My new sister-in-law is getting married very soon....June 11th to be exact. Yesterday, my new Auntie (in-law) and I hosted a bridal shower to celebrate her upcoming nuptials.
Here's a quick pic of the Bride and I
I love brunch for bridal showers, nice light fare that is a little girly.
Saturday I started to make three things: Cranberry Orange Pull Apart Rolls, Bellinis and Quiche Lorraine. I'll start with the bellinis incase you would like something to sip as you read through the rest. : )
My co-worker, Gracie told me about how she and her sisters did a bellini bar for her sister's bridal shower and forwarded me this link. These were super simple to make but a little time consuming.
I decided to make the peach and strawberry bellinis for the shower. I went to Target and picked up the frozen fruit. I got home and reviewed the yeild on the recipe and found out that I should probably double the amount. I then went to Trader Joe's after work since it is right by my bus stop to pick up additional frozen strawberries and peaches. I found the strawberries but they didn't have any frozen peaches. I found frozen mangos instead so I went with that. Peach and mango do pretty well together. And FYI, Trade Joe's has way cheaper frozen fruit.
Musical Selection: Home by: Edward Sharpe and the Electric Zeros
First, mix the sugar and water in a sauce pan. Heat this through until the sugar dissolves. This is how you make simple syrup that can be used in many things mainly drinks ie. mojitos. Allow to cool completely.
Next you will want to pop either the peaches or the strawberries into the blender with a 1/2 of a cup of the simple syrup. The recipe calls for a full cup of the syrup for the peaches (and mangos in my case) but I thought 1/2 of a cup to be enough.
Blend until smooth.
Then place the puree into a strainer. I used a rubber spatula to speed the process up a bit. Apparently I had a very fine strainer because this took quite a while even with the assistance of the spatula.
Discard the left over pulp.
Repeat steps for the strawberries and blueberries if you are making all three flavors. I put them in plastic containers over night. These are the purees, not ketchup and mustard. : )
The next goodie I made was Quiche Lorraine. This is the first quiche or egg bake I can recall my mom making. This baby is straight from the Betty Crocker Cookbook. An oldie but goodie.
First step, fry up about a 1/2 a pound of bacon. In the picture this looks like more, it is--I made two for the shower. Also, if I need bite sized pieces of bacon I cut them with a kitchen shears before putting them in the pan. I found this to be much easier than crumbling bacon and getting my hands all greasy after they are cooked.
Let bacon cool and drain on a plate lined with a paper towel.
Start with 4 (8 if you are making a double batch) eggs
Next I mixed up the eggs, whipping cream and 1/2 and 1/2. The recipe calls for all heavy whipping cream but, I am a big fan of cutting down on as many calories and fat as possible. Fat free 1/2 and 1/2 is my friend. Then mix in the salt....I never measure...
Pepper...
And sugar....
I then shredded the swiss cheese...about two cups. That's where I had to take a break since I was prepping things for the following day. So I put everything (including the frozen pie crusts) separately into the fridge.
The next day I just assembled things.
Onions into the pie crust. My mom always uses dried minced onions but I couldn't find them in her cupboard. Once I got home from the shower, my mom showed me exactly where they were. Oops. But, I would use them...they are so small and don't have the textural bite that "real" onions. do.
Next layer in the bacon and cheese.
Pour the cream/egg mixture over the filled pie crust.
Put into a pre-heated oven for 15 minutes on a jelly roll (cookie pan with sides) sheet. This will reduce the clean up if they spill over during the cooking process. Reduce to 300 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes. Mine took longer probably because there was two of them. Check with a knife...if it comes out clean in the middle you are golden...and your quiche will be too.
Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
The last recipe that I made is from my dear Auntie, CarolAnn. She is really an amazing cook and even better baker. She made these Cranberry Orange Pull-Apart rolls for my sister's baby shower last year and everyone was a buzz with their goodness! Following the shower she and I were conversing about how to make these. I told her I couldn't make them because I didn't have a bundt pan at the time. Sure enough, the next time I saw her she was there with a bundt pan, recipe and pointers on how to make them!
I made them for the first time for my adorable twin Goddaughter's baptism. Let me tell you...it was not a smashing success. They didn't raise but the taste was "okay." I was not 100% satisfied by any means. So, for the shower I was bound and determined that I would succeed. I took my Auntie's advice, Aunties and Grandmas really know best, and modified my rising method. It really worked! I might turn out to be a mediocre baker after all!
Here's the low down:
First you have to find these Rhodes Orange Rolls...AMAZING. They are hard to find. I went to Rainbow + Cub Foods with no luck. They did have them at Cashwise Foods in St. Cloud. Must be a small town thing....
Anyway, THAW these out...this is where I went wrong the first time. I put them out on a plate for the afternoon and they did well. Thaw them until they are cool to the touch but not frozen.
After these have thawed, cut them in half and roll them in the vanilla pudding mix.
Layer them in the pan alternating with the orange zest and cranberries.
After all of the rolls are in the pan (I made two pans), pour the remaining pudding mix over the rolls. It will look like a bit much but you will want all of it on them.
Next melt the butter and pour over the rolls.
The next step is essential to the success of the rolls. This is straight from Auntie CarolAnn....preheat the oven to about 400. Once it has reached the temp, cover the rolls in plastic wrap and open the oven to let that majority of the heat out. Turn off the oven. Once it feels like the oven is warm but not hot, put the rolls in the oven to raise. This will speed the process up dramatically. I put mine in for about 45 minutes and they were perfection!
After they raise, preheat the oven again to 350 and put them in once the oven has preheated. If they are getting too brown cover with tin foil for the last 15 minutes.
Remove the ring of rolls from the pan and invert on a platter as soon as they are out of the oven. Cool for at least 20 minutes and top with frosting from the roll's package.
Enjoy--these were a huge crowd pleaser for the shower! Thanks for the recipe Auntie CarolAnn!!!!!
RECIPES!
Peach, Strawberry and Blueberry Belinis
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 (16-ounce) bag frozen peaches, thawed
- 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
- 1 (16-ounce) bag frozen strawberries, thawed
- 1 (16-ounce) bag frozen blueberries or blackberries, thawed
- 4 to 6 (750-ml) bottles Prosecco or other sparkling wine, chilled
- Fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, for garnish
- Orange peel twists, for garnish
Directions
Stir the sugar and water in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.Puree the peaches and orange peel in a blender with 1/2 cup of the sugar syrup until smooth. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer and into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate. In a clean blender puree the strawberries with 1/3 cup of the sugar syrup until smooth. Strain through a clean fine-meshed strainer and into another bowl. Discard the seeds. Puree the blueberries in a clean blender with 1/3 cup of the sugar syrup until smooth. Strain through a clean fine-meshed strainer and into a third bowl. Discard the seeds and solids. Pour each of the purees into clear glass bowls or small pitchers.For each serving, pour 2 to 4 tablespoons of the desired fruit puree into a Champagne flute. Slowly pour enough Prosecco into the flute to fill. Gently stir to blend. Garnish with the whole berries, as desired, and serve.
Do-Ahead Tip: The fruit purees can each be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.
Quiche Lorraine
9" Pie Crust
12 slices of bacon (about 1/2 a pound) crispy fried and crumbled
1 Cup shredded swiss cheese
1/3 Cup minced onion (I use dried minced onion)
4 Eggs
1 Cup Fat Free 1/2 and 1/2
1 Cup whipping cream
3/4 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp sugar
1/2 Tsp fresh cracked black pepper
Heat oven to 425.
Put bacon, cheese and onion in pie crust.
Beat eggs slightly, beat in remaining ingredients
Pour mixture into pie crust. Bake 15 minutes.
Reduce oven temp to 300 and bake 30 minutes longer or until knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Serve in wedges.
6 main dish servings 8 appetizer servings.
Recipe from: Betty Crocker Cookbook
Cranberry Orange Pull Apart Rolls
12 Rhodes Orange Rolls
1 (3oz) Package of instant vanilla pudding
1/4 Cup (about) sweetened dried cranberries (Craisins)
Orange zest
1/2 Cup butter, melted
Orange cream cheese frosting (included in roll package)
Spray bundt pan
Cut rolls in 1/2, roll in pudding mix
Arrange alternately with dried cranberries and orange zest...just lightly zest the orange around the rolls
Sprinkle remaining pudding mix over rolls.
Pour melted butter evenly over the top.
Cover with plastic wrap-let rise 1 hour.
Remove wrap bake at 350 for 30-25 minutes. If browning too quickly, cover with aluminum foil for last 15 minutes.
Immediately after baking, invert onto serving platter.
Cool slightly, drizzle with frosting.
Yield 12-16 servings.
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