| Plan your garden over a meal with the freshest spring flavors 04/04/2001 By Jane Jarrell / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News Spring's first flavors intoxicate. They are fresh, delicate and delicious. 
By Evans Caglage / DMN
The menu: Lemon Salmon Pasta, Tri-color Salad, Parmesan Rosemary Twists and a flavored butter.
|
And as the weather warms, planting and creating a beautiful garden, just like great food, requires a plan.
Start by inviting several gardening friends to lunch. Ask them to bring their favorite seed catalogs and garden magazines. Over a light lunch, plan the colors and types of flowers, vegetables and decorative foliage you want this season. Compare notes, share ideas, get motivated. Finish up with a trip to the nursery.
To help you, we provide suggestions for a spring planting party menu, planting party favors and more.
A lively table
Party favors: Purchase small white tin buckets or flowerpots. Glue flat-sided beads to each bucket, using colors that match the place settings. Fill the bucket with colorful seed packets, a small herb plant and small, clear jars filled with spices, topped with a cork. Tie your favorite vinaigrette recipe to the jar. Write each guest's name on a plant identification marker, insert one into each bucket and use as place cards. Finish with a beaded butterfly garden stake or colorful gardening gloves. Check garden stores, drugstores and craft stores for supplies.
A colorful display
Garden tray: Buy an inexpensive frame. In it, frame a napkin, wrapping paper or fabric that coordinates with your table colors. Hot-glue 2-inch wooden balls to the corners of the bottom of the frame to raise it up from your table to create a serving tray.
Glue flat-sided beads to the perimeter of the frame to coordinate with the place cards and table colors. The frame/serving tray can be reused by changing out the framed paper or material to match your party's theme.
Jane Jarrell is a Richardson-based free-lance writer.
Spring Planting Party Menu
Lemon Salmon Pasta
Tri-color Salad
Parmesan Rosemary Twists With Flavored Butter
Meringues With Lemon Curd and Fresh Fruits
Rosy Minted Tea
All recipes given
Lemon Salmon Pasta
1 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons commercially prepared pesto sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 (9-ounce) package angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
1/2 pound poached salmon, flaked into bite-size piece.
Combine whipping cream, pesto sauce, lemon juice and pepper in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for about 10 minutes or until the sauce is slightly thickened and reduced.
Stir in the pasta and salmon. Chill. Makes 4 servings.
PER SERVING: Cal 554 (54% fat)Fat 33 g (16 g sat)Fiber 1 g Chol 117 mgSodium 363 mgCarb 38 gCalcium 113 mg Tri-color Salad
1 large bunch arugula
1 large or 2 small heads of radicchio, torn into large pieces
3 to 4 Belgian endive, cut into 1/2 -inch lengths
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2teaspoons red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
In a salad bowl, combine the arugula, radicchio and endive.
Just before serving, pour the oil and vinegar over the salad. Season with salt and pepper. Toss well to coat. Makes 8 servings.
PER SERVING: Cal 60 (78% fat)Fat 5 g (1 g sat)Fiber 1 g No cholSodium 594 mgCarb 2 gCalcium 35 mg Parmesan Rosemary Twists
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary (divided use)
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
Choice of flavored butters (recipes follow)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Cream butter or margarine; add cheese and sour cream, beating well with electric mixer. Combine flour and 1 teaspoon rosemary. Gradually add to creamed mixture, blending until smooth.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll out half of dough to a 12x7-inch rectangle and cut into 6x 1/2 -inch strips. Twist each strip 2 or 3 times.
Place on a greased cookie sheet. Combine egg yolk with water. Brush strips with the egg mixture; sprinkle with remaining rosemary. Repeat process with remaining dough. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Makes 56 twists.
Flavored butters: All the variations below start with this basic recipe. In a small bowl, cream 1 stick of room-temperature butter until light. Stir in 1 minced shallot, 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Thyme: Add 1/2 teaspoon dried.
Chive: Add 1/2 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped.
Parsley: Add 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped.
Lemon balm: Add 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped.
PER TWIST: Cal 29 (59% fat)Fat 2 g (1 g sat)No fiber Chol 8 mgSodium 43 mgCarb 2 gCalcium 28 mg Meringues With Lemon Curd
and Berries
• Low-fat • Low-calorie
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup superfine sugar (see note)
1 jar lemon curd
Seasonal berries
Preheat oven to 225 F.
Beat egg whites (at room temperature) in a large bowl of an electric mixer at high speed until foamy; sprinkle cream of tartar, flavorings and salt over egg whites. Continue beating until soft peaks form.
Line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper, and using a tablespoon, spoon the meringues onto the parchment into a 3- or 4-inch round. Using the flat side of a spoon, make a well in the center of the meringue and bake until firm, about 11/2 hours.
Turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the oven for several hours or overnight.
Seal the baked meringues in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 2 days. If the meringues feel soft or sticky after storage, crisp them in a 200-degree oven for about 5 minutes.
When ready to serve, spoon store-bought lemon curd into the center of the meringue and top with berries. Makes 6 servings.
Note: To make superfine sugar, place granulated sugar in a blender and process until finely ground.
PER SERVING: Cal 213 (9% fat)Fat 2 g (1 g sat)Fiber 5 g
Chol 30 mg Sodium 106 mgCarb 49 gCalcium 5 mg Rosy Minted Tea
2 quarts boiling water
10 regular-size tea bags
1 1/2 cups sugar
Fresh mint sprigs
3 tablespoons rosewater or lemon juice
Pour boiling water over tea bags and steep 5 minutes. Remove tea bags and squeeze them gently. Stir in sugar, 10 mint sprigs and rose water or lemon juice and steep 25 minutes. Strain and cool. Garnish each glass with a spring of mint and a slice of star fruit. Makes about 2 quarts. Meringue tips
The basic meringue mixture is piped or spread into shapes, then baked for a long time. This process gives the shapes their characteristic crisp, melt-in-your mouth texture.
Here are some tips:
To get interesting shapes for meringues, place simple cookie cutters or bowls onto parchment paper and use a pencil to trace the shape. Spoon your meringue onto the shape and bake according to directions.
For maximum volume in beaten egg whites, separate the eggs while they are cold, but let the whites come to room temperature before beating them.
Beat the meringue mixture just before you are ready to pipe or spoon, so it will be firm enough to hold its shape.
To store meringues for longer periods of time, place in an airtight container and freeze for up to a month.
Fill the meringues just before serving to keep them crisp.
Don't make meringues in humid weather; extra moisture can make the end product soft and sticky.
Jane Jarrell
|
