1. Monday, December 12, 2016 D69
Don’t wait for holidays to try cranberry desserts
FOOD
TIP OF THE WEEK
By Charlene Peters
More Content Now
W
henIwasalittlegirl,
everyyearatHalloweenI
wouldadornmybrunette
hairwithatiaramymotherwore
atherhighschoolprominthe50s.
Later,whenmysontradedinhis
SkeeBallticketstogiftmeaplastic,
multi-coloredjeweledtiaraformy
birthday,thattiaralustreturned.
Tenyearslater,Ire-marriedandworeatiara
coveredinrowsofcubiczirconia.
Sixyearslater,livinginParisandabout
tocelebrateanotherbirthday,Iheadedto
Monacofortheweekendtocelebratewithmy
friendandbirthdaytwinAlexa.Itwasalovely
trainridealongtheFrenchMediterranean
coastlinetothetiny,independentcity-state.
ItwashereattheHermitageMonte-Carlo,
aBelle-Epochjewel,whereIwasonceagain
inspiredtotakeontheroleofaprincess,sans
tiaraandtitle.Thetitle,ofcourse,belonged
toroyalty,butIwastheonestayinginoneof
CondeNastTravelermagazine’stop10hotels
inFrance.
Assoonaswecheckedin,myinvisibletiara
wassetinplaceasIpulledopentheshuttersto
apanoramicviewoftheMediterraneananda
largermarinadottedwithyachts.
Reluctantly,AlexaandIdepartedour
palatialquarterstocontinueourprincess
fantasywithdinneratElsarestaurantatMonte
CarloBeachHotel.ChefPaoloSariserves
100-percentorganicfoodthathasgained
ElsaaMichelinstar.Eachtastingplatewasa
masterpieceadornedwithedibleflowers.To
breaktheillusionseemeddisrespectful,but
weeventuallydisruptedtheartisticplatesto
devourtheculinarymagic.
Thenextday,ChefMarcelRavincreated
aMichelin-starredgastronomicexperi-
enceduringourbirthdaydinneratBlueBay
Restaurant.Allprincessesbegindinnerwith
Champagne;wewerenoexception.The
5-courseEscapademenuontheterracebegan
withbubblyandaplateofmangoandpassion-
fruitsoakedinvodkaandvanillasyrup.Italian
Vermentinowinespairedwellwithgreen
papayaspaghetti,servedcarbonara-style.My
palateescalatedtoelitestatuswiththetaste
ofwhitetruffleslicesfromAlba,Parmesan
cheesewithJubugoham,seabassservedina
sweetpotandJohnDoryfish.
Ididn’tneedatiaratofeellikeMonaco’s
PrincessCharlene,becauseeverywhereI
turnedIwastreatedlikeroyalty.
—Inaquesttosateherthirstfortheexotic,
CharlenePetershasbecomeapassionateworld
travelerandsensorialscholar.In2014,she
tradedhernorthofBostonhomeandcareerat
GateHouseMediatoliveayearinParis,where
shestudiedfood,cultureandcommunication
andwasthePariscorrespondentforForbes
TravelGuide.FromParis,shere-locatedto
NapaValleyandisthrilledtorevivehersyn-
dicatedTasteofTravelcolumntosharenew
insightsintotaste.
Bring balance
to family dinners
A delicious and nutri-
tious dinner seems like
the last thing on every-
one’s mind during busy
weeks throughout the
year. Registered dietitian
and cookbook author
Carolyn O’Neil offers a
few quick, simple tips:
Follow guidelines. Ameri-
cans are only meeting
the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s MyPlate
recommendations for
vegetables, fruit, proteins,
dairy and grains seven
days out of the year.
By pairing frozen meals
and pizzas with fruits,
vegetables, whole grains
and low-fat dairy, you can
build a family meal that
meets the Dietary Guide-
lines for Americans.
Start with sides. When
meal-planning, don’t
forget to think about how
you’ll round out your meal
with vegetables, fruits,
grains and low-fat dairy
for a balanced diet.
— Family Features/
Stouffer’s
Sweet Pea
Hummus
• 2 packages (9 ounces each)
frozen sweet peas, thawed
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin
olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon
juice
• 1/16 teaspoon table salt
• Freshly ground black
pepper, to taste
• 1 cucumber, sliced into 1/4-
inch rounds
Place peas and garlic
in food processor; with
processor running, pour
oil through food chute in
slow, steady stream, pro-
cessing until smooth.
Stir in lemon juice and
salt; season with freshly
ground black pepper, to
taste. Cover and chill 2
hours.
Serve with cucumber
slices.
— Family Features/
Stouffer’s
4 to 6: A green bean pod
contains 4 to 6 beans.
“The Spice Companion: A
Guide to the World of Spices”
by Lior Lev Sercarz
Since
founding
his spice
shop in
2006, Lior
Lev Ser-
carz has
become the go-to source
for fresh and unusual
spices as well as small-
batch custom blends for
renowned chefs around
the world. For each of the
102 curated spices in “The
Spice Companion,” Ser-
carz provides the history
and origin, information
on where to buy and how
to store it, five traditional
cuisine pairings, three
quick suggestions for use
and a unique spice blend
recipe to highlight it in the
kitchen.
— Clarkson Potter
C
ranberries are not
indigenous to our
area of the country,
so for many years we had
to wait until the holiday
season to get fresh ones.
When fresh cranberries
are available, I usually buy
several bags and freeze
them for use during other
times of the year. This
was useful when I wanted
cranberries in some of my
new recipes that we used
in cooking classes.
Of course, dried sweet-
ened cranberries then
entered the culinary
picture. These are good
and can be substituted for
raisins in most recipes, but
during the holidays, I still
prefer fresh cranberries.
Two of my favorite
desserts with fresh cran-
berries are the following
Cranberry Nut Cobbler
and Cranberry Pecan Pie.
When I took the cobbler to
a church dinner, every-
body thought it was cherry
cobbler. I must admit that
it looks like it is made with
dark cherries, and it actu-
ally taste a little like cherry
cobbler.
Pineapple is a good
flavor partner with cran-
berries, so you might want
to substitute pineapple ice
cream topping for the light
corn syrup in the pecan
pie. If so, omit the orange
peel.
Cranberry Nut Cobbler
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
• 2 cups water
• 1 (12 oz.) bag fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or nuts
of choice)
• 1/4 cup butter
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Combine 1 cup sugar, the
water and cranberries in
large saucepan. Bring to a
boil. Reduce heat to low and
cook for about 3 minutes
until berries are popping.
They will be soft, but not
mushy. Remove from heat
and stir in the remaining 1/2
cup sugar and nuts. Melt
butter in a 3-quart baking
dish. Pour cranberry mixture
into dish. Pour the batter for
the crust over the cranberry
filling.
Bake for 30 to 35 min-
utes, or until crust is golden
brown.
Orange Pourable Crust:
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup self-rising flour (see
note below for using all-purpose
flour)
• 2/3 cup orange juice
Combine all ingredients
and beat until well mixed.
Pour over cranberry filling as
instructed above.
NOTE: If you don’t have
self-rising flour, add 1/2 tea-
spoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons
baking powder to 1 cup all-
purpose flour.
Cranberry Pecan Pie
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 2/3 cup firmly-packed light
brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh
orange peel
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh
cranberries
• 1 unbaked 9 inch pie crust
• 1 cup pecan halves
Preheat oven to 325 F. In
large bowl, beat the eggs
with a fork just until blended.
Stir in corn syrup, brown
sugar, melted butter and
orange peel. Sprinkle cran-
berries in the crust. Arrange
pecan halves on top of cran-
berries. Pour syrup mixture
carefully over pecans. Bake
50 to 55 minutes or until
filling is set. If edges of crust
browns too quickly, cover
edges with a strip of foil to
prevent further browning.
— Prudence Hilburn of
Piedmont, Alabama, has
won more than 30 national
cooking awards and writ-
ten several cookbooks.
Write her at prudencehil-
burn@aol.com.
PRUDENCE HILBURN
ANSWER:B.Iceberg
What is the most popular
variety of lettuce?
FOOD QUIZ
A. Romaine
B. Iceberg
C. Leaf
D. Butterhead-
Boston
EASY RECIPE
THE DISH ON…
NUMBER TO KNOW
FAMILY FEATURES
Monte Carlo
TASTE OF TRAVEL
Left: Breakfast inside Hotel Hermitage,
under the dome designed by none other
than Gustave Eiffel. CHARLENE PETERS PHOTO
Below: Fillet of sole lacquered with citrus,
sweet potatoes and cabbage prepared by
Chef Marcel Ravin, Le Blue Bay in Monaco.
BLUE BAY RESTAURANT COURTESY PHOTO
Fillet of Sole
Serves 4
• 1 1/2 pounds sole, filleted
• 1/2 pound white fish
• 1 cup cream
• 1/3 cup egg whites
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
1. Remove the skin from the
sole.
2. Make a thin stuffing by
mixing the white fish, cream,
egg whites, salt, pepper and
nutmeg.
3. Spread the stuffing on the
fillets. Roll the fillets in alu-
minum foil and cook for 20
minutes at 140 degrees F.
Sauce with
Citrus Fruits
• 2 cups of sole heads
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 6 shallots
• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks of celery
• 10 peppercorn seeds
• 6 1/3 cups veal stock
Reduction:
• 1 2/3 cups juiced pomelos (or
grapefruit)
• 1 2/3 cups orange juice
• 1 2/3 cups carrot juice
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
1. Brown the sole bones then
add herbs.
2. Deglaze with reduced
juices then add veal stock.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Strain with a cheesecloth
and keep warm.
3. Garnish with baked sweet
potatoes cooked in orange
juice and butter, then puree.
4. Use 1 cup of boiled, salted
cabbage and garlic cloves for
dressing the plate.
Fillet of Sole in
Elsa restaurant
gives columnist the
Princess treatment