40 THE QUEENS COURIER • EASTER DINING • APRIL 13, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM easter dining HOW TO FRESHEN UP YOUR CUISINE For food fanatics, spring is the perfect time of year to add fresh produce back into your recipes and meals. Using seasonal ingredients can really help capture and enhance the fl avors of spring and bring your cuisine to life. Whether you’re using fi rst yields from your garden or visiting the farmers SERVING UP SMILES Gathering the entire family around the table for meals is a great way to stay connected and enjoy time together. You can keep that family time fun by mixing up the menu and preparing quick and tasty meals together. Here are some easy ways to bring smiles to the table every day: • Make breakfast together. Working together to put some breakfast magic on the table makes it even more special. Kids can spread peanut butter and jelly, wash fruit, set the table or help pour milk and juice. • Serve something unexpected. Use familiar ingredients in unexpected ways. Cereal can be used in meatloaf and casseroles, and as breading on baked chicken fingers or mozzarella sticks. You can find more smile-worthy recipes at www.honeybunchesofoats. com. PB & J French Toast Total Time: 25 minutes Makes: 4 servings • 8 slices whole wheat, white or cinnamon • raisin bread • 1/4 cup peanut butter • 3 tablespoons strawberry jam • 2 eggs • 2 tablespoons milk • 2 1/2 cups Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, crushed • 2 cups sliced fresh fruit, such as strawberries and/or bananas • 1 tablespoon sift ed powdered sugar • 1/2 cup maple syrup Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread each of 4 bread slices with 1 tablespoon peanut butter and about 2 teaspoons of jam. Cover with remaining bread slices to make 4 sandwiches. Break eggs into shallow dish. Add milk and beat with wire whisk for 30 seconds. Place crushed cereal in pie plate. Dip each sandwich into egg mixture, then into cereal, turning to evenly coat both sides. Press cereal gently into bread to secure. Place on lightly greased baking Courtesy Family Features sheet. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cut each sandwich diagonally in half; top with fruit. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with syrup. market as soon as it opens, there are plenty of ways to take advantage of the season. Here are recommendations for taking your spring cuisine to a new level: • Spruced-up salads: Healthy greens start to appear early in spring and are a great companion to nuts. Try topping a chopped Arugula salad with walnuts or adding pecans to Dandelion greens. Radicchio is delicious with almonds and apples. Using nuts can easily expand your salad horizon. • Top it off : Springtime brings garden-fresh herbs; and parsley and basil are great fl avors to fi nish many dishes. Chop up parsley with some Fisher almonds for added texture and taste. Th e Fisher Nuts Freshness Seal Bag has a re-sealable closure that will keep the left over nuts fresh aft er the package is opened. • Upgraded spice rub: Th e great spring weather makes it easy to fi re up the grill. Add some ground nuts to your spice rub next time you’re cooking meat. Th e nuts can mellow some of the heat from the spice and add needed richness to the mix. Strawberry Crostata with Walnuts Serves 8 Ingredients: Th e dough: • 2 cups all-purpose fl our, plus some additional • for rolling out the dough • 1/4 cup granulated sugar • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt • Zest of 1 lemon • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed and chilled • 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water Th e fi lling: • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter • 2 pints strawberries, hulled and split • 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, divided • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice • 1 tablespoon cornstarch • 3/4 cup Fisher Walnut Halves, coarsely chopped Directions: 1. Dough: In the food processor, combine fl our, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until crumbly. Add cold water and pulse only to combine. Form into an 8-inch long cylinder (about 2 inches in diameter) and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 2. Filling: Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Place a baking sheet next to the stove. When the saute pan is fairly hot, add the butter for the fi lling. When it melts and foams slightly, add the strawberries. Toss to coat with the butter and add 1/4 cup sugar, lemon zest and juice. Toss to blend and allow some of the liquid to escape from the berries and reduce. Aft er 2 minutes, sprinkle with cornstarch, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring for an additional 2 minutes. Transfer to the baking sheet. Spread the strawberry mixture out so it cools faster and refrigerate until very cool. 3. Preheat the oven to 375 F. 4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a circle that is about 6 inches in diameter and about 1/8-inch thick. Flour lightly under and on top of the dough as you roll it. 5. Meanwhile, remove strawberry mixture from refrigerator and transfer to a fi ne strainer placed over a bowl. Strain strawberries so that almost no liquid remains with the berries, being sure not to crush the fruit. 6. Arrange the tart rounds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon walnuts onto the center of each round. Divide the cooked strawberries evenly among the dough circles. Fold the sides up tightly around the fruit to form a purse, making the fruit the center; they will open slightly during baking. Cover the opening left aft er folding with a few more walnuts. Refrigerate circles if they become too soft to handle. 7. Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Top with any remaining walnuts. Sprinkle with sugar for added texture. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to serving plates using a wide spatula. Serve immediately. Courtesy BPT
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