Grasshopper Pie

Grasshopper pie has been a favorite of mine for... well, ever. There used to be a restaurant back where I grew up in Wisconsin Rapids, WI called Wilbern's that was an authentic Midwestern supper club. Whenever our family went there for dinner, it was always an event. Dad would don a sport coat, and Mom would put on a dress, some lipstick, and a spritz of perfume. After our delicious dinner in the dining room, we head to the bar for an after-dinner drink before leaving. Mom liked to order grasshoppers, and if I was being really good she would let me sneak a sip of her drink... cool, creamy, minty heaven. I knew that candy was dandy, but grown-up drinks were even more delicious! Grasshopper pie always brings back memories of those special occasions when we would dress up for a night on the town.

Not only that, but I also think of grasshopper pie in particular (not really the drink) as a classic dessert from the golden age of dinner parties in the '60s, what you might serve after you had your rumaki and your glazed ham with pineapple rings. So, in the spirit of nostalgia and keeping it real, I served grasshopper pie at our last dinner club meal.

This is mostly "Grasshopper Pie II" from allrecipes.com. It's a recipe that would make Sandra Lee proud, with its premade chocolate pie crust and melted marshmallows in place of sugar and gelatin. That said, it doesn't really taste "Sandra Lee-d" (and I know you know what I mean when I say that).

Also, I opted to freeze the pie rather than chill it. The firmer texture makes it easier to cut and serve, plus it reminds me more of the ice cream drink I've loved for so many years.

Ingredients:

• 1 (9 inch) prepared chocolate cookie crumb crust
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 32 large marshmallows
• 6 tablespoons creme de menthe
• 1/4 cup white creme de cacao
• 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 drops green food coloring (optional)
• 12 Andes mints, chopped

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan combine evaporated milk and marshmallows. Stir over low heat until marshmallows are completely melted. Chill until mixture holds its shape when dropped from a spoon.
2. Slowly pour creme de menthe and creme de cacao into marshmallow mixture while stirring constantly. Continue to stir until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
3. Pour whipping cream into a large chilled mixing bowl. Add a few drops of green food coloring if desired. Whip cream until stiff. Gently fold whipped cream into marshmallow mixture.
4. Spread mixture into pie crust and top with chopped mints. Freeze overnight before serving.
   

Mashed Eggplant with Garlic and Mint

This recipe comes from Mark Bittman's cooking bible How to Cook Everything.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium or 1 large eggplant (1-1/2 to 2 pounds total)
• Salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 4 large cloves)
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

Directions:

1. Peel the eggplant if the skin is thick or the eggplant is less than perfectly firm; cut it into 1-inch-thick slices and salt if time allows.
2. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Smear a baking sheet with half the oil. Cut several slits on one side of each of the eggplant slices and lay them on the baking sheet. Mix together the remaining oil, the garlic, and the 1/2 cup of minced parsley and sprinkle with salt (if you did not salt the eggplant) and pepper. Spread this mixture on the eggplant slices, pushing it into the slits.
3. Bake without turning until the eggplant is soft, 40 minutes or more. Garnish with parsley and allow to cool slightly.
4. Put the slices in a large bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. (It's fine to leave the skin on; it will break into small bits.) Stir in lemon juice, red pepper, and mint. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve drizzled with additional olive oil if you like.
   

Makes 4 servings.

To salt the eggplant: If the eggplant isn't fresh and firm, to remove bitterness sprinkle it liberally with salt and let it rest in a colander for up to an hour or so; then rinse, pat dry, and proceed with the recipe.

Asparagus Orange Salad

The original recipe presents the asparagus in whole spears elegantly on a platter. Lacking such a platter, I chopped the asparagus and served this as a tossed salad.

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. / 1 bunch thin asparagus spears
• 1-1/3 cups watercress sprigs (I couldn't find watercress, so used baby arugula instead.)
• 1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
• 1 orange, cut into 12 segments
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

Directions:

1. Cook the asparagus in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, or until just tender. Refresh under cold running water and drain well.
2. Arrange the asparagus on a platter with the watercress, onion, and orange segments.
3. Put the orange zest, orange juice, sugar, vinegar, and poppy seeds in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil with a fork until well combined, add salt and pepper to taste, then drizzle over salad.
4. Scatter the goat cheese over the salad and serve.
   

Spiced Carrot and Feta Gnocchi

From the top: minted cream sauce, spiced carrot and feta gnocchi, asparagus orange salad, and mashed roasted eggplant

So... when I was making this recipe, I was pretty sure it was going to fail. The recipe notes that the dough is softer than most gnocchi recipes, but I was not prepared for just how soft it would be. It's very wet and sticky, and I couldn't shape it without dipping it in flour first. Then, I couldn't remove the excess flour from the gnocchi before cooking them, so many of the cooked pieces had an ugly translucent coating over them. (Thankfully, the sauce covered that up.)

But I am very glad to say that this seemed to be everyone's favorite part of the meal. The gnocchi turned out light, fluffly, and gently spiced, and the delicate cream sauce provided a nice complement of flavors.

For those of you trying this at home, I highly recommend chilling the gnocchi in the fridge for at least a couple of hours prior to cooking them to help them hold their shape. Maybe you could even freeze them. Otherwise, you will end up flinging sticky doughballs from your fingers into boiling water, making a mess and probably scalding your hands in the process.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds carrots
• 1-1/3 cups crumbled feta cheese
• 10 oz. / 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala, plus more to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Minted cream sauce:

• 1 oz. butter
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons shredded mint
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

Directions:

1. Cut the carrots into large pieces and steam, boil, or microwave until tender. Drain amd allow to cool slightly
2. Put the carrots in a food processor, add the feta and blend until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and sift the flour and spices over the top. Add the egg and mix to form a soft dough. Taste after this and adjust seasoning as needed. Lightly coat your fingertips with flour and shape teaspoons of the mixture into flat circles. Place on top of a floured surface and set aside in refrigerator (or freezer) to set. (Note: here is where I had problems forming the gnocchi. You may need to roll the teaspoons of dough in flour in order to shape them.)
3. To make the minted cream sauce, melt the butter in a frying pan and saute the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper over medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until the garlic is soft and golden. Stir in the cream, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
4. Meanwhile, cook the gnocchi, in batches, in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 2 minutes, or until they float to the surface. Transfer to warmed serving plates using a slotted spoon. Stir the mint through the sauce, drizzle over the gnocchi, and serve.

Serves 6-8.

Baked Herbed Feta

Baking the feta doesn't melt it, but the cheese does soften a little when warmed.

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. piece of feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped oregano
• 1 tablespoon chopped thyme (I used lemon thyme, which gave a nice flavor)
• 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the feta on a sheet of aluminum foil about 12 inches square.
   
2. In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, oregano, thyme, and pepper, then firmly press the mixture onto each side of the feta. Drizzle with the olive oil, then gently fold the sides of the foil over the cheese to make a parcel.
3. Place the parcel on a baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the feta is soft. (Note: If the piece of feta is very thick, it may need an extra 5 minutes in the oven to heat through.)
4. Unwrap the feta and drain off any excess liquid. Serve warm or a room temperature, with crackers, crusty bread, or as part of a cheese platter or salad.

Serves 6. Cover any leftovers with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Beetroot Hummus

I am not a huge beet fan, but the picture in the cookbook made it look too cool to pass up. And actually, it tastes mostly like regular hummus but with a slight, pleasant sweetness. While it is a little more work than the average hummus recipe, it pays off in "wow" presentation with a gorgeous magenta color.

The original recipe came from a book I found in the bargain bin at Borders called Vegetarian Cooking: A Commonsense Guide, which has no cited author or editor but appears to be a part of Rupert Murdoch's empire. (It is also the source of all the recipes I made for my Feb. 28 dinner except for the mashed eggplant and grasshopper pie.) And as with the other recipes, I thought this was lacking a certain sumpin'-sumpin' as is, so I ended up modifying a bit by adding more of the ingredients to taste as well as salt and pepper. The way wrote the recipe below is the way I made it, and not exactly how it was written in the cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 500 g (1 lb. 2 oz.) beets
• 50 ml (2.5 fl. oz. / 1/3 cup) olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin, plus more to taste
  
• (1) 14-oz. can chickpeas, drained
• 1 tablespoon tahini, plus more to taste
• 80 g (2-1/4 oz. / 1/3 cup) plain yogurt
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 60 ml (2 fl. oz. / 1/4 cup) vegetable stock
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Scrub the beets well. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil, add the beets, and cook for 35-40 minutes, or until tender when pierced with the point of a sharp knife. Drain and cool slightly before peeling.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a frying pan. Saute the onion over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the cumin and a healthy pinch each of salt and pepper and cook for another minute, or until fragrant. Set aside and leave to cool slightly.
3. Chop the beets and place in a food processor or blender with the onion mixture, chickpeas, tahini, yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, and stock. Blend until smooth; taste mixture and adjust spices to taste. With the motor running, add the remaining oil in a thin, steady stream. Blend until thoroughly combined.
   

Serve with anything else you would serve with hummus: crackers, pita, fresh veggies, etc.