Belated Recipe Saturday, Early Recipe Saturday

I wasn't able to post last Saturday, and won't be able to post this Saturday. Obsessive blogger that I am, when I made these tried-and-true recipes on Saturday night, I thought, "Oh, that would have been so perfect!" The Calypso Couscous was a side dish next to portobella mushrooms that I marinated in a bottled chipotle sauce, grilled, and served like hamburgers in buns. The Pina Colada Remix Pie was dessert. Snapple Lime Green Tea and cheap Riesling both worked with this meal.

L'Ailee love-loves fruit flavors of all kinds. I like fruit, and love citrus and tropical flavors in particular. The couscous is perfectly vegan; the pie can be if you choose the right crust and sweetener.

The couscous is from Florida's Natural, which is the only orange juice I buy. (I'm anticipating my check in the mail now. :-) It's perfect as is, and I never say that about a recipe. It is so bright and light and summery and just plain good! Serves 4? Not at my house!

The pie is actually half of an absurdly complicated parfait recipe from Food and Wine magazine. Most of their recipes are inspirational, but very rich and complicated, so I adapt them quite freely or only make parts of them. No way was I making the passionfruit curd in this parfait. Even if I wasn't allergic to eggs, the eight yolks and three whole eggs would gross me out. But the poached pineapple and coconut cream were simple and yummy, and it occurred to me that I could put them into a pre-made Nilla wafer crust instead of a glass. This stripped-down remix has become a favorite of ours and our guests in the past few months.

So...

CALYPSO COUSCOUS

1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup water
12 ounces couscous
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 navel orange, peeled and sectioned
2 kiwifruit, peeled and diced
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts

Bring orange juice and water to a boil. Stir in couscous and oil. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 30 minutes.

Toss couscous with orange, kiwi, lime juice, mint, and pine nuts. Serves four.

PINA COLADA REMIX PIE

Nilla wafer pie crust, pre-made or homemade

COCONUT CREAM
2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

POACHED PINEAPPLE
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups water
10 thin lemon slices, seeded
1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
One 3-pound pineapple—peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (4 cups)

MAKE THE COCONUT CREAM: In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk with the sugar, butter and vanilla bean and seeds and bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water; whisk the mixture into the coconut milk and cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Discard the vanilla bean. Pour the coconut cream into a shallow bowl, press plastic wrap directly on top of the cream and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.

MAKE THE POACHED PINEAPPLE: In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water, lemon slices and vanilla bean and seeds and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the pineapple and cook over moderate heat until the fruit is translucent, about 15 minutes. Transfer the pineapple and its cooking liquid to a bowl and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.

MAKE THE PIE: Spoon pineapple onto bottom of pie crust. Spoon coconut cream on top of pineapple. Serve and eat! :-)