Buried in berries

My sweet daddy picked fresh strawberries last week and bestowed upon me a gallon sized bucket of berries.

As soon as I got them home, I poured a celebratory glass of champagne with a strawberry garnish. I thought it was only proper that I celebrate the fruits of my his labor.

For days, I had them for breakfast, snack, breakfast, snack. I was barely making a dent in my stash. I realized I had to share or freeze. Since it's the first picking of the season I wanted to enjoy the fresh sweetness rather than freeze. So I invited friends over Friday night for a dinner party. I cooked an entire meal all so that we could enjoy a berry dessert. Recipe here.

 Image from RealSimple.com.

I researched multiple recipes and finally settled on a strawberry galette. It's a rustic French tart that's free form. I used Barefoot Contessa's pastry dough recipe and a Pinterest recipe for the berry mixture. The dough browned a wonderful brown, the berries were sweet with a slight tartness and it was just delicious. If I do say so myself. I am slowly making my foray into the baking world.

I served it with fresh whipped cream and a dusting of confectioners sugar. (I got a little heavy handed on the cream with this plate.)