Welcoming Snow Flakes To Florida originally published on Food and Fond Memories on January 28, 2011 by sandyaxelrod 2 Comments (Edit)
Welcoming Snow Flakes To Florida
We spent New Year’s Eve at a friends home ringing in 2011 with gusto, good food and plenty to drink. At the party we met a couple that we just clicked with and felt like we had known them forever. Lisa and Deane recently bought a condo at the Pointe where our best friends Jackie and Alan live. They are what we here in Florida call “snow flakes”. “Snow flakes” are people who come to Florida every month or so for a few days and then go back up north, in Lisa and Deane’s case to frigid Connecticut. The more familiar “snow bird” or as I like to call them the state birds of Florida, are those who come to Florida and spend the whole winter. Lisa and Deane went back to their home in Connecticut right after New Years for a couple of weeks and returned for about ten days to our sunny climate. So last Friday evening we hosted a dinner party for our new friends along with our old friends Jackie and Alan. After the usual fifty cent tour of our home we sat down for Cava, a Spanish sparkling wine, and appetizers in the livingroom. I had resolved to keep it simple and have almost everything ready ahead of time so we started with a cheese board of Triple Cream Brie and an Iberica cheese, grapes, guava jelly and assorted crackers as well as a platter of miniature yellow corn cakes topped with smoked salmon and spicy mango crema. When we sat down to the table I served a spinach salad with grilled portobello mushrooms and shaved Manchego cheese drizzled with Sherry Vinaigrette. The entree of Salmon Fillets with Anchovy Vinaigrette and Black Olive and Roasted Pepper Relish and Roasted Garlic Tamales followed and made a gorgeous, colorful presentation. Of course I had to serve an easy but show stopping dessert and Lemon Meringue Milkshakes with “Fluffy” Whipped Cream and Pizzelle rounded out the meal perfectly. My guess is that everyone loved the meal because plates and glasses entered the sink pretty well cleaned of food! All of the recipes were easy and sure to please and yes, you guessed it, came from Bobby Flay’s cookbooks.
Lemon Meringue Milkshakes with “Fluffy” Whipped Cream and Pizzelle
Copied from “Burgers, Fries and Shakes
Makes one 16-ounce or two 8-ounce milkshakes
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, plus more for garnish (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 heaping tablespoons store-bought lemon curd
11 ounces premium vanilla ice cream (about 1 3/4 packed cups)
“Fluffy” Whipped Cream
Pizzelle cookie for garnish
Combine the milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon curd in a blender and blend for 5 seconds. Add the ice cream and blend until smooth, about 10 seconds. Top the shake with fluffy whipped cream, some zest, and a pizzelle cookie, if desired. Serve immediately.
“Fluffy” Whipped Cream
Makes about 3 cups
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup Marshmallow Fluff
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Combine the cream, sugar, Fluff, and vanilla in a large bowl and whip until soft peaks form. The whipped cream can be made 2 hours in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. Whisk slightly before serving.
