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♦ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2006
4C
Pecans offer many gourmet cooking options
From Staff Reports
This year’s Georgia pecan
crop is smaller than usual
according to the University
of Georgia Extension
Service, but that’s all the
more reason to treat the
south’s favorite nut with all
due respect.
Here are some gourmet
recipes created by chefs
around the country from the
Georgia Pecan Commission
Jasper’s Missouri
Apple and
Georgia Pecan
Tart
By Chef Jasper J.Mirabile
Jr., Jasper’s Ristorante,
Kansas City, Mo.
Serves 10
Pecan Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped Georgia
pecans
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks)
cold unsalted butter
Filling:
4 cups fresh Missouri
or Granny Smith Apples
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 oz) Mascarpone
cheese
Topping:
1/3 cup flour
Sweet treat, in defiance of the season
Everyone have a good
Thanksgiving?
Yeah, we won’t be
craving a turkey sub anytime
soon at our house, either.
It’s great to see all the
family, catch up on the news
and stand amazed that your
young nephew somehow
now stands an inch taller
than you.
And the Thanksgiving food
- the turkey, the dressing,
the hearty casseroles and, of
course, the pies -- is wonder
ful but often leaves me feel
ing weighed down.
Even an hour on the tread
mill isn’t going to burn all of
those calories anytime soon.
After a few days of that
heavy Thanksgiving-style
food, a bit of lighter fare
is needed. My wife thought
strawberry shortcake might
be just the thing.
It would have been if it
were early summer, but
strawberries aren’t in sea
son in November. Sure, we
live in America and that
means everything is in sea
son somewhere, so strawber
ries were in the store.
The problem is that straw
berries now are hard, juice
less and even a tad bitter. So
I decided to play a little bit
in the kitchen.
Judy had purchased a 16-
ounce container of straw
berries and some pre-made
shortcakes. I started by
removing the tops from the
strawberries and slicing
each in half lengthwise.
These hard berries need
ed juice and sweetening. A
simple syrup was in order.
As the name implies, it can’t
be any simpler than taking
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Place your orders now to pick up your holiday feast from the New
Perry Hotel Casserole Shop.
We are offering the following choices:
Entrees:
Turkey and Dressing ~ Barbecued Pulled Pork ~ Chicken Salad ~ Shrimp Salad ~
Chicken Tetrazini
Soups;
Crab and Corn Bisque ~ Chili ~ Seafood Gumbo ~ Brunswick Stew
Side items:
Sweet Potato Souffle ~ Green Beans ~ Maccaroni & Cheese ~ Potato Salad ~
Shredded Yams ~ Corn Pudding ~ Twice Baked Potato Casserole ~ Broccoli Souffle
Desserts:
Pecan Pie ~ Lemon Chess Pie ~ White Chocolate Cheese Cake
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped
Georgia pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons cold but
ter
To make Pecan Crust,
heat oven to 400°F. Combine
flour, pecans, sugar, and salt
in a medium bowl. Chop cold
butter into small pieces and
add to flour mixture; cut
in butter until well blended
and crumbly. Press dough
into bottom of a 9-inch tart
pan. Bake for 15 minutes
or until edges just begin to
turn golden.
Meanwhile prepare
Filling: Slice apples, sprin
kle with 1/4 cup sugar and
the cinnamon and let stand.
Combine remaining 3/4 cup
sugar, the flour, egg, vanilla,
and salt until blended. Fold
in mascarpone cheese. Add
apples to mixture and pour
Filling into pre-baked tart
crust. Reduce temperature
to 350°F and bake for an
additional 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare
Topping: Combine flour,
sugar, pecans, and cinna
mon.
Chop cold butter into
small pieces and add to flour
mixture; cut and rub in but
ter until well blended and
crumbly. Sprinkle topping
over tart and return to oven.
Increase heat to 400°F and
bake for 10 minutes longer.
Cool until just warm before
equal parts water and sugar
and boiling them together.
1 eyeballed this whole pro
cess, so I am guessing it was
3/4 cups of water and 3/4
cups sugar.
Once that was boiling and
the sugar was dissolved, I
turned the heat to medium,
added a handful of berries
to the syrup and let them
turn to a mush. The berries
needed to break down.
You
have to
keep an
eye on
the pot
to make
sure
that it
doesn’t
boil over.
That
would
be one
sticky
mess.
Dan MacDonald
Columnist
Morris News Service
While the syrup was bub
bling away, I placed about
five or six strawberry halves
in each cup and set them
aside. I put the rest of the
strawberries into a food
processor and pureed them,
using the pulse button. I
didn’t want to liquefy them;
rather, I wanted the result to
be a bit chunky.
When you go to all this
trouble, store-bought
whipped cream won’t do.
800 Carroll St. - Perry, GA
(478) 987-1073
slicing.
Source: Georgia Pecan
Commission
Wild Rice Salad
with Pecans and
Preserved Fruits
By Executive Chef Peter
Repak, eatZi’s Gourmet
Market & Bakery, Chicago,
111.
Serves 8
3/4 cup fresh squeezed
orange juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large lemon, juiced
(about 1/3 cup)
1/8 cup plus 2 table
spoons olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2/3 cup Georgia Pecan
halves, cut in half length
wise
Vi tsp dried tarragon
1/4 cup dried cranber
ries
1/4 cup dried apricots,
diced
1/4 cup midget raisins
or dried currants
2 1/2 cups cooked wild
rice, cooled
2 1/2 cups cooked long
grain brown rice, cooled
6 green onions, trimmed
and sliced thin
Kosher salt
White pepper
Prepare dressing: Place
the fresh squeezed orange
juice and sugar in a small
pot and reduce by half. Chill,
then add the juice from the
lemon and the 2 tablespoons
Judy didn’t understand
why until she tasted my con
coction.
I poured about 8 ounces
of heavy cream into a cooled
metal mixing bowl and added
about 2 tablespoons of vanil
la extract. I used a stand
mixer for this, but a whisk
and a strong wrist would
have whipped the cream
in less than 5 minutes. (I
know because that’s how I
did it to top my pumpkin pie
Thanksgiving day.)
Once the cream became
billowy and a bit stiff, I
poured some of the straw
berry puree into it just
enough to turn the white
whipped cream to a slightly
pink hue.
Now it was time to pour
the rest of the puree into the
simple syrup and stir that
mixture well. I then spooned
that over the halved straw
berries and the shortcake,
and topped each cup with a
generous mound of whipped
cream.
The result was a sweet
treat full of flavor. The sauce
added the sweetness and
juicy texture I wanted and
pushed these hard berries to
fulfill their flavor potential.
I’ve read that berries
were served at the first
Thanksgiving. But I doubt
that they resembled this
dessert.
Sutarla May!
Cal 987-1H23
FOOD
olive oil and set aside.
In large skillet, heat 1/8
cup olive oil and saut£ shal
lots until slightly tender;
add the pecans and toast in
the pan for 2 to 3 minutes on
medium.
Add the tarragon and all of
the dried fruits. Cook slowly
for another 5 minutes or so.
Season to taste with salt and
pepper. Chill this mixture.
3. Once all components
are cold, mix the rice, fruit
mixture, green onions, and
dressing. Season to taste
with kosher salt and white
pepper.
Source: Georgia Pecan
Commission
Lentil, Pear and
Georgia Pecan
Romaine Salad
Adapted from “Country
Weekend Entertaining”
(Doubleday) by Anna Pump,
chef-owner Loaves and
Fishes, Sagaponack, New
York
Serves 8
Salad Mixture:
1 1/2 cups apple juice
4 cups water
2 cups lentils
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 large white onions,
halved
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 red onion
2 ripe green or red
pears
3 cups thinly sliced cel
ery
Tasting report from food, wine celebration
This week I’ll share
some tasting notes
and impressions of
some of the wines I sampled
at this year’s Food and Wine
Celebration in Springfield,
Mo. Most of these either
were wines that I had not
previously tasted, or were
newer vintages.
I was curious to taste as
many of the Fess Parker
“Santa Barbara County”
wines as I could and see
what Daniel Boone is up to
these days. Although they
certainly weren’t terrible, I
was disappointed that they
didn’t stand out or seem
to match some of the press
they have received in recent
years. The Santa Barbara
County Chardonnay was
very ordinary and noth
ing about it separated it
from many other California
Chards. It had reasonable
balance considering it’s
very high alcohol content
(14.9 percent), and not too
much oak, but it’s finish was
short and didn’t leave much
of an overall impression.
The Santa Barbara County
White Riesling seemed very
thin and lacked character.
It certainly didn’t compare
to most German or Pacific
Northwest expressions of
nttwSKag
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sl3°° per column inch display
GILBERT
APPLIANCE, INC.
925 Jernigan St., • Perry, GA
478-987-2284
BFRIGIDAIRF
ALL
FRIGIDAIRE LAUNDRY
APPLIANCES
Marked Down To Be Moved Out.
00041437
1 cup toasted Georgia
pecan halves
1 large head romaine
lettuce
Dressing:
4 tablespoons red wine
vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly
ground black pepper
Combine apple juice and
water in a large pot. Add the
lentils, garlic, white onion
halves, and salt. Cook, cov
ered, over medium heat 35
minutes. Drain lentils, dis
carding garlic and onion. Set
lentils aside to cool.
Meanwhile, cut red onion
crosswise into thin slices
and separate the slices into
rings.
Halve the pears, remove
core and thinly slice. In a
large bowl, combine onion
rings, pear slices, celery,
pecans, and lentils. Cut
romaine into bite-size pieces
and add to lentil mixture.
To make the Dressing,
combine the ingredients in
a jar with a tight-fitting lid
and shake well. Just before
serving, pour dressing over
salad and mix well. Taste for
seasoning and serve.
Georgia Pecan
Secret Agent
Raspberry Bars
Reprinted from “It’s About
Time” cookbook (Steerforth
Press) by Michael Schlow,
Riesling in terms of body or
flavor structure.
The Santa Barbara Pinot
Noir was a reasonable
expression of the grape with
good acid
ity and
structure
but didn’t
justify
the mid
twenties
price,
in my
opinion.
These
wines
should
appeal
to people who are looking
for big new world wines,
but I prefer a little more
subtlety and something
memorable when I choose
a wine. The 2003 Hecula
Yecla was a Spanish red
that didn’t disappoint.
This fruity, but complex
cuvee is made from 100
percent Mourvedre (called
Monastrell in Spain).
It has an excellent nose
and a unique flavor profile
of tart cherry and dark ber
ries, earth, and something I
couldn’t put my finger on.
Although this wine is also
high in alcohol at 14 per
cent, the acidity creates a
RANGES AS LOW AS
$275.00
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
executive chef and co
owner Radiuß, Via Matta,
and Great Bay restaurants,
Boston, Mass.
Makes 24 2-inch
squares
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks)
butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup all-purpose
flour
1/3 cup chopped
Georgia pecans
1/4 teaspoon almond
extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (1 cup) seed
less raspberry preserves
1/2 cup sweetened
flaked coconut
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Using an electric mixer, beat
butter and sugar until blend
ed. Add flour and mix well.
Add pecans, almond extract,
and salt, stirring until flour
mixture resembles coarse
crumbs. Reserve 1 cup of
mixture.
Press remaining flour
mixture into the bottom of
an ungreased 13- by 9-inch
baking dish. Spread rasp
berry preserves evenly over
crust.
Sprinkle reserved flour
mixture on top, then top
with coconut.
Bake until crust and top
ping are golden—about 30
minutes. Cool completely,
then cut into squares.
Source: Georgia Pecan
Commission
mouthwatering juiciness
that invites food and a sec
ond glass.
Altos from Argentina
always makes wines that I
like and their Malbec is no
exception. Ifyou don’t know
what Argentinian Malbec is
all about, this is a good one
to get you started.
This dark, red wine shows
good character with bal
anced tannins over plums
and earth, with that rustic
edge that sets Malbec apart
from other reds. Try it with
grilled meats or hearty
stews. Mirassou Pinot Noir
is a value red that a reader
recommended and I tried it
with a sample of prime rib
and found it quite enjoy
able. It showed true Pinot
character and for the $lO
price, I had no complaints.
Another pleasant sur
prise was Alexander Valley
Vineyards’ Merlot. Merlot
comes in a couple of differ
ent styles and this one fits
in the category that I like.
This Merlot is deeper in
color and carries a hefty
punch of fruit, spice and
suppleness. The tannins
are present, but balanced,
and the oak adds hints of
vanilla as part of a well
crafted wine.
«S#l#
Brian Goodell
The Wine Guy-
Morris News Service
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