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Ice Box Cake
My mother made this for my birthday (mid-July). She’d make bigger cakes than the one in this recipe and yet I don’t recall them serving anywhere near 12 people. Usually the leftovers were gone by the next day (just in time for my sister’s birthday). Our appetites are now under better control.
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Salmorejo (cold Spanish tomato soup)
This is a delicious alternative to gazpacho: this traditional cold soup highlights the flavors of ripe tomatoes perfectly. You can make this in a blender, food processor or with an immersion blender. I am fixated on a super-smooth soup and therefore prefer a traditional blender, but they have all done the trick for me at…
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Summer Squash with Mint
This tasty vegetable dish (or its close relatives) kept showing up at dinnertime during a trip to Italy. We were smitten. It’s delicious served at room temperature.
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Peach-Sweet Tea Sherbet
The book Hello, My Name is Ice Cream is an outstanding source of information and recipe ideas for ice cream. I found the amount of almond flavor overwhelming and suggest a smaller amount here. Peel 3 large fresh peaches If using frozen peaches make sure they are peeled. Cut the peaches into chunks and heat in a…
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Mango Lassi Frozen Yogurt
The recipe in Hello, My Name is Ice Cream is a much more nuanced description of how to make this frozen yogurt, giving you a number of options for thickeners (“texture agents”) and it has a more subtle mango flavor. I pushed up the mango puree volume substantially. I encourage you to track down the…
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Fresh Cherry Crostata
This recipe is incredibly reliable and makes a delicious rustic fruit pie with a buttery crust. I have switched out the fruit for other stone fruits. I made it without a food processor. I even made it without the benefit of a rolling pin once, making do with a glass tumbler to form the dough.…
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Fig and Hazelnut Tart
In an 8- to 10-inch tart pan, make ½ recipe for Pâte Sucrée (Sweet Tart Dough), blind baked and cooled Preheat the oven to 375° F. Adjust oven rack to middle position. In a food processor, combine 1 cup blanched hazelnuts, toasted ⅓+ cup granulated sugar scant TBL light brown sugar ½ tsp kosher salt…
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Cold Borscht
I can’t think of a more refreshing lunch on a hot summer day. Slightly tangy, cold borscht can really give you a boost.
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Basmati Rice Salad
Cook 1 cup basmatic rice and spread the cooked rice on a large tray or jelly roll pan to cool. That will take about 10 minutes. While the rice cooks, combine the following in a 2-quart (or larger) bowl: grated zest of 2 small lemons 2 TBL lemon juice 3 TBL olive oil 3 TBL…
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Creamy Coffee Pops
When making this recipe, choose strong coffee. I used decaf to accommodate our friends. If you have already got ready-made coffee, you need about 1½ cups of coffee. Or starting from the basics, in a French press, brew ¾ cup ground coffee (I used decaf espresso to accommodate our friends) 2 cups boiling water In…
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Eggplant Soup
Prick holes in 2 medium eggplants Roast on grill very dark. If using an oven, blacken under broiler (4 minutes per side), turning as needed. When the eggplants are cool, remove flesh and discard skins. Chop flesh a bit and reserve. In large saucepan, saute 3 TBL olive oil 2 cups sliced onions salt and…
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Key Lime Pie Pops
This is an incredibly refreshing treat on a summer’s day. If you don’t have key limes available, use Persian limes instead. You can also purchase key lime juice in a bottle, but you’ll still need some lime zest to make them.
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Cold Pea Soup
1 pound frozen peas (3 cups) 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock ¼ cup sour cream (or more to taste) Parsley, for garnish In a saucepan, combine 1 pound frozen peas (3 cups) 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until peas are bright green and…
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Rhubarb Crumble
Basic fruit crumble is a simple dish: fruit, sugar, butter flour and — in our case — oats and nuts are transformed into a sublime end to a meal. This one works well with other tart fruits, such as sour cherries, shown here. Note that we like our crumble to be tart, so if you…
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Cherry Tomato and Marjoram Sauce
This is great on Ricotta Gnudi. In a pan, saute together ¼ cup olive oil 1 TBL butter 1 large shallot, minced 3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced Cook for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, clean and halve 2-3 cups of mixed cherry tomatoes, I mixed yellow and red ones When the shallot is tender increase the heat,…
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Cabbage and Ginger Slaw
Makes 8 to 12 servings, depending on your guests Adapted from Sunset Recipe Annual, 1996 Edition
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Corn Ice Cream
Corn ice cream seems to be more commonly found in Asia than in North America. Go figure! In any case, it’s delicious.
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Mango Tres Leches Cake
You can make a smaller cake, see note at end. Combine 1½ cups flour ¾ cup sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder ¼ tsp salt Stir and set aside. Separate 6 eggs Beat egg whites with mixer until foamy. Add ¼ tsp cream of tartar and beat on high speed, gradually adding ¼ cup sugar Stop…
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Bread Salad
Cut 2 or 3 large (1½ pounds) very fresh tomatoes (heirloom in a mix of colors is nice) into ¾- to 1-inch chunks 2 or 3 Persian cucumbers, cut into similar-sized chunks and place in a non-reactive colander. Place the colander over or in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1½ tsp salt Let stand 30…
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Sour Cherry Jam with Less Sugar
Finally, cherry jam that’s actually tart. After years of using conventional pectin or no pectin, I decided to pursue another route. This is a gorgeous color and really tastes like the fruit itself!
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Tuna-Tomato Napoleons
Prepare Chipotle Vinaigrette or use some other creamy salad dressing (you want to dilute it a bit if it’s very thick). Pluck and wash ¼ cup cilantro leaves and dry them thoroughly. Roughly chop them and set aside. If you can convince your fish vendor to cut ¼-inch thick slices, do it. If not, buy…
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Sour Cherry Jam
Pit 1 quart of sour cherries and chop them (to make about 2 to 2½ cups fruit). Add sour cherry juice (see note) to make a total of 6 cups fruit and juice. Place fruit, juice and a 57g package of pectin in a large pot. Bring to a rolling boil, add 5 cups sugar…
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Garlic Scape Pesto
Cut scapes into 1½-inch pieces. Blanch in boiling water for 15 seconds, just enough for them to turn a bright green. Immerse in cool water and drain thoroughly when they are no longer hot. Process scapes in small batches in food processor with olive oil. Add grated cheese, salt and pepper to taste. If the…
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Yellow Tomato Soup
Puree 1 lb peeled, seeded yellow tomatoes with 1 TBL olive oil. (I was short on yellow so I added one red one: the soup is still a rich yellow.) This will make about 3 cups of juice. Add ¾ cup chicken stock. Strain through a coarse strainer to capture any seeds. To the puree…
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Lemon Whipped Cream
Whipped cream flavored with tangy lemon curd. Great on a warm summer day over your dessert! This is the recommended filling for the Lemon Cloud Cake.
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Lemon Cloud Cake
A delightful lemony cake, great for a celebration. The filling is whipped cream flavored with lemon curd, but you can probably try other citrus flavors.
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Cherry Pie
Preheat oven to 425º F. Pit 1 quart sour cherries (I prefer Montmorency cherries for their bright color) If you are measuring out frozen cherries, use about 4½ cups to be sure you have enough to fill the crust, as the frozen cherries seem to settle a bit more and will also give off a…
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Ice-Box Cake
Make whipped cream using 2 cups heavy cream, 2 – 3 TBL confectioners’ sugar and 1 – 2 tsp vanilla. Spread ½ TBL whipped cream on each cookie in a box of Famous Chocolate wafers, building up a stack. Arrange two 7-inch stacks next to each other (on their sides) on a plate to form…
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Grilled Swordfish
Easy as can be. Get a 1-inch thick swordfish steak. Let it come to room temperature and season lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper. Get the grill hot (400º F), and grill for about 5 to 6 minutes per side. I prefer charcoal but it works just fine on a gas grill.
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Corn-Crusted Soft-Shell Crabs
In a pie plate, beat together 1 egg, ½ cup milk and some salt. Put some very fine (Indian Head brand) corn meal in another pie plate and mix with some ground pepper. Dip each cleaned soft-shell crab in the egg mixture, let drain a bit and dredge in the corn meal (on both sides).…