Strawberry Shortcake

I finally went to Russo's, which touts itself as "the food lover's food store," a couple of weeks ago. Several people have told me I would love it there, and besides that it's always super-crowded, I do love it. There are aisles and aisles of fresh produce -- some run of the mill and some more exotic. They seem to have anything and everything you could possibly be looking for.

The first time I went was just a quick stop to get a pork loin and some bread for dinner and to scope the place out. But when I was there, I walked past the pints of strawberries and couldn't help noticing how fragrant they were. The scent made me look forward to summer even more than I do now. Somehow I walked away from the strawberries that day, but the memory of them lingered for the next week.

That and the cover of Gourmet magazine with the strawberry mascarpone tart with port glaze --which I'll no doubt be making soon -- kept my boyfriend and I regretting together that we hadn't bought those strawberries. Visions of strawberry shortcake were definitely dancing in both of our heads. So the next weekend, we found ourselves in the vicinity of Russo's again, and we both knew exactly what we wanted.

But doesn't it always seem to work out that when you know what you want, you can't always get it? (Hmmm... I'm reminded of a Stones' song here.) Well, this time when we walked past the strawberries, we smelled... nothing. I even practically buried my face in one container, hoping for a faint waft. Nothing. We couldn't buy these strawberries.

We left with some peppers and onions for the pork kebabs we planned to have that night and felt more or less defeated. We hoped that our trip to Whole Foods to pick up the pork (Russo's has a good produce selection, but not a great meat selection) would lead us to greener pastures, i.e., better berries.

The berries at Whole Foods weren't perfect, but they were better and at least had a trace of strawberry smell. I snatched up a couple of the best-looking quarts. We were having strawberry shortcake tonight; these berries would have to work.

Two years ago, I made a berry shortcake from Martha Stewart for a 4th of July party. With a little adapting (like not bothering to cut out stars and not using blueberries), I thought this would work great for a simple strawberry shortcake. Because the cake is so big and can't really be stored long once fully assembled, I made two smaller cakes.

Summer Shortcake (adapted from Martha Stewart Living)

Ingredients
Serves 12 to 15
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Salt, perhaps 1/8 tsp (Martha's recipe editor must have been having an off day. It's my cooking pet peeve when something is in the procedure but missing from the ingredient list.)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 2-inch pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing
Raw sugar or fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling
2 quarts of strawberries, hulled (small berries halved, large berries quartered)
Only cut half the strawberries if you plan to make two shortcakes like I did.
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream

Directions
Make the biscuits: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Add butter, and pulse until largest pieces are the size of peas. Add cream cheese, and pulse again until largest pieces are the size of peas. Add buttermilk, and pulse until dough comes together. (I used my handheld pastry blender after not having much luck with my food processor -- maybe it's too small for this quantity.) Transfer to a bowl, and gently knead into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest in the refrigerator at least 1 hour (or overnight).

Divide dough in half. Working with one portion at a time on a lightly floured work surface, pat into a disk, then roll into a 10-inch round. Transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Because I knew we couldn't finish a whole shortcake between the two of us in one night, I made four discs instead of just two. I planned to make one small shortcake that night and a medium one the following night. You can do whatever works for the crowd or non-crowd you're serving.



Brush biscuits with buttermilk. Generously sprinkle raw or sanding sugar over tops and sides. Brush off sugar from parchment. Bake until dough has risen slightly and is golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes (if bottoms brown too quickly, reduce temperature to 400 degrees). Leave biscuits on sheets. Let cool.
Once cool, I placed two of the biscuits in a Ziploc bag with a piece of parchment between them -- sugared sides touching the parchment.


Make the filling: Combine strawberries, and 2 tablespoons sugar, and let macerate until juicy, 10 minutes.
If making two shortcakes like I did, just prepare half of the strawberries and mix with 1 TBS of sugar. (Then repeat this the following night or whenever you serve the next shortcake.)

Just before serving, beat cream to medium peaks with remaining tablespoon sugar and the vanilla.
I made the full batch of whipped cream, used half, and reserved the other half for the following night. The reserved cream held together well and did not need to be re-beaten.

Assemble the cake: Place one biscuit on a large plate. Spoon the berries and their juices on top of biscuit, then spread the whipped cream over berries. Place the other biscuit on top. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, uncovered, up to 3 hours. Don't be concerned about strawberries spilling all over the plate; it looks better that way! And you can pile some extra strawberries that have fallen off onto your plate when you serve up a piece.


Sweet strawberries and luscious cream mingle between sugared biscuits to create a fabulous dessert. The shortcake comes out firm but chewy and is the perfect cross between cake and a buttermilk biscuit. Our strawberry craving was satisfied... for now.

Pork Kebabs

Sticking with trying to cook without recipes -- or with minimal recipe usage -- I made pork kebabs the other night. I knew they should have pork and veggies, easy enough, but I did need a recipe for a marinade. I'm not that good yet! Although I think if I continue to make things without recipes and use the suggestions left in my comments -- like fusing flavors I know -- I'll get better at this.

For now, I used a marinade I found through a Google search, which called for yogurt, cumin, coriander, garlic, and lemon. The flavor combination sounded just right to me.

Yogurt Marinade (from About.com)

Ingredients
2 cups plain yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

Preparation
In a bowl combine the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, cumin and coriander. Mix well. Add pork, cover and refrigerate for about 6 hours.

I took pork loin cutlets, cubed them, and stirred them into the marinade. I really wanted to use country-style (boneless) pork ribs because they would have been a better shape to cube, but Whole Foods never seems to have them.

Because the pork should marinate for about 6 hours, I did this part around noon and didn't think about it again until my rumbling stomach reminded me that dinner time was approaching.


Then I took out my marinated pork, chopped up some veggies, and started skewering. I decided to use orange, yellow, and green peppers; small white onions; and zucchini. I cut the peppers into squares, left the onions whole but peeled them, and thickly sliced the zucchini.


I thought it best to cook these using my boyfriend's grill pan, which fits across two burners. I have a panini grill that would also have worked, but I would have had to cook the kebabs in batches instead of all at the same time.

I heated the pan and brushed it with some olive oil, and then laid all of my kebabs on it. The first side heated quite quickly -- I think I preheated the pan for a little too long, as it took longer to skewer all the pork and veggies than I had anticipated. I lowered the heat and turned the kebabs in an attempt to evenly heat them.


I got a little nervous that the insides of the pork cubes might not have been fully cooked. Using an indoor grill pan isn't quite as reliable as an outdoor grill, so I transferred the kebabs to a cookie sheet lined with foil and popped them into the 350-degree oven for a few minutes just to be sure.

While the pork was cooking, I threw some rice in the rice cooker. I love having a rice cooker. Add rice and water and walk away.

I cut into one pork cube to check for doneness and took the kebabs out of the oven. The rice was ready as well, and it was time for dinner!

We liked the flavoring of these, but the yogurt was a little thick -- even though I had wiped a lot of it off on the bowl as I made the kebabs. The lemon gave the pork a refreshing zing. The crunchy, warm veggies were best eaten, in my opinion, with a bite of pork so they could benefit from the tang of the marinade as well.


Next time I think I'm going to try a teriyaki glaze and maybe marinate the veggies as well.

Stop back Friday to see what we had for dessert!

Chicken And Potatoes (And A John Boos Cutting Board)

Sometimes the best meal -- the one that hits the spot -- is the simplest. Whenever I make breaded chicken, I think about home. I remember my parents making it and serving it with some gravy made from one of those 85-cent powder packets for a quick meal (my siblings consider that "real" gravy -- just like they think Aunt Jemima is "real" syrup).

And now, when I want something quick, it's what I tend to make and is one of the few things I can make and improvise upon without a recipe. Sometimes I'll bread chicken and turn it into chicken parmesan; other times I'll have it plain; other times with gravy. On this particular night we had it with a few squeezes of fresh lemon, salad, and some lemon-rosemary potato wedges.

I had just received a new John Boos cutting board from KaTom Restaurant Supply and decided with all the chopping I needed to do to make the salad and potatoes that this would be a good night to break it out (and I suppose break it in).

At first glance, I thought the cutting board would be too small for my chopping needs, but that little board proved me wrong. It was just the right size for a pepper, or a head of lettuce, and even the pile of potatoes that needed to be made into wedges. And the board is so cute that I will definitely use it as a serving piece at my next party. It would be perfect for crackers and a selection of cheeses.

I made the potatoes first since they would take some time in the oven, and I figured I could make the salad and the chicken while they roasted and have everything ready at the same time.

I used a recipe for Crispy Roasted Potato Wedges with Parsley, Lemon, and Rosemary (minus the parsley) from Knives Cooks Love: Selection. Care. Techniques. Recipes.


First, I mixed chopped rosemary, minced garlic, and oil together in a medium bowl.


Then I washed some red potatoes and chopped them into wedges. I had never made wedge potatoes before because I don't like how I've had them in restaurants -- insides not fully cooked and the outsides not always crisp. It was my mission to cook these all the way through and maintain a crispy outside.



Once I had the potatoes all cut, I dumped them into the bowl and coated them with the olive oil mixture. Then I poured them onto a sheet pan lined with foil.


You have to make sure to lay them with a flat side down -- more surface area to crisp up. After roasting them for 25 minutes in a 450 degree oven, I flipped them all onto the other side and roasted them for an additional 15 minutes, following the recipe.

While they roasted, I made a salad -- chopping everything on my new cutting board...





...and breaded the chicken. This simply takes setting out a plate of flour; a bowl with two eggs, beaten; and a plate of breadcrumbs. My boyfriend pounded two chicken breasts while I set the breading station up. Pounding the chicken ensures that it will be about the same thickeness everywhere and thus cook more evenly. I dredged the pieces in the flour and then coated them with egg and breadcrumb.


Sometimes I bake these, but this time I cooked them on the stovetop since the potatoes were taking up the oven and chicken cooked in a pan comes out crispier than baked chicken anyways. I poured olive in a pan, heated it, and added a chicken breast, turning halfway through. Then I removed that one and cooked the next one. The pieces were a little too big to fit both in the pan at once, otherwise I would have cooked them simultaneously.



The potatoes and chicken were done at just about the same time. I removed the potatoes from the oven -- they were piping hot and very crisp -- and sprinkled lemon zest over them.


We had a delicious crunchy and citrusy dinner. It made me think of the better-for-you, much tastier homemade version of a horrible fast food meal -- like chicken nuggets and french fries. It was crunchy without oozing oils or having that deep-fried taste, and the lemon and herbs were refreshing.

Eating In Aruba

As promised, here's the scoop on dining in Aruba. As it turns out, Aruba is not much of a foodie destination.

I had heard that this or that restaurant was good when I mentioned to people I was going to Aruba, but what I found was not up to my standards.

I researched a ton of restaurants ahead of time, memorized the ones I wanted to go to, made reservations at a couple, and just hoped I'd happen upon some other good ones while there -- maybe diamonds in the rough, which, by the way, Aruba seems to have plenty of diamonds, but not many "food gems."

All in all, we (my boyfriend and I) decided the food experience was very lacking and very overpriced. It's good to have his opinion as well, to balance mine, because I can be a bit of a snob when it comes to restaurant food, but we were in agreement on every bite.

---

The first place we tried was L.G. Smith's Steak & Chop House.


It was close to our hotel, which made it a perfect choice for our first night on the island. We left unimpressed. This may have been our own faults. Wanting to be like Julia Child, I ordered the sole meuniere. Julia and I did not have similar experiences. My boyfriend got the night's special: mahi mahi. Maybe we should have ordered steaks or chops. The fish was just okay -- I actually enoyed the mixed vegetables that came with my sole much better than the main element of the dish, perhaps because they were well salted.

The worst part of the meal was dessert. We ordered chocolate cake, which can only be described as a Sara Lee chocolate layer cake, removed from its box and set on a countertop a week before serving. It was so dry.

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The best place I ate at all week was El Gaucho, also near our hotel in Oranjestad. A friend from college recommended I check it out if I liked steak, and all it took was the word steak to prompt me to make a reservation. And I'm so glad I did.


We couldn't get the best picture because of the dim lighting in the restaurant, but each El Gaucho steak (16 oz!) came with three sides. We got broccoli with garlic and olive oil, smashed red potatoes, and fried plaintains. (My boyfriend actually ordered corn on the cob, but they messed up and gave him plaintains too. His went uneaten.)

And dessert was just as good as the meal! My boyfriend had the Dutch apple pie.


And I ordered fried cheesecake. What better way to top off the 13 ounces of steak I polished off (had to leave a little to gnaw on the next day). The outside was warm and crunchy, and the inside was a fairly light cheesecake. It wasn't soaked in oil or overly heavy like you'd expect something "fried" to be.

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We had to have dinner at La Trattoria - el Faro Blanco at the California Lighthouse.


We had heard that the food wasn't so great but the atmosphere was worth experiencing. And it was a very pretty restaurant with a beautiful view.



We could have (and should have) just gone for drinks and watched the sunset, but we decided to give the food a shot. Bad decision. We shared an appetizer of beef carpaccio, which should have been called deli-sliced roast beef salad. I couldn't believe the meat when I saw it.



And the experience grew worse with dinner and dessert. I tried to order something simple, something difficult to screw up, and went with pasta with prosciutto, onions, and tomato sauce. Unimpressive. My boyfriend ordered veal parmesan, which was ok, but not too flavorful. I could have made those dishes much better in my own kitchen.


I started thinking that I could be a restaurant consultant. This place obviously draws a crowd, as it's pretty much the best spot to see the sunset, so it's not lacking money. Why not cut down the menu, focus on making a few really great dishes, and put a little more money into the ingredients? "Why not?" my boyfriend said, "Because they don't have to." In my opinion, that's a crappy attitude. But I am an overacheiver, and I do like to be the best at everything. It's sad that such a beautiful restaurant wouldn't feel the same way. Is it really just about the profit? Shouldn't it be about leaving people stunned and happily satisfied with their meals?

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On our last night, we had a reservation at Madame Janette's. We drove around for an hour and a half trying to find the restaurant, asked a handful of people for help finding it (no one knew where it was), and tried calling for directions (no one picked up the phone). Sadly, we missed our reservation. I had it in my head that Madame Janette's would be our best meal, which is why I wanted to dine there on our last night.

That didn't work out so we ended up at Papiamento instead. We were tired, I was frustrated, and we were hungry, so when the host said he could seat us right away if we didn't mind sitting inside, we accepted. (Apparently, inside is NOT the place to be, as some spoiled teenager threw a fit to her father about NEEDING to wait to sit outside because inside was too hot while we were placing our order. Inside temperature was perfect, and we could see everything happening outside from our table.)


We had a gorgeous table. The inside atmosphere had kind of an old world feel. Everything was lacy and antique-looking.


We shared French onion soup topped with Gouda to start. The broth was well-seasoned and heartier than any other onion soups I've had, and the Gouda gave it the Dutch touch you'd expect in Aruba.

For dinner, my boyfriend ordered the T-bone with grilled peppers. It came served on a hot stone. It's a very nice idea, but as the steak sits on the hot stone, it keeps cooking. A rare-steak lover, I would have had to gobble it down quickly.


I ordered chicken in garlic cream sauce. I'm still not sure why I ordered chicken; I'm usually more adventurous. I thought the dish was just okay, until I grabbed the bunch of basil garnishing the dish (maybe I should have used that rosemary too), ripped it up, and tossed it on the chicken. Then I cut a piece of chicken and scooped up some rice and sauce with it and had a delicious mouthful. I proceeded to eat the whole dish like this, stopping to taste the melon served with capers and the unidentifiable (but very good) mashed vegetable on the side.


And since we don't give up easily, we once again ordered chocolate cake for dessert (a little of this has to do with our difficulty in agreeing on desserts). This time we were happy. The cake was moist and fudgy, as a good chocolate cake should be.

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We mostly went to Aquarius (the restaurant in the adjacent hotel) for breakfast because you can't really go wrong with a buffet and made-to-order omelettes and waffles. But every so often we would venture to another place, like on our last morning. We decided to try out the nearby Dutch Pancake House.


The service was lousy, but the food, when we finally got it, wasn't too bad.

My boyfriend ordered a crepe with bacon, eggs, and cheese. I was expecting a crepe filled with bacon, eggs, and cheese. But they actually incorporated the filling into the crepe. It was very interesting, a little salty (the bacon was more like ham), but tasty overall.


I ordered the strawberry fields -- a crepe with fresh strawberries and ice cream. I kept my fingers crossed that the strawberries really were fresh (we didn't have much luck with fruit platters on this trip), and they were!


And we split a plate of adorable profiterjes. They were like little pancakes coated in cinnamon and topped with some butter and powdered sugar.

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And a note on the coffee...

One of the worst things was the coffee. There are no little coffee shops, and the only chain is Dunkin' Donuts. I don't do Dunkin'; I'm a Starbucks girl. But I was so desperate for my coffee fix (it really is more about the coffee than the caffeine) that I gave it one last try. And I've once again decided I just don't like the taste of burnt coffee, and I can't stomach it. (And besides that, have you ever given some thought to what "America Runs On Dunkin'" really means? I'm glad Starbucks doesn't have a slogan about bathroom habits. Although I must say, I love my Quaker, and Quaker has now come out with "Go humans go." Unintentional? I think not. We all know what oats are good for.)

The coffee served at the restaurants was decent, but several restaurants served a yellowish liquid, which when we asked, they said was cream. Not buying it.

I miss the sunshine, but I'm so happy to be back home with my Breville and my Starbucks... and all the Boston-area restaurants and my own kitchen!

Book A Day: Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant

You may remember that I wrote about Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone a while ago. In it, Jenni-Ferrari Adler collects essays from writers including M.F.K. Fisher and Laurie Colwin about eating alone or cooking meals for one. I have actually only gotten halfway through it because I just pick it up now and then to read an essay.

I like that you get different perspectives, different settings, and different writing styles about the same subject matter, sometimes with different interpretations. Eating is usually something shared, but sometimes it's not, and that's what this book focuses on -- or at least the essays I've read so far! It's all about what people do when they eat alone as opposed to when they share meals with others. Do they still cook extravagant things? Does dinner become a bowl of cereal?

And this book also offers up some recipes! Always a plus.

If you have read this book, what did you think?

Remember, I'm away until March 20, so you won't get responses from me until then.