Tag Archives: desserts

Recipes

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Although I’ve never liked any kind of meringue pie, I adore meringues — those crunchy bits of pillowy slow-baked egg-white goodness. Maybe it’s because my maternal grandmother always had a reused (I don’t think we would use the word “recycled” 40 years ago) coffee can full of them when we’d drive up from Tennessee to visit her and my grandpa in southern Illinois. I assume that with her Depression-honed frugalness, she made them from leftover egg whites — although I don’t remember her making anything especially yolk-centric. Anyway, to keep me from embarrassing her by buying four containers of store-made meringues at once, Younger Daughter has perfected her recipe and technique for homemade meringues. They’re so much better and better-for-you than store-bought. Her great-grandmother would be proud.

First, separate three eggs. The easiest way is to let the whites drip through your fingers into a bowl. Discard yolks or save for another recipe.

Add 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar to whites and beat until soft peaks form. Add 3/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon at a time while beating until  stiff peaks form and it’s glossy.

 Then fold in 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract and some grated vanilla bean. Put half egg-white mixture into a plastic gallon food-storage bag and cut one of the corners off. Squeeze dollops of the mixture onto a parchment- or wax-paper covered baking sheet. For chocolate meringues, add 1 1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips to remaining egg-white batter and repeat. Bake at a low temperature — 225 degrees — for about one hour. They’ll be yummy but still a bit chewy. Then turn oven off and let sit overnight or for several more hours to dry out. Just remember to take them out of the oven before turning the oven on for something else. I’m just saying. Anyway, I could eat a whole pan of these at one sitting. They’re really easy and fun and have no fat in them whatsoever. And I still can taste the grandmother-love in them, along with daughter-love. That is one powerful combination.

Food

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If you’re headed down to the Alabama/Florida Gulf Coast — and a yet-again winter storm headed our way here in north Alabama makes me ready to go anytime — you’ve got to try Cobalt, a fairly new restaurant in Orange Beach, Alabama. Under the bridge on Perdido Beach Boulevard next to the Caribe Resort, Cobalt is a must-go especially during nice weather when you can stroll along the water and eat outside in the breeze. When I went with friends a couple weeks ago, it definitely was a cool and gray stay-inside-sort-of-day. But that was all right, because inside is nice, too. Cobalt is a huge space but it didn’t feel too big — just sort of light and airy but spacious enough to handle how every many we could crowd around our table. We were there for lunch. The menu featured seafood dishes, of course, with salads and sandwiches, too. Food was good, beer was cold and service was friendly — and I’m sure this place is hopping during prime time. There was a fascinating salt-water tank in the lobby that was less an aquarium and more of a sort of river where you could stand for a while and watch all sorts of fish swim lazily by. I didn’t take many photos because I was too busy eating and drinking and talking my camera batteries were weak but I did manage to shoot two of the most important features: the immaculate and sparkly women’s restroom and the wonderful array of goodies available for take-out. Check it out yourself at http://www.cobaltdining.com/ — and save me a truffle, please.

Restaurants

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Sweet Magnolia Cafe Sweet Magnolia Cafe, a new restaurant in Seven Points in Florence, AlabamaFlorence, Alabama, has quickly become the place everybody’s going to. Owners Doug Johnson and Ken Shepski have created a stylish eatery that offers fresh and creative food (I could just dive into that salmon salad right now) combined with friendly and attentive service — always a winning approach no matter how scary the economic scene. The small inside space is somehow both cozy and chic Dessertsand nobody seems to mind the literal lack of elbow room — this is not the place to gossip unless you want all of Florence to hear about your cousin’s neighbor’s sister-in-law’s affair. You can also dine outside, on one of Seven BathroomsPoints’ actual seven points — one of the best sidewalk-cafe spots around, especially when you’re sipping an espresso and nibbling on Italian Creme Cake and thinking that next time you’re really going to have to try the Red Velvet Cake, too. And of course you know I can’t go into a restaurant without checking the bathroom — and Sweet Magnolia gets extra credit for extending its theme of efficient yet upscale design even into this all-important room. In fact, I would recreate the whole bathroom in our own house, although my husband, for some reason I still don’t understand, detests the sink-bowl trend and prefers the good ol’-fashioned white enamel sink with three-fixture chrome faucets. Oh, well. I think Sweet Magnolia’s stylish version might change even his mind. Seven Points in Florence  — a formerly bustling retail center with tons of history and ambiance — is one of those areas that people shake their heads about and say, “It’s such an interesting spot with so much potential. Somebody should go in and open up someplace really cool.” Well, now somebody has. Let’s hope for the best. Visit the Sweet Magnolia Cafe’s Web site at http://www.thesweetmagnoliacafe.com/.

Food

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I love food that comes in shapes — makes eating all that much more fun, you know? Yes, I know that marks me as holding on to my inner toddler. That’s why I’m so glad  I’ve got Captain Adorable, my 18-month-old grandson, around now so I’ve got an excuse toHalloween marshmallows Heart sandwiches  appreciate goodies such as these ghost-shaped marshmallow/graham cracker cookies and these heart-shaped peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. Actually, the cookies are from the dessert and bread chef at Crocodile Ed’s, a newly opened restaurant in Florence, Alabama, http://www.crocodileeds.com. She makes delicious breads, cakes, pies — and handmade marshmallow/graham cracker cookies — that she sells from the restaurant and at the Jack O’Lantern Farms market on Thursdays and Saturdays, http://www.jackolanternfarm.com/. Her Apple Ring (what I call an apple tart) is beyond marvelous, believe me. And the peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches? My daughter, Capt. Adorable’s mother, made them for lunch for me and the Captain one day. I did share!

Food

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Chocolate Pots de CremeI don’t know which I liked better — this gorgeously rich and smooth chocolate pots de creme or the adorable little china “pots” it came in. This was dessert at a recent cooking class I took in Decatur, Alabama. Cookbook author and former restaurant owner Betty Sims teaches classes in her home each fall. This year she led off with “Celebrating Julia,” a menu based on Julia Child recipes. Betty has stayed at Cooking With Friends in France, http://www.cookingwithfriends.com/, a culinary program in Child’s former Provence chateau, and she has some great stories and photos. And great recipes, like this one for Chocolate Pots de Creme.

Chocolate Pots de Creme

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Warm 2 cups heavy cream, two cups half-and-half and 4 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips in a 2-quart Pyrex cup in microwave for 2 minutes on high. Whisk and microwave 2 minutes more until steam rises and chocolate is melted.

Whisk 6 egg yolks, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and pinch of salt together in a bowl. Add warm chocolate mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and strain into a measuring cup with a pouring spout (to get rid of  lumps). Spoon off any foam. Divide mixture among six 3-ounce pot de creme molds or oven-safe ramekins. Cover each mold tightly with a lid or foil (although Betty didn’t do this and said it wasn’t necessary). Arrange molds in a baking dish, being careful not to let molds touch each or sides of dish (again, Betty didn’t do this and said it wasn’t necessary). Transfer dish to oven and add hot water to reach about halfway up outsides of molds.

Bake 35 minutes, then check for doneness. Custard should be just set but still quiver like gelatin. If necessary, bake another 3-5 minutes. When custards are set, remove from water bath and cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. Chill until completely cold, preferably overnight. Garnish with whipped cream.

Valentine’s Day

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valentines-day-0161It was Valentine’s elegance when my friend Susan hosted valentines-day-018cooking club. She and her daughter-in-law are the most creative people I know. They excel in using simple everyday items in innovative ways. Like these table decorations. Mixed in with the shiny heart garlands are vintage costume jewelry and clear goblets filled with water and topped with upside-down silver Christmas-tree balls for some metallic reflection.They then tied everything together with valentines-day-020red and white linens. And see those white cards on the table? Those were our place cards. Susan had written “What I love about you …” descriptions for each of us. We had to read them all and guess which one went to which person. Fun, fun, fun! Valentine’s touches were valentines-day-025everywhere, like the red ribbon Susan tied around the cake stand to highlight the heart-topped petit fours. Now, I know that up North petit fours are what y’all call those little torte-like cakes, but here in the South (well, at least my part of it), petit fours are tiny two-bite-sized cupcakes with melt-in-your-mouth icing decorated with colors and themes of your choice. The best come from Victorian Tea Room in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. No occasion around here is complete unless there are Victorian Tea Room petit fours. Visit http://www.victoriantearoomcatering.com, tell them Cathy sent you and you valentines-day-030valentines-day-0191might talk them into shipping you some. Susan even gave us extras in the Valentine’s candy boxes she gave us that also has miniature fudgy brownies and heart-shaped mini pink chocolate-chip cookies. Almost too pretty to eat. Almost. She got the boxes at our local big-box arts and crafts store, but almost everything else was what she had on hand. We were all impressed and felt special and pampered. We also immediately assured our newest member most of our cooking-club meetings are not like this. In fact, when it’s at my house everyone’s just happy I remember to vacuum up the cat hair. But we’re glad we’ve got people like Susan to show us how it should be done.

Valentine’s Day

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chocolate-rose-0011Making chocolate roses is a simple yet impressive Valentine’s Day chocolate-rose-0031project that I promise you can do. Because I did it, and believe me, that’s saying something. Chef and caterer Emily Kelley, of Florence, Alabama, demonstrated this recently for local American Association of University Women members. To make the dough, add 1/3 cup clear corn syrup to 10 ounces melted semi-sweet chocolate. Stir until doughy. On wax paper, flatten into circle and let harden between wax-paper sheets. To make roses, peel away wax paper and cut circle into triangles. Use one triangle for one rose. Pull pieces of dough from triangle and roll into balls. Using your hands, flatten balls into thin circles. For center stem of rose, roll one circle jelly-roll style. For rose petals, fold and shape chocolate circles around stem. Make these whenever you want, store at room temperature and use them to decorate your fabulous Valentine’s dessert. Or they can be your fabulous Valentine’s dessert — they’re completely edible and taste sort of like Tootsie Rolls. White chocolate and peanut-butter flavored baking morsels would also work, although Emily was unsure about corn-syrup ratios with those ingredients.

12 Days of Christmas Countdown

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graham-crackers-0041It’s a week until Christmas Eve and Day No. 9  in Cathy’s 12 Days Before graham-crackers-008Christmas Countdown (seemingly mathematically impossible, but true nevertheless). To celebrate, how about a quick and easy recipe perfect for family entertaining or gift giving? It’s my family’s favorite, Graham Cracker Cookies. My mom first got us hooked on these, and now it’s not Christmas without them. Inexpensive, fun, quick, simple and satisfyingly too-rich-for-everyday, set these out for the kids when everybody gathers at your house — and watch the christmas-and-new-years-2006-07-0185adults sneak a couple, too. Stack a few with doilies or squares of parchment paper, wrap up in plastic wrap and tie with festive ribbon for gifts. Or fill a holiday tin for the really special folks on your list. Here’s how you make them: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and layer with graham crackers. Bring one cup brown sugar and one cup butter to a hard boil and pour mixture over crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for about five minutes and remove. Cookies will be hot and soft and then will harden somewhat but won’t be crisp. Check back tomorrow for No. 8 in the Christmas Countdown for something to give you a headstart on Christmas 2009.