Strawberry Pielettes

Last weekend, hubby and I finally hosted a housewarming party after being in our house for approximately two months.  I came up with this monstrously long list of things I wanted to make, which hubby then had to help me cull down.  I stuck mostly with recipes that have been a hit before, but I really wanted to make little bite size fruity pie/tart hybrids.  The coffee shop across from my college - Brewed Awakenings in Cedar Rapids, IA if you're ever in town - made little tarts that were amazing, ESPECIALLY the mulberry one.  The crust was perfectly sweet and tender.  I wanted to do something similar.  I knew what I did not want my crust to be; I didn't want it super flaky (a la apple pie) but I didn't want it to be hard and buttery (a la lemon meringue tarts).  I wanted something almost cookie like, but not quite.  Looking through  my recipes, I came across the hand pies my sister and I made for her husband months ago and TADA we've got a crust.  

These little pielettes (name in progress, not quite a pie, not quite a tartlette) were a smash! Everyone, including me, thought they were great.  I used strawberry preserves for the party ones, and having a few empty shells after the strawberry ran out, used some fig  as well.  Hubby preferred the fig.  I think you could do just about any fruit in these: peach, apple, berries galore. 

 The crust isn't exactly what I wanted; next time, I'll use butter instead of crisco and substitute some brown for white sugar. 

Strawberry Pielettes

(makes 48)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tbsp vinegar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• approximately 2 cups strawberry preserves (or any other variety)
• whipped cream
• sliced fruit/additional berries for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease 2 mini-muffin pans (or if you just have 1, bake in two parts).

Cream together sugar, shortening, and egg until fluffy.  Beat in vinegar, milk, and vanilla extract.  

In a separate bowl, whisk together baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1/2 cup flour.  Add to the wet ingredients.  Add flour in 1/2 cup increments, mixing well after each addition.  Add additional flour, if necessary, to ensure dough is not sticky. 

Roll 1-inch balls of dough and drop into each cup of the muffin pan.  Press the dough to fill the muffin cup, creating an indentation into which you will put the preserves.  You can use your fingers for this; I used the end of my ice cream scoop which had the perfect diameter.  If you use an instrument, make sure you keep it greased or the dough will stick to it and pull up.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes.  The crust will puff up a bit; if it puffs too much, use a spoon to gently remove some from the center.  Spoon a tablespoon or so of preserves into each, filling them almost to the very top.  Try not to drip preserves on the rims of the pielettes.

Bake approximately 10-15 minutes, or until the crust  appears set and slightly golden.  Let cool in pan for a few minutes, then remove to a cooling rack.  A tip for removing them: if you rotate the pielettes in the muffin cup, then should pull out easily.  

Once cool and you're ready to serve, garnish with a plop of whipped cream and slice of strawberry (or whatever fruit you've used). 

Strawberry Bread

So the ricotta-mint strawberry failure left me with a bunch of strawberries, so I decided to try out this strawberry bread over at The Knead for Bread. I've never baked with strawberries before, so I was quite curious.


Okay. Note to self. I need new dishes.


Moving on.. I thought this bread was decent; it isn't my favorite or least favorite of the things I've made. The strawberries were a bit mushy. The icing didn't turn out at all like the picture, but that might be due to the fact that I was tired and only let it sit in the freezer for 1 hour..

Strawberry Bread:

(makes 2 loaves)

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup mascarpone
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup milk
• 5 cups flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 cups sliced fresh strawberries

icing

• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 oz white chocolate (Lindt is a good choice)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 2 loaf pans.

In a super large bowl, cream together the butter and mascarpone. Beat in the sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla, condensed milk, and milk.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Slowly mix dry ingredients into the wet ones, just until incorporated. Stir in strawberries.

Pour into prepared loaf pans. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then remove to cooling rack.


Mmm pretty.

For the icing, bring the cream and butter to a simmer over medium heat. Break up the chocolate in a bowl, then pour the hot liquid over it, stirring to melt the chocolate bits. Cover and place in the freezer until cold, about 2 hours. I think the proper direction should be chill in the freezer until THICKENED because it can be cold and runny. Anyhoo, once your loaves are cool, spread (or drizzle) the icing over the loafs. Refrigerate for 1/2 hour. (I didn't bother with that).

Garlic Parmesean Turkey Burgers; Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Firstly, I've been having major headaches and migraines just about every day for the past week and a half, so my posts have been and might continue to be spotty.

Growing up, memorial day was never anything important to me. It was just another bank holiday that might parents might also have off. Perhaps we'd go out on the boat or have a barbeque. I never really thought about what memorial day meant or who it was for. I had no experience with war or veterans or their widows. I knew no people who had died or had loved ones die in wars. Vietnam and Korea were way before my time. And even after the craziness started and hubby earned his veteran's status, I still didn't think about memorial day. For some reason, that changed this year. And I didn't light a candle or say any prayers, but I did spend the day thinking about those of my generation who have died and will die so far from home. And it might seem silly, but in a way, I prepared this meal thinking of them, honoring them in my own little way. Doc Kent. Collinsworth. Myles Sebastien. These are the men that make memorial day mean something to me.

So. I try to keep this blog about cooking, but sometimes things will come through. But now on to the food..

When you think of memorial day, what comes to mind? You can say it.. barbeque.. burgers.. grilled meaty goodness. Well, I lack a grill, but I just wouldn't let that stop me. Mom used to cook burgers on the stove top in her big cast iron skillet (man I need one of those!!) so I used Cathie Cooks Food's recipe for Turkey and Parmesan Turkey Burgers. Sounds tasty, right?


They are super simple and moderately tasty - I usually find things could use a little more kick. Just mix:
1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg
salt and pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
After mixing, form patties. I made 8 thin patties instead of the thicker ones Cathie made. Either grill the burgers for a few minutes each side or heat a very small amount of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, then cook the burgers for about 4-5 minutes on each side. They should brown nicely.

I thought the burgers would be tasty served with mozzarella. It was. Lettuce was also a nice complement.

To accompany the burgers, I made potato salad (maybe a recipe for that later..I do it all by taste and look) and green beans. Yum.


Now, I felt dessert was a must and I had made up my mind to make some strawberry rhubarb crisp. Rhubarb intrigues me and I really wanted to cook with it while I still have the opportunity - I could never find it back home. A TasteSpotting search brought up a recipe for Cardamom scented Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp from half baked. Tasty tasty. Did I mention I'd only had a crisp once before, and it was a bite of a rhubarb crisp that my friend's grandmother had sent her? So I had no experience. Luckily, crisps are easy-peasy.


Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp:
Crisp
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of cardamom
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Filling
1 pound (4-5 medium stalks) rhubarb, trimmed and peeled
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
3 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350F. Place a 9 inch (or 8 as that's what I have) glass baking dish on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. This is just in case there are any spills. You wouldn't want delicious strawberry goo all over your oven, would you?

In a large bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, oats, ginger, salt, and cinnamon. Make sure you don't have any clumps of anything. Add melted butter, and stir ingredients until they are thoroughly moistened. Spoon half of the mixture into the pan and press it down to form a crusty base.

Slice the rhubarb into 1/2 inch wide pieces and scatter them across the crisp base. "Dissolve" the cornstarch in the cold water and set aside (note, the cornstarch will not actually dissolve). Combine the strawberries, sugar, and ginger in a medium-large saucepan and crush the berries. Place the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a full boil, stirring occasionally.
Give the cornstarch-water mixture a good stir to get it all combined again, then whisk that into the strawberry mixture. Bring back to a boil and boil for about 3 minutes, until it is thick and no longer cloudy. It should be a gorgeous shade of red.
Pour the strawberry mixture over the rhubarb. Sprinkle remaining crisp over the filling.
Bake for 60 minutes or until top is golden and the strawberriness bubbles up on the edges. Place on a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.