Red, Ripe, and Blue Ribbon : Winning Recipes From the California Strawberry Festival

It almost seems a crime to do anything with a strawberry except eat it as is, but Oxnard-area strawberry growers insist on having a contest each year to see who can come up with the most ingenious uses for this spring fruit. Entrants in the California Strawberry Festival’s National Berry-Off (usually held a month or two in advance of the festival itself) periodically go overboard in developing innovative uses for this glorious berry but they also come up with some excellent ideas for making the most of strawberries.

Dennis Allison of San Francisco won this year’s grand prize for a remarkably simple recipe that combines pureed yams with a lightly sweetened strawberry sauce. It’s perfect for end-of-the-year holidays. Other contestants offered delicacies such as strawberry granite, strawberry fritters, and muffins served with a strawberry-flavored cream-cheese spread.

It should be noted that the contestants used super-ripe, sweet berries. If the ones you find aren’t quite so perfect, you may want to adjust the amount of sweetening you add.

And if you enjoy festivals, be sure to note the California Strawberry Festival, which is slated for May 16 and 17 at Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, on your calendar. CATHERINE CAMP’S FRESH STRAWBERRY MUFFINS WITH STRAWBERRY-CREAM CHEESE SPREAD

1 cup chopped strawberries

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

cup oil

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

Strawberry-Cream Cheese Spread

12 whole strawberries, about, cut fan-shape

Sprinkle strawberries with 1 tablespoon sugar and let stand. In large bowl sift together flour, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. In smaller bowl beat eggs until light. Add and blend well oil, milk and orange peel. Beat until well blended. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Stir until mixed, 10 to 15 strokes.

Drain chopped berries and fold into batter. Fill paper-lined cups full. Bake in convection oven 325 degrees for 20 minutes or regular oven 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm or cooled. Serve with Strawberry-Cream Cheese Spread. Garnish each with fan-shaped berry. Makes about 1 dozen. Strawberry-Cream Cheese Spread

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

cup crushed or chopped strawberries

Mix cream cheese and strawberries until blended. FLORENCE HODGES’ STRAWBERRY-RICE FANTASY

3 cups milk

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup long-grain rice

3 cinnamon sticks

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Strawberry-Brandy Sauce

Scald milk with butter in top of double boiler. Stir in rice. Cover and steam until tender, stirring occasionally. Cook until milk is almost absorbed but creamy. Add cinnamon sticks. Beat egg yolks until fluffy. Stir into rice mixture with sugar. Cook few minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Remove cinnamon sticks.

Serve rice either warm or cold in dessert dish. Pour Strawberry-Brandy Sauce over rice arranging berries decoratively on top. Makes about 3 cups. Strawberry-Brandy Sauce

1 quart strawberries

Sugar

1 tablespoon brandy

Wash and hull berries. Reserve about 1/2 quart of choice berries. Puree 1/2 quart in blender or food sieve. Measure (will make about 1 3/4 cups puree). Add an amount of sugar equal to half of the berries. Stir in saucepan over medium-low heat, cooking until reduced by about half. Skim off any foam. Cool. Stir in brandy. Pour sauce over the reserved choice berries. Makes 2 cups. DEBBIE SHEESLEY’S GRANITE--IT’S THE STRAWBERRIES

4 cups pureed strawberries

3/4 cup lime juice

cup sugar

2 tablespoons creme de cassis

Thinly slivered lime peel

Fresh sliced strawberries

Combine pureed strawberries with lime juice, sugar, creme de cassis and 2 tablespoons lime peel. Pour mixture into shallow pan and freeze.

About every half hour, use fork to stir sheets of ice formed around outside edge of pan back into mixture. (It will take about 3 hours to freeze all liquid, with result similar to Hawaiian shaved ice.)

To serve, place sliced strawberries into martini glass or other stemmed, clear individual serving dish with sliced edge of berries against glass. Place rounded scoop of granite in center of berries. Scatter few slivers of lime peel over granite. Serve immediately. Makes about 1 quart. MARY CERAMI’S STRAWBERRY FRITTERS

2 pints strawberries

1 cup buttermilk pancake mix

cup water

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Oil for deep frying

Powdered sugar

1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Remove stems from strawberries or leave intact. Mix pancake mix, water, cinnamon and vanilla with rotary beater, just until smooth. Dip berries in batter to coat all but the stems. Fry in oil heated to 400 degrees until golden, about 30 seconds. Drain on paper towels. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve with whipped cream for dipping. Makes 6 servings. DENNIS ALLISON’S YAMS WITH STRAWBERRY PUREE

3 or 4 medium yams, garnet variety preferred

4 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Butter

Salt

Pepper

1 pint strawberries

1 teaspoon sugar

Parsley

Sliced strawberries

Wash, peel and slice yams. Cook in boiling salted water until tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Mash with 2 tablespoons lemon juice to retain color. Season to taste with melted butter, salt and pepper. Puree 1 pint strawberries in food processor. Add sugar and remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice. Puree should be slightly tart.

Mound mashed yams on heat-proof platter or pipe through pastry tube using large star tip. Pour over small amount of strawberry puree. Brown top slightly in broiler, then pour remaining strawberry puree over yams. Garnish with few sprigs parsley, arranging few sliced strawberries around edge. Makes 4 servings. PRODUCED BY ROBIN TUCKER / ACCESSORIES FROM LAWRY’S CALIFORNIA CENTER GIFT SHOP, LOS ANGELES