California Strawberry Dallas Blogger Reception

In June I was invited to the California Strawberries Dallas Blogger Reception where I not only got to learn all about how strawberries are grown, picked and delivered to us here in Texas but I also was given the chance to taste all things strawberry.  It was wonderful!

The evening started off with our drink of choice and I went with the Strawberry Basil Balsamic Mojito.  Which was completely delicious.

Strawberry Basil Balsamic Mojito

Ingredients
18 cups stemmed and sliced California strawberries
1 ½ cups brown sugar
12 limes, quartered, pith removed
96 medium-sized fresh basil leaves
60 ounces 10 Cane Rum
Ice
Soda water
Balsamic vinegar (the best you can afford)
24 strawberries or basil sprigs, for garnish

Directions
For each serving, to order, in a strong pint glass, muddle 3/4 cup strawberries, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 lime quarters and 4 basil leaves until juicy. Add 2 1/2 ounces rum. Fill glass with ice and a splash of soda. Stir; add another splash of soda. Top with a dash of vinegar. Garnish with a strawberry or a sprig of basil.
24 servings

All the food was yummy.  It was a pleasant surprise to see all the dishes you can make with strawberries.  I never would have thought of some of the ways they used strawberries such as in salsa…  Pretty amazing actually.  My favorite main course was the Grilled Mahi-Mahi Tacos with Strawberry Salsa.  It was my first time to try a fish taco and I was blown away at how much I liked them.  I can not wait to prepare them at home, I know the kids will even enjoy them.

Grilled Mahi-Mahi Tacos with Strawberry Salsa

Ingredients
Strawberry Salsa:
1 cup diced fresh California strawberries
1/2 cup diced mango
1/4 cup diced papaya
1/4 cups diced pineapple
2 tablespoons diced red onion
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar
Salt and black pepper
Cayenne pepper

Avocado Sour Cream:
1/4 cup diced avocado
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Chipotle Sour Cream:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 chipotle in adobo
Salt and white pepper
Granulated garlic

1 pound mahi-mahi, cut into 2-ounce pieces
Salt and black pepper
Ground cumin, ground coriander and ancho chile powder
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas, heated
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas, heated
2 cups shredded napa cabbage

Directions
To make Strawberry Salsa, gently mix together all ingredients; season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. To make Avocado Sour Cream, blend all ingredients in food processor or with stick blender. To make Chipotle Sour Cream, blend sour cream and chipotle in food processor or with stick blender; season with salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Season mahi-mahi with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander and ancho chile powder. On gas or charcoal grill, cook fish until it offers no resistance to the point of a small, sharp knife. Place 1 corn tortilla on top of each flour tortilla. Top each corn tortilla with 1/4 cup cabbage, 1 piece mahi-mahi and 1/4 cup Strawberry Salsa. Serve Avocado Sour Cream and Chipotle Sour Cream on the side.
Makes 4 servings.

The dessert was to die for as well.  Not your ordinary strawberry shortcake.  Strawberry Shortcake Sliders…

The event was a success and the strawberry recipes were a hit among all the other mom bloggers.  It was great getting together and seeing everyone again and being able to sample some new foods. The California Strawberry Tour is going to continue to other major cities and you can follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #CAStrawberryTour.

The California Strawberry Commission also gave us a nice recipe book to take home and try out with our families.  The bonus is, they gave me an extra copy to giveaway to one lucky reader here.

How to Enter:

Leave a comment telling me which strawberry recipe is your favorite or which recipe you would most like to try.

Additional Entries: {one entry per comment}

• Tweet the below tweet and leave permalink in comment

Enter the #giveaway hosted by @MommaDJane to #win a California Strawberry Recipe Book http://ow.ly/5ykgQ #castrawberrytour

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*Giveaway is open to all U.S. Residents 18+ Entries will be accepted until Wednesday, July 13th at midnight CST. Any and all comments after that time will not be counted towards giveaway entries. Reader must leave a method of contact within comment and must respond within 24 hours of contact, otherwise a new winner will be chosen. Random.org will be used to select a random winner from comments on this post

Full Disclosure: The California Strawberry Commission provided two recipes books at no cost, one for me to keep and one to giveaway.  All opinions in this post are 100% mine.

Extra special thanks to Texas Holly for helping host this event, to the California Strawberry Commission for the amazing content and yummy food and to David Grotto for his wealth of knowledge on nutrition.

Congratulations April, you won the copy of the California Strawberries Recipe Book!