Simple decadence: chocolate covered strawberries

Greg Turner — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:24:53 +0000

Let’s say you’re done with dinner. Let’s say your wife has taken the baby to bed, and let’s say your daughter has holed up in her room to watch American Idol. Or the Jonas Brothers. Or Drake and Josh. Or something. And let’s say you’ve made a note to pay more attention to what your daughter watches, and let’s say that note is now safely in your pocket. And let’s say you find yourself standing in a dim, quiet house, golden light from the low lamp in the living room, a soft glow from the oven cowl over the stove. And let’s say things are fine and good, and let’s say the dishes are mostly done, and there’s a glass of wine just there, on the counter. But let’s say you’re not quite finished.

Let’s say the strawberries are in season. And let’s say your wife found the semi-sweet morsels this Sunday past. And then let’s say you have an idea. And then let’s say you get down to the business of making it happen.

Ingredients
Fresh strawberries
Semi-sweet chocolate morsels
Milk

Method
Melt

Put about a cup of morsels in a medium glass bowl. Add a quarter cup of milk and microwave on high for about 40 seconds. Stir. If it seems too thick, add a little milk and continue stirring. If it seems too thin, add some additional morsels.

Dip cool strawberries into the sauce, swirl, and plate. The cool strawberries will harden the chocolate slightly and you’ll be left with a rich, decadent dessert that took less than two minutes to make.

And let’s say you’re standing in the kitchen with your plate of strawberries, and let’s say your wife comes out of the bedroom, slightly bleary. And let’s say she asks if this is what you do nights, while she sleeps. And let’s say it’s not, at least not all the time, but maybe it should be, but while she’s awake. And then let’s say you offer the plate, and let’s say your daughter comes skulking from her room wondering about the fuss, and the three of you stand there in the quiet night eating chocolate-covered strawberries and all seems right with the world and good.

The strawberries’ second season

Greg Turner — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:41:30 +0000

The strawberries’ second season arrived. We’re lucky that way, in Florida. If not for our poor soil, I imagine we’d give California a solid run in the agriculture department. As it stands, we do all right. Nearly 365 days of seasonal fruits and vegetables, though July seems too hot for many things. Most people face dearth in Winter. Bone cold, ice and snow send seeds to hibernation. Here we face summer’s brutal heat, the land parched and baked, though humidity sometimes stands over one hundred percent. Storm clouds gather over concrete then blow out to sea, bellies fat with rain.

The rest of the year, however, we enjoy bounty. Green beans year-round. Watermelons in November, sweet corn in December. And in January? Fresh strawberries from Plant City.

French toast with fresh macerated strawberries

Ingredients (serves 4)
the toast
1 high quality French baguette, a day old

the custard
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon brown sugar
sprinkle of salt
4 tablespoons butter, separated
the topping
16 medium strawberries, sliced thin
4 (+4) teaspoons brown sugar
Confectioner’s sugar

Technique
macerate
slice

Method
Pan fry (yes, that’s really what you’re doing)

Slice the baguette on a bias, each slice about a half-inch thick, and set them aside. In a shallow container, like a glass pie dish, crack the eggs, add the milk and other custard ingredients, and mix the ingredients together with a fork. Make sure all the ingredients are well integrated. Egg beaten, cinnamon dispersed and the kitchen smelling slightly of vanilla.

Once the custard is ready, place a pan on a burner set to just above medium. Let the pan heat a while. It’s important the pan be up to temperature but not too hot. You want to make sure the French toast heats all the way through, the custard cooks, and each piece browns nicely. Go ahead and set the oven for 200 degrees while you’re at it.

While you’re waiting for the pan to heat, put the strawberry slices in a bowl, sprinkle with four tablespoons of brown sugar and heat about 30 seconds in the microwave. Once heated, stir the strawberries with a spoon. The sugar crystals will tear some of the strawberry cells, and the juice will mix with the sugar to create what is, essentially, a simple syrup. Dip a pinky into the mix and taste. If it’s not sweet enough for you, begin adding additional brown sugar until you reach your own sweetness ideal. Continue heating and stirring until you have a nice mix of syrup, in-tact strawberry slices and other pieces that have been reduced and are more like the bits in jam. Once it’s all done, cover to retain the heat.

Put a tablespoon of butter in the pan on the stove. It should melt immediately.

Set your bread slices in the custard mix and count to thirty. Flip them and count again. You want to make sure the mixture has a chance to work its way through the bread’s cells and crannies and nooks, filling air pockets with new pockets of pure deliciousness. I like five slices per serving because they can be arranged in a nice star pattern, once you’re ready to plate.

Once the slices have soaked, set them in the buttered pan about 2 minutes on the first side, then one minute, 30 seconds on the other. You want to keep an eye on them, though, as your pan may be hotter or cooler at specific settings. Remember, you can always cook longer. You can’t undo burnt French toast.

I doubt you’ll have a pan or pie dish big enough to coat and cook all slices simultaneously. Go ahead and set the pieces on a cookie sheet and place them in a warm oven. Once you have all the pieces cooked, it’s time to serve.

To plate, arrange the slices in a star pattern and spoon on the macerated strawberries. Then sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar for a touch of contrast.

Could you make this dish with frozen berries? Sure. I’ve done it before with blueberries and blackberries. I’ve also made french toast with fresh blueberries, fresh raspberries and, of course, fresh strawberries. There is no comparison. Fresh berries are brighter, sweeter, and more flavorful. They also don’t suffer from water imbalances as can happen so often with frozen fruit. No, there’s just something about fresh ingredients. When you have them, you know for certain. When they come to you this season, cherish them. They’re worth it.

Kitchen Sojourn » strawberry

Simple decadence: chocolate covered strawberries

The strawberries’ second season