My Favorite Blueberry Muffins

Lee and I went blueberry picking at the beginning of blueberry season. I used some of the blueberries to make muffins, but forgot to post about it!

On Wednesday, Lee and I did some more blueberry picking (we picked some raspberries as well, but that's another post) I made them again today so I decided to post about it.

Well, these muffins were amazing , I couldn't get enough!

The first time I made these muffins, I hadn't yet been to Penzeys to get spices. Well, I am now officially in love with Penzeys' spices (must go to special spice stores from now on!!!) and decided to use one of the three types of cinnamon I bought there. I went with the Korintje Cassia cinnamon. Also, because Penzeys' spices are so much fresher than the supermarket spices and have much more scent and flavor to them, I used a little less cinnamon.

There are two main types of cinnamon [Cassia and Ceylon "true" cinnamon (I'll post more when I make something with it)], but there are several variations within the cassia cinnamon family, each tasting different depending on where it was grown. I went with the Korintje Cassia cinnamon because it has the mildest flavor out of the three Cassia cinnamons. (Chinese and Vietmanese are the other types Penzeys carries.) I didn't want the cinnamon to be the star of the show, just add a bit of flavor.

I used the basic recipe from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. I remembered learning that vanilla can help bring out flavors in fruit dishes, and remembered how delicious the apple filling for the Daring Bakers danish challenge was and decided to add some vanilla.

I made some vanilla sugar with my vanilla beans and added that to the mix. The vanilla sugar was really easy to make.

Vanilla Sugar

1 vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise, per 2 cups sugar.

Allow to infuse for a week.

I used one Bourbon and one Tahitian bean and shook this once a day to help mix it up well.


Blueberry Muffins

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used 1/2 to 3/4 tsp of Korintje Cassia cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray muffin tins with non-stick spray, or line with paper cups.
2. Mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
3. Make a well in the center.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the butter, milk, and egg.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the dry ingredients.
   
6. Using a spoon or rubber spatula, mix until just blended. Be sure to fold and mix gently, do not beat.
7. Carefully mix in blueberries at the last minute.
8. Spoon into muffin pans.
9. Bake for 20-30 minutes depending on size of muffins.

Amish Friendship Bread

I'd never heard of Amish Friendship Bread before, but a girl at work brought some in and I got to try it. It was delicious! Apparently, it's the chain letter of the baking world. You get some sourdough starter and let it ferment for 10 days. You then split the starter into four parts and keep one to bake, one to start fresh, and two to pass on to others. Done righggt, you can have you and your friends baking forever! The recipe my colleague used tasted like a sugary corn bread. Definitely something I'll have to try to make myself sometime.

Ranch Cheeseburgers on Homemade Buns

I joined another recipe swap on Recipezaar this month. One of the recipes I tagged is for Ranch cheeseburgers. I didn't have any hamburger buns, so I decided to make some from scratch. I found a couple of recipes that sounded good, but I went with one that was for rolls that should be done in 40 minutes.

The cheeseburgers called for dry ranch dressing mix, but I didn't have any on hand and the only ground beef I had was 7% fat, so I used regular ranch dressing to add some moisture to the meat. It worked a treat. I tried a bit of one of the burgers without dressing and thought it tasted really good. I was wondering about whether it would take too much away from the flavor of the burgers to add ketchup, but I tried a little bite with some ketchup and I figured out it would be ok with just a tiny bit.

The buns turned out great as well. The first batch weren't the best shape, but they still tasted great. They were pretty easy and I have loads of leftovers for other burgers too. They actually taste quite good as just rolls on their own. These rolls remind me of the Texas Roadhouse rolls, not an exact match, but similar.

I made some fries to go with them, the same recipe I did with my fish and chips.

This was an excellent meal and I'll definitely have to make these time and time again! I'm learning that I really do seem to prefer making my own things at home. I'm not sure how long it'll last, but it'll be fun for now!

Honey Wheat Bread

One of Lee's complaints about the US is that the bread is too small! His English side of the family is made of big eaters. His little 9 year old brother can well out-eat me! All of my friends are shocked when they see how much he eat, and the most surprising thing is that he isn't very big! Well, he's tall, but not round in the slightest.

Anyway, back to the bread. The bread I buy in the US, (Home Pride Wheat) is about 4" x 4" but the bread he likes in England is about 6" x 6". That's quite a difference! Since I bought my Kitchen Aid® I wanted to give it a shot and after searching for larger bread pans, found one by Wilton that is huge!

I was wondering how much dough I should make, and was thinking I'd have to double recipes, but I was excited to see that it comes with a recipe for Honey Wheat Bread! I just had to give it a go.

I looked at my instructions for my Kitchen Aid® to see how much I could make, I remembered seeing a note in it that told how much flour you could use at a time. Since this is a big recipe, I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to overload my brand new mixer! The directions said not to use more than 10 cups all-purpose flour or 6 cups whole wheat flour when making dough in a mixer the size of mine, since this recipe called for 8 cups flour total, I thought that maybe it might compromise and work out ok.

Since I have never made a bread in one of these things before, I did have some problems, but I don't know if it's because of me or because I had too much dough in my mixer. The dough actually crept up and was higher than the top of the hook. I found out I accidentally had it at too high a speed as well (it says not to put it to a higher speed than 2 with the dough hook and I put it to 4). I'll have to try it one more time and then see if it works. I ended up divining the dough into two parts for the kneading and it worked a little better after that.

I was wondering how difficult it would be to roll out to the size needed, but it wasn't difficult at all and I didn't even need to flour the surface first.

It turned out fantastic! Neither Lee nor I could stop eating it. The bread wasn't as wide as what he likes in England, but he felt the height was so much better, a good compromise for now. I could not stop myself from eating slice after slice, and it tasted AMAZING with just a little butter on it.

The only other thing now is for me to figure out the best way to slice it up! I did ok, but it was tricky.

Be sure to half the recipe unless you have the same pan I do, or plan to make two loaves.

Honey Wheat Bread

4½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons salt
2 packages (2¼ teaspoons) instant yeast
1½ cups milk
1½ cups water
¼ cup honey
¼ cup oil
4 cups whole wheat flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups all-purpose flour, salt and yeast.
2. In a separate bowl, or pan, heat milk, water, honey, and oil until hot to the touch or about 125°F.
   
3. Gradually add liquids to the dry ingredients and beat for about two minutes at medium speek.
   
4. Add 1 cup-all purpose flour, beat at high for 2 more minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
   
5. Switch to dough hook, and gradually add the whole wheat flour, and enough remaining all-purpose flour to form a stiff dough. Knead until smooth and elastic.
6. Place in a greased bowl and coat. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
   
7. Turn out dough and roll to 18" x 10" rectangle. Roll up from the long end to make a loaf.
   
8. Pinch the seam ends and seal. Place, seam side down in greased pan, cover, and let rise until doubled in size (about 30 minutes).
   
9. Bake at 375°F f or 35 minutes or until done.
   
10. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.
    
11. When cooled, slice and enjoy!
    

Creamy Chicken and Crescent Rolls

Yesterday the cough I had became a full-blown cold. I was very sore and didn't feel like moving. I was planning to do the crock pot dinner I was going to do Wednesday. My boyfriend ended up putting it all together and throwing it in the crock put. He's not a cook, a fact he admits himself, and this was a very simple recipe, one he couldn't really mess up!

I was really disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to make the crescent roll recipe I found. I took some pain medicine and it really made a difference. I felt up to making the rolls. One problem...we ran out of milk! I had already put the yeast in the water to proof. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it! I ended up getting rid of it because it was 2 hours before I was able to get some milk and the yeast started to have a fishy smell to it. I found out later I could have added a bit of flour to the yeast, but I didn't know at the time and I had to start fresh. This recipe made A LOT of dough! The recipe said the woman uses bread flour, but I wonder how it would turn out with regular all-purpose flour. I might try that next time since the recipe itself doesn't state the type of flour. I divided it into 12 balls of 165g each. Now I know I'm still in the US and we don't use metric much, but I'm finding that it is much more practical and easy to do division in metric. I rolled out one ball and wrapped the rest in saran wrap and put them in a freezer bag for later. I am able to get 4 rolls out of each ball, I figure two rolls each is a good amount. Unfortuntely, we ended up having these as a snack because I didn't get to make them in time for dinner.

The crescent rolls were a great snack later on because neither one of us ate much of the dinner. The meal was very watered down and we could see the fat on top of it. Also, there wasn't much taste to the potatoes. The chicken tasted good, but the skin was just so fatty. I also think it would taste better if the potatoes were in smaller chunks instead of quarters. They didn't really get much of the taste of the soup in it. I think I might try this again with less water because I can see how it has potential to taste really good.

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken

4 chicken thighs
4 red potatoes, quartered
3½ ounces mushrooms
10 ounce condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
2 cups water (I'm going to leave out this next time)
1 tablespoon minced onions
salt
pepper

1. Put ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for about 6 hours or until potatoes are tender and chicken is falling off the bone.
   

Crescent Rolls
½ ounce yeast
½ cup sugar
1 cup warm water
1 cup milk, scalded (heated 2 minutes in microwave)
3 eggs, beaten
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon salt
7 cups flour

1. Dissolve the yeast in water with one tablespoon sugar.
2. Let stand for 5-10 minutes or until yeast is dissolved and mixture is frothy.
3. Combine milk, butter, salt, and remaining sugar in a large mixing bowl.
4. Add 2 cups of flour and mix well.
5. Add the yeast mixture and eggs, beat well.
6. Slowly add the rest of the flour until a soft dough forms.
7. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
8. Knead on a lightly floured surface and place in a large, greased bowl.
   
9. Cover and let rise until doubled.
10. Punch down and divide the dough.
    
11. Roll and use a pizza cutter to slice into small triangles.
12. Starting with the large end, roll into crescent shapes.
13. Place rolls on a cookie sheet, cover, and let rise for an additional hour. Be sure to leave plenty of space between the rolls to allow room to rise.
    
14. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375°F until golden brown.

A Great Meal for a Great Day

Today has been a fabulous day! I found my keys that I lost about 2 weeks ago. I thought I threw them away, but they ended up in one of my sneakers! I planned to get new keys made today, so it was excellent timing. My car also passed inspection today. It didn't pass inspection on the first try last year, so I'm glad the repairs held. I also got all the errands I planned for today finished.

I planned an Italian meal for tonight that included a homemade roasted garlic bread recipe I found a while ago and was wanting to try. I love school vacations because I have more time to relax, get things done, and cook good food. I think my boyfriend likes school vacations because he gets to eat better food all week long! To go with the garlic bread, I made a chicken parmigiana dinner with a homemade tomato sauce.

The dinner turned out fabulously! We both ate loads and wished there was more to eat. The bread recipe makes two loaves, so I'm trying to freeze some for another day. We'll see how they turn out. I'll definitely love to make these both again.

I was surprised at how easy both of these recipes were to make. They both sound complex, but really weren't difficult at all. The most difficult part of the chicken parm recipe was the heating of the oil and the most difficult part of the bread recipe was the rolling. I think I'm becoming a big fan of homemade breads. The ones I've done so far are really quite easy and since I keep most of the ingredients at home anyway, it's really more convenient, and much more tasty, to just make it myself.

The recipes for the bread and chicken parm are a little long, so I'm just posting the links. I made up the sauce today and am posting that recipe here.

Roasted Garlic Bread


























Authentic Chicken Parmesan


Garlic and Herb Tomato Sauce

2-28oz. cans tomato sauce
2-28oz. cans diced tomatoes
2-6oz. cans tomato paste
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ bay leaves
1 tsp rosemary
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp basil

1. Put all ingredients in crock pot and simmer on low for 6+ hours.
   
2. Remove bay leaves. Blend with immersion blender if less chunky consistency is desired.

At Last...My Brioche Has Come Along!

A month later than hoped, I have finally made some brioche and it was well worth the wait.

During my first trip to England, I bought a sweet bread called brioche at ASDA. I loved it and had eaten the whole bag (8 small brioches) by the next morning. I bought some more to eat while there, and then bought some to bring home. Ever since then, I have bought bags of this heavenly treat on my visits and have longed for them here in the States. I cannot seem to find them where I live!

This summer I was delighted to find that the Joy of Cooking book I bought had a brioche recipe, so I made it as soon as possible. I was very disappointed. This recipe said it was a French recipe, but it was way too buttery and ended up tasting like a croissant, and even had the texture of a croissant. We ate them, but I didn't plan to use that recipe again.

Six months later and after buying five bags of brioche in England (which were made in France), I was determined to try again! I looked at the ingredient list and searched for recipes online with those ingredients, but had difficulty finding them. I finally asked around and was given an authentic French recipe to try.

Not to knock Joy of Cooking, because there are some recipes in there I have enjoyed, but this recipe I was given was so different from the one I had before I don't know why they said theirs was the French recipe, maybe there are regional differences. The recipe I was given is from a person in France and from a French cookbook, so it should definitely be French!

These brioche were delicious! I overcooked them a little, but they weren't too badly overdone. I made some plain butter ones, and some chocolate chip ones. My boyfriend, who says he doesn't like sweet things, but actually eats loads of it, said he liked both, but preferred the chocolate chip ones. This recipe was well worth looking in three different stores for superfine sugar!

Brioche (no amounts are given because I feel badly about posting other people's recipes without their permission)

Yeast Batter:
dried yeast
milk, hand-hot
superfine sugar
bread flour

other ingredients:
bread flour
salt
superfine sugar
butter
eggs


Yeast Batter method:

1. Stir yeast in to milk, let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Mix the flour and sugar and let stand in a warm place until frothy, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile...

1. In a separate bowl, mix together rest of flour, salt and sugar.
   
2. Slice cold butter into thin pieces and rub into flour mixture.

To finish...

1. Beat eggs into the frothy mixture.
2. Stir in the flour mixture until it is a soft dough. Place on lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky.
3. Cover the dough and let it rise for about 1½ hours or until doubled in size.
4. Punch down the dough.
5. Grease tins and divide the dough into twelve equal pieces. (or place in a loaf pan) Pinch off a small piece of each of the twelve sections. Form the larger pieces into balls and place in tins. Make a small indentation and form the smaller pieces into balls and place on top. Glaze with a beaten egg.
6. Cover and leave the brioche to proof for about 30-40 minutes or until light and puffy.
7. Bake at 450°F until golden brown (15-20 minutes). Cool on a wire rack. (Bake for 45-50 minutes if using a loaf pan)

A Feast to Die For

A couple of weeks ago, or maybe it was just last week...my boyfriend suggested getting new knives because ours are horrible. We then happened to see Alton Brown's Good Eats episode American Slicer where he talked about the types of knives and knife skills. I heard about knife skills classes and decided I wanted to try one. My birthday isn't until May, but he said I could take one as an early birthday present. I was excited to see a class at Johnson and Wales for this Saturday and quickly signed up.

Well, the class wasn't what I expected. We were taught some skills, but then we cooked for half the class and we needed more help with the recipes and finding ingredients and didn't get the attention on knife handling skills that I hoped to get. It was still a fun class and I got to try some FABULOUS new recipes!

I don't have pictures because I was at the class, but here is what we had:

Corn Chowder
Bruschetta
Stuffed Mushrooms
Chicken and Herbs in White Wine
Tomato Basil Pork Chops
Baked Salmon with Pecan Crunch
Sun-Dried Tomatoes Risotto with Mozzarella
Sweet Peas and Spinach

My favorite out of everything was the risotto. it was INCREDIBLE!!! I'll definitely make it at home sometime.

The stuffed mushrooms were marinated in some balsamic vinegar in class, but it's not in the recipe. I don't really like balsamic vinegar and that was what put me off of the mushrooms, so I think I'll try it at home and follow the recipe they gave us.

So...while it wasn't what I was expecting, I did enjoy the class and was able to taste some amazing food.

In the end, I bought a set of Calphalon Contemporary knives. The Shun knives were my favorite, but way out of our price range. I liked the Calphalon Katana knives, but didn't like the handle. I much preferred the handle of the Calphalon Contemporary, and my boyfriend felt the same, so we went with the 17 piece set and I immediately had to try slicing some vegetables to try them out. I used to be unable to cut parsnips, and even my father and boyfriend had trouble cutting them with the old knives. With the new chef's knife I was easily able to slice through a parsnip! I love my new knives!!!

Tomayto, Tomato, Pahsta, Pawsta...

However you choose to pronounce it, we had homemade tomato sauce with ziti and italian style ground beef for dinner/tea tonight. I meant to make this Wednesday, but forgot to get up early enough to chop everything and put it in the crock pot. I got home early enough, I could have made it when I got home, but I really wanted to use my crock pot, which took longer than the two hours I had. So...I made it Thursday.

I've been making homemade tomato sauce a lot lately. It saves money and I can suit it to our tastes. I have been using powders instead of the real thing because it cooks faster, but since I was doing the crock pot, I wanted to do the fresh ingredients! My boyfriend said he really noticed a difference and it had a much fresher, more vibrant taste.

Pasta Sauce (in a 5 qt. slow cooker)

1 part diced tomatoes to 2 parts tomato sauce (I can't remember the can size I used, but it pretty well filled my crock pot)
1 can of tomato paste
I medium white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced (we love garlic flavour)
1 bay leaf


I didn't have these fresh, so during the last two hours of cooking I added:
2-3 tablespoons parsley flakes
2-3 tablespoons Italian seasoning

Put ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for approximately 10 hours. This made a lot of sauce and we put the extra in a container to freeze and use later.

Garlic Bread:
1 Italian loaf of bread
butter
garlic salt (I have the kind with parsley)

1. Slice the bread in one inch sections.
2. Leave the bottom crust intact, don't slice all the way through.
3. Butter each side of the slices.
4. Sprinkle garlic salt to taste on each side of the slices.
5. Wrap in aluminum foil and heat in 350°F oven until butter is melted and crust is crispy.

Italian Style Ground Beef:
http://www.recipezaar.com/218857

I hadn't made pasta in a while and both Lee and I are pasta lovers! We didn't realize how much we missed it until tonight!