Mixed Berry Shortcakes

I've eaten strawberry shortcake many times in my life, but it never occurred to me I wasn't eating traditional strawberry shortcake.   I thought what I was eating was true strawberry shortcake, but now I know I was wrong.  Strawberries with angel food cake and whipped cream do not make strawberry shortcake.  I’m sure some of you are shaking your head at me and my deluded strawberry shortcake past, like my dad’s wife Lynn did on Sunday.  I made these mixed berry shortcakes for dessert on Sunday, and I admitted to Lynn that I'd never had strawberry shortcake with, well um, shortcake before.  Lynn looked at my like I had a third eye, and told me then that I never had strawberry shortcake.  To her angel food cake with strawberries is a delicious dessert, but it's not strawberry shortcake.

I’m glad if I had to wait to try real strawberry shortcake, I waited for this recipe. These shortcakes are delicious.  The biscuits are light and fluffy and slightly sweet.  The berries are delicious, of course, and the sour cream enriched whipped cream tasted almost like cheesecake topping.  I have to admit, I am not a big fan of angel food cake “strawberry shortcake.”  The cake always seemed too sweet to me, but when pushed, my dad admitted though he liked these Mixed Berry Shortcakes, he still prefers angel food cake with his strawberries.  Do you like your strawberry shortcake with angel food cake or shortcakes?  I know I will be making these Mixed Berry Shortcakes from now on.
 

Mixed Berry Shortcakes
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated Summer Entertaining
Printable Recipe

Shortcakes
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces and chilled, plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Fruit
6 cups mixed berries (I used hulled, quartered strawberries and whole blueberries)
2-3 tablespoons light brown sugar

Whipped Topping

1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

Shortcakes
Place an oven rack in the upper middle of the oven, and preheat the oven to 375°F (I preheat my convection oven to 350°).  Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. 

Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse 5 or 6 times, or until no lumps of sugar remain.  Add the chilled butter and pulse 6 to 7 times or until the mixture looks like course meal, and transfer the mixture to a large bowl. 

Whisk the egg and sour cream together in a small bowl.  Stir the egg mixture into the large bowl with the flour mixture.  Stir together with a spatula until large clumps form, and then mix with your hands until the mixture form comes together and no dry flour remains. 

Using a ice cream scoop,  scoop 6 dough balls onto the baking sheet (I used a smaller ice scoop to get 12 biscuit out of the mixture.   Brush the dough balls with melted butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar. 

Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes (15 to 20 minutes for smaller biscuits).

Fruit
Mix the fruit with the 2-3 tablespoons of light brown sugar, and refrigerate until ready to use, or at least 30 minutes.

Whipped Topping
In a medium bowl, beat the cream, sour cream and brown sugar until stiff peaks form. 
Prepare Short Cakes

Split the biscuits with a serrated knife, and place fruit mixture on the bottom half of the biscuit.  Add the whipped topping and the top of the biscuit.  Serves 6.

Three-Bean Salad

Hello!  I’m back!  Wow it has been a crazy couple of weeks (fun, but crazy).  We’ve had Mother’s day, my wedding anniversary, and my birthday in the last couple of weeks.  Throw in my daughter performing in a youth theater production and my son’s school’s Festival, and I’ve hardly had time to eat much less cook.  We’ve had too much take-out, and when I have cooked, it’s been simple pasta dishes.  I did make dinner a few times this week, so I’m hoping to change the trend.

Oh, and along with everything else, I’ve recently acquired a stalker.  I know.  Nice, huh?  My friends warned me this might happen once I started blogging, but I pooh-poohed them.  Who would stalk me?   Beach Ball Bill, that’s who. 

My daughter brought home Beach Ball Bill from the Festival, and almost immediately he became my stalker.  He peers around the corner when I’m cooking.  He will suddenly appear on my dresser when I’m in my room folding laundry.   Every time I turn around he is there.  The kids think it’s funny, but when he peers at me with his beady eyes, I’m a little freaked out.  I can only hope he will spring a leak soon!

What are you doing for Memorial Day?  If you are having a barbeque, you should make this simple Three-Bean Salad.  I know what you’re thinking, “Three-Bean Salad?  Really?”  This Three-Bean Salad is fresh and refreshing.  The tarragon is a great addition to an old recipe, and using haricot vert instead of canned green beans really makes this salad special.  I loved the tarragon in the salad, but not everyone likes tarragon (including my daughter and son), so if you or someone you’re cooking for doesn’t like tarragon, then I recommend you use thyme instead.

Three-Bean Salad
Printable Recipe
3 tablespoons olive oil
The juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
1 14 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 14 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 lb haricot vert (French green beans)

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper.  Stir in the shallots and tarragon.  In another small bowl mix together the garbanzo beans, kidney beans, and the vinaigrette, set aside.

In a large steamer set over boiling water, steam the haricot vert until crisp tender, about 4 to 6 minutes.  Immediately immerse the cooked beans into ice water to cool.  Drain the beans and pat dry with a paper towel.  Layer the haricot vert on a platter and top with the kidney bean mixture.  Serve.

Pork Tinga Tostadas

I couldn’t let Cinco de Mayo go by with out posting a Mexican food recipe.  We are big fans of Mexican food in my family.  We are also big fans of carnitas, so I had reservations while I was making Pork Tinga from Cook’s Illustrated.  Would Les and I like it?  Would the kids eat it?  I was especially worried while I was pouring the tomato sauce into the pork mixture.  I was worried it would taste like pasta sauce or chili.  I had misgivings up until the time I tasted the pork mixture.  I love the flavor of Pork Tinga.  The tomato sauce doesn’t make the pork taste like pasta sauce.  No, the flavor is rich and spicy.  The filling would be fantastic in enchiladas and tamales as well as the tostadas.   Pork Tinga will probably replace carnitas in this family.

I unintentionally adapted the recipe by adding 2 tablespoons of chipotle powder instead of one.  Les and I loved the spiciness of the 2 tablespoons of chipotle powder.  The kids even liked the spicy pork even though they went through a half-gallon of milk!  You can decide the amount of spice you would like in your Pork Tinga by decreasing the chipotle powder.

Pork Tinga Tostadas
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
Printable Recipe
2 lbs pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium onions, cut one into quarters, and chop one fine
5 medium garlic cloves, 3 cloves peeled and smashed, and 2 minced
4 sprigs of thyme
Table salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 14.5-ounce can tomatoe sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons ground chipotle powder
2 bay leaves (optional)

Tostada shells
Refried beans
Queso fresco
Fresh cilantro
Chopped avocado

Place the pork, quartered onion, the 3 smashed garlic cloves, thyme and 1 teaspoon salt in 6 cups of water.  Bring the pork to a boil over medium-high heat, skimming off any foam that accumulates on the top.  Reduce the heat to medium, cover, leaving a gap to let off steam, and simmer for 70 to 90 minutes, or until the pork is fork tender.  (The next time I make this, I will be placing the pork, onion etc. into a crockpot and cooking it for 8 to 10 hours).  Drain the pork, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid, and discard the onion, garlic and thyme.  Shred the pork by mashing it with a potato masher.  Cook’s Illustrated recommends this technique, and it works great!

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or 12-inch skillet, and add the shredded pork, chopped onion and dried oregano.  Cook, stirring often, until the pork is browned and crispy, about 7 to 10 minutes.  Stir in the minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds or until the garlic is fragrant.  Add the chipotle powder to taste, reserved cooking liquid, tomato sauce and bay leaves.  Simmer until the liquid is almost evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes.  Remove and discard the bay leaves, and add salt to taste.

Serve the pork tinga on the tostada shells with the refried beans, queso fresco, cilantro and avocado.