Strawberries Romanoff

I'm not sure if there's a La Madeleine in St Louis, but in Atlanta, there are quite a few. There was one near my mother's office and so she'd often go for brunch or lunch with coworkers. The few times I went with her, I wasn't that impressed with any of their dishes. I was still fairly young (a tween/teen) and wasn't in the easygoing "try-anything-once" mode that I'm set to now. I didn't recognize most of the dishes or ingredients and didn't want to expand my horizons (if only I could smack my younger self, for several reasons).

I would often opt to just eat dessert here, and I always knew what I wanted. A strawberry Romanoff! Imagine a giant martini shaped glass with the freshest of fresh (how were they always so fresh!?) strawberries, and then someone pouring this glorious white sauce over it and handing it over to you. I always asked for extra sauce because that's how I roll. The sauce was simply perfect; a brandy-based sweet sauce that perfectly complemented the strawberries. This was probably the first alcohol I had ever tasted and I still stand by my belief that I'd much rather eat my alcohol than drink it, any day.

I came to La Madeleine for years, up until my early twenties, just for the strawberry Romanoff. But alas, the portions got smaller, they refused to put extra sauce, and eventually handed you a tiny container of it on the side :( I eventually stopped going altogether and moved on to other desserts.

But the other day when we had friends over for our usual Game of Thrones night, I realized there was no dessert to serve! Simply unacceptable, especially in my home. So I grabbed the strawberries we had recently bought and sliced them up quick. Then I whipped up some creme fraiche with some powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a splash of marsala and spread them over the strawberries. It was heavenly. 

Only later did I look it up and find out the recipe for strawberry Romanoff sauce is actually online already, and I'll probably try it sometime, but mine was improvised and pretty delicious as well.

Also, apologies for not keeping up with my blog. The market has been consuming my time and my blog had to be part of the sacrifice. The grand opening went very well and I made a great profit. It was incredibly hot and disgusting outside but I think my enthusiasm kept me going. I stayed on my feet nearly the entire time and was so happy to be there. 

The other vendors were also incredibly helpful and kind. In particular, I adore the vendors from the Farm Fresh cupcake stall, who were very sweet. It was fun swapping goodies with them at the end of the day, and sharing my leftover macarons with my neighbors as well. 

Joe and Mila were total troopers, hanging out with me the entire day, and a lot of my friends stopped by which I truly appreciated more than they'll know. It was an exhausting Saturday, but I learnt so much about how to improve in following weeks and what to change. Even though I've committed myself to an early Saturday morning for the next six months (and will never really be able to stay up late on a Friday night), I'm so glad I did this!
If you're in the StL area, try to stop by and say hi! I'm right next to Southwest Diner (the taco stall) and this weekend there'll be Mother Day gift boxes! :)

Strawberry Romanoff
Inspired by La Madeleine
Makes 1 cup of sauce; serves about 4-6 

2 cups strawberries; washed, cut
1 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp brandy

Set the strawberries in bowls or on a large plate.
Beat the rest of the ingredients together until combined.
Pour sauce over the strawberries and serve.