Ripe local strawberries make me start pondering dinner party menus. As the temperatures rise, it's nice enough for feasts on our screened porch, the only place where we can comfortably accommodate dinner guests.
My mind started buzzing last week at the spring-heralding sight of a box of strawberries at a potluck fundraiser. Vivian Howard of Chef & The Farmer, a fine-dining restaurant worth a field trip to Kinston, brought the berries, and their fragrance drew folks to that end of the buffet.
I thought I'd have to wait a couple of weeks before I could buy them in Raleigh. But the next day, farmer Roger Ball of Ball's Berries had them for sale, $4 a quart. It was a surprise even to Ball, who had posted a sign at his pick-your-own farm that read: "Strawberries in April, maybe."
But a variety named Sweet Charlie ripened early despite the late-winter weather.
With dinner parties, I've learned the hard way that easy, preferably make-ahead recipes are best so you aren't stuck in the kitchen all night instead of enjoying your guests' company.
That's why I marveled at how my friend, Dean McCord, author of the Varmint Bites blog( varmintbites.com), excused himself post entree at one of his dinner parties to whip up Strawberry Shortcake for a Crowd. While this stunning shortcake layered with berries and whipped cream may seem like a lot of work, McCord dispels that idea: "It's just a big, sweet biscuit."
The other recipe for strawberry preserves comes from my friend Sarah Ovaska (an N&O reporter). She brought a jar to serve with ice cream at a potluck at my house last year.
The preserves are syrupy enough to be the perfect sauce for ice cream, pound cake or angel food cake. The preserves are a nice pantry staple to turn store-bought cake into an easy dessert for an impromptu dinner party.
Such a last-minute feast is just what a whiff of strawberries will make a person do.
