Santa Baby
Recipes and ideas from a Holiday Baby Shower hosted by a group of Delta girls who sure know how to throw one

menu by Elizabeth Heiskell
photography by Jay Adkins

Crab and Brie Soup
Stock:
1/2 cup clam juice
1 cup water
1/2 onion
1/2 stalk celery
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup white wine
1 bouquet garni consisting of 1 bay leaf,
4 peppercorns, 1 stem thyme and 1 stem parsley
1/2 lemon

Add all ingredients and simmer for 1 hour, then strain.

Soup:
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
6 ounces Brie
4 ounces crabmeat
1/2 cup sherry
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter and whisk in flour, cooking for 3 to 4 minutes. Add milk, heavy cream and stock and whisk to incorporate. Bring to a simmer and add the Brie. Once the Brie has melted, fold in the crabmeat, add the sherry and serve immediately.
Note: The stock and soup base (everything except the brie, crabmeat and sherry) can be made 2 to 3 days in advance and refrigerated. Bring it to a simmer and add Brie, crabmeat and sherry, serving immediately. Yields: 8 cups.

Sun-dried Tomato BLTs
1 1/2 pounds bacon
4 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, not packed in oil
1 cup mayonnaise
1 loaf white bread
2 cups fresh basil, chopped
Cook all the bacon and let cool. Crumble and set aside.
Heat 3 cups of water in a small saucepan. Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Allow the tomatoes to soak until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain the tomatoes and pat dry. Finely chop the tomatoes and set aside.
Using a round biscuit cutter, make 2 dozen rounds out of the loaf of bread. Spread each round with mayonnaise and generously sprinkle with the crumbled bacon. Top with tomatoes and basil. Yields: 2 dozen.

Chicken and Spinach Crepes
1 pound fresh spinach
10 tablespoons butter, divided
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped lemon peel
3 1/2 cups cooked chicken
12 crepes (recipe follows)
Salt and pepper to taste

Wash fresh spinach and remove stems. In a 3-quart saucepan, cook the spinach in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop spinach and set aside.
For the sauce, heat 2 tablespoons butter. Add mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat until tender. Remove from heat and set aside. In a separate saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add flour, salt and pepper to taste. Add milk, chicken broth, cooking and stirring over medium heat until thick. Stir in 1 cup of cheese until melted. Stir in mushrooms and set aside.
For the filling, heat the remaining 4 tablespoons butter and the cooking oil in a 12-inch skillet. Add onion and cook over medium heat until tender. Stir in chicken, spinach and 1 cup of the sauce and season with salt and lemon peel.
Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Spoon 1/2 cup of the filling down the center of the unbrowned side of each crepe. Roll up crepes, seam side down, in a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Spread the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and the top is lightly browned.

Crepes
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, combine milk, flour, eggs, oil and salt. Beat with a rotary beater until well mixed. Heat a lightly greased 6-inch skillet and remove from heat. Spoon in 2 tablespoons of the batter; lift and tilt the skillet to spread the batter. Return to heat and brown on one side only. Invert pan over paper towel and remove the crepe. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing skillet occasionally. Yields: 18 crepes.

Sorta-Kinda-Like Merigold Tomatoes
“The McCarty family has held on to this recipe for years and they aren’t giving it up anytime soon! This is my rendition of their classic.” - Elizabeth Heiskell
3 (28-ounce) cans of tomatoes,
whole, peeled and drained
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups Ritz crackers, crushed
2 tablespoons melted butter

Mix together the tomatoes, salt, pepper, cheese and sugar and pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Mix the melted butter and cracker crumbs together and top the tomato mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Yields: 12-15 servings.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 large container strawberries,
cleaned and dried
Melt chocolate in microwave, stopping often to stir. Dip the dried strawberries into the melted chocolate and let rest on wax paper until hard. Refrigerate until serving.

Chocolate Snowballs
1 cup heavy cream
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate,
cut into small pieces
1 1/2 tablespoon brandy or other liqueur
3 cups shredded coconuts
Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted. Stir in brandy. Pour mixture into a shallow cookie pan, cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Using a melon baller with a spring handle, scoop out balls of chocolate and roll them in the shredded coconut. Press hard enough for the coconut to adhere to the chocolate balls. Refrigerate until serving. Yields: 2 dozen. DM