Super Bowl of Raspberries

By Gini Rainey

I don’t know about you and yours, but today me and mine are going to a Super Bowl party for the first time in many years.  A friend asked me this morning if I like football, and in the time it took for me to hesitatingly say “well, not really,” she had said she only will be watching the Super Bowl for the commercials and Justin Timberlake.  I said that maybe for the first time in years I might actually get to watch the commercials and the half time show!  It’s always good to know who’s on the same page with you…re-enforcements are a good thing to have in critical matters, such as the Super Bowl.

Not to change the subject or anything, but I have this cute, little cookbook in front of me that was published in 2011 by Myriad Books and has several lovely recipes from Devon, one of England’s largest counties.  “A taste of …Devon,” might not be one of the biggest cookbooks around, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for with some very yummy sounding recipes, as well as a bit of lovely photography.  Myriad Books is known for travel books that are loaded up with great photos of places in England such as Cornwall, London, and Yorkshire, as well as Chicago and Washington, D.C.  They will soon be coming out with a book filled with aerial shots of, what else but, “Football Grounds!”  Such timing!  I tell you, it’s everything!

A few of the recipes between the covers are Devon Crab Cakes with Crème Friache and Chive Dressing.  Interestingly enough, this recipe calls for mashed potatoes to be mixed with the crab.  Then there are a recipes for Seared Scallops, Lobster Thermidor (with a fully detailed page about picking, killing, cooking, and eating said lobster), Tandoori Spiced Salmon, Exeter Stew with Herby Doughboys and Devonshire Cream Tea.

I must say, though, that the recipe that most definitely caught my eye was for Raspberry Ripple and Clotted Cream Ice.  (Are you surprised?) Whisk 2 large eggs in a large bowl until light and fluffy, then gradually add a half cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and continue whisking.  Pour in ½ pint heavy cream, 9 ounces of clotted cream (which can purchased at World Market or Walmart), ½ pint whole milk and mix well.  Spoon mixture into an ice cream machine and churn until almost frozen.  Meanwhile, lightly crush 1 cup of fresh raspberries with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar.  When the ice cream has frozen to the soft scoop stage, gently fold in the crushed raspberries to create a ripple effect, return to the freezer and churn till frozen solid.  The recipe leaves it there, but I do believe I would be garnishing this with more raspberries – just because!  You know, it’s books like this one that sort of makes me regret not having learned the metric system because all of the measurements are metric, however with a conversion chart by my side, it shouldn’t be that difficult to get things cooking, and I did the conversions on this recipe for you!  Enjoy this taste of Devon as soon as you can!