Foodie Friday #27

Im so happy today is Friday because that means I get to share my awesome Mother's Day dessert with you!!  I was so happy to make this for my mom because its light, fresh, and as close to healthy as a dessert can be.  My mom isnt a big fan of sweets so this was the perfect one to make.  I think the lemon and raspberry help tone down the sweetness and thats just fine because its the perfect blend of happiness in your mouth.  Great summer dessert too since summer berries are now fully in season and wont cost you an arm and a leg to buy!  Truth be told I forgot to add the Cool Whip and berries on the top but I remembered for the picture so thats what counts.  You can serve without the topping but it does seem like its missing something.

You could probably go crazy with the flavor combination but I love lemon so that will always be lemon.  I did sub blackberry preserves for the raspberry and it tasted great too.  Just make sure if you are going to sub you use preserves, jelly doesnt have the same consistency as preserves and wont set the same.  Now on to the dessert!!

Lemon-Raspberry Mousse Squares

(A Kraft recipe)

Servings: 12      Prep Time: 15min    Cook Time: 0     Cool Time: 4hrs    Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

·         48 NILLA Wafers, divided

·         3/4 cup  boiling water

·         1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Gelatin

·         1 cup  ice cubes

·         1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

·         1/4 cup  sugar

·         2 tsp. lemon zest

·         1 tub  (12 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

·         1/3 cup raspberry preserves

·         1-1/2 cups  fresh fruit (blueberries, raspberries, sliced kiwi, sliced strawberries)

Instructions

  

STAND 16 wafers around edge of plastic wrap-lined 8-inch square pan. Add boiling water to gelatin mix; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in ice until melted. 

BEAT next 3 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gradually beat in gelatin. Whisk in 2 cups COOL WHIP. 

POUR half the gelatin mixture into prepared pan; cover with 16 wafers. Microwave preserves on HIGH 15 sec. or until melted; brush onto wafers. Top with remaining gelatin mixture and wafers. 

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Invert dessert onto plate; remove pan and plastic wrap. Top dessert with remaining COOL WHIP and fruit.

I love this dessert its so light fresh and delicious.  I hope you enjoy it too!

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Foodie Friday

Happy Foodie Friday everyone!  I am so excited for this weekend because Im going to go see the Hunger Games!!!  Hopefully it wont be so crowded this weekend as it was last weekend, I really hate crowds.  So excited to get my popcorn on...I used to work at a movie theater but man I just can stop loving movie theater popcorn...no butter though that crap is like liquid grease.  I so excited to see Hunger Games I have heard nothing but great things about it, my best friend even said it was as epic as the last Harry Potter...well you cant really compare the 2 but Harry Potter 8 is always a good benchmark for greatness that movie was epic and I cant get enough of it.  Well my BFF loves Harry Potter as much as I do, in fact we saw the last movie together, so if she says its awesome than I totally believe her and cant wait to go see it.

And now for something completely different...I made this sorbet last weekend and thank goodness I did because it has been a life saver through my sore throat days.  Its so smooth and cool but has no dairy so its doesnt bother my stomach.  Oh and the best part its super scoopable so you dont have to defrost this any you can easily scoop from the container...see

It makes those perfect icecream scoops that I love but can usually never get because the icecream is too hard, I think the secret is actually the alcohol since alcohol never really freezes it keeps the icecream from solidifying...probably am going to add a dash of vodka to future icecream to see if that helps with the scoopable-ness (yeah I just made that word up, Im awesome like that).  So not only is this the perfect sorbet for a sore throat, its really an awesome spring/summer sorbet because its so cool and refreshing and doesnt make you feel like you ate a whole creamery when your done.  So what are you waiting for, go try this now!

Grape & Pink Champagne Sorbet

(A Le Delicieux recipe)

Servings: 2qt        Prep time: 5 min           Cook time: 10 min             Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 550g of black seedless grapes
• 1 cup of pink Champagne (or regular Champagne, I used the $4 bottle of extra dry white)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

Place the grapes, pink Champagne and sugar in a saucepan over a medium low heat. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until the skins of the grapes split.

Drain through a fine sieve into a large jug or bowl and use the back of a wooden spoon to press the grapes to release their juices. Extract as much from the grapes as you can. Cover the mixture and refrigerate until completely cold. I usually leave the mixture overnight. **I drained the grapes through a colander and used a mash potato masher to get all the juices out.  I let the pressed grapes sit for a while and drained them again to get all the juices, its ok if some skins get in there you'll just have to eat them in your sorbet :)

Remove the mixture from the refrigerator and add the lemon juice and pour into your ice cream maker and churn according to your manufacturers instructions. The longer you churn the sorbet the lighter in colour it will become.  I forgot to add the lemon juice until it was almost done but I think it just adds a little extra zip to it so its ok if you forget this part.

Notes

Once you have cooked the grapes you will notice the mixture is incredibly dark. Don’t worry because the sorbet will lighten when it is churned in the ice cream maker.

Really easy right?!  I think I was making dinner at the same time as I was making this so you can see how easy it was.  So go try it and let me know how it turns out for you!

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Foodie Friday

Im trying not to be lame but you know I have the Friday song running through my head right now but I will spare you since it seems to be my go-to opener on Fridays :)

Im sad to say this but I havent been crafty this week, this waking up early business is really throwing off my chi but I have been cooking and eating some pretty amazing food.  Ok by amazing I mean easy and if its quick and easy then it awesome by me.  However I have been craving berries this week so I'm going to share with you a trifle recipe that I made (not easy by the way) from the Food Network that is awesome and delicious and you wont want to stop eating.  Check it!

Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries

(A Food Network recipe)

Servings: 6       Prep Time: 30min    Cook Time: 10min    Chill:3hrs     Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients

·         6 large egg yolks                                                  •1pint fresh blueberries

·         1 cup sugar                                                           •1pint fresh blackberries

·         4 lemons, zested and juiced                              •2c whipped cream

·         1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter in chunks    •1 prepared lemon cake, sliced

·         1 pint fresh strawberries, halved lengthwise • ¼ c limoncello or grand marnier (optional)

·         Fresh mint leaves, for garnish

Instructions

 

To make the lemon curd: Bring a pot of water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a metal or glass heat-resistant bowl and whisk until smooth. Set the bowl over the simmering water, without letting the bottom touch, and continue to whisk. Keep working-out that arm and whisk it vigorously for a good 10 minutes, until the curd has doubled in volume and is very thick and yellow. Don't let it boil. Remove the bowl from heat and whisk in the butter, a couple of chunks at a time, until melted. Refrigerate until the custard is cold and firm.

To build the trifle: put the berries in a mixing bowl and toss them together so they are evenly distributed. Fold the whipped cream into the chilled lemon curd to lighten it up into a mousse. Line a glass trifle bowl with pieces of pound cake to fit. Drizzle or brush the cake with the Limoncello, spoon a layer of the lemon curd over the cake, and then a layer of mixed berries. Repeat the layers until the ingredients are used up, the last layer looks best if it's the berries. Chill before serving. Garnish with fresh mint. 

This dessert is so tasty and so refeshing and not heavy at all.  The lemon curd was a little hard for me only because Ive never done anything fancy like that before and I was so proud of myself for it.  So go try it out and let me know what you think, I hope you love it just as much as I did!

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