Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

Tag: strawberries

• 

  Summer Salad with Blueberries, Strawberries, Pecans and Blue Cheese

  Posted at 10:09 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

  Aug 16th

  My favorite summertime salads are easy, fresh, and flavorful. I love adding blueberries and strawberries to a salad capturing the freshness of summer fruits. Rich, pungent blue cheese and a tangy lemon vinaigrette enhance the flavor.

  Salad

  2 cups salad greens, I used Spring mix

  1/2 cup fresh blueberries

  1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries

  1/4 cup toasted chopped pecans

  1/2 cup blue cheese

  Lemon Vinaigrette 

  1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

  2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

  1 teaspoon sugar

  1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

  1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste

  3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  Freshly ground black pepper to taste

  Place salad greens on a large plate. Top with blueberries, strawberries, pecans, and blue cheese. Serve with lemon vinaigrette.

  Lemon Vinaigrette

  In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, mustard, and fine sea salt, whisking until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil in a slow stream, constantly whisking until the dressing is well blended. Season with fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. If desired, whisk in the remaining oil in a slow stream, whisking constantly. DO AHEAD: The vinaigrette can be prepared ahead and refrigerated, in an airtight container, up to 3 days.

  Enjoy!

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  Posted in BLUEBERRY, Easy recipes, Farm Fresh Produce, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, Healthy, Salad, summertime recipes, Vegetarian | Tagged blueberries, strawberries, summer salad

• Chocolate Ganache Velvet Pound Cake with chocolate dipped strawberries

  Posted at 6:02 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

  Aug 21st
  

   Summertime parties should be as fun for the hostess as the guests. That is why I love this chocolate pound cake packing a lot of punch for not much work. Bake the cake, drizzle the ganache, decorate with chocolate-dipped strawberries and you have a cake that will dazzle your guests!

  Ingredients

  1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels, I use Ghirardelli Chocolate

                   1/2 cup butter, softened

                   1 (16 ounce) packages light brown sugar

                   3 large eggs

                   2 cups all-purpose flour

                   1 teaspoon baking soda

                   1/2 teaspoon salt

                   1 (8 ounce) containers sour cream

                   1 cup hot water

                   2 teaspoons vanilla extract

                   Chocolate Ganache

                   Vanilla ice cream

                   9 strawberries, washed with stems

  Directions

  1. Melt semisweet chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH for 30-second intervals until melted (about 1 1/2 minutes total time). Stir until smooth.
  2. Beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer, beating about 5 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended.
  3. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to chocolate mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Gradually add 1 cup hot water in a slow, steady stream, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in vanilla. Use immediately, following directions for the desired cake.
  4. Spoon batter evenly into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 350° for 55 to 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on wire rack.
  5. Sift powdered sugar over the top of the cake.
  6. Dip small spoonfuls of warm ganache over the cake.
  7. Decorate with chocolate-dipped strawberries

  Ganache

  1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels, I use Ghirardelli Chocolate
  

        1/2 cup whipping cream

        3 tablespoons butter

        1. Microwave chocolate morsels and whipping cream in a 2-quart glass bowl at medium 2 1/2 to 

            3 minutes or until melted. Whisk until smooth then whisk in butter. Let stand 30 minutes. Beat at medium speed with electric mixture for 3 to 4 minutes. Dip strawberries in chocolate Ganache.  Place on wax paper and chill.

   

  Enjoy!

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  Posted in Baking, Cake, Chocolate, Dessert, Easy recipes, Elegant, entertaining, Food, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen | Tagged cake, easy baking, Ghirardelli Chocolate, strawberries
• 

  A Show Stopping Strawberry Cream Cake

  Posted at 7:04 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

  Apr 19th

  

  A wonderful light white cake that is filled with whipped cream and strawberries! Need I say more. This cake is my sister’s favorite and when  I lived near her I made this cake for her birthday.  I don’t know why I haven’t made this cake for such a long time but this year I brought it back for my twins birthday. Everyone just loved my version of strawberry short cake!

  Cake:

  6 eggs, separated

  1 13/4 cup shifted all-purpose flour

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

  1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

  1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

  2 pints strawberries, washed and hulled

  Cream Frosting:

  2 cups heavy cream, chilled

  1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1/4 cup currant jelly,  melted

  In a large electric mixer bowl let egg whites warm at room temperature for 1 hour.  Sift four with salt. With mixer at high speed beat egg whites until foamy. Beat in 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating after each addition. Beat until soft peaks form when beater is slowly raised.

  Preheat oven to 350F.  In a small mixer bowl at high speed and with the same beater, beat yolks until very thick and lemon-colored. Gradually beat in remaining granulated sugar; beat 2 minutes.

  At low speed gradually beat in flour mixture.  Add lemon juice,  2 tablespoons water and the lemon peel, beating just to combine – 1 minute. With wire whisk,  with an under-and-over motion, gently fold egg-yolk mixture into egg whites just to blend.  Pour batter batter into an ungreased 10-by-4-inch tube pan: bake 40 minutes or until top springs back when gently pressed with fingertip. Invert pan, let cake cool completely about 1 hour.

  With spatula, carefully loosen cake from pan; remove cake.  Divide cake into thirds with toothpicks. With these as a guide, split cake into three layers, using a long bladed serrated knife. Place bottom layer, cut side up, on cake dish. Slice 1 pint of strawberries.  In a medium bowl, beat cream with confectioners’ sugar; add vanilla.

  Spread bottom layer with 3/4 cup cream and half of slice strawberries. Repeat with second layer. Top with the last layer, cut side down. Frost top and side with rest of whipped cream; toss 1 pint strawberries with jelly. Arrange on the cake.

  Refrigerate 1 hour. Serves 12

  Enjoy!

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  Posted in Baking, company dinner, Elegant, entertaining | Tagged cake, strawberries, sweet cream