Strawberry Lavender Sorbet

How do you spell relaxation?  S T R A W B E R R Y   L A V E N D E R   S O R B E T !!!  There's  something  intoxicating about brushing up against a lavender bush which releases its sensual fragrance and whisks you away  to a calmer place.  I remember on a trip to a lavender farm in the Northwest years back when as soon as  the car door opened, the sweet smell of relaxation (lavender) permeated my nostrils.  I just wanted to lay down in the field and stay until they closed or found me the next morning!

Needless to say, I wanted to go to several of my "happy places" (and I have many) recently.   But, when it's not possible, I go to my kitchen and create a smile in an ice cream dish!   This concoction definitely made the grade.   I used fresh strawberries that I cleaned and froze on a cookie sheet in the freezer, then put into freezer bags for later use.  Or you can purchase store bought frozen bags of berries.

I should note that I don't have an ice cream maker.  Why, you ask?  Probably because that is my favorite food and it would make it waaaaaay to easy to whip some up anytime I got the cravings for ice cream which I practically NEVER refuse!

Strawberry Lavender Sorbet

2 cups frozen strawberries

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp culinary lavender

1 cup water

First, make the lavender simple syrup by bringing the water, sugar and lavender to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for one minute.  Remove from the heat and cool.  Strain through a fine mesh colander, (to remove the lavender buds).  At this point place the strained simple syrup into an empty ice cube tray and freeze.  When frozen, start the next step.

In a blender toss in the strawberries, simple syrup and a small amount of water, and pulse/blend until smooth.  You may need a bit more water to give it a smooth texture.  Serve immediately or put into a freezer container and freeze for later.  Soooo refreshing!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Mascarpone Filling

For my birthday this year I decided to make something simple.  In a July 19th post I mentioned that my wonderful son and his girlfriend came up to make dinner and bring one of his ice cream creations.  They can both cook up a storm!  The ice cream flavor was strawberry lemonade sorbet which complimented the cupcakes. 

The recipe I've been wanting to try is courtesy of Giada De Laurentis.  These strawberry mascarpone creme filled cupcakes were a big hit!  The only difference was to pass on the icing and pipe the filling in from the top instead of the bottom.  I used cupcake liners and couldn't see peeling every one off to pipe the filling in.  Just a small minor glitch!

All in all this is one recipe to use again and again.  Maybe even change the filling to suit your taste!  Lemon custard filling would be great as would chocolate, of course!

Ingredients:

1 box of vanilla cake mix (French vanilla is good)

1 (8 oz) container mascarpone cheese, chilled

1/2 cup thawed and drained fresh or frozen strawberries

1/4 c sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Make the cupcakes according to directions. 

To pipe filling from the bottom:
Lightly grease the muffin tin and fill the batter about 2/3 full.

To pipe filling from the bottom:  (You can decorate  or frost the top to hide the hole.)  Use cupcake liners.

Bake according to the package directions.

In a food processor combine the mascarpone cheese, strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice, and process until smooth.  Transfer the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a small tip.  Push the tip gently into the top or bottom of the cupcake and squeeze in the strawberry mixture until the cupcake plumps.

I added a squeeze of chocolate frosting on top and adorned it with a strawberry slice. Yum!

A Mother's Day Treat

Another chef in the kitchen!  This is usually not a good scenario, but I welcomed this guest chef with open arms, a kiss and a hug!  My handsome son arrived mid morning yesterday to serve his  mother (and father) brunch.  What was on the menu, you ask?  Something  gourmet, of course.  He is definitely a better cook than me.  He's more daring with his ingredients and he always comes up with tasty results.  He needs to "throw down with Bobby Flay"  He would be a great competitor!

Handsome chef at work

He swooped into my kitchen and began  his smooth orchestration of slicing strawberries, mixing ricotta with chocolate shavings, peeling and deveining prawns, etc.  Just watching him work is a thrill to me.  But I am very partial!
When he was 3- ish he'd watch me in the kitchen and try to put his spatula into the skillet!  He's always had the knack and ability for creating whether it's his music or something he cooks up in the kitchen.

Today I'll feature the cannoli filled strawberry french toast he made me for Mother's Day!  His prosciutto wrapped prawns and asparagus will be on a later post.

For the filling:

1 container of part skim ricotta cheese

1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla

1 Tbsp orange or mandarin zest

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 of a 3.5 oz. dark chocolate bar, grated 

Mix all the ingredients and set aside.

Slice a 16 oz. container of strawberries and set aside.

More ingredients:

1/4 inch slices of rustic Pugliese bread.   (12 slices for 3 healthy servings)

4 eggs

1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground

1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated is best

1 Tbsp vanilla

a splash of milk or cream

In a bowl, mix the eggs and spices, whisking well.    Start assembling the french toast by laying down one slice, cover with ricotta mixture, arrange sliced berries and close with another slice of bread.  Do this until bread is gone.  Have a large skillet or griddle ready with a little melted butter.  Dip the "sandwiches" into the egg mixture, turn to coat the other side and carefully put into the waiting pan.  Cook on both sides until golden.  Dust with confectioners sugar and drizzle with maple syrup (optional, but good).

A brunch a mother could love!

Thanks, son for an amazing brunch!  Surely the best in town!

Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate!

Good things come in small packages!  Especially when they're delivered right to my front door and the package is filled with CHOCOLEY CHOCOLATE.  What is Chocoley (pronounced cha-co-lee)?  It is a made in America chocolate, crafted in the finest Belgian tradition.  It boasts peanut-free, egg-free, celiac safe and tree-nut free chocolate.   I was chosen to review this fine product.  How lucky can one girl be?

Life is a box of chocoley!

While I am certainly a connoisseur of chocolate I've rarely had the opportunity to "play" with this much chocolate in my kitchen at one time.  My mind is racing as I try to think of ways to incorporate the chocolate into my recipes!

Over the next couple of days I'll post some interesting ways to use the wide array of products that were sent.  Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white and extra dark chocolate.  Candy making equipment, caramel, liquid lava chocolate...these are a few of my favorite things!

The company has graciously offered you, readers of my blog,  a 15% discount on your retail order.  Just visit http://www.chocoley.com/ and enter the coupon code: wendysfav15.  This offer will expire 5/15/2011 so order up!

For my first experiment, I wanted to get familiar with its melting capabilities.  What better way than to make some chocolate covered strawberries!  I don't have a double boiler, so I used my trusty microwave.  The steps I used are as follows: 

 I placed 1/2 lb of the extra dark "Chocoley Bada Bing Bada Boom" chocolate (that's the name!) into a microwave safe bowl.  I microwaved for 1 minute at 50% power. 

Remove and stir with a spatula.

Return to microwave for 15 - 30 second intervals until almost melted, stirring with the spatula between intervals.

You'll find the chocolate melts beautifully into a silky consistency.  Perfect for dipping those strawberries.  Wash and dry the berries.  I dipped about 15 with the 1/2 lb of chocolate.  Yes, there was a little left over...but I had to make sure it was edible, so I ate it!  Yum, yum!

I left them at room temperature for a while and then placed them in the refrigerator overnight.  The chocolate hardens nicely if you like your strawberries that way.  If not, leave them out for about 10 -15 minutes and they soften up a bit.  So good!  They're gone!  Ready for the next chocolate experience!  Stay tuned and check out their website..

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