Pavlovas: A Guest Post at The Ravenous Couple

June 30, 2011 The Culinary Chronicles9 Comments

One of the best things that has occurred by writing this blog has been connecting with some of the most talented food writers from around the world. Thanks to the internet, I have made friends around the globe who are so incredibly creative that one just can’t help but be inspired.

One of my regular sources of inspiration comes from The Ravenous Couple. You simply must head over there if you haven’t seen their delicious creations yet. Through mouthwatering dishes and beautiful photography, Kim and Hong highlight all of the wonderful flavors of Vietnamese cuisine.

I am honored to be among a group of guest bloggers who will be posting over at The Ravenous Couple while the lovely pair takes some time off to get hitched 🙂

Just in time for the Fourth of July holiday, I offer individual Pavlovas with Fresh Berries. Not only are these pavlovas delicious but they are sure to impress your guests at any Independence Day shindig! For the recipe and information about my pavlovas, click here to their site.

Thanks for reading!

Foodventures at the Wilton Food Blogger Workshop

June 29, 2011June 21, 2016 The Culinary Chronicles13 Comments

A few weeks ago I was flown out to Chicago to attend the Wilton Food Blogger Workshop <insert high-pitched squeals of joy here>. It truly was an honor to join 26 amazing food bloggers from across the country for a trip filled with all things Wilton!

Early Saturday morning we were whisked away to the Wilton Headquarters. And although I hadn’t met any of the other bloggers prior to the trip, I instantly knew I was with my kind of peeps the moment we walked through Wilton’s front doors as everyone began feverishly snapping away photos. It’s wonderful to be around people who get me 🙂

Here are a few demo cakes that they had on display

We spent the next several hours practicing our piping skills, experimenting with fondant, touring the site, and learning about the hottest Wilton trends.

Sandy Folsom, Director of the Wilton School, was our main instructor for the day.

Some of my buttercream rosettes, stars, and basket weave.

And of course, what better way to demonstrate our newly acquired skills than a cake-decorating competition! We were broken into teams and given about an hour to decorate a two-tier cake. My fabulous teammates included Julie Deily of The Little Kitchen and Vanessa Druckman of Chef Druck Musings.

Some of our competition supplies.

You would think that an hour would be plenty of time to whip out a nicely decorated cake but trust me, it’s much harder than it sounds! So much talent with so little time! But we were quite happy with our final product. 🙂

Our bright and colorful “spring” themed cake.

As I had mentioned, we did a quick tour of the facilities that included the prep rooms, photo studios, and testing kitchens.

One wall in their prop room…….needless to say, I need to get me a prop room stocked like this 🙂

Snapshot of a photo set up. And yes, those are holiday items being photographed in June!

We were then zipped away to a quick stop at the Wilton School and the Wilton Enterprises. The talented Colette Peters happened to be teaching a Masters Course when we arrived at the school. I was a bit giddy when we saw her—so much to the point that the pic I snapped of her was so blurry that I’d rather not post it.

We did a little sampling of goodies in the test kitchens.

And what could top a day filled with cake decorating, photography, eating, and meeting talented food writers? Just one thing really……SHOPPING!!!

This year marked the 25^th anniversary for the Wilton Tent Sale—-and was it ah-may-zing! A ginormous white tent was jammed packed with over 3,000 items up to 75% off! Every item a baker could dream of……and even some housewares and scrapbooking supplies, too! I picked up so much loot that I had to ask the hotel for an empty box to check on the plane. I obviously didn’t prepare well enough 🙂

Baking tools, GALORE!

My loot shamefully spread all over my hotel bed

Our day ended with a celebration Awards Dinner where we all got to enjoy delicious food, recount on a wonderful trip, and were given awards from the cake decorating competition!

Our awards for the evening.

Our competition cakes

Our team took home the award for “Best Use of Color”—and we sure did use tons of it!

Yours Truly, Julie Deily of The Little Kitchen and Vanessa Druckman of Chef Druck Musings (photo courtesy of Wilton)

My cake statuette is currently standing proud in my kitchen

It truly was an AMAZING, fun-filled, and jam-packed trip! In addition to gaining more exposure to Wilton and their long-standing contributions to the baking world, I am honored to have been in such wonderful company with the talented food bloggers in attendance. I look forward to our continued friendships!

And after a good amount of persuasion and encouragement from these talented ladies, I FINALLY took the plunge. Yep, it’s true—we’re now on Twitter!

And if you haven’t done so already, be sure to “LIKE” us on Facebook!

I’d like to extend a huge hug of gratitude to Wilton for such a memorable experience. THANK YOU for your extreme generosity and for taking such good care of us!

Disclosure: Although I received Wilton products and the trip to the Wilton Food Blogger Workshop, all opinions and views are my own.

Mango Gelato…and Our Grandma, Mệ

June 23, 2011July 2, 2015 The Culinary Chronicles15 Comments

Mệ was our paternal grandmother and by no stretch to the imagination was she your typical grandma. Yes–she was loving and caring but she was also quite feisty and sometimes “crass”. She chewed trầu cau (betlenut), drank beer, taught me black jack, and could build the most intricate and ornate Lego buildings that were freaking awesome.

And because of all of that, I loved her dearly.

As the youngest of 5 (with a fairly significant age gap between my next sibling), I spent a lot of my childhood with Ôn (our paternal grandpa) and Mệ. They would play with me, sneak me extra candies, and shield me from my folks when I was about to get busted for doing something really stupid.

Lately I find myself reminiscing a lot on my times with Mệ —especially the times that we would eat mangoes together. I would sit on the floor next to her watching her peel the long strips of skin off the mangoes. Then we would devour the fruit and gnaw on the seeds with the juices dripping down our faces. Of course she would tell me some type of funny story throughout the entire process, stopping only to open her mouth wide to let out a huge bellowing laugh. When we were finished, she would hurry me off to go wash my face before the juices left my skin itchy. They were wonderful times and I can’t help but to smile when I remember her this way.

Shortly after Ôn passed away, Mệ moved back to Việt Nam and my frequent trips to the motherland began. With each visit, she and I would still sit on the floor and enjoy some special item together…..măng cụt (mangosteens), mít (jackfruit), nhãn (longan) or whatever fruit that was in season. The roles changed a bit during those times as I prepared the fruit for us while she inquired about my day. She was obligated to remind me, her American-born granddaughter, to not eat the street foods or ride on the xe ôm (scooters). Of course I obediently said “yes” and then would later jump on a scooter & head to the nearest food stall with my cousins. But the small “white lie” was expected. She knew she had to caution me and I knew I would have to verbally comply. But inside, Mệ knew that exploring the streets of Việt Nam was the only way for me to really become acquainted with my country.

My family says I inherited a lot of Mệ’s features, which always makes me smile. I think it’s because of this and my memories of Mệ that I feel I’ll always carry her spirit with me. And for the rest of my life, I know that every time I eat mangoes I will always think of her.

Ôn and Mệ…..weren’t they so cute???

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Mango Gelato
From Ice Cream & Sorbets: Cool Recipes
Makes One Quart

Ingredients:

½ Cup Sugar
½ Cup Water
2 Pounds Ripe Mangoes*
3 Tablespoons Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
2/3 Cup Heavy (whipping) Cream
Prepare a large bowl or pan of ice water.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water, bring to a boil while stirring, and cook until the syrup is clear. Immediately place the pan in the ice bath and stir the mixture occasionally until it cools to room temperature.

Peel and dice the mangoes, discarding the seeds, and purée the mangoes in a blender or food processor with the juice and syrup. Transfer to a container and stir in the cream. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 3 hours.

Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a container, cover, and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

**It’s important to use really ripe, but not browned, mangoes for the fullest flavor. There are also many varietals of mangoes but I prefer the Ataulfos as I think they are the most fragrant and flavorful.

Side Dish · Vegetables/Vegetarian

Rosemary-Garlic Hasselback Potatoes

June 17, 2011March 30, 2015 The Culinary Chronicles27 Comments

My love for Potatoes knows no boundaries. In fact, I’m even contemplating the idea of dedicating an entire month of posts to different potato recipes of the world. Mmmm……..Yum.

Needless to say, I’ve never met a potato I didn’t like. Especially when they’re all dolled up like these lovely Hasselback Potatoes.

Rosemary-Garlic Hasselback Potatoes to be exact.

Now say that three times fast.

Originating from Sweden, these potatoes are meant to mirror the fan shape created by accordions. But don’t let their looks fool you as they’re super easy to make and can dress up any dinner plate.

In addition to the elegant look, there’s also some brilliance to the way these potatoes are sliced. With the additional crevices that are exposed to the heat, the exterior becomes deliciously crispy while the interior remains super tender.

As for these potatoes, I chose to pair them with both rosemary and garlic but the options are endless. Parmesan cheese, chives, bacon…….so many choices, so little time 🙂

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Rosemary-Garlic Hasselback Potatoes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 Medium Sized Yukon Gold Potatoes, washed and dried
½ Cup Olive Oil
4 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
3 Whole Garlic Cloves, thinly sliced
Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Place oil and rosemary in a small saucepan and heat on medium-low for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place one potato on a cutting board. Starting from one end of the potato, make slits about 1/8 inch apart but do not cut all the way through the bottom. You can also place the potato in a wooden spoon before you make the slices. The spoon will act as a “guard” to help you not slice all the way through the bottom. Repeat with the remaining potatoes.

Carefully slip one slice of garlic in between every few segments of the potatoes until all the garlic has been evenly distributed. Place potatoes on a baking sheet and brush them all over with the rosemary infused oil. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Bake the potatoes for 30-40 minutes, depending on size. Interior should be soft and exterior should be slightly crisp.

Serve warm.

Drinks

Mint Margaritas: It’s Happy Hour…..Somewhere.

June 14, 2011 The Culinary Chronicles9 Comments

Because it’s the beginning of the week………

Because I had a ton of fresh mint in my fridge……..

Because cocktails make me happy………..

And because I love y’all…………

I offer you this Mint Margarita.

You could call it the cousin to the mojito……I just call it delicious. The bright and refreshing mint is a lovely addition to the classic margarita. I do have to admit that I like my cocktails a little on the heavy handed side, so feel free to adjust the measurements accordingly 🙂

Salut to a Great Week, Friends!

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Mint Margarita
Makes one potent cocktail 🙂

Ingredients:

2 Ounces Premium Tequila
1 Ounce Grand Marnier
1½ Ounces Fresh Lime Juice
1 – 1½ Ounces Mint Simple Syrup*
Garnish with Fresh Mint Sprigs and Salt

Using a wedge of fresh lime, rim the edge of your margarita glass and dip into salt. Fill the glass with ice.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add the first four ingredients. Cap the shaker and vigorously shake for 15-20 seconds. Strain the contents into the margarita class. Garnish with fresh mint springs.

*To make Mint Simple Syrup, add 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a slow boil, stirring until sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat and add 1 entire bunch of fresh mint that has been roughly chopped (about 2 cups). Allow to steep for 15 minutes. Strain the mixture through a sieve, discarding the leaves. Cool before using. Syrup can be kept for 2-3 weeks in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks.

Poultry · Salads · Vietnamese

Thịt Gà Bóp Rau Răm (Huế Style Chicken Salad with Vietnamese Cilantro)

June 11, 2011March 30, 2015 The Culinary Chronicles21 Comments

Growing up, our mom never measured her ingredients out. It was a toss of this, a pinch of that…..taste, adjust, and a few more shakes of whatever just for kicks. And even when she was coerced into documenting her dishes, they were vague amounts such as a “1/2 rice bowl of sugar” and a “handful of garlic”. Everything was “to taste”.

It made it difficult as heck to learn her “recipes” but I soon realized all of our aunties were like that too. And that’s what I’ve come to believe Vietnamese cooking to be. It’s pretty tricky as it’s all “to taste” and highly subjective.

You’ll find this quandary even more prominent in “simple” dishes as one slight off-balanced proportion will throw your taste buds for a spin. Things like nước chấm, soups, and even salads will have you repeatedly tasting and adjusting for the perfect balance.

Thịt Gà Bóp Rau Răm, is a perfect example of this challenge and was a staple in our household growing up. Popularized from the Huế region of Viet Nam, shredded poached chicken is tossed in a light vinaigrette and packed FULL of fresh herbs and thinly sliced onions. And although I’ve given some measurements in the recipe below, it really depends on your flavor palette to add as much or as little lemon juice and sugar or salt and pepper. Just keep in mind that it’s also served with the nước chấm dipping sauce so you’ll need to adjust accordingly.

With all that said, the rau răm (known as Vietnamese Cilantro or Vietnamese Coriander) is my favorite part of the dish. The uniquely bright and slightly peppery flavor this herb adds is something that is difficult to describe but must be experienced. In fact, I’d say that it’s my favorite herb, closely followed by fresh cilantro and Thai basil. The addition of the shredded red cabbage is my nod to the restaurant, Hue Rendezvous in Westminster, California. They serve their Gà Bóp on top of shredded green cabbage, which I think is such a great addition for the added crunch and texture. This time around, I chose to use red cabbage because it’s a little milder in flavor and because its beautiful color provided such a striking contrast.

Thịt Gà Bóp Rau Răm is best served at room temperature and would be a great addition to any summer picnic or luncheon. I’d even venture to say a light Rau Răm Mojito would be a great cocktail pairing for this dish. And that, my friends, is how I also come up with random cocktails 🙂

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Thịt Gà Bóp Rau Răm (Huế Style Chicken Salad with Vietnamese Cilantro)
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken, preferably Free-Range
2 Tablespoons Nước Mắm, fish sauce
2 Inches Fresh Ginger
3 Whole Garlic Cloves, lightly crushed
½ Tablespoon Black Pepper Corns
1 Small Sized Red Cabbage, shredded
1 Medium Sized White Onion, sliced paper thin
½ Cup Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Bunch (about 1½ cups) Rau Răm leaves, roughly chopped
¼ Cup Fresh Cilantro, roughly chopped
¼ Cup Fresh Lime Juice
1 Teaspoon Sugar
Optional: Nước chấm, fried shallots, crushed peanuts, and chilies

Thoroughly wash and clean the chicken. I usually lightly scrub several tablespoons of table salt all over the exterior body/interior cavity of the chicken and rub cut lemon wedges over the skin. This acts as a type of “exfoliant” and helps to reduce impurities and grit as the chicken is poaching. Trim any excess fat and skin as well as be sure to remove the bag of giblets and neck. Rinse the chicken well with cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Prick the skin of the chicken all over with the tines of a fork.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the nước mắm, ginger, garlic cloves, and pepper corns. Gently ease the chicken into the pot and lower the heat to an even simmer. Poach until cooked—about 25-30 minutes. (Skim off any impurities that may form and discard.) Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and cool to room temperature. *At this point, the poaching liquids can be strained and stored to be used as a light chicken broth at another time.

While the chicken is cooling, combine the sliced onions and rice vinegar in a small bowl. Toss to cover thoroughly and allow to sit for about 15 minutes. In another small bowl, dissolve the sugar into the lime juice.

When the chicken is cooled enough to handle, shred all the meat into bite sized pieces discarding the skin, bones, and fatty portions. Toss the shredded chicken with the pickled onions and add in the rau răm and cilantro. Add the lime juice mixture a little bit at a time to your taste preference. Season with salt and pepper.

To plate, spread the shredded cabbage on a large plate and top with a pile of the shredded chicken salad. Sprinkle the tops with fried shallots, chilies, crushed peanuts and serve with nước chấm on the side.

*It should be noted that Gà Đi Bộ (free range chicken) is preferred in this dish for its texture and flavor.

**This is my submission to Delicious Vietnam #14, a monthly blogging event celebrating Vietnamese cuisine which was started by Anh of A Food Lover’s Journey and Hong & Kim of Ravenous Couple. For more information, please visit Delicious Vietnam Thanks to Rau Om for hosting this month!**

Desserts/Pastries

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

June 8, 2011June 20, 2013 The Culinary Chronicles38 Comments

Finding the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe is near impossible. A few years ago, the NY Times published a pretty extensive article about these iconic cookies and interviewed some of the top experts in all things chocolate and cookie related. They talked about the importance of the quality of chocolate, temperature, types of flour and even aging the dough.

And the good news is, the Chocolate Chip Cookies they published are freaking delicious.

My sister made these for us a few years ago and I’ve loved them every since. Fantastic texture—somehow both chewy and crispy. And with the light sprinkle of sea salt on the top—just LOVELY!

The dough comes together fairly easy—though it does require two types of flour. Unfortunately the hardest part is having to wait 36 hours to age the dough before you can bake it. Just killer!

But don’t let the time deter you from making them because these cookies are amazing. They were a hit with my co-workers and it’s always been one of my rules of thumb to keep the people you work with happy and fed. 🙂

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New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Jacques Torres
Yields 16 5-inch cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content
Sea salt

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

Desserts/Pastries · Ice Cream

Strawberry Ice Cream

June 6, 2011July 2, 2015 The Culinary Chronicles15 Comments

Have I ever mentioned that I’m the youngest of 5?

Over the years, it’s really had its perks. Don’t let people tell you otherwise. 🙂

Sure, I’ve had my share of hand-me-downs. But by the time my parents got to me, they were way too worn out by my sibs…..so admittedly, I had it MUCH easier than them. My grandparents babied me and in fact, even my elder sibs were known to indulge me from time to time.

When I was in kindergarten, my sis P, would often meet me at my bus stop to walk me home. And on some occasions, she would make a pit stop at Dairy Queen on our way home to indulge me in some VERY special treats. I would fluctuate between ordering a Lime Mister Misty Float—a Peanut Buster Parfait-–or even a simple Dipped Cone. All of them were amazing delights!

So when I began making a Strawberry Ice Cream the other day (due to our excess of berries from Tanaka Farms), my sis P said the house smelled like Dairy Queen.

Quite the compliment, if I do say myself.

Sweet. Tangy. Fragrant.

Just how strawberries should smell.

And the end result tasted even better than it smelled. Creamy and packed FULL of berry flavor. Due to our super fresh berries, I even halved the amount of sugar in the recipe. But if you find that your berries are slightly lacking in punch—by all means, go the full amount.

In my opinion, iconic desserts like this should always evoke childhood memories. But I do wonder, did Dairy Queen put vodka in their ice creams too? 🙂

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Strawberry Ice Cream
From America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 ½ Cups Heavy Cream
1 ¼ Cups Whole Milk
1 Cup Sugar
6 Whole Egg Yolks
1 Quart Strawberries, hulled and sliced
Pinch of Salt
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
3 Tablespoons Vodka

Set a fine mesh strainer over a medium sized bowl and set the bowl over a large container of ice water. Heat the cream, milk, and ¼ cup sugar in a medium size sauce pan over medium heat stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, until steam appears and the liquid is hot (175 degrees) about 5 minutes.

When the milk mixture is hot, in a separate bowl, whisk the yolks and remaining ¼ cup of sugar together until smooth. Slowly whisk about 1 cup of the hot milk mixture (temper) into the yolks. Then slowly whisk the tempered yolk mixture back into the remaining hot milk mixture. Continue to cook the custard mixture over medium heat until it is very hot but not simmering (180-185 degrees).

Strain the custard mixture into the bowl set in the ice bath and let cool, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Remove the custard mixture from the ice bath, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 3 hours.

Meanwhile, bring the strawberries, salt, and remaining sugar to a simmer in a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, smashing the berries slightly, until they have released their juices and are broken down, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until needed.

Strain the berry mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Stir the strained juices, vanilla, and lemon into the chilled custard mixture. Pour the mixture into the ice cream canister and churn following the manufacturers instructions until the mixture resembles soft served ice cream. Toss the strained strawberries with the vodka and add to the machine when there is about 2 minutes remaining before the churning is complete.

Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and press plastic wrap against the surface. Cover the container and freeze the ice cream until it is firm—about 3 hours.

Desserts/Pastries

Fresh Strawberry Tart

June 3, 2011 The Culinary Chronicles27 Comments

We managed to bring home 6 pounds of gorgeous strawberries that we picked fresh from our day at Tanaka Farms. Because they were perfectly ripe, the berries were a lovely shade of red and utterly sweet and juicy.

I knew we’d polish off a good amount of them just as they were. But since each of us ate our bellies full of the berries at the farm, I wanted to make a few desserts to utilize the rest before they spoiled. It didn’t take too long for us to decide that a fresh strawberry pie would fit the bill perfectly!

I had initially wanted to make a pie just like the ones we used to order from Marie Callendar’s that were piled high with whole strawberries and glistened with a bright red glaze. But my sis, P, suggested I try out Alice Medrich’s shortbread tart crust. It’s one of her “go to” recipes because the flavor is stellar and it’s super quick and easy to pull together. I followed her advice and our fresh strawberry pie turned into a fabulous fresh strawberry tart with a buttery shortbread crust.

If you’ve never tried Alice Medrich’s tart crust before, you simply MUST! It comes together so quick due to the fact that it uses melted butter and you don’t need to roll out the dough.

If you read the recipe below, you’ll notice that I also used some fresh raspberries in the tart. Normally I wouldn’t have but I somehow used up so many of the berries in our other strawberry dessert that I needed something extra to fill in the spaces. However, it’s completely up to you if you’d like to add them or not.

I took the extra step of individually dipping each strawberry into the glaze before placing them into the crust. Most recipes will toss the strawberries in the glaze and then pour all the contents into the crust. This can often result in way too much glaze and the end result can be overly sweet and goopy. It definitely was unnecessary for our tart since our strawberries were so naturally sweet. So although the extra step may seem a bit much, it’s really worth it.

The finished tart is quite the show stopper and tastes even better than it looks. And with the delicious strawberries that we picked ourselves from Tanaka Farms, I can honestly say, it doesn’t get any fresher than this 🙂

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend!

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Fresh Strawberry Tart
Makes one 8-inch tart

Ingredients:
Crust: (From Alice Medrich)
8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted
¼ Cup Sugar
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
¾ Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Cup All Purpose Flour

Filling:
1 Quart Strawberries
½ Cup Raspberries (optional)
3/4 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons Strawberry Gelatin
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
¼ Cup Sugar (more if berries aren’t sweet enough)

Prepare the crust. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a medium bowl with a fork. Add the flour and mix just until well blended with a pastry blender or a large fork. Don’t worry if the dough seems too soft. Press all of the dough very thinly and evenly into the sides and bottom of an 8-inch tart pan. If it seems like the butter is getting too oily and it’s becoming difficult to manipulate the dough, simply put it in the fridge for a few minutes, it’ll become easier to handle. Using a fork, prick the dough all over the bottom and sides. Place a large piece of parchment paper on top of dough and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Press weights to the edges of dough and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove parchment and weights and continue baking until deeply golden in color, approximately 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

While the crust is cooling, prepare the filling. Mix together the sugar, gelatin, and cornstarch. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Whisk in the dry ingredients and cook until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Dip each strawberry into the glaze and arrange them in the crust. Dip each raspberry and arrange them in between the strawberries. Chill the tart for at least 2 hours before serving.

Reviews

Tanaka Farms: Let me take you down to Strawberry Fields

June 1, 2011June 21, 2016 The Culinary Chronicles14 Comments

The best Foodventures are always the unexpected ones. Even more surprising was that my latest one was found around my old college stomping grounds of Irvine, California. (GO ANTEATERS!)

Per my sister T‘s suggestion, we grabbed some of the kids and headed over to Tanaka Farms—a lush 30 acre farm nestled in Irvine that produces amazing fruits and vegetables.

Founded by Teruo Tanaka, Tanaka Farms is family owned and operated and has been in existence for over 100 years. The farm “strives to provide quality produce and to educate the community on the values of healthy eating“. The family also practices organic farming methods.

The produce at Tanaka Farms are grown using a “companion planting” method. By this, different produce are planted together as the chemicals each of the varietals naturally produce allow each other to thrive. For example, strawberry plants are grown together with Maui onions. Guess this is a perfect (and natural) example of how opposites can attract 🙂

In addition to having a produce stand filled with fresh products, Tanaka Farms offers farm tours. Tours typically include a 75 minute wagon ride around the land which is pulled by a tractor. Throughout the ride, the wagon stops and guests are able to try freshly picked vegetables!

Our veggie “tasting menu” for the day included wax beans, green beans, celery, green onions, and carrots. Here is my sis, P, with a bundle of green onions.

The tour is an AMAZING way to educate kids about how produce is grown and to encourage them to eat their veggies. Check out Stephanie, Maya, and Nina showing off their tasty wax beans.

The last portion of the tour was my favorite—STRAWBERRY TIME! Since we took the tour during Strawberry season, guests are allowed off the wagons to pick and enjoy delicious and gorgeous strawberries! We had 15 minutes to fill our 1-pound baskets and eat as many strawberries as we liked!

Not going to lie…..I’m pretty sure I inhaled almost a pound of strawberries myself in addition to packing my basket. And I don’t have the least bit of remorse as they were some of the best strawberries I’ve ever tasted! So sweet and juicy!

Here is my sis, T, and nieces Maya and Nina feverishly filling their baskets.

Nina, Maya, and Stephanie with their prized Strawberries.

Strawberry tours begin mid-March and run through June. Watermelon tours begin in July and end in late August. Pumpkin Patch tours start at the end of September and conclude on Halloween. For more information on tours and to find out about their Cookout Tours, click here.

We were incredibly lucky as it was a gorgeous, sunny California day. We had a fantastic time at Tanaka Farms and loved that it’s so conveniently accessible. The kids enjoyed trying out new produce, learning about crops, riding in the wagon, and of course—indulging in the amazing strawberries.

On top of all of those things, I loved that we were supporting a family owned operation of 4 generations of Japanese Americans. They run the farm on little government assistance but are committed, nonetheless, to cultivating quality produce while educating the community. That, dear friends, is truly commendable.

But even if Tanaka Farms isn’t near you, I urge you to go out and find some farms near you—I am sure one is closer than you think! 🙂

And if you haven’t guessed already, the next few posts will be ALL about strawberries. If you had tasted how exquisite they were, you would be whipping out all of your strawberry recipes, too!

Thanks for reading!

Tanaka Farms
5380 3/4 University Drive
Irvine, CA 92612
Office: (949)653-2100
Produce Stand: (949)653-2100 ext. 203
Reservations: (949)653-2100 ext. 204

And just because I was singing this the entire time we were there……