30/30 - #1 Strawberry Pie

I'M 30!! Hard to believe that I have officially entered another decade of my life. Instead of being sad and depressed about getting older, I am excited! Life is good, especially in the kitchen ;)

So here it is, the favorite everyone has been waiting for, the #1 recipe in my Top 30 favorites - Strawberry Pie! Not just any strawberry pie, but my Grandma's Strawberry Pie!

This pie doesn't just taste amazing, but it brings me back to my childhood every time I make or eat it. When I first started KettlerCuisine, this was one of the recipes I knew I had to post. I struggled with the recipe for a while since Grandma didn't leave very detailed instructions, but relied on my experience in the kitchen and my Aunt Liz to figure it out. I miss you Grandma!

During strawberry season, I make this pie almost every week. Poor Hubby doesn't get much variety on desserts during that time, but he doesn't mind it. At the peak of the season, I don't even add sugar to the strawberries, I just let their natural sweetness shine through. I couldn't think of a more fitting #1 favorite for the Top 30 than Grandma's Strawberry Pie.

I CRAVE it every year, I MAKE it every year, and I DEVOUR it every year! 

Find the recipe for Grandma's Strawberry Pie here.

Here are other favorite strawberry recipes:

• Strawberries with Lemon Honey Ricotta
• Strawberry Almond Tart
• Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
• Grown Up Fruit Salad
• Strawberry and Cream Scones (Smitten Kitchen)
• Honey Balsamic Strawberry Galette (Honey & Jam)
• Strawberry Meringues (Bakers Royale)
• Strawberry Jam (Deliciously Organic)

OK, now time for me to go celebrate! Hopefully you have enjoyed seeing me every day for the past month, but I am going to take a little break now and party!!

Strawberries with Lemon Honey Ricotta

If you live anywhere in the vicinity of North Carolina, then you know that Thursday was a complete rainy mess! Buckets and buckets of rain fell from the sky all day and all night. It was a disaster and a miracle that our house didn't float away. We survived and somehow, the sunshine found its way through the clouds this morning and the sky was a vibrant blue and everything was electric green. 

Waking up to blue skies always makes me appreciate my surroundings and excites me to get outside (before the heat gets here)! I knew exactly what I was going to do waking up this morning - strawberry picking.

I absolutely adore strawberry season! There is no better tasting fruit at the peak of its growing season than a tasty, sweet strawberry.

Every year on the blog, I usually include a few strawberry recipes during April/May to highlight the ripe fruit. Last year, as I was adventuring in Gluten Free land, I made a Strawberry Almond Tart. The year before that I shared my all-time-favorite recipe, Grandma's Strawberry Pie (which I am planning to make tomorrow with all of my fresh-picked strawberries). This year, I decided to go a bit more simple since time is valuable and the strawberries are so delicious. I had some fresh ricotta from the market, which I sweetened with local honey and some lemon zest. The balance of the sweet strawberries and the creamy ricotta comes together for a very nice fresh, light late Spring dessert.  

Strawberries with Lemon Honey Ricotta

Yields: 2 servings Prep Time: 5 minutes

Fresh strawberries, hulled, quartered1/2 cup Whole milk Ricotta cheese

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

2-3 teaspoons honey

2 Tablespoons Pine Nuts, lightly toasted

In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the Pine Nuts. Watch them closely, as they will burn quick. Once they become slightly fragrant, remove from heat and the pan and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the Ricotta, honey and lemon zest together until well combined. Place a small amount of this in another small bowl, layer with strawberries, then more Ricotta. Add the Pine Nuts and bit more lemon zest on top. 

If your strawberries are not extremely sweet, you can drizzle a bit more honey on top as well.

Strawberry Recipes to also try:

• Grandma's Strawberry Pie
• Strawberry Almond Tart
• Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
• Grown Up Fruit Salad

Strawberry Almond Tart

Strawberry Season!!!

One of my favorite seasons, next to tomatoes and peaches...and zucchini and cherries and sweet corn. OK, so let's face it, I love all produce when it is in season. 

The first thought I had when I went gluten free was that I wouldn't be able to have Grandma's Strawberry Pie anymore!!! I was so devastated that I started right away working on a gluten free version. Instead of trying to do a gluten free pastry crust, I thought a tart shell using ground almonds would work well and compliment the strawberries. 

The best thing about this pie, is the small amount of sugar when using sweet strawberries. When strawberries are in season (a good season), they are super sweet. I based my crust recipe off a gluten-free almond crust over at Krissy's Creations and it turned out very well. 

Strawberry Tart (Gluten Free)

Adapted from Krissy's Creations
Makes: 8 inch tart
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

2 cups blanched almond flour
2 T honey
4 T unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp lemon zest, divided
pinch of salt
8 oz mascarpone (or cream cheese), softened
2 T sugar (optional)
6 cups fresh strawberries, washed, dried and hulled (divided)
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of berries)
2 T arrowroot powder (or corn starch)
sliced almonds for garnish
whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Rinse the strawberries well and lay out to dry completely.

In a medium bowl, mix the almond flour, melted butter, honey, lemon zest and pinch of salt together until well combined. Lightly spray a tart pan with olive oil or rub with butter. Form the almond flour batter into a ball and press into the tart shell to form a crust. Lay a piece of foil over the crust and gently press down. Fill the foil with pie weights (I use dried lima beans). This is called blind baking, which I describe in a previous post.

Bake the crust, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the crust starts to brown. Remove the crust and let cool to room temperature. Once the crust is cooled, spread the mascarpone along the bottom. If you like a sweeter cheese, mix the softened mascarpone with 2 T sugar.

Hull all the strawberries and line the prepared crust with whole strawberries (cut side down). Just line the bottom of the crust. Take the remaining strawberries and lightly puree in a food processor or blender.

Place the pureed strawberries into a small sauce pan over medium heat. Once the puree starts to boil, slowly add in the sugar and arrowroot powder and stir continuously so the bottom won't burn or turn into gel. After a few minutes, the mixture will start to thicken. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Pour the strawberry puree over the whole strawberries on the tart shell, stopping just before the top of the sides of the crust. Reserve the remaining puree for other use (this will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks).

Place the tart into the refrigerator until ready to serve. Best served with sliced almonds and whipped cream.