Hershey’s Peanut Butter Kiss cookies are always one of my favorite cookies for the holidays.
Triple Chocolate Mint Christmas Cookies by Marye, I haven’t tried these yet, but I think they’re going to be a new favorite! Don’t they sound fabulous?
Monster Cookies are a kid favorite at our house, use red and green M & M’s to give them a holiday look.
Stained Glass Cookies make wonderful gift ideas. Beautiful and delicious, what more can you ask for?
I love these Chocolate Peppermint cookies from Martha Stewart, because I love the flavor of peppermint combined with chocolate, and the red and white make them perfect for the holidays.
Rosemary Shortbread Cookies have that woodsy-citrus flavor that’s perfect for this time of year, and you can cut them out to any shape you’d like.
Thumbprint Cookies~ I love the jam filled centers.
Snowflake Shorbread cookies are one of my favorite cookies to make this time of year.
Gingerbread Cookies, because you can’t have a list of Christmas cookies without them!

There you go, 10 holiday cookie recipes for your cookie exchange, or Christmas dessert buffet table.

Image (c) L Gerlach

Winter Brings Cream Soups

Deanna Dahlsad — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:17:18 +0000

From the October 1932 issue of The Royal Neighbor, on Milady’s Own Page, a reminder that “oysters are not the only food which comes into its own with the ‘R’ months,” cream soups made with milk, butter, and often a cooked and stewed vegetable are welcome when wintry arrives.

Along with recipes for six different cream soups (Cream of Cauliflower Soup, Duchess Soup, Cream of Spinach Soup, Chicken Cream Soup with Noodles, Cream of Crab Soup, and Bean Consomme; click the image to get a large legible scan with all the recipes), the vintage magazine has additional tips on cream soups.

The vegetables most suitable for cream soup bases are spinach, celery, mushrooms, cauliflower, peas, carrots, potatoes and navy beans.

There are two methods for proportioning cream soups:

One method calls for three cups of thin white sauce to each cup of cooked, mashed or stewed vegetables, plus seasoning to own liking.

Thin cream soups require one cup of thin white to each cup or meat or vegetable stock and one-half cup of mashed or sieved vegetable.

Just in case you aren’t familiar with how to make a thin white sauce, here’s the recipe suggested for you, Milady: melt one tablespoon of butter in a sauce pan, blend in one tablespoon of flour, gradually stir in one cup cold milk. Stir constantly until smooth and slightly thickened.

On garnishing:

If the vegetable or meat which forms the basis of the soup fails to add color, chopped parsley adds interest to the dish as does a sparse sprinkling of paprika on top of each serving. Grated cheese or a bit of melted butter added to each bowl of soup contributes flavor, attractiveness and food value.

Now go forth and warm and nourish your family and friends with delicious cream soup!