Easy and Elegant Summer Supper plus Birthday Wishes!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Sometime you have to entertain, even in hot weather. You want to impress your friends, but the last thing you need is to slave away for hours (or when it's really hot, minutes) in the kitchen. You could get take-away, but that's the culinary equivalent of giving someone a gift still in the bag from the store, with receipt attached.

Recently, my friends Celia and Victor Wakefield had me over for a pre-concert dinner - we were going to see the second performance of the Portland Chamber Music Festival. We had shrimp, a green salad with vinaigrette, bread, and a perfect dessert of marinated strawberries with whipped cream and shortbread cookies. It felt very posh, and when Celia - who comments here! - told me she the whole thing took about 20 minutes of oven-free preparation, I was sold. You will be, too.

Celia Wakefield's Simple Shrimp for 4

1 1/2 lb pre-cooked frozen shrimp (yes, this actually works better with the less-expensive shrimp!)

Marinade:

Large clove of garlic, chopped

4 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice 

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp + Trader Joe’s chili lime seasoning, or chili to taste 

Salt to taste 

Cover a rimmed cookie sheet with foil.

Four hours or so before serving, place the frozen shrimp on the cookie sheet and spread out as much as possible.

Pour the dressing over the shrimp and mix, then cover with plastic wrap.

The shrimp can sit out if the weather isn’t too hot, or place in fridge.

Before serving put shrimp briefly under a broiler to warm.

Celia served the shrimp with bottled tartar sauce she had thinned with a dribble of water and cream (she's English...) and to which she added a shake of the Trader Joe's chili-lime mix.

Celia's Easier-Than-Strawberry-Shortcake

Strawberries

Brown sugar

Grand Marnier

Whipped cream (let's face it, homemade is best, and doesn't take too long)

Shortbread fingers straight out of the box

This is also best if started about 3-4 hours before the meal.  Sprinkle enough brown sugar to make a fine layer on a rimmed plate, then add enough Grand Marnier to create a shallow pool. 

 Slice the strawberries lengthwise and lay them cut-side down in the liquid. Cover and let rest out of the way on the counter. (If you need to keep them in the fridge, bring them up to room temperature before serving.)

You can serve it in individual bowls, or bring out the plate, the whipped cream, and the shortbread and let guests assemble for themselves.

I know many readers have been following along as I write about my kids growing, heading off to college, joining the navy and otherwise getting their start in the world. Today is a big day, because Youngest - Virginia - turns 18 and will be off to university in two weeks. Please join me in wishing her a Happy Birthday, and remind her that even though she's technically an adult, she should probably still listen to her mom.

Sunday Recipe: Celia Wakefield's Customizable Shortbread Cookies

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: It's Labor Day weekend, which means, perhaps, bringing a little something along to a cookout. And of course, it marks the beginning of the fall season: everything starting back up at church, resuming your book club or your volunteer group, getting together with friends after a summer spent enjoying the outdoors (New England and the PNW) or hiding from the heat and fire-ash (everybody else.) What do you need to bring in hand to all these events? How about some delicious cookies made from Celia Wakefield's recipe?

 

 

Good morning Reds and readers, friends all, I hope you're having a great Bouchercon and remember if all goes well, ALL the Reds and me too will be at New England Crime Bake. It will be my first mystery con and I look to you to take care of me as I know Julia will be very busy. 

What have I been cooking? I’ve been very jealous of Edith’s tomato crop as I can’t grow anything living as we live in the woods so I am dependent on my local farm stand and I do love tomatoes that taste like tomatoes. I can’t get enough of them at this time of the year and hope the good weather will stretch into September so we can continue to gorge ourselves. Just in case you’re thinking not another tomato recipe, wrong! It was almost a recipe with tomatoes in it but I’ll keep it for another time.

 

Today it’s shortbread, and for those of you with good memories you’re thinking, well she did that back in 2020, not to mention the deconstructed strawberry shortbread summer dessert. But, I’ve been experimenting. Yes, I got brave and like Star Trek went boldly with my baking. 

 

I’m sure many of you know the trouble with a successful dish is that the family and friends want it forever. For example if I ask Victor what would he like for dinner, he’ll reply, ‘A baked potato’. He loves a potato baked well, cut in half and the insides scraped out, mashed, mixed with cheeses, maybe some creme fraiche or feta, a little olive oil or butter or both, s&p, piled back into the shells, anointed well with grated cheese and run under the broiler till a suntan appears on top. So simple, so delicious, so tired of making it.

And I got tired of making shortbread in 2020 when I wasn’t out and about hunting down brands. I tried so many recipes and found nothing really was what I wanted. The pandemic dialed down enough to allow us to go shopping, well masked of course, and I found that Whole Foods had its own brand of shortbread cookies, less expensive than Walkers, of course not as good, but in life we sometimes have to make sacrifices. Also far too sweet, but Victor liked them. Then came the great Global supply chain crisis and again shop shelves were empty or unavailable and still are in some locations. 

Last Christmas I asked for Paul Hollywood’s new book, BAKE. You might ask why, knowing my feelings on baking and whether I’m a star? Not! But who can resist those eyes? And I thought if anyone knew how to make a successful shortbread it was Paul so back into the kitchen I went. Followed his directions, religiously. Mixed carefully, folded by hand gently and was left with a pile of dry crumbs on my parchment paper. I wrapped it all up and bunged it into the fridge while I considered what I might say to Paul should I run across him at Whole Foods. 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of days went by. Finally I was ready for a little research. I dug out three books for help - Mark Bittman’s Baking Book (a gift 2 years ago,) BAKE, and my Readers Digest book on English cooking must have the answer. The recipes were very similar; the only real difference was that Bittman added an egg yolk. So I got out the dough crumbs, threw them into my Ninja bowl with the big scary blade, added an egg, yes a whole egg, and turned it on. Instantly I had a workable dough. Rolled between two sheets of parchment paper, chilled, cut and baked - Success was mine.

Having baked a few batches since then, here’s my recipe and method for Hacked Shortbread. Now part of following your own baking bliss is adding different flavors. I love lemon. I have also added ginger or cardamon spices to my doughs. I think cinnamon would be lovely too around the holidays. Then the tops can be decorated with pieces of crystallized ginger or other dried fruits. I have sprinkled colored sugars over the warm cookies or even a dusting of confectioners sugar would be pretty. This is no family recipe with traditions, make it your own and send me a photo.

 

 

 

 

Assemble ingredients: 

2 sticks softish butter cut into chunks 

2 Cups Flour 

1/2C + 1 Tblsp sugar (I use cane sugar but brown sugar would be interesting too) 

3/4 C cornstarch

Pinch salt 

Food Processor

There it is: five ingredients and now you add the flavor. I chose lemon using a hack going back to my British Butler days when I made cold lemon soufflé by the bucket.

METHOD:  

• Carefully peel strips of the lemon without added the white pith and chop into smaller pieces. Place them in the food processor together with the sugar and pulse until chopped together. It will smell lovely.

   

• Add the butter and pulse to cream with the sugar and lemon. 

   

• Add half the flour and all the cornstarch and pulse to combine. 

   

• Add the remainder of the flour, the salt and half the squeezed lemon (Approximately 1 Tblsp), pulse to mix together. If the dough looks dry add a little more lemon juice and pulse again briefly.

   

• Turn the dough out on to a sheet of parchment, quickly gather into a ball and top with a second sheet of parchment. 

   

• My rolling pin* has measuring rings of different thicknesses which give me an even roll over the entire piece of dough and working between two sheets of parchment means no need for extra flour and less direct handling of the dough.

   

• This is the first roll so the dough doesn’t need to be as thin as in the final one. 

   

• Roll to incorporate all the ingredients then wrap the parchment around the dough, place in a plastic bag and refrigerate. I like to leave the dough for several hours or overnight. 

   

• When ready to bake, remove the dough from the fridge and allow to soften a little before rolling and cutting. I cut mine into cookies. See video, below.

   

• Cut out the cookies and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Place baking sheet in fridge to cool down. 

   

• Gather and wrap dough scraps and refrigerate for a second bake. 

   

• When you are ready to bake set oven to 325F and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. The cookies should be pale with a light sunburn around the edges. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy.

   

   

  In response to questions about when or whether to add an egg: So either 

  1 Tblsp.lemon juice or other juice (how would pomegranate go I wonder) 

  OR an egg. Not both, though I don't think it would affect the flavor. If you 

  chose to add the grated lemon and then some lemon essence, you might 

  need the egg yolk. This is where the magic and trust comes in. When is 

  enough liquid enough to bind the mix but not overwhelm it. - If I chose to 

  add an egg I would separate it and start with the yolk and see how the dough 

  felt. Not good if it's too wet.  

*.  My rolling pin came from Food52, but I just checked Amazon and they have a plethora of choices. 

Sunday Recipe: Delicious Shortbread

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I know for many of you, the best part of my week is getting a new Sunday recipe from our resident caterer/organizing expert/world traveler Celia Wakefield. Today, it's not dinner, but dessert - homemade shortbread. And friends, I have had this shortbread and it is to make the angels weep. I'll let Celia tell you all about it.

Good morning to my dear Jungle Red authors and readers. It's Julia's week and I love her generosity sharing her space with me. SO many lovely JRW books are available right now. This community has introduced me to some funny, scary, sexy, delicious stories. What to read first? Maybe this is the best of times? Still what could be better than a delicious cooking tale? Pour yourself a cup of whatever cheers and here's my story of how I became a 'successful' baker during COVID-19.  Those of us with Scots blood know that our national instinct is to pinch pennies till they squeal. But how does this skill fit with learning to bake shortbread? Well if you're sitting comfortably, I'll begin.

I don't consider myself a baker, not in the true sense of the word. I am impatient, and not always as careful with reading and following instructions as I might. Setting up as a caterer meant that baking would be as important a skill as offering food for sale. One must retool one's attitude as well as ones skills. 

So I taught myself how to successfully make pastry. Short crust, suet pastry (an English speciality), and queen of them all, puff pastry. Yes, I mastered them by following recipes from Julia Child, Rosemary Spry, and other cookery leaders in the '60's and '70's. Julia Child has the best, most simple puff pastry method ever. I mastered the techniques turning out pies sweet and savory, rolls and cookies which were very popular served with a lemon or chocolate mousse. A second big gift of gratitude goes to Julia Child for her chocolate mousse cake from "Julia Child andCompany"*, her television show. I never saw the TV shows but the two books are cooking goldmines, and I own two copies of each.

 Now, many years later, retired from catering with cooking restricted to family and friends, I very seldom make those dishes. However the pandemic has given me two gifts; time and baking supply shortages. These may not sound like gifts but it's straw to gold, or retooling my focus to delicious effect.

As the news from abroad on COVID-19 got worse in early February, it made sense to stock up on flour and sugar among other staples. Then I could, with help of Mark Bittman or Jacques Pepin, bake a loaf if push came to shove. My main fun was reading the recipes in the New York Times and watching Jacque Pepin's videos. Imagine my delight when I came across a simple version of shortbread from Melissa Clark. Store bought shortbread is pricey, we weren't going to the supermarket, and it's Victor's fav, so I was hoping this version might be the one. I had researched shortbread recipes, baked, failed more times than I had good outcomes, but here was the gold standard recipe. This shortbread technique was apparently created by a NYC baker. However, Nate Chasse of Sweet and Savory Bakery here in Maine, who trained at the CIA, confirmed that resting the dough overnight is the key. I have added two simple Hacks that work.

The actual recipe is simple:

Line an 8"x9" baking pan with parchment paper. I do this by measuring the base of the pan and cutting a rectangle which is two inches wider than the measurement on each side.

Snip each corner to fit, then place the paper back on your counter.

Melt (1/2#) or 2 sticks of butter and cool.

Into a bowl, measure:

2C flour, 

1/4C corn starch or rice flour,

1/4C sugar,

1/2tsp. salt

Mix dry ingredients together briefly. (I use a hand held mixer on low). 

Pour in the butter, and combine all quickly. 

HACK 1.

Place the ball of dough on the parchment paper, then both lightly but swiftly roll and pat the dough to fit the outline of the pan. 

Carefully lift the paper and dough into the pan.

With wet fingers work dough into the corners and check for evenness.

HACK 2.

Place in a plastic bag or cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator over night or for at least two - four hours.

When ready to bake heat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove pan from plastic wrap or bag

Bake for twenty minutes reverse pan and bake for another 15-25 minutes till very pale gold. Remove from the oven, allow to rest for a couple of minutes, then carefully lift out the paper onto a baking rack to cool, and after five minutes or so cut into squares or fingers. Time to ENJOY!

The last time I made shortbread I doubled the recipe, put half into the baking pan and rolled out the other half on parchment but placed it on a cookie sheet. No squared corners but it baked just as well.

I found that parchment paper washes well. I use my sheet four to six times before discarding. Lay on the counter next to your sink, use a soapy sponge to clean off crumbs, then rinse soap off and lay out to dry.

*pub: Alfred A. Kopf

JULIA: There you have it, dear readers! Has staying at home forced you to spin straw to gold by sharpening one skill or another?