This time of year is so exciting for cooking. After a winter of coming up with things to eat, we have fresh veggies and fruit available once again. With strawberries season in full swing, I have been a cooking fool. Below are a couple of Slap Yo' Mama good recipes I made for a birthday party and an ice cream social.
Strawberry Sorbet
1/2 lb fresh strawberries hulled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
Juice of 1 large or 2 medium lemons
1/4 cup corn syrup
2 cups cold water
Combine the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Refrigerate covered at least 1 hour.
When ready to freeze the sorbet, mash the strawberries until pureed. Add the corn syrup and water and stir until blended.
Transfer the mixture to and ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.
Makes 1 quart.
Strawberry Pie
1 quart fresh strawberries
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 unbaked pie crust
1/2 cup whipping cream
Hull strawberries. Chop 1/2 of the berries into small pieces.
Place chopped berries into a sauce pan and begin to cook over medium heat. Mix sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to pan with crushed berries. Add lemon juice and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat.
Cut remaining strawberries into halves and mix with the cooked mixture.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place pie crust into 9" pie plate. Flute edges. Prick with fork all over, about 40 times. Place piece of foil inside pie crust, lightly pressing around inside bottom edges of crust.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and remove foil. Return to oven and bake for 5 minutes until edges are golden brown.
Pour strawberry mixture into baked pie shell. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours or until pie is set. Serve with whipped cream if desired.
With all of the magazines coming out with peach recipes, I can hardly wait for peach season next month! I used some of our last bags of frozen peaches to make the recipes below.
Peach Pie
10 fresh peaches, pitted and sliced.
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 recipe pastry for a 9 in double crust pie
Mix flour, sugar, and butter into crumb stage
Place one crust in the bottom of a 9 in pie plate. Line the shell with some sliced peaches. Sprinkle some of the butter mixture on top of the peaches then put more peaches on top of the crumb mixture. Continue layering until both the peaches and crumb are gone.
Top with lattice strips of pie crust
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until crust is golden. Allow pie to cool before slicing.
Overnight Peach French Toast
1 loaf unsliced egg bread cut into 3/4 in cubes
4 cups peeled, pitted, and chopped peaches (about 8)
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese cut into small cubes
Ground cinnamon
6 large eggs
3 cups milk 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Maple Peach Sauce (recipe follows)
Place half of the bread cubes in 9X13 inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle peaches and cream cheese evenly over top. Dust with cinnamon and top with remaining bread cubes.
In large bowl with hand mixer, beat eggs, milk, brown sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Slowly pour mixture evenly over bread, pressing bread slightly to coat completely. Dust with cinnamon. Cover and chill overnight.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees until set and top is golden brown about 35-40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve with Maple Peach Sauce.
Makes 9 servings
Maple Peach Sauce
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup water
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 cups peeled, pitted, diced peaches (2-3)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
In medium saucepan, stir together brown sugar and cornstarch. Add water and syrup; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook stirring frequently until sightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in peaches, cinnamon, and vanilla. Simmer for 2 minutes. Serve warm over french toast.
Blog to you soon!
Lucy
