Laurie’s Cobalt World Blog

I really thought that I would sleep until noon today after the fun, but very exhausting weekend.  But no, I woke up the regular time.  I think a nap is in my future!

My husband says that I’m great at estimating how much time a task takes - and terrible at factoring in all of the things that will happen to prevent me from being on task.  This weekend was a prime example.

I decided to go to a church sale on Saturday morning.  I’d heard about it last year and mentally planned on it for this year, not thinking that I’d be hosting a tea party on Sunday afternoon. 

I called my mom to see if she wanted to go.  She asked my dad and then we decided to invite my sister, who turned out to be babysitting her two infant grandchildren. 

We planned to be there by 7:30 and got there at a quarter of 9:00 instead.  It seemed a waste to go to just one sale since we were by then all assembled, so we took in a few more.

Then we had a flat tire.  Then we visited a few more. 

After several more sales, we were starving, so of course we had to have lunch.

The long and the short of it is that we got home at 3:00 p.m. on the day I was supposed to be cooking up a storm!

So, I got home and got to work - in a bit of a frenzy.  Andrew put the turkey roast into the oven and tended to that so I didn’t have to think about it again.

I started to zest limes for the lime cooler cookies, but couldn’t find the zester.  My zester is one of my all-time favorite kitchen tools.  Where would something like that wander off to?  We looked and looked and then decided to go with an alternate plan.

I don’t have a grater with a zester side to it.  I’ve always used my zester that does such a wonderful job.  So, I finally used a potato peeler using a lot of outward pressure to leave the pith behind.  Then I diced and diced and diced.  It took longer, but the end product was successful.

Then I juiced 12 limes and made the dough and glaze.

We got two sheets of cookies finished and glazed before it was time to stop and get ready for a dance.  We couldn’t skip it because the club was a little low on help and we needed to be there to help break things down at the end.  (I wouldn’t want to skip it anyway.)

Not having had time to think about what kind of refreshment we could take to the dance, we decided to take the cookies displayed on the inverted thistle large pedsetal cake stand.  They were very popular.

The dance was great.  I sat out very few numbers and was exhausted at the end.  So when our friends asked if we had the time and energy to go out after the dance, which is our usual custom, we were level-headed and said that we had to go to bed and get some rest for the next day - NOT!  We went out and stayed at the restaurant until ten minutes before 1:00 a.m.  We had a great time.

However, in the morning, I had a hard time thinking, walking, and keeping my balance (no, we didn’t drink).  After a cup of coffee, which I rarely drink, I was finally able to get my act together and get on with the crazy, busy, fun day ahead.

So now, all of my great plans to make ahead, cook ahead, and have a restful Mother’s Day just attending to the last minute details turned into a cooking circus.

Thank goodness my children are older and capable - and that my husband cooks!

I started on the petits fours.  Never, ever, ever make petits fours on the day you are going to serve them.  They will devour time.  And, it ended up that they were one of the less popular items.  With a double layer of poured fondant, they are pretty but so sweet that you can enjoy just one.

My middle daughter was in charge of buttering bread.  We had a grainy, nutty bread for turkey sandwiches with cranberry mustard.  We used a marble rye/pumpernickel swirl for my favorite tea sandwiches, and we used a gourmet white bread for the cucumber sandwiches.

With the turkey, we sliced the boneless turkey roast moderately thin.  Then I mixed 1/4 cup cranberry sauce with 1/4 cup coarse ground prepared mustard.  A thin coat of the mustard on each side of the bread plus the turkey worked out nicely.

I’m a fanatic about keeping sandwiches moist, so everything was kept in bags or under plastic wrap except when it was actually being buttered or assembled.

The favorite tea sandwiches helped me find an error on my blog!  I had left out the bleu cheese from the recipe.  Luckily, I generally go to my own website and print out recipes when I cook and had done so for the tea sandwiches.  My apologies to anyone who tried them before and wondered why in the world I had suggested the recipe.  It is repaired now.  They were the favorite sandwiches at the tea, too, and not just my personal favorite.  Try them out next time you need a party sandwich.

The cucumber standwiches were a hit, too.  They were simple to make.  My daughter peeled the cucumbers, sliced them thinly and then placed a thin, but overlapping layer on the buttered bread.  Then she cut off the crusts and sliced them into dainty triangles.

We made more cookies, and began scrambling to get china and serving dishes assembled. I had used our sugar and creamer for the tea and was fretting that I didn’t have a creamer for the coffee.  My husband Andrew replied, “Yes, you do,” and pointed at the Laurie’s Cobalt World door in our home.  So I now have an Inverted Thistle pattern coffee creamer and sugar bowl.  I wonder if he had noticed that I also have a Nicole glass serving plate with handles.  I had to have something for the third plate of sandwiches, didn’t I?

So much for the rule against Laurie’s Cobalt World glass not ending up in my kitchen.  Hee hee hee.

As the hour drew near, the kitchen sounded and looked more like a kitchen in a greasy spoon during lunchtime.  We were wiping, moving, dancing around each other, and getting it all together, maybe just a few minutes late, but it seemed to work out okay.

The number one rule for a tea party is to have plenty of boiling water.  I set a large pot to boil and found it cold ten minutes later.  The kids said that sometimes you have to turn it off and on again, if the knob doesn’t click into the “hi” position right the first time.  So we tried again.  Again, it didn’t get hot.  I found that the cassette had wiggled slightly out of the socket, so it took the third time, I suppose as a charm, to get the water to boil.

Luckily, I had arranged my flowers for the centerpiece on Tuesday (I’ll be writing about how I did that pretty soon).  I had made the corsage of silk flowers on Thursday.  We beaded the napkin rings beginning on Saturday, but then I forgot that I had six not yet completed in my craft room - and remembered about 15 mintues before our guests were to arrive.  [Sign up for our newsletter to find out how to bead the napkin rings- they'll be in June's edition.]  Luckily, I had passed by the table where my husband had the napkins folded or I would not have noticed in time.

Twenty minutes before the guests arrived, I popped the apricot-cream cheese scones into the oven (seemed they could have used a touch more milk in them).  It turns out that if we had had only tea and scones, everyone would have still been most pleased.  They were by far the most popular item.  I had made the lemon curd on Saturday, woven in around making the lime cookies.  And I had purchased the double cream on Friday. 

I also served black raspberry jam and orange marmelade, but I think we could have easily skipped those.  The double cream and the lemon curd were much, much more popular.

Lemon Curd Recipe

1/2 cup butter (not margaine)
grated peel of 1 lemon
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 egg yolks
1 whole egg

In the top of a double boiler over medium high heat, melt butter.  Add the lemon peel, lemon juice and sugar.  Mix well.

Using a whisk, add the egg and egg yolks, continue to whisk and cook for about 20 minutes, until the mixture is thick and smooth.

Cool.  Place into covered containers.  Refrigerate.  Will last approximately a week in the refrigerator.

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I had been disappointed that the market where I normally get clotted cream was out and I could only get double cream (clotted cream is 55% fat while double cream is 48% fat).  Clotted cream is supposed to taste better, but we all liked the double cream better. 

Before my next tea party, I want to get some small teaspoons to go with my china tea cups.  And I want to get more tea cups.  With coffee and hot chocolate drinkers, we had just enough tea cups.  But next time, we could easily run out. 

I will also skip the petits fours.  I love the currant jelly taste of them, but for the time they take and the “one’s my limit” reaction I got to them, I’m going to say they just weren’t worth it.

We also had chocolate mint lentils (they look like pastel M & M’s, just a bit classier), but they weren’t that popular.  I had meant to make brownies with pastel icing but let the weekend get away from me.  I think it was just as well.  Chocolate just didn’t seem to fit, for some reason.

I also left my carrot flowers and butterflies in the refrigerator that I had planned to use to garnish the sandwich platters.  I did remember to line the trays with lettuce (we used romaine).  That did help keep the sandwiches from drying out.  But I really would have loved to have had my flowers and butterflies, too.  (I will be posting a blog on making them later this week, so please check back.)

The tea party was a success I think.  The main thing was that my mother felt honored and seemed to really enjoy herself. 

I’m really glad that we hosted this tea party.  Next year, however, I’m taking the day off.

Yesterday, I was making myself one of my favorite breakfasts. I was enjoying the anticipation of having something delicious when disaster struck. Okay, that was a little overly dramatic for breakfast. Let me rephrase. I was disappointed to realize that I was out of a main ingredient.

I teach my children to read their recipe first and make sure that they have all of the ingredients before they begin cooking. I wish I could follow my own advice better!

One of my favorite breakfasts is steel cut oats with apricots and almonds. I was out of apricots. They really make all of the difference in this dish.

My aunt told me recently that she’d had a similar dish at a brunch and really enjoyed it. Yes, it’s great to serve on special occasions, but you deserve to be pampered for no reason at all.

I admit that I go through periods when I won’t take the time to make a favorite. But there have been long periods of time when I’ve made this recipe two or three times a week, too.

Preparation time is about 20 minutes. I’m worth that. So are you. It’s amazing how a little indulgence first thing in the morning can set you up for a great day.

I start with good steel cut oats. Yesterday, I used John McCann’s Steel Cut Oat Meal. One of the things I love about this oatmeal is that it comes in a resealable tin. That way it stays fresh, even if I skip a few weeks making steel cut oats.

These oats are imported from Ireland. The can itself is interesting to read. It includes awards and exhibitions that the oats were part of dating back to 1851. Impressive for a lowly oatmeal!

Per serving:

• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup steel cut oats
• scant 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 (or 2) tablespoons toasted almonds
• 4 or 5 dried apricots, diced
• 1 pat of butter
• sweetener to taste (honey, sugar, brown sugar, sugar substitute)
• 3-4 tablespoons milk or cream

Bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the oats, stirring. Bring to a boil again and reduce to a simmer. Stir occasionally and cook for 15 minutes (the instructions on the John McCann’s can say 30 minutes, but I like mine with a nuttier texture).

Remove from the heat. Add the almonds, apricots, butter, and sweetener. Pour into a small cereal bowl. Top with milk or cream.

If you can’t find the time to treat yourself during the week, try this recipe on a Saturday or Sunday morning, whichever is your most leisurely. And if all else fails and you just can’t find the time, serve it at your next brunch.

Laurie

Last evening we hosted an informal cocktail tasting party. I invited a small group over to help us test some non-alcoholic cocktail recipes. It was a lot of fun.

You might ask why I wanted to focus on non-alcoholic cocktail recipes. The answer is simple. There are many sources for alcoholic cocktails and many of those recipes are tried and true.

There are fewer resources for non-alcoholic cocktails. But there are many people for whom an alcoholic cocktail is not an option or is not preferred. Consider the following:

1. Pregnant and nursing women
2. Recovering alcoholics
3. Those on medication not compatible with alcohol consumption
4. Those who know they don’t hold alcohol well (two drinks and it’s lampshade time)
5. Under 21’s
6. Those who have a religious belief about alcohol consumption
7. Those with medical conditions that are aggravated by alcohol consumption
8. Those who never learned to enjoy the flavor of alcohol

To prepare for the party, I researched recipes I wanted to try. I made my grocery list and stocked up on cream, grenadine syrup, cherries, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, passion fruit juice, peach nectar, lemon lime soda, strawberries, cream of coconut, and lots of ice.

Preparation was easy. I made some simple syrup ahead of time. We set out freshly popped corn, some pistachios, and chips. I arranged a bowl of oranges, lemons, and limes. The blender, shakers, glasses, strainer, and measuring implements were on hand. And I put all of the juices into ice chests so they would be at hand and so we wouldn’t be constantly opening and closing the refrigerator all evening.

I gave the guests a choice between some of my favorite cobalt blue cocktail glasses and a clear wine glass. Everyone chose the cobalt blue ones, of course. They were just so appealing. (By the way, I have some new margarita, wine, and martini glasses coming in soon. I can’t wait!)

I started out bartending, but luckily some of our guests enjoy the job as well, so no one person got stuck making drinks all evening.

The first cocktail was the Bobby Cocktail. It was an instant hit with all but one guest. No one could believe that she didn’t like it. But each to her own. The Bobby Cocktail is a cream and citrus beverage that reminds me of a fine lemon mousse.

Our second beverage of the evening was a non-alcoholic cosmopolitan. The reactions were pretty hilarious and none of them were good. You will not find that recipe listed here or on the Laurie’s Cobalt World website. It failed to please anyone. Some comments were, “Curls your toes,” and “Will grow hair on your chest.” Enough said.

The next cocktail - Unfuzzy Navel - was a huge success. Some guests noted at the end of the evening that it was their favorite. The flavor is very robust - nothing wimpy or watery about it. Peach and orange flavor comes first and you finish with a lovely pineapple aftertaste. You really want to try this one.

I especially liked the Alice Cocktail. Several guests thought that the cocktail was strawberry-based, but in actuality, there was no strawberry in it. It’s a creamy cocktail flavored with a generous portion of grenadine syrup, a pomegranate-flavored syrup.

I made an error that affected the next recipe. I put the cream of coconut into the ice chest with the juices. That caused the cream to congeal, making it a little difficult to use. I put the coconut cream and milk into the microwave and melted it enough to stir before using it. It was a pretty funny moment when we opened the can!

Luckily, my boo-boo didn’t affect the recipe at all. And the Virgin Strawberry Colada was another hit. This drink is a frozen cocktail. Make sure that you don’t make it too thick. Late in the evening, the drink was repeated (I told you it was a hit). But this time, it was too thick. When I tried to drink it, a lump of beverage broke loose all at once and I got it on my nose! Not elegant. Not at all.

We ran out of evening before we tried all of the recipes I had in mind. My family and I tried Safe Sex On the Beach - the cocktail by that name, that is. It was nice. It’s a good choice for someone who doesn’t like their cocktail too sweet but doesn’t care for too sour either.

• 1/4 cup peach nectar
• 1/3 cup cranberry juice
• 1/3 cup orange juice

Mix all ingredients and then pour over ice. Garnish with a cherry, if desired.

If you like to pucker up a bit, try the Yellow Jacket. We made this twice and adjusted the recipe the second time. It was much preferred in this version:

• 1/3 cup pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Fill a shaker half full of cracked ice. Pour all ingredients into the shaker. Shake until the cocktail is very cold and the ice just begins to melt. Strain into two martini glasses and serve.

The last non-alcoholic cocktail recipe we tried is a Tequila Meadow. No, there’s no tequila in it, of course. It’s crisp and light, and sweet, but not overly sweet.

Tequila Meadow

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1 T. cranberry juice
• 3/4 tsp. grenadine syrup
• 1/4 cup lemon-lime soda

Fill a shaker halfway with cracked ice. Add all ingredients except the soda. Shake well and strain into a glass. Add the soda and stir gently.

While it is fun to have formal parties, informal evenings can be so entertaining. I highly recommend getting some of your friends and family together to cook together, taste something together, or otherwise have a shared experience. It’s worth it.

Laurie

I really must be a slow mover - at least in some areas. I’ve been thinking about hosting an afternoon tea in honor of my mother for several years now. This year, I’m actually going to do it.

I am so excited about it. It will be held on Mother’s Day and the guests will include our local family.

Following the English example, this tea will include both male and female guests. We often think of matrons with floral dresses and large hats sipping tea, but teas were originally for everyone.

Before I go further, let me say that a tea need not be elaborate. Tea and cookies or tea and scones is enough. But I’ve decided on quite a bit more for this tea.

It will be a full tea and an afternoon tea, but not a high tea. I’m setting it at 5:00, about as late as you want to schedule an afternoon tea. Since there are other mothers on my guest list, I want to give them as much time as possible for their other Mother’s Day activities.

If this were a high tea, the menu would resemble a full meal much more.

Since it is a full tea, we will be having three courses: scones, tea sandwiches, and sweets.

I’ve decided to make apricot scones and I will serve them with homemade lemon curd, raspberry jam, and clotted cream.

Clotted cream is not available in my town, or even in the next town. But I do know a place in Winston-Salem, the closest city, where I can get it at a gourmet market.

I’ll probably be trying out my lemon curd recipes between now and then. The last time I made it, it was a little too tart for my taste. Once I’ve settled on the best one, I’ll post the recipe either here, in my newsletter, or on my website.

The next course will be tea sandwiches. I’ve decided on turkey with cranberry mustard and my favorite tea sandwiches. These tea sandwiches are cream cheese-based, a popular choice.

I first made these sandwiches in 1979. Since it wasn’t a tea, I made the sandwiches a little bit bigger than finger size. In fact, I used two different colors of bread (pumpernickel and rye, if I recall correctly) and made an alternating design.

First I froze the bread. Then I used a sturdy, sharp cookie cutter to cut the bread into decorative rounds. Using a smaller cookie cutter, I cut out a design in the middle of half of the slices. I believe it was a simple flower shape. I popped out the centers and switched them. Then I assembled the sandwiches using a solid bottom and a decorative top.

The filling is simple to make, but will get a lot of attention from your guests. It’s really good.

Favorite Tea Sandwich Filling Recipe

2 3-oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
1 oz. bleu cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 tsp. minced dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup mayonnaise (not salad dressing)

Mix all ingredients well. Place in the refrigerator for several hours to blend flavors. Bring to room temperature before filling sandwiches. Lightly spread bread with a thin coat of butter before filling.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups of filling.

I’ll be able to make those sandwiches a day ahead of time, carefully wrap them airtight, and store them in the refrigerator until about 1/2 hour before serving time.

We’ll talk about the sweets, tea, flowers, invitations, and music another day.

Laurie

“Compote” seems to be a word not well known among the younger generations, but it is well worth holding onto. Compote is a very versatile and very delicious dish, either served alone or with other equally delicious offerings.Compote is a fruit dish, often served warm. Frequently it is a mixture of fruit rather than a single fruit, sweetened and perhaps flavored. Compote can be made sugar-free and/or fat-free. It can be made from dried fruit, fresh fruit, frozen fruit, or canned fruit. There are no hard-and-fast rules, but rather many choices and many successful combinations.

Compote can either be served as a dessert or as a side dish. For side dishes, think of less sweet mixtures of apples, pears, cranberries, or rhubarb. Pork and apple compote is a classic combination as is poultry with cranberry compote. I’ve even seen onion compote recipes for hamburgers.

I generally think of compote as dessert or as part of a sweet breakfast entrée. At least those are my favorites!

The compote can be the main part of the dessert or can be used as a topping for ice cream, panna cottas, angel food cake, pancakes or blintzes, shortcake, biscuits, or cheesecake.

Dessert compotes may be topped with ice cream, served with cookies, or served alone in an elegant compote dish (footed serving dish) for a simple, but stunning dessert.

Dessert compotes generally all have the same basic ingredients:

• Fruit or a mixture of fruit, about 3 cups
• Liquid such as water, wine, or juice, about ½ cup (more for dried fruit)
• Flavorings such as lemon zest, vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, or liquor
• Sweeteners such as sugar, maple syrup, sugar substitutes*, molasses, brown sugar, between ½ and 1 cup
• Butter (optional, but delicious), 2 to 3 tablespoons
• Pinch salt *If using a sugar substitute, you may need to add a thickener such as cornstarch with the liquid to tighten up the compote. In sugared recipes, the syrup is often cooked until it thickens. Sugar substitutes lack that quality. 

Some compotes are baked, but most are cooked in a saucepan for about 15 minutes. The entire preparation of warm compote can easily be less than ½ hour.

To make compote, first mix your liquid, sweetener, and flavorings (save vanilla extract until the end, if you are using). Cook for about five minutes until the syrup begins to thicken. If you are using fruits that take different amounts of time to cook, add them in order from the longest cooking to the shortest. Apples, pears, dried fruits, and firmer fruits should be added first. Peaches, canned fruit, plums, apricots, and softer fruits should go next. Berries, especially raspberries, should be added near the end as the firmer fruits are nearly softened.

Add butter, stir, and serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Brainstorm combinations. Do you like apples, raisins, and cranberries together? How about mixed berries? Summer fruits? Dried fruits? Oranges and cranberries?

Match flavorings with fruits: cinnamon or vanilla for apples, nutmeg for blueberries or peaches, lemon with berries.

And if you are not feeling that adventuresome, try this favorite compote recipe of mine:

• ½ cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• dash salt
• 1 lb. bag of frozen mixed berries (about 3 cups)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• vanilla bean ice cream

Mix the water, sugar, lemon zest, and dash of salt in a saucepan. Cook over medium high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Boil for five minutes. Add the berries and stir gently. Bring to a full boil again, reduce heat, and simmer for two minutes.Remove from heat, add butter, and stir. Cool to room temperature or chill. The compote thickens as it cools.

* * * * *

 Serve in individual dessert cups. Top with vanilla ice cream just as you serve the compote.

Laurie