Strawberry season!

I was really hoping that my little berry patch would produce enough for this recipe, but I think it'll only halfway make it. Luckily there's a farmer's market tomorrow, so I can get a quart of local berries to suplement it. I should be able to also get some local ricotta and cream there. I think I have a bottle of chianti downstairs, but should check. This will be dessert for Friday night. No oven!

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No oven!

I'm ready for the bloody oven here - it is freezing. I may have to put the heat on!

This is one I have been looking forward to!

I still have 3/4 of a cheesecake in my fridge...

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I still have 3/4 of a cheesecake in my fridge...

Ours has been officially knocked back as of this evening. I think that flavour got even better as it 'aged'.

Jerry-It finally got warm here in Alaska. I think it hit 70 today, with lots of sunshine. Maybe there will be a summer.

Amy-the local berries and ricotta sound wonderful. It's too early for any local berries, and the grocery store ones aren't very good right now. So I'll have to see if I want to make this one.

I had half a cheesecake leftover also and ended up throwing it away. It just was too soft inside to give it to anyone, and I didn't want any more of the calories.

As it was 115 here today, I'm glad I don't need an oven for this one (although I did turn it on to make a zucchini cake for a neighbor whose mother passed away. I was in the pool while it baked.)

Yum! If you like steak au poivre, or unexpected flavors, you'll adore this. We loved it--the sweetness of berries and cream, rich background of wine, and every now and then a jolt of pepper which fades quickly into sweetness. If you're less sure of your guest's tastes, you can use less pepper. Larry had the leftover glass for breakfast this morning.

Amy-That looks beautiful! I'm going to make mine for dessert tonight. I almost decided to skip this week, as I'm not really fond of the texture of ricotta. But now I'll be making it.

I made the dessert for dinner, and we thought it was great! We're going to try it again tomorrow (maybe even for breakfast), so we will see how it is the second day.

I put some of the ricotta mixture on the bottom of the strawberries and then some on the top.

My picture isn't as pretty as Amy's, but here it is. I used the goblets that I have from my Mother's wedding crystal (she was married in 1941). I think these were the champagne glasses back in that era. She was always proud that she only broke two glasses from the whole set in all of those years.

Nancy

Nancy, those glasses made for a beautiful presentation.

Cindy Ruth, when the ricotta mixes with the whipped cream, it loses any "graininess" and the whole thing becomes rich and thick.

Nancy, they look so lovely! And the cream also at the bottom is a great idea--the syrup melts right in, I'll bet.

I'll be making this for dinner tonight. I found this recipe while 'trolling' food blogs this morning (when I was supposed to be working on B and B and restaurant reviews). Strawberries and Black Pepper Meringue

This was an interesting combination. I must admit I did not taste it all together, but gave it to Brad. I am somewhat of a purist with some things. For example, I love coffee, and I love Baileys, but I won't mess with either by combining them, because I think it screws up the coffee AND the Baileys.

I do not drink Chianti, so I didn't want to "ruin" my berries. Brad liked the berries in the wine. I tasted the ricotta cream with pepper, with some plain berries, and it didn't work for me. I would prefer plain whipped cream. Brad thought the whole thing was "Ok", but there was clearly a feeling of "We don't need to make this again any time soon". Different strokes...

Here's my photo. I really liked this dessert, because it is so different. I did use more ricotta cream than berries, and I really liked the ricotta cream. The peppercorns I used were that mixture of 4 colors. I might cut back a little on the pepper next time-I liked it alot, but my husband just wasn't sure. I think he'd like it better if it had about half of the amount. It was a very elegant dessert, and light tasting, and I think would be a really nice ending to certain dinners.

I had an interesting time with this one. I loved the fact that I didn't use an oven this week, but I struggled with the flavors on this. Palma, I get what you are saying. I love chianti and I love strawberries, but for some reason I did not like the chianti with the strawberries.

I ended up serving this not as in my picture but with some ice cream and sorbet, which I did picture on my blog, but it's not as pretty as this one.

-Krista

We both really liked this dessert. We usually eat fruit for dessert so this was a nice variation. I wasn't certain what 'cracked' meant so ended up grinding the pepper instead. I tried to get it a little coarse. The pepper flavor was much more mild - so mild that George thought it was cinnamon. I also really liked the strawberries in wine. I'm wondering if you could do something similar but with peaches.

I love everyone's glasses. I wanted to try a different glass but George wouldn't dig them out of storage for me.

We have enough left for dessert tonight also.

The ricotta cream is amazing. We were tempted to get spoons and just eat the bowl of that! I used pink peppercorns (I had a whole bottle in the pantry and thought that they might look pretty). Taste test later tonight when mom comes over for dinner - she really likes this Sunday Slow Baking idea!

I loved this! I liked the blend of flavors. I liked the sweetness of the berries and the bite of the pepper. I'll make it again. (but not if Palma and Brad are coming to dinner )

Bill was certain that I accidentally left off the pound cake.

Perfect summertime dessert! Loved the flavors and the fact that I didn’t have to turn on my oven on a day that we expect the high to be 111 degrees. And I also liked the simplicity of the recipe: 6 ingredients, 2 bowls.

Marta: my cousin in Palermo favorite springtime dessert is sliced peaches mixed with a bit of sugar and red wine poured over. She doesn’t add anything else and its delicious and so refreshing.