PomTea Spritzer
From Extra Tasty
1 part Vodka
A splash of Raspberry liqueur
2 parts Pomegranate Juice
1 part Sparkling water
1 part Iced tea
A splash of Honey
- Mix to taste: In a pitcher combine one bottle of Pomegranate Juice (recommended: blueberry, for extra antioxidants) with a generous amount of decent vodka, a quick splash of Chambord, about a cup of Iced Tea, and sweeten with a good squeeze of honey.
- Stir until the honey is dissolved and dump in the seltzer water, enough to be fizzy but not watered down. Enjoy!
Green Tea Martini
From That's The Spirit
Ice
1 ounce green tea, chilled
2 ounces citron vodka
1 teaspoon Cointreau
1 teaspoon simple syrup
Orange twist
- Fill a shaker with ice. Add green tea, vodka, Cointreau and simple syrup.
- Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.
- Garnish with an orange twist.
Makes 1 cocktail.
Almond-Orange Shortbread
From Everyday Food magazine
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
Grated zest of 1 orange, (about 2 teaspoons)
3/4 cup sliced almonds
- Make the dough: In a mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar, almond extract, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low speed, add flour and orange zest; mix just until a dough forms.With a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or your hands, gently mix in almonds.
- Freeze the dough: On a piece of waxed paper, form dough into a rectangular log, 12 inches long, 2 1/2 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. Wrap log in the paper, and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 months. If freezing longer than 1 day, wrap log again, in plastic wrap.
- Bake the shortbread: Preheat oven to 325 degrees; remove dough from freezer. (If dough has been in freezer a long time and is frozen solid, let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes so it slices without crumbling.)
- With a sharp knife, cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheet at least 1 inch apart.
- Bake until edges just begin to turn golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet; transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.
Makes 40 cookies.
Petit Pains Au Chocolat
From Epicurious
2 sheets frozen puff pastry (one 17.3-ounce package), thawed, each sheet cut into 12 squares
1 large egg beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon water (for glaze)
4 3.5-ounce bars imported bittersweet or milk chocolate, each cut into six 2x3/4-inch pieces
Sugar
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Brush top of each puff pastry square with egg glaze.
- Place 1 chocolate piece on edge of 1 pastry square. Roll up dough tightly, enclosing chocolate. Repeat with remaining pastry and chocolate.
- Place pastry rolls on baking sheet, seam side down. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover pastries with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Cover and refrigerate remaining egg glaze.)
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Brush tops of pastry rolls with remaining egg glaze. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake until pastries are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 24.
Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
From Ina Garten
Herb butter:
2 1/2 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic
5 tablespoons minced scallions (white and green parts)
5 tablespoons minced fresh dill
5 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
5 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Sandwiches:
5 loaves dense 7-grain or health bread, unsliced
40 slices smoked salmon
- For the herb butter: combine all the butter ingredients in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until mixed, but do not whip.
- For the sandwiches, have the store slice the bread lengthwise on a meat slicer into 1/4-inch-thick slices. (If that isn't possible, you can slice it crosswise with a very sharp knife.)
- Lay out 40 slices of bread and spread them all with a thin layer of herb butter.
- Place smoked salmon on 20 of the slices. Top with the other 20 slices of bread, butter side down.
- Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet and wrap with plastic.
- Refrigerate until the butter is very cold. Place the sandwiches on a cutting board.
- With a very sharp knife, cut off the crusts, cut each large sandwich in half crosswise, and then cut each half diagonally twice to make a total of 40 small triangles. (If the bread was cut crosswise, follow the assembly directions, then cut off the crusts and cut diagonally, twice, to make 20 small triangles.)
- Serve chilled.
Serves 50.
Smoked Turkey Tea Sandwiches With Arugula Mayonnaise
From Epicurious
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup (packed) coarsely chopped arugula leaves plus 30 whole arugula leaves (about 4 large bunches total)
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
12 thin slices firm white sandwich bread, crusts trimmed
10 ounces thinly sliced smoked turkey
- Mix mayonnaise, chopped arugula, shallot, parsley and lemon peel in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place bread slices on work surface. Spread mayonnaise mixture on each slice, dividing equally.
- Top 6 bread slices with turkey, dividing equally. Place 5 arugula leaves atop turkey on each.
- Top with remaining 6 bread slices, mayonnaise side down, pressing to adhere. Cut each sandwich diagonally into quarters.
Serves 6.
Mini Frittatas
From Martha Stewart
1 medium zucchini
4 to 6 white mushrooms
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
16 large eggs
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 easpoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1/2 cup finely grated Gruyère or fontina cheese
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
- Lightly spray two 24-mini-muffin tins with vegetable-oil spray.
- Slice zucchini into 1/8-inch rounds. Slice mushrooms lengthwise into 1/8-inch pieces. Core and seed red and yellow bell peppers. Chop into 1/8-inch dice, and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400°. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs, salt, pepper, and chives, and set aside. Arrange cut zucchini, mushrooms, and peppers in each muffin tin.
- Ladle egg mixture into each tin, just even with the rim, and sprinkle with cheese.
- Transfer to oven, and bake until frittatas are set, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve warm, or reheat briefly at 325°.
Makes 48.
Strawberry Scones
From Ina Garten
4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cold heavy cream
3/4 cup small-diced dried strawberries
1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 4 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in the cold butter at the lowest speed and mix until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.
- Combine the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add them to the flour and butter mixture. Combine until just blended.
- Toss the strawberries with 1 tablespoon of flour, add them to the dough, and mix quickly. The dough may be a bit sticky.
- Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and be sure it is well combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough.
- Cut into squares with a 4-inch plain or fluted cutter, and then cut them in half diagonally to make triangles. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Brush the tops with egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the outsides are crisp and the insides are fully baked.
Makes 14-16.
Cream Scones
From Joy Of Baking
2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (76 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream or milk
Glaze:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon cream or milk
Garnish:
Jam or Preserves
Clotted or Whipped Cream
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.
- In a small measuring cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick.
- Cut this circle into 8 triangular sections. Alternatively, you can cut the dough into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) cookie cutter.
- Make a glaze of one well-beaten egg with 1 tablespoon cream or milk. Brush the tops of the scones with this mixture. This helps to brown the tops of the scones during baking.
- Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and then turn your broiler on high. Sift confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar heavily over the tops of the scones and place them under the broiler. Broil for just a few seconds, turning the pan as necessary, until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown. Make sure to watch the scones carefully as the sugar will burn very quickly.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with Devon cream or softly whipped cream and your favorite jam.
Makes 8 triangular scones or 10 - 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) round scones.
Parmesan Chive Scones
From Apartment Therapy
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan
1/2 cup chives, chopped fine
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup cream
- Heat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Sift or mix the dry ingredients, including the Parmesan and chives.
- Chop the butter into small squares and work into the dry ingredients with your fingers until texture is like tiny peas or marbles. (Alternate method: put the dry ingredients and butter into a food processor and blend until well mixed. This has the benefit of keeping the butter cold.)
- Add the egg and cream and mix with your hands just until the dough barely holds together.
- Turn out onto a floured countertop and shape into a rough wheel. Again, handle the dough as little as possible; if it's lumpy and floury that's OK.
- Cut the wheel into small triangles and put on the baking sheet.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or lightly golden.
Makes 1 dozen.
Make ahead: these scones freeze very well.
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