Ger-Nis INTERNATIONAL, LLC

Seasonal Entertaining
An Autumn Herbal Harvest-Serves 4

In this fall issue we have put together a lovely yet light herbal feast for family and friends to celebrate the foods flavors, colors and aromas of fall!

Pomegranate Basil Cocktails
Shake in shaker ½ cup of basil chopped fine , 4 ounces of Vodka, 1 oz pomegranate juice and the juice of 1 lemon in a shaker filled with ice, shake well and serve in either martini glasses or low ball glasses, garnish with a basil sprig and fresh pomegranate seeds.

Butternut Ginger Soup with Bay Laurel Cream
Cut squash in half and roast on a baking sheet in the oven at 350°F for about 45 minutes until baked through. Sauté 1 shallot in one tablespoon butter with 3 bay leaves until shallots are translucent. Add ½ cup half and half and simmer for about 5 minutes on very low flame. Discard the bay leaves and mix the (PEELED-after baking) squash with the cream mixture with a hand held food processor. Add salt and white pepper to taste. Add a bay laurel for garnish.

Roasted Chicken and Herbs with Root Vegetables
Preheat oven to 375°F. Salt and pepper the chicken. Chop parsnips, carrots, turnips and celery root and place in the bottom of a baking dish with salt and pepper and cover with 1 cup of water. Chop 1 bunch of each of the following herbs; parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage and red basil. Mix with ½ cup white wine, juice of one lemon and 1 T olive oil. Take half of mixture and rub all over the chicken keeping the rest for later. Place the used lemon halves in the cavity of the chicken, place the chicken on the root vegetables and place in the middle of the oven, bake for one half hour and then rub again with mixture. Bake at 15 minute intervals and continue to rub more of the mixture on until the chicken is fully cooked about an hour. (If the chicken browns too fast you can place some aluminum foil over the top of it.)

Vanilla Ice cream with roasted persimmons and purple basil syrup
Cut 2 large persimmons in apple slice sized pieces about a half an inch thick, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and about ¼ cup chopped purple basil, bake at 350°F oven for about 10 minutes or until “al dente” or semi-firm. Remove from oven. Take ¼ cup chopped purple basil and add ½ cup water and ½ cup sugar and boil until a thick syrup appears. Blend with a handheld processor until all the basil is blended. You can strain this for a fine syrup or you can leave it for an “earthier” syrup. Place ice cream in a bowl, top with roasted persimmons and drizzle with basil syrup. Garnish with nuts or a pecan cookie.