Tuesday, August 13, 2013

COOKING WILD AND WONDERFUL by L.J. Martin


What's better for dessert, or better for you, than fresh berries.. The trick here is not to overcook them. I long tried to make phyllo cups and to tell the truth, never perfected them. I'm no pastry chef and to be truthful, have no desire to be. I discovered the pre-made, pre-packaged phyllo cups at the market in the frozen food section, and what do you know, suddenly my phyllo cups were PERFECT. Don't fight city hall, if you can buy something that's just as good as you can make, or better, and will save you hours in the kitchen, then go for it is my kitchen philosophy. Phyllo cups are one of those "they make it better" items.

Here's a continuation of that gourmet supper, dessert course:

Gourmet Supper for Eight

Appetizers:

Served with Champagne
Crab artichoke dip or tapanade
Crunchy Parmesan Onion Squares
Bruchettas:
Mushroom
Tomato
Zucchini

Soup:

Shellfish in clear bullion

Salad:

Lobster, avocado, fresh grapefruit on butter lettuce

Fish Course:

Salmon and asparagus in parchment (en pappette)

Citrus Sorbet

Beef Course:

Tenderloin strip basted in simple sauce (see recipe)
Mushroom Gravy
Port wine reduction
Red & Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled and braised

Dessert:

Berry mélange in phyllo cups with Cointreau whipped cream

After dinner: Coffee, liquors, and a great single malt


Dessert

Berries in phyllo cups:

• 2 packages (12 cups by count) phyllo cups (buy at market pre-made) or package of flat phyllo dough or pie dough
• 1 carton strawberries (approximately 2 cups)
• 1 carton blackberries or raspberries (approximately 1 cup)
• 1 carton blueberries (approximately 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 pint whipping cream
• ¾ cup water
• powdered sugar
• Cointreau if you like

In lieu of phyllo cups (sometimes hard to find) you can use phyllo dough and cook in flat six inch squares, or in lieu of that, bake plain pie dough in six inch squares. Sprinkle sugar on phyllo or pie dough squares if you use them.

While phyllo or pie dough is baking per recipe on box, clean berries. Place a cup of strawberries, ¾ cup water, and ½ cup granulated sugar in blender and buzz until it’s a liquid. Place in sauce pan large enough to hold liquid and the rest of the berries. Heat liquid until slightly thickened, add berries just to heat—don’t cook berries, just warm them up. Beat whipping cream and add sugar to taste. Add ½ oz Cointreau if you like.

If you use phyllo cups place each of them in the center of a serving plate and fill with berry mixture. Overflow if extra mixture, and there should be. Top with whipped cream. If you use flat phyllo or pie dough spoon mixture into plates and top with dough square, then dress plate with whipped cream.

Serve with Guerwitzterminer or Reisling

Coffee and/or after dinner liquors

See you soon for more from The Kitchen at Wolfpack Ranch and Cooking Wild & Wonderful.


6 comments:

  1. Dagnabbit, Larry, you're making me hungry!

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  2. Larry, this whole dinner you've put together sounds wonderful, but this dessert really is right up my alley. I love berries of all kinds. We used to have a thornless blackberry plant that came up in our backyard and soon began to take over that section of the fence. Those berries were so good, and no thorns! It's gone now, but it was good while it lasted. I can't help thinking how wonderful those might have been in these phyllo cups.
    Cheryl

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  3. Thanks, y'all. I do that dessert often and use lots of varieties of fruit...peaches, if you can find really ripe ones...are particularly delicious.

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  4. Larry, I gotta agree with Frank: Dagnabbit, you're making me hungry! It's a good thing you don't blog about cooking very often, or I'd weigh 500 pounds just from reading the menus and recipes. :-D (It's hard to beat fresh berries and fresh peaches this time of year, though ... and Cointreau makes every dessert better. ;-) )

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  5. Sounds so good and with the pre-made cups, simple. Now to find time to make them. Sigh. Doris

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  6. I love desserts that include fruit so I can believe they're healthy.
    So, have you written some cookbooks with your Wild and Wonderful recipes? If you have, I sure would like some buy links, Larry. Loved the blog.

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