Hooray for Strawberries!

It's nearly summer, though from the heat in Los Angeles, it feels like we should be prepping our grills and seasoning our Fourth of July burgers already.

But since it's really only April, and strawberries are cheap and fresh and oh-so-sweet, it's time to celebrate the Farmer's Market bounty instead.

I woke up starving this morning, probably a result of my itty-bitty dinner last night. Rather than the big weekend breakfast that I was craving, I decided to start on getting my daily recommended serving of fruits...

Strawberry-Stuffed French Toast
No need to run to IHOP, people. You can put together this moderately healthy treat for yourself in 15 minutes.

Serves 4.

1/2 loaf bread, sliced into 1 to 1 1/14 inch thick slices
5 large strawberries, washed and pitted
4 tbsp. fat-free cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. sugar or sweetener
2 eggs
1 tbsp. skim or low-fat milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. powdered sugar or sweetener
4 strawberries, washed and pitted, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mash together strawberries, cream cheese, and sugar. I like to throw it all into my mini-blender (gotta love that attachment on the magic stick blender) and pulse until fully combined.
3. Slice mostly through the thick bread slices, being careful not to cut all the way through. "Don't break the hinge," as the cheesesteak lady says.
4. Spoon 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture in each pocket.
5. Beat together eggs, milk, and vanilla.
6. Dip bread into egg mixture, letting it sit for 5 seconds on each side, before placing dipped bread on a wire rack or parchment paper to give the egg mixture time to soak into the bread completely.
7. While the bread is resting, heat a large skillet to medium-low. Melt 1 tbsp. butter.
8. Cook 2 french toast in skillet for 4 minutes on each side, or until desired brownness is achieved. Add remaining 1 tbsp. butter, cook remaining 2 french toast.
9. Bake french toast on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet for 8 minutes.
10. Serve hot, garnished with powdered sugar and strawberries (for dessert, I like to top the french toast with a mini-scoop of ice cream along with the sugar and berries).

If you're cooking for one (like I am), wrap ungarnished french toast in foil, separated by parchment or wax paper, and keep in refrigerator. To re-heat, simply toast at medium to dark setting in toaster oven or bake at 350F for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet and covered with foil. These make great last-minute desserts or snacks, and can be frozen for up to 2 months when double-wrapped in foil.

Lemon Meringue Clouds

I went to tea at the Deb's house recently, bringing these airy treats with me. He and the Duchess enjoyed them and asked for the recipe. For you, my darlings...
(Yield: dependent on size of spoonfuls)

4 egg whites
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 cup sugar
Dash of salt
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1/4 tsp. lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a large, stainless steel or glass bowl, whip together egg whites and cream of tartar into a light froth.
3. Add sugar and salt, then whip until soft peaks form.
4. Add lemon extract, then whip until stiff peaks form.
5. Fold in lemon zest, then whip again for a few seconds to bring back stiff peaks if they have deflated in folding.
6. Drop by spoofuls onto parchment paper or silicon baking pad.
7. Place in oven, then TURN OVEN OFF.
8. DO NOT open oven for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

The result should be smooth, shiny, white puffs with a crispy exterior and a slightly chewy interior.

These will keep for one week in an airtight container. Don't refrigerate, but rather, keep at room temp.

Adventures in Craftyland

Last week, I tried my hand at a whole new game: Craft Services. Sure, I’ve done crafty before, but only on the smallest scale imaginable. And, yes, I have a strong repertoire of dishes that are suitable for large-scale production. And yeah, I’m pretty quick in the kitchen. But I am not meant for crafty.

My little bitty car was not built to carry four coolers, six flats of bottled water, five flats of soda, nine 20lb. bags of ice, a coffee maker, a coffee grinder, two blenders, and two 20-gallon jugs of water every single day, roundtrip. And I was not built to carry this stuff all over the set. I understand that crafty is meant to be mobile. But crafty is mobile when crafty is more than just one person.

So, there it is. I am not meant to be the next Craft Services Star. I am, however, incredibly proud of the original dishes I put out:



Polenta Caprese
Crisped polenta coins topped with basil and tomato, garnished with mozzarella ribbons

Crostini Tapenade
Kalamata tapenade and crème fraiche on top of toasted baguette slices rubbed with garlic

Smoked Salmon Toast
Toasted baguette topped with smoked salmon, crème fraiche, green onion, and lemon zest

Tea Sandwiches
Tiny sandwiches filled with smoked turkey, roast beef, or cucumber and cream cheese, shaved zucchini, and tomato strips

Vegan dip
Spicy, garlic, and tomato-basil hummus mixed with minced roasted bell peppers, zucchini, and carrots served with pita chips and toasted tortilla strips

Despite the disturbingly hungry extras and crew who seemed not to care what they were eating, so long as it was food, this job was fun. And I actually enjoyed cooking for some of the people. But, truly, I learned that without a kitchen, or at least some semblance of organization on the part of the production staff, this cook is not cut out for crafty.

Forget take-out! Asian chicken salad magic!

I had a rare moment of nostalgia the other night as I was rooting around in my refrigerator looking for a quick dinner. It had been a week since my last grocery trip, but I was too exhausted from work to manage even the most abbreviated visit to my local market. Inspired, I recalled a hot summer day back in Boston, when I was between gigs and working with limited resources. I whipped up this super-simple salad in just a few minutes with the sparsest of ingredients, but it tasted better than most restaurant salads. In its most recent incarnation, I added mandarin oranges to the dish for some extra juiciness and texture. Delicious!

Instant Ramen Chicken Salad
You can use any leftover chicken or shrimp, or shred up some prepared rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Alternately, you can try canned chicken or salmon chunks.

1 pkg. instant ramen soup noodles
1 can chicken or 1 cup prepared chicken, diced
1 small can mandarin orange segments
1 bag ready-to-eat salad greens
dried fruits/nuts that come with salad (optional)
2 tbs. orange juice
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
1 tbs. honey
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
4 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil (omit for lower-fat option)

1. Bring water to boil for noodles. Cook noodles for three minutes, or according to package directions. DO NOT add seasoning/flavor packet!
2. While noodles cook, toss together in large bowl or gallon-size zip-top bag: chicken, mandarin oranges, salad greens, optional dried fruits/nuts.
3. In a bowl, mix together orange juice, salt, and pepper. Add honey and stir carefully, but thoroughly. If honey does not mix easily, microwave the entire mixture for no more than 25 seconds. Stir in optional red pepper flakes. Slowly stream in olive oil, whisking mixture briskly with a fork (omit to save on fat grams!).
4. Drain ramen noodles completely, then carefully cut with kitchen scissors so that the noodles are bite-sized.
5. Add noodles and dressing to salad mix, toss thoroughly, and enjoy!

**I submitted this recipe originally to allrecipes.com, and it is awaiting review.