Seasonal faire

If you're wondering when to buy hogget . . .

Marshmallow

And, the living is easy.

Everything you've ever wanted to know about marshmallows. Or, more than you really need to know here.

Cherry Short Cake

When you're short of strawberries . . .

The best grilled cheese sandwich ever

Recipe by: Ashley Berman of Coral Springs, FL

The Caribbean Grill

Ingredients
For Mango Salsa:
1/2 mango, 1/4 inch diced
2 tbsp red onion, 1/4 inch diced
1/4 red bell pepper, 1/4 inch diced
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
pinch of sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

For Sandwich:
3 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp curry powder
8 slices fresh Italian bread
8 slices (8 oz) Swiss cheese
1/4 cup honey mustard

Directions
In a small bowl, mix together all of the salsa ingredients. Set aside. (Note: this can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using.) Makes about 1-1/2 cups.

In a small bowl, mix the butter and curry together. Spread 2 tbsp of the butter mixture on one side of each slice of bread. Place 4 slices of bread on your work surface, buttered side down. Spread the mustard on the bread. Place about 2 tbsp of the mango salsa on the bread followed by the cheese. (You may need to fold the cheese slices to fit the bread.) Place the remaining 4 bread slices on top, buttered side up.

Add the remaining curry butter to a Teflon® coated non-stick skillet and heat over medium heat for 2 minutes. Put the sandwiches in the skillet (in batches if necessary) and cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the undersides are golden brown and the cheese has begun to melt. Uncover and turn the sandwiches with a spatula, pressing very firmly. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and the cheese has melted. Turn once more, press with a spatula, and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from pan and let cool for 3 to 5 minutes. Cut diagonally and serve with extra salsa on the side.

Makes 4 sandwiches

Medieval Cookery

Take halfe a pound of sweet Almonds, and beat them in a mortar; then strain them with a pint of sweet milke from the cow; then put to it one graine of musk, 2 spoonfuls of Rose-water, two ounces of fine sugar, the weight of 3 whole shillings of Isinglass that is very white, and so boyle them; and let all run thorow a strainer: then may you slice the same, and so serve it.

More medieval recipes here.

Kid 'n meatballs

Meatball recipe from NY Times . . .

2 pounds ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil

1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except olive oil by hand, using a light touch. Take a portion of meat in hand, and roll between palms to form a ball that is firmly packed but not compressed. Repeat, making each meatball about 2 inches in diameter.

2. In a large, heavy pot heat olive oil over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add meatballs in batches. Do not crowd. Brown well on bottoms before turning, or meatballs will break apart. Continue cooking until browned all over. Remove meatballs to a plate as each batch is finished. Let meatballs cool slightly; cover and refrigerate until needed.

Yield: About 16 meatballs.

A palette of spices

Ice cream in a nutshell

Everything you ever wanted to know about ice cream. Possibly.

And then there's this little ditty by Johnson, Moll & King:

In the land of ice and snow
Up among the Eskimo
There's a college known as Oogie-wawa.
You should hear those college boys
Gee, they make an awful noise
When they sing their Eskimo tra la la.
They've got a leader, big cheerleader, oh what a guy!
He's got a frozen face just like an Eskimo Pie.
When he says, "Come on, let's go!"
Though it's forty-five below
Listen what those Eskimo all holler:
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Rah, rah . . . Oogie de wawa rah rah rah!
Tuesday, Monday, we all scream for Sundae!
Sis, boom, Aurora borealea, bah!
Boola boola
Sasparoola
We've got the chocolate
I'll take vanoolla
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Rah, rah, ice cream soda or gingerale pop!

Coffee trail

Today, Britons will drink more than 70 million cups of coffee, but a remarkable story lies behind each one. To unravel it, Benjamin Joffe-Walt and Oliver Burkeman followed a bean from the Ethiopian village where caffeine's stimulant qualities were first discovered to a coffee shop in south London. More here.