Monday, May 15, 2006

Breakfast at Tiffany’s - May 2006

Diva: Tiffany

Drinks: Lovina
Champagne Lemon Granita

Best for a late afternoon brunch.

4 scoops lemon sorbet
2 oz. citrus vodka
2 oz. Champagne or sparkling wine
2 sprigs fresh mint

On low speed, blend sorbet pouring vodka steadily bit by bit. Add Champagne or sparkling wine. Serve in chilled glasses and garnish with mint.

Mariah
Poinsettias

One part Extra Dry Champagne
One Part Delicious Cranberry Juice

Appetizer: Erin
Fruit Dip

1 Jar Marshmallow Cream
8 oz cream cheese
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp grated orange rind

Beat with mixer

Use fresh pineapple, strawberries, mandarin oranges, apple, banana (may want to use lemon juice on apple and bananas)

Salad: Tamara
Strawberry-Belgian Endive Salad

2 large Belgian endives
2 c sliced strawberries
½ c sliced kiwifruit
¼ c paper-thin slices red onions
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tsp honey
1/8 tsp salt
pinch ground nutmeg

Slice the endives, widthwise, into ¼-inch thick semicircles. Toss in a large bowl with the strawberries, kiwi and red onion.

In a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice, oil, honey salt and nutmeg. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

Soup: Michelle
Peach Yogurt Soup

2 16-oz containers of plain Brown Cow yogurt
½ c honey
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1 qt jar canned peaches

Mix all the ingredients together

Side Dish: Sara
Breakfast Potatoes with Rosemary and Mushrooms

6 large red potatoes, diced
8 large button mushrooms, quartered
5 cloves garlic, minced
¼ white onion
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
¼ c balsamic vinegar
¼ c vegetable oil
2 T butter
salt and pepper to taste

Soak rosemary and garlic in balsamic vinegar for 20 minutes to infuse flavors.
Heat oil in large frying pan or wok. (I used my new birthday wok!!)
Add onions until cooked.
Slowly add potatoes stirring frequently.
In another pan, sauté mushrooms in butter, when cooked, add to potato mixture
I wanted my dish to have some crisp so I popped it in the broiler for a few minutes and flipped them a couple of times before serving.

Entree: Stacey
Quiche Lorraine

1 single-crust pie pastry
6 slices of bacon
1 medium onion, sliced
3 beaten eggs
1 ½ c milk
¼ tsp salt
dash nutmeg
1 ½ c shredded Swiss cheese
1 T flour

Line unpricked pastry shell with a double-layer of foil. Bake at 450 for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake 4 minutes. Remove from oven and lower temp to 325. Cook bacon in skillet till crisp. Reserve 2 T drippings, crumble bacon and set aside. Cook onion in reserved drippings till tender, not brown. In a small bowl stir together eggs and spices. Add bacon and onion. Toss cheese with flour, then add to egg mixture. Pour egg mixture into pastry shell. Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Dessert: Nicole
Fruit Tartlettes

Crust:
1 ¼ c all-purpose flour
¼ c sugar
½ c cold butter
2 beaten egg yolks
1 T chilled water

In a food processor, place the steel blade in the work bowl. Add flour, sugar, and butter. Process with on/off turns till pieces are the size of small peas. Stir together egg yolks and water. With machine running, quickly add liquid through the feed tube. Stop machine as soon as all liquid is added. Process with 2 more on/off turns. Remove dough and shape into a ball.
For easier handling, cover dough with plastic wrap and chill for 30-60 minutes.

Divide the dough into 12 equal balls. Roll each ball into a 4-inch circle to line the cups of a muffin pan. Bake them for about 12 minutes.

Filling:
1 (1.3 ounce) envelope whipped topping mix
½ c cold milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
½ c confectioners' sugar
Assorted fruit

In a small mixing bowl, beat the topping mix, milk and vanilla on low speed until blended. Beat on high until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped topping mixture. Spoon into tart shells; top with fruit. Refrigerate leftovers.

WildCard: Ashley
Tiffany boxes (pound cake with hazelnut filling and fondant)

Pound Cake:
2 c sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 c granulated sugar
1 T grated orange zest
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs, at room temperature 30 minutes
½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325°F with rack in middle. Butter an 8 ½- by 4 ½-inch loaf pan. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix together sugar and zests with an electric mixer at low speed until sugar is evenly colored, then add butter and beat at high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs 1 at a time at medium speed, scraping down side of bowl frequently, then beat vanilla. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just incorporated. Spread batter in loaf pan and rap pan several times on counter to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 1 to 1 ¼ hours. Cool in pan on a rack 30 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan and invert cake onto rack. Cool completely, top side up.

Chocolate Hazelnut filling is Nutella.
Cut pound cake into squares the size of the desired box. Use two squares per box. Spread Nutella in between pound cake squares. Coat entire cake lightly with Nutella. Cover cake with blue fondant. Make bows with white fondant.

Lottery: Mariah