Fruit

Grilled Peach Salad

July 26, 2009 by Charles 1 Comment

Summer is a good time for fresh fruits and vegetables. But it’s not the best time to spend stuck in your kitchen, laboring over a hot stove. The perfect summer salad solves this potential paradox.

The grilled peaches took me outside for a few minutes, and provided a sweet taste and a vibrant color for the salad. After that, I laid some arugula down as a base, topped it with roma tomatoes, feta cheese, toasted pecans, and a homemade vinaigrette. The salad was ready in fewer than five minutes – which left me plenty of time to enjoy a sunny Sunday stroll in Saint Louis.

Incidentally, if you’re looking for more salad ideas, …

Melon Granita

July 12, 2009 by Charles 2 Comments

Granita siciliana, as the name suggests, is a granular, semi-frozen dessert with Sicilian origins. (Granita means “grained” or “granular” in Italian). Granita is a simple dessert, usually made from pureed fruit and sugar. The mixture is then frozen, and periodically scraped to give the dessert its granular texture. Indeed, breaking up the ice crystals is essential: it gives the dessert its signature crunch, and works to enhance the flavors within the dish.

The sugar and alcohol in the recipe help prevent the mixture from getting too solid. Beyond that, it helps to …

Mango Pineapple Lassi

June 14, 2009 by Charles 7 Comments

Predicting another hot weekend in Saint Louis, I decided to freeze a pineapple and two mangoes. The next day, when the mid-afternoon sun hit, I was ready. I ran each fruit under some hot water to loosen the skin, diced the fruit, and then dropped them in the blender to make a cool lassi.

Lassi is an Indian drink with a yogurt base,…

Almond-Stuffed Baked Apples

April 26, 2009 by Charles 3 Comments

On January 24, 1984, Apple Computer introduced audiences to its new computer, the Macintosh. The introduction, by way of a landmark 60-second Superbowl commercial, promised users that they would “see why 1984 won’t be like [George Orwell’s] 1984.”

The commercial owed its creation to the director Ridley Scott, who had recently filmed Blade Runner. The Macintosh computer owed its creation to Jef Raskin, one of Apple’s legendary computer makers. As does the computer’s trade name; McIntosh apples, legend has it, were Jef Raskin’s favorite type of apple.

And it’s easy to see why. McIntosh apples …

Meringues Chantilly

February 22, 2009 by Charles 9 Comments

Meringues are a royal treat. Legend has it that Marie Antoinette loved meringue kisses so much, she often made them herself. So whether you’re making your meringues for the royal family or just your family, this elegant dessert is bound to please.

Meringues are built around sugar and egg whites. But despite this simplicity, there are a number of techniques to making the perfect meringues.

1) Look at your weather forecast. Heavy humidity …