Caution: Addictive Blueberry Dessert

After our annual blueberry picking extravaganza this year, I was left with 5lbs of perfect, gigantic monster blueberries. I didn't want to make a pie, because that would have used all my berries, leaving none to eat out of hand (which my kids love). So, I settled on making a blueberry buckle. If you've never tasted a buckle, it is like a streuseled coffee cake with loads of fruit. It blew my mind! So much so, that I ended up single-handedly finishing the whole thing within 3 days. +5lbs later, I decided to make another one for a parenting group that I was hosting, but with the addition of some lemon zest and a lemon drizzle at the end. Perfection! This is super-easy, and other than blueberries, all of the ingredients are in your pantry/fridge already. I'm pretty sure this can be done with other fruits, but the blueberry is divine. Just trust me on this one.




By the way, I'm sorry there are no better pictures of the whole buckle, but I ate it too fast to take any.....








Blueberry-Lemon Buckle

Ingredients For Cake:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup room temperature butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch salt
2 1/2 cups blueberries
zest of 1 lemon

For Streusel:
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup melted butter

For Lemon Drizzle (optional):
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Juice from about 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour an 9x9" square or 7x11" rectangular glass baking dish.

In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add the egg and whisk to combine. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the blueberries and stir until just combined. Fold in the blueberries gently. Pour into the prepared pan.

Mix the Streusel ingredients in a smaller bowl. Sprinkle evenly over blueberry mixture. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 375 degrees.

When you pull the buckle out of the oven, it will be puffed up and golden, but will "buckle" while it cools. Mix together the lemon drizzle ingredients, adding lemon juice if necessary to get a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over the top of the buckle while it is still hot. This will melt into the streusel and be delicious. Serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold.

Maple Breakfast Cloud

Passover is not known for its yummy food (I hate matzah), so went on a self-imposed low-carb diet this year. It is amazing the lengths to which I will go to have pretend sweets, when I have cut out all the natural sources of sugary goodness. I modified a recipe I found in a children's recipe book that I happened to check out from the library yesterday. It was a low-carb, kosher for passover revelation! I can't wait for breakfast tomorrow, and I even considered having it for dinner tonight. Make this recipe, even if you are not on a low-carb diet. It sounds weird, but just trust me.... I will give the regular recipe, but the low-carb option would be to replace the maple syrup with sugar-free maple syrup. This recipe serves two, but I halved it to make enough just for me. The finished cloud will deflate a little bit, but it will still be light and puffy. Enjoy!



Puffy Maple Pancake





adapted from Kids Cook 1-2-3 by Rozanne Gold


4 eggs, separated

6 tablespoons real maple syrup (or sugar free maple syrup)

1 tablespoon butter

pinch salt


In a small bowl, combine only the yolks from the eggs and 2 tablespoons of the syrup. Wisk together to combine.


In a different bowl (not a plastic one, though), beat the egg whites with the salt to stiff peaks

Preheat an oven-safe omelet pan (large pan if doing whole recipe, small pan if halving for one) over medium heat with the butter.

Gently fold the whites into the yolks until thoroughly combined, but still light and fluffy.

Pour the fluffy mixture into the hot pan (spread evenly) and cook on the stovetop for 2 minutes or until the eggs are set but still wobbly on top. See picture:











Take the pan and transfer to your oven on broil (on the second to highest rack setting). Keep the oven door slightly open and don't go anywhere. Keeping an eye on this is important. When the top is puffed and golden brown, remove from the broiler. Drizzle with remaining maple syrup and serve immediately.

Sausage, Sausage Everywhere

So, last week I won a little contest that I had entered about a year ago for a sausage company. My parents think this is quite funny, being that I grew up keeping kosher, and this recipe contains pork sausage, bacon, and milk. My prize was a 20 lb box full of all different varieties of sausages. So, there will be many more sausage recipes to come. Here is my winning recipe:

Creamy Sausage, Mushroom, and White Bean Soup

1 box of good quality chicken stock
12 oz. mushrooms sliced (any variety)
4 strips bacon
1 package of Premio Sweet Italian Sausage
2 cans of Cannelloni or Great Northern Beans
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup milk
1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil
Cook bacon in a large skillet. Once fat is rendered, remove bacon and crumble, set aside. In bacon fat, sauté the mushrooms and onions until browned. Set aside and cook sausage until browned, Once cooled, slice sausage and set aside. In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, add cooked mushrooms, onions, chicken stock, 1 can of beans, and bring to a boil. Add milk and blend with an immersion (stick) blender. Add bacon, 2nd can of beans, and sausage. Garnish with basil, salt and pepper to taste. This is a very hearty meal soup. Serve with crusty rolls. Serves 6-8.

Challah-mama

So, I am not the most religious person. However, I recently decided to cook a nice Shabbat (Jewish Sabbath) dinner and bake challah each week. After dinner, we turn off the tv and play games as a family. It's not as bad as it sounds, really. It is not for any lofty reason, except to get the kids unglued from the tv and have some forced family time. Also, I must admit that it really is just an excuse to make challah each week and have leftovers for French toast the next d

ay. This is the BEST challah recipe ever and is foolproof, and can be done in about 5 hours start to finish:

Recipe was found on http://www.eatdrinkordie.com/ and I've tweaked the rising techniques a bit. Also, I do this in my kitchen-aid stand mixer, but it was originally a food processor recipe. Either would work.

Challah (2 loaves)

1 pkg. highly active dry yeast

1 T sugar

1/4 cup warm water (not hot!)

4 1/2-5 cups flour (all purpose is fine)

2 tsp. salt

3 egg yolks

2 T vegetable oil

1/3 cup honey

1 cup hot water

1 egg, beaten with 1 T water for brushing the top

*Optional: raisins, cinnamon, sesame or poppy seeds

In a measuring cup, stir together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit and get foamy.

Meanwhile, add 4 1/2 cups of the flour (I use unbleached all-purpose) and salt to your food processor or stand mixer with bread hook attachment and stir together to combine. Add 3 egg yolks (you can freeze the whites or make meringues with them), honey, oil, and hot water. Pulse 4 times (if processor method) or mix on med-low speed for a few seconds. Add the proofed, foamy yeast mixture. Mix or pulse until a ball forms. If it is really sticky add more flour until it is elastic and only the slightest bit sticky.

Here is my super-fast way of making this sucker rise: Put dough in an oiled glass bowl and cover with a damp tea towel that you have microwaved for 1-2 minutes on high. It's okay, I promise. Cover the bowl, but be careful- the towel will be hot.

Place the whole thing in the microwave to rise. Do not turn the microwave on at this point. Let rise for 1.5-2 hours until doubled in size.

Time to punch the dough down and knead a few times on a floured surface. Divide the dough in half for your two loaves. Divide each half into three equal parts. I usually do one plain loaf and one cinnamon raisin. For the plain: Just roll out three snakes with your dough pieces. Pinch them together on one end and start braiding. Pinch the other end and tuck it under a bit to look pretty.

For a cinnamon raisin loaf: Take each of your 3 snakes and roll it out a bit. Sprinkle each piece with cinnamon and as many raisins as you like and roll the good stuff inside. Pinch to seal the edges and ends. Now braid the same as above.

Place your two loaves on baking sheets and cover with a dry tea towel microwaved for 30 seconds in a cool oven. Let rise for one hour. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with the seeds of your choice. Bake at 375 degrees in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes.

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By the way, the sweet loaf that I made this week was Cherry Cinnamon Chip and was FANTASTIC! I sprinkled it with raw sugar after the egg wash, which made it even more crispy. My brother said that was the best part......

Also, if anyone wants to order a challah (in the dc area), I am thinking about starting a little business-Gourmet Challahs. There are zillions of flavor options!

Little Miss Muffin

There is one food that has often taunted me, yet remains just out of reach. It seems so simple, so sweet, so elusive. I am talking about the muffin. Not just any muffin, but a crusty-topped, huge, moist, bakery-worthy muffin. You know what I'm taking about, I'm sure. It is mostly a texture issue. Most homemade muffins are gummy on top and small, with a top that is barely a hill rather than a mountain peak.

Another issue I have is that most muffins are really just a cupcake without icing, with no nutritional value and full of fat and calories. I have made a myriad of too-healthy muffins that are dense and dry. So, I have come up with a solution that is easy, fast, somewhat more healthy, way lower in fat, and the flavor possibilities are endless.

This started with a weight watchers recipe that has been tweaked a bit.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1 box spice cake mix
1 can of pure pumpkin
1/2 cup of applesauce
3 egg whites
****
Just stir it all together and dollop into a muffin pan (with or without liners). It should make approximately 24 muffins. Bake at 325 for dark or non-stick pans (350 for glass or shiny metal) for 17-25 minutes or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

****At a brunch I cooked recently, I added a third cup of white chocolate chips and a third cup of cinnamon chips, plus some quick streusel topping. It took these things way over the top and is worth the extra calories.
*Chocolate mini-chips are great in these as well, as would be raisins or nuts.

Streusel Topping:

1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. chopped pecans or walnuts
Combine all ingredients and sprinkle over top the muffins before baking

Recently, I did a similar recipe for Banana Spice Muffins:

1/2 box spice cake mix
3 over-ripe bananas, mashed but a little lumpy (kids love doing this)
1/2 cup applesauce
2 egg whites

Same instructions as above, except makes 12 muffins.


Now, I know this is cheating, but these are 1-2 weight watchers points and are super-fast. My kids even eat these. I promise a more gourmet recipe next time. By the way, you could totally do this with other cake mixes, fruits, veggies and toppings. I'm thinking about chocolate cake mix with pumpkin, spice cake mix with zuccini, carrots and spice cake, and on and on. I have lots of other cake mix tricks, but that will be another post.

Dinner for the Mysterious Frenchman

So, my husband informed me the other day that I will be cooking dinner for his friend from work. Normally, no big deal. However, it later slipped out that said friend is named Jean-Paul and is visiting from France on business. Now, I am a foodie for sure- a good cook with moments of greatness, even. There is just something strangely intimidating about cooking for the French. So, the dilemma became what to serve. Do I go classic French with an American twist? All out American? Regional (I am in VA, so Southern)? Maybe ethnic? If so, do I cook red meat, seafood, or play it safe with chicken? Well, this is what I decided. Let me know what you think. I just hope he's not a vegetarian, though any red-blooded Frenchman would probably cringe at the thought...French bistros being known for steak au poivre, etc....

Dinner:

Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs

Creamy Chive Mashed Potatoes

Haricot Verts with Shallots

Sauteed Wild Mushrooms

Crusty Olive Oil and Rosemary Bread (store bought)

Dessert:

Sour Cherry Pie with Crumb topping (Bakery bought)

Homemade Whipped Cream

I normally wouldn't buy the bread and pie, but it is a Monday and the kids had school today.....

Here's the approximate recipe for the braised short ribs:

2.5 lbs boneless beef short ribs (bone-in would be even better)
2 shallots, sliced (you could totally use a small cooking onion if saving money)

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stalk

1 clove of garlic

1 T thyme (fresh) or 1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 portobella mushroom caps, rough chopped

1-2 cups dry red wine (good enough quality to drink)

1-2 cups beef stock (reduced sodium)

olive oil for searing

1 T butter

salt and pepper to taste

In a smoking hot skillet with olive oil, sear (liberally salt and peppered) ribs on all sides until brown. Throw those in you slow cooker or dutch oven. Add butter to same pan, lower heat and sweat the veggies (I add garlic to the pan at the last minute so as not to burn it) . Thorw veg. into the slow cooker or pot. Add the wine and stock in roughly equal parts until mostly covering meat and veg. Throw in the thyme. Cover and let cook in the slow cooker for a long time or at least until the meat is falling apart. If in a dutch oven, cover and lower heat to low. Yum! haven't done this next part yet, but I plan on reducing some of the cooking liquid to form a nice gravy for the mashed potatoes and meat. Make sure to season to taste. Enjoy.

By the way, if you were just planning on the beef dish, you could definitely add some red bliss or white potatoes to the pot and have an affordable, one-pot dish that could even be left in the slow cooker all day on low. Also, save the rest of the wine for pairing with your delicious meal!