Mary Brown Malouf

Limoncello Dream

Pour one ounce of limoncello and 1/2 ounce of Grand Marnier into a tall glass. Fill the glass with champagne or soda and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Garnish with a lemon slice.

Melba Float

Fill a glass with cold semi-sweet Riesling and add a scoop of raspberry sorbet. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Caramel Stout

Fill a mug 3/4 full with stout and plop in a scoop of Ben & Jerry’s Triple Carmel Chunk ice cream.

Frozen Pink Mimosa

Use a melon scooper to make tiny balls of blood orange sorbet to float in pink champagne or sparkling wine. Garnish with an orange peel fan.

All photos by Adam Finkle

This post was originally published on utahstyleanddesign.com.

-Mary Brown Malouf

Photo by Tya Tiempetch

The Wasatch Front food scene is dominated by Italian cuisine, thanks to the Italians who immigrated here generations ago. We also have a solid middle ground of Italian restaurants featuring what we all used to think of as Italian food—red sauce with pasta. Or “gravy,” as they call it back East. But a good marinara isn’t just for putting on pasta, as you can see in this recipe from Barb Freda.

Eggplant Marinara
Serves 8

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds eggplant, sliced into ½-inch rounds
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cups prepared red sauce
½ cup bread crumbs with chopped parsley, dried oregano and grated Romano cheese
½ cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour olive oil into a 9-x-13-inch baking dish, spreading to cover the bottom. Sprinkle garlic over the oil. Cover with one layer of eggplant slices and 1/4 of the sliced onion. Cover thickly with sauce and sprinkle some bread crumbs over all, followed by some of the basil. Repeat for 3 additional layers, finishing with bread crumbs and reserving remaining basil for garnish. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake until eggplant is fork-tender, about 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes to crisp bread crumbs. Remove from oven, and let stand 5 minutes before cutting. Garnish with remaining basil.

And now I’m adding it to the web. Enjoy.

Serves 4

8 slices country bacon
2 tablespoons prepared pesto
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
7-grain bread
2 heads butter lettuce
2 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes
Basil, finely chopped

Cook bacon until crispy. Combine pesto and mayonnaise. Toast bread until crispy and spread with pesto mayo. Top with 2 bacon slices, lettuce, and tomatoes. Garnish with basil.

Try this delicious dessert by Susan Massey.

Photo by Adam Finkle

Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

4 to 6 nectarines, washed and sliced into sixths
1 pint of raspberries, washed and drained
2 tablespoons sugar
1 box of shortbread cookies
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese or créme fraiche, stirred well
Edible flowers or mint leaves to garnish

Combine fruit in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the fruit with sugar and allow the fruit to rest for 10 minutes, or until sugar dissolves.

Carefully spoon a layer of fruit into fluted glasses or wine goblets. Add 1 shortbread cookie, and a teaspoon of mascarpone cheese. Repeat with a second layer. Garnish with edible flowers or mint leaves if desired.

Cuisine Unlimited‘s chefs seek menu inspiration from upcoming holidays, seasonal products and the desires of customers. Recently, they were truly inspired by none other than the “Incredible, Edible Egg.” How do you make this culinary staple something new and exciting?

The chefs have decided to de-construct and re-construct the components of the egg into a mouth-watering dessert.

Ingredients

¼ c. Granulated sugar
3 ea. Whole lemons
3 Tbs. Unsalted butter
4 oz. Lemon juice
½ c. Granulated Sugar
12 ea. Large eggs, grade AA

Directions

“De-Constructing” the Egg:

Using an eggshell cutter, cut the tops off each egg one third of the way down the egg. Carefully separate the yolks and whites of the egg into separate bowls.

Rinse eggshells & carefully place in large pot. Cover eggshells with cold water. Put on medium heat & stand by to watch temperature rise. Do not exceed 150 degrees. This is the point right before bubbles begin to form. Hold eggs in water for 3-5 minutes. Carefully remove from water and place upside down on dry paper towels until completely dry.

Lemon Curd:

Using a peeler, remove zest of 3 lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith. Put zest in a food processor fitted with steel blade. Add sugar and pulse until the zest is finely minced into the sugar.

In separate mixing bowl, cream butter and beat in the sugar & lemon mixture. Add eggs yolks, 1 at a time; then add lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at 170 degrees or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cover with saran wrap directly on lemon curd. Refrigerate until completely chilled.

Meringue:

Beat egg whites until frothy; gradually add ½ cup sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form.

“Re-Constructing” the Egg:

Use egg carton to stand clean eggshells upright. Spoon or pipe ¼ cup of lemon curd into clean eggshell, then pipe dollop of meringue on top of lemon curd. Using a butane torch; brown top of meringue or place in a 500 degree oven for 3–5 minutes until meringue tops are golden brown. Display in egg-holder or in a rectangular dish filled with sugar.

Try this simple but stunning dessert at home for your Easter brunch. Some may call it “egg-ceptional!”

Emily Lavin is Cuisine Unlimited Catering & Special Events’ marketing director and a contributor to utahstyleanddesign.com. This post was originally published on utahstyleanddesign.com. 

All photos by Dave Hyams

High West, Park City’s award-winning distillery, offers its American Prairie Bourbon. In other words, the perfect base for at Kentucky Derby’s great cocktail: the mint julep, the traditional drink of the Kentucky Derby. High West celebrated the most exciting two minutes in sports complete with hats and juleps like this:

• 2.5 oz. High West American Prairie Bourbon
• .5 oz. simple syrup
• 3-4 fresh mint leaves

Muddle the mint. Mix syrup and bourbon. Serve over crushed ice. And may the best horse win. Click here for photos from 2015’s High West Kentucky Derby celebration.

See more recipes here.

Despite the constant flurry of cocktail creativity, I don’t understand a martini unless it’s made with gin, I eschew blended daiquiris and I like my margaritas shaken and served neat.

I’m a real snob. Except when I’m not.

Lisa Barlow, of locally owned Vida Tequila, sent me this margarita recipe that called for, of all things, grapefruit flavored hefeweizen. It was invented by Richie Spare of The Boneyard in Park City.

Ingredients

2 oz. Vida Blanco
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 oz. simple syrup (but we used agave syrup)
2 oz. Shofferhofer Hefeweizen

Shake tequila, lemon juice and sweetener together over ice and pour over ice in a tall glass. Fill glass with beer.

Wow! It’s a very un-Maloufy concoction but it’s curiously refreshing. With this in my hand, I think I can survive the heat wave.

Frito, hiding under the table in this photo, will stick to the shady side of things.

Meditrina’s Coq au Vin, photo by Adam Finkle

Coq means rooster, and that’s a clue to the nature of this dish—a tough old rooster requires long, slow cooking. These days, it’s most often made with chicken, browned then braised in red wine (traditionally Burgundy, but not necessarily), mushrooms, salt pork, onions and garlic.

Here is how Meditrina does it.

Ingredients

12-15 small cipollini onions
4 chicken thighs and legs, or 1 large chicken, cut into serving pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup flour
8 oz. slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
20-30 medium-sized cremini mushrooms
3/4 cup brandy
1 1/2 (750-ml) bottles red Burgundy
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
8–10 cloves garlic
bundle of fresh thyme
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup butter

Slowly cook the bacon in a big sauté pan over medium heat until it is golden brown and crispy. Remove bacon from the pan and set aside. In the same pan and fat, saute the onions and mushrooms. Remove from the pan and store in the fridge until ready for use.

Season the chicken on all sides. Place it into a big plastic bag with the flour and shake to coat it well. Brown chicken in the same bacon fat (you may need to add some olive oil) until deep golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a large enameled cast-iron pot.

Pour off any remaining fat and deglaze the pan with the brandy and 2 cups of the wine. Reduce by half.  Pour this into the pot along with the chicken stock, tomato paste, onion, carrots, celery, garlic and thyme. Add remaining wine. The chicken should
be almost covered.

Place the chicken (and the entire enameled cast iron pot) in the oven at 275 to 325 degrees and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is tender enough to fall off the bone. Make sure the chicken remains at a low simmer—no more.

Remove cooked chicken and keep it in a warm oven. Strain the sauce to remove the vegetables, then pour it in the pot and reduce by half. Add the bacon, onions and mushrooms and heat. Off-heat, whisk in the butter a little at a time. Add chicken.

Individual Shrimp Cocktail

Serves 15

1 quart canola oil
1 pack of egg roll skins cut into 1/2-inch rounds
1 pound rock shrimp
1/2 cup Old Bay seasoning
2 lemons
2 bay leaves
fresh chives
2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
fresh chive and candied lemon zest for garnish (optional)

The shrimp: In a sauce pan heat canola oil to approximately 325 degrees using a candy thermometer (if you do not have a candy thermometer, keep the oil over a medium high heat). Place the egg roll skins into the hot oil one at a time, flipping them when hey become crisply. Remove from the oil and set on a paper towel to drip dry. Fill a sauce pan with enough water to cover the shrimp and bring it to a simmer. Add Old Bay seasoning, juice of 1 lemon and bay leaves. Bring back up to a simmer and add the rock shrimp. The rock shrimp should only take about 5–7 minutes to poach. Strain the shrimp from the water and rapidly cool under cold water. Set aside.

For the sauce: Blend ketchup in a mixing bowl with horseradish, juice of 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve: Toss the shrimp in your cocktail sauce and place them on top of wonton discs. Garnish with chive and candied lemon zest.

VARIATIONS

1. Coarsely chop cooked shrimp and mix with tomato and lime juice, roasted green chiles and avocado, and minced cilantro and onions. Serve in a shot glass.

2. Puree 8 ounces softened cream cheese with 3 teaspoons wasabi paste. Spread on rice crackers and top with cooked shrimp.

Ingredients:

1/2 sheet pre-made frozen pastry puff
1/3 cup almond cream*
5–6 peaches (not too ripe) cut into thin slices
Melted butter for brushing
Vanilla sugar** for sprinkling
1 egg, beaten

Roll the puff pastry into a circle 1/8-inch thick. Work quickly to keep it from getting warm. Spread the almond cream in the center out to 1.5 inches from the edge of the circle. Starting from the outside working in, slightly overlap the slices in a spiral toward the center. Fold the edges over the peaches crimping as you go. Brush the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with vanilla sugar. Back at 375 F for 35–45 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the fruit has been caramelized.

*Almond cream

Ingredients:

6 Tbsp. butter
5.5 oz. almond paste
1 egg
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. rum

Cream butter and almond paste. Add eggs one at a time to mixture, and then add cornstarch and rum (if using). Wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

**Vanilla sugar

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 new vanilla bean or two used beans

Slice the new bean down the center lengthwise. Using the back of the knife, scrape the seeds out and mix into the sugar. Place the sugar and the bean into an airtight container for at least a week. The sugar will absorb the oils in the bean.