Braised Greek Artichoke Bottoms with Lemon and Olive Oil

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Braised Greek Artichoke Bottoms with Lemon and Olive Oil
By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN
Published: April 2, 2012

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Because artichokes appear in early spring in Greece, they were traditionally part of the Passover meal. The recipe that inspired this, from Nicholas Stavroulakis’ delightful “Cookbook of the Jews of Greece,” also included honey (2 tablespoons), but I prefer the dish without. I don’t like throwing away the leaves that I break off, especially with large, meaty artichokes, so I steam them separately and serve them as an appetizer, with vinaigrette.
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Related

Recipes for Health: Sephardic Dishes for the Passover Table (April 2, 2012)
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Recipes for Health: Turkish Spinach with Tomatoes and Rice (April 5, 2012)

8 medium artichokes, or 4 large

Juice of 4 lemons

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus additional for garnish if desired

1. Fill a bowl with water and add the juice of 1 lemon. Cut away the end of the stems of the artichokes, leaving about an inch. Break off the tough leaves around the bottom, and using a large, sharp chef’s knife, cut away the tops about an inch above the widest part of the artichoke. Then trim the base by holding a paring knife at a 45-degree angle and turning the artichoke against the knife. You should end up with bare artichoke bottoms with no leaves and smooth sides. Peel the stems. Cut the artichoke bottom in half, scoop out the spiny inner leaves and the choke, and immediately plunge it into the bowl of acidulated water.

2. Oil a large casserole. Drain the artichokes, take two halves and press them together to make a single artichoke, and place in the casserole, stem up. Repeat with the remaining artichokes, squeezing them into the pot with their stems facing up.

3. Add enough water to the casserole to come a third of the way up the sides of the artichoke bottoms. Drizzle in the remaining lemon juice and the olive oil. Add salt to taste and sprinkle on the dill. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then transfer to a platter. Discard the liquid in the pot. Serve cold or room temperature, garnished, if desired, with fresh dill.

Yield: 4 servings.

Advance preparation: This can be made a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Nutritional information per serving (note that not all of the olive oil is absorbed by the artichoke bottoms; 2 tablespoons were used in the analysis): 125 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 15 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 121 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 4 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”

veal chops milanese

Ingredients

1. 1 egg
2. 1/4 teaspoon salt
3. 1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
4. 3/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
5. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon dried sage
6. 4 1/2-inch-thick veal rib chops (about 5 ounces each), chine bone removed, chops pounded to 1/8 inch thick
7. 5 tablespoons butter
8. 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions

1. Beat the egg to mix with the salt and the pepper. Combine the bread crumbs and the fresh or dried sage. Dip the veal chops (including the rib bone if the chop has one) into the beaten egg and then into the bread crumbs. Shake off the excess bread crumbs.
2. In a large nonstick frying pan, melt the butter over moderately low heat. Put the coated veal chops in the pan and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook until golden and just done, about 3 minutes longer. Serve with the lemon wedges.


Notes

Test-Kitchen Tip To ensure a crisp coating, keep the heat steady at moderately low. Don't be tempted to turn it down or the crumbs won't brown to a crunchy gold.

Variations

• These chops are also excellent, and in fact more traditional, without the sage.

• You can throw tradition to the winds and sauté the chops without pounding. They'll need another minute of cooking per side.

• Another possibility is to make this with pork chops, either pounded or not.

veal chops with gremolada

Ingredients

1. 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2. Grated zest from 1 lemon
3. 1 clove garlic, minced
4. 3 tablespoons olive oil
5. 4 veal loin chops, about 1 inch thick (about 3 pounds in all)
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt
7. 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the parsley, lemon zest, and garlic.
2. In a large nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Sprinkle the chops with the salt and pepper. Cook the chops until just done, about 5 minutes per side. Serve the chops topped with the gremolada.


Notes
A sprinkling of gremolada will not only get along with but will improve meat, fish, poultry, and vegetables, too. Try it on lamb or pork chops, steaks, sautéed chicken, fish fillets, scallops or shrimp, potatoes, asparagus—the list is endless.

marcella hazan's engagement chicken

i'm making this tonight or tomorrow.

Recipe: 'Roast Chicken With Lemons'

by Marcella Hazan
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking


If this were a still life its title could be "Chicken with Two Lemons." That is all that there is in it. No fat to cook with, no basting to do, no stuffing to prepare, no condiments except for salt and pepper. After you put the chicken in the oven you turn it just once. The bird, its two lemons, and the oven do all the rest. Again and again, through the years, I meet people who come up to me to say, "I have made your chicken with two lemons and it is the most amazingly simple recipe, the juiciest, best-tasting chicken I have ever had." And you know, it is perfectly true.

Serves 4

3- to 4-pound chicken
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
2 rather small lemons

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Wash the chicken thoroughly in cold water, both inside and out. Remove all the bits of fat hanging loose. Let the bird sit for about 10 minutes on a slightly tilted plate to let all the water drain out of it. Pat it thoroughly dry all over with cloth or paper towels.

3. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt and black pepper on the chicken, rubbing it with your fingers over all its body and into its cavity.

4. Wash the lemons in cold water and dry them with a towel. Soften each lemon by placing it on a counter and rolling it back and forth as you put firm downward pressure on it with the palm of your hand. Puncture the lemons in at least 20 places each, using a sturdy round toothpick, a trussing needle, a sharp-pointed fork, or similar implement.

5. Place both lemons in the bird's cavity. Close up the opening with toothpicks or with trussing needle and string. Close it well, but don't make an absolutely airtight job of it because the chicken may burst. Run kitchen string from one leg to the other, tying it at both knuckle ends. Leave the legs in their natural position without pulling them tight. If the skin is unbroken, the chicken will puff up as it cooks, and the string serves only to keep the thighs from spreading apart and splitting the skin.

6. Put the chicken into a roasting pan, breast facing down. Do not add cooking fat of any kind. This bird is self-basting, so you need not fear it will stick to the pan. Place it in the upper third of the preheated oven. After 30 minutes, turn the chicken over to have the breast face up. When turning it, try not to puncture the skin. If kept intact, the chicken will swell like a balloon, which makes for an arresting presentation at the table later. Do not worry too much about it, however, because even if it fails to swell, the flavor will not be affected.

7. Cook for another 30 to 35 minutes, then turn the oven thermostat up to 400 degrees, and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Calculate between 20 and 25 minutes total cooking time for each pound. There is no need to turn the chicken again.

8. Whether your bird has puffed up or not, bring it to the table whole and leave the lemons inside until it is carved and opened. The juices that run out are perfectly delicious. Be sure to spoon them over the chicken slices. The lemons will have shriveled up, but they still contain some juice; do not squeeze them, they may squirt.

Ahead-of-time note:

If you want to eat it while it is warm, plan to have it the moment it comes out of the oven. If there are leftovers, they will be very tasty cold, kept moist with some of the cooking juices and eaten not straight out of the refrigerator, but at room temperature.

From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. Copyright 1992. Excerpted by permission of Knopf.

Lemony Brussels Sprout Slaw

The Minimalist: Vegetables for Thanksgiving, Served Natural and Raw (November 17, 2010)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed and shredded

1 medium Granny Smith or other tart apple, peeled, cored and diced or shredded

1 large shallot, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves.

1. To make the dressing, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice and zest in a small bowl. Add the oil a little at a time, whisking all the while.

2. Combine the brussels sprouts, apple and shallot and toss with the dressing. Sprinkle with salt and plenty of black pepper and refrigerate until ready to serve. (It’s best to let the slaw rest for an hour or so to allow the flavors to mellow; the sprouts will also soften a bit and exude some juice. You can let it sit longer, for up to 24 hours, if you like. Drain the slaw before continuing.) Just before serving, toss with the mint.

Yield: 8 servings.

Pork Roast with Thyme and Sage

Hoirino me Thymari kai Faskomilo:

From Nancy Gaifyllia, former About.com Guide

In Greek: χοιρινό με θυμάρι και φασκόμιλο, pronounced hee-ree-NO meh thee-MAH-ree kay fahs-KOH-mee-loh


Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours, 50 minutes
Ingredients:

* 3-3 1/2 pounds of boneless pork loin
* 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
* 4 tablespoons of orange juice
* 1 cup of white wine
* 2 sprigs of thyme
* 2 sprigs of marjoram
* 2 sprigs of sage
* salt
* pepper

Preparation:

Marinade: Combine olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice, and white wine in a small bowl with a fork or whisk.

Rinse the meat, pat it dry, and place it in a large bowl or pan. Cut slits around the meat and insert sprigs of thyme, marjoram, and sage in the incisions. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with the marinade. Cover loosely and let it stand in the marinade for 2-3 hours, turning it from time to time to make sure all sides are well marinated.

Preheat the oven to 375F (190C).

Transfer to an ungreased roasting pan and roast until tender and browned.

Yield: serves 4

lemon broccoli and chickpea rigatoni

From Food and Wine, from a new cookbook by Marc Meyers, chef at Five Points.

Ingredients

1. One 19-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2. 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3. 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
5. 1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into florets
6. 1 pound rigatoni
7. 5 large garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
8. 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
9. 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, toss the chickpeas with the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the broccoli until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the broccoli to a colander and rinse under cold water until cool. Add the rigatoni to the boiling water and cook until al dente.
3. Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook over moderate heat until the garlic is golden, about 3 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chickpea mixture and cook until warmed through, about 1 minute.
4. Drain the rigatoni, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the broccoli and chickpeas along with the reserved cooking water and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the rigatoni is coated with sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Transfer the pasta to a bowl, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and serve.

lemon thyme syrup

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 cups water
2. 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3. 3/4 ounce lemon thyme sprigs
4. 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the thyme, cover and let stand for at least 2 hours or overnight. Add the lemon juice and strain the syrup.


Serve With

Drinks, dressings, sorbet.

Gazpacho Shooters

For the soup...
1 can whole peeled tomatoes in juice (28 oz)
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
half a medium-sized cucumber, peeled and sliced into rounds
juice of 1 lime
2 strips of fresh jalapeno, sliced lengthwise
1 cup vodka
2 to 4 TBS lemon-thyme syrup
Tabasco sauce
kosher salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper
chives for "straw" garnish

1. Pour vodka into a shallow bowl or baking dish. Do not use plastic as it will sully the flavor. Place lemon slices and cucumber slices in vodka. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours.
2. Puree tomatoes in a food processor or blender. Add cucumbers from vodka and puree with tomatoes until smooth. Squeeze lemon slices into tomato and cucumber mix. Puree well.
3. Add at least two tablespoons of the lemon thyme syrup to tomato mixture and puree again. Starting with one tablespoon of lime juice, begin to balance out the flavor. You might find that you want to add more sweetener. (I usually put a bit of strained honey into my gazpacho.) The lime will counter the lemon nicely. Add the lime juice to your taste, but puree after each additional seasoning. (SEE NOTES BELOW.)
4. Add two or three healthy dashes of Tabasco to the soup and puree well again.
5. Using a funnel and a ladle, pour into individual shot glasses, top with cracked pepper and serve with a "straw" of fresh chive.
NOTES: The vodka in the gazpacho was almost overpowering on my first three attempts. If I'd just been a little more patient I would have discovered that with some extra pureeing - and a bit of time - the flavors would meld together wonderfully. Don't give up on this if at first it tastes too strong, or if the flavors seem disproportionate. Balance it to your liking with the lime and the lemon-thyme syrup. And then let it sit for at least ten minutes in your fridge. Taste it again. It will come together on its own. I used canned tomatoes here just because the fresh are still a little too unpredictable. Choose a cucumber that is medium sized and hopefully not seedy and pithy. Also, if the jalapeno smells the least bit acrid when you slice into it, don't use it!

seared lemon chicken with potato and artichoke

this is adapted from cook's illustrated and a magazine article about healthy dishes.

cook's says to have a perfect seared chicken, bake chicken breasts in a tightly covered dishe for 30 to 45 minutes at 275.

so i did.

then you whisk together (for 2 breasts):

1 T melted butter
1/2 T flour
1/2 t cornstarch
ground pepper
and i added some italian seasoning

after the chicken is cooked, blot it and brush it with the mixture. Heat 1 T olive oit to smoking and sear, 3 min per side, in a pan you've already (here's the other recipe) browned 1 small chopped onion in 1 T olive oil, that has been set aside.

so when the chicken is cooked on one side, add 1 small red potato that has been cut in slices. turn the chicken over, and add 1 can of quartered artichokes, the cooked onion, and one lemon sliced thinly. cover. cook ten minutes. add grated parmesan to the chicken.

the lemon flavor is fab.

lemon honey salad dressing

the aforementioned blog is spinach tiger and i'm quite interested. she used this on microgreens; highly nutritious first leaves of various vegetables she got from the farmers market.

The Process

This is not much of a recipe as an idea to explore. Local honey, fresh lemon and olive oil together are wonderful on tender greens, fresh fruits or even cottage cheese.


Lemon Honey Dressing Recipe

1 t Fresh lemon juice

1/2 t Honey

1 T Olive oil


Blend honey and lemon juice together and slowly pour in olive oil.

Other ideas:

Now that you have a honey lemon dressing, see where else it can go. Here it is poured over cottage cheese. Just add black pepper and you have a great high protein snack or lunch.


Drizzle on fruit, such as watermelon, pears, figs.

lemon lentil soup

Recipe: Red Lentil Soup With Lemon

elizabeth made this and recommended it
o

Published: January 9, 2008

Time: 45 minutes

3 tablespoons olive oil, more for drizzling

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch of ground chili powder or cayenne, more to taste

1 quart chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup red lentils

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

Juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro.

1. In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes.

2. Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne, and sauté for 2 minutes longer.

3. Add broth, 2 cups water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary.

4. Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, purée half the soup then add it back to pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky.

5. Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder if desired.

Yield: 4 servings.

marmelade cake

Marmalade Cake
Adapted from the Boonville Hotel and copied from orangette (blog)

Note: it took less than an hour. i checked it 15 minutes before an hour and it was brown, and probably done plenty earlier. also, apparently it doesn't rise much, so go ahead and fill the pan, even though it looked like it's not big enough.

You could make this cake with store-bought roasted almonds, but I like to buy them raw and toast them myself. That way, I can control how deeply they’re toasted, and they also taste fresher. If you’re short on time, you can toast them a day or two ahead. You might also want to plan ahead for preparing the citrus fruits, since boiling and cooling them takes time. (And remember to use organic oranges and lemons, since you’ll be eating the rind.) Once you’ve got the nuts and fruits ready, this cake is quick to make.

1 small to medium orange
1 lemon
6 ounces raw almonds
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
4 large eggs, ideally at room temperature
½ tsp. table salt
1 ½ cups sugar
2/3 cup olive oil
Confectioners’ sugar, for serving

First, get to work on the citrus. Put the orange and the lemon in a saucepan, and cover with water. (They’ll want to float. Don’t worry about it.) Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain, and cool.

Meanwhile, toast the almonds. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and set a rack in the middle position. Put the almonds on an ungreased sheet pan, and bake until they look golden and smell warm and toasty, 10 to 15 minutes. (I tend to get nervous about burning them, and consequently, I always try to pull them out of the oven too soon. Don’t do that. Let them really toast.) Set aside to cool completely. When the almonds are cool, pulse them in a food processor until finely ground, the texture of coarse sand. Set aside.

Set the oven to 350°F, and grease a 9-inch round springform pan.

When the citrus is cool, cut the lemon in half, and scoop out and discard the pulp and seeds. Cut the orange in half, and discard the seeds. Put the lemon rind and orange halves in the food processor – there’s no need to wash it after grinding the almonds – and process to chop finely, almost to a coarse paste.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.

Combine the eggs and salt in a mixing bowl. Beat until foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar. Fold in the flour mixture. Add the citrus, almonds, and olive oil, and beat on low speed to just incorporate. Do not overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack. Remove the sides of the pan. Before serving, dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar.

Note: This cake tastes even better on the second - or even third - day, as the flavors meld and mellow. Store it at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

when life gives you lemons

http://www.foodnetwork.com/mario-eats-italy/when-life-gives-you-lemons/index.html

shrimp bruscetta with limoncella
pasta al limone
lemon salad, for heavens sake

all on this site:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/mario-eats-italy/when-life-gives-you-lemons/index.html

Watermelon Lemonade

Adapted from Bubby’s

Makes enough to fill two glasses with ice cubes; we quadrupled it to fill a pitcher. We already need more.

1/4 cup (2 ounces) fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup (4 ounces) fresh watermelon puree, strained through a coarse strainer to remove seeds
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) simple syrup*
3/4 cup (6 ounces) cold water

Stir it all together and serve over ice. Garnish it with a thin watermelon or lemon wedge, if you’re feeling fancy.

Spritzy variation: I have never met a beverage I didn’t think would taste better bubbly, thus, if you’re looking for a spritzier version of this, swap one-third (1/4 cup) or more of the water with seltzer or sparkling water.

Boozy variation: My husband thinks this would taste even better with a splash of vodka. I am not one to argue.

* Make your own simple syrup: Please. I see it sold in stores and it just boggles my mind. Simmer one part water with one part sugar (I did a cup of each and ended up with more than I needed for a quadruple batch) until sugar has dissolved. Let cool. Or, you can use my speedier method where you simmer one part sugar with half as much water and once it has dissolved, add the second half of the water, cold, which cools the mixture down faster (when you like nothing to slow your pace to the nearest mocktail).

creamy lemon shrimp

* 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
* 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon
* 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
* 1 teaspoon olive oil
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 medium lemons
* 1 pound cooked shrimp (any size)
* 2 cups broccoli florets, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 2 cups arugula
* 1 bag (8 ounces) tofu noodles, rinsed and drained (found in the Asian section of grocery store)

Preparation

Place yogurt, sour cream, chives, tarragon, garlic, mustard, oil, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl. Zest lemons over bowl. Juice 1 lemon into bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add shrimp, broccoli, arugula and noodles. Toss to coat and serve with remaining lemon, cut into wedges, if desired.

broccoli soup with lemon chive cream

Oh, and should you have some of the sour cream mixture left over, it makes a great dip for potato chips.

For the soup:
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts only, sliced
1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 ½ lb. broccoli, both crowns and stems, trimmed and coarsely chopped
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 rind (about 2 inches square) from a piece of Parmesan cheese
¾ tsp. kosher salt, or less if your broth is well salted

For the sour cream:
1 cup sour cream (not low-fat or nonfat)
2 scallions, white and pale green parts only, very thinly sliced
¼ cup minced chives
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. pressed or minced garlic

In a small stockpot or Dutch oven, warm the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the leeks and onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have softened and the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for one minute. Add the broccoli, stock, Parmesan rind, and salt, and stir to mix. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, until the broccoli is tender, about 20 minutes.

While the soup cooks, prepare the cream. In a medium bowl, stir together the sour cream, scallions, chives, lemon zest, lemon juice, grated Parmesan, salt, and garlic, mixing until fully combined. Taste, and adjust as necessary.

To finish the soup, remove the Parmesan rind. Using a blender and working in small batches – when puréeing hot liquids, never fill the blender more than one-third full – purée until very smooth. (Alternatively, purée it in the pot with an immersion blender.) Return the soup to the pot, add a few dollops of the cream mixture – I add about 1/3 cup – and stir to incorporate. Taste for seasoning, and adjust as necessary. If needed, rewarm the soup gently over low heat.

Serve the soup with a spoonful or two of the remaining cream on top.

lemon mint granita

Lemon-Mint Granita
Adapted pretty liberally from Wolfgang Puck

Granita’s selling points don’t end with being more appealing than ice cream to a certain preggo (though really, what more do you need to know?), more refreshing than an air conditioner on turbo on a sticky summer day, and the best thing since a Snoopy Sno-Cone — they’ve got something going for them that sorbets, sherbets, ice creams and gelatos lack: not just the ability to be made without a machine, but the insistence that it’s the only right way. You won’t get those fleck-y ice bits in a churner, you’ve got to rake them up yourself with a fork. And then try not to eat them all before sharing.

Oh, and let’s say you’re not baking a baby right now? One word for you: Limoncello. Can you imagine a glug of that over your dish? Oh baby indeed. Just promise to have some for me, too.

4 lemons
4 cups water
Sugar, to taste (we used 3 tablespoons, like a tart lemonade)
Handful of fresh mint leaves

Clean and wash the lemons. Cut off the top quarter of the lemons and slice a thin bevel off the bottom, so they can stand up straight. (You can skip this step if you don’t want to serve them in frozen lemon cups.) Using a grapefruit knife, carefully remove all of the lemon flesh and juice (working over a bowl ensures you won’t lose any), being careful not to cut through the bottom. Stand the lemons on a plate or cookie sheet and freeze until solid.

Using a food processor (a blender will work as well), toss a handful of washed and dried fresh mint leaves into the work bowl. (I used about 25 to 30 leaves from 6 to 9 sprigs.) Add the scooped out lemon flesh and juice, and pulse until mostly pureed. Let mixture stand for 15 minutes, so the mint releases its flavor, then press the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer. You’ll end up with approximately one cup of lemon-mint juice.

Stir in the water, then sugar, one tablespoon at a time until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is to your desire level of sweetness. Pour the mixture into a large roasting pan or baking dish, large enough that the liquid isn’t more than one-inch deep. (Otherwise it takes forever to freeze, trust me. A 9×13-inch pan worked great here.)

Freeze for one hour, then remove the mixture and scrape with two forks to break up the ice. (Your freezing time will vary, depending on the temperature and muscle of your freezer.) Return to the freezer and freeze until solid, about 2 to 3 hours, scraping it again with forks every hour or so.

When the granita is frozen, rake until glittery. Scoop into frozen lemon shells (or, you know, plain old dishes) and serve before Deb gets to it.

lemon snow pudding with basil custard sauce

For snow pudding:

* 1 (1/4-ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin
* 1/4 cup cold water
* 1 cup boiling-hot water
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
* 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
* 3 large egg whites at room temperature 30 minutes


For custard sauce:

* 2 cups whole milk
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1 cup packed basil leaves
* 3 large egg yolks


* Garnish: basil leaves

Preparation

Make snow pudding:
Stir gelatin into cold water in a large bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in hot water, sugar, and lemon zest and juice until sugar has dissolved. Set bowl in an ice bath and stir often until mixture is cold and thickened (consistency will be similar to that of raw egg whites), about 45 minutes.

Beat gelatin mixture with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until very frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat whites until they hold soft peaks.

Add whites to gelatin mixture and beat at high speed until tripled in volume and thick enough to form a wide flat ribbon that holds its shape on top of mixture when beater is lifted, about 5 minutes (longer if using a hand-held mixer). Transfer to a large serving bowl and chill until set, about 3 hours.

Make custard while snow pudding sets:
Bring milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt just to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Let steep, covered, 30 minutes.

Put yolks in a small bowl. Strain milk mixture through a sieve into another bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding basil, and return to saucepan. Whisk about 1/2 cup warm milk mixture into yolks, then whisk into remaining milk in saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats back of spoon and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer.

Transfer custard sauce to a bowl and chill, stirring occasionally, until cold, about 2 hours.

Assemble dessert:
Spoon snow pudding into glasses or bowls and top with custard sauce.

Cooks' notes: •The egg whites will not be fully cooked.
•Snow pudding and custard sauce can be chilled separately, tightly covered, up to 1 day.

Cafe Brulot

It's fun to make a dramatic spectacle by making and serving Café Brulôt at the end of a magnificent Creole meal, with special Brulôt bowls, ladles and cups. If you don't have all the fancy gear, don't despair ... a chafing dish, bent-handled ladle (to keep you from burning all the hair off your arms) and demitasse cups work wonderfully. I learned to make this from Joe Cahn, at the New Orleans School of Cooking, who emphasizes the flourish when making this.

* 8 ounces good brandy
* 4 ounces Grand Marnier, Cointreau, good triple sec or any orange-flavored liqueur
* 8 teaspoons dark brown sugar
* 16 curls orange peel *
* 16 curls lemon peel *
* 10 whole cloves
* thin slice of butter
* ground cinnamon
* 4 cups strong New Orleans coffee & chicory (Union, Community, French Market, et al.)

[* -- This, and only this, may be prepared ahead of time in the kitchen. The best way to remove the orange and lemon peel is with a potato peeler; then julienne the pieces of peel. Alternately, and more dramatically, peel the orange and the lemon very carefully, so that you get one long continuous spiral of peel from each.]

Bring your ingredients out into the living room, dining room or wherever your guests are eating. Into a wide mouthed chafing dish over sterno, dramatically free pour brandy and Grand Marnier. Add the sugar, orange and lemon peels, whole cloves and butter while telling the appropriate good stories.

When the butter begins to melt and the mixture begins to simmer, light by filling a bent-handled ladle with the mixture, ignite the mixture in the ladle, holding directly over the flame, and then pouring the lighted mixture into the rest of the Brulôt. (If you're brave, you can hold the ladle a few feet above the pot and pour in a flaming stream, and if you're really brave, if you've cut long continuous strips of peel, let one of them dangle from the ladle and pour the flaming stream along the peel ... it looks great! Have someone standing by with a fire extinguisher in case you screw up.)

After having sung a few voodoo chants and/or appropriate flowery patter, sprinkle some "magic voodoo dust" (okay, cinnamon) into the flames with a flourish. They'll sparkle, all orange and pretty, within the blue alcohol flame. Add coffee to extinguish and serve. Use a Brulôt ladle if you have one; it'll strain out the cloves and peel; otherwise, pour through a strainer. Serve in Brulôt or demitasse cups.