Strawberry Scones

Ready for the oven
The house smelled so good.

Strawberry Scones
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup diced fresh strawberries
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream, extra for brushing on top
sanding sugar

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With pastry blender, cut in butter cubes until mixture has course crumbs. Gently add strawberries and the lemon zest. Make a well in the center of the mixture and set aside.



• In a medium bowl, mix together eggs and cream. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. gently stir until moistened.



• Place dough onto a well floured surface. Gently knead the dough by folding and pressing it about 7 times, turning the dough a quarter turn after each fold. Move dough to a lightly floured parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat dough into a 3/4 inch-thick circle. Cut circle into wedges and separate each slightly.



• Brush wedges with cream and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake 16-20 minutes until golden brown. Makes 8-12 scones.

Packaged and ready for a meeting at work:) I brought these to work yesterday. Everyone enjoyed them. I served the scones with Lemon Curd. Of course we all had tea:)
I'll be joining Michael Lee West over at "Designs by Gollum". She is hosting this weeks Foodie Friday event. Stop by for some good eats:)

~ Have a wonderful Memorial Day ~

Black Pepper Crusted Prime Rib

Recipe:

1 (3 1/2-pound) beef rib roast, de-boned* and tied

1 jar peeled whole garlic cloves

1 packet Italian dressing mix

about 1 cup cracked black peppercorns

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse the roast and pat dry. Bring roast to room temperature. Stud prime rib with garlic cloves by cutting slits into the meat and placing cloves inside. Rub Italian dressing mix all over roast. Pour black peppercorns into a shallow dish and dredge the roast in the pepper so that it's completely covered. Transfer to a roasting pan lined in aluminum foil.

Place roast in the oven and cook for 2 - 3 hours, depending on how you like it. I cooked mine for 3 hours for medium or 160 degrees. Turn oven off and let meat sit in oven until meat reaches the desired degree of doneness. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving. The drippings make fabulous gravy.
*Cook's note: Have butcher remove ribs from roast and tie it.

Recipe courtesy Sandra Lee ~ Food Network

I'll be joining Michael Lee West over at "Designs by Gollum". She is hosting this weeks Foodie Friday event. Stop by for some good eats:)

An American in Paris Martini

Sit back, relax and enjoy:)

Recipe:

Equal parts of Ciroc vodka and Chambord shaken until ice cold and topped with Champagne, garnished with a blackberry:)

I'll be joining Michael Lee West over at "Designs by Gollum". She is hosting this weeks Foodie Friday event.

Cornmeal Thyme Cookies

This recipe is from the Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook. She writes....Thyme serves as a savory counterpoint to these sweet, soft, and chewy tea cookies. Cornmeal and dried currants add additional texture and flavor.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup dried currants (I didn't use, couldn't find them)
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs one at a time. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture until just combined. Mix in currants and thyme.

Drop rounded tablespoons (I used teaspoons) of dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until pale golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies on parchment to wire racks; let cool. Cookies can be store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days. Makes about 3 dozen. (I got 5 dozen)

Have you read the book yet?........still reading, it's wonderful:)

I'll be joining Michael Lee West over at "Designs by Gollum" she is hosting this weeks Foodie Friday event:)

Happy Mother's Day!