Final post on the brunch! I found inexpensive strawberries and thought they would make a nice sweet treat for the brunch. They were simple to make and oh so tasty!
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
* strawberries * chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate
Clean strawberries and dry on paper towel. (Making sure the strawberries are very dry helps the chocolate adhere properly.) Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water . Dip strawberries into chocolate, making sure you are also coating the back. Allow the chocolate to harden by placing the strawberries on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Tada!
There's nothing easier than making a fruit salad for brunch. I wasn't sure if it would be the most popular item since it was so healthy among the fattier other options. Either my friends are very healthy or the salad tasted great because the bowl was empty by the end of the brunch!
Berry Fruit Salad You can throw in whatever fruit you like or have on hand, but I liked the idea of making it berry-based!
strawberries, cleaned and sliced small raspberries blackberries grapes, cleaned clementines apples, sliced
Toss in a large bowl and allow guests to serve themselves. Tada!
I don't regularly watch Alton Brown's foodtv.com show Good Eats. (On a side note, my friend Trapezista confessed to having a small crush on Alton!) However, one day last winter, I watched an episode on blueberry and saw him make a frozen blueberry pie. I love blueberries and blueberry pie! I promised myself that I would make it when blueberries were going to be in season.
Frozen Blueberry Pie From Alton Brown's Kinda Blue (Blueberry) episode. The secret to this recipe is the frozen filling. Not only is it very easy and quick to make, but it allows you to make the filling when blueberries are in season, freeze it, and have a blueberry pie during the winter. Not that I actually did that...As for the dough, any pie dough recipe will do. On the show, Alton suggests just buying pie dough and saving your efforts on the homemade filling (which is so, so easy). I used leftover dough from the peach crostata my sister's fiancé D made the previous night.
* 4 cups blueberries * ½ cup sugar * ⅛ tsp salt * 5 tbsp tapioca flour * 1 tbsp fresh orange juice * 1 tsp orange zest * 2 (9") store-bought pie doughs * 1 egg yolk whisked with 1 tsp water
For the frozen filling Wash the berries and pat dry. Mash up half of the blueberries in a large bowl. Add the sugar, salt, tapioca flour, orange juice and orange zest and stir to combine. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes. Fold in the whole berries. Line a 9-inch pie plate with aluminum foil. Place the blueberry mixture into the foil and place in the freezer until solid, approximately 6 to 8 hours. Once the filling is frozen, remove from the aluminum foil. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
For baking the pie Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the frozen filling upside down on a plate (carefully, if your filling wasn't hard solid, like mine). Unroll first piece of dough and cover the frozen filling. Place the pie pan on top of the dough and flip over. Trim excess, if necessary. Unroll second piece of dough and cut into 1-⅛" wide strips that are 10" long. (I just eyed the width of the strips.) Lay 4 strips of dough across the top of the filling horizontally, leaving an even amount of space in between each strip. Fold back 2 alternating strips and lay down another strip in the middle of the pie, perpendicular to the other strips. Return the strips that are laid back to their original position. Next, fold back the other 2 strips and lay down a strip to the left of the center perpendicular strip. Return the strips that are laid back to their original position and repeat on the other side of the perpendicular strip, folding back the same 2 strips as you did on the other side. Once you have a lattice, brush all the strips of dough with the egg yolk, trim excess dough and pinch strips and edge of crust in order to seal. Place on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes; the pie should be bubbling lightly around the edges. If the lattice is not browned enough in the center, place under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes Place the pie on a rack and allow to cool to room temperature before serving, approximately 1-½ to 2 hours. Tada!
Crushing the blueberries for the filling was fun!
Since the filling was not hard rock, it was easier to cover the filling with the dough, then the pie pan and flip it.
Making a lattice with rolled dough is hard when you don't have extra dough...
The blueberry pie came out very well! The filling had the perfect texture. The only thing I would change is adding less orange zest. I added orange zest without measuring 1 teaspoon and I thought the orange flavour was too strong, slightly overpowering. My mom, on the other hand, loved it because of the orange flavour! I would definitely make this again! I may even go look for blueberries today to have a filling in the freezer, ready for this winter!
I was produce shopping with my mom for bánh xèo when I saw a basket of ground cherries (or physalis) with a sign "Mangez moi". I have a rule that I do not turn down free food so I was happy to oblige. I popped one in my mouth and my mom came by. She took one, peeled it and put it in her mouth. Oops, I didn't peel mine... My mom replies "could you please be less stupid so that others can be stupid too?" in Vietnamese. This is after I told her that The Gastronomer's mother used to tell her that growing up. You might not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but you sure can teach your mom new insults...!
Ok, back to the ground cherries. They do not taste like cherries (nor does trái sơ ri). I found they were very fragrant. They were very sweet and reminded me of something I couldn't really pinpoint. They have seeds that remind me of figs. My sister said she thought of dragon fruit or prickly pears.
