Berry Good!

This is the wonderful season for great summer fruit.  I like apples, tangerines, bananas, and grapefruit, but I love watermelon, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, cantaloupe and honeydew.  I am willing to pay higher prices during the off season to get these fruits if they are shipped in and tasteful.  But, while the season is here and they are easily available in the grocery store, I try to keep my refrigerator stocked with fresh finds.

I also take advantage of the availability of these great berries and fruit to make fresh cobblers.  Our grocery store recently had blackberries for $1 for 6 oz. so I made my husband so happy and made a cobbler with them.  With just two of us here at home, I decided to make a small cobbler.  I should have made it full size because it was eaten very quickly and I must say, it was very good. 

I encourage you to buy what you find fresh and sweet in the produce section or at your local farmer's market.  Your family will love you for it!

Juicy Blackberry Cobbler

4 c. fresh blackberries

2 c. water

1/2 c. sugar

Pastry (recipe follows)

2 T. melted butter

2 T. sugar, divided

Combine blackberries, sugar, and water in saucepan.  Cook over medium heat 10 minutes; stir gently. 

Pour half of berry mixture into a greased 12  2 x 2" baking dish.  Roll pastry to 1/8" thickness on a lightly-floured surface.  cut into 1" strips, and arrange half of strips in a lattice design over berry mixture.  Brush with 1 T. melted butter, and sprinkle with 1 T. sugar.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until pastry is lightly browned. 

Pour remaining berry mixture over baked pastry.  Arrange remaining pastry strips in lattice design over berries.  Brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining sugar.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. 

(I used coarse sugar crystals.  You can find these at Wal-Mart on the baking aisle or with Wilton cake decorating items.)

Pastry

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 t. salt
1/2 c. shortening
1/4 c. plus 1 T. cold water

Combine flour and salt; cut in shorteningwith a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle water 1 T. at a time evenly over surface; stir with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Shape into a ball. Chill.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Comfort Foods--Even in the Summer!

I came across one of my favorite comfort foods on Everyday Food on PBS--pot pie.  I love pot pie and have tried many recipes.  This recipe has a very good flavor to it.  The "gravy" has a nice rich flavor although I did thicken it a bit more than the recipe called for.  These were made in invidivdual 12 oz. baking dishes.  I realized when I was assembling them that the gravy was still a bit thin, but after they were baked, we added cooked macaroni to them as we ate them (which we always do), and that really helped to soak up the gravy.  The puff pastry is delicious on top of the pot pies. 

Another recipe from PBS was a comfort food to serve alongside hamburgers--onion rings.  This recipe caught my attention because they are not fried but baked in the oven.  They have a unique batter of egg, buttermilk, flour, and cayenne pepper then they are dredged in a mixture of ground corn flakes and bread crumbs.  I used Panko crumbs.  The next time I make them, I plan to put half of the corn flake/bread crumb mixture on the plate at a time as it seemed to clump easily when the onion rings were dredged.  They were very good though and baked up nice and crisp.  They were a great addition to our meal of grilled hamburgers and cole slaw.

So if you need a little comfort--even in the summer, give one of these a try.

A Nice Surprise!

I came across this recipe recently from Cooking Light and was delighted that it was as delicious as it was easy.  Canned salmon is such a great buy and a staple you can always keep in on hand.  Be sure to make the sauce to serve with the patties.  It really takes them over the top.  So, if you forgot to thaw something out for dinner, pull out a can of salmon and the can opener and give this a try. I think you'll be in for a nice surprise.

Serving suggestion:  Salad:  Fresh spinach with red onion slices, almonds, cucumber and strawberry quarters with a red wine vinegarette; Vegetable:  Green beans cooked with diced onion and bacon; Rice pilaf.

A Twist on a Strawberry Favorite

I found this recipe a couple months ago when I wanted the taste of angel food cake and strawberries but I wanted to make it ahead of time and not have the last-minute preparations.  It was a big hit and made a classic dessert more special.  I made it again this weekend when my sons and one of my daughters in law surprised me and came home for Mother's Day.  It's easy to put together and can be put in the refrigerator for later or can be eaten right away.

Since strawberrys are in season and they are delicious and plentiful, it would be a great time to give this twist on a classic dessert a try!

 

1 (10 inch) angel food cake

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced

1 (18 ounce) jar strawberry glaze (or a can of strawberry pie filling)

1. Crumble the cake into a 9x13 inch dish.  
2. In a medium bowl, cream cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in whipped topping. Mash the cake down with your hands and spread the cream cheese mixture over the cake.
3. In a bowl, combine strawberries and glaze until strawberries are evenly coated. Spread over cream cheese layer. Chill until serving.

(I layered the ingredients and made more of a trifle out of it. I put some of the strawberry mixture on the bottom, angel food cake, the creamed mixture, more of the strawberry mixture, angel food cake then I topped it with Cool Whip.)


Click here for a printable version of this recipe.