test cook

(Remember Brocato’s?)

Ingredients

4 cups watermelon, cubed, seeded (or hulled strawberries) and drained
1/3 cups granulated sugar* (SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, granular, is a terrific substitute for low cal, heart healthy diets)
1/2 cups water
2 lemons, freshly squeezed juice
Optional: replace a teaspoon of water with a teaspoon of Chambord, other liqueur or a nice red wine.

Reserve a few cubes of watermelon, halved strawberries or fresh mint leaves for garnish.

Simple Syrup

1-1/2 cups of sugar* (SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, granular, is a terrific substitute for low cal, heart healthy diets)
1-1/2 cups water

Simmer in saucepan on medium heat stirring occasionally to scrape crystals from the side of the pan. Cook until all of the sugar is dissolved. Cool before use. Keep in covered refrigerator jar.

NOTE: For a fluffier ice, otherwise known as a sorbet when the egg whites are incorporated, whip two egg whites into meringue peaks. Halfway through the freezing process, fold into the mixture.

LEMON ICE

Makes one quart

1-1/2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 cups simple syrup (see recipe below)
optional: replace a teaspoon of lemon juice with a teaspoon of Champagne, vodka or nice white wine

Place the lemon juice, zest and simple syrup in the bowl of an ice cream freezer and churn for 20 to 25 minutes until frozen. Pack into covered container in freezer to harden.



LEMON ICE BOX PIE

(please test and report results, it is for the new book - New Orleans Classic Desserts)

Vanilla wafer crust:
44 vanilla wafers (one box makes about 2 crusts)
one fourth cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Process cookies in Cuisinart (or other means of crushing); add sugar and melted butter and blend well. Press into bottom and along sides of a pyrex pie baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes.


Filling:
2 cans Eagle Brand milk
4 eggs yolks
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice, approximately 6 medium lemons
2 rounded table spoons of grated zest (very fine - use your cheese grater, smallest size.)
Yellow food coloring (be careful not to overdo)

Combine Eagle milk with egg yolks and blend well. Slowly pour in lemon juice stirring constantly. Add tablespoon zest, reserving 1 teaspoon. Taste for sufficient lemon juice. Add two drops of yellow food coloring and mix well. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon lemon zest on bottom of pie crust. Pour lemon mixture into pie crust.

Meringue:
7 egg whites, at room temperature
Dash or about one eighth teaspoon cream of tarter
2 tablespoons sugar

With a handheld electric mixer, beat the egg whites in a perfectly clean bowl. When the whites start to become foamy and start to form soft peaks. Begin adding sugar slowly and then the cream of tartar. Beat until fairly stiff peaks form and the whites are glossy but not beginning to separate Mound on top of filling forming decorative swirls and spreading meringue to overlap edges of piecrust slightly (meringue shrinks during baking.) Bake in 350 degree oven until slightly brown--about 12-15 minutes.

Chill until set – about 1-1/2 hours.

NOTE: Ginny Warren in Wyoming, our test cook extraordinaire who pounded through much of Arnaud's Restaurant Cookbook cooked this off a few days ago and calls it a hit and brought back memories of local meals past. She used additional egg whites for the meringue, to make it higher and higher! I like that idea, too, so I added them to the recipe.

Refrigerate extra egg yolks in a covered container for homemade mayonnaise or hollandaise sauce. Once you've tried it, you'll be a convert.

BLENDER HOLLANDAISE

Yield: 3/4 cup

If mastering the classic preparation is too much to contemplate, we offer this alternative that is foolproof and quite tasty.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
Dash of ground white pepper
Over medium heat in a small saucepan, heat the butter until it melts. Remove from the heat and immediately place the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and pepper in the blender. Cover and blend at medium speed for about 5 seconds.
Reduce the blender speed to low and slowly add the hot melted butter through the opening in the cover. When all the butter has been incorporated, switch to high speed for 30 seconds. Serve immediately or hold in the top of a double-boiler over hot, but not boiling, water for up to 45 minutes.

HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE

Yield: 1-1/2 cups

2 egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard
1/8 teaspoon sugar
Pinch cayenne pepper
4 to 5 teaspoons lemon juice or white vinegar
1-1/2 cups olive or other salad oil
4 teaspoons hot water
Optional: 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon seasonings or fresh herbs to taste

Beat yolks, salt, mustard, sugar, pepper and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a small bowl until very thick and pale yellow.

(Note: If using electric mixer, beat at medium speed.) Add about 1/4 cup oil drop by drop, beating vigorously all the while. Beat in 1 teaspoon each lemon juice and hot water. Add another 1/4 cup oil, a few drops at a time, beating vigorously all the while. Beat in another teaspoon each lemon juice and water. Add 1/2 cup oil in a very fine steady stream, beating constantly, then mix in remaining lemon juice and water; slowly beat in remaining oil. If you like, thin with a little additional hot water. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Do not keep longer than 1 week.

Blender or Processor Mayonnaise

Place salt, mustard, sugar, pepper and and 3 teaspoons lemon juice in blender cup or work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade, and buzz 15 seconds (use low blender speed). Now, with motor running, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup oil (use moderately high blender speed). As mixture begins to thicken, continue adding oil in a fine steady stream, alternating with hot water and remaining lemon juice. Stop motor and scrape mixture down from sides of blender cup or work bowl as needed.


BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

2 16 oz. pkg. ground pork sausage
10-oz. grated sharp cheddar
8 oz. grated mozzarella
8 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles (mild)

Cook the sausage in a skillet, breaking it apart as it heats.

Stir eggs in a mixing bowl. Add the other ingredients. Save some cheese for topping.

Cover and chill for at least eight hours. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Slice into squares.






















BARBECUED SHRIMP

Serves four

Loaf of French bread or reasonable substitute.

Put oven on broil. Use middle rack.

2 pounds of extra jumbo shrimp - the bigger the better - heads on, shells
on. We had about 6 shrimp each -

1 pound butter
splash worchester sauce
several glugs of tabasco
huge amount of fresh (buy a new box) black pepper - about 1/2 cup - believe me
tablespoon garlic powder
juice of one lemon squeezed
teaspoon salt

Combine everything but the shrimp in a saucepan, melt butter and mix
together. When it is melted, and hot, add the shrimp and simmer for three
or four minutes until they begin turning pink but are still transparent.

Transfer to a flat pan, one that has about 2" sides, spread shrimp out one
layer - pour sauce from the saucepan over them.

Place under broiler, and watch very carefully. Put the French bread under
the shrimp pan, on the lower rack so it can warm while the shrimp is
cooking. After three or four minutes, when the tops begin browning and
getting crusty, remove pan and turn each shrimp over, using tongs. Return
to oven so that side browns. Stay on top of it - watching closely!

Serve immediately!

CRACKER SALAD

This is great to serve with seafood of any kind: fried, boiled, baked, broiled or raw. Also good with fried chicken—a great summer alternative to mashed potatoes. We love it as a cooler served with the barbecued shrimp. The sorbets above make a light dessert for a great meal of shrimp, cracker salad and sorbet.

Serves six:

1 sleeve of Saltine crackers

1 large (or two medium) tomatoes, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1 or 2 hard-boiled eggs

Optional (I add about 1/4 cup of crumbled blue cheese.)

Crush crackers. Mix all ingredients together and serve immediately.
If you use it the next day, add a few more crumbled crackers to restore the crunch.

ARNAUD'S RESTAURANT COOKBOOK

Along with the legion of people who contributed to this long-awaited book, I am also especially proud of it. Your may order an inscribed copy by going to http://www.arnauds.com or simply e-mail me directly kit@wohlco.com