Cooking a three-course meal by yourself is a little daunting. Now imagine cooking a three-course meal by yourself on a boat, with waves crashing against your kitchen and a pack of ravished teenage sailors loitering around. Well, that's a reality that Penn senior Emily Worth knows all too well.
For two summers, Emily worked as the resident cook on the Bowdoin, a schooner used to train students from the Maine Maritime Academy. During her tenure, she became a veritable expert on creating a satisfying meal while dealing with "Easy Bake-sized ovens and all elements of nature." Her best advice for tackling the pressure of cooking: "Just stay calm and enjoy yourself because, most likely, you won't ruin the entire meal."
Here, this dinner party-lover provides a "really easy but elegant" three-course meal, whose appetizer and dessert can be made before the event to save time. So forget those Restaurant Week reservations - this one will leave you wanting to stay home.
Goat Cheese Hors D'oeuvre
Ingredients:
1/8 cup pesto
1/8 cup chopped, rinsed, drained roasted red peppers
1 « tablespoons black or Greek olive paste
10 oz soft mild goat cheese at room temperature
Directions:
Thoroughly drain and blot pesto and peppers. Line small bowl or Tupperware with plastic wrap. Alternate spreading a thin layer of cheese with one of the other ingredients, beginning and ending with cheese. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours. To serve, invert bowl and peel off plastic. Serve with baguette or crackers.
Pesto Chicken
Ingredients:
4-6 boneless chicken breasts
Approx. 2 cups basil pesto, consisting of:
5 cups fresh basil leaves, washed and drained
3/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
2/3 cup pine nuts
1 « teaspoon salt
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 lbs. dried penne
salt and pepper
olive oil
Directions:
Put all pesto ingredients in food processor. Blend into a paste. Rub chicken with salt and pepper. Grease bottom of casserole dish with olive oil, place breasts in dish. Cover chicken with pesto. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with al dente pasta and salad.
KEY LIME PIE
Ingredients:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
« stick butter
¬ cup sugar
« cup Nellie and Joes Key Lime Juice (liquor aisle)
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
Whipped cream and limes
Directions:
Mix sugar and graham crackers. Melt butter and mix all together. Press into the bottom of 9-inch pie pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Whisk together lime juice, condensed milk and egg yolks until blended. Pour into pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Garnish with whipped cream and sliced lime.
