Strawberry Gelato

This recipe from The New York Times is actually called Winter Strawberry Gelato becauses it uses frozen strawberries when the fruits aren't in season.  I made it earlier this spring with fresh, fragrant strawberries, but I'm only getting around to posting it close to summer.  Call it the busiest May ever.  I got asked recently when I would be getting back to my blog, but I suffered from ugly photos or dishes that were eaten by guests before I got a chance to grab my camera.  This one looked all right.  And June is the month for strawberries.

Problem was, the taste wasn't that impressive.  It was OK, refreshing even, but it reminded me of diet ice cream.  The texture was more icy than creamy.  That shouldn't have surprised me since it came from the Recipes for Health column.  One rule I have in life: Eat ice cream right, or not at all.  Meaning none of that diet stuff; make it the real deal.  This version uses milk, but it could have benefited from the usual addition of some cream and/or eggs.  It wasn't awful, not by a long shot, but I wouldn't recommend it.

And because I've been so absent, I'll share an "ugly" photo.  This recipe was David Lebovitz's Coconut Ice Cream with Saffron.  This was all I had left after serving the ice cream at a dinner for four.  The recipe was interesting because of the use of saffron, and because it called for palm sugar instead of cane sugar.  I liked it OK, though it wasn't what I expected.  I thought the flavor would be light, but it was kind of warm and rich (if that makes sense).

Stay tuned, because I'm looking to discover more flavors of ice cream and sorbet this summer!

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

It's Memorial Day weekend, and that means a couple months of sweet corn, burgers, ribs, and pulled pork sandwiches.  This pulled pork recipe, like many others of its kind, calls for being made in an oven and not the grill.  I find that's also the case for ribs, and I've come to prefer making ribs in the oven to avoid that char you get so easily on the grill.  I also love how easy this pulled pork is -- just marinate, cover and bake for a few hours the next day, pull apart, and you're done.  And unlike other pulled pork recipes I've tried, this one is truly pull-apart tender; no shredding with your knife is required.  It's a great hot-weather dish.

And speaking of hot weather, my little vegetable and herb garden is taking off.  We prepared a raised bed for the first time in our yard.  Removing the sod was the hardest part, and we kept the rest simple.  No poured concrete or deep barriers, since it is a rented house after all.  We've got four varieties of tomatoes --Early Girl (top right), Sun Sugar (a yellow variety), Roma, and Grape -- along with parsley, chives, buttercrunch lettuce, and eggplant.  There was originally more lettuce, but some of the young plants got drowned in heavy rain, as did my strawberry plants.  I cursed Mother Nature and went off to get more strawberry plants, but the store was all out except for what they called these urban planters.  It was more than I planned to spend, but it's got almost a dozen strawberry plants, and a cool pot.  It already has some green fruit and beautiful white flowers.  I'm excited for my upcoming summer bounty!

That includes peonies.  I'm crazy about these flowers.  Too bad they're such slow growers and last so briefly.  I planted the one in the top right photo a few years ago, and it finally had one bloom this year.  Just one bloom.  I had gotten so impatient I bought a potted one (lower left), and it also yielded exactly one bloom.  I just can't win.  At top left is a shrub that blooms every spring, but I have no idea what it is.  The Sun Sugar tomatoes, at bottom right, have begun to sprout flowers that will bear the fruit.

So back to that pulled pork...

I used a tenderloin instead of the pork butt the recipe calls for, since that was what I had in the freezer.  I was concerned it might turn out dry because tenderloin isn't as fatty as butt (go ahead, snicker), but you might be able to see that this tenderloin had some fat.  It was also half the size the recipe called for, but that's OK for our household of two.  We've still got leftovers for today!  I also have a confession: I didn't use the barbecue sauce the recipe includes, or even make my own.  I resorted to a storebought bottled sauce, but it was still delicious.  Come on, I had to work Memorial Day weekend!

Strawberry Tartlets

Strawberries from the store have been so delicious lately, I had to make strawberry tarts. Except for the arm workout I got while whisking the pastry cream, these were easy. For visual interest, I usually also top each one with a blueberry and sliver of kiwi, but I love the pure strawberry of this version and it made for lighter work. And they were still plenty tasty.

Strawberry Tarts
Half-recipe of Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee
Pound of Strawberries, washed, dried, and hulled
Pastry Cream, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out the tart dough and cut it into squares a little larger than the square tart wells, or whatever mold you plan to use. Tuck the squares of dough inside the wells, cover the entire tray with a sheet of foil, and bake 12 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake 10 more minutes. Let it cool before removing the pastry shells, and repeat with remaining dough. Allow shells to cool completely before assembling.

Strawberries last longer if you wait until you use them to wash them. Darker ones tend to be sweeter. Choose 12 small berries that won't be bigger than the tart, and slice them in half.

Spoon or pipe the pastry cream into each shell. I like to pipe it with a star tip. Top each tart with a strawberry half. For extra shine or sweetness, you can also melt a bit of seedless jam and brush it on top of the berries. That's it! Makes 24 tartlets.

Pastry Cream

From Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours

2 cups whole milk

6 large egg yolks

½ cup sugar

⅓ cup cornstarch, sifted

1½ tsp pure vanilla extract

3½ tsp unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.

Neanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well-blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about ¼ cup of the hot milk -- this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get into the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in bits of butter, stirring until they are fully incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold or, if you want to cool it quickly -- as I always do -- put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water, and stir the pastry cream occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes.

Thumbprint Trios

These are fun to make, and to eat. They're three thumbprint cookies stuck together and filled with different jams -- strawberry, raspberry, and apricot. I also like how easy they are, and how decorative they look for the holidays.

Trios from Gourmet (December 2007)
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 sticks (½ lb) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
About 2 tbs each of seedless raspberry jam, apricot preserves, and strawberry preserves

Whisk together flour and salt. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until very pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes, then beat in egg and vanilla. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Divide dough in half and form each piece into a 6-inch disk, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour.


Preheat oven to 350° with rack in middle. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.


Roll 3 separate level teaspoons of dough each into a ball, then flatten each ball slightly (to 1 inch wide and less than ½ inch thick). Arrange them in a triangle with edges touching in center.










Then make a deep indentation in the center of each round with a wooden spoon handle. Make more cookies, arranging them 1 inch apart on baking sheets.










Fill indentations in each cookie with about 1/8 tsp jam (each cookie should have 3 different fillings).




Bake until cookies are baked through and golden brown on edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Bake more batches on cooled baking sheets lined with fresh parchment.

Dough can be chilled up to 2 days. Cookies keep, layered between sheets of parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

Strawberry Scoops

I made this earlier last week, when my college friend came to visit with her husband and kids. The looks on the girls' faces when I said I made them ice cream was adorable, and I let the older one turn on the machine and attach the paddle. Now my friend is all psyched to buy her own ice cream machine!

Strawberry Ice Cream from The Ultimate Ice Cream Book

3 cups strawberries (I used frozen strawberries without syrup, thawed)

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups half-and half

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

Puree the strawberries with the salt in a food processor. There should be about 2 cups of puree. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the sugar into the eggs until thickened and pale yellow.

Bring the half-and-half to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. Slowly beat the hot half-and-half into the eggs and sugar. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble. Remove from heat and pour through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Cool slightly, then stir in the puree, cream, and vanilla. Refrigerate overnight.

Freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.