I actually started this post, "Omigod, omigod, omigod, it's strawberry season!" but decided that taking a more subtle tack would be a better approach to my first blog entry EVAR.That said, I would like to say that the sentiment of the aforementioned "omigods" is quite tangibly there, as strawberries have been, since the dawning of time (or, at least the mid-eighties), my absolute, hands-down, all-time favorite food, thereby making it an appropriate pick for my maiden post.
This dish seems quite ordinary, but when made well, it is absolutely delicious and refreshing. Some people might balk at the idea of using plain white bread in a recipe, but I say the cheaper the better (this particular loaf cost $0.88). The bread, when toasted, adopts a light, airy texture. I choose to lightly (very lightly, I say) dust the sliced strawberries with sugar and leave them in the fridge for at least a day to kind of leach some of the juice out and sweeten the berries, but you can leave them be and just slice them right before serving. Adding a little fresh ground pepper at the end really brings up the spicier notes in the strawberries.
You'll Need:
1 or 2 cups strawberries, sliced
4 slices white bread (toasted just before serving)
Cream Cheese Mousse
fresh ground pepper, to taste
For the Cream Cheese Mouse:
3/4 c crème fraîche* or whipping cream (not heavy)
8 ounces cream cheese
2 tbsp honey
1) Whip the crème fraîche until stiff and scrape into a separate bowl. In the same bowl, beat together the cream cheese and honey until combined. Stir in a quarter of the crème fraîche and beat until smooth, then add in the remaining crème fraîche. Combine until mostly smooth (don't be too concerned about small lumps of cream cheese; it adds a nice toothsome texture that I like).
2) Eating this stuff can go two ways: you can serve it immediately, on toasted white bread with the strawberries and black pepper for a softer texture, or you can line a colander with damp cheesecloth, scrape the cheese in, tie up the sides of the cheesecloth, and set the whole thing in a bowl in your fridge overnight. The milk solids will separate slightly, leaving a firmer texture. Either way is fine.
* A note on crème fraîche: This recipe would be fine, I'm sure, with plain whipping cream, but it would lack the pizzazz that crème fraîche so easily brings. Storebought is fine, but making it at home is simple and cheap. Mix together 2 tbs buttermilk with 1 cup whipping cream, set in a nice draft-free place (a jar with a lid would be spectacular) for 14 hours to overnight, then stir until thick and refrigerate.
