SPECIAL ISSUE: SPRING HOME & GARDEN GUIDE : Freshness Stressed in Spring Menus

Donna Barasch, a Villa Park cooking instructor, stresses fresh ingredients in her spring menus, which she likes to prepare for daytime gatherings.

Following are her original recipes for a Sunday afternoon “dinner” with a spring theme. The menu is built around lamb with herbs, new peas, fresh strawberries and an assortment of decorative touches (for information on her classes featuring these dishes and others, call (714) 997-3369).

To complement the meal, husband Ken Barasch, whose hobby is wine collecting, recommends a French Burgundy such as DRC Aa Tache or a California pinot noir such as 1984 Carneros Saintsbury or 1984 Tulocay.

SPRING MENU FOR 8

MENU

Pineapple-ham turnovers with chives pastry

Egg nests

Butter lamb sculpture

Spring leg of lamb

Potato baskets with fresh green peas and carrots

Meringue baskets with strawberries

PINEAPPLE-HAM TURNOVERS WITH CHIVES PASTRY

Ingredients

Dough

1 1/3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dried chives

1/2 cup shortening

3 tablespoons water

Filling

1 cup ground ham

1/2 cup crushed pineapple, well drained

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 egg, beaten

Preparation

Make dough mixture by combining flour, salt and chives in medium bowl. Cut in shortening with two knives or pastry blender. Sprinkle with water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork to blend. Gather into a ball with hands, flatten slightly, roll out on lightly floured board until thin. Cut out 4-inch rounds, re-rolling scraps until used up. Should make about 8 rounds.

Make filling by combining ham, pineapple and cloves in food processor with metal blade or in blender until well mixed.

Assemble by placing a tablespoon of filling just off-center on each round. Moisten edge with water, fold and seal. Flatten edges with tines of a fork. Place on parchment paper on baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg to glaze.

Bake at 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden.

EGG NESTS

Ingredients

6 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup instant nonfat dry milk

1 package active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted margarine

1 egg, beaten

12 eggs, boiled 5 minutes

Extra flour as needed

Preparation

Stir together first 4 ingredients and set aside. Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Cover 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and grease lightly. Blend together 2 eggs and oil or margarine; add to yeast mixture. Add 5 cups of dry ingredients to yeast mixture. Stir. Add enough of remaining dry mix to make a sticky dough. Turn onto board floured with remaining dry mix; knead about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide dough into 12 equal balls. Roll each ball into a rope about 10 inches long and 1/2-inch thick, fold rope in half and twist. Form a circle, sealing ends together. Put boiled egg in shell in center. Place on baking sheets. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush bread with remaining beaten egg. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. This recipe makes 12 nests.

BUTTER LAMB SCULPTURE

Ingredients

1 pound butter

2 whole cloves

Preparation

Place a 1/4-pound stick of butter on serving plate.

Cut another stick of butter in half. With a knife, round off one end of one of the 1/2 sticks to make the lamb face, then smooth. Run a hot knife along the underside of that 1/2 stick and attach it to the front top of the whole stick, with the face extending beyond the bottom stick.

Cut another stick into about 12 pieces. One by one, place small pieces in bowl of garlic press and squeeze out about 1/4-inch of “wool.” Run a sharp knife across the face of the garlic press to pick up “wool” and place it along the lower edge of the large stick that is being used for the lamb body. Repeat the process with the remaining butter. Keep adding “wool,” covering entire lamb, except for the smooth face. Always work from the bottom to the top. Cut off and discard the large end of the cloves and press remaining thin part into the lamb’s face for eyes. Chill until ready to serve.

SPRING LEG OF LAMB

Ingredients

5-6 pound fresh leg of lamb

1 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme

1 teaspoon dried or fresh oregano

1 teaspoon dried or fresh savory

1 teaspoon dried or fresh marjoram

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons coarse salt

1/4 cup olive oil

Preparation

Debone or have butcher debone lamb.

Mix a paste of remaining ingredients. Spread paste on all sides of meat. Roll into a log shape and tie at 2-inch intervals with kitchen twine. Place in glass dish, cover with plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator overnight.

Remove from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking. Place on rack in roasting pan. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place roast in oven and immediately reduce heat to 350 degrees. Roast at 350 degrees for 30 minutes per pound of deboned weight or until thermometer registers 175-180 degrees for well done or 160-165 degrees for slightly rare.

POTATO BASKETS WITH FRESH GREEN PEAS AND CARROTS

Ingredients

Baskets

1 package frozen hash brown potatoes, defrosted and drained of excess water.

Cooking oil

Filling

2 pounds fresh green peas, in shells

1/2 pound fresh carrots

1 tablespoon butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Preparation

To cook, you will need two small (less than 6 inches in diameter) wire fry baskets, one slightly larger than the other. Preheat deep fryer with vegetable oil deep enough to cover wire fry baskets. Break apart a potato patty and lightly place shreds in outer wire basket, spreading up the sides. Place other wire basket in center of first basket so the potato basket will hold its shape. Holding both baskets together, place in hot oil. Cook until potatoes just start to turn color, then gently remove inner basket. Continue cooking potatoes until browned; remove from oil. Turn basket upside down on paper towels. Gently knock off shreds that protrude through basket wires. Potato basket should drop onto towels. Repeat with remaining potatoes.

Shell peas. Peel and dice carrots. Boil separately in salted water until barely tender. This may be done several hours ahead. Just before serving, melt butter in sauce pan, add vegetables and heat. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve in potato baskets.

MERINGUE BASKETS WITH STRAWBERRIES

Ingredients

1 cup egg whites (need about 8 eggs)

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 cups sugar

2 pints fresh strawberries

Preparation

In a large mixing bowl, combine egg whites with cream of tartar at medium speed until frothy. Turn to high speed and gradually add sugar. Beat until stiff and glossy. Place 1/2 of the meringue mixture in a pastry bag with medium tip.

On parchment paper on a baking sheet, draw 8 4-inch circles. Pipe a layer of meringue to completely cover the outline of the circle and continue to pipe progressively smaller concentric circles inside the original circle to make a disk.

On another baking sheet covered with parchment, draw more 4-inch circles. You will need 24. Pipe a single line of meringue around the circumference of each circle. Bake the disks and circles 1 1/2 hours at 200 degrees. (Refill pastry bag as needed.)

When disks and circles are cooked, gently remove from baking sheet. On each disk, pipe a circle of meringue on the top of the outer edge. Place a baked meringue circle on top of the freshly-piped meringue. Repeat 2 more times until you have a disk with 3 rings attached. To complete the basket appearance, on the outside of the basket pipe a line of the meringue mixture from the bottom disk to the top circle spaced every inch around the basket. Repeat for remaining disks. Place baskets on parchment paper on baking sheet. Bake at 200 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Cool.

Clean strawberries. Place in baskets just before serving.

If weather is damp, serve the same day. If weather is dry, you can make meringue baskets the day before. In either case, store in airtight container until time to serve.