Kitchen3N

Recipes and food fun from Apt 3N

Berries n Sour Cream

I think everyone has found themselves in the following situation: item X was on sale so, naturally, you stock up and reap the benefits of your frugality for weeks to come. Except, sometimes, this item doesn’t have a great shelf life. So you can start putting it in everything you eat, or just suck it up and toss it at some point. That’s what happened when my husband bought several tubs of sour cream (originally for spinach and artichoke dip for my daughter’s birthday party). After the last chip had been dipped, I started putting it into everything I could think of–mashed potatoes, sour cream pound cake, even pancakes (which did not go so well). I still hadn’t exhausted my supply when said hubby asked if we had any whipped cream to eat with some strawberries we had lying around. Inspired by sheer laziness, I came up with the following: berries with (sweetened) sour cream.

This stuff is good enough to serve to company. The macerated berries are even good by themselves if you’re looking for a lighter version. I know the cinnamon in it sounds crazy – but  trust me, it works!

Ingredients:

Berries:

  • 1.5 cups chopped strawberries or mixed berries
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsps sugar
  • dash of cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Sweetened sour cream:

  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 tbsps powdered sugar

Directions

Combine berries, salt, sugar, cinnamon and balsamic vinegar in a bowl. Let the ingredients sit while preparing the cream (at least 5 minutes).

Combine sour cream and powdered sugar (crystallized sugar just won’t dissolve). Stir well.

Scoop the berries into serving bowl. Top with a generous dollop of the sour cream mixture.

 

Ladybug cupcakes

For my daughter’s first birthday, I decided to use her ladybug halloween costume as inspiration for the theme. The result: garden party, complete with ladybugs and butterflies galore. Most aspects of the party were standard fare: food, family, friends and goody bags. However, I wanted to share the centerpiece/dessert for the afternoon, ladybug cupcakes:

I started off with Martha Stewart’s recipe and in fact followed her directions for the ladybugs themselves (7 oz of marzipan, half tinted black, half tinted red then roll into dozens of tiny balls to make about 36 ladybugs). However, as a chocolate lover, could not bring myself to serve only vanilla cupcakes with swiss meringue buttercream as directed (though I was ECSTATIC to get the SMB down on my first try during the trial run). On the flip side, anyone who has entertained South Asians knows you can’t serve just chocolate for dessert and get away with it.

My compromise? Gina’s Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting II from AllRecipes.com. I realize I’m not sharing anything incredibly original or authentic here, but thought I’d share the idea for those who might appreciate a cupcake with a little extra umph. The cream cheese frosting piped well when chilled slightly…though my partner in crime (Moury Sultana – part time baker, full time med student) and I ended up using zip loc bags to frost when we couldn’t find the right tip for my piping bag!!

 (photo courtesy of Vijai Kalathur)