Fail

There are many, many delicious ways to enjoy the current crop of local strawberries.

This isn't one of them.

 I made a batch of these Strawberry Shortcake Cookies last night and they were a terrible failure. Check out the link, and you'll see that mine look nothing like Martha's.

Not sure what went wrong, but the dough was way too wet, and the cookies all spread and burned.

Maybe I should have chilled it before scooping onto the cookie sheet.

Maybe the strawberries were too juicy.

Perhaps I didn't mix it long enough. Or maybe too long.

Whatever...I wasted some gorgeous local strawberries. 

I should have just eaten them the best way possible this time of year.

Completely naked (the strawberries!).

Next time, I'm sticking with chocolate.

Bob's House of Grilled Pizza

Men might think they rule the house, but it's really only on Father's Day that you have to do whatever they want.

Well, maybe their birthday too.

Luckily, the dad in this family is pretty easy to please.

A bike ride, time on the boat, a nap.

And what's that, honey? You want pizza for dinner?

Oh what a surprise.

Pizza is my husband's favorite food. He would eat it every night, given the chance. He certainly appreciates very good pizza, but will never turn down even a bad pizza.

A couple of years ago we started making grilled pizzas. What began as an experiment has grown into a family favorite. In the winter I'll make them on a grill pan stretched over two burners.

In the summer, Bob gets to fire up his big new grill  and cook up the pizza outdoors (don't read anything into this statement that isn't there).

If you have never grilled pizza before, I highly recommend it. You get a nice smoky flavor and a crust that's crispy on the bottom but chewy around the edges.

 I usually buy pizza dough at my grocery store, but I'm sure many of you will want to make it yourself. If you don't already have one, here's a good recipe .

You can make one or two large pizzas, or you can divide the dough into several individual pizzas. We often do this, so everyone can top their own any way they like.

 Stretch the dough into whatever size you want using the "steering wheel" method. Divide the dough and use the heel of your hands to push it out, making a rough circle. Then hold the piece of dough at the top, like you would a car steering wheel, and keep turning. The dough will stretch and thin. Keep turning until you get a size you like. Be careful not to make it too thin, or it will burn on the grill.

Brush one side of each piece with some olive oil, and place on the grill, oiled side down. Cook for about five minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown and has some nice grill lines.

Have your toppings ready, including the sauce (again, some of you will want to make this yourselves. That's a nice thing and ambitious, but a good jar of sauce is fine) and cheese, plus whatever else you're using. We like pepperoni, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, and some chopped hot sausage. For cheese, you can use the traditional mozzarella or a combination, with Parmesan and asiago. Fresh mozzarella is also delicious.

Remove from the grill and place onto a large cookie sheet or cutting board, with the uncooked side up. Brush with olive oil and flip, so that the cooked side is now UP. Cover with the toppings (the kids love to do this).

I also like to brush the edges with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt.

Place pizzas back on the grill and cover for 5-10 minutes until cheese is nicely melted.

When they come off the grill, sprinkle some fresh basil on top. Yum.

FYI -

Erin, over at the blog Erin Cooks , is running a giveaway for a book that I've been wanting to read called, The School of Essential Ingredients. It's not a cook book! Erin writes a nice review and she has a pretty sweet blog. Check it out, and enter to win.

Nutella Coffeecake and What Happened to My Camera

I had a lovely blog post all set to go, but there's no picture. 

Why? Why is there no photo, you ask?

Because I foolishly tucked my camera into the pocket of my jacket when I went kayaking this weekend. I'm not sure why I thought this would be a good idea. I did think it would be fun to have pictures of my friends paddling along. But cameras don't like water.

No, they don't.

I didn't capsize, but I got much wetter than I anticipated. The river was moving fast due to all the rain we've had, and even as I paddled furiously, it came up over the sides. We might have been better off with surfboards.

Within just a few minutes I was sitting hip deep in water, yet somehow managing to stay afloat. And the camera, while zipped securely in my pocket, sucked up water like a sponge. 

So sad for my little camera. Now I have to find a new one. One that will hopefully take excellent pictures of all kinds of food.  Do you have any suggestions? I could really use some words of advice from those of you who take such beautiful food shots - what do you use?

I did promise to post the Nutella Coffeecake recipe from last week. So here it is, with a picture I had already taken. It's a nice sweet ending to a brunch. And it's great to do ahead of time - keep it in the freezer until ready to serve.

Nutella Coffeecake, adapted from Cooking Light

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 (16 oz.) container sour cream (regular or lowfat)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted

1/2 cup (approx.) Nutella

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 12 cup Bundt pan with cooking spray for baking (such as Baker's Joy).

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and sour cream and beat until well blended.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk lightly to blend. Add flour mixture to sour cream mixture, stirring until just combined.

Spoon half of batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with hazelnuts. Drop spoonfuls of Nutella over nuts,and spread to almost cover batter. Spoon remaining cake batter over Nutella. Swirl gently with a knife.

Bake for 55 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan, on a wire rack, at least 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely on wire rack. When ready to serve, sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar.

Do you love Nutella?

Check here for more.

Graduation Brunch

Yesterday was one of those events that you know will come sometime, yet you're never quite prepared for it.
When you've picked the thousandth Lego off the floor, when your three year old won't sleep through the night, when you step on a Barbie shoe barefoot, when your kid won't eat anything but white food, when they don't get long division, you think this day is so far off, it's unimaginable.

Then suddenly, there it is.
High school graduation.

It was a beautiful June day, full of sunshine and anticipation.
 One hundred and twenty five fresh-faced young adults, clad in blue and white robes, marched purposefully into the tent. They took their seats facing proud parents. There were encouraging speeches and music performed by a few from this very talented class.

 In a small town, you know a lot about each other. Who's going to what college, who's working (or not working) where, and whose family needs a little extra hug and support. As each student came forward to accept his or her diploma, the cheering was loud and sincere. Parents and parents of friends who'd seen them grow up, were there now, one last time.
There was a cool breeze inside the tent, but so much warmth in the air that no one minded.

Afterwards, the kids indulged their parents as they snapped photo after photo. They tolerated all the hugs and congratulations with smiles and grace.

It was a beautiful June day that we thought was always a million years away.

Ok, of course you want to know, what did we eat?
For the five us, plus grandparents and an uncle, I put together a brunch that guaranteed no growling stomachs during the ceremony.

Fruit salad (with all the fruit I like and none that I don't), a divine coffeecake* with a swirly Nutella center and this delicious...

Crustless Mushroom, Spinach and Leek Quiche adapted from Baking Bites 
(I think it's better to have crustless quiche and save the calories for an extra piece of coffeecake)

1 medium leek, thinly sliced

6 oz. fresh baby spinach

4 oz. fresh white mushrooms, thinly sliced

3 large eggs

2 large egg whites

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/3 cups milk

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400F.
Lightly grease a 10" quiche or tart pan.
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a skillet. When hot, add leeks and mushrooms. Saute until soft, but not browned. Add spinach and cook about one minute until it is wilted. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, then stir in vegetable mixture and cheese. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the center is set and the edges are golden brown.
Let set for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

I also made a second quiche that was very popular with the guys. Follow same directions, but swap out vegetables and Parmesan for smoked ham and pepper jack cheese.

Enjoy, because it'll be gone before you know it.


* Recipe to come later. There have been a lot of cake posts lately.