LEMON DROP

LEMON DROP
This tart-sweet cocktail makes a nice spring and summer drink for special occasions. A lemonade with kick!
Sugar for rimming glass
1 sugar cube
1/2 ounce vodka
1/2 ounce lemon juice
Add sugar to rim of an old-fashioned glass, and drop a cube or packet of sugar into bottom of glass. Pour vodka and lemon juice into stainless-steel shaker over ice, and shake until completely cold. Pour into prepared glass and serve.
FLIRTINI
This is the effervescently delicious cocktail that Carrie and the girls are drinking in the third season of "Sex and the City."
1 ounce vodka
2 ounces champagne or other sparkling wine
2 ounces pineapple juice
Pineapple slices and maraschino cherries for garnish
Combine vodka, champagne and pineapple juice in a highball or collins glass with ice. Garnish with pineapple slice, maraschino cherry or both.
CHEVRE TARTLETS WITH SWEET PEPPER COULIS
1 package phyllo tartlet cups (15 cups)
8 ounces fresh chevre (goat cheese)
Sweet red pepper, roasted, peeled and seeded
Sweet yellow pepper, roasted, peeled and seeded
15 sprigs fresh rosemary
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place tartlet cups on a baking sheet and crisp in oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until golden brown; set aside. Whip goat cheese by hand or in a food processor for 30 seconds until it softens. Spoon cheese into a small pastry bag and pipe into tartlets, filling 3/4 full. Artfully cut peppers into small pieces and place on top of goat cheese. To garnish, place 1 sprig of rosemary in the center of the pepper-covered tartlet. Serve immediately.
Makes 15 appetizers.
-- Executive chef Len Spampinato, Aromas Event Consulting & amp; Catering
HEARTS AND FLOWERS SALAD
5 ounces baby arugula leaves
10 fresh chives, sliced into 2-inch pieces
1 carrot, coarsely grated or 3/4 cup pre-bagged shredded carrot
1 jicama, peeled and thinly sliced, or packaged turkey roll
8 edible flowers, any combination (available in the produce section of most supermarkets)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Moscato di Asti or Champagne
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a large bowl, combine arugula, chives and carrots. Add in petals from 4 of the flowers. Toss.
Place jicama slices or turkey-roll slices in a stack. With a small heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out stacks of hearts. Set aside.
Prepare vinaigrette. In a tall container, with an immersion blender, emulsify the oil, Moscato or Champagne, lemon juice, pepper and salt. If doing by hand, whisk vigorously until emulsified.
When ready to serve, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of dressing to bowl of salad. Toss. Dip remaining 4 whole flowers into extra vinaigrette. Arrange hearts and flowers on top of salad.
Serves 4.
-- Adapted from "Kosher by Design Entertains," Susie Fishbein
OVEN-ROASTED ASPARAGUS
This simple preparation brings out the natural essence of this wonderful vegetable. The cooking time will vary based on the thickness of the spears; you can also grill the asparagus on an outdoor grill.
11/2 pounds fresh asparagus
Extra-virgin olive oil
Fleur de sel (coarse sea salt) or kosher salt
Freshly grated black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Trim off very bottoms of the spears, leaving as much of length as possible. Using a vegetable peeler, slice down sides of spear to trim off thorns.
Lay spears on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until fork-tender and bright green in color. Cooking time will depend on thickness of the asparagus. Do not overcook or the asparagus will burn and shrivel.
Serves 4 to 6.
-- "Kosher by Design Entertains"
ROULADE OF CHICKEN
2 large chicken breasts, butterflied
1/4 cup olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
Fresh thyme and rosemary leaves
4 ounces of spinach leaves
1 sun-dried tomato, julienned
6 spears of asparagus
1/2 red pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1 small carrot, julienned
1 small zucchini, julienned
4 ounces chevre (goat cheese)
4 ounces walnuts
Salt and pepper to taste
Cover work surface with a sheet of plastic wrap. Place butterflied chicken breast on top and cover with another sheet of plastic. Carefully flatten breast with a tenderizing hammer or rolling pin until it is evenly about 1/4-inch thick. Repeat process with second breast.
Lay a sheet of foil on work surface. Sprinkle with half of the olive oil, 1/4 of the shallots, 1/4 of the garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Lay the breast on top of the seasoned foil, placing it such that the longest length is horizontal. Season this side of the chicken with 1/4 of the shallots, 1/4 of the garlic and a pinch of thyme and rosemary.
Lay spinach in a thin layer along center of breast. Follow with 1/2 of the sun-dried tomato, 3 spears asparagus and 1/2 of peppers, carrots and zucchini. Slice goat cheese and place 3 dry dollops on chicken. Place walnuts on top of cheese, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Gently roll chicken in foil until you have a roulade. Twist ends of the foil in opposite directions to tighten roulade into a perfectly round tube. Repeat this process to make second roulade.
Place roulades on small sheet pan and roast in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until thermometer placed in the center reads 150 degrees. Remove roulades from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Unravel ends of foil and remove roulades from foil onto cutting board. Slice roulades into 1/2-inch rounds. You will have approximately 9 slices per roulade.
Makes 6 portions, 3 slices each.
-- Executive chef Len Spampinato, Aromas Event Consulting & amp; Catering
THAI BEEF IN CUCUMBER CUPS
The components of this recipe can be prepared in advance. Just keep the cucumbers refrigerated, covered with a damp paper towel.
Marinade:
1 (1-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 pound London broil
Dressing:
Juice of two limes (approximately 4 tablespoons)
11/2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds discarded, cut into matchsticks and then minced
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
11/2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 pinches cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salad:
2 to 3 large English hothouse cucumbers (seedless)
Handful baby sprouts
2 red radishes, unpeeled, sliced into matchsticks
Black sesame seeds
Mix sliced ginger, soy sauce, water, light-brown sugar and 1 teaspoon sesame oil in a bowl. Cut London broil into 4 large chunks. Add these chunks to the soy marinade. Let it marinate 2 to 3 hours or up to overnight.
Place lime juice, 11/2 tablespoons sesame oil, jalapeno pepper, water, rice vinegar, garlic, soy sauce and cayenne in a medium bowl and whisk.
Remove meat from marinade. Dry it off with a paper towel; marinade will burn otherwise. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sear meat and cook through, about 9 to 10 minutes per side. Remove from pan. Slice meat into thin matchstick strips.
Cut ends off cucumbers. Peel ends and chop into 1/4-inch pieces and mix with meat, sprouts and radishes. Cut cucumbers into 1-inch pieces. To create wells, scoop out pulp and some flesh with a melon baller or a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon. Leave a base on bottom. Loosely stuff the meat mixture into each well. It is OK if extra meat falls onto plate or over sides of cucumber well.
Drizzle with dressing. Garnish with black sesame seeds. Drizzle extra dressing around plate.
Serves 10 to 12.
-- "Kosher by Design Entertains," Susie Fishbein
SOUR CREAM PANNA COTTA WITH CHAMPAGNE GELEE
For champagne gelee:
11/2 teaspoons gelatin
2 tablespoons water
1 cup champagne
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3 strips orange zest
1 pint each fresh blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries
12 martini glasses
In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin powder on 2 tablespoons of cold water and let sit for 5 minutes. Combine champagne, sugar, 1/4 cup water and orange zest in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until sugar dissolves, then remove from heat, stir in bloomed gelatin to dissolve, and cover pan and let rest until cool. Remove orange zest.
Place 1 blackberry, 2 blueberries, 1 or 2 raspberries and 2 slices of strawberry (or any combination of berries desired) in bottom of each martini glass. Pour in just enough of champagne mixture to touch every berry. Chill until set. Divide remaining champagne mixture among glasses and chill again until set. This will prevent berries from floating up from bottom of glass.
For panna cotta:
1 tablespoon gelatin
11/2 cups water, divided
1 cup sugar
11/2 cups sour cream
11/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
11/2 teaspoons lemon juice
Fresh mint leaves, berries and whipped cream for garnish
In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin powder on 1/4 cup of cold water and let sit 5 minutes to bloom. Combine remaining water and sugar in a saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in bloomed gelatin until dissolved. Add heavy cream in a bowl, stir in sour cream with whisk until smooth. Stream in gelatin mixture gradually, continuing to stir with whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla and lemon juice. Using a small pitcher or ladle, pour panna cotta over the champagne gelee in martini glasses. Chill until set. Reserve mint, berries and whipped cream.
For the lime tuile (thin biscuit):
7 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons lime juice
Zest of 1 lime
Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend. Chill. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat baking mat. Arrange 1 teaspoon or smaller scoops of tuile batter on cookie sheet, allowing a generous amount of space for expansion. You might only be able to do 2 per sheet to keep them from merging into one big cookie, and tuile baked on parchment will likely expand into very irregular shapes. Bake until tuile are uniformly golden and no longer bubbling at all, about 6 to 7 minutes, then allow to cool until they are firm enough to stay together. Lift gently using a small knife or spatula. Wrap well to store.
Assembly: Pipe a rosette of whipped cream on top of each panna cotta, slightly back from center of glass. Tuck a mint leaf and a few fresh berries into edge of cream. Top with a piece of lime tuile, set vertically into cream, just before serving. Pass plates of tea cookies such as Mexican wedding cookies, macaroons or spritz.
Serves 12.
-- Alice Leich, pastry chef, Parkhurst Dining Services