By Meryl Bornstein  

Are April showers in your future? Not the wet kind. I’m talking showers for the bride-to-be. The next several months are prime time for these fetes. But much as we love sharing in the bride’s joy, we don’t want to pay hours of tribute to her in the kitchen. If that’s your dilemma, perhaps you’ll try this menu. It can be prepared in advance with minimum fuss, and will make a festive and elegant brunch or luncheon.

Champagne Punch 
(adapted from Marlene Sorosky’s “Entertaining on the Run”)

Any type of bubbly will do.  Save your fine sparkling wines for when their subtle nuances will not be overpowered by additional ingredients.

8 orange-spice tea bags
orange slices (optional)
strawberries, halved (optional)
up to 1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup Grand Marnier
1 bottle extra dry champagne, chilled
 

• Steep 4 tea bags with 6 cups boiling water until room temp. Pour 2/3 into mold or bowl. Freeze until firm. Arrange fruits over top. Add rest of tea. Freeze. Unmold by dipping briefly in cool water. Invert onto heavy foil. Wrap and freeze until serving time.
• Pour 4 cups boiling water over 4 tea bags and sugar. Steep until room temp, remove bags and refrigerate to chill. Shortly before serving, pour tea and Grand Marnier in punch bowl. Just before serving add champagne and ice mold. Makes 16 (4 oz.) servings.

Striped Tomato Brie
(adapted from Andrea Chesman’s “Sun-dried Tomatoes!”)

8 oz. ripe brie 
4 tab. butter 
1/3 cup chopped marinated sun-dried tomatoes 
2 tab. chopped basil or parsley 
1 tab. sliced scallion (white only) 
1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts 
1/4 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts
 

• Chill wrapped brie in freezer until firm, about 1 hour. Remove wrapper. With a sharp knife halve the cheese horizontally. 
• Beat butter until creamy. Beat in tomatoes, herbs and scallion. Mix in coarsely chopped nuts. Spread on cut side of cheese half. Cover with other half, pressing gently. Roll cheese in finely chopped nuts to coat tomato layer. Cover and chill until firm. May be prepared several days in advance. Serve at room temp with baguette slices. Serves 8 to 10.

Cold Poached Salmon
(adapted from Burros and Levine’s “The New Elegant But Easy Cookbook”)

Think of this dish as the culinary equivalent of the little black dress ... simple, elegant, and rarely out of place. It works with boneless chicken breasts also. Asparagus, rolled in a bit of olive oil, roasted at 400’ and tossed with balsamic vinegar makes a perfect side.

8 pieces salmon fillet (3 lb.) 
1/2 bottle dry white wine 
1 bay leaf 
2 cloves garlic, chopped 
2 shallots or scallion whites, chopped 
salt, pepper, cayenne 

Green Herbed Mayonnaise
     Put fish in one layer in a pan. Add rest of ingredients and sufficient water to cover fish. Lay parchment paper or double layer of wax paper over fish. Cover pan. Bring to gentle simmer over medium heat. Cook about 10 minutes, ‘til firm, but with some give when pressed. (A two-pronged fork will slip in easily.) Cool, uncovered, in cooking liquid. Remove skin, if desired, and refrigerate. Serve with Green Herbed Mayonnaise.

Green Herbed Mayonnaise
     In our former lives this sauce would have been made entirely with mayo. But our tastes have changed. You will probably prefer this version.

1 oz. young spinach (1 cup firmly packed) 
2 oz. Italian parsley without stems (1 cup firmly packed) 
2 medium cloves garlic 
2 oz. cilantro (1 1/2 cups firmly packed)
1 tsp. lemon juice 
1 cup light mayo 
1/2 cup non-fat yogurt 
cayenne 
milk or water (optional)
 

• Blanch spinach and parsley 6 seconds in boiling water. Drain, run under cold water and squeeze dry in dish cloth. In food processor with motor running, drop in garlic and mince. Add spinach, parsley and cilantro and process to chop. Add rest of ingredients and process ‘til greens are well blended. Chill several hours, or preferably overnight, to meld flavors. Serve over chilled salmon.   For an “over the top” presentation, make sauce just thick enough to lightly coat the fish without dripping. If necessary thicken with extra mayo or thin by adding milk or water by drops. Mask fish with sauce and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Mesclun with Orange Slices 
(adapted from Rozanne Gold’s “Recipes 1-2-3)

If blood oranges are available, use them. 
1/2 cup fresh orange juice 
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 
grated zest of 1/2 orange (optional) 
salt, pepper, cayenne 
3/4 lb. mesclun (baby greens), washed and dried 
2 oranges, peeled and segmented between the membranes 
3 tab. pitted kalamata olives

• Put orange juice, olive oil, zest and seasonings in salad bowl. Lay serving implements across bowl as “shelf.” Put mesclun in bowl, cover and refrigerate until serving. Then toss salad and garnish with orange segments and olives. Serves 8 to 10.

Chocolate Banana Tartlets 
(adapted from Rozanne Gold’s “Recipes I-2-3)

A divine flavor combo... 
4 to 5 bananas, peeled 
1 cup heavy cream 
1 lb. best bittersweet chocolate, chopped in small pieces 
pinch salt 
1 very ripe banana pureed with 3 tab. water, optional
banana slices, optional 
1 qt. ice cream, optional
 

• Put paper liners in 12 to 16 cupcake or custard cups. Put a thick chunk of banana in each or arrange banana slices on bottoms.
• Bring cream to boil in medium saucepan. Melt chocolate in cream, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. When chocolate is melted and mix is smooth, pour over bananas. Cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Unmold. Peel off wrappers and place banana side up on serving plates. Serve with a bit of banana puree, banana slices and/or a dollop of ice cream alongside. 

Trucs of the Trade
At 5000 feet, all fish will be done after cooking 10 to 12 minutes per inch at the thickest part unless cooked at exceedingly low heat.