To purchase a copy of

Pastry Queen Parties

visit one of these online retailers:

file:///T|/Lyman_Emily/Scribd/Retailer%20Pages/pastry%20queen%20parties%20buyonline.html[12/1/2010 2:17:34 PM]

 For my sister, Mary Jane (1956–2007)
RR
For my parents, Patricia and Donald Oresman
AO

Copyright © 2009 by Rebecca Rather and Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on

Alison Oresman file with publisher
Photographs copyright © 2009 by Laurie Smith
ISBN 978-1-58008-990-6
All rights reserved. Printed in China
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press,
an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, Design by Toni Tajima
a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Food and prop styling by Erica McNeish
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are
registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

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 Contents

Introduction 1 Sidebar: FRED’S PARTY 36

Belted Galloway Ice Cream
CHAPTER ONEHILL COUNTRY
Sandwiches 38
GARDEN PARTY 5
Figgy-topped Pound Cakes 40
Mini Okra Pancakes 8
Plum Tart 43
High’s Hummus with Pita Crisps 9
Kimmie Cookies 45
Sweet-and-Sour Lamb Ribs 11
Garden Party Cocktails 47
Rebecca’s Table Caprese Salad 12
Sidebar: PARTY TIPS FROM GULF COAST
CHAPTER TWO
A LEGENDARY HOST 13 BEACH BASH 49
Fresh Corn and Pea Salad 14 Chicken-fried Shrimp 52
Rustic Bread Salad 17 Campechana 53
Sidebar: ARTISAN CHEESEMAKER Marinated Crab Claw Cocktail 55
CHRISSY OMO 18
White Balsamic-Jicama Slaw 57
Roasted Beet Salad with Seafood Gumbo 58
Spicy Maple Pecans and
Chrissy’s Fresh Chèvre 19 Farmstand Tomato Soup with
Arugula Pesto 61
Watermelon Salads with
Tequila-Lime Dressing 23 Sidebar: GULF COAST ENTERTAINING,
ROCKPORT STYLE 63
Avocado-Cucumber Soup 25
Cajun Catfish Tacos with
Grilled Quail Salad 27 Chipotle Mayonnaise 64
Garden Tomato Lasagna with Pesto 30 Champagne-marinated
Three Pigs Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Shrimp Boil 67
Candied Carrots 33 Crab in Shells 68
Savory Smoked Tomato-Asiago Sidebar: BEACH HOUSE MEMORIES 70
Scones 35

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 Big Easy Whole Flounder 73
One-Pot Cajun New Potatoes 75
Lemony Artichokes au Gratin 76
Pineapple Bundt Cake 77
Sidebar: BEACHSIDE FROZEN POPS 78
Cocoa Cloud Icebox Pies 81
Vanilla Sand Dollar Cookies 83
S’mores Cupcakes 85
Watermelon Mojitos 87
CHAPTER THREE
HOMECOMING 89
Deviled Eggs 93
Layered Salad in a Jar 95
You Can Go Home Again
Potato Salad 96
Curried Jasmine Rice Salad 97
Double-dipped Buttermilk Fried
Chicken 99
Slow-baked Brisket with Bourbon
Mustard Barbecue Sauce 101
Ralph’s Six Rivers Tuna with
Honey Grain Rolls 104
Sidebar: THE SIX RIVERS RIDE 106
Gangy’s Spoon Bread 109
Butternut Squash Bread 110
Walnut Baked Beans 113
Butterscotch Brownies with
Brown Sugar Butter Icing 115
Peach-Almond Bars 117
Hostess-with-the-Mostest Cupcakes 119
Sidebar: TAILGATING 121
White Chocolate Cake with
Spiky Meringue Frosting 122
vi
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Peanut Butter and Jam Cake 124
Syrup Cake 126
Graham Cracker-Pecan Crunch 127
Grandma Olfers’s Malted
Mocha Bars 128
Homecoming Iced Tea 131
SAN ANTONIO
CHAPTER FOUR
TEX-MEX FIESTA 133
Pork and Tomatillo Quesadillas with
Ancho Dipping Salsa 135
Queso 138
Rosa’s Red Posole 140
Lime Soup 143
Fiesta Chiles Rellenos 145
Sidebar: FIESTA 147
Chicken with Banana-Basil Mole 148
Beans a la Charra 150
Cheese Enchiladas with
Chile Gravy 152
Rib-eye Fajitas on the Grill 155
El Rancho de la Reina Casserole 156
Puffy Tacos with Bison Chili 158
Rosa's Mexican Rice and
San Antonio Refried Beans 161
Sidebar: LONCITO’S FOOD SALON 163
Cinnamon Crescents 165
Pequeño Chocolate-Pecan Tartlets 166
Chubby’s White Pralines 168
Key Lime-Coconut Cream Cake 171
Corona Sorbet 173
Silver Bullet Margaritas 175
White Sangria 175
6/11/09 2:43:36 PM
 CHAPTER FIVEBIG-CITY
COCKTAIL PARTY 177
Savory Double Cheese Slice-and-Bake
Cookies 179
Polenta Rounds with Cheese,
Chive Pesto, and Red Pepper 181
Sidebar: SOIGNÉE SOIREES 182
Tuna Spoons 183
Party-in-a-Shot-Glass
Oyster Shooters 185
Wild Mushroom Turnovers 187
Sidebar: BETTER ALL THE TIME 189
Lemon-Ginger Chicken Canapés 190
Homemade Potato Chips 192
Cheddar Soup Cups 195
Avocado Pancakes with
Crème Fraîche and Trout Roe 197
Mary’s Crayfish Pies 199
Sidebar: THE BUDDY SYSTEM 201
Lemongrass-skewered
Quail Sausage 203
Lemon-Chip Cookies 205
Chile Crinkle Cookies 206
Chocolate Mousse Cookies Two Ways 207
Black-and-White Bars 208
Big-City Cocktails 211
CHAPTER SIXWEST TEXAS
DINNER PARTY 213
El Rancho Chopped Salad with
Cornbread Croutons and Creamy
Poblano Dressing 217
Iceberg Wedge with
Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing 219
vii
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Mary Jane’s Bean Pot Soup 220
Not Really Son-of-a-Bitch Stew 221
Beer-braised Short Ribs 222
Blue Javalina Grilled Lamb with
Quinoa Pilaf 225
Chicken-fried Steak 227
Stuffed Bandera Quail with
Pepper Glaze 229
Green Tomato Macaroni and Cheese 231
Sidebar: PARTY MAESTRO
DON STRANGE 233
Achiote-seared Chickpeas 234
Butter Beans and Mixed Greens 237
Sweet Potato Biscuits 239
Bud’s Mashed Potato-Creamed Corn
Casserole 240
Jalapeño Cornbread with Cheese, Corn,
and Arugula 241
Giant Chocolate Cake with Cowboy
Coffee Frosting 243
Sohnne’s Mama’s Double-Decker
Blackberry Cobbler 247
Drunken Brandy-Peach Bread
Pudding 248
Maple-Pecan Butter Thins 251
Top-Shelf Tea 252
Smoke Old-Fashioned 253
Basics and Sources 254
Acknowledgments 256
Index 258
6/11/09 2:43:37 PM
Rath_9781580089906_4p_p00i-131.indd 44 6/11/09 2:44:19 PM
 Kimmie Cookies
These light, melt-in-your-mouth cookies are named for my good friend Kim, who started baking them
as a child with her Scandinavian grandmother. While Kim makes them with her kids during the
Christmas holidays, I think they are great for a spring or summer party. I tint the butter icing a light
pink or pale blue. They always disappear quickly: kids love them, adults can’t resist them, and I never
tire of them.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies

Cookies
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room
temperature
1 cup sugar for the cookies, plus 1/2 cup
sugar for sprinkling (optional)
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
1 2
/ teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
Butter Frosting
1 3
/ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
4 tablespoons (or more) whole milk, slightly
warmed
2 cups (or more) powdered sugar
2 or 3 drops food coloring of your choice
(optional)
TO MAKE THE COOKIES: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Lightly grease 2 baking sheets with cooking
spray or butter, or line with parchment paper
or silicone liners.
Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, beat the butter and the 1 cup sugar
on medium-high speed until light and fluffy,
P
about 2 minutes. Beat in the almond extract and
salt. Add the flour and beat on low speed just
until thoroughly combined. Using your hands,
roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Put the 1/2 cup
sugar in a shallow bowl and roll each cookie in
the sugar to coat, if you like.
Place the cookies about 1/2 inch apart on the
prepared baking sheet and flatten by lightly
pressing down on the dough with the bottom
of a juice glass. (The cookies should be about
1
/4 inch thick.) Bake until the bottoms begin to
turn golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Don’t let
the tops brown or the cookies will be overdone.
Transfer to a wire cooling rack and frost while
the cookies are slightly warm.
TO MAKE THE BUTTER FROSTING: In the bowl of
an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attach-
ment, beat the 1/3 cup butter, vanilla, salt, and
warm milk on low speed until combined. Add
the powdered sugar and beat on medium speed
until combined. If the icing seems too runny to
spread, add a few tablespoons more of powdered
sugar. If it seems too thick, add more milk, 1 tea-
spoon at a time, until it reaches the desired con-
sistency.

continued

45

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DO IT EARLY
Like most cookies, these are at their very best
eaten the day they are baked. You can make the
dough and stow it in a container in the refriger-
ator up to 1 week before baking. Make the icing
and bake the cookies the day of your party.
TIPS Some people dislike the taste of almond
extract, but I have found that even avowed almond-
extract haters love these cookies without detect-
ing their almond flavor. The extract lends a subtle
46
Rath_9781580089906_4p_p00i-131.indd 46
depth of flavor, not a pronounced almond taste.
Make the cookies once with the extract and see if
the naysayers react. If they do—I’d be surprised—
you’ll have more cookies for yourself. Next time you
make them, you can substitute vanilla extract for
the almond.
Using a 1-inch-diameter metal ice cream scoop
eliminates the drudgery from portioning out cookie
dough, and insures that your cookies will be of
uniform size and bake at the same rate. The best
scoops are lever-activated and push the dough out
and onto baking sheets quickly and easily.
6/11/09 2:44:22 PM
 To purchase a copy of
Pastry Queen Parties
visit one of these online retailers:

file:///T|/Lyman_Emily/Scribd/Retailer%20Pages/pastry%20queen%20parties%20buyonline.html[12/1/2010 2:17:34 PM]