Showing posts with label nuts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nuts. Show all posts

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Summer Berry Charcuterie Board / #BerryWeek

 Today is the last day of #BerryWeek! It has been such fun with so many berry recipes to share. My list of ones I want to try has gotten longer with each day! If you missed any of them, you might want to check out the recipe I shared Monday, Summer Berry Salsa. This recipe is a great way to enjoy several berries at a time, in one recipe! If you are a fan of easy to make pastry, you will want to bake up some of my Blueberry Breakfast Pastries, which I shared on Wednesday.  The pastry cream is homemade and the pastry is store bought dough, cutting down on the time it takes to put it all together, but not the taste.

With the fun and tasty #BerryWeek coming to an end, I want to share my Summer Berry Charcuterie Board with you.  If you have ever made a charcuterie board, you know how much fun it is to put them together. It takes thought and creativity to design the perfect board, and it also takes time to collect the items you need for the board, but it is all worth it. In the end, the board looks like an art project, too pretty to eat, but that won't last long! The main objective is to have fun and create something your family and friends will enjoy!

Summer Berry Charcuterie Board 
(serves 3-4 )
(printable recipe at end of page)
Ingredients: 
Fresh Summer Berries:
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Blackberries
Chocolate Candy Pieces
Mini Chocolate Cookies
Chocolate Cookie Brittle
Cashews
Creme de Pirouline Dark Chocolate Rolled Wafers
Sauce:
1/2 cup Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Whipped Topping
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 

Start by placing fruit on your tray. You want it to look visibly appealing to the eye. When it is fruit you are dealing with, it seems like all the colors go together quite well. Stack your fruit up a bit, as if they are in piles. By stacking them you are creating height, making them visually appealing. You are basically creating a pretty picture that your guests can not resist!

Add different textures to your canvas. The nuts are perfect because they are such an opposite to the softness of the fruit. Your guests will love both textures. The chocolate brittle adds double chocolate flavor, which most guests love! Let's face it. It is difficult to walk past chocolate and not want to grab a bite! The chocolate brittle also adds a hard texture against the fruit.

Red and blue go so well together that I had to put them side by side. The blueberries are soft and juicy and the fresh strawberries with their green stems just create it's own little picture. I used the chocolate cookies as a border to contrast the softness of the fruit. 

These rolled wafers are a great addition to the board because they create height. They direct our gaze to move up from the plate, resulting in your guests taking in the entire picture. 

Every board needs a dip or two. Because this board is on the small side, I thought one would be enough. This dip is super easy to make with only three ready made ingredients. Soften the cream cheese, mix in the frozen dessert topping and add the vanilla! Refrigerate before serving!

This is one way to put together a charcuterie tray. It can be difficult to take the first step in designing your tray. Once you decide on a theme or a certain item you are serving, it will fall into place. I will admit, I spent a lot of time walking around a couple stores trying to buy the items for this board, but after I did, the ideas came rushing into my mind, making a clear path for my end result. This will happen to you also.  Besides, there is no wrong way to create a Summer Berry Charcuterie Board. If you are happy with it, then it is right. Have fun with it!

Check out these Summer Berry Recipes from some blogging friends:

Friday Berry Week Recipes








Smmer Berry Charcuterie Board
Print

Smmer Berry Charcuterie Board

Author:

Ingredients:

  • Fresh Summer Berries:
  • Strawberries
  • Raspberries
  • Blueberries
  • Blackberries
  • Chocolate Candy Pieces
  • Mini Chocolate Cookies
  • Chocolate Cookie Brittle
  • Cashews
  • Creme de Pirouline Dark Chocolate Rolled Wafers
  • Sauce:
  • 1/2 cup Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1 cup Whipped Topping
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions:

  1. Start by placing fruit on your tray. You want it to look visibly appealing to the eye. When it is fruit you are dealing with, it seems like all the colors go together quite well. Stack your fruit up a bit, as if they are in piles. By stacking them you are creating height, making them visually appealing. You are basically creating a pretty picture that your guests can not resist!
  2. Add different textures to your canvas. The nuts are perfect because they are such an opposite to the softness of the fruit. Your guests will love both textures. The chocolate brittle adds double chocolate flavor, which most guests love! Let's face it. It is difficult to walk past chocolate and not want to grab a bite! The chocolate brittle also adds a hard texture against the fruit.
  3. Red and blue go so well together that I had to put them side by side. The blueberries are soft and juicy and the fresh strawberries with their green stems just create it's own little picture. I used the chocolate cookies as a border to contrast the softness of the fruit.
  4. These rolled wafers are a great addition to the board because they create height. They direct our gaze to move up from the plate, resulting in your guests taking in the entire picture.
  5. Every board needs a dip or two. Because this board is on the small side, I thought one would be enough. This dip is super easy to make with only three ready made ingredients. Soften the cream cheese, mix in the frozen dessert topping and add the vanilla! Refrigerate before serving!
summer berries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, charcuterie board, cookies, dip
dessert, treats
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @thefreshmancook on instagram and hashtag it #BerryWeek
Created using The Recipes Generator
  


Thursday, March 13, 2014

Choclava Pillows

What are Choclava Pillows? Well, they are pastries made with puff pastry sheets and filled with a mix of nuts, specifically: walnuts, peanuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios, and hazelnuts. I used Planters NUT-rition Mix. Then add in some semi sweet chocolate and honey. Don't forget to dust them with powdered sugar and drizzle with chocolate glaze! That's a Choclava Pillow and they are my dessert for this months Lady Behind The Curtain Dessert Challenge. Our ingredients this month are walnuts and honey! Yum!! I hope you enjoy these Choclava pillows as much as I enjoyed making them!


Choclava Pillows

Saturday, July 30, 2011

White Chocolate Popcorn - Dessert in A Bowl!!

This weeks dessert is the perfect casual and fun treat for family movie night, neighborhood BBQ's, slumber parties, or even football parties. It's super easy to make, and slightly addicting!
White Chocolate Popcorn
2 (3.3oz) bags Microwave Popcorn
2 cups salted Peanuts
2 cups Craisins
2 (11oz) bags White Chocolate Chips
1 teaspoons Cinnamon
Microwave both bags of popcorn according 
to the bag directions.
We need a double boiler to melt the chocolate chips. 
Using a double boiler assures you that the chips
won't burn while they melt, because they are melting by 
indirect heat. Because I don't have a double boiler, I made my own. 
Fill a bottom pan with about 2-3 cups of water. 
Place a saucepan on top of the pan with the water.
The top pan should sit securely on the bottom pan.
It can lean, but it cannot touch the water in the pan.
It must stay up on the rim. Heat the water on medium high,
but do not let it boil.
Pour in 1 bag of chips to start melting.
Spray a spatula with pan spray.
Use the sprayed spatula to stir the melting white chocolate.
The spray will help the chocolate not stick to the spatula.
Add the second bag of chips to the pot
and melt them all together.
Put the popcorn in a large pot.
Add the peanuts.
Add the craisins.
Add the cinnamon.
Spray 2 cookie sheets with pan spray.
Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl with the
popcorn ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
Pour the mixed popcorn onto the 2 cookie sheets.
Distribute evenly between the two.
Allow the chocolate popcorn to set up for about 
an hour.
Once the popcorn is set (you can tell by
just touching it to see if it is dry), use a spatula
to transfer it to whatever you want to
put it in, whether it is .....
a bowl...
or these cute little popcorn boxes.
Doesn't that look great?
Enjoy!!!

Thanks for joining me today!

Please join me tomorrow!

See you then!