What We Ate

My family is rather spoilt; they love each holiday we celebrate together, but especially the food I prepare for them.  We are extremely close, yet our conversation is absolutely facilitated by what we eat and drink.  For Memorial Day we are enjoying barbeque chicken & ribs, every day of the weekend, along with the potato salad that my Mom and I make together, corn on the cob and other market veggies.  My family enjoys the dessert course most of all; which is ironic as I would rather have savory or a cheese plate.  But I love to produce new and seasonal desserts for them.  Last evening, mini chocolate tarts dressed with fresh blackberry compote~

Here are the tarts plain; I used a shortbread crust, and will have to post this recipe soon as it is the chocolate lover’s dream yet very simple~

In summer, what goes better with chocolate than lemon?  I filled the same shortbread tarts with lemon curd~

And we had the lemon-lavender pound cake piled high with lavender-infused whipped cream and blackberry compote~

In full summer you can pile on fresh berries ready to burst, or you can preserve them into a compote; in the early season such as this, I love to take half the berries and puree them with just enough sugar to balance the acidity of the berry, then strain the solids.  Add the remaining fresh berries, and you have a delicious topper to any cake, homemade or store-bought.  Here are the fresh blackberries on top of the puree; the berries were $2.50 for a basket in Corona del Mar market yesterday, the special~

 

Also on the dessert tray was lavender-infused crème brulee~

And just a few caramels, dusted with lavender-infused sea salt~

There is always something to learn, and a level of aspiration; Loic our Brittany Baker in Rancho Santa Fe brought a box of “brownies” (the French will call them “brunies") for Eugene at the market today, with a  topper of ganache~

This evening I made the classic clafoutis out of the lovely Nicolau cherries.  Tomorrow morning, I make the chef’s version.  I will post tomorrow re table décor and the clafoutis bake-off~