Blueberry Muffins

This is an amazing blueberry muffin recipe. If you read some of the additional notes on the website, you'll see that you can substitute all sort of other fruit for the blueberries and that you can refrigerate the batter for up to a week and just make a couple of muffins each day. I've also made it with half whole wheat flour and they were really good. Seriously, give them a try.

Here is the website where I got the recipe.

Blueberry Muffins
Ingredient Section

2 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
coarse white sparkling sugar for garnish (optional)

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with papers, and grease the papers.

2) In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then set aside.

3) In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a hand-held or stand mixer, until light, fluffy, and almost white in color. Start the mixer at low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, then gradually increase speed to medium-high until the desired color and texture are reached.

4) Scrape down the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5) Add the vanilla and sour cream or yogurt, and mix until incorporated.

6) Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until the batter is smooth. It will be thick.

7) Fold in the berries by hand.

8) Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, using a heaping 1/4-cup for each. Sprinkle with regular granulated or coarse white sugar, if desired.

9) Bake the muffins for 18 to 24 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Remove them from the oven, cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan to finish cooling on a rack.

Blackened Tilapia

4-6 tilapia
2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground red pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried, crushed basil
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup unsalted butter, melted

Heat iron skillet on high 5 minutes. Mix all seasonings in a bowl. Dip fillets in melted butter and coat with seasonings. Place fillets in hot skillet and cook 2 minutes on each side.


My Notes:
I've also dipped them in olive oil instead of butter. Not quite as good as it is with butter, but still really good
I typically serve this with some sort of salad and rice, but it is delicious actually in a salad or in fish tacos.

Strawberry Asparagus Spinach Salad

I love spring produce. Right now the strawberries are beautiful and the asparagus is fresh and crisp. Around Easter I always start craving this salad. It is amazing. Oh how I wish I had a picture of it right now. If you saw how good it looks, you would go to the store right this minute to buy the ingredients, and you would not be disappointed by how it tastes. It is so incredibly good.

Strawberry Asparagus Spinach Salad

8 cups torn lettuce (spinach, romaine, butter, red)
1 avocado, cut into chunks
1 lb. steamed asparagus
2 c fresh strawberries cut into slices
1/4 c. pecan halves, chopped
1 sliced cucumber
1/4 c. blueberries

Dressing
1 pkg. good seasons Italian dressing seasonings
1/4 c. raspberry flavor vinegar
1 T. fresh orange juice
1 t. grated orange rind
1 T. water
1 t. poppy seeds
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 T. sugar

Meyer Lemon Pudding Cakes

*recipe from Good Housekeeping Magazine
Ingredients
1/3 cup(s) sugar
1/4 cup(s) sugar, plus additional for ramekins
1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
2 Meyer or regular lemons (up to 3)
3 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoon(s) butter or margarine, melted and cooled
1 cup(s) whole milk
1 pint(s) raspberries, for garnish
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease eight 4- to 5-ounce ramekins; sprinkle with sugar to coat bottoms and sides. Shake out any excess.

On sheet of waxed paper, with fork, combine flour, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt. From lemons, grate 1 1/2 tablespoons peel and squeeze 1/2 cup juice. In large bowl, with wire whisk, beat egg yolks and lemon peel and juice. Whisk in butter and milk. Gradually whisk in flour mixture.

In another large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar until soft peaks form when beaters are lifted, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add one-third beaten whites to yolk mixture and, with rubber spatula, stir gently until incorporated. Gently fold in remaining whites until just incorporated. With ladle, divide batter evenly among prepared ramekins.

Arrange ramekins 1 inch apart in large (17-inch by 13-inch) roasting pan. Fill pan with enough hot water to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Carefully transfer pan to oven and bake 30 to 35 minutes or until cakes are golden brown and tops rise 1/2 inch above rims.

Cool cakes in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. With sturdy metal spatula, carefully remove ramekins from pan with water and transfer to wire rack to cool 15 minutes longer.

Run thin knife around edge of 1 ramekin. Place small serving plate on top of ramekin and invert plate and ramekin together; remove ramekin. Repeat with remaining ramekins. Garnish each cake with a couple of raspberries and a mint sprig; serve warm.


*My Notes
If you like citrus desserts, try this and you won't be disappointed. Made this last night and it was absolutely delish. I dirtied a lot of bowls, but now that I know how everything goes together, I could easily whip this up in two bowls and very quickly. We used strawberries instead of raspberries and really, I think you could probably use any fruit with it. I would recommend waiting for the cakes to cool until they are just above room temp. We started eating them before they were really cool enough. And while they were yummy, the last bites of it were better tasting than the first because it had cooled to the right temp. I think you could served it chilled and it would be good too.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

***I really want to give these a try. I've been searching for excuses to make them. It is too bad that I am going to a cookie exchange and not a cupcake exchange.


Romina's Pumpkin Cupcakes

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)
1 can (15 oz.) solid-packed pumpkin (about 1 3/4 cups if you're making your own puree)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick of butter, cubed and cold
8 oz. cream cheese*
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon spice mix (see below)

Spice Mix**

1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

**you'll only need to use 1/4 teaspoon of this mix for the frosting so keep the remaining mix as a reserve for something else yummy or for the next time you make this recipe.

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Line three 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake wrappers.

To make the cupcakes, in a bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and salt.

In another, larger bowl whisk together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition. Add the flour mixture in three additions, stirring with a large wooden spoon until just combined.

Fill the muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake until the cupcakes for 20 minutes. Transfer the tins to a wire rack and let cool for ten minutes; then remove the cupcakes from the tins and let cool completely.

To make the frosting, cream the butter until fluffy, but still cold. Add the cream cheese in small chunks. When completely combined (no lumps of either butter or cream cheese), add the powdered sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla and then 1/4 teaspoon of the spice mix before blending one last time.

* make sure you use Philadelphia Original; I've found that anything else compromises the texture and flavor.

Magnolia Red Velvet Cupcakes

This week we celebrated one of my work/school friend's 30th birthday. Since I'm now known as the baker, I was put in charge of the yummy treat. After thinking about it for way to long, I finally decided on red velvet cupcakes. Now, I know that they are probably not the true Magnolia recipe, but it is still a pretty good recipe. I got a whole lot of compliments and one of the New Yorkers that had one said it was actually better than the Magnolia recipe.

Ingredients
3 ⅓ cups cake flour (not self-rising)
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 ¼ cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons red food coloring
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1 ½ teaspoons cider vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
Frosting: 1 pound (two 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and lightly flour three muffin tins. Place cupcake papers in the tins.
To make the cake: In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overheat.

In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake each tray for 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 1 hour. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting: In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat well. Gradually add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating continuously until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate icing for 2 to 3 hours, but no longer, to thicken before using. When the cake has cooled, spread the frosting liberally on the cupcakes.

Makes 36 cupcakes.

Pizza Dough

One of my favorite wedding gifts was my pizza stone and I used it to death. I recently got a new one and have been working on getting it seasoned. I know some people are just not that into making homemade pizza and I totally understand. If this is you, just ignore this post. For the rest of you, this is the pizza dough recipe I use. It is from the Williams Sonoma Pizza cookbook. I'm going to post the recipe as I make it, because I have made alterations from the original recipe.

1 T. active dry yeast
1 c.. lukewarm water
2 3/4 c. flour
1 t. salt
1 T. olive oil

Pour yeast into water in small bowl and set aside.

In a food processor(with metal blade) or Kitchen Aid mixer(with dough hook, combine flour and salt. With the machine running, slowly pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and continue to mix until the mixture forms a ball of dough and the dough rides around blade or hook on the mixer.

Move dough to lightly floured counter and kneed with the palm of your hand for 2 minutes.

Brush two medium sized bowls with oil. Cut dough in half and place each half in one of the oiled bowls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled.

Once dough is doubled, preheat oven to 450. place pizza stone in oven while preheating. For a crusty dough, you will want the stone to have been in the oven for at least 15 minutes at 450.

Turn one ball of dough out onto a flour dusted surface. Press and stretch mixture out into desired shape , flipping the dough over from time to time as you work with it. (I use a rolling pin) For a crusty pizza, roll until 1/4 inch thick. For a softer pizza roll until 1/2 inch thick.

Transfer dough to corn meal dusted pizza peel. Let dough rise again for 5 minutes. Top and transfer to pizza stone. Bake for 10 minutes or until crust is lightly brown and cheese is starting to brown and bubble.

Repeat procedure with second ball of dough.

My notes

1)I use Quick Rise Bread Machine Yeast in order to speed up the rising process. If you use the regular yeast, it usually takes 1-2 hours to rise. With the Quick Rise yeast I usually let it rise for 30-45 minutes, depending on the temperature and humidity.

2)You can play with the amount of white flour to wheat flour ratio. I like to make mine with at least half wheat flour. I like a finer ground wheat flour. It makes for a fluffier crust. Trader Joe's wheat four works well. I've also ground my own wheat to a very fine flour and that works well too. You can also make this recipe using just white flour.

3)For an herbier crust, you can mix dried or fresh herbs right into the dough.

I hope this recipe is written clear enough. If you have questions, let me know.