Sensational Strawberry Dessert

Long ago I subscribed online to Kraft What's Cooking, a periodical magazine that's delivered to the house. Often, this magazine has some interesting ideas and shortcuts for "deliciously simple, everyday cooking" (Psychgrad's comment: the desserts are better than the mains, which tend require Kraft's salad dressings). Having my morning coffee, I started flipping through and this "Sensational Strawberry Dessert" screamed out to be noticed. Check out Kraft Canada here.

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh strawberries, divided
1 can (300 ml) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 1/4 cups thaw Cool Whip (I used Nutri Whip) whipped topping, divided
8 Oreo cookies
1 Tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine, melted

Process:

1. Shape foil onto outside of 8x4 inch loaf pan. Line inside of pan as well with shaped foil, with ends extending over sides of pan.



2. Mash 2 cups of the strawberries in large bowl. Stir in condensed milk and juice.



3. Stir 1 cup of whipped topping into strawberry mixture. Pour into prepared pan.



4. Finely chop Oreo cookies. Combine cookies and margarine and spoon over whipped topping mixture in pan.








5. Cover cookie mixture with ends of foil and gently press cookie mixture into whipped topping mixture. Free for 6 hours or until firm.




6. Invert dessert onto serving plate when ready to serve; remove pan and foil.


Spread remaining 1 1/4 cups whipped topping onto top and sides of dessert.





Baba was wondering if you'd like a slice:



7. Slice remaining 2 cups strawberries; arrange on dessert. Store leftovers in freezer





Makes 12 servings.

What's perfect about this recipe: You can make it several days in advance and just unmold it a short while before serving and finish up your garnishing. It got pretty high ratings from everyone who tried it.

Peanut Butter Crisscrosses

This is a new book for me and I've been itching to do something, anything from this cookbook. I thought I would start out easy and do one of Dorie Greenspan's recipes that would be very familiar to me. I have my own peanut butter cookie recipe and figured I'd be able to critique the difference. Dorie Greenspan wins the throwdown. Her recipe for this classic favourite is wonderful. The only variation I made was with the peanut addition - I didn't use salted peanuts and the recipe didn't feel at all like it missed anything. This is what Dorie's cookies look like -albeit food styled by a professional but aren't they gorgeous.





Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup peanut butter - crunchy or smooth (not natural)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups chopped salted peanuts (I used unsalted)

Approximately 1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

Process:

1. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats



3. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for a minute or two, until smooth and creamy.



4. Add the peanut butter and beat for another minute.
5. Add the sugars and beat for 3 minutes more
6. Add the eggs one at a time beating for 1 minute after each addition.
7. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and, on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they just disappear.
8. Mix in the chopped peanuts. You'll have a soft, pliable (mushable, actually) dough.



9. Pour the 1/2 cup of sugar into a small bowl.
10. Working with a level tablespoonful of dough for each cookie, roll the dough between your palms into balls and drop the balls, a couple at a time into the sugar.
11 Roll the balls around in the sugar to coat them, then place on the baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between them.






12. Dip the tines of a fork in the sugar and press the tines against each ball first in one direction and then in a perpendicular direction - you should have a flattened round of dough with crisscross indentations.



13. Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. When done, the cookies will be lightly coloured and still a little soft. Let the cookies sit on the sheets for a minute before transferring them to cooling racks with a wide metal spatula. Cool to room temperature.



14. Repeat with the remaining dough, making sure to cool the baking sheets between batches.



This was my version.

Note to self:

1. Following a recipe is sometimes the right thing to do - duh
2. I should have paid attention to the "leave 2 inches between cookies" because when I put them too close they ended up as square ass cookies instead of round cookies. Patience is a virtue.
3. When the recipe said to turn them in mid bake, I did that the first batch but not the second. The first batch was superior to the second.
4. If when you take them out of the oven they appear a little underdone - don't worry - they keep on baking for a bit and become just right.

** Not wanting to keep too many of these around the house, I gave a care package to my gardener and his helper. They gave these cookies a huge thumbs up and I think my grass is going to get cut twice a week from now on.

Ricotta, Basil and Roasted Red Pepper Strata

The weather is warming up. Yayyyy!!!! Heavy stews are put away for a while (at least they are for me) and being replace by lighter fare. Not many things turn my crank for leisurely brunch fare than eggs with substance - and how can you possibly go wrong with a combination of ricotta cheese, peppers and basil smothered in eggs and parmesan. Be still my heart.

Ingredients:

2 - red bell peppers, roasted and cut into 1 inch-wide strips or 1 jar (about 10 oz) roasted red pepper s, with equivalent amount of strips drained and patted dry, enough to cover 1 strata layer.
1 - tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 - small garlic clove, minced
1 - 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
1 - cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 4 oz>), divided
5 - large eggs, divided
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
2 1//2 - cups milk
1/2 lb firm Italian bread, preferably 1 day old, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices or 1-inch cubes (8 cups total)



2 - Tbsp freshly chopped basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Process:

For peppers:

Position broiler rack about 2 inches from heat source and preheat broiler. Line baking sheet with foil and arrange peppers shoulder to shoulder. Broil, turning peppers with tongs as they blacken, until evenly charred - about 20 minutes. This can also be done on the BBQ or on top of a gas stove.

Remove from broiler. Fold foil about pepepers and seal. As peppers cool, skins will loosen. When peppers have cooled, peel skins with small paring knife or fingertips. Skins should come off easily.

Separate peppers into quarters or halves along natural contours. Discard seeds and stems, then pull out any remaining thick white ribs. Do not rinse peppers. Slice into 1-inch-wide strips.

For Strata:

In small bowl, combine roasted peppers, oil, garlic, pinch of kosher salt and grinding of pepper. Set aside.





In medium bowl, whisk together ricotta, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 egg and a few grindings of nutmeg. Set aside.



In separate medium bowl, whisk remaining 4 eggs until blended, then whisk in milk, remaining 1/2 cup parmesan, 1/2 tsp salt and grinding of pepper.
(NOTE: I left out the extra salt since the parmesan is plenty salty)

To Assemble Strata:

- Lightly coat 2-quart (medium) shallow glass baking dish with butter. (I used a 9x11 - I could have and probably should have used a 13 x 11)
- Use half of bread pieces or slices to make a single layer in the baking dish, cutting slices if necessary to fit tightly
- Spread ricotta mixture evenly over bread.
- Sprinkle with basil



- Scatter roasted red pepper mixture ono top and drizzle with any juices left in bowl



- Use remaining bread pieces or slices to make second layer, cutting slices again to fit if necessary
- Pour egg mixture evenly over top of strata, using spatula to press on bread so liquid is evenly absorbed.




- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Uncover strata and bake until puffed and browned - about 45 minutes. (mine was done in 55 minutes)



The verdict: It's light, it's delicious and it's very satisfying. The 9x11 pan turned out to be just fine - it doesn't puff up as much as I expected originally. Combine it with a salad and you have one terrific meal.

This recipe was adapted from "The Good Egg: More than 200 Fresh Approaches from Breakfast to Dessert", Marie Simmons (2006, Houghton Mifflin)