Trying not toeat yesterday, or to complain about that or the sweltering heat, which assumed anincreased degree of difficulty because I chose to perform strenuous outdoor choresand save money by not turning on the air conditioning inside, I managed to cool down my spiritand body temperature a little by reading these three summer dessert recipes from Marta Sgubin’scharming book, Cooking For Madam: Recipes and Reminiscences from the Home ofJacqueline Kennedy Onassis. (New York, Scribner, 1998)
Marta Sgubinworked for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis from 1969, when she was first hired asgoverness for Caroline Kennedy and John F. Kennedy, Jr., until Mrs. Onassis’sdeath in 1994. Her role in evolved asthe Kennedy children got older and eventually she became Mrs. Onassis’s cookand household major-domo. Later, she continued working as part ofCaroline Kennedy Schlossberg’s household.
After Mrs.Onassis’s death, Ms. Scubin was encouraged by the Kennedy children to assemblethis discreet memoir/recipe book and it’s excellent, entertaining and useful. Most of the recipes, including these three,are highly appealing and absolutely within the mastery of practicing (asopposed to expert) and enthusiastic home cooks, which is really how it shouldbe. Caroline and I, realizing that we’re currently in a sortof recipe rut, will undoubtedly cook from this book this summer.
Charmingdetails abound, including the one included below about what it’s like to haveJasper Johns supply your mangoes for mango ice cream. Gossipy, really interesting stories, aremissing, such as those concerning Mrs. Onassis’s strict dieting habits(inserting a fork in items of food toextract the essential flavors and calling that a meal; making a day’s total calorieconsumption a small portion of a single dry baked potato topped with Belugacaviar), but I don’t think that’s any cause for concern. Those stories might be fiction; so might the storiesincluded in this volume. Anyone who hasever tried caption writing knows that pictures say 1,000 words and words can beused to paint various artistic pictures. The point is that they seem real and they weave a part of Americanhistory that is still very much with us.
Democrats,Republicans and Independents can all cook from this book and, I think, enjoyit. The RaspberrySauce, which is paired with the FrozenLemon Soufflé here, also accompanies the Peche Cardinale in Marta Sgubin’s book. I’ll publish that highly appealing recipeanother time.
Frozen Lemon Souffle
(Serves 6)
I used to makethis soufflé often for parties, multiplying the recipe as needed to serve thenumber of guests. I always try to allowenough so that everyone can have two generous helpings and then there will besome left over to go back into the freezer for snacking time.
The orphan eggwhites can be frozen to be thawed and used later.
12 egg yolks
1 ½ cups plus 2teaspoons sugar, divided
¾ cup lemon juice
Grated zest of 1 lemon
½ cup heavy cream
6 egg whites
Select a deep-sided skillet or sauté panthat will comfortably hold a medium-sized heatproof bowl and allow room for water to come up thesides of the bowl on the outside. Aftertesting, remove and dry the bowl and bring the water in the skillet to a boil.
Beat the 12egg yolks with 1 ½ cups of the sugar in the bowl, using either a whisk or anelectric mixer until light and lemon colored. Add the lemon juice. (Note: It’s easier to grate the zest off the lemonbefore squeezing the juice, so do it in that order and set the zest aside.)
When the waterin the skillet is boiling, set the bowl in it and continue to beat until theegg mixture becomes smooth, creamy and custardy. Be very careful, because if you aren’t payingattention at this point, the mixture can scramble in a minute.
Scrape themixture into a larger bowl and stir in the grated zest. Let cool, and then refrigerate and chillthoroughly.
Prepare the soufflédish. Tear off a length of waxed paperthat will fit around the dish and overlap itself by about 2 inches. Fold the paper lengthwise into thirds to makea long, thin strip, then wrap it around the upper rim of the soufflé dish toform a high collar rising above the rim. Make sure the ends overlap by at least1 inch. Secure with string tied underthe rim of the dish.
Beat the heavycream until it starts to thicken, then add 2 teaspoons of the remaining sugarand continue to beat until the cream is stiff. Fold carefully into the chilled egg mixture.
In anotherclean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites. When they start to mound, beat in the remaining ¼ cup of sugar. Keep beating until the whites hold stiffpeaks, then fold them carefully into the soufflé base.
Pour into theprepared dish, smooth the top, which should come up almost to the top of thepaper collar, then place the dish in the freezer for several hours or overnightuntil frozen. Before serving, remove thecollar and decorate the top with thin circles of sliced lemon and mint. I put a little sprig of mint right in themiddle so it looks like it was growing there.
If the souffléhas been frozen overnight, you might want to leave it in the refrigerator forhalf-an-hour or so before serving so the texture won’t be icy.
(Serve with Raspberry Sauce, if desired. Please see recipe below.)
Mango Ice Cream
(Makes 3-4 quarts)
8 cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups sugar
4 cups pureed fresh mango (6-8 mangoes; they must be veryripe)
Juice of 3 limes, strained
Scald thecream, then, off the heat, stir in the sugar until it dissolves. At that point, stir in the mango puree andthe strained lime juice. Let cool, thenfreeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. When the ice cream is ready, store in acontainer in the freezer.
This should beserved the same day it is made so it doesn’t get too hard. I used to scoop it into the serving bowl alittle ahead of time and leave it in the refrigerator so it would be gooey butfirm. Madam always liked her ice creamslurpy.
Madam lovedthis ice cream, especially when I served it with a sort of julienne of freshmango over the top. We were lucky. Jasper Johns, a friend of Madam, used to sendmangoes to us from his house on Captiva.
Another goodidea is to grate some fresh ginger over the ice cream just before serving. I can just see the expression on her face asshe took a bite.
Raspberry Sauce
(Makes 1 ½ to 2 cups)
1 pint fresh raspberries
Juice of ½ lemon
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon arrowroot
1 Tablespoon Framboise or Kirsch
Combine theraspberries, lemon juice and ¼ cup water in a food processor or blender andpuree until smooth. Strain through afine sieve to remove all the seeds.
Pour the pureeinto a small pan, add the sugar and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 15minutes, stirring occasionally. Dissolvethe arrowroot in the liqueur and stir into the sauce. Remove from the heat and let cool. When cool, cover and refrigerate.
This can bemade with frozen raspberries, but in thesummer, when fresh berries are available, it tastes so much better.
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