Mango Raspberry Coulis

Courtesy of Lauren Chattman from her cookbook "Icebox Pies"

Two ways that I love to top my sponge pies are raspberry coulis and mango coulis. All coulis is, is a very simple fruit sauce consisting of pureed fruit, a little bit of confectioner sugar, and maybe some lemon or lime juice. To make raspberry coulis, all you need is a 12oz. bag of raspberries, 1/4 cup of confectioner sugar, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. You whip them up in the food processor and push through a strainer to get rid of the seeds.

Mango coulis is the same thing; a 14oz. bag of frozen mango puree, 2 tablespoons of confectioner sugar, and 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice. These are both just wonderful over any kind of icebox pie. They both have a bright, fresh fruit flavor that contrasts really well with some of the richer whipped-cream fillings that I like to pour into pie shells.

Frozen Watermelon Dessert

Courtesy of Lauren Chattman from her cookbook "Icebox Desserts"

You start with a glass or metal bowl, and put a layer of green sherbet on the outside. That is what is going to be your watermelon rind. You let that setup in the freezer for awhile, take it out, and put a very thin layer of vanilla ice cream. The vanilla ice cream is going to be [represent] that white part of the watermelon that is close to the rind. Then you take some raspberry and strawberry sherbet and mix them with mini chocolate chips. The chocolate chips are going to represent your seeds. Fill up the rest of the bowl with the raspberry/strawberry sherbet dotted with mini chocolate chips, freeze the whole thing for up to 5-6 hours. When it's time to turn it out of the bowl, you slice into it and get little watermelon wedges.

Strawberry Tart

Courtesy of Emily Luchetti from Farallon, San Francisco, CA

Take your favorite tart or pie dough recipe. Make your basic shell, pre-bake it in the oven so it will get nicely browned and crusty. Then it's time to slice your strawberries, but be sure to taste them first because depending on how sweet, they may only need a little bit of sugar, they may need more, but just make sure you sweeten them to taste. Place them in the middle of your tart or pie shell, and you can add some whipped-cream with a little bit of sugar and vanilla. If the strawberries are just a little bit flat, another trick is to add a little bit of Grand Marnier to them, which perks them up a little bit. A tiny bit of lemon juice could also help with this alongside the sugar.

Raspberry Tiramisu

Courtesy of Giada De Laurentis - 

1 cup seedless raspberry jam
6 tablespoons orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
1 pound mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
28 soft ladyfingers or 2 (12-ounce) pound cakes, cut into 3 by 1 by 1 1/2-inch pieces
3 (1/2 dry pint) baskets fresh raspberries (about 3 3/4 cups total)
Confectioners' sugar, for serving

Directions
Stir the jam and 4 tablespoons of the orange liqueur in a small bowl to blend.
Combine the mascarpone and remaining 2 tablespoons of orange liqueur in a large bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream, sugar, and vanilla in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Using a large rubber spatula, stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Line the bottom of a13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish or other decorative serving dish with half of the ladyfingers. Spread half of the jam mixture over the ladyfingers. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the jam mixture, then cover with half of the fresh raspberries. Repeat layering with the remaining ladyfingers, jam mixture, mascarpone mixture and raspberries. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

Black Pepper Salmon

Courtesy of Marni Henrickson - 

1.5 lb salmon fillet (one whole piece)
Black Peppercorns
3 TBLSP Fish Sauce
2 Scallions

Coursely grind one tsp. of black peppercorns. Add to fish sauce, chop up scallions. Mix together.
Put salmon in pan. Flip a few times and let sit at room temp for 1 hour or up to 3 hours in refrigerator. Grill it to taste.

Red, White & Blueberry Crumble

Courtesy of Tina Miller - from Vineyard Harvest
Red,White & Blueberry Crumble
 


10 TBLSP salted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
5 pints fresh blueberries
2 pints fresh raspberries
Whipped cream for serving
 
Preheat the oven to 375.
 
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or with a handheld electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest.
Slowly add the flour and salt. Mix on low speed until just combined.
Place the blueberries in an 11x13 inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Put the raspberries on top, pouring them down the middle so you can see blueberries on the sides. Add the topping in clumps, putting most of it in the middle.
Bake for about 35 minutes. Serve with soft whipped cream, if desired.

Black Raspberry Brown Butter Sauce

Black Raspberry Brown Butter Sauce

Courtesy of Tom Berry – from Bombera Restaurant , Cambridge, MA

1 cup black raspberries

1 TBLSP Dijon mustard

1 TBLSP minced shallots

1 TBLSP sugar

Put in blender , puree until smooth. Meanwhile, take 4 sticks of butter, melt over medium heat, continue to melt until brown, turn nutty. Don’t let it burn. While that is still hot,  measure out a cup, with blender running, slowly drizzle brown butter into Dijon/raspberry mixture so it emulsifies. Season with salt/pepper. Serve at room temperature, not chilled.