As if you wild and crazy kids need reason to celebrate.
::cue Mary Wells::
You are invited
to celebrate the marriage of
our very own tvb
to
the lovely and talented Mrs. tvb
Chez What's for Dinner?
and
::cue bagpipes::
What's for Dinner?
celebrates
its first anniversary
next week
BYOB
And so, tonight, we bring you A Very Special What's For Dinner? because tonight, we're planning celebrations for these two very special events.
So bring your best ideas --- and don’t forget housewarming presents for tvb's and The Mrs.' new home.
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The Fantasy
In a perfect world, I would host a casual, late summer, late afternoon party for the tvbs. I would live in a place where fresh seafood was safe and plentiful, and I would whip up a big pot of cioppino, a la Little Joe's.
I would begin a day before by buying mussels and scallops and some white fish and calamari and maybe some shrimp --- well, maybe not --- and whatever else looked good. Then, early in the morning on the day of the celebration, I would start the stock, using a recipe similar to this one from Epicurious, but sans vinegar and with more garlic and maybe hot peppers from the back porch and maybe, just maybe, fresh tomatoes instead of canned, and basil, parsley, thyme and oregano from the garden.
I’d stack big bowls, spoons, bread (including wheatfree) and fresh fruit on a side table, and finish it off with fruit tarts in almond crusts. Were it June, I'd pick my own raspberries and strawberries for the tarts, slicing the strawberries and leaving the raspberries whole. But given it's July and our crops got blitzed by the late freeze, I'll use Texas blueberries.
And AAF would supply us with wines and aperitifs, and I'd have plenty of room for sleepovers and lots of bacon to go with the eggs from chickens I am personally acquainted with for late night munchies (did I mention I hope someone brings some illegal herb?) and maybe breakfast the next morning.
The Reality
Alas, my home is the size of a breadbox and my backyard, ill suited for festivities even when the chickens have come by to sit in my trees. Worse, in this part of the world, the only seafood to be found is Moonie or scary stuff from China. Excluding the crawfish from the little pond up on the hill.
So we have to make do with what we have, which isn't bad. I can get lots of good eggs and goat cheese, and the watermelon is coming in and there's a bumper crop of potatoes and fennel --- and ...
The Passion Flower Have Exceeded All Expectations
And there are still lots of good blueberries, albeit from Texas, so maybe a passion fruit wedding cake and blueberry tarts.
Although the main course eludes me. Well. We'll worry about that later --- or maybe leave it to Kate or AAF or Crashing Vor. I'll definitely leave the wine to AAF.
At least for now, we have the start of a menu to celebrate the marriage of the tvb's.
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Watermelon lemonade
Blueberry tarts with lemon curd and almond crust
Passion flower cake
Okay, so it's all sweets. But it's a start, although lacking the, um, heft of a hog fry or barbeque.
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First things first
Let's begin with the tarts. Fruit tarts may be ubiquitous these days, but they're still lovely and yummy and the second best thing to a live-in cook because they're so easy --- as long as you have a tart tin with removable bottom. Otherwise, they're doable but a pain because they’re so hard to get out of the pan. If you don’t have tart tins, consider making pies or fruit salads or one of those trendy granitas instead. Or better: cobbler. Unless it's strawberries, in which case I'd just find me some really good cream and serve them either with whipped cream or ice cream (homemade, hopefully vanilla).
But let's get back to the tart. Begin with the fruit: Wash and drain the fruit, slice it, if need be (not a bad idea for strawberries) and toss in a large bowl with some sugar. Put in refrigerator to chill. Do this the day before.
If you're mixing fruits on the tart, keep them in separate bowls.
Then the lemon curd. You want something light because it is summer, after all. I usually like vanilla because it’s a more innocuous taste and allows the fruit to stand on its own, which is important if you've got spectacular fruit. But a lemon filling is good for summer, and lemon curd, the best of all.
Of course, if you can get good ricotta, you might want to consider using it. There’s really no better complement for fruit than ricotta, except blue or goat cheese.
Lemon curd
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
4 egg yolks
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
- Put sugar and lemon juice in saucepan over medium heat and stir until well blended;
- Using a whisk, stir in yolks and butter; be quick and gingerly about it!;
- Continue stirring over heat until the mixture thickens --- this will take anywhere from 5-10 minutes, depending on the humidity and the alignment of the planets;
- When the mixture is thick and smooth, remove from heat and stir in the lemon peel;
- Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap so the curd doesn't form a skin;
- Put in refrigerator til you assemble the tart.
Next, the crust:
Almond crust
This is enough for one 9" tart tin.
1 cup almond meal
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cold butter
1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
Egg white wash (a little egg white whupped with water or milk)
- Using a pastry blender or food processor, cut all ingredients together until dough clumps together;
- Chill until firm;
- Roll out dough and press into tart tin; chill again;
- Preheat oven to 325;
- Prick crust and brush with egg white wash (this helps keep your crust from getting soggy after it’s filled);
- Cook for 10-15 minutes in preheated oven, watching to make sure the edges don’t burn.
- Let cool, then refrigerate until it's time to assemble the tart.
You can roll out the dough however you like. Be careful about using flours of any sort, however, because the dough will absorb it. I prefer using two pieces of wax paper; I put one under the dough ball and the other on top. I then whop the dough ball with the roller, and the process begins.
As for the glaze, easy!
Just before assembly, pull fruit out of the fridge and drain the juices. Put back in refrigerator. Then put the juices in a sauce pan with some Framboise or Cointreau, and reduce until syrupy. Adjust for flavor, if need be --- you may or may not need to add more sugar.
To assemble, begin with the lemon curd. It should be cold and firm. Spoon it into the crust, bearing in mind that the goal isn't to make this a lemon curd tart with fruit, but a fruit tart with lemon curd. Then arrange the DRAINED fruit on top. Then brush it with glaze. Then decorate with whatever --- fresh mint or curls from lemon or orange rinds --- even a passion flower in the middle, which would be especially nice on a blueberry tart.
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Now, what to drink
If, like me, you can walk out back to your very own watermelon patch, you're pretty well set, unless you get invaded by hungry varmits in the days preceding the party.
Otherwise, you'll have to dig through the offerings at the grocery or farmer's market or off the back of someone's truck. The trick is picking a good watermelon. For homegrown, look for "stuff" on the rind. That's sugar and tells you the watermelon's sweet.
For everyone, homegrown or not, make sure there are no cuts, dents or bruises on the melon. Pick it up and see how much it weighs in proportion to its size --- the heavier, the better. Look for a lighter area on the belly that is yellow or creamy, but not white, and light green between the stripes --- these are good signs of a ripe melon. Avoid melons with pointy ends, choosing instead those with a nice rounded shape and blunt ends.
There are all kinds of ways to deseed a watermelon. I begin with a large strainer set on a large bowl. I cut a V into the top of the melon and scoop the seedy heart into the colander to drain. Then, I transfer the chunks to a large plate with high edges (gotta save that juice) and scrape off the seeds with a spoon or fork. Once that's done, I put the watermelon pieces in with the strained juices.
Now you're ready to make Watermelon Lemonade. Bear in mind, one melon will yield varying amounts of meat and juice, so buy accordingly.
Watermelon Lemonade
Adjust measurements proportionally
6 cups watermelon meat and juices
1/4 cup raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
Water, as needed
- Blend watermelon and raspberries together until smooth, then strain;
- Add sugar and lemon juice, and stir;
- Taste and add water, if needed.
This will make enough for about 5-6 drinks. So, for a party of, say, twenty people, you'll want to make at least 5 times the recipe, meaning you'll need at least 30 cups of watermelon, 1 1/4 cup raspberries, 1 2/3 cup sugar and 2 1/2 cups lemon juice.
I would make even more, however.
And be sure to freeze some of it by spreading in a large baking pan. Then, when you pour this lovely brew into the punch bowl or whatever, scoop out the frozen lemonade and add.
This benefits from a little Cointreau, by the way. Not too much --- just a touch. Or vodka.
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Passion flower cake brainstorming session
The crowning glory of the evening will take some work. This is, after all, my first time ever cooking with passion fruit.
More important, it's in honor of our very own tvb and her new bride, the lovely and talented Mrs. tvb.
What I envision: something light (remember, it's hot and swampy here) and simple, yet lovely. Something for which a few passion flowers and maybe a line or two of icing are perfect decoration.
Something like .... a white cake with passion fruit filling and a ganache-like icing but no chocolate. You know - some kind of whitish or cream colored icing that has the consistency of a ganache but isn't chocolate but is instead a very light flavor, like maybe lemony. I'm hesistant to do a buttercream icing because I think the cake should be lighter than that.
So ... ideas? What would be the perfect passion fruit wedding cake for the tvb's? Unfortunately for the most exciting part of the diary, I'm sleep deprived so completely unable to conjure up any ideas. What do you think?
And what the heck should we have for the main course??