Good Morning.
My geraniums are dead and gone and my leaves have finally all turned. We abandon, at least temporarily, the cold beer or anything on the rocks for Mulled Wine.
For one quart:
1 lemon
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups water
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 bottle red wine such as a Cabernet
Slice the lemon, ditch the seeds, and place the slices in a large pot with the sugar, water, and spices. Heat to boiling and boil gently for ten minutes. Reduce heat to low, add the wine and heat but do not boil. Serve in mugs with a cinnamon stick.
I would accompany this beverage with a Mushroom Spread. Some would not agree but my daughter would be fine with it. She ate mushrooms when she was two years old, preferring them to items like hot dogs and spaghetti. For a treat I'd throw some sliced mushrooms with butter in a skillet, add some herbs, and serve them to her nice and warm in a bowl. She grew up to be pleasant and well-adjusted.
1 large white onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 pounds white button mushrooms, wiped clean with a bit of oil and chopped
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. dillweed
1 tsp. dry sherry
Saute the onion and garlic in butter for three or four minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for ten minutes more.
Stir this mixture occasionally. Add the salt, pepper, dillweed, and sherry and stir again. Let the spread cool to room temperature, spoon into a bowl and serve with crackers or cocktail bread.
Now we have Swiss Fondue and you can serve it any place you want. Put it on a coffee table and people can sit on the floor as far as I'm concerned. I'll opt for a chair. If I got on the floor, I'd be there for good.
6 or 7 oz. Swiss cheese, grated. Half Emmentaler and half Gruyere is ideal.
6 to 8 oz. rustic style bread, cut into inch cubes
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. corn starch
2 oz. Kirsch
1 garlic clove
Rub the inside of a heavy pot with garlic. Pour in the wine and lemon juice and set the burner on medium heat. Add the cheese in batches, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. In a small bowl, combine the Kirsch with the corn starch and add to the cheese mixture. Cook for three minutes, stirring. Place in a fondue pot or chafing dish, serve the cubed bread on a plate or in a basket, and provide fondue forks.
Use well-aged cheese as young cheese will get stringy, i.e. go to a cheese shop and ask someone who knows about cheese. In place of Kirsch, you can use brandy but Kirsch is traditional.
Serve your fondue with a Greek Salad.
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 tbsp. malt vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 12 oz. jar kalamata olives
4 oz. crumbled Feta
Mix the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, and onion in a salad bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pour over the vegetables, add the olives, and toss. Top with Feta.
There's no salad greens with this one. Some people add them, some do not. Substitute grape or cherry tomatoes and black olives if you wish.
For dessert, we have The Raspberry Thing. That's what I call it.
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
6 tsp. dry sherry
1/4 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 quart raspberry sherbet, softened up for spreading but not melted
Whip the cream in a large bowl. Sift the sugar and add it to the whipped cream. Stir in the sherry, cherries, and pecans. Pour half of this mixture into a nine-inch square pan. Spread the sherbet over the cream mixture, then add the other half of the
cream mixture on top. Freeze for twenty-four hours.
Sauce:
2 boxes frozen raspberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tbsp. water
4 tsp. lemon juice
6 tbsp. dry sherry
Place the raspberries, sugar, water, and lemon juice in a pan and boil for five minutes. Add the sherry and boil for three minutes more. Thaw the dessert for fifteen minutes, then cut into squares and pour sauce, at room temp, over each piece.
I'd serve this dessert with coffee, de-caf maybe. I'd refreeze any leftover dessert and have a piece for breakfast.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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