Cherry Clafoutis

Cherries Jubilee
Over the Memorial Day weekend, we found ourselves driving through Brentwood on the way to a tournament in Stockton. And, it was all I could do not to blow off baseball and spend time in the cherry orchards. The signs were everywhere announcing that the orchards were open for picking. It was killing me not to stop.

The good news is that the boys played well. The bad news is we came home too late to do some pickin’. Some of our friends from other teams got to stop…and I am so jealous. And, they now are the proud owners of buckets of cherries that they can use to make tasty treats like this Cherry Clafoutis that is relatively simple to make.

Alas, our schedule is booked yet again for this coming weekend. Otherwise, I’d be heading out there, bucket in hand. So, if you find yourselves with nothing to do this weekend, consider enjoying some fantastic weather and a little taste of heaven from the trees.

And, you can get directions and other information here to help you find your perfect Brentwood cherry picking spot…

Cherry Clafoutis
Adapted from Julia Child
Yields: 6 to 8 servings for dessert, or 4 for breakfast.
We like to make our Cherry Clafoutis in a blender—it is incredibly easy!

Berry Trifle Recipe

Dessert for a crowd can be difficult. I have always been a fan of the Berry Trifle at outdoor gatherings. It’s pretty. It’s tasty and you make it as big or little as you want. I like Tyler Florence’s recipe a lot. Feel free to substitute some good vanilla pudding for the lemon curd or, heck, use both!

Berry Trifle
Adapted from Tyler Florence
Yields 4 servings

You can adjust it up or down depending on how many you are feeding. It is also lovely when assembled in individual serving glasses. Read more…

Iced Cinnamon Rolls

How We Roll…
So, I would like to apologize. Apparently, I tempted fate, irritated the gods, and spoke too soon last week when I said it looked like the rain was finally over. Sigh.

This week is Spring Break and I had plans. Big ones. I couldn’t take the whole week off—but I did take Thursday and Friday off thinking it would give me four days to plant my summer garden. Yeah, not so much. The “weather” is supposed to come in on Thursday, unleash its fury on Friday, with a little leftover for Saturday. Great. It’s hard to plant in mud!

Now I find myself with a couple of free days and a whole lotta free time on my hands. So, I have decided that I am going to do some baking and make the things that I haven’t had the time to do in months.

I will be making bread and I am sure there will be some sort of cookie. I might even get nutty and pull out the ice cream maker and do cookie ice cream sandwiches. My daughter will probably want to make some fresh pasta, which is cool. The one think I know I will be making is iced cinnamon rolls.

I love cinnamon rolls. I like ‘em with nuts and without. I like ‘em hot and I like ‘em cold. I like ‘em big and I like ‘em bite size. And, of course, I like ‘em with lots of icing! You can’t go wrong with a cinnamon roll. The one problem is that you can’t just whip up a batch. It takes a little planning and some time, which I have had in short supply lately. (Hard to make cinnamon rolls when you have to be at the field by 9 AM.)

The good news is that you can make these and freeze them to pull out on a future lazy morning.

Iced Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Yields 40 to 50 servings

Hamantaschen for Purim

Even if you are not participating in a Spiel, you can still make your own Hamantaschen for Purim. And, you can always observe the tradition of sharing sweets with your friends and neighbors.

Hint: they also make a great treat year-round. Read more…