Strawberry Nation—Best of the Blogs

No Comments | Written on June 15, 2012 at 3:00 pm, by Bill Sertl

The Novice Chef

All across America, beautiful sweet strawberries are vying for counter space at your local farmstand. That’s old news to you Southerners, the latest news for folks in the Northeast, and, well, if you don’t see strawberries yet, just hang on. (Make sure they’re actually in season where you are, though—you want local, fresh-as-can-be).

Hmm, what to do with them. Kind of a no-brainer. But just popping fresh strawberries into your mouth is only the tip of the iceberg—or should we say “tip of the strawberry ice cream berg?”—because there are so many more things you can do with the best berries of early summer. Think of tarts and galettes; cool drinks; a strawberry vinaigrette; and enough jam to last you through the winter.

Now, stop thinking and get going. First to the farmstand. Then back home to make these wonderful recipes culled from the latest batch of blogs:

Confessing a love for all things miniature—dim sum, mezze, tapas—Amy Sherman takes that passion into the dessert kitchen with these elegant Mini Rhubarb Strawberry Galettes. Don’t worry, they’re not intimidating, and Cooking with Amy walks you through every step—including the crust.

Cooking with Amy

Cold Strawberry Soda on a Hot Day. Sounds like a Tennesse Williams play. Actually, this recipe from Food Wishes is more straight-forward than that—just a little summer cooler that, according to the blog, might taste best in an Adirondack chair.

Food Wishes

The United Colors of Cobbler pairs strawberries with blueberries and—yes—this is starting to sound kind of patriotic, very red, blue, and white (although we haven’t found berries in that color yet). For this fruit cobbler, arrange the berries in strips, like a flag, or don’t. As Lora Ferroni says: “The juices all run together anyway.”

Lara Ferroni

As the blog Shockingly Delicious explains, this beautiful gelato, one of the Strawberry Favorites from Hazan Family Favorites, was developed by Giuliano and Lael Hazan, who run a cooking school in Verona. The Hazans (Giuliano’s mom is Marcella) belong to the First Family of Italian cooking.

Shockingly Delicious

Forget the name of the blog—The Novice Chef—for a minute. Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream sounds pretty sophisticated. And somebody is taking gorgeous pictures to convince us that this can’t-have-too-much cream in your ice cream dessert tastes great too.

The Novice Chef

Kate in the Kitchen knows how to de-stress by heading out to a farmers market in search of fresh greens to turn into a gorgeous summer salad. And why not keep the summer theme going with a Super Simple Strawberry Vinaigrette? We certainly can’t think of a reason.

Kate in the Kitchen

Luscious and lovely, this Strawberry Pistachio Brown Butter Tart was made with berrries found at Seattle’s Pike Place market. Seems wonderfully obsessive to rush strawberries back home after a trip to Seattle—just because they were in season there—and that’s what we like about the blog Canelle et Vanille.

Canelle et Vanille

Summer doesn’t last that long, but there’s no reason your strawberries can’t stretch all through the year. That’s the idea behind Strawberry Jam to Enjoy All Year from The Garden of Eating. We wonder if Adam and Eve should have opted for strawberries over that apple in their garden.