Coffee Jello with Sweetened Cream

My New England 1950s mom made dessert every night when I was a young child. It was often Snow Pudding with Lemon Sauce (from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook), tapioca pudding, Junket (made from a box), or baked custard. I don't remember many pies or cakes, except for birthdays and perhaps holidays with lemon meringue, apple, mincemeat and pumpkin pies. On Christmas, we had snowballs - vanilla ice cream rolled in coconut. I think there was a hot cherry sauce.

Later on when I was a teenager she made layered Jello desserts - fancy rainbow colors in tipped wine glasses. She started making cakes of all kinds and even fancier desserts around this time as well as she became an even more accomplished gourmet cook.

One of my favorite desserts in the younger years was coffee jello. My mom saved the percolated leftover coffee in the refrigerator and added gelatin and sugar and chilled them in custard cups or glass dishes. It was so simple and was served with whipped cream - sweetened, I'm sure. We all loved it as I remember.

Lately, I've been making my own homemade coffee jello in glass OUI yogurt containers (they have covers available on Amazon.) They make a great dessert and I've used both no sugar or a packet of Truvia for 3-1/2 cups. I add about 1/2 cup of no-sugar whipped cream and a few drops of no-sugar caramel syrup or some espresso crystals. It's a yummy treat and an after-lunch pick-me-up.

Mix two packets of Knox Gelatin and 1/2 c. cold coffee. Mix until dissolved completely.  Add 3 cups of hot, hot coffee. Add sugar or substitute if desired. When cool, pour into containers of any kind, cover and chill several hours. 

Turkish Bowls - Meat and "Rice"

This was a Green Chef recipe that we loved. They packed a bit more Turkish Spice than necessary so we have it to use again. However, I searched for a recipe and you will find it at the bottom.* The same with the lemon crema - it is easy to make and you can use it again to garnish more recipes. 

For the bowls:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. 

1. Medium dice one Roma tomato about 1/2 inch thick pieces.
2. Trim and thinly slice a scallion or two, separating whites from darker green.
3. Finely chop 3/4 ounces of dates.
4. Prepare or defrost 6-8 ounces of riced cauliflower. 
5. Crumble 2-4 ounces of Feta cheese
6. Set aside 1/2 oz of sliced almonds
7. Trim ends from two zucchini squash and halve lengthwise and then slice across into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place them in a bowl and drizzle with 1-1/2 T olive oil and season with 1/2 tsp. or more of Turkish Spice. Stir to coat and spread the squash on parchment on a grilling pan or baking sheet.
8. Prepare Turkish spice if necessary*
9. Prepare a lime or lemon crema.**

• Roast zucchini for 12-15 minutes until fork tender. (Stir halfway through.)
• Saute 10 ounces of ground meat (could use any ground meats - turkey, pork, lamb, beef, chicken) and 1 tsp. of the Turkish spices. Cook for 4-5 minutes and then add the diced tomato.  Stir to combine.
• In a clean pan, heat 1-1/2 T oil in the pan and add the cauliflower rice and scallion whites to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook 3-4 minutes. Don't overcook. Add the chopped dates and 1 T butter. Stir and place in warmed bowls. 
• Top with meat and squash, drizzle with lemon crema, and garnish with feta cheese, sliced almonds and scallion greens. 

 *Turkish Spice Blend: Combine and store

• 4 T paprika
• 2 T garlic powder
• 2 T dried cilantro
• 1 T salt
• 1 T dried mint
• 1 T sugar
• 1 T turmeric
• 1 T onion powder
• 1/2 T ground cumin
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

**Lime or Lemon Crema

Mix 1 cup of sour cream, 2T mayonnaise, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1 lime or 1 lemon, zested and juiced, 1 clove of garlic, pressed, and 1/2 tsp. coarse salt. Process until smooth. Double as necessary!

Chicken Marsala with Roasted Potatoes and Fresh Green Beans

Last night we had a comfort food dinner. It was really delicious. Gerry roasted sliced potatoes with oil and Kinder butter seasoning for 20 minutes. We steamed green beans three minutes and add salted butter when done.

Prep:

• Cut 4 boneless chicken thighs into smaller pieces and dredge in flour, salt and pepper. 
• Peel and chop 1 shallot and chop finely. 
• Peel and mince 2-4 garlic cloves.
• Chop a handful of fresh parsley leaves and chop fine.
• Chop thyme (leaves and can include very soft stems) and rosemary needles and use about 2-4 tsps of the chopped herbs. 
• Slice 12-16 ounces of a combination of mushrooms (Bella, white, shitake)
• Measure 1/2 c. stock or prepare bouillon.
• Measure 3/4 c. heavy cream.
• Cut 3 T. butter.

Add 2 T butter and 1 T olive oil to a hot pan and cook the chicken with the thyme and rosemary. Transfer to a hot plate when cooked golden. 

Add 2 T. butter to that hot pan and add the mushrooms and cook 1minutes. Add the garlic and toss. Do not salt the mushrooms until they are cooked. 

Deglaze the pan with 3/4 c. Marsala wine (we use the cooking version). Add the shallots and 1/2 cup of chicken stock or Better than Bouillon equivalent. Reduce sauce and add 6 oz. of heavy cream, cooking until thick.

Return chicken to the pan and heat. Transfer chicken to plates with roasted potatoes and green beans and pour over the sauce. Sprinkle with the parsley. 

Taco Seasoning

 Don't have any taco seasoning for your taco salad? Make your own.

Mix together all these herbs and spices:

2 T chili powder

1 T ground cumin

2 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp. black ground pepper

1 tsp. ground paprika

1/2 tsp. garlic and onion powders

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

Makes about 6 T. or about two packets of seasoning.

Left to right starting at top: pepper, chili powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, cumin, sea salt, oregano, paprika, garlic powder. 

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

We grew rhubarb last year and it produced some nice stalks early this summer. The deer seem to know that its leaves are poisonous so it left the rhubarb AND the hosta next to it alone. We might try that approach with other hostas. I'd like a big bunch of rhubarb next year.

I made a few rhubarb pies this week and will have to buy some rhubarb at the grocery store because these pies were a hit. I added 1 T. vanilla/butter baking emulsion to the first pie and added 1 tsp. the second time. Vanilla can be used instead (vanilla paste, too.)

First I cut 3-5 stalks of  rhubarb into 1/2 by 1/2 chunks and covered it with a 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar and let it sit. I added the same amount of chunked fresh strawberries, 2T instant tapioca,  1 T cornstarch and 2T chilled butter chunks to the bowl.  I then prebaked a (15 minutes at 400 degrees) crust.* I sprinkled Wondra flour on the bottom of the crust which helps with the juiciness. I then poured in the fruit, including the juices, covered with the top crust and baked in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. I covered the pie or the edges with foil for the last ten minutes.

I let the pie sit but it was still warm when we ate it with whipped cream.

*Because I was pressed for time and was nearly out of energy both times, I used commercial pie crusts. The first time I used the Pillsbury rolled crusts and lined a small French pie plate. The second time I used frozen crusts in the aluminum pie plate they were sold in. The beauty of this second approach is that the defrosted crust lifted effortlessly onto the top of the pie before baking. I cut the bottom of the pie plate out and placed it on top of the baking pie to protect the edges.

Irish Soda Bread

Having lived in Ireland, I've tasted some mighty fine soda bread. It's tough to find an authentic loaf here in the US.

Soda bread is made without yeast and this one is made with both baking soda and buttermilk. It's about as authentic to traditional Irish as it can be. It's crusty outside and moist but dense inside. This recipe is adjusted from SimplyRecipes.com.

I soaked a cup of dried raisins in Jameson's Irish Whiskey to plump them (for about a day.) I then drained them in a colander an hour or so before adding them to the dough.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a baking sheet or cast iron skillet.

Mix 4 cups* of all-purpose flour with 1 T sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp of baking soda. *Keep the flour handy to add more if needed when mixing the dough into a round.

I grated 4 T of good, cold butter (Kerrygold or Kirkland or one of the good European brands). The cold grated butter is easier to work into the flour. 

In a larger work bowl, and using your hands (using thin plastic gloves work well) mix the dry ingredients and the butter, grinding the butter with your fingers. The SimplyRecipes instructions call for thoroughly mixing until the flour is the consistency of cornmeal. I'd say that the flour is a bit shy of being cornmeal, but it does feel different than just plain flour. Make sure the butter is mixed in well. Add the raisins and mix to coat them. 

Whisk a large egg and 1-3/4 cups of buttermilk together and pour it into a well of the flour/butter. 

At this point, you can continue mixing with the gloves on to make things easier, or you can use a wooden spoon. Whatever  you do, do not overmix. The goal here is to have a wet dough but no dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. Pour this mixture out onto a floured board and gently and quickly form somewhat of a ball of shaggy, wet dough. Overmixing makes for a tough bread.

I, in fact. added a small scoop of flour to the dough as I was shaping it and then poured the dough out of the bowl onto a greased griddle and formed it into a ball, shaping the edges into a round shape mounded on the griddle. I then placed a large 10" greased cheesecake pan round (without the flat bottom) around the dough so that it formed a nice round loaf when baking. You can use a greased cast-iron skillet instead.

Traditionally, Irish soda bread is cut with an X or cross with a serrated knife about 1-1/2 inch deep. 

I did not wash with milk or egg, but might next time. You can also sprinkle the milk or egg with crusty baking sugar. 

Place the skillet or griddle in the center of the hot oven. At the end of 30 minutes test for doneness with a skewer. Add 5 minutes and test again.  Repeat as necessary. It should be crusty and golden. 

Serve warm! The bread is great toasted with butter the next day.

All Things Lemon Gourmet

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Aperitif - Janice

Lemon Drop Martini

Prosecco

White & Red Wine (dinner)

 Nancy Garfield

Shrimp Ceviche w/plantain chips

 JoAnne Barone

Lemony Pearl Barley Soup

 Deb Zyduck

Lemon Ricotta Pasta w/Chicken

Katie Deeg

Lemon Brussel Sprouts Salad

Charlotte Canelli

Five-Ingredient Lemon Bars 

w/Canelli homemade pistachio ice cream

March's Gourmet Dinner in Verandah at Janice's home was absolutely delicious from the martinis to the homemade limoncello. Hosted by Janice and Deb Zyduck, it was simply a delightful evening. Janice supplied us with take-home containers for leftovers.

Nancy added diced cucumber to her recipe. The StayAtHomeChef also adds that you can add diced avocado. It was delicious and I brought some home to Gerry who scarfed it down at 9:30 pm!

JoAnne's soup was also a hit. It's a NYT Cooking recipe so I won't link it to NYT  (due to the paywall), but have posted the recipe on this blog, linked above. Gerry also enjoyed the soup when I got home.

Katie's delicious salad was ooohh'd and aaaah'd over. In fact, I made it at home the very next day!  It's a Costco Recipe of the Month and one I'll be making again and again. Note that you can add prosciutto bits or bacon which I did for a main-dish salad.

The Lemon Ricotta Pasta from Lemon Tree Dwelling was perfect, just enough to finish the meal. Deb and Janice put it together for our main dish, fresh from the cooktop.

The evening ended with the lemon bars*, homemade ice cream,and Janice's homemade limoncello on the Cartwright's Magnolia Isle Drive lanai in beautiful Verandah here in Fort Myers. 

*The lemon bars were nicely lemony and the recipe was simple. If I were making them again I would use a larger baking dish (other than 9x9 suggested - perhaps a 12x9 or 12x10) so that the layers of shortbread and lemon were thinner.