Picking our Favorite Places to find Strawberries
One of my favorite childhood memories is picking strawberries with my family especially when my sister was really little and just learning to walk. I can still remember her tottering between the rows of strawberry plants. May 20th is National Strawberry Picking day so we're picking our favorite strawberry dishes and drinks around Charleston!
Butcher and Bee’s Strawberry Toast: I think there was once an article written about how millennials are unable to afford homes because they are spending all of their money on ‘fancy toast' (ie. avocado and mermaid toast). If you’re going to spend your money on fancy toast, Butcher and Bee is the place to do it. Known for their outstanding bakery, Butcher and Bee’s bread is the perfect canvas for just about anything. Their strawberry toast is topped with rose labneh, labneh is a thick Greek yogurt spread with a texture similar to cream cheese, and crumbled pistachio. The pistachio adds both crunch and a slight salt factor which really finishes the dish well.
The Obstinate Daughter’s Strawberry Salad: The Obstinate Daughter recently added a strawberry salad to their menu that I’m really loving. While strawberries in a salad is not a earth shattering concept, the combination put together by OD is in my opinion, perfect. The salad consists of arugula, pecorino cheese, strawberries, prosciutto and marcona almonds. The pecorino and prosciutto’s saltiness really balance out the sweetness of the strawberries. I also love that both the pecorino and prosciutto are shaved in larger pieces so every bite is a little different. I think a crunchy element is critical to any good salad, so I love the addition of the marcona almonds in this salad.
Sweet Lulu Bakery’s Boozy Strawberry Poptarts: Full disclosure, I have not tried these poptarts yet, because Lulu’s bakery is currently a mobile bakery that I have not managed to chase down. However, I have faith that these homemade poptarts filled with Firefly marinated strawberries are little pillows of heaven. Lulu’s has been serving this treat since 2014, the dish begins with hand-selected fresh strawberries that are marinated in Firefly’s Peach Cobbler Moonshine, this concoction is then enveloped in a pastry crust made with non GMO flour (for people that care about that kind of stuff) and baked to perfection. Lulu’s recently announced that they are opening a brick and mortar location, so you better believe I will be one of their first customers so I can get my hands on one (ten) of these babies.
Sorghum & Salt’s Goat Cheesecake with SC Strawberries: I actually cannot think of a better combination than strawberries with cheesecake and Sorghum & Salt has a way of taking classic combinations and really making them new and interesting. Sorghum & Salt’s preparation is a Burden Creek goat cheese cheesecake with white chocolate, roasted strawberry and whey caramel topped with almonds. I love the use of goat cheese in cheesecake because it gives the cake a slight tanginess and an amazing rich texture. Roasting the strawberries really brings out their natural flavor and for me is what really makes the dish. All of the ingredients work so well together, but still the strawberry is the star of the dessert which I really love.
Prohibition's Lindy Hop Cocktail: Prohibition is known for their craft cocktails and this one, in particular, is as pretty as it is delicious. The Lindy Hop is made with Chatanooga Rye Whiskey, strawberry, lemon, orgeat and cinnamon. I have to say I was originally a little skeptical of this drink because I am not a whiskey girl, but this combination really works. The danger of cocktails with fruit in them is they can sometimes be overly sweet, but this drink is perfectly balanced and the addition of the cinnamon really adds a little 'zing' to the drink that I really loved.
