Crudités

362.  Crudités

cru·di·tés

/ˌkro͞odəˈtā/ is a french word describing assorted raw vegetables served as an hors d'oeuvre, typically with a sauce into which they may be dipped. 

We have all had "veggies-n-dip" but crudités are a step above.  As an appetizer for Easter dinner I wanted to serve vegetables and steer away from heavy cheeses and meats.
The beauty of traditional crudités is that the vegetables are cut and blanched for a few minutes in boiling water and then plunged into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.  This causes the colors of the vegetables to be enhanced as well as the flavor and they remain crunchy.  

Crudités was developed years ago and we have slowly drifted from this beautiful array most likely due to the time element.  I found a YouTube video of Martha Stewart demonstrating this process.  You can watch it here:

This was enjoyable to create but even more so to taste the difference in the vegetables and see the beautiful colors emerge.

The vegetables included haricots vert or green beans, pea pods, celery, mini sweet peppers, carrots, zucchini, and radishes.  I mixed in pickled eggs, marinated mushrooms and olives for the salty factor.

Traditionally the vegetables are served with a dipping sauce.  Here are the dipping sauces I created:

 To save recipe card select and drag to desk top or select and print from smart phone.

This method is always sure to bring rave reviews from your guests.   Enjoy!

"We gravitate toward crudités at parties, and have long maintained that they are one of the secrets to throwing a great dinner party."   ~Rebecca Orchant

"Ain't no crudités platter like a Martha Stewart crudités platter cause a Martha Stewart crudités platter don't stop."  ~Life Food and Drink

Strawberry-Shortcake Cookies

79.  Have you seen the newest Martha Stewart Living Magazine for

 June 2009? The cookie of the month is a Strawberry-Shortcake Cookie.  How ingenious this is!  I love traditional shortcake but how convenient to have that same enjoyable taste packed into a cookie.  So here is Queen Martha's recipe...remember to adjust the time so the bottoms of the cookies do not burn.  Try to keep the strawberries towards the top of the cookies when dropping the dough onto the cookie sheet.

Replacing sugar crystals instead of sanding sugar was a nice finish.

Strawberry-Shortcake Cookies 

Makes about 3 dozen

• 12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.
2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Very delicious cookie I know you will enjoy!

"Broken cookies don't have calories"
  - Unknown

Irish Soda Bread & Baked Cabbage with Bacon

53.  Happy St. Patrick's Day...and Happy Birthday to my wonderful sister Ruth!!!  

Because of the focus of St. Patrick, and all things Irish, I am making Irish Soda Bread. 

There are a ton of recipes for soda bread...so I am experimenting. 

This bread is a peasant bread..with very few ingredients. 

 Yesterday I tried this recipe Irish Soda Bread with Raisins from

 Bon Appétit February 2005 magazine.

 

 It was tasty...very simple...almost "too" simple and lacked flavor.  I would have liked this much more if it was in a muffin form or drop scone form and with added flavor.  Although, butter and honey dripping off made this bread delightful!!!

While reading the history of St. Patrick, I was intrigued to learn, St. Patrick was kidnapped from England, as a young boy, and taken on a ship, by pirates, to Ireland.  He was sold as a slave and worked for many years.  His birth name was Maywin Socket but his owners called him "pigboy".  Maywin was sad and lonely, and missed his home, but found comfort in talking to God in prayer.  Six years later, he escaped from Ireland and returned to England.  He dedicated his life to the service of God and over time, became a Bishop in the Catholic Church, where he received the name "Patrick".  During his life, he felt compelled to forgive the men who kidnapped him, sold him and those who used him in slavery to indulge in their own selfish pleasure and indulgences.  He decided to return to Ireland to help those same people to teach them about God.  He forgave and then began to help the people learn about God and change their lives.  He would use the three leaf clover to explain God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit...three in one.   (Amazing how this day, showing respect and homage to this man's testimony of life, forgiveness and servitude to others, has spun back to the serving of self and indulgence.)

I went onto Queen Martha's site and she has a tutorial, first, the history of Irish Soda Bread and then her own recipe here:  Martha's Irish Soda Bread

Google found this recipe for me and it looks like a winner.  It is Classic Buttermilk Irish Soda Bread from the Los Angeles Times on-line.  It was so different...and the texture was moist.

The batter/dough was very wet...and I made a note to add a little more flour to the dough next time I make it.

So, our dinner was a tribute to Irish cuisine but "reworked": 

 Instead of corned beef...bacon was our replacement with cabbage.  This recipe was amazing!

 Baked Cabbage with Bacon from Bon Appétit, May 1996 magazine,

  Roasted Chicken, Parsley Potatoes and Irish Soda Bread.

"May your blessings outnumber

the shamrocks that grow,

and may trouble avoid you

wherever you go."

 ~ Irish Blessing