A Summer Menu
We had some good friends over for dinner last night. I tried to keep our menu on the light, summery side, but it was also the case that the supermarket had a really good sale on (beef) top round roasts, so that was to be our main course. Here's the menu we settled on:
- Cold Piña Colada Soup
- London Broil
Oven Roasted Potatoes
Italian Green Salad - Light Lemon Cheesecake
I'm happy to say that it all came out tasting quite nice, which was a bit of a surprise since two of the recipes were getting tried for the first time. Yes, yes, I know what everyone says, but most times I can't really get up the motivation for trying out something new for just the two of us. Besides, these were friends–we invite them to dine with a sense of adventure and we can always order Chinese carry-out if things really go awry.
But things didn't go awry. I was really impressed with this technique for roasting the london broil / top round roast, too. It was easy, it seems trustworthy, and it cooked the meat to exactly the rare to medium-rare that I wanted. With the marinade it came out juicy and full of flavor with an expectedly firm texture, no sauce necessary.
I'd been wanting to try the Light Lemon Cheesecake recipe for awhile now and I'm glad I finally got around to it. It came out tasting quite a bit like Cold Lemon Soufflé with a lot less work. Now, to be fair, the Soufflé has a much more refined texture and taste and I will still be making it, but the Light Lemon Cheesecake was remarkably satisfying for something so easy to put together. Not to mention that, made this way, it has virtually no carbohydrates, making it low in guilt for us diabetics. It also appealed to my retro leanings and my fascination for all things Jell-O.
The salad was basically what I've described before as an "Italian Green Salad". This one was a big bowl of mixed greens, dressed with olive oil (only), then topped with cucumber, pear, raisins, and green onions.
On to the recipes!
— Cold Piña Colada Soup —
- 2 cans (20 oz ea) crushed pineapple in its own juice (about 2 cups), with juice
- 1.5 cups (one can + a little milk) coconut milk
- 1/4 cup sweetener (I use the equivalent amount of granular Splenda)
- 3 tablespoons rum
In two batches, process everything in the food processor until it's rather smooth. I put about half the amount of everything into the processor for each batch and then stir both batches together in a big bowl so it all comes out uniform.
Serve well chilled.
This amount makes four generous servings or six modest servings. It's a bit on the filling side, so judge accordingly. NB: The soup really, really tastes better if you chill it overnight in the refrigerator.
[Originally from The Fruit Cookbook, by Nicola Routhier.]
— London Broil (Top Round Roast) —
- 1, 3 lb. beef top round roast (about one inch thick)
- 1 bottle prepared marinade (I used a commercial "soy sauce and ginger" marinade)
- some tablespoons olive oil
Put the roast in a large plastic bag and pour in a generous amount of marinade. Seal the bag and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Preheat the over to 425°F.
Oil a jelly roll pan and put the roast on it. Roast 30 minutes to an internal temperature of 125°F for medium-rare.
Out of the oven, put some aluminum foil loosely over the roast and let it sit at least 10 minutes, then cut across the grain into very thin slices.
(More or less from the meat man.)
— Oven Roasted Potatoes —
- 2 pounds of potatoes, or more or less; red-skinned ones are good
- about 1/4 cup olive oil
- dried herbs: rosemary, or "italian seasoning" is good
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Scrub potatoes and leave the peels on or peel as you prefer. Cut them into pieces about an inch on a side.
Put the potato pieces in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle on the herbs and salt and pepper as you like, pour on the olive oil, and stir to coat the potato pieces with the herby oil.
Bake on a cookie sheet for about 45 minutes to an hour until very crispy and browned to your taste.
(adapted from Suzanne Dunaway, Rome, at Home : The Spirit of La Cucina Romana in Your Home Kitchen, New York : Broadway Books, 2004.)
— Light Lemon Cheesecake —
- 3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs (two to three 4-segment cracker's worth)
- 1 package (4 serving size) sugar-free lemon-flavored gelatin
- 2/3 cup boiling water
- 16-oz package cream cheese (at room temperature)
- zest of one lemon
- juice of that lemon
- 2 cups thawed non-dairy whipped topping
Spray all side and bottom of an 8-inch spring-form pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle crumbs around the rim of the pan.
Put gelatin in the food processor. Add the boiling water and process until gelatin is thoroughly dissolved.
Add cream cheese to gelatin and process until smooth. Pour into a large bowl.
Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Fold in the whipped topping. Pour into the spring-form pan and chill for at least 4 hours.
(from The Magic of Jell-O : 100 New and Favorite Recipes Celebrating 100 Years of Fun with Jell-O, New York : Sterling Publishing, Inc., 1998.)