Shoestring Gourmet - We shall Gather At the kitchen!

by Jim Morgan

We had an intimate but enthusiastic turnout for our "Cooking with Liqueurs" night.

Our appetizer was a rich goat- and gruyere-cheese pate flavored with kirschwasser, by Marilyn McDonald.

Diana Toone prepared steamed snow pea pods and carrots doused in Amaretto. Ray Pisar provided the visual spectacle of the evening by pouring flaming Southern Comfort down an 18-inch-long curled orange peel to ignite a bowl of sautéed mushrooms. Quite a show! And, the flamin' fried fungi were fabulous.

I contributed two items made with Canton ginger liqueur: a ginger vinaigrette for our tossed salad; and a caramel-ginger sauce for our pepper-encrusted roast loin of pork.

Syd Golston created the dessert, Grand Marnier crepes, and George Miles mixed our after-dinner beverage, called "Nuts and Berries," consisting of Frangelico (hazelnut), Chambord (raspberry), and Bailey’s Irish Cream.

For June, in honor of Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating of the end of slavery, we’re gonna have a little bit o’ soul—soul food, that is. (Somebody say "Amen!")

We’ll have classic dishes like fried catfish, hush puppies, grits, sweet potato pie, collard greens, chitlins, neckbone soup, black-eyed peas, poke salad, okra, boiled peanuts, corn fritters, butterbeans, turnips, cornbread, fried green tomatoes, and Southern fried chicken.

We’ll meet in Tempe at 6:00 on Saturday, June 12. Call Syd Golston at 345-2161 to coordinate your contribution and get directions.