Spring has sprung and summer is on its way! Vibrant stalks of rhubarb have begun to poke their heads out of the ground and are starting to make their first appearances at local markets. This fruit pie favorite, which is actually a vegetable, ranges in color from pale green with pink speckles to fully pink as well as rich, dark red. The color is a result of the variety of plant and is not an indicator of quality or sourness – popular myth at work! Hothouse rhubarb is first to hit grocery stores, but its flavor pales in comparison to our local farmers’ crop or those grown in backyards. Never fear – those delicious specimens will be ready to grace your favorite dish soon, with rhubarb’s peak season upon us!

Rhubarb is almost always sweetened and cooked in some form, as it is tart tart tart!  It bears the nickname “pie plant” because of its most common use in desserts.

Every spring and early summer, my grandmother had a pan of tart-and-sweet rhubarb stewing. We used to have it for breakfast to top our oatmeal or spoon up on our toast. My recipe inspired by Grandma Mimi is a heavenly Roasted Rhubarb Honey Mousse! Sliced rhubarb is tossed with sugar and then slow-roasted to a syrupy goodness. Then it’s chilled and folded with honey-sweetened whipped cream. (You can roast the rhubarb the day ahead and finish off the mousse the day of serving.)

But rhubarb isn’t just for dessert it makes a wonderful addition to cocktails, too!  Why not try my Rhubarb Collins, the perfect refreshing crowd-pleaser for your next backyard party! (Make the Rhubarb syrup up to 4-days in advance). You can also leave out the vodka and add more soda water for a tasty DIY soda and non-alcoholic sipper.

A tasty Rhubarb Collins

So invite over some friend this holiday weekend – plan a potluck so everyone can share in the work, or grill up something local and easy.

While the sun goes down—spoon dreamy Roasted Rhubarb Honey Mousse slowly on to your tongue, or sip a cool snazzy Rhubarb Collins —and you may just think you live in the best place on earth. – Kathy

Roasted Rhubarb Honey Mousse

Makes 6 servings

1 pound rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (4 cups)
1 cup sugar
1 small package (3 ounces) cream cheese
5 Tbsp. honey
1 1/2 cups whipping cream

Garnishes: Whipped cream, edible flowers

Preheat an oven to 375°F.

Toss the rhubarb and sugar together in a large bowl, then spread in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Roast, uncovered, for about 45 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft and the syrup is slightly caramelized. Stir thoroughly and carefully after the first 20 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled. (You can do this up to one day ahead- just keep refrigerated.)

Whip the cream cheese with 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of the honey in a mixer until very fluffy. Transfer to a large bowl and fold in the chilled rhubarb mixture. Whip the cream with the remaining 1 tablespoon of honey until firmly peaked. Stir about one third of the whipped cream into the rhubarb mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Dish up into 6 pretty glasses. Refrigerate until ready to serve, then top, if desired, with a little plain whipped cream and an edible spring flower, such as a pansy, or petals of apple, pear, or plum blossoms.

Chef’s Note: If selecting edible flowers from your yard, be sure that they are edible and have not been sprayed with pesticide or other chemicals. Rinse all blossoms thoroughly.

Recipe ©Kathy Casey Food Studios^®

Rhubarb Collins

Makes 1 cocktail

For a non-alcoholic cooler delete the vodka and just add more soda water.
This drink is also delicious with a dash of fresh strawberry puree. I also like to garnish it with a small sprig of thyme and a lemon wedge.

1 1/2 ounces Organic Vodka, such as Moon Mountain
1 1/2 ounce Rhubarb Syrup (recipe follows)
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 ounces soda water, chilled

Measure the vodka, Rhubarb Syrup and lemon into a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake vigorously.

Pour into a tall Collins glass. Add soda water and stir. Garnish with a lemon wedge and thyme if desired.

Rhubarb Syrup

Makes 2 1/2 cups – or about 12 servings

2 cups sliced rhubarb
2 cups water
————————–
2 cups sugar

Combine rhubarb and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Then add sugar and bring back to a boil. Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes. Then strain through a fine mesh strainer, pressing all juices out well. Keep refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

Recipe ©Kathy Casey Food Studios^® – Liquid Kitchen™

Kathy Casey is a celebrity chef, mixologist and entertaining expert. She is known as a pioneer in the bar-chef movement.  Catch Kathy on Twitter (@KathyCaseyChef), Dishing with Kathy Casey Blog www.kathycasey.com/blog, on Small Screen Network or find Sips & Apps on Facebook.

I had a great time on KOMO 4 News talking about Foster Farms chicken! Grown locally on 32 independent family-owned farms in Washington and Oregon as well as delivered fresh to stores within 48 hours, Foster Farms guarantees freshness that you can taste in their chickens.

Make sure you enter your recipes for the Foster Farms 2nd Annual Fresh Chicken Cooking Contest! This contest is open to all home, amateur and professional chefs in Washington, Oregon and California. Grand prize winner wins $10,000 and 1-year’s supply of Foster Farms fresh chickens! Click here for more contest info.

Make sure that you check out the KOMO  4 News website for my recipe for Kathy’s Fragrant Lemon Grass Chicken with Coconut Milk! Super tasty!

Society-host extraordinaire JJ McKay brought together a group last night of Seattle’s luminaries and literati to fully welcome legendary journalist and editor Tina Brown. Held at the beautiful Bagley and Virginia Wright Gallery, Tina shared with the crowd her successful career in journalism. Most notably, she discussed how both print and digital communication can work together which is reflected in her latest project, The Newsweek Daily Beast Company.

Tina Brown sharing her stories with us

Society-host JJ McKay

Her dedication to the journalism industry has breathed new life into the field. Since taking over Newsweek, Tina has helped increased newsstand sales and subscription renewals, which she also did as former editor for Vanity Fair and the New Yorker.

You can read more about the event and who was there as shared by fabulous Puget Sound Business Journal’s columnist Patti Payne and on GeekWire as well as on Cathi Hatch’s MagazZino Society blog.

***Photos courtesy of Radford Creative Group

Ever since I was young, I’ve always asked for lemon meringue pie for my birthday instead of a regular birthday cake. Cake … I can take it or leave it. But pie – I love it!

There are so many versions of my beloved lemon meringue. And with so many recipes floating around, some get fancy with “lemon curd” as their filling – It’s not for me. Others masquerade as lemon meringue in grocery stores with florescent yellow fake filling – giving my fave a bad name!

My favorite recipe is just like my Mom used to make but with a few updated twists. The recipe uses fresh lemon juice and lovely yellow lemon zest, which really ups that delicious tartness we love in a citrus pie filling. The crust is speckled with chopped toasted hazelnuts … and I also like to indulge a little –it’s my birthday, why not?– and use lard in the pie crust. It makes it so much flakier and gives it that old fashioned flavor. A little corn starch in the filling helps it set just right for that picture perfect slice of pie when you cut into it. The lemony goodness then gets a layer of fresh raspberries – and all that gets topped with a cloud of fluffy meringue.

I so look forward to a big slice every May 19th! I know your mouths are watering, and mine is too – I can’t wait to have a slice! – Kathy

Enjoying a slice!

Kathy’s Birthday Lemon Meringue Pie with Fresh Raspberries

Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup lard or vegetable shortening
2 Tbsp. butter
1 – 2 Tbsp. ice water

Filling & Meringue
1 cup + 1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
6 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
4 eggs, separated
1 1/2 Tbsp. finely minced lemon zest
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

To make the crust:
Mix the flour, hazelnuts, salt and sugar together in a large bowl. Add lard or shortening and butter and, with a pastry blender or clean hands, combine until mixture forms pea-sized particles.

Add 1 tablespoon of the ice water. Stir the dry mixture with a fork, mixing until liquid is just incorporated. If dough is too dry, then add more water, 1 to 2 teaspoons at a time.

Form dough into a ball and flatten out slightly to a big disk, fold over each side into the middle, so there are 3 layers. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for 20 minutes.

After dough has chilled, press the portion into a flat round disk. On a lightly floured surface roll out dough into a 1/8-inch-thick circle that is about 1 inch larger all around than a 9-inch pie pan.

Place crust in pie pan and crimp the edges. Prick crust all over with a fork to prevent puffing while baking. (If pastry puffs, carefully reach in oven and prick pastry again where puffing.) Bake for about 8 – 10 minutes until golden brown then remove from oven and cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, to make the filling:
In a heavy sauce pan whisk together 1 cup of the sugar, cornstarch, water and lemon juice until well combined and cornstarch is dissolved.

Place over medium heat and stir constantly until mixture is thickened and lightly simmering.

Mix together the egg yolks in a small bowl with a little of the hot mixture to temper the eggs, and whisk quickly into the simmering mixture. Cook about 1 more minute, stirring constantly, until totally thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in lemon zest and butter.

Cool, stirring often. When filling has cooled slightly, pour into the cooked pie shell and arrange raspberries on the top.

To finish pie:
Make meringue by whipping the 4 reserved egg whites with cream of tartar in a mixer on medium high speed until frothy. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, a little at a time with mixer on high. Continue beating until stiff and glossy but not dry. Pile meringue on pie, sealing meringue onto edge of crust to prevent shrinking of the meringue.

Swirl with a spoon for a decorative, peaky top and bake in the 400-degree preheated oven for 6 – 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Place on a rack to cool.

Recipe © Kathy Casey Food Studios®

My upcoming article for DList Magazine, out on the stands next month, talks about “putting up” and preserving, and why Kim O’Donnel, the founder of Canning Across America, thinks we should all try canning at least once! Here’s my personal favorite jam recipe – Strawberry Lemon Poppyseed Jam!

Happy canning! -Kathy

Strawberry Lemon Poppyseed Jam
Makes 14 half-pints.

3 quarts (3 pounds) stemmed local strawberries
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. finely minced lemon zest
1 box MCP pectin
8 cups sugar
2 Tbsp. poppyseeds

Place strawberries in a 6- to 8-quart, heavy-bottom saucepot and crush them with your CLEAN hands, leaving a few nice chunks for texture. Add lemon juice and zest. Add the pectin and stir in.

Place over high heat and bring to a FULL ROLLING BOIL (a boil you can’t stir down), stirring constantly to prevent scorching. (If mixture starts to scorch, turn down heat a bit.) Stir in the sugar and poppyseeds and, as soon as the full rolling boil takes place again, start timing and cook jam for 4 minutes.

Then remove from heat, skim the jam and fill jars as above. Process jars in boiling water bath for 10 minutes (with this method jam will keep for up to 1 year stored at room temperature), or cool and refrigerate jam for up to 3 months.

Recipe ©Kathy Casey Food Studios®.

Basic Jam-Making & Canning Processes
Check jars for nicks and cracks, then wash and rinse thoroughly. Place canning jar lids and rings in a pan of water, bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Let sit in hot water until ready to use. NOTE: Always use NEW lids when canning.

Boil clean half-pint canning jars in a covered water bath canner or a large saucepan filled with water for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand in hot water until ready to use. When ready to use, place sterilized jars on a clean dish towel before filling (this will prevent cracking).

Fill sterilized jars with hot jam to 1/4-inch from tops. Release air bubbles by poking jam to the bottom with a non-metallic spatula. Wipe off jar rims and top of rim so that no jam is there to deter a tight seal.

Cover jars quickly with lids, then screw on rings.

Have water bath canner going at a full rolling boil. With tongs, place jars in rack in water. Bring back to a full boil and cover. (Water should be at least 1 inch above jars.) Start timing now according to recipe.

After processing is completed, remove jars onto a clean dish towel to cool. After they start to cool, you may hear a “pop” that is the lids sucking down and making a vacuum seal. After jars have cooled overnight, check seal by poking lid with finger to see that the center is down and will not move.

Important Note:
Some jams will set up quickly — others may take up to 2 weeks to set. And some may just end up being soft set, depending upon Mother Nature and the sugar content of your fruit.

You’ve for sure seen them at Starbucks. And they do make perfect whipped cream. But there’s so much more you can do with them! Of course I’m talking about iSi Gourmet Whips (as seen to the left, photo courtesy of iSi North America).

There are so many ways you can use your Whip! I tend to geek out and try different things.

Amazon’s Al Dente Blog

Lots of Delicious Travel and Exciting Projects

It’s been another whirlwind of a few months … lots of tasty travel and exciting work as well as the addition of a new mixology associate Andrew Bohrer to the Liquid Kitchen! As a former bartender at Vessel and opening bar manager at the Naga Cocktail Lounge (both listed in Food & Wine’s top 100 bars in the world) as well as most recently the bar manager at Mistral Kitchen, Andrew created national cocktail buzz around his creative libations. We are thrilled to welcome Andrew to our mixology team! Check out his blog at Cask Strength.

Speaking of blogs … on my blog Dishing with Kathy Casey, we will have some new guest bloggers such as Cocktail Quests’ Courtney Randall, Liberty Bar co-owner Andrew Friedman and cake lover Josie Plath. We have new posts and recipes every week and we hope you visit often.

It seems I’ve barely been home for 2 seconds lately, so here is a glimpse of my spring adventures. I’ll be excited to report back mid-summer with new travels, tales and tasty recipes!

Tales of the Cocktail on Tour: Vancouver

Tales of the Cocktail has moved into international territory and broken from its New Orleans roots this past March. Tales Vancouver was hosted at the beautiful Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in British Columbia. Tales on Tour was set for a different, yet fun and refreshing change of pace. (Definitely not as many sun glasses worn at the early morning seminars!)

Mass cocktail swag from TOTC: Vancouver!!!!

The whole event kicked off with a Canadian Professional Bartenders Association (CPBA) Welcome Reception held at the Vancouver Aquarium. Master mixologist David Wolowidnyk of WEST Restaurant & Bar as well as Director & Treasure of the CPBA shook up and stirred lots of great drinks while demonstrating his mastery and finesse of the Japanese bartending techniques.

Mixologist David Wolowidnyk stirring a tasty concoction!

The rest of my time there was spent attending amazing seminars by such cocktail luminaries as tiki god Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. Jeff is a total tiki beverage historian. His CSI-style seminar took us through the various origins of the Mai Tai cocktail and helped us come to our own conclusions. Too fun!!!

Beachbum Berry holding up his book Sippin’ Safari!

I then geeked out with Dave Arnold at The Science of Cocktails: New Techniques Behind the Bar followed by an informative and fun seminar on The History and Importance of Ice in Cocktails by renowned mixologist Charlotte Voisey and Jon Santer.

It was definitely great to have Tales up in the Pacific Northwest- my neck of the woods. I can’t wait for Tales of the Cocktail this summer, July 20-24 in New Orleans, Louisiana where I will be presenting a seminar on H2O Cocktails with the Modern Mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim and master distiller Thomas Kuuttanen from Purity Vodka. Come shake some fun up with us and get your tickets soon!

Mom 2.0 Summit Conference

In April I headed to the Mom 2.0 Summit Conference! This huge conference was held in beautiful New Orleans, Louisiana. (I sure seem to be spending a lot of time there!) My team and I were there with Almond Accents. We whipped up lunch for 400 people, passed out some delicious snacks and bites at the booth and met lots of great people. Check out my recipe for the Calypso Cous Cous Almond Salad with Shrimp that we made for the lunch.

Dale DeGroff comes to Seattle!

“King Cocktail” Dale DeGroff was shaking it up at my Food Studios-Liquid Kitchen this past spring for a Cointreau event. He guided attendees through a spirited tasting of orange liquors and a sampling of Dale’s cocktails. Cointreau also announced the 2011 Mix-Off Competition where I get to be an expert mentor for the finals at Tales of the Cocktail. If my mixologist wins not only do they get a trip to France – but I do too! Afterwards we served up some of Dale’s cocktails. It’s always an honor to see Dale and watch him work.

Dale and I enjoying a cocktail!

Here is a one of my favorite Dale DeGroff cocktails:

Bitter Rose
1/2 oz Cointreau
2 ounces Plymouth Gin
1/2 oz Roses Lime Juice
1/4 oz fresh lime juice
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
Dash of Grenadine
Garnish: rose petal

Directions: Assemble all ingredients in a Boston shaker filled with ice and shake well. Strain in to a chilled martini glass and garnish with a rose petal.

TV, Books, and More!

I’m so excited to have been chosen as one of the 101 featured mixologists in the legendary spirit writer Gary Regan’s newest book, Annual Manual for Bartenders, 2011, which includes the recipe for my Bollywood cocktail. It’s an amazing book for any mixologist or budding bartender. So please support this great writer and order your copy today!

If you missed my latest episode on New Day Northwest all about what to do with that extra Easter candy you can still catch the video and recipe here.

If you’re still thirsty then try out my Tea’Thyme cocktail recipe found in the Food & Wine: Cocktails 2011 book due out this summer! I penned the vodka chapter – so stay tuned for more…

Food Bank Gourmet!

Family Works Food Bank had an amazing and successful fundraiser event in late March. They asked celebrated chefs and restaurant owners Rachel Yang of Joule/Revel and Amy McCray of Eva to team up and lead an interactive cooking demo using only food bank ingredients. I was happy to be asked to emcee the event. It was amazing to see and taste the amazing dishes they cooked up for a great cause. Please remember to support your local food banks!

Chef’s Rachel Yang, myself and Amy McCray!

Foster Farms’ Fresh Chicken Cooking Contest!

Foster Farms is looking for recipes! If you have an amazing chicken recipe that you think is great and deserves some recognition, make sure you enter the Foster Farms’ Fresh Chicken Cooking Contest. Recipe applicants have until May 31st to turn in recipes for a chance to win a grand prize of $10,000 and a year’s worth of Foster Farms’ chicken! For contest info, click here. A family owned company since 1939, Foster Farms prides itself in raising locally-grown fresh chicken available in grocery stores on the West Coast. The Washington state finals will be held at my Food Studios and I am lucky to be a judge again this year!

2010 Judges: Jamie Peha, myself and Cynthia Nims!

Where to catch Kathy next:

Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen™ Season Two – Coming Soon!
I’ll be filming Season Two of my cocktail show Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen soon with Small Screen Network! I’ll be creating some refreshing summer cocktails and d’lish appetizers. In the meantime, check out past episodes for some libacious inspiration.

May 13 – 17: Manhattan Cocktail Classic: New York, New York
The Manhattan Cocktail Classic is just around the corner! This part conference, part cocktail party and part festival-style liquor and spirits event is open to the industry and to the public! I’ll be presenting the seminar “Three Mixologists, Three Cocktails, Three Ways (or Cocktail Ménage á Trois)” and teaming up with Small Screen Network and fellow renowned mixologists Charlotte Voisey and Jamie Boudreau as we each give our spin on the French 75, a Margarita and the Old Fashioned while discussing the history of the classic versions and our inspiration for our modern versions. For event and ticket info, click here.

June 1 – 4: International Association of Culinary Professionals Conference: Austin, Texas
The IACP Conference is an annual conference where worldwide culinary professionals get the chance to meet up and take part in lively discussions/seminars about the latest trends in the culinary world. I’ll be presenting a seminar this year titled “It’s Better to be Bitter” where we will be tasting bitters and discussing the growing bitters phenomenon. For those industry friends, I hope to see you in Austin. For more information, check out the IACP site.

I’ve also been blogging for Amazon’s Al Dente so I hope you will visit there as well to see what new things I am cooking up this summer. Here’s wishing you all a tasty and d’lish summer! – Kathy

———————————————————————————————————————————-

Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@KathyCaseyChef), Dishing with Kathy Casey Blog or find Sips & Apps on Facebook for all my tasty travel tidbits.

If you haven’t signed up for my Newsletter, you can sign-up here.

“Frantic Foodie” Keren Brown is at it again! This time she’s gathered Seattle food bloggers to bake up some treats and to help show their support and raise proceeds for Share Our Strength, the culinary industry’s fundraiser to help end childhood hunger.

Over two dozen Seattle foodies will be showcasing and selling their d’lish pastry and dessert creations (gluten-free and nut-free options available!) at the Metropolitan Market Uptown on Lower Queen Anne this Saturday, May 14^th, from 9:30am – 12:00pm.

This unique bake sale is one of dozens nationwide! All funds raised through the event support Share Our Strength’s efforts to end childhood hunger in America by helping fund after-school and summer nutrition programs.

Please show your support or check the Share Our Strength website for a bake sale near you! -Kathy