Spring, Settlers, and Strawberry Scones

View from Bernal Heights – love this city.

Spring has sprung! That means the following:

1. The rain’s about to pour like my third espresso on Monday mornings.
2. Berries are making their way back into the season, calling for some real-life Fruit Ninja-ing.
3. It’s warm It’s windy and cold. This is SF.

Dinner at Wo Hing General Store (Clockwise from top left): Shrimp dumplings; fried mushroom egg rolls; vegetable noodles; yuba-cilantro salad.

The sun was still lively during the weekend, as was my appetite for enjoying the outdoors, eating good food, and creating the longest road in Settlers of Catan. Unfortunately, I was unable to hold on to that last victory, but I will be back to settle what is rightfully mine.

Weekend desserts (L to R): Black sesame mochi with tangerines; Cinnamon toast cake (this was ridiculously good. I could have eaten an entire one of these if we hadn’t shared it).

Schulzie’s Bread Pudding in Hayes Valley: There are warm and cold versions available, but honestly, I don’t know why you would ever want cold bread pudding. I had a scoop (it comes in scoops, like ice cream – great concept!) of the warm smores flavor and died of happiness…and a food coma. Pac-Man understands.

Speaking of settling, if there is one thing I’ve been taught from working in restaurants and retail (before Steve Jobs made it famous), it is never to settle. Not for bad customer service, not for bad food, not for anything. I take this pretty seriously, which is why whenever I go out to eat, I expect the waitstaff to be on top of their game or else get out of the kitchen. Forgetting someone’s order (which happened at this spot over the weekend, leaving me pretty annoyed) is unacceptable, as is putting out crappy food. And for all the (Michelin) stars in the world, sometimes the best meal is a three-dollar super taco from a random taqueria.

Super shrimp taco from somewhere in the Mission.

So it’s spring, which means yummy fruit, which means going to the farmer’s market for a Sunday morning juice to cure my Saturday night and to pick up a basket of strawberries – now that they’re in season, they are sweet and delicious.

Typical SF: reppin’ that CA pride, overpriced but delicious juice stall, and a gigantic croissant that shatters upon first bite (as it should).

To make scones actually edible and not a heaping mess of flour and milk, make sure everything is cold, like cold as a yo’ mama joke. Refrigerate the berries before you use them, and only take out the butter when you’re ready to use it. You can use milk if you don’t have cream, but why settle for second-best? Eat these with a latte espresso cappuccino (no coffee, no creativity) and you are straight cruisin’.

Spring, come at me bro.

Strawberry-Walnut Scones with Chocolate Drizzle (makes 8 large scones) 

1 cup strawberries
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, in cubes
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Topping:

1 tablespoon course sugar (I used turbinado)

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with a Silpat.
• Cut the strawberries into bite-size pieces. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar; set aside.
• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add butter and mix until it is in pea-sized pieces (if there are a few larger pieces, don’t worry about it). Stir in fruit and walnuts; then add cream all at once. Use spatula to gently stir dough until it holds together.
• Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to incorporate dry ingredients. Be gentle so you don’t break up the berries and don’t overwork the dough. Sprinkle dough with flour if it gets sticky.
• Press (pat) the dough into a circle 3/4 inch thick. If any berries peek out, push them into dough. Cut circle into 8 wedges, then transfer wedges to the cookie sheet, leaving at least 1/2 inch of space between them. Sprinkle with the course sugar and bake 20-25 minutes until lightly golden. Let cool completely before topping with drizzle.

Chocolate Drizzle

1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream

• Combine chocolate chips and cream in a heatproof bowl and microwave at 10-second intervals, stirring after each round, until chocolate and cream are thoroughly mixed together. Use a spoon to drizzle over the cooled scones.