THE FRUGAL GOURMET MOST PEOPLE cherish a sweet treat to end a special meal. In many countries, these treats are made to celebrate a festival, religious or otherwise. The following dessert recipes are from countries around the world, Some are quite rich; eat them sparingly. Cthers require less restraint. ROMMEGROT (Serves 8-10) “When I was very young my grandmother would make _ this pudding for us on Christmas Eve. The flavor is so associated with that winter’ holiday that when 1 make rommegrot in July | begin . Singing Christmas carols. I am sure you understand. 2 pints sour cream, the richest you ‘ can find 41-12. tablespoons all-purpose flour to thicken: 2-3 cups hot milk ¥2 teaspoon salt, or to taste . 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste GARNISHES : Melted butter Sugar _ Ground cinnamon . Place the sour cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. Turn down the heat and allow to barely simmer for 1 hour, un- - covered, to reduce slightly. it must not boil. Use a heat dif- fuser for this process. Using a. flour sifter or strainer slowly .add enough flour to thicken the cream. I use about 11 or 12 tablespoons for a very thick pudding. ~. Using a wire whisk, whip in the Proportions are crucial SUE WILSON “ANNE | GARDINER NEWS photo Brad Lodwidgo TASTY TREATS from around the world enhance a home-cooked meal. flour 1 tablespoon at a time. The cream ‘will thicken and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, If the sour cream is very rich, butter will now begin to form and rise to the top. Remove this with a spoon and set aside. Stir in enough hot milk to ob- tain -<. porridge-like consistency. Add sugar and salt to taste. . Serve in bowls with melted but- ter, sugar and cinnamon on top. BROILED GRAPEFRUIT (Serves 4) This dish is so simple that any- one in the family can prepare it. 2 ripe grapefruit 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar GARNISH Fresh mint sprigs Cut the grapefruits in half crosswise and place on a sheet pan. Using a paring knife, trim around the outside of each indi- vidual grapefruit section so it is Joosened but still intact. Sprinkle the sections of the grapefruit halves with the brown sugar. Place under a broiler on high and cook until bubbly and cara- melized. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature. Garnish the centre of each with WANT TO _ increase that recipe for a double layer cake to feed a_ birthday crowd? Then increase everything in the recipe by half and make a triple decker. Wish you had more home- made cookies and healthy muffins on hand? Then double your reci- pes and freeze the extras. There are definite economies of scale when increasing recipes to make large batches. The clutter and clean-up are the same. And the amount of extra _ time it takes to make a double or triple batch is minimal. At the other extreme, cooking fer one or two peorle means reducing recipes and still having some left to freeze. a fresh mint sprig. ' ‘WELSH CREPES (Serves 4-6) This is a lovely little currant crepe that is served for dessert or at a fancy tea. 1 cup all-purpose flour Pinch of salt Jepges - 1% cups milk Saled or peanut oi} for pan-frying 6 tablespoons dried currants 4 cup sugar Juice of 2 lemons Put the flour, salt, eggs and milk in a bowl and beat at medi- um speed until blended. The mix- ture will be a thin batter. Prepare a non-stick pan of desired size by melting a small amount of oil to cover the bottom (the fat should be hot). ‘Pour a scant 3 tablespoons of batter into the pan, tipping it so it coats the bottom. Sprinkle all over with “% table- spoon currants. Cook the first side until it is golden brown. Turn the crepe with a spatula and cook the other side. Turn the crepe out onto a large plate, sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice, and roll up. Crepes can also be piled up and sliced in portions like a cake. Continue with remaining batter. Keep crepes warm in a 200°F oven. This recipe will make a dozen ormore. | ALEXANDER'’S CAKE (Serves 12-16) This Latvian recipe is for a lovely iced sheet cookie — like pastry with a jam filling. THE CAKE 1 pound soft butter % cup sugar 2 eges ; Grated rind of 1 lemon ’ 4 cups all-purpose flour THE FILLING 1 10-ounce jar red currant jelly THE GLAZE Juice of 2 lemons 1 pound powdered sugar, sifted Cream the butter and sugar well in an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well. Add the lemon rind and the flour. Mix just until a smooth dough is formed. Grease two 9’'x 13’? sheet-cake pans and line each with waxed paper. Divide the dough ‘evenly between the two pans. oy Using a spatula, spread the dough evenly. You may want to _ put waxed paper on top as well and simply use a rolling pin. Remove the waxed paper on _mer until del git Bake at 375°F for about 13 to 15 minutes or until they are just golden brown. Allow the sheets to cool in the pans. Invert one sheet onto a flat ser- ving platter and peel off the wax- ed paper. Whisk the jelly to thin it, then spread it evenly over the firs¢ sheet. : Carefully invert the second sheet on top of the first and peel off the waxed paper. Prepare the glaze by stirring the lernon juice gradually into the powered sugar with a fork. If it does not spread easily add enough water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you get an icing that is easy to work with. Spread the top of the pastry with the icing and allow it to set. Cut into diamonds or 1-by-3-inch pieces. . PEKING DUST (Serves 8-10) This wonderful Chinese dessert is best made with fresh chestnuts, either roasted or boiled — peeled, of course. If you wish to use fresh, you will need about 2% pounds to prepare this elaborate dish. THE CHESTNUTS 1 pound dried chestnuts, soaked overnight and drained I cup water T cup sugar - 1 teaspoon salt © ¥2 cup powdered or confectioners’ | sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla WHIPPED CREAM 2 cups whipping cream 3 tablespoons powdered . or con- fectioners’ sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla GARNISH 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar Glaceed or candied fruit (optional) Place the drained chestnuts in a saucepan and add‘! cup of water, along with the 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil, cover and sim- the nuts are barely tender, about ft hour. Drain, reserving the syrup. Place the nuts in a food pro- cessor and process, in two bat- ches, just. until grainy. Remove to a bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients for the chestnuts. Set aside. Whip the cream and add the. sugar and vanilla. ; Gently fold half the whipped cream into the chestnut mixture and mound this on a serving plate. Make it look [ke a moun- See Boiled page 41 when doubling or halving recipes But cooks are sometimes uncer- tain. “‘Do I double everything in the recipe?”’ we're asked. As arule, yes, change all the ingredients by exactly the same proportion. {f you’re doubling, double everything. If you’re halving a recipe, half each ingredient. The best recipes are a balance of ingredients. Flour and eggs help build the structure of most muffins, cakes and cookies. But without just the right about of sugar and shortening, they’d be tough. ; In baking, accurate measure- ments and correct proportions are important. Whether you make ex- tra or make less, keep the propor- tions the same. Pastry works a little differently. Don’t automatically add as much liquid as the recipe suggests. The amount needed will vary ac- cording to the amount of moisture already in the four and the hu- midity of the air. Add as little liquid as necessary to foria the dough into a ball. And be careful not to overmix an extra large batch of dough. Extra liquid and overmixing makes pastry tough, Foods that require boiling to reduce liquid will take longer if you increase the quantity. For this reason it’s recommended that you not double jam and jelly recipes. Evaporating the liquid concen- trates sugar, fruit and pectin to very precise proportions. When you increase a recipe, evaporation takes longer and extra cooking yields a weaker gel, loss of flavor and in some cases, darker colors. _ long. Measuring isn't as crucial with soups, stews and casseroles, But large amounts of liquid take Jonger to evaporate, so you may find it best not to double the amount of water or broth. If you’re reducing recipes you may wish to add a little extra moisture to ensure sinall casseroles and stews don’t dry out, Recipes doubled and put into larger pans will take longer to | bake, but not necessarily twice as It’s not always possible to accu- rately predict timing, so use other cues such as browning and testing the interior as well, Not all recipes are indefinitely expandable or shrinkable. You may encounter variations in the results when you start muitinlying by more than four.