WINING AND DINING
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WINING AND DINING
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On going through my copious African
basket (which I carry everywhere)...I found my "dog-eared" note
book on desserts........I think I'v made a lot of them up.....some have
been written down in haste when travelling through Africa........(not sure
if I understood all the translations)....I tasted most of them.......or
did I gulp them down?? the part I like most about Africa, is that when
it comes to using the "fruits-of -the -earth", the people are
so imaginative..........*sighing and licking my lips*........well since
this is the season of goodwill...I thought you might like a taste of our
sunshine.........
COCONUT
ICE CREAM BALL IN STRAWBERRY-PINEAPPLE SAUCE Spoon out 8 3-inch scoops VANILLA ICE CREAM,
rounding them to make large balls. Roll the balls quickly in SHREDDED COCONUT
until completely coated. Place on a small tray side by side and refreeze.
In a 1-quart bowl: Combine: 1 8-oz. jar STRAWBERRY JAM and 1 8-oz. jar
PINEAPPLE JAM. Thin to sauce consistency with 1/4 to 1/2 cup ANY SWEET
WINE or BRANDY. Place 3 to 4 Tbs. sauce in bottom of compote dish. "Sit"
the coconut ball in the sauce.
"FOOLS"
The term "fool" (also the Egyptian
word for lentils) comes from the English and means essentially a fruit
puree folded into a soft custard or whipped cream. You may begin with any
good custard recipe, vanilla pudding, or whipped cream. Use one part custard
or cream to one part pureed, mashed, or cut fruit. Below are three Fools
from Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria.........I think.......or was it my beloved
Abidjan????
STRAWBERRY
FOOL.. In a 1-quart bowl: Sprinkle 1/4 cup CONFECTIONERS'
SUGAR over1 cup STRAWBERRIES cut in quarters. In a 1-quart bowl: Beat 1
cup HEAVY CREAM with 3-4 Tbs. PORT or MADEIRA WINE.....anything sweet will
do as long as its alcoholic! 1/4 cup CONFECTIONERS' SUGAR, until stiff.
Fold whipped cream into strawberries. Pile high in footed sherbet glasses.
Garnish each with one whole strawberry.
PEACH
FOOL. In a 2 quart bowl: Fold: 2 cups STEWED PEACHES
(drained, pureed, and cooled) into 2 cups CUSTARD, boiled, or VANILLA PUDDING
(from a mix) cooled to room temperature. Peanut Fool (Nigeria)Yield: 8
healthy servings In a 2-quart double boiler: Dissolve: 1 cup PEANUT BUTTER
in 3 1/2 cups MILK with 1/2 cup SUGAR. Stir thoroughly and heat to scalding
point. Add to 5 large EGGS beaten slightly. Return to double boiler and
cook over hot water until mixture coats the spoon. Place 2 Tbs. CHOPPED
PEANUTS in bottom of champagne glasses. Pour the custard over the peanuts
and chill. Top with WHIPPED CREAM or MERINGUE sprinkled with chopped peanuts.
(these fools go on forever...Mangoes, bananas, granadillas....etc.......)
"ORANGE-CHOCOLATE
PARFAIT "L'AFRIQUE In a whiskey-sour glass: Place 2 Tbs. CHOCOLATE
SAUCE. 1 scoop CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM.1 scoop RASPBERRY SHERBET.....1 scoop
ORANGE SHERBET. Add 2 Tbs. CHOCOLATE SAUCE. Top with: WHIPPED CREAM and
2 MANDARIN ORANGE SLICES as a garnish......this is an individual serving
so you can repeat it as many times as you need.
BAKED
BANANAS GABON Cut 8 BANANAS in three uniformly diagonal pieces.
Beat: 1 EGG lightly with......2 Tbs. ORANGE JUICE. Dip bananas in egg mixture,
then in 1/2 cup BREAD CRUMBS. Heat 1/2 cup VEGETABLE OIL in a sautâ
pan. Sautâ the bananas only until they begin to brown lightly. Place
on a cookie sheet pan with a spatula and bake at 350' for 5 minutes. Serve
1 banana per guest in compote dishes topping each with: 3 Tbs. SOUR CREAM
sprinkled with 1 Tbs. BROWN SUGAR.
There are many variations which can be tried using the basic recipe above.
Bananas may be dipped into the egg mixture, then in shredded coconut and
baked for five minutes. Or you may use chopped peanuts instead of coconut.
Or you may want to blend cracker crumbs with curry powder and cayenne pepper
and proceed as above. All of these work well as accompaniments to any meat
dish or may be used as dessert. Bananas are an important part of any African
dish, and one finds that there are many varieties of bananas........I have
eaten them dried, stewed, and fried........
MONROVIAN
COCONUT PIE This Monrovian pie is not a custard pie-it
is made primarily of coconut, which absorbs the milk and eggs. Use fresh
coconut if possible and grate it into long shreds. You haven't really tasted
coconut pie until you've tried this one! Line a 9-inch pie pan with PIE
CRUST. (Follow directions for packaged pie crust.) Bake the pie shell for
5 minutes or until partially brown. In a 3 quart bowl: Cream: 6 oz. BUTTER
(use 11/2 4-oz. sticks) with 1/2 cup SUGAR until smooth. Add 2 LARGE EGGS
well beaten, and blend together. Add: 2 cups GRATED COCONUT (if packaged,
use moist) 1 cup MILK 1 tsp. VANILLA 1/4 tsp. BAKING SODA. Pour into partially
baked pie shell. Cover the top with strips of crust in two directions.
Flute the edges. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
CARAMEL
BANANAS In a small skillet:1/2 cup WHITE SUGAR.....1
cup LIGHT BROWN SUGAR.3 Tbs. EVAPORATED MILK.....2 Tbs. BUTTER...Cook until
sugar caramelises (i.e., melts and starts to turn brown). Stir in 2 oz.
WHITE RUM and cool. Slice 4 BANANAS. Arrange 1/2 BANANA per person in compote
dish. Spoon 3 to 4 Tbs. CARAMEL SAUCE over bananas. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tsp.
CHOPPED PEANUTS over caramel sauce.
I nearly
forgot something for this festive season....... Africans, are especially fond of appetisers.......they
think it kinda stimulates the taste for the main feast...........this can
be anything from dried fruit, cheese, chopped up and soaked in vinegar.........roasted
pumpkins seeds, a whole big dish...(my favourite,) filled with Halva, figs,
dried raisins, cheese, baby carrots, dried bananas (again!) smoked oysters,
pieces of lobster, mussels, and eaten on salted biscuits, or the best is...
FRUIT
GIMLET This gimlet, made with papaya only, was served us as an appetiser by Patience A. Kotei in Accra, Ghana. Subsequently, I served it using a combination of fresh fruits and it was a most delightful first course. For striking effects use champagne glasses or any attractive wine glasses for fruit cups-and chill them thoroughly. Fill 8 champagne glasses with balls or squares of FRUIT from melon, watermelon, papaya, pineapple, singly or in combination (1/2 cup fruit per person). Sprinkle each with 1/2 tsp. CRYSTALLISED GINGER, finely chopped. Pour over: 1 Tbs. GIN. 1 Tbs. LIME JUICE and 1 tsp. BROWN SUGAR. Garnish with MINT SPRIGS. serve chilled......
M'BAAZI
Pea Beans Nairobi Style (Kenya) M'Baazi means
"beans" in Swahili and is pronounced em ba-ah'-zi with the voice
pitched higher on the final syllable. Any kind of beans may be used except
green or waxed beans. You'll be surprised to find that dried beans can
taste so good! If it is not convenient to prepare the coconut milk, use
1 cup of milk and add 1/2 cup of finely grated packaged coconut. In a 2-quart
saucepan: Simmer: 1 cup DRIED PEA BEANS in 1 quart BOILING SALTED WATER
until tender (about one hour). Drain. In another 2-quart saucepan: Sautâ:
1/2 cup ONIONS, chopped finely 1/2 cup GREEN PEPPER, chopped finely 1 tsp.
SALT.......1/4 tsp. CRUSHED RED PEPPER in 4 Tbs. OIL or BUTTER until soft
but not brown. Add the drained beans and continue to sautâ until
the onions are brown. Add 1 cup COCONUT MILK Simmer gently until the coconut
milk thickens to medium-sauce consistency. Correct the Seasoning. Place
in 1-quart bowl and chill until thoroughly cold. Line small sauce dishes
with lettuce cups. Dish out 1/2 cup M'BAAZI
There are dozens of other varieties of appetisers, mostly combinations
of fruit and alcohol.......all of which are plentiful here..........remembering
too, that we have very hot weather at Christmas time........saying this,
we still cling to the English idea of plum pudding and roast turkey.........we
do however serve the pudding hot, with ice-cream....
