Deviled Strawberries

Yesterday, Leah and I went to Art Jam’N and painted our little hearts out while drinking wine and snacking on wonderful things. What kind of wonderful things? Well, Leah brought her delicious layered Mexican dip and I made deviled strawberries. Yup, you heard me!

I got very excited when planning what to bring because I don’t have reason to make appetizers often, and as a result my list of recipes I want to try in that category expands constantly. (I should have a appetizer only dinner.) So of course I knew I had to seize the moment and make what was at the top of my appetizer to-do list. I actually had three different versions of stuffed strawberries saved, but this one narrowly won the battle.

And for good reason. The sweetness of the strawberries paired well with the less sweet mascarpone filling, and the hints of cardamon and cinnamon won me over. Not to mention they are awfully pretty to look at. But I would much rather have them in my belly!

Wanna know what the runner’s up were? Goat cheese stuffed and cheesecake stuffed strawberries. Know you know how hard of a decision it was!

Ingredients:

1 pound strawberries, rinsed and dried

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbs sugar

1 vanilla bean, scraped

1/2 tsp cardamom

Cinnamon, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Halve each strawberry through the stem-end, and use a melon baller or paring knife to scoop out part of the middle.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the mascarpone, cream, sugar, vanilla, and cardamom until soft peaks form.  Using a piping bag fitted with corner snipped off (or a round tip), fill each strawberry with the cream.  Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon, and serve.

Source: Pink Parsley