Strawberry Tango

 Strawberry Tango

This recipes was shared by Tom and Linda Pecht. Tom made this for us at the Dailey cookout on June 20th 2024.

Rice Pudding

Rice Pudding

from Bonnie Burns, April 2020

The proportions and times seem odd, but they really are perfect for this comfort food.

1/3 C long grain rice – anything but instant or quick cooking. I used Jasmine. Perfect.
½ t. vanilla
3 C. milk
Pinch of salt
Grated zests of an orange and a lemon
2T. butter
¼ C sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Wash and drain the rice. Place the rice in a saucepan, cover generously with water, and bring
to a boil over medium heat. Boil vigorously for 5 minutes to blanch the rice. Rinse in warm
water and drain again.
3. Combine the milk, salt, and fruit zests in a large sauce pan. Bring the milk to a boil over
medium heat. Watch carefully so it does not boil over.
4. Remove the milk from the heat. Stir in the butter, sugar and vanilla. Set aside to cool for
about 10 minutes.
5. Stir the blanched rice into the flavored milk and pour into a baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake
without stirring until almost all of the liquid is absorbed about 1 hour and 40 minutes.
The zests, of course, are not necessary, but they add just a little zip to the pudding.

Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust

from Sally's Baking Addition

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/lemon-bars-recipe/

 

Ingredients

Shortbread Crust

• 1 cup (230g; 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (265g) all-purpose flour

Lemon Filling

• 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
• 6 Tablespoons (48g) all-purpose flour
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup (240ml) lemon juice (about 4 lemons)

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking pan* with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out (makes cutting easier!). Set aside.
2. Make the crust: Mix the melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir to completely combine. The dough will be thick. Press firmly into prepared pan, making sure the layer of crust is nice and even. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned.
3. Make the filling: Sift the sugar and flour together in a large bowl. Add the eggs and lemon juice and whisk until completely combined.
4. Pour filling over warm crust. Bake the bars for 22-26 minutes or until the center is relatively set and no longer jiggles. (Give the pan a light tap with an oven mitt to test.) Remove bars from the oven and cool completely at room temperature. I usually cool them for about 2 hours at room temperature, then stick in the refrigerator for 1-2 more hours until pretty chilled. I recommend serving chilled.
5. Once cool, lift the parchment paper out of the pan using the overhang on the sides. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and cut into squares before serving. For neat squares, wipe the knife clean between each cut. Cover and store leftover lemon bars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
6. Freezing Instructions: Lemon bars can be frozen for up to 3-4 months. Cut the cooled bars (without confectioners’ sugar topping) into squares, then place onto a baking sheet. Freeze for 1 hour. Individually wrap each bar in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place into a large bag or freezer container to freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator, then dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Notes

1. Glass Dish: Use a ceramic or glass pan. I always detect a slight metallic flavor in the lemon bars when baked in metal pans.
2. Halve the Recipe: Halve each of the ingredients to yield around 12 squares in a 9×9-inch baking pan. Same oven temperature. Bake the crust for 16-18 minutes and the bars for 20 minutes or until the center no longer jiggles.
3. Sifting: More often than not, the flour doesn’t fully incorporate into the lemon filling unless it’s sifted with the sugar. As directed in the recipe, sift the two together before adding the eggs and lemon juice. I don’t always do this (and didn’t even do it in the video above!) but it’s preferred to avoid any flour lumps. If you have a sifter, it’s worth using. If you forget, it’s not a huge deal. Here is my favorite sifter. You use it again to dust the lemon bars with confectioners’ sugar.
4. Lemon Juice: For exceptional taste, I highly recommend fresh lemon juice. Here is a wonderful inexpensive juicer if you don’t have one. Or use another fresh-squeezed citrus like grapefruit, blood orange, lime, or regular orange. You can slightly reduce the sugar if using a sweeter citrus. I recommend no less than 1 and 2/3 cup granulated sugar in the filling as it’s needed for structure.
5. Room Temperature: Bringing the eggs and lemon juice to room temperature helps them mix easier into the flour and sugar. However, I never notice a taste or texture difference when using cold. Room temperature or cold, use whichever!

From Sally’s Baking Addiction cookbook

AMAZING FLOUR-LESS BLACK BEAN BROWNIES

https://www.skinnytaste.com/amazing-flour-less-brownies/
from skinnytaste

Claire recommended this recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 14 oz canned low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon oil
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk, or dairy, skim
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground coffee or instant coffee
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided (Hershey's)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350° F.
• Grease a nonstick 9 x 9-inch square baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.
• Blend the black beans, eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, oil, almond milk, balsamic, baking soda, baking powder and coffee in the blender until smooth and pour into a bowl.
• Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips until combined.
• Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips evenly over the top of the brownies.
• Bake the brownies until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 to 32 minutes.
• Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing them into squares.

NOTES

Adapted from Roasted Root.

Chocolate Cover Strawberries

Great video from Michael and Laurie Forester

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_vEM_zfkqo

Chocolate Covered Strawberry wine pairing ideas

Banyuls
Red Zinfandel
Sparkling Rose

match bolder, darker chocolates with bigger wines and lighter, sweeter chocolates, like white or milk, with lighter wines

Melon and Blueberry Medley

This recipe is from Jacques Pepin "Heart and Soul in the Kitchen."  I love his fruit dessert recipes.
NOTE: when I made this in April 2018 for the Minocqua Society of Unusual Women, aka, the wine club, I made a raspberry sauce and added fresh blackberries.

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 ripe melon such as Cavaillon, Charantais or cantaloupe (2.25 - 2.5 pounds)
1 cup blueberries
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 T fresh lemon juice
4 fresh sage springs

Directions
Peel the melon as you would an apple, remove the green flesh. Cut the melon crosswise in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Cut 2 slices or rings, about 3/4 inch think from each melon half. (Save the rest of the melon for another use.)

Combine the blue berries, maple syrup, and lemon juice in a bowl.

At serving time, place a ring of melon on each of the 4 plates. Fill the hollow centers with the blueberries and juice. Garnish each dessert with a spring of sage. Serve

Other references
Wine and Fruit Pairing Chart

Pairing Late Summer Fruit with Wine and Spirits.
Who knew, melon and port.

Cantaloupe Spinach Salad
This looks delicious

Crispy Prosciutto with Melon relish
Pairs with Chardonnay

Summer Melon Salad with Prosciutto
Serve with Prosecco

Cheese Tart or Tarte au Fromage Blanc

I wanted to serve a dessert from Alsace as we studies wines from that region. I found this recipe online from Brigille's Kitchen.

Note: regarding wine pairing: Because this dessert is not overly sweet or fruity, it pairs best with more neutral whites such as Pinot Blanc, or even a sparkling Crémant if you wish to finish your meal on a fresher note. The Cremant was perfect!

6 servings

For the dough:

• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1 T. fine sugar
• 1/4 cup cold water
• pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 1# fromage blanc or 16 oz ricotta cheese drained. I used store ricotta.
• 1/3 cup heavy cream or creme fraiche. I used heavy cream
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 2/3 cup fine sugar
• 3/1/2 Maizena or corn starch.  I used corn starch
• 1 lemon
• pinch of salt

Preparation Steps:

1. Prepare the pastry dough in a large bowl, blend with your fingers the flour, sugar, butter, vegetable oil and salt until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Gradually add the cold water, mixing until a crumbly dough begins to form. Do not overwork the dough. Add more water as needed or more flour if it is too wet and sticky. Form a ball and dust with flour. Wrap in wax paper for 1 hour in refrigerator.
   
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9 inch deep sided pie  plate. On a lightly floured board, roll out the pastry dough into a circle and place in the pi plate. Prick the bottom of the pastry shell all over with a fork and chill for 10 minutes before baking.
   
3. Wash and dry the lemon and then grate the rind in a bowl. Add and mix together the drained cheese, the cream, 3 egg yolks, corn starch, and sugar.
   
4. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peak stage and fold gently into the cheese mixture with a spatula.
   
5. Pout the filling into the pastry shell and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake for 40 minutes or until the filling is puffed and golden. Let the tart cool before serving.

Cherry Squares

 Cherry Squares

From the kitchen of Emma (Forray) Pentrak -sister of Mary (Forray) Lutri

My aunt, Mary Lou, was going through my Grandma Lutri's recipe box and shared this. Grandma's

The actual recipe

sister died in the late 50s.

1 ¾ cup shredded coconut (very fine)

½ cup sugar

½ cup butter or margarine

1 ½ cup sifted all-purpose flour. 

Combine and blend until mixed and crumbly in appearance.  Press half of mixture into greased 9-inch square pan. 

1 can of cherries – drained. (reserve juice) 

2 T. cornstarch – add to reserved juice 

Mix cornstarch and juice and add cherries.  

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened and clear.  

½ cup sugar – add to cherry mixture and stir until sugar is dissolved.  

Pour cherry mixture over flour mixture in pan.  

Top with remaining flour mixture. 

Bake at 400⁰F about 30 minutes.  Cut into squares to serve.  

Cherries with Sweet Wine and Brioche

This recipe is from Jacques Pepin Heart and Soul in the Kitchen cook book, p. 359

I made this for one of our puzzling, food and wine events in March 2017. We were studying the

wines of the French Languedoc-Roussillon region. We tasted wonderful cheeses, Brie and Camembert. The quiche was a great pairing with the Marsanne. Then on to dessert. We then shifted to some red wines and a great arugula salad.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups sour cherries, pitted ( sweet can also be used)

1/4 cup sugar (2 T sugar if using sweet cherries)

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 brioche rolls ( about 2 ounces each) split in half) Note: I made a brioche loaf and used 1/2 slice for each serving.

4 fresh mint leaves

1 375 ml bottle sweet Sauternes, chilled. Can used Madeira or port.

Directions

Mix the sugar and cherries Ina bowl and cover and refrigerate. This can be done a few hours ahead.

Whip the cream to a soft peak. Refrigerate..

If you are making brioche, you will need to do that 2 days in advance. Fun but time consuming.

At serving time, arrange a brioche half in each of 4 martini glasses. Cover with cherries and their juices. Top with cream and mint sprig and serve.

At the table, pour about 1/3 cup of Sauterne into each dessert glass, taking care to pour it around the whipped cream, not over it. Serve the extra Sauterne in wine glasses as an accompaniment to the dessert.