Election Day

Unless you have been living in a vacuum, you know that today is Election Day.

Don't forget to

In honor of Election Day, I am sharing a recipe from The White House Cookbook by Janet Halliday Ervin. This recipe is from Abigail Adams, the wife of our second President, John Adams. She truly was the first lady as the Adams were the first occupants of the White House.

RASPBERRY FOOL
Put your fruit into an oven for quarter of an hour. When tender, pulp it through a sieve, sugar it, add the crumbs of sufficient sponge cake to thicken it. Put into a glass mould or into custard cups and lay some thick cream on top. If for immediate use, the cream may be beaten up with the fruit. Other light berries and fruit may be treated in the same way.


I have modified the recipe slightly, this is about 4 servings.

1 pound fresh raspberries
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 sprigs of mint, for garnish

Add the berries to an oven safe dish and place in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 minutes.

Press through a fine-meshed sieve. Mix the fruit with 1/4 cup sugar and set aside.

Meanwhile, beat cream together until soft peaks form. Add remaining sugar and vanilla and continue beating until just stiff. Remove 1/2 cup of the whipped cream for garnish.

Fold sugared fruit into cream. Put into individual serving dishes and refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.
Serve by garnishing with a dollop of the reserved cream and a sprig of mint.

Happy Pi Day

Pi, Greek letter (∏), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi = 3.1415926535... Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. http://www.piday.org/

According to the National Pie Council, ancient Egyptians show the first evidence of pie making and eating. The first pies were made with reeds to hold the fillings, but the reeds were not consumed. Meat pies were the first pies eaten and dessert pies were not seen until later.

So enjoy a slice of pie today. Share a pie with a friend - either homemade or store bought. Enjoy it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of caramel or chocolate sauce.

Today is NATIONAL CHOCOLATE PUDDING DAY

Happy National Chocolate Pudding Day! YUM – Could there be a better holiday?!?! Chocolate pudding is such an American classic. You can make it in less than two minutes thanks to the instant pudding people, you can rip off a lid and enjoy it immediately now thanks to the pudding cup manufacturers (I always worry about shelf stable dairy products, but that is another topic). Or you can really treat yourself, take about a half-hour and make it from scratch.

So rich and creamy! Chocolate pudding is essentially the same as custard, the difference being the added cornstarch to make it thicker. Pudding, or a version of we call pudding today, dates back to the Middle Ages where they would make sweet pudding-like custards flavored with honey and nuts. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, pudding was fed to children and invalids not as a dessert but as high-caloire, wholesome food to those with little appetite.

In 1918 the first packaged pudding was introduced to the marketed by My*T*Fine. Jell-O did not introduce its chocolate pudding mix until 1934 as Walter Baker’s Dessert, changing it to Jell-O in 1936.

The key to making chocolate pudding is to use a heavy bottomed pot over medium-low heat to prevent the milk from scorching and to stir it constantly to prevent it from sticking. Some people push their pudding through a fine-mesh sieve after it has cooked to remove any lumps that formed while cooking. Pudding can be eaten warm, striaght from the stove top or cooled in the refrigerator. If you do not like a thin film or skin on the top of your pudding, then press a sheet of plastic wrap over the top while it cools.

Milk Chocolate Pudding
Gourmet, February 2007 from epicurious.com
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2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 oz fine-quality milk chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

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Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in milk and cream. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, 2 minutes. (Mixture will be thick.) Remove from heat.

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Whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth.Transfer to a bowl and chill pudding, its surface covered with wax paper (to prevent a skin from forming), until cold, at least 2 hours.

Cooks' note: Pudding can be chilled, covered with plastic wrap after 2 hours, up to 3 days.

Top with Vanilla Whipped Cream

The best deep dark chocolate pudding recipe

Chocolate Pudding - 1894 Style recipe

Succulent Strawberries

Strawberries are another springtime favorite. These delicious red berries are the world’s most widely distributed fruit. A member of the rose family, it is the only fruit to have its seeds on the outside and is indigenous to almost every continent, exceptions being Africa and Australia.

There are two types of strawberries, an old-word variety (duchesnea) native to Europe and the new-world variety (fragaria) we consume today which are a hybrid of North American and South American berries. The species name fragaria comes from the root word fragans, a Latin term meaning sweet smelling.

And there is nothing like the sweet smell of strawberries. I love the berries right off the plant, warm from the spring sun. Strawberries are a common dessert fair – strawberry shortcake, strawberry cheesecake, strawberry jam. And we think of strawberries classically paired with cream or champagne. Strawberries are great when paired with:

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Almonds.................Crème fraiche..................Port
Basil.......................Currant, black.................Rhubarb
Brown sugar............Figs...............................Sherry
Champagne.............Grand Marnier.................Sour cream
Cinnamon...............Lemons..........................Sugar
Cognac...................Maple syrup....................Vinegar, balsamic
Cointreau................Mascarpone...................Wine, esp. red

Cream....................Nuts..............................Yogurt
Cream cheese..........Pepper, black or pink

Taken from Culinary artistry (by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page ©1996)
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Strawberry Cream Cheese

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1 cup strawberries, hulled

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

powdered sugar, to taste

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Mash the strawberries into the cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time until you have received your desired sweetness level (will depend on sweetness of berries).

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Spread on toasted bagels or bread, or apple slices . Or serve with pretzel rods.

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Strawberry Spring Salad Variations: Try substituting spinach for the greens. Add thinly sliced red onions. Substitue pecans or almonds for the pine nuts. Add a cheese, like brie or feta.

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Strawberries in Red Wine Serve with alone or warmed slightly over vanilla ice cream.

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Strawberry Cream Dream Muffins For my cream cheese loving fans - a strawberry and cream cheese muffin with a center of white chocolate
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Strawberry Recipes Michigan Dept of Ag recipes (scroll down to find list for strawberries)

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Find the closed market to your home and in a few weeks, go find some delicious red berries:

Michigan's Farmers Market and U-Pick Directory A guide to finding your own locally grown berries