Recipes

Tomato Basil Soup

Here's my lovely sister-in-law stirring the soup.
They key workers were behind-the-scenes.  My mom is
in the background filming.

For a party this size, I doubled the recipe.  Follow the recipe as-is to serve 6 people.

Total time: around 20 minutes, depending on how fast your stove heats.

Ingredients:

2 cans of Hunts garlic fire-roasted tomatoes (or any tomatoes of your choice. I like lots of flavor.)

1 small can of tomato paste

4 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup half-and-half (or heavy whipping cream for a thicker soup)

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar (optional to cut acidity)

Combine all tomatoes, basil, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and sugar in a large pot and turn on medium heat.  When soup is simmering, add the stick of butter and stir as it melts.  Once that is melted, slowly add the half-and-half as you stir it in.  Turn heat down to low and cover.  Let cook for at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to combine seasonings.  Serve hot with sourdough bread or chicken salad sandwiches.

Chocolate Mousse

Prep time: 20 minutes

Ready in: 4 hours 20 minutes

Serves 12

16 oz premium dark chocolate, like Ghiradelli, Lindt, or even dark chocolate Hershey kisses

8 egg whites

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream+ 2 Tbsp sugar, whipped

1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut up

Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl for 2 minutes on high, pausing and stirring twice.  After the 2 minutes, remove chocolate and stir in butter until the chocolate in smooth and the butter is melted in. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Slowly fold into cooled-but still warm, just not hot-chocolate.

In another bowl, whip heavy whipping cream and sugar until stiff.  Fold into the chocolate mixture slowly.  Pour mixture into cups (I use crystal-looking shooters from Ross stores).  A little goes a long way with these, so keep your servings small.

I top with homemade chocolate cherry whipped cream or strawberries.  At the tea party, I ground up oreos, topped the shooters with the crumbs, and put in a mint sprig to make it look like a potted plant.  Get creative.  To make chocolate cherry whipped cream:

Take the rest of your unused heavy whipping cream and pour it in a bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup, 2 tablespoons of maraschino cherry juice (in a jar of the cherries), and 1/4 cup powdered sugar.  Whip until firm. Yummy!

Spring Tea Lime Cookies

This one I can't claim as my own.  Therefore, you may have the link to the cookies.

The only thing I change from the original recipe is adding a key lime twist.  Do the whole recipe as written, then add 2 cups of powdered sugar with 2 Tbsp key lime juice.  That will form a nice, creamy sugar topping.  Pour it on the cookies, but try not to let it be too thick.  You don't need a sugar coma.  Let it air dry for an hour.  The key lime topping has always been popular with the lime fans.  It gives the recipe a good zing.

Sorry I do not have a good picture of the cookies.  The link has good pictures, though, so here's one of theirs.  Yeah, they are that good.  Stop drooling on your screen.

Cucumber-Dill Sandwiches

Prep time: 20 minutes

Ready in: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

8 oz (1 brick) cream cheese, softened

Fresh dill, 3 tbsp, chopped

Cucumber slices

Sourdough bread, sliced thin (or your favorite bread)

Using a fork, combine cream cheese and dill in a small bowl.  Lay out your bread and slather a medium layer (not thin, not thick) of the cream cheese mixture on the bread.  Now, if you want to get cute, get the flower cookie cutter from Hobby Lobby.  I don't know why, but the small metal ones are around the doll section in the Rock Hill location. (???)  They do carry them, but not with the conventional cookie cutters.  You may need to ask an employee for help.  The cutters come in a pack of three with the smallest barely able to fit around your pinky.  The larger of the three is the perfect size for flower-shaped cucumbers.  Slice your cucumbers to preferred thickness, then push the cookie cutter into them.  Look, Ma, no peeling!  Plus, they look adorable.  Place the slices on the sandwiches, and voila!  A beautiful, yummy, refreshing little finger food.

Key Lime Pie

Now, my sister-in-law says that no matter who does this recipe, my pie is always better.  The secret?  FRESH key limes.  Don't use the canned juice.  Ever.  That's just wrong.  The best key lime pie is in March.  I don't know why, but the key limes are sweeter and less tart.  Oh, and never get a bag with brown key limes.  Always buy a bag with as many dark green ones as you can.  The Key Lime Pie recipe also comes from allrecipes.com, but I will go ahead and write it out here since I have tips, tricks, and some minor changes.  It's not hard.

Total Time: 3 hours

Time varies depending on how fast you can squeeze limes.

Serves: 9

Ingredients:

1 Prepared graham cracker crust (I use the Keebler 2 extra servings crust.  It gives more, plus the pie tends to be a little too full with a regular crust.)

3/4 cup of FRESH key lime juice.  If you must supplement a little, only do 1/4 cup of the key lime juice that is in the lime-shaped container from the produce area.  No cans.  Ever.

1 Tbsp grated key lime zest

1/2 cup of sour cream.  I do a dollop, do a dollop of light Daisy (jingle there for you).

3 cups sweetened condensed milk (nothing but Eagle Brand for this gal)

Preheat oven to 350*F.

Combine juice, milk, zest, and sour cream in a bowl.  Stir until well combined, meaning no juice floating on the surface of the milk.  Pour into the crust and bake for 6 minutes.  I found that this is the perfect amount of time.  TURN ON YOUR TIMER!  I overcooked this pie once.  It was the saddest moment of my cooking career.  You do not want this pie browned.  Little pinprick bubbles, yes.  Brown, no.

Pull out of the oven, cool for five minutes, then refrigerate and chill thoroughly before serving.  I top my pie with more zest, key lime slices, and my own key lime whipped cream.  Basically, do a basic whipped cream recipe with 1 teaspoon of key lime juice added.  Uh, yum!  Here's a picture of my pie:

You know you want some.

See how full it is even with the extra 2 servings crust?  You definitely need the bigger crust.  Trust me.

Another tip for this pie?  The garlic press is your best friend.  I bought one just for squeezing key limes.  Those darned little things are just too small for traditional juicers.  Zest the limes first with a cheese grater.  A zester takes FOREVER!  I mean, the limes are like peeling a cherry.  Tiny, slippery, and frustrating.  A cheese grater helps you work faster, and just look at the pretty zest.  So, top two key-lime friendly kitchen gadgets?  A garlic press and a cheese grater.  Do not attempt this pie without them.  You have been warned.