Summer Salads, Handmade Marshmallows and more

Tuna Salad Salad

A perfect light dinner for a sultry summer evening. No stoves or ovens were heated to prepare this tasty and healthy dinner!!  Start with Tuna Salad (or Tuna Mayonnaise as the Brits call it) made your way – some folks use mayo, some use mustard, some Ranch Dressing.   Some folks add diced onion, or red bell peppers, or celery or shredded carrots. I like to make mine with celery, red bell pepper and bleu cheese dressing.   Always buy Solid White Albacore tuna, otherwise you're spending far too much money on fishy tasting water.

Chop up some lettuce. I prefer Romaine over watery old Iceberg, any day. Add some tomato wedges or cucumber slices, carrots, mushrooms, roasted sunflower seeds or croutons. Or all of the above.  Then a nice mound of the tuna salad.  Top with the dressing of your choice.

Floribeño Salad

What distinguishes a Florida Salad from others is the addition of fruit – usually citrus. Nuts of some kind (pecans down here in the South) are also a common addition.

For Sunday Brunch yesterday I made Tropical Chicken Breasts with two salads – Floribeño and the Olivje Russian Potato Salad I made a couple months back 

http://foodingaround-kiltedcook.blogspot.com/2016/03/asparagus-olivje-aubergine-brussels.html.

My Floribeño included mango instead of citrus, sunflower seeds instead of pecans, plus some fresh blueberries and raspberries.

Sunday Brunch:

Old Fashioned Marshmallows

I saw a Food Network episode awhile back which showed a candy shop making marshmallow by the foot. Looked so good I though I'd better try to make some. Many recipes call for a stand mixer, but you don't need one if you're willing to stand there for 10 minutes with a hand mixer. Easy, albeit a bit messy, these are fun to make, and can be decorated in a variety of ways as a desert. Clean up with hot water is easy too.  Here's the egg-less recipe I used -- there are a number of eggy or egg-less recipes out there in the Netiverse, takr your pick.  There are also recipes that use DIY cane syrup or even maple syrup rather than light corn syrup.  I may have to try that next.

3 cups White Sugar

1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup

2 packets Unflavored Gelatin

1/4 tsp Salt

1 cup of water, divided

3 Tbsp Vanilla, Lemon, or other flavor Extract

Confectioner's Sugar for dusting

Optional --  assorted 'toppings' such as crushed nuts, candy sprinkles, melted chocolate, toasted coconut, etc.

Thoroughly spray an 8x8 or 8x10 baking dish with no-stick.  I prefer Baker's Choicetm.

In 1/4 cup of water, 'bloom' the gelatin for at least 5 minutes. Meanwhile combine the sugar, syrup, salt and 3/4 cup of water in a large pot, and stir while bringing it to a boil. You'll want a deep pot because this stuff foams, and stirring doesn't knock the foam down...

After 5 minutes, add the thick gelatin bloom, and stir it to dissolve into the mix. Bring the temperature up to a hard boil, all the way to 234-240F on your instant-read or candy thermometer.

When you hit 234-240F, remove from the heat and immediately start to beat with your hand or stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat 10-12 minutes. About half way through the beating, add the flavor extract. When you get “stiff peaks”, quickly transfer the goo to your prepared pan, and smooth it down with a wet spatula.

Let the pan sit at least 4 hours before removing the marshmallow slab. Dust the top surface with confectioners sugar. Run a wet knife around the edges, gently lift out the slab, and lay it, powdered side down, on a cutting board. Use a wet knife to cut the slab into squares. Dust the squares with more confectioner's sugar and/or apply other toppings as desired. Store in an air tight container. They may not last long enough to get to the refrigerator...

Granted, mine didn't turn out as light and fluffy as a commercial 'mallows.   I didn't get as much air in the mix as I should have – I probably didn't whip fast enough, soon enough. Or I might have needed more or less gelatin. I will admit I forgot to put in that ¼ tsp of salt; which as Alton Brown reminded us in his road show last year, can have devastating effects in baking.

Still, they tasted really good. And they were 'marshmallowy' with a slightly stiff surface and a creamy soft interior. Sally said the texture of this batch reminded her marzipan.  The lemon extract really gave a “pop” to the flavor. This was simple enough that I'll be spending some time perfecting the recipe.

Rather than dipping or rolling my 'mallows', for Sunday Brunch's I made dessert in the form of skewers of 'mallow and pineapple-from-the-garden and mango-from-the-tree.

India's Grill

Local readers who enjoy good Indian food will be happy to find India's Grill, the new Indian restaurant on Hwy 41 in Fort Myers. The regular menu has an extensive selection of made-to-order appetizers, main dishes (vegetable, chicken, lamb and seafood), breads and rices, desserts and more.  

 If you swing by during the lunch hour you can also take advantage of a buffet bar that puts the venerable India Palace to shame. This lunch bar features a much wider variety of dishes, spice levels, and flavors than the IP. The huge heaping platter of Grilled Medley alone had over a dozen wonderfully different flavors enhancing the chicken and vegetables. If you like it hot, their Vindaloo dishes will light your fire. If you like it mild, they can accommodate you was well. Many people think that all Indian food is gratuitously hot. But India's Grill serves it up the way you like it!