Weekend Breakfast: Strawberry Oven-Puff Pancake

Speaking of strawberries, this recipe is a favorite of mine this time of year, when they are in peak season.  This makes the perfect weekend breakfast, served along with some hot, crispy bacon.  Heaven!  The "pancake" is similar in texture to a popover, but the dish itself is surprisingly filling.  I originally found the recipe on the "Rita's Recipes" blog, and I have adapted it.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Oven-Puff Pancake

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 pint strawberries, sliced
• powdered sugar, sifted

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Melt butter in a 9 inch pottery pie plate in the oven while it preheats, until butter is melted and bubbly.
2. Whisk together eggs through vanilla.
3. Remove pan from oven and add the batter.  Do not stir.
4. Return to oven and bake about 18-20 minutes, until puffed high and golden.
5. When pancake is done, remove from oven and fill the center with the strawberries.  Generously sift powdered sugar over top.

Summer Soul Food: BBQ Chicken and Easy Peach Cobbler

A funny thing happens when you live on a tropical island, where there are no seasons to speak of and it is perpetually 83 degrees and sunny.  I've found that there is no way to guage time here, and the holidays and events that happen throughout the year, which you just instictively do back home based on Mother Nature's mood swings. 

For me, living in the Southeast for the last 30 years meant these things...the heat of the summer and that signature thick, humid haze signals fresh veggies from the garden, gorgeous blooms from the yard, barbecues and days spent by the pool.  When the weather cools in the fall, you get excited to wear sweaters and boots again, to pick apples and pumpkins, and to sit in the backyard at night by the firepit with friends and a  good glass of wine.  The winter (or any time the temperature falls below 60 degrees in South Carolina) is a time to hibernate inside in front of the fireplace, and at least buy a cute coat for the times you do venture out.

So checking my calendar I realize that it is almost the end of June and the July 4th holiday is approaching.  And something in me craves food from the grill and fruit pies.  So last night I cooked in a way that made our insides happy, but not without a touch of nostalgia for my grandmother, who was the ultimate Southern home cook.  My memories of her always include a hot, steamy summer kitchen, fresh butter beans, chicken and dumplings, cobblers, and foods she had canned herself.  So during this time when I've been missing home, I think of her and want to cook like her, and miss her dearly.

The barbecue chicken is my own recipe that I just throw together and cook in the crock pot, so here it is, and please excuse the lack of technicality.  As I've said before, slow cooker recipes for me are loosey goosey, and they always turn out just fine.  But don't miss the peach cobbler recipe below.  This one tastes like childhood to me, and was so good my husband said it was worthy of a "food-gasm."  So umm, try to control yourself.  Happy summer and happy cooking!

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• dash of Worcestershire
• dash of hot sauce
• 2 tbsp.  Montreal steak seasoning
• 2 slices uncooked bacon

Preparation

1. Combine ketchup through seasoning, in a large bowl, and to taste.
2. Spoon some of sauce into slow cooker, enough to coat the bottom.
3. Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker, top each breast with 1/2 slice bacon, and pour remaining sauce over top to cover.
4. Cook 4 hours on high.

Easy Peach Cobbler (adapted, Southern Living)

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour 

2 cups sugar, divided

1 tablespoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 cup milk

4 cups fresh peach slices

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

Preparation

1. Melt butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish
2. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir).
3. Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peach slices, lemon juice, and vanilla to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
4. Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve cobbler warm or cool.

* Note:  I halved this recipe and used unsweetened, vanilla flavored almond milk instead of regular milk.  You do not need dairy milk for this if you are lactose-free.

Strawberry Glaze Pie

Aloha friends!  We just got back from our whirlwind 10-day trip to the mainland, and had a blast with our families in Virginia and South Carolina.  It really made me miss home, especially this time of year when we would be boating, enjoying some fresh local peaches, strawberries and tomatoes, gardening in our backyard, and all the other fun festivities of summer in the South. 

My parents are both great cooks, and really spoiled us with all the comfort dishes we love.  Ribs, cornbread, fried chicken, slaw, and strawberry EVERYTHING  (Forest Gump moment here... strawberry cake, strawberry pie, strawberry ice cream!)  And speaking of strawberry pie, my mom's recipe has been one of my all-time favorites ever since I was a little girl, and now it's a summer tradition that I make it too at the peak of strawberry season.  (And Aubrey loves it, with homemade whipped cream!)

A dear friend requested the recipe for the pie this week, so this one is for Katie B., who I miss so much!  We were so blessed to see her and her two sweet babies during our layover in DFW, for breakfast and catching up after nearly a year since her family's move to Texas.  Needless to say, we are both missing our former lives in South Carolina, but embracing the change that God had planned for us.

(And also shout-outs to my Greenville friends who we got to spend time with, and my long-time friend Kimberly who surprised me all the way from NYC for my 30th birthday!)

This pie couldn't be easier to make, and it is full of flavor and deliciousness.  And since I love y'all so much too, here is my mom's recipe for Strawberry Glaze Pie, which will be made every summer in my house for years to come.  Ahh, the sweet taste of childhood!

Strawberry Glaze Pie

Ingredients

1 c. water
1c. sugar
1 qt strawberries, cut into halves or quarters, to preference
3 tbsp. cornstarch

Preparation

1. Pre- bake pie crust according to directions. Set aside. 
2. In a pot, mix cornstarch with sugar. Add water and 1 cup of the sliced berries and cook until clear (may be pink, depending on berries.). Let cool.
3. Fill bottom of cooled pie crust with remaining berries. Pour glaze mixture over the berries. Chill before serving.