Ask a Splendid Table: No sour orange juice? Try mixing with lemon, lime

Q A garlicky, sour orange marinade for a shrimp sauté really got me going in Florida. I was told it was Cuban-style. No sour oranges exist here on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, so can you clue me in to how I could replicate those shrimp? They were fab.

MARY JANE in Sault Ste. Marie

A According to the Three Guys from Miami, a trio of brothers-in-law and cookbook authors ("Three Guys From Miami Cook Cuban," by Glen Lindgren, Raul Musibay and Jorge Castillo) devoted to traditional Cuban food, a decent stand-in for sour orange juice is 2 parts orange juice mixed with 1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1 part freshly squeezed lime juice.

The marinade you are describing sounds like a type of Cuban marinade/dipping sauce called "mojo." Often used with pork, this mojo works beautifully with seafood, too.

I especially like this dish now; its bright, clean, light qualities are practically uplifting after weeks of rich eating.

Candied fruits hit a sweet spot Q One gift this year was a sizable box of candied orange and lemon peel in sticks. Although good on their own, I have enough for my whole apartment building and I am not about to bake fruitcake, so what else can you do with them? And how are you supposed to store candied fruit?

CANDIED UP the kazoo

Candied peel of this quality is good cut up and scattered over cooked roast pork or grilled salmon just before you take it to the table. The slightly bitter yet sweet chew plays well against rich meats.

Fold the lemon peel (cut into small bits first) into softened vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle the orange or lemon over sliced ripe pears. Serve them with a spoonful of bleu cheese on the side; candied peels and bleu or other strong cheeses are celestial pairings.

Finally, try our Christmas salad. We started Christmas dinner this time with this adaptation of a salad originally served during the Renaissance in Italy.

Take spring mix and cut up Belgian endive (anticipate three endive to four big handfuls of the greens). Toss with a little good-tasting olive oil and vinegar along with salt and pepper. Pile on salad plates and scatter with the cut-up rinds (orange or lemon), figuring a generous tablespoon per serving, the same amount of toasted pine nuts and a few strips of good prosciutto or shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. You could finish the salad with a drizzle (about a teaspoon per serving) of balsamic vinegar.

Store your candied fruit in an airtight container at room temperature.