Fresas con Crema - Strawberries and Mexican Cream

Fresas con Crema is a simple and delicious dessert made from strawberries and Mexican cream, known as crema, a rich store-bought dairy product prepared with two ingredients, heavy cream and buttermilk.

Crema is often used as a topping for savory dishes like tacos, chimichangas or as one of the fillings in burritos but it is also excellent in sweet dishes, like this one, or as a topping for fruit tarts. It’s quite rich and a little bit tangy but less tart than our sour cream, more like crème fraiche.

In Texas, just about every supermarket carries crema, sometimes even from a selection of producers, including a store brand. I've discovered that some are more tangy, even a bit salty, and some are more mild. I actually did that research looking for/hoping to find a crema that I could substitute for clotted cream. 

Some might have done okay but I was responsible for bringing said clotted cream to a bridal shower and, well, I didn't want to let the side down. After all, if you are putting clotted cream on a scone, it's right out there for everyone to judge. I ended up making my own which is a whole 'nother nightmare I might share with you some day. 

Fresas con Crema - Strawberries and Mexican Cream

If Mexican crema isn’t available in your local store, you can substitute clotted cream. You can also sub in sour cream or crème fraiche and skip or reduce the amount of lime, if desired. This may mean that your cream will need a little longer to “set” but it will still taste delicious. 

Ingredients to serve four

1 cup or 200g Mexican crema

1/2 cup or 120ml heavy cream

3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk, plus extra for drizzling, if desired

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups or 440g (weight after hulling) chopped fresh strawberries, plus 4 more for garnish, if desired.

Method

Divide the chopped strawberries among 4 serving dishes or ramekins. 

In a small bowl, whisk the crema, heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, lime juice and vanilla.

Top the strawberries with the cream mixture and quickly stir a little to mix it with some of the chopped strawberries. It starts to firm up immediately so do not tarry. 

To garnish with the extra strawberries, you can simple pop one on top each of the bowls, or carefully make slices in the berry, leaving the hull intact, then press gently down to fan the slices out. 

Drizzle the tops with a little more condensed milk, if desired. Serve immediately or keep chilled until ready to serve. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with strawberries! Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. Check out the links below:

• Strawberry Breakfast Pastry from Palatable Pastime
• Strawberry Smoothie from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Triple Berry Greek Yogurt Parfait from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Strawberry Hazelnut Crostini from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Homemade Strawberry Crush from Sneha's Recipe
• Fresas con Crema from Food Lust People Love
• Strawberry Cheesecake Bars from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Strawberry Chia Seed Pudding from Cook with Renu

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Buttermilk-Brined Roast Chicken Crown

After 24 hours of marinating, and a hour + in a hot oven, this buttermilk-brined roast chicken crown is tender and juicy inside with the most delectable golden skin outside!

We love a good Sunday roast dinner, especially for a special occasion like Mother’s Day and, frankly, I am much more likely to roast chicken than an expensive cut of beef. No pressure to get it exactly the right amount of rare! Add some roast potatoes, tasty onion gravy and some young peas and I’m happy. 

I don’t know why but it’s hard to find chicken crowns, an all-breast cut that still has the bones underneath left on. I was jumping around in my local grocery store when I happened to come across one, on sale no less, because my mom was never a fan of chicken legs or thighs. A chicken crown was pretty much her ideal bird for roasting. She loved this dish!

Buttermilk-Brined Roast Chicken Crown

This recipe is adapted from one on New York Time Cooking, where it was in turn adapted from the fabulous cookbook, Salt Fat Acid Heat, Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat. If you haven’t read the book or watched the show on Netflix, I highly recommend both. 

Ingredients

1 chicken crown, weight about 4 lbs 4 oz or 1966g

Kosher salt or fine sea salt

2 cups or 480ml buttermilk (or substitute 3 tablespoons white vinegar in measuring cup filled to 2 cups with milk)

2 medium onions

1 small lemon

Method

The day before you want to roast it, season the chicken crown generously with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Stir 2 tablespoons kosher salt or 4 teaspoons fine sea salt into the buttermilk to dissolve. Place the crown in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag and pour in the buttermilk. 

Seal the bag, squish the salty buttermilk all around the chicken, place on a rimmed plate, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, turning the bag every once in a while. 

Pull the chicken from the fridge an hour before you plan to cook it. 

Heat the oven to 400°F or 180°C with your degrees with an iron skillet on a rack set in the center position.

Slice the onions in thick slices to act as a baking trivet. Poke the lemon all over with the sharp point of a knife. 

Remove the chicken crown from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can. If the skin is riding up a little bit at the pointy end, use a toothpick or two to secure it.

Carefully lay the sliced onions in the hot cast-iron skillet. 

Place the chicken on top, tucking the lemon underneath it. Put the hot skillet back in the oven. 

If you have eagle eyes, you might notice that I also put my Meater thermometer into the chicken crown at the thickest part. (The silver thing on the top left, with the black top.) It was a Christmas gift from my husband a few years back. The Meater runs with an app and tells me when the internal temperature has reached whatever I set it on. Like magic.

After about 20 minutes, when the chicken starts to brown, reduce the heat to 350°F or 180°C and turn the pan around. Cook until the internal temperature of the crown reaches 165°F or 74°C, about another hour.  

If the skin is getting too brown before it is cooked through, use a foil tent to protect it.  

Once the chicken crown is cooked to the desired temperature, take it out of the skillet and put it on a board covered with a foil tent to rest for 10 minutes.

Carve to serve. Enjoy! 

It's Sunday FunDay as well as Mother's Day in the United States so my friends and I are sharing recipes for a mom pleasing brunch! Many thanks to our host, Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures. Check out the Mother's Day brunch links:

• Buttermilk-Brined Roast Chicken Crown by Food Lust People Love
• Cheesy Chive Popovers by Culinary Cam
• Mini Pavlova by Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Moong Dal Chila by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Sausage Balls by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tomato Ketchup Chicken & Rice Platter by Sneha's Recipe
  

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Quiche Lorraine Filled Portabella Mushrooms

Who needs a crust when garlicky mushrooms fulfill that role gorgeously in these Quiche Lorraine filled Portabella Mushrooms with Gruyère cheese and bacon! 

It’s not often that I find four reasonably equal large portabella mushrooms so when I do, I like to make a recipe that puts them center stage. I can’t bear to cut up such beautiful specimens and destroy their perfect shape and size. 

While I’ve made quiche Lorraine, that typical French recipe with bacon and Gruyère cheese, feel free to substitute your favorite cheese and perhaps ham, chicken or a cooked vegetable for the bacon.

Quiche Lorraine filled Portabella Mushrooms

I use store-bought already cooked bacon crumbles here but you can certainly fry up two or three strips of bacon then chop them with a sharp knife. These make a special first course or side for any meal. We actually ate them this time as a main course with salad and steamed baby broccoli on the side. A lovely meal!

Ingredients

4 large portabella mushrooms

2 cloves garlic

Olive oil

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 egg

1/4 cup or 60ml cream

1/2 cup or 50g Gruyère cheese, grated, plus extra for topping

1/4 cup or 30g crispy bacon crumbles

Optional garnish: chopped chives

Method

Preheat your oven to 410°F or 210°C. 

Cut the stems off of the mushrooms, discarding any hard ends. If you have a vegetable stock bag in the freezer, pop the rest of the stems in there. 

Mince the garlic. Put the mushrooms cap side up in a baking pan.  Add the garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. 

Roast in the hot oven for about 10-12 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk the egg and add the cream. 

Stir in the grated cheese and bacon crumbles. 

Remove the filled mushrooms from the oven and leave to cool for about five minutes. 

Divide the quiche filling between the mushroom and sprinkle with a little extra grated cheese and some black pepper. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the filling is just setting. Turn your oven on to broil for a few minutes to brown the tops. Keep a very close eye on the filling to make sure it doesn’t burn. 

Leave to set for a few minutes then garnish with a few chopped chives, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today my blogger friends and I are sharing mushroom recipes! Check out the links below:

• Beef Tips with Mushroom Gravy from Palatable Pastime
• Boursin Stuffed Mushrooms from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cheesy Stuffed Mushrooms from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Mushroom Spinach Curry from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Mushrooms in Creamy Gravy from Sneha's Recipe
• Quiche Lorraine Filled Portabella Mushrooms from Food Lust People Love
• Stir-Fried Cellophane Noodles with Enoki Mushrooms from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Three Mushroom Pâté from Culinary Cam

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Creamy Cheddar Cauliflower Soup (Instant Pot)

This Creamy Cheddar Cauliflower Soup is the perfect savory bowl, made with extra sharp cheddar and chicken broth. And it’s quick to cook in an Instant Pot! 

One of my husband’s all-time favorite dishes is baked cauliflower cheese so I knew this soup would be an instant hit. I was not wrong. The best part is that it is simple and, cooked in an Instant Pot, it takes hardly any time at all. 

I like to serve it with extra extra sharp cheddar on top, which endears it even more to my cauliflower cheese loving spouse. 

Creamy Cheddar Cauliflower Soup

This easy Instant Pot recipe is super flexible. If your cauliflower is a bit bigger or smaller, no worries. I give the weight of mine below, just as a guide. This recipe is adapted from one on Faith Hope Love and Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice.

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower (about 2 lbs 7oz or 1100g, whole)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 large onion, peeled

2 small stalks celery

1/2 cup or 63g all-purpose flour

5 cups or 1185ml chicken stock, divided

1 teaspoon Colman’s mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 1/2 cups or 360ml milk

1/2 cup or 120ml heavy cream

6 oz or 170g extra sharp cheddar, grated, plus extra for serving, if desired

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Optional for garnish: chopped green onions

Method

Trim all the green leaves off of the cauliflower and cut the head into small florettes. Finely chop the stalks. 

Finely dice the onion and celery. 

Place the butter and olive oil in your Instant Pot on the sauté normal setting. 

When the butter is melted, add the onion, celery and chopped cauliflower stalks to the pot and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add the flour to the pot and stir well to mix it into the softened vegetables. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Slowly pour in half of the chicken stock, whisking constantly to avoid creating lumps. Whisk in the mustard, salt and both peppers. 

Add the cauliflower florettes to the Instant Pot and stir to coat with the stock and seasonings. 

Add in the rest of the stock.

Set the Instant Pot on for manual for 15 minutes. Immediately release the pressure by covering the valve with a towel and opening it carefully so you don’t get burned by the steam. 

Add the milk and cream into the pot, stirring well. 

Turn the Instant Pot on the sauté low setting and toss the grated cheese for the soup with the cornstarch to coat. 

Add the grated cheese a handful at a time, stirring well in between. Cook until the soup is warmed through and slightly thicker.

Serve with extra grated cheese for topping, if desired, and chopped green onions for garnish. 

Enjoy! 

It's Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes made with cauliflower and broccoli, two of my favorite vegetables. Many thanks to our host, Sneha of Sneha's Recipe. Check out the links below:

• Buffalo Cauliflower Quinoa Bowls from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Cauliflower Cheese from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cauliflower Curry Pathare Prabhu Style from Sneha's Recipe
• Creamy Cheddar Cauliflower Soup (Instant Pot) from Food Lust People Love
• Stirfry Chicken, Broccoli, and Cauliflower from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tandoori Cauliflower Steaks from Mayuri's Jikoni

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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My Ideal Birthday “Cake” (is Meatloaf!)

A savory dish made with ground meat, my ideal birthday cake is meatloaf! This one is filled with curried carrots and covered with buttery cream potatoes. Happy Easter to all who celebrate and an early Happy April Fool's Day to all!

We all love a good prank for April Fool’s Day but I can’t remember the last time I actually pulled one. Probably when our girls still lived at home and that’s was a very long time ago – COVID days excepted. 

If you’ve been reading my posts for a while, you probably know that I’m not much of a sweet eater so when our Sunday FunDay host for this week challenged us to make a dish that looked like something else for April Fool’s Day, I knew I’d make a savory dish. 

I also wanted to make a fun recipe that we could actually enjoy for a main course. I created this meatloaf recipe to fit the bill. Doesn’t it look like cake?!!!

My Ideal Birthday Cake is Meatloaf

I used two 6-in or 15cm round “smash” cake pans to bake the meatloaf layers. A tradition that started well after my two girls had turned one, smash cakes are little cakes baked so the birthday baby can put her whole face in. I presume there’s another cake for the rest of the guests at the birthday party.

Ingredients

For the “cake” layers:

2 slices sandwich bread (brown or white)

1/4 cup or 60ml milk

1 small onion or 1/2 medium onion

1 lb or 450g ground beef

1/2 lb or 225g ground pork

2 eggs

1/4 cup or 60ml ketchup

2 teaspoons dry mustard powder (like Colman’s)

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the cream potato “frosting”:

4 medium Russet potatoes (weight peeled: about 1 lb 6 oz or 625g)

1 teaspoon fine sea salt to boil, plus extra after mashing, if needed

1/2 cup or 120ml whipping or heavy cream

1/4 cup or 57g butter

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

For the savory carrot filling: 

3 medium carrots (weight peeled: about 7 3/4 oz or 215g)

1/4 medium onion

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon salt  

For decorating:

1 teaspoon paprika

Large piping tip

Piping bag

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Cut the bread into small squares and pour the milk over it in a small bowl, pushing the pieces down into the milk. Soak until all the milk is absorbed.

Mince your onion finely. I usually use a small food processor for this to make sure there are no big bits because no one wants to bite into a big bit of onion.

In a large bowl, add your onion, ground beef, ground pork, eggs, ketchup, mustard powder and salt. Mash the soggy bread with a fork till it falls apart and then add it to the large bowl with all of the other ingredients.  Mix well.

Divide the mixture in half and press it into the smash cake pans. My whole mixture weighed 1062g so each pan holds 531g.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the meatloaf is browned nicely and cooked through to a safe internal temperature of 160°F or 71°C.

While your layers are baking, make the filling and "frosting." Peel your potatoes and cut them into chunks. Boil them until tender with the teaspoon of salt. 

Warm the cream and butter together till the butter is just melted. I do this in a microwaveable vessel, with quick zaps, watching carefully so it doesn’t boil over. 

Drain the potatoes and mash them right away. I find they mash with fewer lumps while still hot. Add in the melted butter/cream and the white pepper. 

Stir well till combined. Taste and add more salt if needed. 

Peel and cut the carrots into chunks. Finely mince the onion (or use a processor) for the filling. 

Boil the carrots until very tender then drain and mash them right away. 

Transfer the carrots to a heat -proof bowl and melt the butter in the pot you used to boil them. Sauté the curry powder and chopped onions in the butter until the onions are translucent and very soft. 

Add the carrots back into the pot with the 1/4 teaspoon of salt and mix well. Set aside.

When they are done, remove the meatloaf layers from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes. Run a silicone spatula around the edge to loosen. Carefully remove them to plates.

Top one meatloaf layer with the carrot filling. 

Carefully put the second meatloaf layer on top. 

Cover the “cake” with the cream potatoes. 

You should have plenty left over so don't be shy.

Add the paprika to 3/4 cup or 170g of the cream potatoes and mix well.

Fit a large tip on your piping bag and use a spatula to add the paprika potato down the insides of the bag in stripes. Spoon the rest of the cream potatoes in the middle of the piping bag. Decorate the “cake” by piping on little rosettes or stars.

I did a row around the bottom, then a row around the top. And because more is more, I piped rosettes to cover the top. You do you. 

(You will probably have potato leftover at the end unless you choose to cover the whole cake with rosettes. Eat it as is or follow these instructions to make baked Marquis potatoes with the rest. 

I must confess that by the time I finished assembling the “cake” it was closer to room temperature than hot so we sliced it up and warmed it by the slice in the microwave. Delicious! 

If you make one to trick your family, I’d love to hear about it!

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and, as mentioned above, we are sharing April Fool’s Day recipes. Many thanks to our host, Camilla from Culinary Cam. Check out all the illusion recipes below:

• April Fools Calzone Donut by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• April Fools' Day Chicken Nuggets & French Fries by Sneha's Recipe
• Big Ice Cream Taco by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Grogu's Frog Egg Dessert by Palatable Pastime
• Hot Beef Sundae by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• My Ideal Birthday "Cake" by Food Lust People Love
• Potted Plant Cremeux by Culinary Cam

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Crab Rangoon Ravioli

Fresh sheets of egg pasta filled with crabmeat, cream cheese, chives and garlic make the most succulent crab Rangoon ravioli! Serve simply buttered or with the sauce of your choice.  

We don’t eat out very often since I love to cook and my husband has gotten pretty good at it himself, since he started taking turns during the recent pandemic. One place we do like to go is a Chinese buffet that has wonderful sticky ribs and crispy shell on shrimp. It also serves my late sister's favorite, crab Rangoon, crunchy deep-fried wonton wrappers filled with cream cheese and crab. 

Crab and cream cheese are a delightful mixture but I'm not big on deep frying at home so when I had leftover crab a while back filling ravioli to boil seemed like much a better idea.

This is a dish that takes time to make but homemade ravioli dough is so worth it. And the filling is super easy to make! It’s special enough for either the main course at an intimate dinner party, or like fancy Italian restaurants do, you can serve just three or four per person in shallow bowls, as your starter. 

Crab Rangoon Ravioli

This recipe makes about 24 ravioli but is easily doubled. After making and filling the ravioli, any scraps of pasta can be cut into noodles and refrigerated to be boiled for another dish, another day. I used my leftovers in a stir-fry. This recipe was adapted from one on Thailand 1 Dollar Meals.

Ingredients  

For the egg pasta dough:

1 1/2 - 1 2/3 cups or 187.5- 208g tipo 00 flour (plus extra for rolling out the pasta)

1 egg 

1 egg yolk (save white for filling)

2 teaspoons olive oil 

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the filling:

Small bunch chives

1 clove garlic

4 3/4 oz or 135g cream cheese

3/4 cup, lightly packed, or 130g crabmeat

1 egg white (saved from making the egg dough)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

For serving:

Pasta sauce of your choice or simply melted butter and garlic

Parmesan cheese, grated

Extra chives for garnish

Crushed red pepper (optional)

Method

In large bowl, combine 3/4 cup or 94g flour, 1/4 cup or 60ml water and remaining dough ingredients. With mixer at slow speed, beat for two minutes, occasionally scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Using a wooden spoon or a Danish dough whisk, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. I start with half and go from there. You may not use it all. 

Turn out onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Wrap in cling film and let stand at least 30 minutes. (After the 30 minutes, refrigerate the dough if you aren’t ready to assemble your ravioli yet.) 

While the dough rests, we can get on to the ravioli filling. It couldn’t be simpler. 

Finely chop the chives and mince the garlic. 

Mix all the ingredients together well in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Once the dough has rested, cut it in four equal pieces and remove one. Wrap the rest of the dough again with the cling film.

Flour the dough ball well and use a rolling pin or a pasta roller to roll it out quite thinly to the size of your ravioli plaque. Check out my original ravioli post to see my roller in action.

Flour your ravioli plaque liberally and lay the sheet of pasta on top. Fill each hole with about a teaspoon of the filling.

Using the second quarter of the dough and, following the same instructions, roll it out to the size of your ravioli plaque.

Use a pastry brush to wet the pasta on the plaque between the spoons of filling.

Carefully, starting at one end, lay the second sheet of pasta on top of the filled one, sticking the two sheets together and pressing out the air as you go along.

Turn the ravioli plaque over and let the filled pasta drop out onto your countertop. If it sticks, just gently pry it off.

Trim the ravioli around the edges and cut them apart.

Set them aside on a plate lined with cling film that has been well floured.

Continue the process until all the ravioli are rolled out, filled and cut apart. I put another layer of cling film and flour again with each layer of ravioli.

The ravioli should be stored in the refrigerator, covered with cling film until you are ready to boil them.

When you are ready to cook the ravioli, warm your sauce of choice or serve simply with some melted butter, perhaps with a little chopped garlic. 

When your sauce is simmering, if using, heat a pot of salted water to boiling. 

Add several ravioli at a time, using a slotted spoon being careful not to over-crowd the pot. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until tender.

Remove with a slotted spoon to the pan with the warmed sauce. As you can see, I added mine to a pan with just butter and garlic. 

Stir gently to coat then spoon into plates or bowls to serve. Top with grated Parmesan, crushed red chili pepper and some chopped chives for garnish, if desired.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing dinner party dishes! Check out the links below. 

• Anti-Hero Appetizers from Culinary Cam
• Banana Cream Pie from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Black Eyed Peas Curry - Safed Lobia ka Salan from Sneha's Recipe
• Crab Rangoon Ravioli from Food Lust People Love
• Crockpot Pulled Pork with Ale from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Mini Chicken Tostada Appetizers from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Shrimp, Papaya and Pineapple Salad from Palatable Pastime

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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