Knock the socks off guests with easy recipes

CORONA DEL MAR —

Linda Rankin of Laguna Hills feels better when the sun’s out and she can dabble in her garden.

She also loves impressing her guests with fantastic creations that marry her love of cooking and gardening.

On Saturday Rankin and her husband joined a packed amphitheater at Roger’s Gardens and listened and learned as chef Diane Weber cooked up some relatively easy summer dishes while answering questions about horticulture and cooking at her Edible Landscapes seminar.

“I love herbs, I love cooking with herbs and growing herbs and I’m always looking for new recipes that will just knock the socks off guests,” Rankin said.

Weber made a fresh blueberry galette, kumquat tangerine soy-infused grilled chicken, deep fried Chinese long beans and showed audience members how to make a lettuce basket field green salad with Thai basil oil vinaigrette.

The menu was inspired by the holiday weekend.

“It’s a no-brainer menu,” Weber told the audience. “I assumed you would be consuming copious amounts of alcohol, so I made the recipes very easy.”

Weber used humor throughout her presentation and answered questions about cooking, growing edible landscaping and getting rid of pests.

The blueberry galette was made with a puff pastry, blueberries, a little bit of flour, sugar and cinnamon. She topped off the galette with fresh peaches and strawberries.

Weber is a highly lauded pastry chef with an impressive resume, including working at The Ritz, Five Crowns, the Four Seasons Beverly Hills and other high-end eateries. She’s also a professor for the culinary program at the Art Institute of California. But on Saturday it was all about easy recipes that can make big impressions.

The hit of the day, although no one got a taste, was her rose petal cake. But no need to slave away making a cheesecake, or some other delectable goodie. She suggested buying a cake because the real “show factor” came with the presentation.

Weber broke off one tightly budded rose and stuck it in the center of a cake and then proceeded to take petals from other deep red roses and place them around the full rose, making the appearance of a large flower on the cake. The finishing touches were made when rose petals were easily stuck on the outside of the cake — no glue needed — for an impressive finish.

“Oh that rose cake,” Rankin said after the two-hour demonstration. “It was just beautiful, I can’t wait to do it. Wouldn’t that just make a friend feel so special.”

Weber also teaches cooking classes at Sur la Table in Newport Beach and is working on publishing a book she said she’ll call the “Culinary Gardener.”

She can also tailor programs to people’s homes if they wish to have a party or demonstration. For more information e-mail her at culinarygardens@cox.net.

Kumquat tangerine infused grilled chicken

Ingredients for chicken marinade:

Four skinned and deboned chicken thighs

One cup tangerine juice

Four tablespoons soy sauce

Four tablespoons minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Additional ingredients:

One cup tangerine juice

One cup sliced kumquats

Two tablespoons garlic

Soy sauce to taste

Bella Cucina tangerine oil

Minced scallions

After marinating the chicken overnight, grill the thighs on medium heat and throw out the marinade. Reduce one cup of tangerine juice, one cup sliced kumquats, soy sauce and garlic by half and pour over the grilled chicken. Garnish with the tangerine oil and scallions. The dish is best served with Thai basmati rice. It can also be prepared ad ay in advance and Weber suggests it makes a great Chinese chicken salad.

— Courtesy of chef Diane Weber