Strawberry Sherbet

I am always too enthusiastic when it comes to buying fresh summer strawberries. They just look so dang good in the market, and I pile them into my cart with reckless abandon. But strawberries are fragile little things, and before I have been able to eat my way through the giant strawberry pile they start looking a little peaked. (I love that word, peaked. I just looked it up to make sure I had the definition absolutely correct, and it means "weak and wan." It reminds me of books like The Secret Garden.)

Anyway, this recipe is the answer to peaked strawberries. When they start to get a little weak and wan and sad and dried-looking, it's time to spring into action and make this absolutely mouthwatering silky smooth dessert, and all you need are the berries, a few other assorted ingredients, your food processor and your freezer. No need to haul out the ice cream maker.

Here's all you need to do. Cut the stems and any really suspicious looking areas off your sad strawberries. If you have any really big berries, cut them in half, and then put them all in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and freeze them solid. Once they are frozen, you drop them in the food processor with a little vanilla yogurt, some strawberry jam and a little bit of sugar. I like this brand of jam in the strawberry variety (although I have been known to fudge it if I have something in the red variety of jam that doesn't precisely fit the recipe.)

Press the button. About 60 seconds later, you will have this:

Creamy, sweet and delicious. Bring on those berries!

Strawberry Sherbet

• 1 pint ripe strawberries, tops cut off
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt, any variety
• 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
• 1 tablespoon sugar

1. Lay berries on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Freeze until solid.

2. Place berries and all remaining ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. You may have to stop the processor and scrape the sides a few times to make sure all the frozen berries are processed.

3. Serve at once. It is amazing with a little fresh grated lemon peel on top, if you have any handy.

Click here for printable recipe

Mascarpone Semifreddo with Strawberries and Black Pepper Honey

The other day I posted a great recipe for crostini with lemony mascarpone and peppers, created and cooked by the wonderful chef Jessica Marotta from Campagnia restaurant, and I promised that I would follow up promptly with Jessica's recipe for Mascarpone Semifreddo with Strawberries and Black Pepper Honey. And here it is!

Jessica is the latest chef that I have been lucky enough to photograph for our local Meet the Chefs series, and she taught us all about mascarpone. She makes her own, and she brought a delicious bowl of it with her.

And she also told us (phew!) that these recipes would work just fine if we used store-bought mascarpone, so hang in there with me. We are now going to make mascarpone semifreddo. Which means ice cream. Really, really, really good ice cream. First Jessica beat some egg yolks and confectioner's sugar until it was gorgeously fluffy.

Then she whipped up some heavy cream, vanilla and more confectioner's sugar, and mixed that with some of the mascarpone. Then she folded it into the egg yolk mixture.

At this point you are supposed to freeze it for 8 hours until it is all chilled and ice creamish. Luckily for us in the audience, Jessica had made a lot of it ahead of time and was just walking us through the steps so we could immediately go home and make our own. Whew!

Next she cut up some gorgeous looking strawberries...

She had some leftover lemons from the crostini recipe, so she mixed a little lemon juice into the berries.

Yum.

Then it was time for the assembly. A few scoops of the semifreddo. Some strawberries on top...

Then...get ready...she combined some honey and some fresh ground black pepper together to make a sauce that was both sweet and spicy and out of this world. Which she then drizzled on the ice cream. I thought the audience was going to fall out of their folding chairs.

It was sweet and cold and a little bit spicy and 1000% delicious.

Jessica's amazing recipe is below. And if you are in the area, make sure you stop in at Campagnia. They have a whole menu that is as fabulous as this dessert. Thanks, Jessica!

Mascarpone Semifreddo with Strawberries and Black Pepper Honey, by Jessica Marotta

Ingredients

4 cups heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped or ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

8 ounces (1 cup) mascarpone

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

10 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1 quart strawberries, cleaned and sliced into quarters

¼ cup wildflower honey, or any unfiltered honey

¼ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

To make the semifreddo; In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine yolks and 1 cup sugar. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, then turn mixer to high and beat for an additional 5 minutes, or until the yolks are light and fluffy. Transfer the yolk mixture to a large mixing bowl. In a clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer, combine heavy cream, vanilla bean seeds (or vanilla extract) and confectioners sugar. Whisk cream mixture on medium-low for 2 minutes, then increase speed to medium and whisk until soft peaks form. Add mascarpone, and whisk on low until incorporated. Gently fold cream mixture into yolk mixture, until there are no streaks. Transfer semifreddo to a frezzer proof container. Freeze at least 8 hours before serving.

To make the black pepper honey; Combine honey and pepper in a bowl and stir thoroughly.

To assemble; Scoop semifreddo into serving dishes, top with strawberries and drizzle with a small amount of black pepper honey. Let semifreddo stand for 3 to 5 minutes to soften before serving.

Click here for printable recipe

Edible Arrangements

Okay, so please forgive me in advance if this post falls into the "more information than I really wanted to get on a recipe blog" category, but there's a story behind this one, and I do think it's worth it. So here goes.

Maybe it is the fact that I haul around my 7 pound camera everywhere I go. Maybe it's because I spend a ridiculous amount of time bent over my computer. Maybe it's because I never...quite...got into the daily exercise program that the buff Southern husband follows. Maybe it is all three...but one day a few weeks ago I woke up and OUCH. My back finally said enough is enough. I followed my usual route of doing nothing and hoping it would go away. Nope. Then I switched to my back-up plan of taking way more Advil than any one person should take. Nope. Finally my practical and all-knowing friend T took me under her wing and brought me here:

Midtown Chiropractic Heath and Wellness

Where I met a group of folks that are unlike any other medical practice I have ever come across. Now don't get me wrong, I have a great doctor who takes terrific care of me, but you know I mean when it comes to dealing with the doctor's office. You negotiate for appointment times. You wait and wait and wait in the WAITING room. And if you have a question for the doctor after you leave the office...good luck to you, my friend.

Hang in there, I promise there is a food-related point to all this.

At this wonderful place, however, everyone from the lovely women who are at the front desk, to the terrific and patient physical therapists, to my two awesome doctors - they all bend over backwards (sorry, couldn't resist THAT pun) to listen to every crazy question you have. They make sure you have their email address and they email you back right away. They call you on the weekend to see how you are doing. They never, ever make you wait. I thought to myself, patient care just couldn't get any better than this. Then I came home last weekend and saw this:

And went in search of the Southern husband so I could thank him. After I finished thanking him, he admitted it wasn't from him.

Nope, it was from Dr. Sinett at Midtown Chiropractic. A get well soon gorgeous edible fruit arrangement. From my doctor, who also emails me back and calls to check on me on the weekends.

!!!!!!

So let's unwrap this baby and check it out.

It really DOES look like a flower arrangement, only in this case the flowers are strawberries and grapes and pineapple, all fresh as fresh can be and gorgeously assembled and DELICIOUS!! I felt a little bad dismantling the first strawberry to take a bite, but once I tasted it I got over that very quickly.

And just to keep the story going, I loved it so much that I sent one to my sweet Italian friend, who is recovering from shoulder surgery. And she loved hers so much that she got one for her sister-in-law, who is also on the mend.

So if you know someone who needs a little cheering up, here's the link to Edible Arrangements. They have over 900 stores so there is bound to be one near you. They deliver, and if you live near one of the stores you can also go there and buy one.

Edible Arrangements

And if you live in the New York City area and you wake up one morning and your back is complaining to you...Midtown Chiropractic Health and Wellness. (Thank you, you guys! You are the BEST!!)