4 Simple Recipes

S. at Rhymes with Javelin tagged me for a recipe meme. Food. Cooking. Recipes. I'm in! So, here are four incredibly simple things to have in your arsenal - they don't make a meal taken as a foursome, but any one of them will enhance a meal.

1) Creamed Leeks
This makes a great simple side dish for an autumnal meal.

Cut the green tops off, cut the leeks down the middle and wash well, put them cut side down in a baking dish, and pour heavy cream over so that it's about half way up the leeks. Bake until the the leeks are done and a little browned.

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2) Real "Jell-O"
This is just as easy as the kind from a box, and you feel like a million bucks for using real juice. Make it in little molds for extra points.

2 cups fruit juice
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) unflavored gelatin

Pour 1/2 cup of the fruit juice into a medium glass bowl or measuring cup and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let stand for 1 minute.

 In a medium saucepan, bring the remaining 1-1/2 cups fruit juice to a boil. Stir into the gelatin mixture until dissolved. Pour into individual bowls or into one bowl. Chill until set.

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3) Blueberry Tart
This tart is basically half cooked and half raw berries, with the cooked ones holding the whole thing together.

1 quart of fresh blueberries
3 T. cornstarch
½ cup sugar
fully baked tart shell, ~9”

Put half the berries in a saucepan with the cornstarch, sugar and a splash of water. Cook gently until most of the berries have burst and the mixture is thick and gloppy looking. Stir in the remaining uncooked berries and spread gently in the tart shell. Eat.

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4) Non-Traditional Hollandaise
This is adapted from Harold McGee, food scientist extraordinaire. Try a cook-off – one person does this, and someone else does it the tedious decreed way. This one is much easier and the results are great.

2 egg yolks
1 stick of butter
2 T. lemon juice
½ t. salt

Cut the butter into 1 T. chunks. Place the egg yolks, lemon juice and salt in a cold saucepan, and beat together thoroughly. Add the chunks of butter, place the pan over moderate heat, and begin whisking gently. Control the heat so that the butter melts gradually and evenly into the yolk base. Once all the butter has melted, continue heating and whisking until the sauce just thickens.

The rules:

1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 4 recipes they especially like.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 4 recipes.
4. Players should tag 4 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

So, I hereby tag: Bipolar Lawyer Cook, Pinknest, Antropologa, and Crunchy Granola. I'm looking forward to another 16 simple recipes!