Frozen Berries with Hot White Chocolate Sauce

I am disgruntled to be sitting at my computer back to wearing sweatshirts. It has been chilly and rainy here lately and being that our snow is still melting, I am sick of it! Alright, I got that off my chest so I think I can move on. Frozen berries with hot white chocolate sauce is the perfect dessert to serve to a crowd. Why you ask? I'll tell you. The instructions are as follows: 1) buy fresh berries (chances are they will be on sale since they are in season) 2) freeze them 3) melt chocolate, cream and vanilla together 4) pour hot sauce over frozen berries 5) serve. Oooooh's and awwww's all around.

The berries are frozen but when you pour that hot sauce over, it defrosts them just enough. What you are left with is semi-frozen chunks of cold fruit draped in sweet, creamy hot sauce. It's cold, it's hot, you are confused, and enjoying every minute of it. It's funny how many people upon being served this dessert will furrow their brow and say "Wait, the berries are frozen?" Crazy host. Crazy genius, superstar host.

I don't recommend buying frozen berries to begin with. The whole point is to have fresh seasonal berries. Plus, when you buy a carton of berries and freeze them on a sheet pan as per the instructions in this recipe, you don't get berries that have been stuck and frozen together in clumps, like so often happens with the pre-bagged kind. Freezing your own berries makes for much prettier presentation. Don't like white chocolate? Semi-sweet chocolate would work too.

Frozen Berries with Hot White Chocolate Sauce

adapted from Ina Garten

serves 8-10

• 1 1/4 pounds good white chocolate coarsely chopped
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 pounds frozen mixed berries or frozen raspberries

Directions

Combine the chocolate, heavy cream, and the vanilla in a heat-proof bowl and set it over a pan of simmering water until the chocolate melts.

About 5 minutes before serving, remove the berries from the freezer and place them on individual serving plates. Ladle the warm chocolate sauce over the berries and serve.

Note: You can freeze your own berries by placing the berries on a flat tray in a layer. When the berries are fully frozen, keep them a plastic bag in the freezer. Larger berries, such as strawberries, do not freeze well.

This recipe makes a lot of sauce. I didn't halve it because if you really are serving 10 people you will need that much sauce. If you are only serving 4-6 people, you can safely cut the recipe in half.

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*****I originally blogged about this in April 2010. I had no followers or pictures, however, I like what I said about this dessert and I wanted to keep the original post documented. Here it is...*****

This is the dessert I made for my Grandparents when I was out in California. It's one of my very favorites, especially in the Summertime because it's easy, light, but not too light, and satisfying. Basically, you just freeze seasonal berries (I like lots of raspberries mixed with blueberries and blackberries) on a sheet pan so they don't stick together. When they are frozen you just put them down in a pile in a pretty, shallow glass bowl and ladle a scrumptious hot white chocolate sauce over them. The hot-ness from the sauce will defrost your berries halfway making them the perfect texture for eating.

Frozen Berries with Hot White Chocolate Sauce
adapted from Ina Garten

1/2 pound plus 2 tablespoons good white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 pounds mixed berries, or raspberries, frozen on a cookie sheet

Combine chocolate, heavy cream, and the vanilla in a heat proof bowl and set it over a pan of simmering water until the chocolate melts (Or just combine it in a saucepan and warm it over low heat until melted, stiring occasionally)

About 5 minutes before serving, remove the berries from the freezer and place them on individual serving plates or bowls. Ladle the warm chocolate sauce over the berries and serve immediatly.

serves 6

I usually, instead of dealing with pounds, figure a carton of berries per person and combine them all. But, you could serve more generous portions if you wish as no one will complain. I also combine the chocolate (sometimes I buy good quality chips and skip the chopping step, but don't do this with less expensive chips becuase they have too many stabilizers and it will not melt well) cream and vanilla in a small saucepan and put it over very low heat just as I am about to sit down to dinner. It is usually almost ready and melted when we are done. Also, if you don't care for white chocolate, use bittersweet instead, it would be delicious. Although, the sauce does not primarily taste of white chocolate.

Classic Egg Salad Sandwiches

To celebrate my friend Kel's birthday, a few of us girls decided to get together and do a picnic at the park. She is turning thirty-one this year and she'll be the first to tell you that it's all downhill after thirty. She actually loves to tell people that. I think she is kidding, but I can't really tell. You can never really tell with Kel. Upon hearing that I was still twenty-nine and turning thirty this year, she yelled "your just a baby! Just you wait"---like, wait for what? She acts like at the stroke of midnight on the eve of my thirtieth birthday I will suddenly grow arm hair, sharp teeth, and turn into a werewolf. Besides a flare for the dramatic (which she tries to pin on me most of the time) Kel loves egg salad sandwiches, so deciding what we should eat was a no-brainer. Egg salad is a classic picnic food and evokes a familiar feeling of Americana.

What I'm after in my filling is nice defined chunks of tender egg with perfectly yellow centers (no weird gray stuff) held together by a blanket of mayonnaise with crunchy bits of celery and green onion with a hint of fresh dill and a squeeze of lemon. Yes, that sandwich would go very nicely with a sour pickle and salty, crunchy potato chips along with a refreshing peach iced tea. Well, I guess I have my side dishes. I think it best to not over do something like a picnic. Classic is always best.

Having a gathering like this is fun and at the same time, torturous for someone with my psyche. I can't help but think of other menu's I could possibly serve at a picnic on a future non-existant date. You could go southern style with buckets of cold fried chicken, potato salad and sweet tea. You could go Italian with a bottle of wine, cheeses, baguette and fresh grapes. Swap the wine and grapes for Champagne and strawberries and voila! It's a French picnic. You could go a million different ways and trust me it took restraint from rambling on, but right now I must focus on the two tasks at hand. Making a mean egg salad sandwich and trying not to turn into a werewolf. You are kidding, right Kel?

Classic Egg Salad Sandwiches

makes enough for 6 sandwiches

12 large eggs, hardboiled (method follows) and chopped into smallish bite size chunks

2 ribs of celery, minced

2 scallions, sliced thinly

1/4 cup mayonnaise, plus 1 tablespoon

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

juice from a quarter of a lemon

1 generous tablespoon chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

6 hoagie rolls

6 leaves of lettuce

Mix first nine ingredients together until throughly combined. To make the sandwich, split the hoagie rolls in half. Place one leaf of lettuce on each sandwich half and top with egg salad.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs (no weird grey yolks)

Place eggs in a large pot with plenty of cool water to cover so that the eggs have a good water to egg ratio. Egg should have room to move around so don't try to cram everything into a small pot. Place the pot on the stove over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Let the water boil for 1 minute, then remove the pot from heat and place a tight fitting lid to cover. Let sit for 20 minutes. Discard the cooking water and run cold water over eggs until very cool. Your eggs need to be cold before you attempt to peel them.

Grilled Artichoke with Homemade Mayonnaise

Patience. That's what you need to make homemade mayonnaise. Luck. That's what you need to get featured on Bon Appetit's website. I had both this week. Funny thing happened the other day as I checked my stats (something I don't do on a regular basis) I noticed that I had 55 hits on my Peach-Vanilla Cream Pops already for that day. The day had just started. I checked my sources and lo and behold, a link for a page on Bon Appetit's website came up. What the what? I clicked. I found an article on what frozen/icy treats food bloggers were making from their magazine this month. There were about five blogs featured and My Life In Food was the third one down. Cue heavenly music from above. I have no idea how they found me or how I got there. All I know is that this is a very exciting thing for me indeed.

Now that we got the luck part covered, let's talk about patience. It takes about 8-10 minutes to make mayonnaise. Essentially all you do is whisk an egg yolk, some lemon juice, salt and white wine vinegar together until smooth. Like this:

Then you drip small drops of oil into the mixture, whisking constantly and vigorously for four minutes. You will still have a lot of oil left to incorporate. After the four minutes is up, you can then pour the rest of the oil in the bowl in a very slow stream, again, whisking constantly and vigorously. This is most likely where your patience will be tested. You would be amazed at how long it takes to get all that oil incorporated. You'll be tempted to just dump all of it in, but don't. Homemade mayonnaise is an art and it must be done a certain way. Keep whisking and blending. After you have blended everything together you will be left with a pale, thick and deliciously silky mayo. See?

This mayonnaise is heavenly with grilled artichokes. These artichokes are marinated in balsamic, olive oil and garlic and they taste just like the ones you order at fancy restaurants. Plus, they are easy to make and fun to grill. The artichokes will already be cooked when you place them on the grill because you boil them until tender and just grill long enough to get those gorgeous char marks.

Grilled Artichokes

adapted from Emeril Lagasse

serves 6 appetizer portions

4 large artichokes, rinsed well, top third removed, and leaf tips trimmed

1/4 cup salt

2 lemons, cut in 1/2

1 cup olive oil

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

homemade mayonnaise for dipping (recipe follows)

Fill a large pot 3/4 full with water. Add 1/4 cup of the salt and bring to a boil.

Rub the cut sides and bottoms of the artichokes with the lemon wedges and carefully add them to the boiling water. Weight the artichokes as necessary with a heavy dish or bowl, and simmer, partially covered, until the bottoms are just tender and can be pierced with a sharp knife and an outer leaf pulls out easily, about 20 minutes. Drain the artichokes upside down in a colander until cool enough to handle.

Cut the artichokes into quarters (or half if they are smaller) and discard the prickly purple leaves and hairy choke.

In a bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the artichoke quarters and toss to coat. Let marinate for 2 to 4 hours, turning occasionally.

Preheat grill to medium-high. Remove the artichokes from the marinate and grill, turning, until warmed through and lightly charred around the edges, about 5 minutes. Place on a platter and serve with homemade mayonnaise.

Homemade Mayonnaise

adapted from Molly Wizenberg

makes 3/4 cup

1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste

3/4 cup canola oil, divided

• Combine egg yolk, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Whisk until blended and bright yellow, about 30 seconds.

  
  

  Using 1/4 teaspoon measure and whisking constantly, add 1/4 cup oil to yolk mixture, a few drops at a time, about 4 minutes. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup oil in very slow thin stream, whisking constantly, until mayonnaise is thick, about 8 minutes (mayonnaise will be lighter in color). Cover and chill. Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

  
  

Raspberry Lemonade

We had our friends, Melissa and Shawn over for dinner last week. Like usual, I pondered the menu and drinks and decided upon serving a simple lemon grilled salmon, with a side of pasta and salad for dinner. Easy. My go to cocktail is usually wine or champagne but I was feeling more festive. Luckily, I had whipped up a batch of raspberry lemonade the day before. I had served it to my girlfriends who were over for lunch that day and it got great reviews. Not too sweet or tart, with a great balance of lemon and fresh raspberry. The fact that it was the most gorgeous shade of pink didn't hurt either. I had just enough left over in the pitcher to serve as the base for our cocktails that night. Perfect! This lemonade was begging for some vodka to be added to it.

This turned out to be a remarkably refreshing drink. Jeremy, my husband, and Shawn loved it. More importantly, by the end of the glass, I think they forgot that they were drinking a pink, fruity cocktail. As for the girls, by the end of our drink, Melissa and I found ourselves upstairs trying on lip gloss and talking much too loudly. Come to think of it, I don't know why we were upstairs. Were we not supposed to be making dinner? A little vodka sure distracts you from the task at hand, I'll tell you that much. Don't say you weren't warned.

Me and Melissa before the lip gloss

I love drink concoctions during the summer months whether it be iced tea, lemonade or fruit spritzers of some sort. Doesn't really matter what it is. There is nothing better than sitting under the pergola with ice clinking in your glass, enjoying the sunshine.

This is a very simple drink to make that I have a feeling will be enjoyed at many parties and BBQ's this year. With and without that silly Mr. Grey Goose.

Raspberry Lemonade

adapted from Food network Magazine, June 2010

serves 6

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

4 1/2 cups water

lemon slices, for garnish

Make a simple syrup: Combine the sugar with 3/4 cup water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Let cool.

Muddle the cup of raspberries with the simple syrup in a pitcher, crushing the berries with the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in the lemon juice and water; add ice and lemon slices to each glass and serve.

Taste your drink after you have mixed it up. You might like to add more water. I find this to be a great combination for me since I tend to add a hefty amount of ice to my glass that slowly melts and dilutes everything. This recipe is easy to double for more people. (2 cups raspberries, 2 cups lemon juice, 1 1/2 cups sugar with 1 1/2 cups water for the simple syrup, then add 9 cups of water to the finished product. Serves 12).

Fresh Tomato and Basil Pasta

Confession time: I don't like fresh, raw tomatoes. I know, crazy right? I used to love them. I'd eat them like candy as a kid, sliced with a sprinkling of salt. It all changed one day as I was eating lunch in my bathing suit, wrapped in a towel, about 8 years old, in my grandparents back yard. It was hot and I had been swimming. I remember the tomatoes were cold and perfectly ripe, sliced just as I liked but this time with a little garlic salt on top. Later that day I came down with the stomach flu and I suppose you can guess why I don't like them anymore. Every time I try to eat a piece of a raw tomato, I gag a little. It makes me sad. Sometimes, if the tomato is perfectly ripe and sliced thin and not pithy at all, I can eat it on a sandwich. It happens maybe once a year.

Being a foodie and all (I hate the word "foodie"), this creates all sorts of problems for me. Caprese salad anyone? Bruschetta? Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich? Gazpacho? Pass. This particular food aversion taunts me because I really want to eat these things. It's not even like they aren't tempting because I don't like tomatoes. They are all too tempting and I hate the fact that tomatoes ruin it for me. It's only raw tomatoes though. If those babies are made into sauce, marinated or sauteed, I love them.

Enter this lovely tomato basil pasta. I longed to make it but that damn tomato annoyance was getting in my way. I wanted a simple pasta, bursting with fresh flavors of garlic, tomato and basil that was delicate in flavor but not bland. I decided to be brave. I chopped three beautiful red tomatoes fully prepared to add them to my hot skillet full of butter, oil, crushed red pepper and garlic. Fail. I had a freak out at the last second. I thought I wasn't going to be able to enjoy the pasta if I went through with it. The smell of the tomato was just a little to robust for me. I opened a can of organic diced tomatoes and used them instead. Listen, I know this pasta would be sensational if made with fresh tomato, but I just wasn't strong enough this time. However, now I can say for certain that if you buy a high quality canned tomato and drain most of the juice, it works just as well. This pasta was awesome, simple and light. It highlighted each of the flavors used perfectly without overpowering any of them. Try it, you'll like it.

Fresh Tomato and Basil Pasta

serves 4-6

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound angel hair pasta

7 fat garlic cloves, minced

20 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 tablespoons white wine

3 medium to large tomatoes, chopped or 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, juice mostly drained

Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and butter and melt together. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for about a minute. Add the tomatoes, salt and white wine and continue sautéing for about a minute, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add the basil to the tomatoes and when the pasta is done, add it to the sauce in the skillet and toss everything together. Serve with a dusting of Parmesan cheese on top.

To make my cooking time smoother, I mince my garlic and chop my basil before I start cooking the pasta and making my sauce. Always prep before hand. It saves a lot of stress during the actual cooking process.

Peach-Vanilla Cream Pops

Hello summer! Finally. We totally skipped spring up here in the mountains and are facing a horrible flooding of the rivers, but hooray, there is still reason to celebrate because warm weather is here! Finally. Since I have been home I have already gotten the chance to grill on our deck with friends, get to the park, make a run to Ciao Gelato with the kids, and make these peach popsicles. Sunny weather activities. FINALLY! I have been waiting for warm weather for months and months. There's no holding me back now.

These pops are in a word, ridiculous. Peaches and cream are a perfect combination already, but add vanilla bean sugar and a slight tang from some yogurt and dang. If you add the optional amaretto, which is not optional in my book (unless kids will be eating them) it creates the perfect deck dessert for a hot summer night. I'll be making these time and time again, that's for sure.

Peach-Vanilla Cream Pops

adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2011

makes 8 pops

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

4 cups sliced peeled ripe peaches (about 4-5 medium), or 16 oz. frozen sliced peaches, thawed

1/2 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup Greek-style yogurt

1 to 2 Tbsp. amaretto (optional)

Place sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Scrape in seeds from Vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Transfer syrup to a small bowl; chill. Discard vanilla bean.

Puree syrup and peaches in a food processor or blender until smooth. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium pitcher; strain, pressing on solids to extract the puree (If you use a powerful blender such as the Vita-mix, like I did, you can skip this step because everything will be blended thoroughly without lumps). Whisk in remaining ingredients. Divide among molds. Cover; insert ice-pop sticks. Freeze until firm. Dip bottoms of molds into hot water for 20-30 seconds to loosen pops. Remove pops from molds and serve.

*This blog post was featured on Bon Appetites web page.

Summertime and the livin's easy! Okay, so technically I know "summer" doesn't actually begin until June 21st. However, school is out and so is the sun, so it's all the same to me!

I'm Back!

I had to leave pretty abruptly last week in order to visit my Grandma Burgos in the hospital. I took off, leaving my kids and husband behind and spent a bit of every day with her. She's doing much better than when I first arrived so that's good. Anyway, I'm back and ready to start blogging. Now I just need to get to the grocery store and buy food!

Krysta