You asked for it

By ANNE LONG

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 31, 2001

It's the time of year for citrus recipes

When Florida citrus is in season, we are always searching for interesting ways to use it.

Nancy Eggert found a booklet at Publix Super Markets entitled "Florida Cuisine" with an interesting selection of regional recipes. (Publix' current publication is "Eat Well, Get Fit with Florida Citrus").

Nancy shares recipes for fruit salad with grapefruit poppy seed dressing, asparagus (or broccoli) with an orange-flavored mock Hollandaise sauce, tangerine pie in which the filling is spooned into a meringue shell and citrus trifle made with orange juice concentrate and grapefruit sections among the ingredients. It was so difficult to decide which to use that we decided to use them all.

For: Cindy Troutman of Clearwater.

From: Nancy Eggert of Dunedin.

Recipe: Fruit salad with grapefruit-poppy seed dressing, from "Florida Cuisine."

Fruit Salad with Grapefruit-Poppy Seed Dressing

Lettuce leaves

Shredded fresh spinach and/or lettuce

2 red grapefruit, peeled, sectioned and seeded

2 white grapefruit, peeled, sectioned and seeded

2 cups strawberries, sliced or halved

2 medium avocados, halved, seeded, peeled and sliced

1 small red onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings

Grapefruit-poppy seed dressing (recipe below)

Line a platter with lettuce leaves. Top with shredded spinach or lettuce. Arrange red and white grapefruit sections, strawberries and avocados on lettuce. Sprinkle red onion rings on top of fruit. Serve with grapefruit-poppy seed dressing. Makes 8 side-dish servings.

Grapefruit-Poppy Seed Dressing

1 cup honey

1 teaspoon finely shredded grapefruit peel

1 cup grapefruit juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

11/4 cups salad oil

11/2 teaspoons poppy seed

In a mixing bowl, stir together the honey, shredded grapefruit peel, grapefruit juice, salt and nutmeg. Gradually beat in salad oil. Stir in poppy seed. Transfer to a screw-top jar; cover and chill until serving time.

Shake well before using. Serve over fruit or tossed salads. Store remaining dressing, covered, in the refrigerator. Makes 3 cups.

Recipe: Asparagus with zesty orange sauce, from "Florida Cuisine".

Asparagus with Zesty Orange Sauce

2 pounds asparagus spears or 11/2 pounds broccoli

1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1/3 cup fat-free mayonnaise dressing

1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

Dash pepper

Thin strips orange peel

Wash asparagus spears; scrape off scales, if desired. Break off woody bases and discard or wash and remove outer leaves of broccoli and tough parts of stalks; cut lengthwise into spears.

Place asparagus or broccoli in a steamer basket over simmering water. Cover and steam for 7-9 minutes for asparagus or 8-12 minutes for broccoli or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Carefully remove steamer basket and reserve 2 tablespoons of the steaming liquid.

For sauce, in a small saucepan whisk together the thawed orange juice concentrate, mayonnaise dressing, mustard and pepper until smooth. Stir in 1-2 tablespoons of the reserved liquid to make sauce the desired consistency. Cook and stir over low heat for 1-2 minutes or until heated through. Do not boil. Spoon sauce over vegetable. Garnish with strips of orange peel. Makes 8 serving.

Recipe: Tangerine pie, from "Florida Cuisine".

Tangerine Pie

4 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Dash salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

11/2 teaspoons finely shredded tangerine peel (set aside)

13/4 cups tangerine juice

1/4 cup lime juice

4 beaten egg yolks

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 of an 8-ounce container frozen fat-free, light or regular whipped dessert topping, thawed

Frozen fat-free, light or regular whipped dessert topping, thawed

Finely shredded tangerine peel or tangerine sections (optional)

Chocolate leaves (optional)

For pie shell, let egg whites stand in a large mixing bowl at room temperature for 30 minutes. Add cream of tartar and the dash of salt. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Add 1 cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until very stiff peaks form (tips stand up straight) and sugar is almost dissolved.

Spread mixture over the bottom and up the sides of a very well-buttered 9-inch pie plate. Bake in a 300-degree oven for 45 minutes. Turn off oven. Let shell dry in oven, with door closed, for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium saucepan combine cornstarch, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Add tangerine juice and lime juice. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly; cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Gradually stir hot mixture into beaten egg yolks; return to saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in the 11/2 teaspoons tangerine peel and the butter. Transfer to bowl; cover and cool 1 hour.

Fold the 1/4 container whipped topping into the thickened mixture. Spoon into prepared pie shell. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. To serve, garnish with whipped topping. If desired, trim with tangerine peel or sections and chocolate leaves. Makes 8 servings.

Recipe: Citrus trifle, from "Florida Cuisine."

Citrus Trifle

3/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

11/3 cups skim milk

1 beaten egg

1 3-ounce package ladyfingers, split, or 3 cups cubed angel food cake

2 grapefruit, peeled, sectioned and seeded

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/2 cup blueberries

1 cup frozen light whipped dessert topping, thawed

Reserve 2 tablespoons thawed concentrate; set aside. In a medium saucepan stir together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Remove from heat. Stir about half of the hot mixture into the beaten egg. Return all to saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining thawed concentrate. Set aside to cool.

To assemble trifle, arrange half of the ladyfingers in a 11/2-quart trifle bowl. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of reserved concentrate. Top with half of the grapefruit, half of the strawberries and half of the blueberries. Pour half of the orange sauce over fruit. Repeat layers. Spread topping over all. Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours. Makes 8-10 servings.

Recipe requests

Flora Jones of Homosassa has lost her recipe for French vanilla strawberry pie. Cream cheese is one of the ingredients, and the recipe calls for a baked pie shell. Flora sometimes used a meringue shell. Her family loved this dessert, and this is strawberry season.

Prune cake is the recipe wanted by Edward Holland of Tampa. Edward writes that this a moist cake that keeps very well.

Is there a sea grape jelly recipe in your files? Please send it for Mary Ann McMurtrey of Clearwater.

You Asked For It is a reader mail column. If you have a cooking question or the answer to someone else's question, write to: You Asked For It, the Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Be sure to include your full name, city and phone number with your letter. Letters without this information will be discarded. Requests cannot be answered by phone or mail.

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