Any Time Fruit Crisp

You can make this with virtually any fresh fruit(s) in season or ones you've frozen at their peak from the garden or farmers market for a nice summer-like dessert in the dead of winter. I like to use berries (with rubarb) but the original recipe calls for plums. Peaches would be fabulous, too. This recipe makes Plenty of topping so I don't use it all and store the extra in the 'fridge 'til I want a quick easy dessert. It's nice to put the fruit in individual bowls and sprinkle with the leftover topping. If you don't have créme de cassis liqueur just add a little water to the fruit or another liqueur. I've taken to always having a little sealed container of the topping ready at a moments notice to sprinkle on some berries from the freezer.

3 pounds Italian prune plums, quartered (or other fruit)
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar (I use way less as I like to taste the fruit, not the sugar)
1/4 cup flour
6 Tbsp créme de cassis liqueur (or maybe Grand Marnier with berries)

For the topping (I use about 1/2 this much):
1/1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/4 c light brown sugar (lightly packed)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Vanilla Ice Cream

Preheat oven to 375°

For the fruit, in a large bowl, combine plums, brown sugar, flour and liqueur. Pour mixture into 12x8" shallow dish (au gratin) or individual serving oven-proof bowls.

For the topping, combine flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, walnuts and butter in the bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle. Mix on low speed until mixture is crumbly and butter is size of peas. Scatter evenly over fruit. (you can also use a pastry cutter to mix butter into dry ingredients)

Bake for 40-45 minutes (less in small dishes) until bubbly and top is browned. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream. Anything left over is a great breakfast treat, with a little milk or 1/2 & 1/2.

Credit to Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Tuscan Lemon Chicken

Serves 3-4

1 (3 1/2#) chicken, flattened
kosher salt
1/3 c good olive oil
2t grated lemon zest
1/3 c lemon juice
1T. minced garlic
1T. minced rosemary
pepper
1 lemon, halved

Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt on each side.
Combine the olive oil, zest, lemon juice, garlic and rosemary and 1t pepper in a dish just large enough to hold the flattened chicken (or use a ziplock bag). Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, turning once or twice.

Prepare a hot charcoal fire on one side of a grill (or turn gas grill to low heat). Spread 1/4 of the coals across the other side of the grill. Place the chicken on the cooler side, skin side up, and weight it down with the dish. Cook for 12-15 minutes, until the underside is golden brown. Turn the chicken skin side down, weight it down and cook for another 12-15, until the skin is golden and the chicken is cooked through. Place the lemon halves on the cool side of the grill, cut side down for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove chicken and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into quarters, sprinkle with salt and serve with the grilled lemon halves (squeeze over chicken).

To flatten chicken: stand the chicken upright and cut out the backbone with a large kitchen knife. Spread the chicken open on a board with the skin side down. Cut around and remove the breatbone with a boning knife.

I highly recommend using the leftover marinade as a sauce by heating it to low boil and simmering for 5 minutes.

From Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, Ina Garten

Charlie Hoerner's Famous Kauai Mango Margaritas

6 oz Gold Tequila
2 oz orange-flavored liqueur - Grand Marnier, Cointreau, Triple Sec
2-3 Tbsp Coconut Cream (not Coconut Milk) - usually found in a can in the drink or Asian Food section
Frozen Mango Chunks - about 3+ cups
Margarita Mix - Kirkland brand has cane sugar (not high fructose corn syrup.)
Salt for rim - optional
fruit garnish or little umbrellas

A full blender makes four drinks depending on the size of your glasses.

Add a handful of ice cubes to the blender and run on ice crusher mode.

In a cup measure pour six oz Tequila and two oz Grand Marnier, Cointreau or Triple Sec.

Add to blender and blend at medium. Since I usually keep my ingredients in the freezer, the ice is optional.

Add 2-3 Tbsp Coconut Cream while blending with ice.

Add two cups of frozen mango chunks and blend on high.

As mangoes are broken up and thicken in blender add margarita mix to keep contents flowing in a whirlpool.

Add more mango chunks and/or margarita mix to get the right consistency and fill the blender.

Salt rim of glass, if desired, and add garnish of lime wedge, drink umbrella, straw...

Pour, salute the tropics, and enjoy!

Swedish Toast Skagen

4 servings
4 slices of white bread
320 g (11 oz) peeled shrimps (prawns)
4 tbs mayonnaise
1 tbs Dijon mustard
150 g (5 oz) whitefish roe
50 g (2 oz) fresh dill
1 lemon
butter

Preparation

Cut off the crusts of the bread slices. Sauté the bread golden brown on both sides in a little butter. Place on paper towels. If the shrimps are large, cut them into smaller pieces. Save four sprigs of dill for garnishes. Finely chop the rest of the dill and mix with the shrimps, mayonnaise and mustard. Apportion the mixture on the slices of sautéed bread. Shape the whitefish roe like eggs and place on top of each toast. Garnish each with a sprig of dill and serve with a slice of lemon.

Hope served this recipe as an appetizer by dividing the shrimp mixture between a platter of small baguette slices that had been sauteéd, 2-3 bites each. She started with 2 cups of shrimp.

My good friend, Hope, who came across the country with her husband in a school bus in the '60s to settle in Berkley and who is an amazing potter, working mostly in porcelain, brought these to book group, where they got raves and yummms from everyone.