blackberries

If you're tired of the same old boring salads, turn to seasonal fruit to jazz up those greens. In Winter, I love tossing in segmented oranges, in Spring, I'll throw in strawberries, and now? Well, Summer's beautiful blackberries make an excellent addition to a bed of mixed lettuces. Thanks to sugared walnuts and tangy feta, this recipe has tons of texture. It's crunchy, creamy, tart, and juicy. To make the salad more substantial and a standalone supper, I incorporated pieces of crisped prosciutto. Serve with a chunk of bread and a glass of sparkling Rose and you've got the perfect easy and delicious August meal. Want the recipe I used? Keep reading.

You already know I have been testing out savory berry recipes — like pulled pork with blackberries — all Summer long, and I've come to the conclusion that you can’t go wrong with pork and a fruity sauce. They seem to nearly always be a match made in heaven. I couldn't resist trying another simple, seasonal BBQ recipe of pork tenderloin with a spicy blackberry glaze. Although the original recipe called for blackberry jam, I decided to make a quick jam with fresh blackberries and used this as the base of the sauce. When I tasted the finished sauce alone (as any good cook would do), I thought it was a touch too vinegary, but once paired with the pork, it was simply perfect. If you are tired of hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, spice it up with this recipe.

This Summer, I'm conquering my fear of dough by making a lot of pies from scratch. After gaining confidence with successful and delicious blueberry and peach pies, I decided to see if my luck would continue with blackberry pie. Alas, I ran into problems with this one. The dough was dry, crumbly, and very hard to roll out. I started to panic and didn't really pay attention to the recipe when I was assembling the filling. The resulting pie was still delectable (and eaten in one quick sitting by my guests), but deep down, I knew it wasn't my best effort. If you want to give it a try, the method and measurements I used — it's Mario Batali's mom's recipe! — can be found after the break.

This year, I haven't been able to resist making savory berry recipes: first strawberry spaghetti, then cherry-stuffed tenderloin and blueberry-glazed ribs. And, in my desire to incorporate blackberries into an entrée, I came up with this recipe for pulled pork sandwiches using a blackberry purée. Not only do the ingredients make this dish perfect for the Summer season, but it won't heat up your kitchen because it's cooked over low heat in a slow cooker. Over the course of eight hours, blackberries, hot sauce, ketchup, vinegar, and garlic meld together to become a sweet and tangy condiment that not only highlights the pork roast's natural flavor, but is less aggressively syrupy than traditional barbecue sauce. If you're interested in the recipe, read more.

I've made a crumble, I've made a cobbler, but I've never made a grunt! So the moment I came across a blackberry grunt recipe, I knew it was a must make. It's a pretty basic concept that involves cooking berries and prepping a dough that's very similar to buttermilk biscuits. Rather than pulling out the baking sheet to cook the biscuits, they go right on top of the syrupy blackberries and straight into the oven. It's said that as it bakes, it begins to make a grunting noise (hence the name), although mine never made a peep. The best part of this delicious dessert is that the biscuit absorbs some of the blackberry flavor, and it comes out golden on the top and a lovely purple shade on the bottom. Make your oven grunt by reading more.

All day yesterday, I couldn't wait to get home after work. I was planning on making a blackberry margarita. I spent some time researching recipes before I left; there's a lot of interesting blackberry margaritas out there, from thyme-infused ones to others that are muddled with mint. After hitting up the market and Bevmo, I arrived home ready for my marg and realized I had no limes!

I couldn't make a margarita without fresh lime juice, so I set out to create a blackberry-lemon cocktail. Gin was my base spirit, although you could substitute vodka. The resulting concoction hit the spot. It was fruity and boozy in the best kind of way. Want to see what I came up with? You know what to do: keep reading!

While I enjoy baking elaborate and complicated desserts, sometimes it's nice to have one that involves nothing more than a couple of bowls and measuring spoons. When I need a super simple dessert that's sure to be a crowd-pleaser, I turn to the fruit crumble. This blackberry recipe is quite possibly the easiest dessert ever. Seriously, it takes about 15 minutes to put together and 20 to bake. If you are hosting a dinner party, make the two elements beforehand and assemble and bake just before serving. The resulting treat is absolutely scrumptious: plump burst-in-your-mouth berries, a thick sweet syrup, and crunchy golden brown topping. Want the recipe I used? Keep reading.

There's been no greater way to celebrate the season's berry bounty than by dedicating each Summer month to a different berry — May for strawberries, June for cherries, July for blueberries, and now August for blackberries, which are currently at their peak.

I'm starting things off with a dessert that treasures blackberries at their freshest. I've got a weakness for whipped English desserts with funny names — and who can resist something called a fool? Don't skimp on the Calvados, as the boozy bitterness of the apple brandy adds a nice counterpoint to the otherwise sweet fruit dessert.
For the recipe — which only has four ingredients! — keep reading.

Since I'm serving some savory treats at my preserving party, I also plan to offer one sweet treat. Not just any dessert, but a crumbly, fruity pastry that makes the most of last year's blueberry preserves: blueberry cookie bars. They are simple to put together and if any remain when the party ends, I'll pack them up and offer them as favors to my guest. We'll also be making one sweet jam together: mixed berry jam.

To take a look at these recipes, keep reading.