Early Summer Berry-Rhubarb Pie

Growing up with a rather over sized rhubarb tree (bush? plant?) and wild strawberries, blueberries and raspberries near our home in the country, my mother prepared some beautiful and delicious pies, crisps and assorted desserts for my family. I love the sweet and tart combination found in rhubarb-berry pies. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.


Pie crust (for top and bottom of 9 inch round pie)
1 1/2 pounds trimmed rhubarb
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries
1 cup sliced strawberries

Cut rhubarb into 1/2 inch chunks.

In large sauce pan, stir rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and stir over medium-low heat until sugar has melted. While this is cooking, stir lemon juice and corn starch together until dissolved. In a small bowl stir together cornstarch and lemon juice. Add cornstarch-lemon juice to rhubarb and cook until thickened, stirring often, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Add berries to rhubarb mixture and refrigerate 30 minutes, covered.

Preheat oven to 400.

Press dough into 9 inch pie dish. Spoon filling over crust. Drape remaining pastry round over filling and trim so that dough overlaps the edges slightly (about 1/2 inch, as crust will shrink when cooking). Pinch crust together with bottom and crimp to decorate if desired. Score pie on top with small knife.

Bake pie in middle of oven 40 minutes, with baking sheet on lower rack to catch any filling spills, until pie crust is just lightly golden brown.

Transfer pie to a cookie rack to cool. Let rest a minimum of 30 minutes to let filling set.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Happy Eating,

Caitlin

Mojito Mania - Raspberry, Guava and Mango Mojitos

Ingredients for traditional Mojito:

1/2 shot simple syrup 1 1/2 oz white rum 1 oz fresh lime juice
8 mint leaves 1 splash seltzer
Ice

Muddle mint leaves with rum. In cocktail shaker, add rum, mint, ice, simple syrup and lime juice. Shake vigorously and pour into glass. Pour splash seltzer into cocktail shaker and mix around, then pour over mojito. Garnish with lime wedge.


Variations:


Mango Mojito:

Use 2 oz mango flavored rum in place of white rum. Add a few pieces of diced mango when muddling.


Raspberry Mojito:

Add 10 raspberries to mint and rum. Muddle well, then finish like normal mojito.


Guava mojito:

Add 1 oz guava nectar and increase rum to 2 oz.

Raspberry Mango Salsa

2 cups fresh raspberries, washed and drained
1 mango
1/4 cup Vidalia onion (about 1/2 of medium onion)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 limes

Wash and peel mango, cutting it into very small pieces. Mince onion and add to mango. Wash cilantro and let dry. Mince and add to mango mixture. Toss with fresh raspberries. Juice limes and pour over mixture.

Serve with freshly baked tortilla chips

Duck Breasts with Berry Sauce

I adore duck. The richness and fat of the duck compliment the acidity of the berries and vinegar perfectly. The rosemary is very subtle but adds complexity to this dish. This dish is my idea of heaven.

Ingredients:
4 boneless duck breast fillets, skin on
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup red wine
1 cup chicken stock (or if you happen to have duck stock, use it)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 cups mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries-use all three or what you can find in your freezer or local mart)
2 tablespoons butter
1 sprig rosemary
Salt and Pepper

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium sauce pot. Add sugar and mix until melted. Add red wine and vinegar and bring to a boil. Once the caramel (melted sugar and butter) has dissolved into the liquid, add chicken stock, rosemary and 1 1/2 cup berries. Simmer 35-40 minutes until the sauce is reduced. Strain into small sauce pot, pushing on the berries to release their juices. Discard remaining berry solids. Set sauce aside. The sauce can be prepared the day before and refrigerated until the duck breasts are being cooked.

Preheat the oven to 400.

Rinse duck breasts and pat dry with paper towel. Cut excess fat from breasts-do not remove the skin. Cut shallow slits in skin of duck & season duck lightly with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add duck breasts, skin side down, and cook about 4 minutes or until the skin has turned brown. Carefully turn over breasts (try not to separate the skin from the breast) and cook for 3 more minutes. Place skillet on middle rack in preheated oven. Cook for 4 minutes for medium duck breasts.

While duck is in oven, heat up sauce in small sauce pot until simmering.

Spoon 1/2 sauce over 4 plates. Place duck breast, skin side up over sauce. Drizzle remaining sauce over breasts and garnish with reserved berries.