If you ask me, the best strawberries in the whole wide world — bar none — can be found right here in our own Snohomish and Skagit counties.
And Ellen Dodge of Arlington, for one, shares those same sentiments, along with a berry good new recipe, and says, “I don’t like seeing the market flooded with those other berries when we have our great local strawberries available. I grow our own, but I would like to see people at least trying our local berries.’’
If you need extra incentive to seek out these best-of-all berries, Ellen’s dessert certainly ought to provide it. It’s a humdinger of an after-dinner capper that’s sort of like an upside-down crisp or crumble with a filling that’s reminiscent of that sweet treat called “pudding in a cloud.’’
Except the pudding, in this case, is replaced by a fresh strawberry concoction.
Now, before you drool all over yourself, here’s:
Ellen’s strawberry pie
Pie crust:
1cup flour
1/4cup brown sugar
1/2cup butter, softened
1/2cup finely chopped nuts
Cream shell:
1container (8 ounces) soft cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4cup milk
1/4cup granulated sugar
1teaspoon vanilla
1cup whipped cream
Berry glaze:
1quart fresh strawberries
3/4cup granulated sugar
3tablespoons cornstarch
1/4cup cold water
2tablespoons lemon juice
For the pie crust, turn flour, brown sugar and butter into a mixing bowl and blend well. Add nuts, mixing thoroughly. Turn out onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees about 10 minutes, mixing frequently. Remove from oven and let cool, then spread in a pie plate and set aside. (You can use your own favorite recipe for pie crust, if you’d rather.)
For the cream shell, in a mixing bowl, beat the soft cream cheese and milk until smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla and blend until mixed well. Fold in the whipped cream and spread mixture over the cooled crust. Refrigerate while preparing berry glaze.
For the berry glaze, slice enough berries to measure 2 cups; crush enough berries to measure 1/2 cup and add to sliced berries, stirring gently to mix. Drain off 1/4 cup berry juice and set aside. Add sugar to berry mixture in saucepan and bring to boil; cook 2 to 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Mix cornstarch with cold water and reserved 1/4 cup berry juice; add to pan with the berry mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until thick, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and set aside to cool.
When cooled thoroughly, spoon berry mixture over the cream layer. Store in the refrigerator until needed.
Makes 1 pie.
The next Forum will appear in Friday’s Good Life section.
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