Recipe - Strawberry Pistachio Mille-Feuillantines

PISTACHIO WAFERS
One half cup Shelled natural pistachios;
(about 2 One half ounces)
One half cup Granulated sugar
One fourth cup Allpurpose flour
One fourth teaspoon Salt
2 lg Egg whites
5 tablespoon Unsalted butter; melted
One fourth teaspoon Vanilla
1 Vanilla bean; halved
lengthwise
1 cup Chilled heavy cream
3 tablespoon Granulated sugar
1 pound Small strawberries; (about 1
pint), trimmed
Confectioners' sugar for
dusting

GARNISH
4 small Strawberries and chopped
pistachios

(Pistachio Wafers Layered with Strawberries and Cream)

Make wafers: Preheat oven to 325° F. and spray a heavy or nonstick baking
sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.

Rub off loose skins from pistachios and in a food processor grind nuts with
granulated sugar. In a bowl whisk together pistachio mixture, flour, and
salt and whisk in whites, butter, and vanilla until combined well. Drop
rounded teaspoons batter 5 inches apart onto baking sheet and with back of
a spoon spread into 3 One half to 4inch rounds. Bake wafers in middle of oven
8 minutes, or until golden.

Working quickly, transfer hot wafers with a thin metal spatula to a rack to
cool completely. (If wafers become too crisp to remove from baking sheet,
return to oven 1 minute, or until heated through and pliable.) Make more
wafers with remaining batter in same manner, spraying or relining sheet
for each batch. Wafers may be made 2 days ahead and kept in an airtight
container at room temperature. Makes 16 to 20 wafers.

Into a chilled bowl scrape seeds of vanilla bean and add cream and
granulated sugar. With a whisk or an electric mixer beat mixture until it
holds stiff peaks. Whipped cream may be made 2 hours ahead and chilled,
covered. Whisk cream briefly before using.

Just before serving, assemble millefeuillantines: Put a wafer in center of
each of 4 plates. Spread about 2 tablespoons whipped cream on each wafer,
leaving a 1/4inch border, and top with half of strawberries. Put another
wafer on top of strawberries and top in same manner with remaining cream
and strawberries. Dust 4 wafers with confectioners' sugar and put on top of
desserts. Garnish each millefeuillantine with a strawberry and sprinkle
plates with pistachios.

Makes 4