Strawberry Pickin' and a Finger Lickin' Good Time

Ah strawberry season is upon us.  I don't know about you, but there is nothing I love more than fresh strawberries.  So, this post will be completely dedicated to strawberries and you will finally get your hands on some of my secret recipes (which I know you have all been dying for...right?).

Simon and I went strawberry picking at a pick-your-own garden center the other day.  It was a really beautiful day, and the strawberries were delicious.  We may or may not have been unable to keep ourselves from eating them straight from the vine.

 

So first up is one of my favorite things to have with strawberries.  Cream.  Ruth's Chris Steakhouse has the best cream I have ever had in my life.  And so I have replicated the recipe.  Here we go.

Ingredients 
2 cups heavy cream (or double cream if you're in the UK)
1 cup sugar (divided use)
10 egg yolks, fresh out of the shell (use less if you want a thicker cream)
1/3 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions
Place cream and 1/2 cup of sugar in a saucepan on the stove. Mix well and heat until it starts to boil. (Be careful so that cream will not boil over.)

Crack eggs to separate yolks from whites.  You will not need the egg whites for this recipe, so save them for another recipe I will post soon!

In a stainless steel bowl, mix egg yolks, 1/2 cup of sugar and vanilla until well blended and sugar is dissolved. Whisk simmering cream into egg mixture and transfer to top half of stainless steel double boiler. Cook for 8 - 12 minutes, until sauce thickens and coats the back of the spatula, stirring constantly.

Use the spatula to pull the sauce away from the sides and fold it back into the center of the bowl.  Pass through a fine china cap (fine mesh sieve) into a container. Place a plastic bag filled with ice cubes into the sauce, then put the saucer container into an ice bath to cool it. When cool, remove the container from the ice bath, remove the bag of ice from the container and place the container in the refrigerator.

Now on to...
Strawberry Jam
(This recipe can be modified to make a smaller amount.  The way it is, it makes 4 500g jars.)

Ingredients 
1.5kg strawberries
1 lemon, juice only
1.25kg sugar

Directions
Remove the leaves and cut into small pieces (or into large chunks if you like bits in your jam).

Put the strawberries and lemon juice into a large, heavy-based saucepan and simmer them very gently for an hour.  (It looks a little gross, I know.)

Stir in the sugar and turn up the heat.  You will be able to tell when the jam is done by dipping a spoon in, getting some of the jam on the bottom and holding it horizontally.  It should form a "firm drip."  At this point, skim any scum off the top of the jam. Set aside until a skin starts to form.

Pour it into jars, seal, and let them cool.  This is good for up to a year, but I highly doubt you will be able to make it last that long.  :)



And last but not least...when you have strawberries that are on the verge of going off, use this recipe to salvage them.

Strawberry Sherbet

 
 Ingredients:

1 pint ripe strawberries, tops cut off
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt, any variety
2 tablespoons strawberry jam
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

1. Cut berries into slices (this helps them freeze faster).  Lay berries on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Freeze until solid.

2. Place berries and all remaining ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. 

Or in the off chance that you put everything into the American blender and try to plug it into a power converter instead of a power transformer in the UK and it makes a loud bang and starts smoking and your husband says its on fire and you have to flip the breaker after your plugs don't work anymore...in that case, put the stuff into a bowl and whip our your hand mixer.  It will not be as good.  But beggars (in foreign countries) can't be choosers.
And if you do get to use a blender, you may have to stop it and scrape the sides a few times to make sure all the frozen berries are blended in.

3. Serve at once. It is amazing with a little fresh grated lemon peel on top, if you have any handy.  And with any luck, you'll have what looks like the picture at the top.  Good luck, mine didn't turn out that way.  :P


Well, we are off to Italy for our honeymoon this week, so check back soon for updates from that and other recent adventures in our lives :)
<3
m