Strawberry

Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars

July 23, 2018

When I was a kid, I would beg mom for money every time I heard the ice cream truck going around the neighborhood. I can’t tell you how many times I would run down the block so I could catch up with him. It was a constant game of trying to get out the door in time so I wouldn’t miss him. I would alternate the treats I would get from week to week. Sometimes I was in the mood for salty things like jalapeño cheddar popcorn or spicy corn nuts or cool ranch doritos. Sometimes I would want candy like now or laters or the gum with the zebra on it with the flavor didn’t last at all. Then on hot summer days, I would always go for ice cream. If I wasn’t getting a rocket pop, I would definitely get a batman ice cream bar with the bubblegum eyes. As I got older though I stopped getting the batman pops and started obsessing over the good humor strawberry shortcake ice cream bars. I remember eating those all summer long. Now as an adult, I can’t even tell you when was the last time I had one and I’m pretty sure they’d be equally delicious and disappointing. That’s why I wanted to recreate them at home. Now, these aren’t 100% the same. For instance, it doesn’t have a bright red ice cream filling surrounded by vanilla ice cream, BUT I do think they come pretty close in flavor. They’re incredibly easy to make thanks to the no-churn strawberry ice cream. If you’re a fan like me, then you have to give these a try soon!

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Strawberry Skillet Cobbler + Giveaway!

March 28, 2016

Happy Monday after Easter everyone! Let’s celebrate this great occasion by talking about an amazing new cookbook by a fellow blogger that I’m obsessed with, both her and this beautiful book. Sweeter Off the Vine by Yossy Arefi is a must have for anyone and everyone who loves fruit desserts. It’s broken up by season and by fruit, making it easy for you to pick what to make at any given time of the year. And even if you’re not much of a baker, these recipes are easy enough to make you feel like a boss in the kitchen. The photos alone will make you want to eat and make everything inside of it. As soon as I got the book last week, I bookmarked practically every recipe that I was dying to try out. I took a trip to the grocery store this past weekend, and the strawberries were calling out to me. I’m fortunate enough to live in California where there are strawberries pretty much all year round, but in early spring like right now, they’re out of this world. So I grabbed a few boxes and came up with a game plan. The one recipe that kept sticking out to me from the book is the Blueberry Skillet Cobbler with Whole Wheat Biscuits, but since blueberries aren’t in season at the moment, and since Yossy suggests in the notes of the recipe that you can try it with strawberries as well, that’s what I did. I can’t wait to make the cobbler with blueberries once it’s the right time of year again. I’ve decided to give it a try each season, but with different fruit. Let’s see how that goes for me.

Because I’m obsessed with this cobbler, this book and giving away free things, I’ve decided it’s about time for another giveaway on the blog. It’s been too long since the last one. Plus, it’ll make my mamma really happy to be able to read all of your responses and pick a winner once again. So here we are, I’m giving away a copy of the book so that you can have one all to yourself. You know the drill, and just in case this is your first time at the rodeo, I’ll refresh your memory. You enter the giveaway be leaving a comment below, answering a question. The question this time around is “What is your favorite fruit or fruit dessert?” I want to hear all about your favorite fruit. Give me all the details, memories or stories you have regarding your answer. The more detailed the better. Not because it’ll up your chances (because the winner will be picked at random) but because I love reading your answers. You have until the end of the week to participate, and keep in mind that it’s one entry per person. I like to keep things fair. I’ll let the winner know through email, and update this post at the bottom with the lucky chosen one. May the odds be in your favor and may you win. Good luck. I’m rooting for you!

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Strawberry Cream Pie

March 14, 2016

It’s Pi Day (3.14)! So you know what that means! We get to celebrate this special day by eating all of the pie we can get our hands on. Oh what’s that? You don’t have any pie on hand, near, or around you? What madness! That’s definitely not the way to go about celebrating today. I order you to get into the pi/pie spirit. The only logical thing to do next is to go out and find yourself a pie. Any pie. Now is not the time to be picky. Go to the grocery store and get a pie from the bakery section. Sure they’re not the greatest, but in a pinch they’ll get the job done. Speaking of bakeries, you could also go to your favorite bakery and get a slice or two (or the whole thing) of your favorite flavored pie. And lastly, if you have tons of time to kill today, and have no clue what to do with all of this newfound freedom, you should probably make a pie from scratch. Be adventurous. Smash Monday in the face with pie.

Now, I’m not one for math or numbers, for that matter, but I am a major fan of pie. Some might even say I’m pie’s biggest numero uno fan. So I’m more than willing to celebrate a fake holiday that involves me eating lots of pie. I’m not going to complain and I’m definitely not going to let this day go by without some pie. Because strawberries are looking so fine here in California (sorry other parts of the country) and because I love a good cream pie, I bring to you this Strawberry Cream Pie. It’s like banana cream pie or coconut cream pie but so much better because everyone knows about bananas and because I actually hate coconut with a passion. So the next best cream pie to come our way is this strawberry variety and you’re going to love it. So go out and get started. What are you waiting for? If you’re not on at least your fourth slice of pie right now, then you’re definitely doing today all wrong.

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The Classics: Strawberry Shortcake

June 15, 2015

Here we are once again with a Candid Appetite Classics on our hands. Where have the days gone? This time around I decided to take the sweet route, since the last one was so savory and cheesy. Not that there’s anything wrong with savory and cheesy. I actually prefer it that way. I just wanted to switch things up a bit, that’s all. Since strawberries are in season at the moment, here in Southern California, I thought the best thing to do was to take all those fresh berries I have lying around in the fridge, and turn them into something more useful and productive. (Yes, dessert can be productive. Just go with it). I decided to stuff said strawberries into homemade sweetened biscuits with a ridiculous amount of freshly whipped cream. I’m declaring this whole week “Dessert for Breakfast Week” so you better get a move on it and make these shortcakes pronto. I’m giving you a whole week to celebrate, rather than just one day, because I know we all get busy and don’t always have all the time in the world to get in the kitchen and bake something sweet. Let alone eat it for breakfast. So don’t worry about it, take you time. You have a week to stuff your face with whipped cream, biscuits and berries first thing in the morning.

I was just talking to a friend the other day about strawberry shortcakes, because that’s what you do with your friends. You talk about rich whipped cream slathered desserts on your way to brunch, where you’re about to eat too much food and drink way too many drinks on a late Sunday morning, well into late Sunday afternoon. We both sighed in disgust when our very important discussion lead to sponge cake strawberry shortcakes. We decided then and there that no strawberry shortcake should ever be made with those rubbery twinkie wannabe store bought sponge cakes that could double as something you wash your dishes with (I’m exaggerating). It’s blasphemous. They should only ever be made with lightly sweetened biscuits, and you should make them yourself, if possible, or trick your friends into making them for you. That’s the smart way to do it. Clearly we both have a love of biscuits, that’s why we’re friends, and furthermore we think biscuits should be incorporated into every one of our meals. Don’t you? He’s Southern so it’s allowed and I’m Southern at heart so it’s okay.

In case you’ve missed any of the other Classics in this series, you can search for “Classics” in the search bar to the right, on the site. Or you can just click here, I went ahead and did it for you because that’s how much I care. I CARE ABOUT YOU! You know what else I care about? Strawberries and biscuits, and since this dessert has both of them in one mega treat, I really care about this dessert. I won’t go ahead and say it’s my favorite thing to eat in the summer, that’s a loaded statement, I’m no fool. But I also won’t say that it isn’t my favorite thing to eat during the summer. Maybe because it’s easy enough to make without having to spend too much time in a hot kitchen when all I really want to be doing is laying under the air conditioning vent with a pair of sunglasses and a cocktail. Hey, you enjoy the heat the way you want to, and I’ll (not) enjoy it the way I want to. Either way, strawberry shortcakes are on the top of our summer lists. I just know it.

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Strawberry Rhubarb BBQ Wings

May 4, 2015

I don’t know about your mothers, but my mamma would much rather have a barbecue feast instead of a fancy brunch for Mother’s Day. She’s a boss like that. Don’t give her pancakes or waffles, or even eggs, on her special day. She’d probably flip a table over and demand smoked ribs with coleslaw and cornbread on the side. I’m totally kidding, she’s not really a tyrant like that. She’s actually the complete opposite, but for dramatic effect let’s say I’m not kidding. (Sorry mamma). Give her a big plate of chicken wings though—not just on Mother’s Day but any day of the week—and she’ll be happy as a clam. A clam, I tell you. Take these Strawberry Rhubarb BBQ Wings for instance, they would probably bring tears of joy to her eyes. More so than any flower or chocolate or card ever possibly could. I think it’s safe to say that grilled chicken wings are the new way to our mothers’ hearts. It’s so 2015 of us. We shouldn’t be fighting it, but rather we should be making and eating all of the wings. Don’t fight it. Just make the wings.

Forget about all of the traditional, normal, everyday gifts that most moms get year after year. They don’t want that! They’re tired of those presents. Take it from me, they want something much tastier. Something new and exciting. Something they can’t get enough of. Something they can get their hands and faces dirty with, and are forced to lick their fingers clean because they don’t want to waste one drop of this delicious sauce. Don’t let the idea of making homemade BBQ sauce scare you though. It can be intimidating, but it’s actually incredibly easy to whip up. The hardest part is letting it simmer away for half an hour without sneaking a taste or two. So that’s definitely saying something. But let’s face it, at time’s I’m super lazy aren’t you? So I’m all for a homemade sauce that I can just dump everything into a pot, and forget about it while it simmer’s on low developing its incredible flavor, without me having to do anything major to it, other than just stirring it every now and then.

I’m definitely my mother’s son because I can never resist using my charcoal grill for everything. To me, nothing beats that flavor you get from burning coals. Definitely not as good as a propane grill, and sure it’s probably not the safest for the environment but I couldn’t grill any other way. It’s what I grew up with. My childhood during warm summer days, eating hamburgers and hot dogs by the pool. With that being said I of course, had to fire up my grill for this recipe. Rest assured though, I have those of you who don’t have an outdoor grill covered. I’ve given you a few alternative options to be able to make these sweet and spicy wings yourself. I’m just thinking of you and your mother’s because you should totally make these wings for them. They’ll be happy you did.

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Chocolate Strawberry Filled Cupcakes

February 4, 2015

When I was a little boy I was crazy about those chocolate Hostess cupcakes. The ones with the white swirl on top. Do you remember those? I’m sure you do, they’re pretty popular, or at least they were back in the early nineties when I was growing up. Well anyhow, I couldn’t get enough of them. My sister on the other hand hated them. She wasn’t (and still isn’t to this day) the biggest fan of chocolate. She was all about the twinkies, though, which I could never get down with. They weren’t my cup of tea. I secretly loved that she had her own strange tastes and that she didn’t like chocolate cupcakes because it just meant there was more for me. Those classic white swirled cupcakes have always inspired me and for the longest time I’ve wanted to make my own version of them on the site, but I never got around to it, until now. What better time to do it than on Valentine’s Day when chocolate desserts are sort of a must.

I actually saw a photo of cupcakes with handwritten “I love you’s” on the internet, and I knew I needed to take the idea and run with it for Valentine’s Day. It just felt so right. Copying is a form of flattery after all, right? Thanks Martha Stewart for the smart idea. You’re always one step ahead of everyone else. So the design has been done, but the cupcakes? The cupcakes are all me. Rich chocolate cupcakes filled with my all-time favorite frosting, strawberry cheesecake, and then because there just wasn’t enough chocolate already, I went ahead and dipped them in a dark chocolate ganache. Melted white chocolate finishes them off. They taste like chocolate dipped strawberries and they’re the perfect dessert for Valentine’s Day!

There was a point a few years ago when cupcakes were the biggest thing on Earth and everyone who is anyone was sharing their recipes. Clearly I’m behind on the times. They might be a little taboo these days but I’m totally bringing them back. They’re a necessity on certain holidays and I’m sure no one will complain about these. So let’s forget about what we should or shouldn’t be cooking and baking. What’s in or what’s out and let’s definitely not pay attention to what people are saying because that’s not important. All that matters is that we’re happy and content in what we’re doing in life. So let’s celebrate Valentine’s Day with those we love, family members, friends, significant others, and pets and stuff our faces with all of the chocolate and all of the cupcakes.

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