The Food Chronicles - Strawberry Country Cake

What to do With Fresh Berries?

The Monster and I hit up the farmer’s market on Tuesday and came home with plenty of fresh goodies, one of which was a lovely pint of strawberries.  Is there anything better than REAL strawberries?  I am not talking about those underripe plumped up gobs of texture that you get at the grocery.

They were so good just rinsed and plopped right into our waiting gobs but we had scads so I thought a summer treat featuring these berries would be fitting.  I wanted to try something new in favor of my usual strawberry shortcake go to.  And who do I turn to in times of need?  Ina, of course.

Enter the Strawberry Country Cake.  A low key no fuss cake that requires very little in the way of icing, my arch nemesis.  Fresh whipped cream is right up towards the tip top of life’s luxurious indulgences for me.  The sour cream combined with citrusy zests in the batter is the perfect counter point to the sweetness of the berries and cream.  Heaven.  Trust.

the recipe called for 40 - 45 minutes bake time;
I took mine out at 35 mins and it was a scosh overdone but still uber tasty

1st layer of yum

Run don’t walk to your nearest farm stand and whip this up for your 4th of July celebration.  Because everyone is probably going to do some version of a flag cake they saw on Pinterest.  If you must simply do the red, white, and blue thing, then me thinks that the addition of blueberries would be just fine too.

All photos and layouts by mrs. V

kisses, mrs. V

The Perfect Memorial Day Cookout Dessert

Festive Holiday Goodies

I made these brownies last summer for a July 4th celebration but I think they are just as fitting for Memorial Day.  I would swap out the firecracker bags for clear cello and tie them with some red ribbons in place of the twist ties.  The individual wrapping not only looks great but is perfect for keeping pesky bugs or fingers away before dessert time.

The brownies are Ina’s Outrageous Brownie recipe – the only brownie recipe I use now.  Every time I make these people go nuts.  Oh Ina, you never fail me.  And manageable for a frustrated baker like myself.  I add powdered sugar on top for presentation.

Perfect dessert to bring to that Memorial Day cookout!

All photos by mrs. V

kisses, mrs. V

The Food Chronicles - Ina's Herb-marinated Pork

Ina, Let’s be Friends

I have a confession to make.  I have pretend friendships.  LOTS of them.  One such friendship is with Ina Garten.  I adore her and her darling husband, Jeffrey.  I just know we would be the best of friends.  Often have I imagined laughing together over a glass of rose in her barn kitchen, as a weekend guest.  Can’t you just imagine sharing a splendid evening with those two love birds?!

Ina, you shouldn't have...

Ina has never let me down.  When I am looking for a no-fail recipe, especially when entertaining, I almost always turn to one of hers.  She can do no wrong in my eyes – very few of her recipes disappoint at Chez V.  Although, I should say, that I almost always adjust recipes once I have test driven them as is.  And Ina’s are no exception.

Her herb-marinated pork tenderloin recipe from Back to Basics is on heavy rotation at our house, especially during the summer when we can finish them off over charcoal.  Every time I serve this, people rave and ask for the recipe.  Today, I am using a pork loin because it looked better than the tenderloins.

A cast iron skillet yields the best results, hands down.  But an all-clad will work too.  And it goes without saying, that in order to get perfectly cooked meat, a meat thermometer and some rest time are imperative.  mr. V is ridiculously impatient so I have to guard the tented meat with a very sharp knife in hand…

My version is only slightly modified – I use a little less lemon, garlic, and rosemary.  Ina takes hers out of the oven at 137 degrees F but I leave mine in until between 140 - 144 degrees F because mr. V prefers his meat on the done side.  Not me.  

The left over meat is even better the next day on sandwiches.  At Chez V, we re-heat the meat, melt white american cheese over the top, place it on thin Pepperidge Farm bread and top with thinly sliced green onions.  Heaven.

Enjoy!

kisses,  mrs. V