Research by Steven L. Brawley

Hot Fruit Dessert (From the 1960 Campaign)

Ingredients:

• 1 orange
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 (8 3/4 ounce) can pineapple tidbits
• 1 (8 ounce) can apricots
• 1 (8 3/4 ounce) can peaches
• 1 (17-ounce) can pitted bing cherries
• 1 jar of prunes (can be added, to taste)
• 16 ounces sour cream

Preparation:

• Grate the rind of the lemon and orange and add to light brown sugar. Cut orange and lemon into very thin slices.
• Drain and combine fruits. Butter a 1-quart casserole and arrange in layers of drained canned fruits, lemon and orange slices,
• sprinkled with light brown sugar; repeat. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Creme Brûlée

Ingredients:

• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 piece vanilla bean
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 

Preparation:

• In upper part of double boiler, heat 3 cups of heavy cream with the vanilla bean.
• In a bowl, beat the 6 tablespoons of sugar with the 6 egg yolks until they are light and creamy.
• Remove from the boiler and take out the vanilla bean. Stir the warm cream into the yolks very carefully and slowly.
• Return the mixture to the double boiler, over boiling water.
• Stir constantly until the custard coats the spoon. Then put into a glass serving dish and place it in the refrigerator to set.
• When ready to serve, cover the top of the custard completely with brown sugar, using 1/2 cup or more.
• Place the dish on a bowl of crushed ice and place custard under broiler flame until sugar melts and caramelizes.
• Keep watching it or the sugar will burn. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. semi sweet chocolate
• 2 tbsp. Kahlua
• 3 tbsp. orange juice
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 c. heavy cream

Preparation:

• Melt chocolate in Kahlua and orange juice in a double boiler.
• Set aside to cool. Put egg yolk and eggs in blender with vanilla and sugar.
• Blend 2 minutes medium speed. Add heavy cream and blend 30 seconds. Add melted and cooled chocolate, blend until smooth. Pour into serving dish and cover with foil 2 hours or more. Top with whipped cream.

Mango Ice Cream (Marta Sgubin)

Ingredients:

• 8 cups heavy cream
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 4 cups pureed fresh mango (6-8 mangoes; they must be very ripe)
• Juice of 3 limes, strained

Preparation: Scald the cream, then, off the heat, stir in the sugar until it dissolves. At that point, stir in the mango puree and the strained lime juice. Let cool, then freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. When the ice cream is ready, store in a container in the freezer. This should be served the same day it is made so it doesn’t get too hard. Another good idea is to grate some fresh ginger over the ice cream or top with a julienne of fresh mango just before serving.

Raspberry Sauce (Marta Sgubin)

Ingredients:

• 1 pint fresh raspberries
•  Juice of ½ lemon
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon arrowroot
• 1 tablespoon Framboise or Kirsch

Preparation:

• Combine the raspberries, lemon juice and ¼ cup water in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  Strain through a fine sieve to remove all the seeds.
• Pour the puree into a small pan, add the sugar and bring to a boil.  Then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Dissolve the arrowroot in the liqueur and stir into the sauce.  Remove from the heat and let cool.  When cool, cover and refrigerate. This can be made with frozen raspberries, but  in the summer, when fresh berries are available,  it tastes so much better. 

Frozen Lemon Souffle (Marta Sgubin)

Ingredients:

• 12 egg yolks
• 1 ½ cups plus 2 teaspoons sugar, divided
• ¾ cup lemon juice
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 6 egg whites

Preparation:

• Select a deep-sided skillet or sauté pan that will comfortably hold a medium-sized heatproof bowl and allow room for water to come up the sides of the bowl on the outside.  After testing, remove and dry the bowl and bring the water in the skillet to a boil.
• Beat the 12 egg yolks with 1 ½ cups of the sugar in the bowl, using either a whisk or an electric mixer until light and lemon colored.  Add the lemon juice.  (Note:  It’s easier to grate the zest off the lemon before squeezing the juice, so do it in that order and set the zest aside.)
• When the water in the skillet is boiling, set the bowl in it and continue to beat until the egg mixture becomes smooth, creamy and custardy.  Be very careful, because if you aren’t paying attention at this point, the mixture can scramble in a minute. Scrape the mixture into a larger bowl and stir in the grated zest.  Let cool, and then refrigerate and chill thoroughly.
• Prepare the soufflé dish.  Tear off a length of waxed paper that will fit around the dish and overlap itself by about 2 inches.  Fold the paper lengthwise into thirds to make a long, thin strip, then wrap it around the upper rim of the soufflé dish to form a high collar rising above the rim. Make sure the ends overlap by at least 1 inch.   Secure with string tied under the rim of the dish. 
• Beat the heavy cream until it starts to thicken, then add 2 teaspoons of the remaining sugar and continue to beat until the cream is stiff.  Fold carefully into the chilled egg mixture. 
• In another clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites.  When they start to mound, beat in the remaining ¼ cup of sugar.  Keep beating until the whites hold stiff peaks, then fold them carefully into the soufflé base.
• Pour into the prepared dish, smooth the top, which should come up almost to the top of the paper collar, then place the dish in the freezer for several hours or overnight until frozen.  Before serving, remove the collar and decorate the top with thin circles of sliced lemon and mint.  I put a little sprig of mint right in the middle so it looks like it was growing there. 
• If the soufflé has been frozen overnight, you might want to leave it in the refrigerator for half-an-hour or so before serving so the texture won’t be icy.

International Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons butter

Preparation:

• Cream butter; add sugar; cream together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to first mixture, alternating with sour cream.
• Begin and end with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla extract.
• In small dish, mix sugars, pecans, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons butter. Pour 1/2 of batter in greased 10-inch tube pan. Top with 1/2 sugar mixture. Pour in rest of batter and top with rest of sugar mixture. Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Poached Red Plums

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups water
• 2 medium oranges, zested, zest julienned
• 1 1/2 lbs red plums

Preparation:

• In a saucepan large enough to hold all the plums after being submerged in syrup, stir the sugar into 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat, add the zest, and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Prick each plum twice with the tines of a fork, then place them carefully in the syrup.
• Cover and let simmer to poach for 5 minutes. Let the plums cool in the syrup, then slip off the skins.
• Return the skinned plums to the syrup and let them steep until you are ready to serve.
• Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Floating Islands (John Jr.'s Favorite)

Meringues portion

Ingredients:

• 8 egg whites
• 3/4 c. sugar
• Pinch of salt

Preparation: Fill a large pot 3/4 full of water and bring to a boil. While the water is coming to a boil, beat egg whites and salt until they form soft peaks. Slowly add sugar, continuing to beat egg whites until they are very stiff. Turn the flame under the water down and reduce water to a simmer. Scoop out egg whites by the large spoonful, and slide each into simmering water. Poach for about 2 minutes and then turn with a slotted spoon. Poach on other side for another 4 minutes. Remove poached egg whites from water, drain on paper towels and set aside until ready to use. If the meringues are prepared more than 1 hour before serving, refrigerate uncovered.

Custard Sauce portion

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/4 c. sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 c. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. lemon rind, grated fine

Preparation: Beat the egg yolks slightly, then add the sugar and salt. Scald the milk and slowly add to the egg mixture, whisking to prevent yolks from curdling. Place the custard in a double boiler, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken and coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add the vanilla and lemon rind. Chill thoroughly until ready to use. Note: This is not a firm custard, but a sauce. It must not be permitted to boil at any time. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

Carmel Sauce portion

Ingredients:

• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. water

Preparation: Combine sugar and water in a heavy saucepan. Stir well and then heat until sugar turns a golden brown. Do not stir while sugar mixture is boiling or it may crystallize. Remove from heat and cool slightly. To assemble: Pour a bit of the custard sauce into a deep dessert plate. Float a poached meringue on each pool of custard. Dipping a fork into the caramel sauce, drizzle a web of the caramel sauce atop the meringues.