Conference turris::cooks

Suggestion:  Pastel colored and mint or strawberry flavored meringues.
             Serve these with homemade ices or ice cream or fresh
             fruit in champagne or fruit liqueur..

To make these you will need a pastry tube and a star point or other
shape....the best part is the pretty shape.

You will need egg whites - depending on how big your meringues are
and how many guests, you may need also some idea on what to do with
LOTS of egg yolks in the future....does your family like creme caramel??
I generally use 2 egg whites at a time and get 2 dozen little meringues,
give or take some for size of cookie.  I mix up only what I can bake
at a time.

Bring the egg whites to room temperature (store the egg yolks in the
freezer in a plastic container or something).

On DRY day (or at least in a dry kitchen), spread one or more cookie
sheets with baker's paper (some call it brown butcher paper - check
at a gourmet shop for a roll of it just like a roll of foil).  I've
heard of people using oil, but I don't.

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and a pinch of cream of tartar
until soft peaks form....at that point start beating in SUPER-FINE
(or bar) sugar, a tablespoon at a time - pouring verrrrryyy slowly,
until glossy, stiff peaks form.  I use approx. 1 and 1/2 tablespoons
sugar per jumbo egg white...add enough to please yourself.  Fold in
a teaspoon or so of food color and flavor of choice.  Spoon egg white
mixture into the pastry tube with the point on it and pipe out
the shapes of your choice onto the paper on the cookie sheet.  Bake
the cookies in a VERY SLOW oven until they are dry and crisp - approx.
200 to 250 degree oven - anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or more.
You can place light candies on the top of these when you bake them,
make different shapes and use several colors.

DO NOT STORE IN REFRIGERATOR...store in a cool, dry place and serve
within 3 days or they will lose their crispness.
 

    
    In note 853 there are a couple of nice ones, .44 and .48.
    .44 are pastel wafers and are very pretty and delicious.
    .48 are also called Mexican wedding cookies these are real easy
    and good.
              
    The no bake cookies, such as Rum Balls and Bourbon Balls are very
    easy and usually make a  hit when served.
    
    There is also a note here in the file for lace cookies which are
    also very nice.
    
    Alot of the recipies that I have entered in #853 I call Christmas
    cookies, but they can be made at any time of year for any special
    occasion. 

    Using basic sugar cookie dough you could make designs like: Wedding
    bells (frosting in white and adding little silver balls and lace),
    or doves.  You can frost them any way you like.
    
    I've used this idea for baby showers, making little animals and
    balloons etc.
    
    It's a cute idea and most everyone likes sugar cookies.
    NOTE: for something as small as these, I'd bake in less time.  
    Good Luck
    Beth

    Since we are on the subject of wedding showers, I also need a little
    bet of creative genious.  Shower willbe at 4:00 PM on a Saturday,
    approximately 75 guests.  
    
    I would like to somehow serve hors deurves type things while the
    bride-to-be is opening presents.  People will NOT be able to sit
    a tables during this, so neatness counts.  Any ideas on how to handle
    this, what to serve?
    
    I don't want to serve a whole meal, but since the shower is at 4:00,
    I can't serve just coffee and cookies.  I was thinking of sandwich
    rolls and salads.  Any better ideas?  I want to stay away from
    casseroles - kkeeping it a light meal.
    
    I would prefer not to serve any sweets at all, yet the guests would
    really kill me then.  A lot of people with sweet tooths will be
    coming.

    
    How about finger sandwiches and a fresh fruit salad, then small
    dainty cookies for desert.  When I say finger sandwiches, I don't
    mean those little fat rolls, I mean regular sized sandwiches cut
    into thirds or quarters.  Almost every one today is calorie counting,
    but if you keep everything small and dainty, it makes people want
    to enjoy every thing.  If you decide to serve bar type cookies,
    cut them in thirds or half of what is considered a 'normal' serving.
    Order bread in pastel colors to make the sandwiches, have the bread
    sliced thinner than normal, use the colors of the bridesmaids. Cut the 
    sandwiches out with bell cookie cutters, or bow shaped cutters.
                                               
    
    

    
    SNAUSAGES (please don't laugh. They are People food.)
    
    Pre-heat oven to 350
    
    Pilsbury Crescent Roll dough
    Brown-n-serve Sausages
    Melted butter
    Oregano
    Grated Parmesean Cheese
    Toothpicks
    
      Open crescent roll dough and separate into 4's (the dough is
    preforated already). Knead the diagonal preforations so that you
    have 4 rectangles.  Brush on melted butter and sprinkle on the
    oregano and parmesean.  Place a sausage in each rectangle and roll.
    Cut each roll into 3's or 4's (I prefer 4's) and hold together with
    toothpick.  Bake for approx. 10-15 minutes or until dough is golden.
    
      My mother always made these and I could hardly stop eating them
    once I started.  They are neat and real easy to make.  I hope this
    helps.

    Re .5 - pastel bread
    
    At first I was thinking fo making those Spritz type cookies in the
    bridesmaid color, unitl I remembered that the color is Purple. 
    There's just something about eating purple food - blech.
    
    Otherwise, thank-you for the ideas.
    
    	-Nancy

    
    re..7
    I agree purple would be a bit much, but if you use pastels (light
    lavender) or white on a purple background it could be quite attractive.
    I did a wedding reception that had a pink and burgandy color scheme,
    and I used a dominance of pink and white, and used burgandy to accent.
    
    I can't remember if I mentioned that there is a lace cookie recipe
    in this file that makes real pretty baskets that can be filled with
    mints, for an edible favor.          
    

    You could always use a light layer of white icing and a purple
    jelly or other purple candy on some of the sweets.  Heck, with
    Valentine's day around, how about putting some of those heart
    candies with the sayings on?  Of course, you'd have to either
    pick out the purple ones or use multi-colors.  Gourmet jelly-beans
    would probably be the best bet, as you can usually get all one
    color and they're small enough that the dieters wouldn't feel
    guilty.
    
    --Louise

    RE: .1 - Dian's Meringue Cookies
    
    We make these at Christmas - they come out snow white and we mix
    in red and green M&Ms and just drop them on the cookie sheet as
    for drop cookies.  Maybe you could find lavendar sprinkles or some
    such to mix in.  Also, my recipe says to preheat the oven, then
    to turn it off when you put the cookies in and leave in overnight.
    As you aren't really "baking" them, just setting them, you don't
    have to worry about spacing or rotating.  Needless to say, these
    are always the last to be made before going to bed!
    
    RE: Purple food - my wedding colors were lavender and pearl grey,
    a "catered at home" affair, and we found lavender doilies and placemats
    to use on the serving trays.  For the odd sizes, we just used white,
    but made nosegays with white flowers and lavender ribbons (a Martha
    Stewart rip-off!) to put on the trays.
    
    Have you browsed through the directory? There are oodles of recipes
    for appetizers; hot, cold, make-ahead, etc.  The more you can make
    ahead and serve at room temperature, the better off you'll be! 
    And don't forget the trash bags.
    
    75 people for just the shower, not even the main event - my God,
    I don't envy the people writing the Thank you notes!

    Terry

    Yep.  75 people, and that's just the shower here in Massachusetts.
     The fiance's sister is also holding a shower in Connecticut and
    is expecting about 50 people at that one.
    
    We're estimating 300 guests for the wedding reception.
    
    I've read through most of this notes file and have found lots of
    good recipes.  The recent note about the anniversary buffet has
    also been quite helpful.  My biggest problem is that I haven't been
    to a wedding shower since I was in 3rd grade!
    
    I like the meringue cookie idea - I have an aunt who makes them
    and my sister (bride to be) always chows down on them before anybody
    else can touch them.
    
    	-Nancy

                
    For the cookies:
    1 cup margarine (2 sticks--do NOT use butter)
    1/2 cup sugar
    1 egg yolk, unbeaten
    1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
    2 cups flour
                    
    For the chocolate glaze and decorations:
    2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
    1/4 cup milk
    Jimmies, shredded coconut, ground nuts, non-pareils
    
    Beat margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.  This will take
    several minutes.  Add egg yolk and vanilla.  Beat well.  Gradually
    add flour, mixing well until a soft dough forms.
    
    Refrigerate dough until it can be handled.  Form into logs, roughly
    1 inch in diameter, and roll in waxed paper.  Refrigerate overnight.
    
    Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Slice dough 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
    and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for approximately 8 minutes,
    or until cookie is slightly golden around edges.  Watch carefully,
    for they burn quickly.  Be careful in removing the cookies from
    the cookie sheet and in storing them--they are very fragile.
    
    After the cookies are baked, you need to make a chocolate glaze,
    dip and decorate them.  (I never said that this wasn't a commitment!)
    
    On top of a double boiler, over hot, not boiling, water, melt the
    2 cups of chocolate chips.  Add the milk.  Warning--this will probably
    cause the melted chocolate to turn to fudge.  Fear not!  Simply
    whip with an electric mixer until smooth again, and keep hot while
    dipping the cookies.
    
    Dip half of each cookie in the chocolate glaze, and then into colored
    sprinkles or coconut or ground nuts.  Let them dry on waxed paper
    so they don't stick.  Store carefully stacked, and tightly covered,
    and make sure to treat them with care!
    
    These cookies are beautiful to look at, especially if you use a
    variety of toppings such as multi-colored sprinkles, and tinted
    coconut and non-pareils.  They're delicious, too!
    
    With slight variation, the same dough can be used to make what I
    call snowballs, (also known by the name of Mexican wedding cakes,
    Russian tea cakes, etc.)  Make the standard cookie dough.  To the
    dough, add 1 cup finely chopped nuts.  Refrigerate dough for 2 hours.
    Roll into small balls and bake in 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes.
    When completely cool, cover with confectioner's sugar (I usually
    shake a handful of cookies in a ziploc bag with confectioner's sugar.)
    Yummmmm.....
                                            
    1 batch of this recipe will yield about 8 dozen cookies, if you
    slice the dough thinly enough.