Strawberries and Cake

Ahh . . . Strawberry season at last . . .

Strawberry picking is very popular around here. So when I got an email from my favorite local farm that their berries were ready, I planned an excursion for the following day. But woke up to drizzly rain. After some indecision, I decided to pull on my Wellies and go pick anyway. And I'm so glad I did! The berries were fantastic and me and my little helper had the fields practically to ourselves. We picked 11 pounds of berries in little over half an hour. I made 5 batches of freezer jam (which I of course forgot to take a photo of!), and a strawberry pie. YUM!
For Father's Day, I became a pastry chef. I test recipes for America's Test Kitchen (just an informal, non-paid, but very fun job . . . ). This recipe was for a pastry called "Paris-Brest Cake". Apparently this pastry was created in honor of a cycling race originally started in 1891. It is the longest running cycling event although it's no longer a race, just a ride.
There are two rings of cream puff-like shell. The larger one is cut in half, filled with a hazelnut-praline pastry cream, then the smaller ring is set inside. Just like a bicycle inner tube.

More delicious pastry cream, then the lid goes on and it is dusted with powdered sugar.

A very rich slice (can you see the "inner tube"?). A tasty dessert.

But, I am hanging up the pastry chef's hat. I just don't think the results justify the amount of time! This cake took a lot of work! The recipe was in 3 parts: a homemade hazelnut praline, a pastry cream, and of course the pastry shell.

So, kind of a fun novelty, but not one I'll make again soon.

BTW, I can't share the recipe as it's still in testing and not been published yet, but if you're interested, leave me a comment and when it's published I'll post it.

Linguine with Tomato-Almond Pesto

This is another Smitten Kitchen success (one of my favorite foodie blogs, www.smittenkitchen.com). It's a great summer recipe: quick to make, doesn't heat up your house much, and is just as tasty served at room temperature. It's also vegetarian. I have a New Year's Resolution this year to prepare at least 2 vegetarian meals a week. Not because we're against meat, but because I am trying to get our family to eat more veggies and more healthy, lean meals.

A quick little toast on the almonds gives them fantastic flavor.
The pesto mixed in with some cooked linguine.

And ready to eat. Enjoy!

LINGUINE WITH TOMATO-ALMOND PESTO

3/4 c slivered almonds

1 large handful fresh basil leaves

1-2 large cloves garlic (I only used one so it wouldn't be too spicy for the kiddos)

several sprinkles sea or kosher salt

6 ripe plum tomatoes, quartered OR 2 small packages grape tomatoes

1/2 c grated Parmesan (I may or may not have added an extra 1/4 or so . . . just for good measure . . . )

1/4-1/3 c olive oil (I thought 1/4 was plenty)

1 pound linguine

In large skillet, saute the almonds in a little olive oil until toasted. Let cool, then blend in food processor until they are in coarse pieces. Scoop out of processor and set aside.

Put basil, garlic, and a few pinches of salt into processor and chop. Add the almonds back to the processor along with the tomatoes, cheese, and olive oil and process briefly. Season with ground black pepper.

Cook the linguine to al dente (according to package directions). Reserve 1 c of the pasta water before draining. Toss hot pasta with pesto and mix quickly. Add pasta water to loosen to your desired consistency. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.

NOTE: this makes a LOT, I will halve it next time for our family of 4.

Mushroom Strudel

I am very sorry about the lack of a picture to go with this recipe! If you want to see what these look like, please go to www.smittenkitchen.com/2008/05/mushroom-streudels/.
That being said, the recipe is from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Smitten Kitchen, but I made a few changes and had a few things turn out a little differently.
I originally found this while searching for a tasty appetizer to take to a dinner we were invited to. I needed something to serve to someone who is lactose intolerant, and it was surprisingly difficult to find an appetizer that didn't have cheese! These call for Parmesan, but I made some with the cheese and some without, and the ones without turned out just fine and were very tasty.
So, here's the recipe as I made it:
MUSHROOM STRUDEL
*Notes on phyllo: if you've never used it before, you may want to know that you will need to let it sit in the refrigerator to defrost about 7 hours, then on the counter for 30 minutes or so before you use it!
Small box of phyllo pastry (I used about 10 sheets)
1/2 c butter, melted
1 egg, beaten for egg wash
Filling:
1 pound cremini mushrooms (also called Italian brown mushrooms)
1 medium onion, minced
3 T butter
1 T chicken broth (recipe called for dry sherry but I don't use alcohol)
1 T flour
leaves from 1 sprig thyme
6 T freshly grated Parmesan (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray or line with parchment. It helps to have a large work surface for this, like your kitchen table. Have all your ingredients ready and laid out before you get the phyllo out: melted butter, egg wash, filling, and cheese.
To make the filling: cook the onion in the butter until soft. Clean your mushrooms really well and slice fairly thin. If your mushrooms are large you may want to halve them before slicing. Add the mushrooms to the softened onion and saute until mushrooms are cooked through and some of the juices have begun to evaporate. Add the chicken broth (or sherry) and cook a couple of minutes more, until most of the liquid is gone. Stir in the flour, herbs, and salt/pepper to taste and let filling cool.
To assemble strudel: You'll need 2 damp dishcloths. Place one on the table, and use one to cover the remaining phyllo sheets as you work. Take one sheet of phyllo at a time from the package and place the remaining sheets between the damp cloths. Brush one half of the sheet at a time with butter. Carefully fold the unbuttered side over the buttered side and gently smooth out wrinkles and bubbles (doesn't need to be perfect). Repeat again, buttering half and folding it over, so the sheet is folded to 1/4 the size. You'll have one long column. Here I departed from the recipe the most. You can place a spoonful of filling, and fold triangular (like a flag) all the way up the column for one strudel per sheet of phyllo, or just place a spoonful of filling and fold over once in a triangle like a turnover and cut (a pizza cutter worked great), then repeat to get several strudel from one sheet (I did the latter--more filling to phyllo ratio worked for me!). If you use cheese, sprinkle each spoonful of filling on the phyllo with the cheese before folding the dough over. Then, brush the finished strudel with the egg wash and sprinkle more cheese on top. Place folded strudel on greased baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes until browned and crisp. Serve warm.