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Berries with White Chocolate Mascarpone

Berries with White Chocolate Mascarpone

My baby girl turned 5 over the weekend and to celebrate we had a little backyard tea party for her and a small group of friends. Birthday parties usually completely overwhelm me, but this small gathering was just right this time.  All of the food could be prepared ahead of time and it was so fun to watch the girls enjoy themselves.

I had a some leftover mascarpone cheese from when I made a double recipe of Turkey Spinach Taquitos so I used it to make a half batch of these Berries with White Chocolate Mascarpone parfaits.  The white chocolate mascarpone comes together in minutes and it makes for such a pretty and elegant dessert.  The girls loved getting their own individual portions and it was first thing they wanted to eat.  If you don’t feel like assembling parfaits or have extra white chocolate mascarpone leftover, it’s also a great fruit dip.  I’ve served this in a bowl alongside some strawberries and sliced peaches.  With the  abundance of fresh fruit now available, it a perfect simple summer dessert!

Berries with White Chocolate Mascarpone

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Berries and White Chocolate Mascarpone

Berries with White Chocolate Marscarpone
  • Yield: 10-12 mini parfaits

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces white chocolate, broken in pieces
  • 1 8-ounce container of mascarpone cheese
  • 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • fresh raspberries and blackberries

Instructions

  1. Set a small glass mixing bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water and place the chocolate in the mixing bowl. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove the glass bowl from the heat and set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
  2. While the chocolate is cooling, whisk the mascarpone, whipping cream, and vanilla together until smooth.
  3. Add the melted white chocolate and whisk again until smooth.
  4. Transfer the white chocolate mascarpone mixture to a piping bag or a plastic ziploc bag with a corner cut off.
  5. For individual parfaits, alternate a layer of berries with a layer of white chocolate mascarpone, ending with berries.

Notes

barely adapted from Bon Appetit

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Turkey Spinach Taquitos {with Black Beans and Mascarpone}

Turkey Spinach Taquitos | Gather & Dine

In my freezer, I almost always make sure to keep some variety of taquitos prepared so that I can quickly take them out and heat them in the oven whenever I need a quick meal.  As much as I love to cook, the reality is that I do not have time to cook everyday, especially now that it’s summer vacation. Having fun takes up so much time!

I make a few different versions of taquitos and although I’m not sure which one stands out as my favorite, these Turkey Spinach Taquitos are SO GOOD.  Mascarpone cheese adds creaminess to the delicious filling of cumin-scented ground turkey, fresh spinach, and black beans.  The original recipe from Giada de Laurentiis adds grated cheddar cheese to the top of the taquitos, but I omitted the extra cheese to keep things a bit lighter and also to make these more freezer-friendly.  Instead of the cheese, I brushed the taquitos with some olive oil and sprinkled some fleur de sel salt on top.  I usually double the recipe and freeze the extra taquitos on a big baking sheet.  Once the taquitos are frozen, I transfer them to gallon-sized ziploc bags and take the taquitos out as needed.  Taquitos can be heated directly from the freezer, just add a few extra minutes to the baking time.  Serve with guacamole and salsa.

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Turkey Spinach Taquitos {with Black Beans and Mascarpone}

Turkey Spinach Taquitos | Gather & Dine
  • Yield: 6-8

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, minced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 pound ground turkey thigh
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 2 packed cups baby spinach, chopped
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature (6 ounces)
  • 12 8-inch whole wheat or spouted grain tortillas
  • olive oil for brushing on the taquitos
  • fluer de sel salt or other course sprinkling salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Heat the oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium-hight heat. Add the onions, salt, and pepper. Saute until the onion softens and starts to become translucent, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the ground turkey and cumin and continue cooking until turkey is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain about half the fat from the ground turkey mixture and discard.
  4. Add the spinach and cook until spinach is just wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the black beans. Use a pastry cutter to mash some of the beans and then add the mascarpone and mix thoroughly.
  5. Spoon about 1/4-1/3 cup of filling onto the middle of a tortilla. Roll up taquito and place seam side down on a lightly oiled baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
  6. Use a pastry brush to brush a light coating of olive oil onto each taquito. Sprinkle with some fleur de sel to finish.
  7. Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes, until taquitos are lightly golden brown.

Notes

adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

 

 

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Blueberry Oatcakes

Blueberry Oatcakes

These Blueberry Oatcakes are slightly adapted from a recipe that my sweet college friend, Carissa, gave to me.  She told me that she makes these for breakfast at least once a week for her girls.  After I made these oatcakes this morning, my petite 4 year-old daughter ate 4 and then wanted to have the leftovers for lunch.  Needless to say that these are now a regular in our family too!

I love these oatcakes because they are completely whole-grain and comprised mostly of oats.  Although we are not even close to being a gluten-free family, I do try to vary our grains so that wheat is not our only whole grain.  This recipe does include a bit of whole wheat flour, but it can easily be substituted for a gluten-free flour to make these entirely gluten-free.  Some planning ahead is required on these as the oats and yogurt need to be mixed together the evening before in order to soften the oats.   I often like to combine my dry ingredients together the evening before as well and then everything comes together fairly quickly in the morning.

These Blueberry Oatcakes are wonderfully hearty and moist and make for a healthy morning breakfast.  Serve along with some warm maple syrup to make these even more of a treat.

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Blueberry Oatcakes

Blueberry Oatcakes
  • Yield: 3-4

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 2 cups plain yogurt
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 mashed banana, about 1/3 cup
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground flax
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • Heaping 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
  • Unsalted butter for frying

Instructions

  1. The evening before, mix the oats and yogurt together in a large mixing bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  2. In the morning, add the eggs, honey, and mashed banana to the oats and yogurt and mix together with a wooden spoon.
  3. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the flour, flax, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until dry ingredients are just incorporated. Batter should be fairly thick.
  5. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the blueberries.
  6. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet or griddle. Ladle the oat batter into the pan, spreading batter if necessary to make circles about 1/3″ thick. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the underside is golden brown and then flip to the other side and cook for another 2 minutes, until golden brown.
  7. Serve warm along with maple syrup, if desired.

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