An easy Pavlova. Photo by Irina Kupenska |
IST.

The Pavlova consists of a meringue base topped with fresh fruits. Most people buy the meringue shells at bakeries, but ambitious bakers can make their own.

In addition to individual meringue shells, the meringue can be shaped into cake layers that are alternated with fruit, for a spectacular effect (just check out “Pavlova meringue” in Google Images).

According to chef Herbert Sachse of the Hotel Esplanade in Perth, Australia, the “Pavlova” was born at the Hotel 1935. According to Hotel legend, it was named at a meeting at which Sachse presented the cake: either the licensee, the manager, or Sachse remarked, “It is as light as Pavlova,” who had been a guest of the hotel during her 1929 tour. Years later, Sachse stated in an interview that he sought to improve the Meringue Cake recipe that he found in the Women’s Mirror Magazine, which was contributed by a New Zealand resident. (Source: Linda Stradley, What’s Cooking America.)
While the desert is light and airy for summer, it can be tailored to every season:

 
FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE DESSERT RECIPES.

The cruciferous vegetables family—arugula, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, mizuna, mustard greens, radish, rapini (broccoli rabe), rutabaga, tatsoi, turnip and wasabi—contains powerful anti-carcinogen antioxidants, and powerfully good flavor.

This recipe, from Pom Wonderful, combines two of the group, broccoli and cauliflower, into a crisp summer salad—the veggies are not cooked. TIP: Cut large florets into small, bite-size pieces.

BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER SALAD

Ingredients

Broccoli and cauliflower salad. Photo
courtesy Pom Wonderful.

Preparation

1. SCORE 1-2 fresh pomegranates and place in a bowl of water. Break open the pomegranate underwater to free the arils (seed sacs). The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top. Sieve and put the arils in a separate bowl. Reserve 1 cup of the arils from fruit and set aside. Refrigerate or freeze remaining arils for another use.

2. COOK prosciutto strips in a nonstick skillet over moderate heat and stir until crisp.

3. TOSS together in a bowl: broccoli, cauliflower, red onion, grapes, raisins and fresh basil.

4. MAKE dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, sugar and pomegranate juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. TOSS dressing with salad; add pomegranate arils and prosciutto.

How To Juice A Pomegranate

Instead of buying pomegranate juice, you can juice the fruit itself. For 1 cup of juice, cut 2-3 large pomegranates in half and juice them with a citrus reamer or juicer. Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or sieve. Set the juice aside.

Find more delicious recipes at PomWonderful.com.

There would be no Piña Colada without Coco Lopez, the coconut cream used to make it.

Coco López is a brand of cream of coconut, invented in 1954 by Ramón López Irizarry, a professor of agriculture at the University of Puerto Rico.

The ingredients on the can include coconut milk, sugar, water, emulsifiers, stabilizers and thickeners (guar gum, locust bean gum, mono- and diglycerides, polysorb 60, sorbitan monostearate, Propylene glycol alginate) and preservative (citric acid).

The creamy heart of the coconut fruit had long been used in Caribbean desserts. But separating it from from the coconut pulp was an arduous process.

With funds from the government, Professor Irizarry worked on a solution. He found it!

He ultimately left teaching to produce and sell his product, which was adopted not just by cooks but by bartenders.

According to the book “La Gran Cocina Del Caribe” by José L. Díaz de Villega, the Piña Colada made its debut on August 16, 1954 at the Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico, a watering hole for a star-studded clientele.

The hotel management had requested that bartender Ramón “Monchito” Marrero create a new signature cocktail. Marrero worked for three months on the recipe.

Piña is Spanish for pineapple, and colada means strained; the drink is usually served blended with ice. The Piña Colada has been the official beverage of Puerto Rico since 1978.

> The year’s 11 coconut holidays.

> The year’s 10 pineapple holidays.

> The year’s 49 cocktail holidays.

> The history of cocktails.

> The history of coconut.

> The history of pineapple.

[1] Piña Colada, the national drink of Puerto Rico (photos #1 and #2 © Caribe Hilton).

[2] This modern version trades the traditional garnish (maraschino cherry and pineapple chunk) with a coconut rim (photo © Pinnacle Vodka).

[4] Coco Lopez was invented in 1954 by a professor of agriculture (photos #3 and #4 © Coco Lopez).

[5] Without it there would be no Piña Colada!

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the rum, coconut cream, heavy cream and pineapple juice in a blender. Add the ice and blend for about 15 seconds or until smooth.

2. POUR into a 12-ounce glass. Garnish with a fresh pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry.
 
 
MORE PIÑA COLADA RECIPES

 
 
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*The difference between a good and great Piña Colada is the difference between canned and fresh pineapple juice.
 
 
 

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Pillsbury recently sent us two new mixes: Orangesicle Premium Cake Mix and Key Lime Premium Cookie Mix, both with matching frostings.

The jury is in: We love the Orangesicle cake and frosting. The flavor profile presents both the vibrant orange and the vanilla counterpoint of a Creamsicle® (which is a trademarked brand of Unilever—here’s the history of the Creamsicle).

For a killer dessert, serve the cake with scoops of orange sorbet and vanilla ice cream. It’s double Creamsicle/Orangesicle heaven.

The Key Lime cookies were tasty, but not something we’d make again. While the orange and vanilla flavors were prominent in the cake, the cookies lacked the sprightly tartness we’d like from something called “key lime.”

The mixes are available at retailers nationwide. For sure, we’ll be serving Orangesicle again soon.

The mixes are certified kosher (dairy) by OU.

But traditions can be updated. If you like butter, consider adding flavor with a compound butter: chipotle butter, herb butter and numerous others (recipes).

What if you want to avoid the calories and cholesterol? You’ve got tasty options:

IF IT’S FRESH, TRY IT PLAIN

Immediately after harvesting, the sweet sugars that make corn so appealing begin to convert to starch. If the corn is several days old, there may not be much flavor left. So people pile on the condiments to add flavor.

If the corn is fresh and sweet, it needs absolutely no topping. Try it: You may discover that nothing beats the pure, farm-fresh sweetness of a plain ear of corn. You can even eat it raw—something we do while waiting for the rest of the ears to cook.

You can boil or microwave corn, but grilling enhances its sweetness. The heat caramelizes the sugar in the kernels. You can brush it with olive oil and then add the seasonings prior to grilling, or hold the seasonings altogether.

Many of us were taught by Mom to pull back the husk of the corn and look for….well, what are you actually looking for? There’s nothing to see but the size and color of the kernels (white, yellow, mixed), and that’s not going to impact your purchase decision. At worst, you’ll notice that a few kernels are missing at the very top of the ear. That’s not a defect: It’s how nature grew that particular ear.

Pulling back the husks is the worst thing you can do. Exposing the kernels to air makes them dry out, and worse, spurs the conversion of the sugar to starch. You shouldn’t husk corn until right before cooking it. So forget what Mom said—she was only passing along bad information.

Instead:

Check the husks and the exposed corn silk (the tassel) for freshness. The more straw-colored/lighter the silk that peeks out from the husk, the fresher the corn. The exposed silk is the first thing to dry out and show age, as it turns to brown and black.

That doesn’t mean an ear with black silk won’t be sweet—we’ve had plenty of delicious corn where the silk had turned black. It’s just an indicator: If you have a choice between ears with pale silk and those with dark silk, go for the pale. But if the tassel is missing, beware: It’s probably older corn, and the seller has peeled the outer husk leaves and removed the tassel to make it look better.

Then, look at the husks. Are they bright green, or do they look drier and blotchy? Pale silk and bright husks are the answer to which ears you should pick.

Now the big “however”: Chances are, all the corn you’re looking at in a store was harvested at the same time. The real choice lies at farmers markets or roadside stands, where you can compare the corn from different growers.