We had a bit of a clan gathering this weekend to celebrate Mrs C's special birthday. I'm not noted as the wildest party host but I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve, one of which I'll share with you now. Every man needs a couple of recipes to impress, here is one of mine.
Often it is the simple things that are most impressive; so forget Delia's deep fried Mongolian Shrimp fritters with spicy Tahitan dip (I made that up by the way) and try Crofty's Fruit Salad - perfect for a hot Summer weekend:
Simply take...oh, that's been done hasn't it (sorry Delia, again). Gather a couple of pounds of your favourite fruit; I used cherries, seedless grapes, strawberries, blueberries and chopped pears - I prefer to avoid mixing citrus and non citrus fruits - wash and chop them, then pile them all in your favourite trifle bowl.
Next make the syrup: in a small saucepan warm about a quarter of a pint of water and dissolve into it four ounces of caster sugar. When the sugar has dissolved, bring to the boil, cover the pan and simmer gently for two minutes; then let it cool.
Now here's the secret weapon: when it's cool add just one tablespoonful of Kirsch - don't be tempted to add more; and don't be tempted to drink it - it's about four quid for a tiny bottle; and what's more, whilst the Swiss might be good at watches, clocks and army knives, they are rubbish at making a decent spirituous liquor. Kirsch tastes disgusting.
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and bung the trifle dish in the fridge for a couple of hours while you relax waiting for the alchemy to occur. Finally remove and serve with a dollop of fresh cream, yoghurt, ice cream or what ever and bask in the glory as people ask you what the magic ingredients in the juice are.
You see, it's not really magic but more like science: over those couple of hours in the fridge, due to osmosis, the juices in the fruit have leached out and mingled with your syrup to make a glorious concoction. But you don't want to tell too many people that; simply give an inscrutable smile saying that you couldn't possibly reveal the recipe handed down over four generations from your grandparents.
4 comments:
Thanks for your kind comments recently on my blog pages. I really appreciate my few regular readers leaving a comment every now and then!
Excellent new blog banner Crofty! I like it! The fruit salad sounds delicious! :) Not too sure abour the £4 mini bottle of drink though? Could I replace it with anything else? Something my two girls would like?
By the way don`t get too upset now! but I got up close and personal with my Fallow friend this morning. He was right next to my kitchen window!
and yes a dead dormouse does count I think! My cats are always being in dead mice! :(
Don't worry about the Kirsch, it's only a tablespoonful and I do think it's worth the effort (but if you really really don't want to use it, try using half white grape juice in the syrup). My nieces: Emma (11y, going to big school in September and very excited) and Zoe (6y, just very excited)didn't seem to feel any ill effects from the diluted Kirsch. I think the work Emma used was 'groovy' when she tasted it!
Cool! I might give it a go then? Where can I find it?
I got my small bottle of Kirsch from Tesco; you should be able to pick it up at any decent size store or any decent wine merchants.
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