Subject: Arance Caramellate (Caramelized Oranges)
From: Unicorn (unicorn@indenial.com)
Date: Fri Jun 21 2002 - 12:50:25 EDT
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FOOD FUNNY
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Recitopian Susan Gellman sent me this note:
Hi, Chef,
I told this story to Emma, a very nice Recitopian who started a
correspondence about a recipe I submitted recently, and she thought it
would be a good "food funny." It really is true.
If you go to the New Orleans School of Cooking, they tell you, "You
are never wrong in your kitchen! Buy yourself a trophy and put it
over the stove. If you make a mistake, just change the name of the
recipe and tell your guests it's your favorite and it came out
especially well tonight."
It works. We once had an au pair from Australia. She loved to bake
huge quantities of things, but she never measured anything, so they
all came out awful -- we'd have to stuff them down the disposal when
she wasn't looking.
For my birthday she made a chocolate cake, "following" a recipe from a
Disney World cookbook. The flavor was okay, but somehow it was like a
concrete block -- we almost needed an axe to cut into it, truly!
Remembering the sage advice above, I took it to work and put it out on
the lobby credenza with a little sign that said, "Authentic Australian
Outback Cake." A half hour later, the platter was empty, and there
were post-it notes on the wall saying, "Will you share the recipe?"
and "What recipe? She got it from a bakery!" This worked for years,
au pair after au pair (only one of nine could cook), from "Danish
hickory-flavored pastry" to "Le Pain de Toulouse" (rock-hard white
bread by a French au pair). After a while, the gang at the office
caught on and knew what was up whenever they saw anything with the
word "authentic" or the name of our current baby sitter's country in it!
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TODAY'S RECIPE
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These oranges are usually served whole, but you may slice them prior
to covering them with the syrup and use them to top ice cream, pound
cake, or as a dressing for a fresh fruit salad.
Arance Caramellate (Caramelized Oranges)
4 - 6 oranges
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
2 Tbs (30 ml) lemon juice
2 Tbs (30 ml) plus 2/3 cup water
2 - 2 Tbs (35 - 45 ml) orange-flavored liqueur (optional)
Remove the zest (orange part of the peel) from 2 of the oranges with a
vegetable peeler and cut it into matchstick pieces. Peel all the
oranges completely, removing all of the pith (white part of the skin)
and place in a container big enough to hold them snugly. Combine the
sugar, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water in a small
saucepan and heat over moderate heat until the sugar melts and boils.
Continue boiling without stirring until the syrup turns pale golden.
Stir in the remaining water, orange zest, and optional liqueur. Cook
an additional 5 minutes and pour over the oranges. Allow to cool to
room temperature and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
Serves 4 to 6.
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