fabulous fruit salad

Summer is here, fruit is in abundance at the grocery stores, and my family LOVES it! We had friends over for dinner this past week and when choosing what to make as a side I wanted something that was going to be fresh and in season, along with a dish that could be made ahead of time so I could actually enjoy the company versus being in the kitchen the whole time. This fruit salad does require a little last minute preparation, but it took all of 5 minutes at the most (and with the help of friends pitching in to finish the salad, it worked out perfectly!).

Fabulous Fruit Salad (ToH June/July '09)
1 medium honeydew, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 medium cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cubed
2 cups cubed seedless watermelon
2 medium peaches, peeled and sliced
2 medium nectarines, sliced
1 cup seedless red grapes
1 cup halved fresh strawberries
1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, drained
2 medium kiwifruit, peeled, halved and sliced
2 medium firm bananas, sliced
1 large Granny Smith apple, cubed
1 can (12 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 pkg (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, stir in the bananas and apple. Combine lemonade and pudding mix; pour over fruit and toss to coat. Serves 20 (3/4 cup each).

Zucchini Pineapple Cake

I've had this recipe for quite some time but am just now getting around to trying it. I needed a dish to share at my MOPS meeting tomorrow morning and when I was going through my freezer and pantry to see if I had ingredients on hand so I wouldn't have to go to the store, this recipe came to mind. Not only is it easy to put together (especially since I already had zucchini shredded in the freezer), it seems like a versatile cake....good for breakfast or dessert! It is a moist, rich, and dense cake.

Zucchini Pineapple Cake
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsps vanilla
1 cup oil
2 cups zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1/2 cup raisins or coconut (I used coconut)
1 can prepared sour cream frosting

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil until light and fluffy. Add zucchini, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Mix well. Stir in pineapple, nuts, raisins or coconut. Bake in greased and floured 9x13 pan for 50-55 minutes. Cool on wire rack, then frost with sour cream frosting.

Sweet and Sour Pork and Pineapple Stir-Fry

This dish reminds me of the sweet and sour chicken my dad use to make when I was growing up. At that point, I really didn't care for the dish, but I'm happy that my taste buds have "matured" and I enjoy stir-fry now!

Sweet and Sour Pork and Pineapple Stir-fry (Pampered Chef)
1 lb pork tenderloin
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbls plus 1 tsp cornstarch, divided
2 cups fresh sugar snap peas
1 medium pineapple
3 Tbls soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
1/3 cup apricot preserves
1 Tbls vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2-inch thick wedges
3 cups hot cooked rice

On cutting board, trim fat and silver skin from pork tenderloin. Slice pork lengthwise into four strips. Thinly slice strips crosswise. Combine pork, salt and 2 Tbls of the cornstarch in bowl; set aside. On a large cutting board, cut sugar snap peas in half crosswise on a bias. Slice top and bottom off of pineapple, creating a flat base. Stand pineapple upright; core and peel. Set aside half of the pineapple for another use. Chunk remaining pineapple flesh. For sauce, combine soy sauce, vinegar and remaining cornstarch in small bowl, whisk well. Add preserves and whisk well; set aside. Add oil to 12-inch skillet; heat over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until simmering. Place pork into skillet in single layer and cook undisturbed 4-6 minutes or until browned on one side. Turn pork over and cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Add onion. Cook 30-60 seconds or until onion begins to brown. Reduce heat to medium; add peas, pineapple and sauce. Cook 1-2 minutes or until sauce is thickened, stirring constantly. Serve stir-fry with rice. Makes 4 servings.

Angel Lush

I needed a quick dessert to take for a church luncheon this afternoon. I have made this Angel Lush before and remember it not only being quick and easy to make, but also a great summer dessert!
Angel Lush
1 (10-in) angel food cake
20 oz can crushed pineapple, undrained
3.4 oz box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup whipped topping, thawed
a few strawberries for garnish

In a medium mixing bowl gently combine pineapple, pudding mix, and whipped topping. Cut angel food cake in to three layers. Between each layer, spread 1 cup of pineapple mixture, ending with the pineapple mixture on top. Garnish the top layer with sliced strawberries. Refrigerate at least one hour to set. Serve cool or at room temperature. Serves 8.

Barefoot Bloggers: Peach and Blueberry Crumble

This is a wonderful summer dessert recipe chosen by Aggie at Aggie's Kitchen for this month's Barefoot Bloggers. I had read some comments about this recipe in regards to making additional topping as some didn't feel the original recipe called for enough. I did double the topping, but then chose not to use the whole doubled amount. I felt the dessert had a great flavor with just enough sugar to make it sweet, but not so sweet that it overpowered the fruit.
Peach & Blueberry Crumbles (Barefoot Contessa at Home)

For the fruit:

2 lbs firm, ripe peaches (6-8 peaches)

2 tsp grated lemon zest

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

For the Crumble:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 lb (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it’s in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit.Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and back for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature. If you want to make these early, store the unbaked crumbles int he refrigerator and bake before dinner. Serves 5 to 6.

No-Cook Cranberry Relish

This looked like a refreshing "salad" and I had frozen cranberries on hand that needed to be used up. It was very runny, so if I choose to make this again, I would possible strain this with a sieve before serving.

No-Cook Cranberry Relish (Taste of Home)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 medium orange, peeled
1 Tbls sugar

In a blender or food processor, process all ingredients until coarsely chopped. Cover and chill for 30 minutes or until ready to serve. Serves 1.

Romaine and Strawberry Salad served with Pork Medallions

I've been enjoying a cookbook titled, "Light Cooking for Two" and have made several successful recipes from this book lately. I love that most things are very quick to put together since you are only making two servings. Plus, having no leftovers is a bonus!

Romaine and Strawberry Salad
2 cups torn romaine lettuce
1/2 cup halved fresh strawberries
1 Tbls coarsely chopped purple onion
1 Tbls slivered almonds, toasted
1 Tbls honey
1 Tbls balsamic vinegar

Combine romaine lettuce, strawberry halves, chopped onion, and toasted almonds; toss gently. Combine honey and vinegar, stirring well. Pour vinegar mixture over salad and toss gently. Serves 2.

Pork Medallions with Sun-Dried Cherries
1 Tbls sun-dried cherries
2 Tbls hot water
Vegetable cooking spray
1/2 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 3/4 inch thick slices
1/2 tsp margarine
1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms (I omitted)
1 Tbls chopped green onions
1/4 cup canned beef broth
1 Tbls dry red wine
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tsps chopped fresh parsley

Combine cherries and water in small bowl; cover and let stand 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add pork medallions; cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove pork from skillet. Melt margarine in skillet, add mushrooms and green onions; saute' 1 minute. Combine cherries, beef broth and next 3 ingredients, stirring well; add to mushroom mixture in skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Arrange pork medallions on a serving plate. Spoon mushroom mixture over pork and sprinkle with parsley. Serves 2.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

I love freshly baked warm muffins on the weekends. I had two containers of fresh blueberries in the refrigerator that was originally meant for fruit salad, but I decided to make muffins this morning instead! I tried a new recipe which turned out fabulous. I didn't make any adjustments for the high altitude and they still turned out really well. These have the perfect balance between the sweetness of the topping and the tart flavor of the blueberries. Enjoy!

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (do not thaw) blueberries

Streusel:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup cold butter or margarine

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg; mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in vanilla. Fold in blueberries. Fill 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Combine streusel ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until browned. Makes 12.

Easy Fruit Salad

My mom has made Five Cup Fruit Salad for as long as I can remember, and it became a fast favorite with me. I love the mixture of fruit with coconut and marshmallows! I needed something to take as a side for Easter dinner this past Sunday at a friend's house and the first thing that came to mind was this salad. It is perfect for Spring/Summer and extremely fast and easy to throw together.

Five Cup Fruit Salad
1 cup mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup pineapple chunks, drained
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup sour cream

Mix all ingredients in large bowl until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Fig and Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin

I've never cooked with figs before and wasn't sure what to expect from this recipe. I decided to try it as I had a pork tenderloin to use up in the freezer and it sounded interesting with the addition of figs and orange segments. My husband and I were pleasantly surprised and thought it was very good! I'm going to have to search out more fig recipes, as I have half a bag left....


Fig and Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin (Taste of Home Magazine - Dec/Jan 2009)
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fennel seed, crushed (omitted)
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 pork tenderloins (3/4 lb each)


Glaze:
2/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbls brown sugar
1 Tbls molasses
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp kosher salt
dash white pepper
dash ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped orange segments
10 dried figs
1/4 cup water
1 Tbls olive oil


In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; rub over pork. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. For glaze: in a large saucepan, combine the broth, brown sugar, molasses, vinegar and seasonings. Stir in orange and figs. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15-18 minutes or until figs are tender. Stir in water; cool slightly. Transfer to a blender; cover and process until smooth. In a large nonstick skillet, brown pork in oil on all sides. Spread with half of fig-orange glaze. Place pork on a rack in a shallow roasting pan lined with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees, basting occasionally with remaining glaze. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

TWD: French Pear Tart

What a great way to start another year of Tuesdays with Dorie. Dorie herself chose this week's selection; check out her blog for the recipe. I made the tart yesterday as I had a dinner guest last evening and we couldn't get enough of the dessert! I would have to say my favorite part is the crust. I am anxious to try the crust and filling with some other fruit options. The pears were good, but I also think peaches would be a wonderful pairing with the almond cream and sweet tart crust!

TWD: Tall and Creamy Cheese Cake

This is the last TWD recipe for this year! When I started baking with the group, I thought I needed to bake every week, until I realized how much time and ingredients that took! There are many bakers out there that do participate each week, but unfortunately I'm not one of them. So, it has been a couple of weeks since I last posted a TWD post, but this cheesecake was a great way to finish off December. Thanks goes out to Anne at Anne Strawberry for choosing this week's recipe. This is a nice basic cheesecake that I chose to dress up a bit. I've included the topping recipe, as it's not a Dorie Greenspan recipe. (PS. Happy Birthday, MOM!)



Cranberry Topping
3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 Tbls cornstarch
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

In a large saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar and water. Bring to a boil. reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Combine cornstarch and orange juice until smooth; stir into cranberry mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in pecans. Place in small bowl to accompany cheesecake or spoon over cheesecake once mixture has cooled to room temperature.

Cookie Carnival:....no cookies for me this month!

I've been a little "cookied" out with all the cookies I've been baking lately with the Tuesdays with Dorie group. I decided to pass up this month's Cookie Carnival recipe, which was Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies....very interesting in my opinion. I'm not a fan (at all!) of grapefruit, which is probably why I was also not going to attemp to make these....they would have eventually ended up in the trash! The recipe is below for those of you that are grapefruit fans! Check out this month's round-up to see the other Cookie Carnival particpants pictures and opinions regarding the cookie. I hope to be back next month to participate!

Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies
You can bake the cookies and make the filling a day ahead.

Makes 15 sandwich cookies.
* Grated zest of 1 Ruby Red grapefruit, plus 1/4 cup freshly squeezed juice
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
* 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
* 2 large egg yolks
* Pink Grapefruit Cream Filling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a small bowl, combine zest with 1 tablespoon sugar; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and remaining sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add egg yolks, and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in reserved zest-sugar mixture. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the juice, and beat to combine.
3. Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, and shape into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out disk to 1/8 inch thick using a lightly floured rolling pin. Using a lightly floured 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place about 1 inch apart on prepared sheet. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes. Transfer parchment paper and cookies to rack to cool completely.
5. Using an offset spatula, spread 1 tablespoon filling onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping flat sides down. Once filled, cookies can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Ingredients for filling
Makes enough to fill 15 sandwich cookies.
* 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed Ruby Red grapefruit juice
Directions
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in honey. Add juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until filling holds together and is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and set aside until ready to use.

TWD: Dimply Plum Cake

I was on the fence about this recipe and really didn't intend on making this particular dish. Rather than 'regretting' not making it later, I scaled the recipe down to make one serving (as I knew my husband would NOT like this) and I'm glad I tried it. It wasn't 'outstanding', but it was good enough to eat. I put the batter in a 4" ramekin and used one plum half. I could have done without the plum, but the cake portion was actually pretty good. I really liked the subtle orange flavor from the zest added to the batter. Final verdict...it was good enough to eat once, but I probably won't make this again (unless I tried a different fruit on top). Thanks goes out to Michelle at Bake-en for choosing this week's recipe!

TWD: Summer Fruit Galette (Finally a success!)

I was very excited to try this week's recipe which was chosen by Michelle from Colorado Springs (almost a neighbor by Wyoming standards!!). I had never made a galette before and was a little nervous after reading a dear friend's post about her filling oozing out the sides and making a mess. I chose nectarines as my fruit as I've just found a new 'passion' for them! I am SO PROUD of myself (okay, it's not good to boast I know!) but this is the first recipe (out of three) that actually didn't make a mess in my kitchen and came out how I envisioned! I was so excited when taking the galette out of the oven and photographing away when I remembered.....ADD THE CUSTARD FILLING! So, after re-heating the oven, whisking up the custard, back in it went and it came out more beautiful than the first time! I must have rolled out my dough a little thin, because after trimming it to make a 13-inch round, I still had a nice size dough ball left, which allowed me to make a 'baby' galette (AKA my tasting piece!). My husband and I are having a friend over for dinner this evening as his wife and two kids are out of town. I'm hoping both of the guys enjoy the galette as much as I! The crust is super flaky with a hint of butter taste and the filling is so creamy! I am adding this recipe to my 'favorite' category!