Granita is light, low-calorie and crunchier than sorbet. You don’t use an ice cream maker; instead, the ice crystals form in a pan in the freezer and are broken up every few hours.
They are more red in color than Ruby Red grapefruit, so have a more lovely color. If you can’t obtain them, you can substitute other red or pink grapefruit, but they may not have the same sweetness.
RECIPE: GRAPEFRUIT GRANITA
Ingredients For 4 Servings
3 Texas Rio Star grapefruit, juiced
1/2 cup sugar
Garnish: mint leaves
Preparation
[1] It’s easy to make granita with fruit (or coffee), sugar and an ice cube tray (photo courtesy TexaSweet Citrus).
1. COMBINE the grapefruit juice and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
2. LET the mixture cool down and pour it into a flat pan with high sides. Place in freezer. Once ice crystals start to form…
3. USE a fork to stir vigorously, breaking up the crystals. Return to the freezer. Do this every half hour for about four hours.
4. Once the granita is totally frozen, fluff it with a fork and give it another half hour in the freezer to solidify. Serve with a mint leaf garnish.
Looking for palate excitement this year? McCormick, the world’s largest spice company, has developed cutting-edge flavor combinations that are sure to inspire. International influences and natural foods figure prominently in the company’s Top 10 Flavor Pairings for 2009, allowing for flavorful yet healthy dishes. After reviewing the introductions to each flavor pairing, you can click through to a delicious recipe that expresses those flavors. If you love these innovative pairings as much as we do, you can still enjoy the wonderful recipes from Flavor Trends 2008, as well.
How does a spice company decide what’s hot? McCormick draws on the expertise of sensory analysts, chefs, trend experts and food technologists. Joined by some of today’s most innovative and cutting-edge restaurant chefs, cookbook authors and TV food personalities, this collective culinary vision helps chart a delicious course for the year ahead.
Saké and mixed peppercorns: one pairing to wake
up flavor in 2009.
Influencing the flavors of 2009 are Asian-infused and internationally influenced tastes, a desire for all-natural foods and a craving for favorite ingredients reimagined with contemporary whimsy. McCormick explored these and other trends to develop the top 10 flavor pairings for 2009. See which one of the following you’d like to try first:
Planning a party to celebrate Martin Luther King’s birthday? Why serve another “same old, same old” cheese plate, when you can thrill your guests with Mamie’s Cheese Wafers? Cheese wafers are a southern favorite. Dr. King would approve.
For portion control and convenient packaging, these 50-calorie, one-ounce snack strips can’t be beat.
-Beef Sirloin With Cranberries & Blueberries has excellent beef flavor with a nice natural sweetness from the dried fruit. There’s a light pepperiness. The nutrition label: calories from fat, 15; total fat 2g; saturated fat .5g; trans fat 0g; cholesterol 15mg; sodium 286 mg (12% DV); total carb 4g; sugars 2g; protein 10g; vitamin A, 0% DV, vitamin C, 0% DV; iron 2% DV.
-Skinless Chicken Breast With Black Bean Salsa & Wisconsin Cheddar has real black bean flavor and heat from the “salsa” component, although there’s no prominent flavor of Cheddar—not that it’s needed. The nutrition label: calories from fat, 10; total fat 1g; saturated fat 0g; trans fat 0g; cholesterol 20mg; sodium 340 mg (14% DV); total carb 1g; sugars 0g; protein 12g; vitamin A, 4% DV, vitamin C, 2% DV; calcium 2% DV; iron 2% DV.
Jerky snack strips, an apple and a can of sparkling
juice are an easily portable and nutritious snack.
-Chicken Breast With Italian Seasoning & Romano Cheese started out meaty and cheesy, as if it belonged on an Italian antipasto platter. (There’s some red bell pepper for flavoring, too.) Then the black pepper kicked in, and sustained a long, fresh-ground peppery finish. The nutrition label: calories from fat, 10; total fat 1g; saturated fat 0g; trans fat 0g; cholesterol 20mg; sodium 290 mg (12% DV); total carb 1g; sugars 0g; protein 12g; vitamin A, 15% DV, vitamin C, 60% DV; calcium 4% DV; iron 2% DV.
Gourmet cookware manufacturer Le Creuset has launched its new color for 2009: White. Our thoughts: This looks like all the white, enameled cookware we got rid of when we traded up to Le Creuset years ago. We prefer jubilant colors in our kitchen, such as Le Creuset’s red, yellow and blue cookware, which also look great at the table. But then, we weren’t in the focus groups that voted for white! You can find Le Creuset at Sur La Table and other fine stores. Le Creuset has been making enameled cast iron cookware since 1925. The factory is located in the north of France, in Fresnoy-Le-Grand, not far from the border with Belgium. Cast iron is a favorite of chefs because it most evenly conducts and retains heat—it’s the original slow cooker. It’s also very heavy, so you build your “kitchen muscles.”
