I hate to do this so late in the game, but I need to cancel as hostess for this month's exchange. Some of you know that I've been having back problems for the last 6 weeks or so. I was doing pretty well but my doctor started me with PT yesterday. Today I can barely stand, pain shoots through my back when I do. There's no way I can host. So sorry. Perhaps you can meet at a restaurant as Cathy2 suggested.

So sorry to hear that! Feel better soon!

Ingrid,

I hope you feel better but please don't cancel yet.

Perhaps someone else is willing to host.

pairs4life wrote:Ingrid,

I hope you feel better but please don't cancel yet.

Perhaps someone else is willing to host.

Oh Ingrid, so sorry to hear about your back! I agree with Ava. I think we should see if we can wrangle a back up Hostess. It would be a shame to not do this on Sunday if we can make it happen.

kalamazoogal wrote:

pairs4life wrote:Ingrid,

I hope you feel better but please don't cancel yet.

Perhaps someone else is willing to host.

Oh Ingrid, so sorry to hear about your back! I agree with Ava. I think we should see if we can wrangle a back up Hostess. It would be a shame to not do this on Sunday if we can make it happen.

If folks are willing, I will step in to substitute for Ingrid. I know it will be a 2nd time to Glen Ellyn, but I want to see this go forward. I will prepare a light supper.
We are a resilient group!

kalamazoogal wrote:

kalamazoogal wrote:

pairs4life wrote:Ingrid,

I hope you feel better but please don't cancel yet.

Perhaps someone else is willing to host.

Oh Ingrid, so sorry to hear about your back! I agree with Ava. I think we should see if we can wrangle a back up Hostess. It would be a shame to not do this on Sunday if we can make it happen.

If folks are willing, I will step in to substitute for Ingrid. I know it will be a 2nd time to Glen Ellyn, but I want to see this go forward. I will prepare a light supper.
We are a resilient group!

Thanks for taking the baton Celia and agreeing to host back-to-back exchanges! So much awesome sauce.

You should have a PM with directions to kalamazoogal's home.

Cheers,

Hi,

Wow how things can change on a dime!

I am changing my offering to reflect Spring and Mother's Day:

Mother’s Day Rhubarb-Strawberry Salad
Jone Schumacher, Chapin, Illinois

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Wow how things can change on a dime!

I am changing my offering to reflect Spring and Mother's Day:

Mother’s Day Rhubarb-Strawberry Salad
Jone Schumacher, Chapin, Illinois

Regards,
Cathy2

That sounds delicious Cathy!

i'm making 'croquets'; and no, there are no wickets involved. it's a cookie that looks like a biscotti, but it's a hazelnut filled meringue. quite crunchy and chewy and will keep for weeks....

Thanks for hosting, Celia,

I will make Honeycomb robed in chocolate.

There is a boatload of heavy cream in my oven right now
hopefully turning into clotted cream to go with scones on Sunday.
(fingers crossed)

trying something new with $$ of ingredients
E

irisarbor wrote:There is a boatload of heavy cream in my oven right now
hopefully turning into clotted cream to go with scones on Sunday.
(fingers crossed)

trying something new with $$ of ingredients
E

It won't make a lot keep going!

Wow!

What a tremendous exchange!

The food, desserts, our host, and the fellowship.

All ah-mazing!

Thanks kalamazoogal

pairs4life wrote:

irisarbor wrote:There is a boatload of heavy cream in my oven right now
hopefully turning into clotted cream to go with scones on Sunday.
(fingers crossed)

trying something new with $$ of ingredients
E

It won't make a lot keep going!

That clotted cream was beautiful

Thank you Celia for a lovely dinner and for having us (again) in your beautiful home.
Those who couldn't make it were missed.

At the request of several here is how I made the clotted cream:

1 ingredient heavy cream- which must not be ultra-pasteurized.
I used plain pasteurized, but if you could find grass-fed, or raw, it would probably be even better.
I started with a 9x13 glass baking dish (any non-metal dish) and poured in 3 pints of heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized). covered it with foil, and set the oven to 180 F.
My oven runs a tad cool, so it may actually have been closer to 175
I left it in the oven for 10 hours .
Removed it from oven, for 2 hours at room temp, then gently put it int the refrigerator overnight.
In the morning, a thick top layer had formed.
I peeled back a corner, and poured the liquid underneath into a bowl. (This is now half and half, which can be used in coffee or for other baking purposes.
The thickened mass left behind in the dish I scraped up with a spatula and mixed together until it was a smooth consistency. This was the clotted cream, which had a very nice nutty taste and smooth mouth feel.

Easy to make, just $$ and takes a long time.
The scones were from the King Arthur Baking Book, the basic scones and variations recipe, with buttermilk and buttermilk powder. I did a 1.5 x recipe.

What a great initiation to the LTH dessert exchange! Here's the recipe for the Strawberry Pompidou (From Food & Wine “Designer Desserts”)

8 Servings

4 egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tarter
½ cup plus 4 TBSP sugar
1 cup almond flour
6 TBSP unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ tsp almond extract
3 ½ - 4 pints ripe strawberries
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup crème fraiche
¼ cup strained apricot or strawberry preserves
2 TBSP finely ground chopped pistachio nuts

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Butter the bottom of a 8-by-3” springform pan. Cut out a parchment paper circle to fit in the bottom. Butter and flour (using almond flour) the parchment paper and the sides of the springform pan.
2. Melt the
butter and let it cool.
3. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream or tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in ½ cup sugar, 1 TBSP at a time, until stiff peaks form.
4. Using a spatula, fold in the almond flour, butter and almond extract. Turn the mixture into the prepared springform pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let the torte cool in the pan on the rack for 30 minutes.
5. Run a knife around the side of the torte and remove the sides of the springform pan. Run a spatula underneath the torte to free it from the pan. Carefully peel off the parchment paper. Wash and dry the springform pan and reassemble it. Replace the torte in the pan.
6. Choose about 10 berries of equal height. Cut them in half vertically and arrange them, pointed ends up, with the cut sides pressed against the sides of the pan. Leave the remaining berries whole and arrange them, pointed ends up, over the torte. (The berry tops should reach at least 1/8 inch below the pan rim, trim from the stem ends if necessary.)
7. In a medium bowl, whip the cream until it begins to thicken. Gradually beat in the remaining 4 TBSP of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
8. In a medium bowl, beat the crème fraiche until stiff peaks form. Fold in the sweetened whipped cream.
9. Spread the cream over the berries, filling in the gaps and making sure the cream touches between the cut berries. Smooth the top even with the rim of the pan. Cover and refrigerate until set, 2 – 4 hours.
10. Wrap the pan briefly in a hot kitchen towel and carefully remove the sides of the pans.
11. In a small saucepan, warm the preserves over low heat, stirring until melted. (If necessary, thin the glaze with 1 – 2 tsp water.)
12. Brush the sides of the torte with the glaze. Press the chopped pistachios against the lower rim of the torte. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note: When I have a bigger crowd, I use a 10" springform and increase the ingredients by 25%.

Simmie22 wrote:What a great initiation to the LTH dessert exchange! Here's the recipe for the Strawberry Pompidou (From Food & Wine “Designer Desserts”)

8 Servings

4 egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tarter
½ cup plus 4 TBSP sugar
1 cup almond flour
6 TBSP unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ tsp almond extract
3 ½ - 4 pints ripe strawberries
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup crème fraiche
¼ cup strained apricot or strawberry preserves
2 TBSP finely ground chopped pistachio nuts

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Butter the bottom of a 8-by-3” springform pan. Cut out a parchment paper circle to fit in the bottom. Butter and flour (using almond flour) the parchment paper and the sides of the springform pan.
2. Melt the
butter and let it cool.
3. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream or tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in ½ cup sugar, 1 TBSP at a time, until stiff peaks form.
4. Using a spatula, fold in the almond flour, butter and almond extract. Turn the mixture into the prepared springform pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let the torte cool in the pan on the rack for 30 minutes.
5. Run a knife around the side of the torte and remove the sides of the springform pan. Run a spatula underneath the torte to free it from the pan. Carefully peel off the parchment paper. Wash and dry the springform pan and reassemble it. Replace the torte in the pan.
6. Choose about 10 berries of equal height. Cut them in half vertically and arrange them, pointed ends up, with the cut sides pressed against the sides of the pan. Leave the remaining berries whole and arrange them, pointed ends up, over the torte. (The berry tops should reach at least 1/8 inch below the pan rim, trim from the stem ends if necessary.)
7. In a medium bowl, whip the cream until it begins to thicken. Gradually beat in the remaining 4 TBSP of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
8. In a medium bowl, beat the crème fraiche until stiff peaks form. Fold in the sweetened whipped cream.
9. Spread the cream over the berries, filling in the gaps and making sure the cream touches between the cut berries. Smooth the top even with the rim of the pan. Cover and refrigerate until set, 2 – 4 hours.
10. Wrap the pan briefly in a hot kitchen towel and carefully remove the sides of the pans.
11. In a small saucepan, warm the preserves over low heat, stirring until melted. (If necessary, thin the glaze with 1 – 2 tsp water.)
12. Brush the sides of the torte with the glaze. Press the chopped pistachios against the lower rim of the torte. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note: When I have a bigger crowd, I use a 10" springform and increase the ingredients by 25%.

I love this torte! And as Cathy2 said, 'it is another great way to transport Strawberries and whipped cream!'

Simmie22 wrote:What a great initiation to the LTH dessert exchange! Here's the recipe for the Strawberry Pompidou (From Food & Wine “Designer Desserts”)

Note: When I have a bigger crowd, I use a 10" springform and increase the ingredients by 25%.

Is that what you did for the dessert exchange? It seemed so dramatically huge! It was also dramatically delicious!

So sorry to miss another exchange! Looks like you all had a wonderful afternoon. Will there be one in June?

HI,

Since Dad isn't around, Mom did not have to share. She really went to town eating all those great desserts.

What was left of irisarbor's clotted cream was spread on some raisin toast.

Lunch included the delicious leek and celery pie made by Kalamazoogal along with mushroom soup and another pie of roasted eggplant, tomato and ??. LEt's not forget the cheese platter, Pair4life's bread and generous salad.

There is a gathering planned for June 25th in the western suburbs.

Regards,
CAthy2

Pictures? I want to see what I missed.

Cathy2 wrote:
There is a gathering planned for June 25th in the western suburbs.

Regards,
CAthy2

The date posted is June 11th.

It was right on Sunday afternoon.

Cathy2 wrote:It was right on Sunday afternoon.

the 25th was discussed but there were too many conflicts and we landed on the 11th before we ended. So the person willing to host never confirmed the 25th.

kalamazoogal wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:It was right on Sunday afternoon.

the 25th was discussed but there were too many conflicts and we landed on the 11th before we ended. So the person willing to host never confirmed the 25th.

Correct. The host chose the date. The correct date is posted on the sign-up thread.

I must have lost track at some point during the conversation.

irisarbor wrote:Thank you Celia for a lovely dinner and for having us (again) in your beautiful home.
Those who couldn't make it were missed.

At the request of several here is how I made the clotted cream:

1 ingredient heavy cream- which must not be ultra-pasteurized.
I used plain pasteurized, but if you could find grass-fed, or raw, it would probably be even better.
I started with a 9x13 glass baking dish (any non-metal dish) and poured in 3 pints of heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized). covered it with foil, and set the oven to 180 F.
My oven runs a tad cool, so it may actually have been closer to 175
I left it in the oven for 10 hours .
Removed it from oven, for 2 hours at room temp, then gently put it int the refrigerator overnight.
In the morning, a thick top layer had formed.
I peeled back a corner, and poured the liquid underneath into a bowl. (This is now half and half, which can be used in coffee or for other baking purposes.
The thickened mass left behind in the dish I scraped up with a spatula and mixed together until it was a smooth consistency. This was the clotted cream, which had a very nice nutty taste and smooth mouth feel.

Easy to make, just $$ and takes a long time.
The scones were from the King Arthur Baking Book, the basic scones and variations recipe, with buttermilk and buttermilk powder. I did a 1.5 x recipe.

Why a 'non-metal' pan? I consulted some recipes for clotted. cream online and a couple of them showed a metal pot?

Here are the pictures from the exchange. First up the meal:

Now to the desserts