Victoria A Return to Loveliness

Cooking With Victoria

We celebrated this past weekend my

Husband’s parent’s 50^th anniversary.

Their Golden.

What a blessing to share your life with one for so long

and to be able to share with those who love and care for you.

It was wonderful to have all my children and our new son-in-law present

as well as my husband’s brother and his family.

I made dinner and for desert a Chocolate Cake with

Chocolate covered strawberries.

The china I used came from my Mother-in-Law. She sells

Mary Kay and several years back was able to earn several

place settings – she graciously gave them to me.

I love their soft-Mary Kay pink color and the scrollwork in the gold edges.

Oftentimes, Victoria Magazine shares lovely tablesettings and

some very delicious recipes.

I have chosen a few to share with you today from some of the

August Victoria Magazines.

1988

Double Lemon Punch

½ cup fresh lemon verbena leaves, or 3 tablespoons dried, or 2 lemon tea bags

2 cups boiling water

2 cups cooled black tea

Juice of 2 lemons

1 quart ginger ale, chilled

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Place the lemon verbena or lemon tea bags in a small teapot or bowl. Pour boiling water over them. Steep, covered for at least 10 minutes or until cool. Strain. In a large punch bowl, mix the cooled lemon tea, cooled black tea, and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate until serving time. Just before serving add Ginger Ale. Stir to gently mix. Float Floral Ice in punch

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Floral Ice

Select small edible flowers—borage, sage, lavender, rose petals or rose buds. Wash gently and place one in each compartment of an ice tray. Add water and freeze. Or use a cake pan to make one big block of ice with flowers scattered in it. If you do this, you can use larger flowers, calendula or nasturtiums. Place flowers blossom side down in the cake pan. Add 1/8 inch cold water. Freeze 5 hours or until firm. Dip pan in hot water to loosen ice block. Float ice in punch bowl, flower side up.

1994

T’s Banana Cream Pie

Pastry Cream:

2 tea bags

1 ¾ cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup milk

¼ cup cornstarch

1 egg

4 egg yolks

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up

½ teaspoon vanilla

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Pate Brisee:

1 ¼ cups unbleached flour

1/3 cup cake flour

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

3 to 5 tablespoons ice water

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Cream Topping

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon sugar

½ tablespoon cold fruit-flavored tea

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Banana Cream Filling

1 (5-ounce) banana, pureed in food processor

3 (5-ounce) bananas sliced

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To Make Pastry Cream:

In a heavy medium saucepan, combine tea bags, 1 ¾ cups milk, and 1/3 cups sugar. Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat. Cover and set aside.

In a small mixer bowl, gradually stir ¼ cup milk into cornstarch to form a smooth paste. Add egg. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until blended. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Remove tea bags from milk mixture, squeezing out as much milk as possible. Gradually beat hot milk mixture into egg mixture at low speed. Pour into clean saucepan. Cook whisking constantly, over medium-low heat until mixture becomes extremely thick and boils. Pour into large bowl. Add 4 tablespoons butter and vanilla. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until smooth. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of pastry cream. Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours.

To Make Pate Brisee:

While pastry cream is cooling, in food processor, combine unbleached flour, cake flour, salt baking powder, and ½ cup butter. Pulse with on/off turns until mixture resemble peas.

With processor running, gradually add ice water until dough cleans sides of bowl and forms a ball. Shape dough into a disk shape. Wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. On lightly floured surface, roll pastry to 12-inch circle. Fit into 9-inch pie plate. Roll edge under and flute. Prick dough all over with tines of fork. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line pastry with double thickness of foil and beans. Continue baking pastry shell 5 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on rack.

To Make Cream Topping

Beat cream until it just begins to hold its shape. Gradually add 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ tablespoon tea, beating to stiff peaks. Cover, refrigerate while making filling.

To make Banana Cream Filling:

Stir pureed banana into chilled pastry cream until blended. Fold in ½ cup cream topping, then sliced bananas.

To Assemble:

Mound banana cream filling into cooled pie shell. Spread with remaining cream topping. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

1999

White Chocolate Mousse

½ cup sugar

¼ cup water

4 large egg whites

½ pound white chocolate, chopped in the food processor

½ pint heavy cream

1 cup strawberry sauce

Almond tuilles

Fresh strawberries and mint leaves for garnish

_________

In a small heavy saucepan combine the sugar and water, bring to a boil over moderate heat, and boil until a candy thermometer registers 234 degrees F, or soft-ball stage, about 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. With the mixer running on high, slowly add the sugar syrup in a stream and continue to beat for 2 minutes. Beat in three fourths of the chocolate, a little at a time. Fold in the remaining chocolate. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the cream until it holds soft peaks. Fold the cream into the chocolate mixture, cover, and chill for 2 hours before serving. Spoon a think layer of strawberry sauce onto 8 dessert plates, spoon some of the mouse into each tuille, and arrange tuille on top of sauce. Garnish with fresh strawberries and mint.

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Strawberry Sauce

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and rinsed

1 tablespoon fresh lemon joice, or to taste

2 to 3 tablespoons sugar, or to taste

_________

In a food processor or blender puree the strawberries. Strain the sauce through a sieve into a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and sugar.

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Almond Tuilles

4 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup finely ground blanched almonds

_________

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. in a bowl whisk the eggs, sugar, flour and almonds until combined well. Spoon 1 ½ tablespoons of the batter onto well buttered nonstick baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown but still soft. Let cool about 10 seconds and with a spatula remove while still hot. Using a ramekin, form each cookie into a cone/cup shape and let cool until hardened before removing.

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