Monthly Archives: March 2010

Off The Shelf: Breakfasts & Brunches

Posted by Heather in Off the Shelf and tagged with , , , , , , ,

On review this week is the Culinary Institute of America’s Breakfasts & Brunches. This 248-page book is filled with 175 recipes to inspire you to delicious breakfasts and brunches. There are nine chapters in the book:

1. Breakfast and Brunch: and introduction with essential information and helpful ideas on planning your event.

2. Breakfast and Brunch Drinks: everything from hot coffees and chocolate to lemonades, and alcoholic drinks appropriate for morning fare.

3. Muffins, Quick Breads, and Coffee Cakes: think raspberry muffins with pecan streusel, cheddar and thyme muffins, honey almond crumb cake, angel biscuits, soda bread, and cream scones.

4. Sweet and Savory Breads and Pastries: the many options include cinnamon rolls with apricot glaze, brioche loaf, cherry cheese baskets, cheese pockets, bear claws, and chocolate biscotti.

5. Pancakes, Waffles & Crepes: blueberry pancakes, buckwheat blinis with apple butter, corn and scallion pancakes, french toast with orange sauce and raised waffles are just some of the options in this chapter.

6. Eggs: It’s always fun to try something new with eggs and there are some terrific looking recipes such as huevos rancheros, eggs benedict, orange and cherry bread and butter pudding, and caramelized onion quiche.

7. Grains & Legumes: this includes garlic cheese grits, polenta with mushroom ragu, cream of wheat with orange and pistachios, kasha with spicy maple pecans, wild and brown rice with cranberries, couscous salad with curried vegetables, and granola parfait.

8. Meats, Fish & Potatoes: the book gets down to some serious breakfasts with ham steaks and redeye gravy, broiled sirloin with sauteed mushrooms, poached salmon with hollandaise sauce, and corned beef hash.

9. Soups, Salads, and Small Bites: cold strawberry soup, tropical fruit salad, mushrooms, beets, and baby greens, apple sandwiches with curry mayonnaise, and gougeres all sound tempting!

I decided to try something out of the ordinary — the Chorizo and Egg Breakfast Pizza. Although it sounded a bit strange to pour beaten eggs over a pizza crust, the results were delicious and an ingenious way to serve pizza for breakfast. I didn’t have any chorizo, but I did have ham and so adjusted the toppings to suit the tastes of my family and the availability in my refrigerator! You can do the same.

CHORIZO AND EGG BREAKFAST PIZZA
(adapted from the Culinary Institute of America’s Breakfast & Brunches)
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Dough:
3 1/2 cups bread flour (can use part whole wheat)
1/2 cup semolina or durum flour (if you don’t have this, use more bread flour)
1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. salt

Pizza:
1/2 pound Mexican Chorizo
1/2 cup cooked or canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded, and cut into strips
3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp. salt, or as needed
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, or as needed
4 large eggs
1 cup shredded Manchego cheese or sharp cheddar

To make the dough:

Combine the warm water, olive oil, salt and yeast in a bowl. Gradually add in the flour until you reach a good consistency for the dough. You may need more or less flour than called for. Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Grease a bowl and lay the dough inside to rise. Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled — about an hour.

If you want to make your dough ahead of time you can place it in the fridge after kneading and leave it overnight or for up to two days.

Once risen, punch dough down and spread on a greased baking sheet.

To make pizza:

Preheat the oven to 425F. If I have used whole wheat flour, I like to partially bake my pizza dough before adding the toppings. I bake it for about 8-10 minutes.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, saute the chorizo, stirring frequently, until cooked, about 5 minutes. Remove the chorizo from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper toweling. Sprinkle the chorizo over the pizza, followed by the black beans, red pepper and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl mix the eggs together with a fork and pour evenly over the pizza, being careful not to pour the eggs too near the edges. Top with the cheese. Bake the pizza until the edges are golden and the eggs are full cooked, 15-18 minutes. Cut into squares or wedges and serve hot or warm.

Holidays: Easter Dessert

Posted by Alaina in Baker's Delight, Holidays and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

I just love that cupcakes are so popular these days. The delicious, sweet, mini cakes make a beautiful presentation and are perfect for holidays, birthdays, company, dessert buffets, and more. Today I’m sharing two recipes for homemade cupcakes.

These key lime cupcakes are amazing. If you only make one of these recipes, make these. They are fabulous! I think they are probably my most favorite cupcake ever.


KEY LIME COCONUT CUPCAKES w/WHITE CHOCOLATE LIME FROSTING
(adapted slightly from foodnetwork.com)
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3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 heaping tsp. grated key lime zest
2 Tb. key lime juice (I used  freshly squeezed)
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 1/3 c. loosely packed sweetened coconut flakes

White Chocolate Lime Frosting:
5 oz. white chocolate (I used Baker’s)
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
3 1/2 – 4 c. powdered sugar
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tb. key lime juice (I used freshly squeezed)
1/4 c. sour cream
Finely grated key lime zest, for garnish
Shredded, sweetened coconut, for garnish
White chocolate, grated, for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners.

Using an mixer, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla extract, key lime zest and juice and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 5 parts total, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold the coconut into the cupcake batter.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners and fill each liner 3/4 full. A spring loaded 1/4 cup ice cream scoop works great for this and ensures the cupcakes are all the same size. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops begin to brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer cupcakes to a baking rack to cool completely. Makes 14 cupcakes.

While the cupcakes are cooling you can make the frosting. In a small heat proof bowl, melt the white chocolate in the microwave. Let cool until just slightly warm. Meanwhile, using a hand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar until well combined. Add the salt, vanilla extract, key lime juice, and sour cream and mix until very smooth. Add the melted white chocolate and mix just until incorporated. Pipe icing on to the cupcakes and garnish with sweetened, shredded coconut, shaved white chocolate, and grated lime zest.

These vanilla cupcakes were moist and delicious! I used a simple vanilla buttercream to frost them and topped them with a white chocolate covered strawberry. My kids decorated their cupcakes with spring colored sprinkles.

VANILLA CUPCAKES
(adapted from foodnetwork.com)
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1 3/4 c. cake flour
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. sugar
1 Tb. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. butter, cut into cubes
4 eggs
1 c. whole milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

Combine in a bowl both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed until combined for about 3 minutes. Add in cubed butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

Add eggs 1 at a time until combined. Slowly add milk and vanilla to batter until completely mixed scraping down the bowl as you mix.

Scoop batter into baking cups filling about 2/3-3/4  full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Frost with your favorite icing. I made buttercream.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
1/2 c. butter, melted
4-5 c. powdered sugar
dash of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
milk – to reach desired consistency

Combine all with a hand mixer. Add food coloring if desired. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Market Fresh: Asparagus

Posted by Heather in Market Fresh and tagged with , , , ,

Now that spring is here we can look forward to one of the very first fruits from the garden: asparagus! Asparagus ranks very high on my list of favorite vegetables and each spring I buy as much as we can possibly eat, desperate to enjoy this delicacy while it lasts.

I believe it is thanks to my grandmother and my aunts and uncles and parents that I actually like asparagus. As a child, I watched as my grandmother picked the tender asparagus shoots from her garden and the adult relatives raved over the incredible taste as they dipped the steamed stems in butter and popped them in their mouths. Positive peer pressure took effect and I decided I should learn to eat this vegetable.

Fortunately, my husband enjoys asparagus as much as I do and between us we can eat an entire bunch at one meal. I’m an all out fan of the fat stalks versus the thin ones. The silky, custard-like centers of the fat spears have won me over.

It was too hard for me to choose just one recipe to post here. There are so many options with asparagus: salad, soup, steamed, roasted, stir-fried. Here are some ideas:

ASPARAGUS WITH SMASHED MINT AND LEMON BUTTER
(adapted from Jamie At Home)
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1 bunch asparagus
2 small handfuls mint leaves
salt & pepper
1/2 cup butter (I used less)
1 lemon

Steam the asparagus. Meanwhile, smash up the mint in a pestle and mortar until you have a pulp, and gently melt the butter with some salt and pepper in a frying pan. Add the mint pulp and the juice of one lemon. Stir together and when it’s slowly bubbling, remove from the heat. Pour the mint and lemon butter over the steamed asparagus and garnish with a few mint leaves.

NOTE: Jamie suggested using white asparagus for this dish. I didn’t have any available so used green.

If you have never tried roasted asparagus, please do! It’s such a delightful, and different, way to enjoy this vegetable. The trick is the right length of time — you want the asparagus to cook through and gently brown but you don’t want to overcook it. Just keep an eye on it and use the freshest possible spears.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS WITH OLIVE OIL, LEMON AND PARMESAN
(greatly adapted from Jamie At Home)
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1 bunch asparagus
lemon juice
olive oil
salt & pepper
Parmesan cheese, shaved

Preheat the oven to 400F. Drizzle the asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 15 minutes or until desired doneness is reached. Place on a plate and drizzle over the lemon juice and sprinkle with shavings of Parmesan cheese.

NOTE: Jamie originally suggested grilling asparagus in a grill pan. If you want to try this, heat a large griddle pan and dry-grill the asparagus spears on both sides until nicely marked. Once cooked, dress with lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper, and Parmesan cheese.

STEAMED ASPARAGUS WITH FRENCH VINAIGRETTE
(adapted from Jamie At Home)
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1 bunch asparagus
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. red or white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. white wine or water
salt & pepper
chevril, flat-leaf parsley, mint, basil or lemon zest

Steam the asparagus. Meanwhile, whisk up the mustard, olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl. Add the white wine or water if you feel it needs to be thinner. Season with salt and pepper. If you are using lemon zest, add this to the vinaigrette. Poor the vinaigrette over the steamed asparagus and sprinkle with freshly chopped herbs.

This recipe was by far my favorite. Alaina and I ate a bunch of this one day for lunch and neither one of us could stop eating it until it was gone. Unfortunately, the asparagus I had was not very fresh, and that is why it turned yellow upon roasting. Imagine how delightful it would be with the freshest spears!

ROASTED ASPARAGUS WITH GINGER AND ORANGE
(adapted from Southern Living)
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1 bunch asparagus
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. Spread cleaned and trimmed asparagus on a baking sheet. Mix together remaining ingredients and pour over asparagus. Mix to coat spears well. Bake for 15 minutes or until desired tenderness and crispiness is reached.

Weekend Fare: Chicken Dinner

Posted by Alaina in Weekend Fare and tagged with , ,

Well, life has been a little unexpected of late. If you know me in real life, you know that I filled our house with smoke last weekend making chicken stock overnight and you know that as a result, we are not living at our house for the next 2-4 weeks. And if you don’t know me, you are now caught up – it’s been an adventure. So, it was a bit ironic that I roasted a chicken for this edition of weekend fare. A few jokes were made and I watched that chicken as if my life depended on it. It turned out great and everyone declared it delicious! It has a lovely hint of garlic and lemon.

ROASTED CHICKEN

1 – 4-5lb. whole chicken
3 cloves garlic
1 lemon
Salt & Pepper

Rinse chicken and clean out. Pat dry. Remove skin if desired (I did). Rub cut cloves garlic all over chicken. Squeeze lemon all over and put garlic cloves and lemon inside the chicken. Rub with salt and pepper. Roast in a pan on a rack at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes per pound or until juices run clear. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

We enjoyed this with sides of baked sweet potato (I put these in when the chicken had about an hour left), hot, buttered peas, and a vegetable salad w/honey mustard vinaigrette (recipe below).

HONEY MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. honey
2 Tb. white wine vinegar
4 Tb. olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Whisk together to emulsify the vinegar and oil. Drizzle on salad and enjoy!

Kids in the Kitchen: Applesauce Cake

Posted by Alaina in Kids in the Kitchen and tagged with , , , , ,

My boys love it when I invite them to help make something in the kitchen. Their eyes light up as they eagerly scrub their hands and get ready to help. They generally get along well and bend over backwards to take turns. I think cooking with kids is a great way to build relationships, teach skills, and create appreciation for all that goes into food preparation. And we always have a great time!


This cake was so fun – it’s all mixed up in the pan so both of the boys had a chance to stir it.


They were so proud of their handiwork and they really liked eating this cake, too!

CRAZY APPLESAUCE CAKE

1 1/2 c. flour (white or whole wheat)
1/3 c. sugar or honey
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. applesauce
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. nuts, chopped (we used pecans)

Mix dry ingredients in a greased 8×8 or 9×9 pan. Add the wet ingredients and stir with a fork until combined. Stir in the raisins and nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool and serve.

This is wonderful as is or you could dress it up with a soft whipped cream (add a little cinnamon and sugar) or for an adult dessert, a rum sauce.

Off The Shelf: Jamie’s Food Revolution

Posted by Heather in Off the Shelf and tagged with , , ,

I am so excited about Jamie Oliver’s latest book Jamie’s Food Revolution. Not only do I like the fact that in this book Jamie wants to help people learn to cook good meals for themselves, but I feel this cookbook has more practical recipes that I would actually make than any of his other books.

Jamie Oliver is a food legend in the UK who has written nine cookbooks now and hosted numerous cooking series on television. His newest television series “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution”, filmed here in America, is set to debut this Friday on ABC. The premise of this latest cookbook and the new television series is basically the same: learn to cook fresh, delicious, and balanced meals and thereby revolutionize your life and health.

This cookbooks is broken down into 14 chapters which include: Twenty-Minute Meals, Quick Pasta, Tasty Stir-Fries, Easy Curries, Lovin’ Salads, Simple Soups, Homely Ground Beef, Comforting Stews, Family Roast Dinners, Delish Veggies, Classic Fish, Kick-Start Breakfasts, and Sweet Things.

As always, Jamie’s cookbook is filled with mouth-watering pictures and easy-to-read recipes. Here are some of the recipes I want to try: Chicken and Leek Stroganoff, Asian Chicken Noodle Broth, Chicken Korma, Evolution Cucumber Salad, Meatballs and Pasta, Basic Stew with Four Variations, Broccoli with Asian Dressing, Braised Bacon Cabbage, Kedgeree, and Fruit Scones.

I chose to try Jamie’s Chicken Tikka Masala which came out full of flavor and very delicious. My children even voted this a good meal! I couldn’t find tikka masala paste anywhere, so I had to make Jamie’s own, which I was glad I did — it wasn’t as complicated as it sounded and the taste was terrific.

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA
(Jamie’s Food Revolution)
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4 skinless chicken breast fillets, preferable free-range or organic
2 medium onions
1 fresh red chile (I left this out for my family)
a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
a small bunch of fresh cilantro
peanut or vegetable oil
a pat of butter
1/2 cup tikka masala or mild curry paste, such as Patak’s, or Jamie’s tikka masala paste
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1 cup natural yogurt
a small handful of sliced almonds
1 lemon

Slice the chicken breasts lengthways into 3/4-inch-thick strips. Peel, halve, and finely slice the onions. Finely slice your chile. Peel and finely slice the ginger. Pick the cilantro leaves and put to one side, then finely chop the stalks.

Put a large casserole-type pan on a medium to high heat and add a couple of lugs of oil and the butter. Add the onions, chile, ginger, and cilantro stalks and cook for 10 minutes, until softened and golden. Add the curry paste and the strips of chicken. Stir well to coat everything with the paste and season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and coconut milk. Fill one of the empty cans with water, pour into the pan, and stir again. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on. Check the curry regularly to make sure it’s not drying out and add extra water if necessary. When the meat is tender and cooked, taste and add a bit more salt and pepper — please season carefully.

This will be fantastic served with rice and a few spoonfuls of yogurt dolloped on top. Sprinkle over the almonds and cilantro leaves and serve with some lemon wedges for squeezing over. And a little lemon-dressed green salad would round it off.

Serves 4-6.

JAMIE’S TIKKA MASALA PASTE

2 cloves garlic
a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
2 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. peanut oil
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 fresh red chiles (I left this out for my family)
a small bunch of cilantro
1 Tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut
2 Tbsp. almond flour

Spices for toasting: 1 tsp. cumin seeds, 1 tsp. coriander seeds

First peel the garlic and ginger. Put a frying pan on a medium to high heat and add the spices for toasting to the dry pan. Lightly toast them for a few minutes until golden brown and smelling delicious, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the toasted spices to a pestle and mortar and grind until fine, or put them into a food processor and whiz to a powder. Either way, when you’ve ground them whiz the toasted spices in a food processor with the rest of the ingredients until you have a smooth paste.

Simple Supper: Meatballs for the Freezer

Posted by Heather in Simple Suppers and tagged with , , , ,

It’s always nice to have something in the freezer that can be pulled out and turned into dinner quickly. Meatballs are a great option to have stashed in your freezer. You can make a big batch at once and freeze them in dinner-sized portions. And, you don’t need to limit yourself to spaghetti and meatballs when you do pull them out. Think beyond spaghetti sauce to sweet and sour meatballs with stir-fried peppers over rice, meatball sandwiches, meatballs in brown gravy over mashed potatoes, barbecue meatballs, meatball stroganoff, and meatballs tossed with pasta, cheese and roasted veg.

FREEZER MEATBALLS
(Heather)
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1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1 Tbsp. milk
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (to make gluten-free use gluten-free oatmeal or crumbs made from gluten-free bread)
3 Tbsp. dried minced onion (or you can use 1/4-1/2 cup fresh minced onion)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix. This is usually best done with your hands. I often make 3-5 pounds of meat at once, just multiplying each ingredient by whatever number of pounds of ground beef I have.

Line baking sheets with foil and place meatballs on top. I use a cookie scoop to scoop out one to one and a half inch meatballs. Bake the meatballs at 350F for about 15 minutes or until cooked through. Allow to cool. Freeze or enjoy right away.

I usually plan on a pound of ground beef per meatball meal for my family of 6.

Market Fresh: Peas

Posted by Alaina in Market Fresh and tagged with , ,

Spring is here! And with the arrival of this season, gardens will be planted and early vegetables will soon be ready for harvest. We enjoy peas so much – fresh from the garden, we will eat them raw. The bursting pea pods are a beautiful green and the round peas that come tumbling out of the pods are stunning. In the winter, I keep the freezer stocked with frozen peas (we don’t care for canned at all). So today, I’m sharing the simple ways that we enjoy peas.

PEAS

1 lb. fresh peas, shelled (or frozen)
2 tsp. butter
salt & pepper to taste
fresh mint (opt.), chopped (or another herb like chives)

Cook the peas in 1/2 c. water until tender. Drain. Add butter and gently toss until melted. Season to taste. Garnish with fresh mint if desired. Serve hot – add a small pat of butter to the top for presentation.

We also very much enjoy chilled peas or fresh-from-the-garden (or Farmer’s Market) peas as a salad topping or as a simple salad of peas, onions, herbs, and a creamy dressing. They are wonderful in pasta salad or on any lettuce salad – especially when we top it with other vegetables.

Weekend Fare: Reuben & Oven Fries

Posted by Alaina in Weekend Fare and tagged with , , , , , ,

I know, I know, I just gave you a whole post on grilled sandwiches but since we just celebrated St. Patrick’s day and corned beef was a pretty good deal, I couldn’t help but share this recipe. We grew up enjoying reubens – my mom made her rye bread from scratch and we couldn’t get enough of the sauerkraut, swiss, and corned beef combo. It has even been a birthday favorite! I made  my rye bread from scratch for these but we won’t talk about that since I was not very happy with it. And perhaps it should be noted that I am mostly German – I was born liking sauerkraut.

REUBENS
Rye bread, sliced
Butter
Saurkraut, drained
Corned beef, cooked & sliced*
Thousand Island dressing (you can make your own – 1 c. mayo, 1/4 c. ketchup, 1/4 c. sweet relish combined)
Swiss Cheese slices

Butter the outside of the bread and layer meat, saurkraut, dressing, and cheese. Grill over medium high heat until golden and cheese is melted.

*I cooked the corned beef on high for 4-5 hours in my crockpot (until tender) with the seasoning packet and half a can of Guinness. Delicious!  

We also regularly enjoyed oven fries growing up. They are quick and easy and so much healthier than the fried version. You can also make them with sweet potatoes which I LOVE! 

OVEN FRIES
1 1/2-2 potatoes/person
1 tsp. olive oil/person
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cut potatoes into desired size and shape (I cut mine into long skinny fries). Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until tender.

Tea Time: Spring Tea

Posted by Heather in Tea Time and tagged with , , , , ,

Finding myself newly married, enduring my first gray Pittsburgh winter, and holed up in a tiny second-floor apartment surrounded by concrete, I decided to invent a family tradition: tea on the first day of spring. I can’t remember what the menu was for that first tea, but I remember spending a good bit of time preparing and then pulling out the teacups for my husband and I to enjoy the feast together.

Over the years our tea has changed. Many years it is now just the children and I who partake as my husband might be busy with work. One year I was too sick to bake anything and I think we had to buy a baked good to enjoy. Two things are now absolute tradition: we use the early spring flowers embroidered tablecloth I found one day in a secondhand shop and we always have strawberries. On the day of spring tea I don’t care that strawberries are out of season and taste like watery styrofoam. They are a harbinger of things to come and that’s what our spring tea is all about.

CREAM FILLED STRAWBERRIES
(Heather)
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2 pounds strawberries
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. lemon zest (optional)
chocolate to decorate (optional)

Wash strawberries. Cut a tiny bit off the bottom of each berry so it can stand on a plate. Cut the green leaves off the top and, using a strawberry huller or small melon baller, gouge out a bit of the inside of the strawberry.

Soften the cream cheese and beat in an electric mixer until smooth. Add the heavy whipping cream and sugar as well as lemon zest if using. Beat until the cream and cream cheese combine and thicken. Transfer cream cheese mixture to a piping bag and pipe into the strawberries. Refrigerate if not eating immediately. Optionally, you can add a flake of chocolate to the top of each strawberry.