Give or take a pinch of baking powder, most blueberry muffin recipes are pretty much the same. One thing that varies is the dairy used – some recipes call for buttermilk, while others use yogurt, or sour cream as this one does.
When it comes to the amount of blueberries, it seems that 1 1/2 cups is the standard measure. Since I get my blueberries in pint baskets, which is 2 cups, I decided to push the envelope and toss in the whole thing.
Is that too many? You can be the judge, but I really like that these are chock full of juicy fruit, and while it does make them less sweet, I think it's a good tradeoff. This recipe is going to be published, so let me know what you think if you decide to give them a go.
I usually do my voiceovers in the morning, when I'm fresh and peppy, and my voice is dripping with enthusiastic verve. This voiceover was done late in the evening, as I was getting ready to take off to Las Vegas (where this is being posted from).
If you are new to the blog you probably wouldn't have noticed anything, but the regular viewers will hear the same thing I do…I sound really tired. Anyway, maybe I'm being a bit self-conscience, but I thought it was really noticeable, and a good reminder to make sure I do these soundtracks before a long day of production. Notwithstanding the sleepy narration, I like these blueberry muffins a lot, and hope you give them a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 16 muffins: 3 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup white granulated sugar 1 (1/2 cup) stick butter, softened finely grated zest from one lemon 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 large eggs 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract, optional 2 cups fresh blueberries
Just a quick post before heading off for a tour and dine around at the Venetian/Palazzo Restaurant. The menu and photo below are from a fantastic meal we just had at the Vegas Uncork’d Luncheon at Vintner Grill.
You'll be hearing a lot more about Vegas Uncork’d in the coming weeks. Sorry, no time for details about this food right now, but if you check out the menu below, you can make it all out. Enjoy!
Hello from Las Vegas! Last night was a great start to what's looking to be a very delicious trip. We got a tour of the Bellagio Hotel's finest food offerings with the hotel's Food & Beverage Director, Daniel Adams.
After the tour we headed to their Tuscany demonstration kitchen for a three-course meal. The food was done by three of the Bellagio's newest chefs, who also demo'd the dish in front of us before it was served.
A great first course of scallops, cauliflower and truffled Brussels sprouts was prepared by Chef Jaime Mendoza of Olives. The main course of beef short ribs with chive spaetzle was prepared by Chef Sean Griffin of Prime, and the dessert course was prepared by Chef Jean-Marie Auboine, who made something called "8 Chocolate Textures."
Chef Jean-Marie had the line of the night when one of the reporters asked him, "why 8?" He replied, "Because 9 is too many." That's so chef. Enjoy the pictures, and stay tuned!
I don't want to put too much pressure on you, but you're going to have to try really hard to screw up this great tasting lamb shanks recipe.
Lamb shanks are one of the most foolproof meat choices out there, and when you braise it, you have about as close to a sure thing, as there is.
After a long, slow roast in an aromatic, deeply flavored broth, these shanks are sure to get rave reviews. In fact, you culinarily challenged may want to give this a go for Valentine's dinner. The risk/reward ratio is very good.
The long, slow cooking technique works perfectly with your plans to mesmerize your date with a few hours of witty and romantic conversation before dinner. I'm sure that will be great, but maybe have the Wii out just in case. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 6 lamb shanks, about 5 1/2 pounds 2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste 1 tablespoon butter 1 onion, diced 1 rib celery, diced 1 large carrot, diced 1 tablespoon flour 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup drinkable red wine 1 cup chicken broth 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 cup water 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
I'm in the middle of what I hope turns out to be a delicious batch of braised lamb shanks, but in the meantime, I thought I'd post this clam chowder recipe for you to try, and hopefully report back. Please see the cookbook-bound written recipe following the photo. Thanks and enjoy!
New England Clam Chowder
Makes 6 servings
1 pound little neck clams, washed 1 cup water 2 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces 1/2 yellow onion, diced 1 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 2 (10-ounce) cans whole clams, drained 2 cups cold clam juice (note part of this may be made up from the drained canned clam liquid, but clam juice has a stronger clam flavor) 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, and cut into 1/4-inch cubes 1 cup milk 1 cup cream salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste fresh chopped parsley to garnish oyster cracker to garnish
Bring one cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add the little neck clams, cover tightly, and cook for a couple minutes, until the clams open. Remove the clams to a bowl and reserve. Stain the cooking liquid and reserve.
In large saucepan, over medium heat, cook the bacon in the butter until almost crisp. Remove the bacon with slotted spoon and reserve, leaving the butter and rendered bacon fat in the pan.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the onions. Sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Whisk in the cold clam juice, slowly at first. Add the reserved clam cooking liquid. Bring back to a simmer and add the potatoes. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
Note: at this point some chowder heads like to smash some of the potatoes against the bottom of the pan with a masher to add body to the soup. Optional!
Stir in the canned clams, milk, and cream. Reduce heat to low, and cook until just heated through. Do not boil. Add the reserved little neck clams, and cook for another minute. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed.
Serve hot topped with the reserved bacon, parley, and oyster crackers.
This simple pan of food was supposed to be called a "Spinach and Feta Oven-Baked Omelet" in the cookbook – but after making, eating, and starring at photos of it for a couple hours, I decided it shall now be known simply as Spinach and Feta Pie.
Besides, if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times…if it's shaped like a triangle and you can eat it, it's pie (reminder: all comments are moderated).
When I hear, "omelet," I think eggs, but while there are a dozen of those here, it's just not the star of the show. That would be the spinach, and lots of it. I put a whole pound of fresh spinach in this, and when it was done baking, the eggs had gone from headlining diva to backup singer. And not even the hot backup singer they always put in the first row of the chorus – that was the feta cheese.
This spinach and feta pie may remind you of spanakopita, that delicious Greek phyllo-wrapped pastry which is stuffed with a very similar filling. In fact, as delicious as this was, part of me wished I were also biting into those crisp, buttery, flakes.
At the beginning of the video, you'll see I already have the spinach cooked. I was positive I had done an old video for creamed spinach in which I showed the simple technique I used to wilt the greens. Do any of you old timers remember that clip? I was going to link to it to show you, but it's nowhere to be found.
Anyway, simply put a large stockpot over high heat, toss in a chunk of butter (let your conscience be your guide), throw in the spinach, cover, and wait one minute. Uncover and toss with a wooden spoon until it's just barely wilted, then drain as you see in the video.
This spinach and feta pie makes a nice breakfast, of course, but could also be served as a side dish sitting next to some braised lamb. Hey, that sounds pretty good. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 1 pound spinach 1 tablespoons butter to wilt spinach in 6 slices bacon 1/2 onion, diced 12 eggs salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste pinch of cayenne 3 oz feta
I'm so glad I can't do a decent Boston accent, otherwise this video recipe for Boston cream pie would have probably been really annoying because I would have done the entire voiceover in it.
This is my quick and easy version of Boston's Parker House Hotel's famous cake. Why is it called a pie? Your guess is as good as mine, but what I do know is that a real Boston cream pie is comprised of two layers of sponge cake, not a yellow cake from a boxed mix.
So technically this is only two-thirds of a Boston cream pie, but trust me, it's the most important two-thirds. In the video, I joke about the cake in this recipe simply acting as a pastry cream and chocolate ganache delivery system. I wasn't joking.
A Boston cream pie is all about the cream and ganache. In fact, here's a tip in case you want to take that idea and run with it – instead of two cakes, just use one. Use a long, serrated knife to split the cake in two, and proceed with the recipe as shown.
By the way, in a testament to just how busy I am, I completely forgot to mention those hairless hands you'll see stirring, whisking, and pouring, belong to my wife – the lovely and talented Michele.
Enjoy!
Ingredients: yellow cake mix, prepared according to directions For the pastry cream: 1/2 tbsp butter 1 cup whole milk 1 cup whipping cream 6 tablespoons sugar (upon further review we've added another tablespoon of sugar) 2 tablespoon cornstarch 3 eggs 1 or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, or to taste big pinch of salt For the chocolate ganache: 4 ounces high-quality dark chocolate, preferably bittersweet 1/2 cup cream 1 teaspoon butter
At the risk of becoming a social outcast, I'll admit to having never watched Mad Men. I mean, it's on the television while I'm working, and Michele seems to thoroughly enjoy it, but I just haven't gotten into it. However, when I see the sets, clothes, cars, and other iconic imagery of that era, I can't help but think the characters are probably enjoying tuna noodle casserole on a regular basis.
Below the photo you'll see the written recipe for this retro-chic classic, which is going in the cookbook. I really love this recipe, and hope some of you give it a go and tell me what you think. Enjoy!
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Makes 6 Portions
12 ounce package dry egg noodles 3 tablespoons butter 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced 3 tablespoons flour 3 1/2 cups cold milk 1 (10-oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 (7-oz) cans tuna, well drained, crumbled 3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed, drained 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs 2 tbsp olive oil
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, and sauté the onions over med-low heat for about 4 minutes, or until translucent. Turn up the heat to medium; add the flour, and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes. While whisking vigorously, slowly pour in one cup of the cold milk.
When the mixture begins to simmer, add the rest of the milk, can of mushroom soup, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, and comes to a simmer. Remove from heat, and reserve.
Cook noodles in boiling salted water, one minute less than the directions call for. Drain well, and add to a large mixing bowl. Add the sauce, tuna, peas and about 2/3 of the cheese. Mix with a spatula to combine.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Pour the mixture into a lightly oiled 9 x 13 casserole dish, and top with the rest of the cheese. Mix the breadcrumbs and olive oil together in a small bowl until combined. Sprinkle evenly over the casserole. Bake for 35 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.
There may not seem to be much rhyme or reason to the video selection these days, but there's a good reason for that. As I've alluded to in previous posts, for the next couple months I'll be basically cooking only recipes that appear in the cookbook.
When I have a chance to turn on the video recorder, I will, and this crouton how-to is an example. During normal times I'd probably not wake up inspired to film croutons, but hey, it's better than another talking plate clip from YouTube.
In addition to what may be a useful recipe for some number of you, you'll get my first and last Beyonce tribute. Sources deep within the music industry tipped me off she was planning a parody of my chicken wing video, so I wanted to strike the first blow.
Speaking of blow, virtually all salad dressing historians claim Caesar salad was invented in 1924 by Cesar Cardini in Tijuana, Mexico. It doesn’t appear on any written menus or cookbooks until decades later, and when it does, it’s called the “Caesar.”
What happened? I realize the inventors name, Cesar, is Spanish for the Latin, Caesar, but so what? The salad was invented by a Cesar, not Caesar. It’s not like it was changed to make it easier to say, or to Americanize it. Anyone have any ideas?
While you're pondering that one, why not head over to my American Foods site where I've posted my version of Caesar salad dressing, and the same recipe that will go into the book. Any thoughts or corrections would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!
Crouton Ingredients: 4 cloves garlic, minced very fine 1/2 cup olive oil 1 (8-ounce) loaf French baguette or similar style bread (for best results, use day old bread) 3/4 cup finely grated "real" Parmesan cheese (sold as Parmigiano-Reggiano) 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper pinch of cayenne
Did you ever think to yourself, "I wish they made a dinner plate that would criticize me while I eat?" Well, thanks to a clinic in England, that very thing is now a reality!
At first glance I thought this device was intended to scold overeaters, but it looks like its real mission is helping people with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Still, I can't help but imagine setting a plate of chicken fried steak down and hearing, "Oh no you didn't!"
Sticky, succulent beef short ribs are such a favorite of mine, and I when I realized I'd only done a couple other previous videos with them, one recipe way back when I still used a tiny web cam taped to the spice rack, I decided to film this version, which is going in the cookbook.
The video doesn't need a lot of set-up. Beef short ribs are pretty much foolproof, and as long as two things happen, you are in for some very fine eats. First, the beef must be really well browned – I'm talking deep, dark, crusty, and caramelized.
To this end I use a separate, very heavy duty, super thick, copper-bottomed pan on high heat. You can, and I have many times, simply brown in the Dutch oven itself, but they're generally thinner than a skillet, and not as easy to keep on high heat for prolong periods without scorching.
The other key step is easier. To paraphrase an expression you'll probably hear watching football this weekend, "Stick a fork in them, they're done." Just braise them until they're fork-tender. After browning properly, the only way to mess these up is to undercook them, so don't.
If you watch carefully, you'll actually see in the shot where I test them with the fork, they're a little "bouncy," and not quite there, so I put them back in for another 20 minutes. Once done, your patience will be well rewarded. Enjoy!
Tech note: the quality of these movies is poor until they are completely finished processings, so if they look low res, check back later to enjoy the sheer visual ecstasy that is HD video!
Ingredients: 4 slices bacon, cut in 1/2-inch pieces salt and fresh ground black pepper as needed 3 1/2 pounds beef short ribs 1 onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp flour 1 cup dry sherry wine 1 quart beef broth or veal stock 6 springs of thyme, picked 1 bay leaf
I know what you're probably thinking. I could have used this recipe a few weeks ago for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Well, it's actually not late, it's just super early for next year. You're welcome.
It's rare I enjoy a recipe for its looks more so than its taste. Don't get me wrong, I like how this tastes, but scoring the squash with a knife before baking really makes for a great presentation. It also allows the simple, but delicious glaze to penetrate nice and deep.
I'm not sure why I don't eat more squash. It's so nutritious, or at least that's what I'm led to believe, and I'm way too busy to search for evidence to the contrary. It also serves double-duty as a vegetable and a starch. This recipe, or something extremely close will be in the cookbook, so if you try it, let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 2 acorn squash 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice 1 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons maple syrup salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste pinch of cayenne
"Hollywood has the Oscars. Broadway has the Tonys. Now Twitter has the...Shorty Awards" – The New York Times
There's a something called the Shorty Awards that, according to their mission statement, "…honor the best people and organizations on Twitter. These unique awards are for the Twitter community, by the Twitter community. Online voting is public and democratic, culminating in an awards ceremony that recognizes the winners in 27 official categories as well as those in brand new crowd-sourced ones."
Sounds good to me! If you are on Twitter, you can follow this link and give some Shorty love in the food category! Thanks!
I sure hope you enjoyed that phone/Yellow pages/chicken finger pun as much as I did. The chicken finger video has finally been approved and uploaded to YouTube, and I'd love to say it will be worth the wait, but I'm not sure.
This video recipe is more of a technique tutorial (yes, some people don't know how to bread things), and you more advanced foodies may be underwhelmed. Having said that, this is a really tasty, and pretty easy, appetizer to whip up for your Super Bowl party (and be sure to check out the honey mustard sauce video here).
The secret is the panko breadcrumbs. These larger, flaky crumbs get much crispier, and stay crisp much longer than conventional breadcrumbs. By the way, I can already hear some of you grumbling about finding panko, but it's very common these days (thank you Food Network and Bravo), and you'll find them in every large grocery chain.
As far as the phone goes, I really enjoyed giving it a test run and it performed very well. It's very fast, feels great in your hand, and the voice activated feature for basically any text input field is perfect for someone like me.
I should also probably state for the record that I was kidding about the Nexus One apps – I'm really not developing smart phone programs that chop onions and peel potatoes. I'm sorry to disappoint those of you that thought that part of the video was real, but then again, if you were fooled, you have other more important issues to address. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 4 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon garlic salt 1 teaspoon chipotle pepper 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 4 eggs, beaten 1 tablespoon milk 3 cups Japanese-style panko bread crumbs canola oil for frying
Due to certain high tech machinations and assorted Silicon Valley vagaries, it doesn't look like the chicken finger video will be flipped until Monday. In the meantime I thought I'd give you a little peak at these baked acorn squash. which will air in a recipe video very soon. Enjoy!
Sorry, but I'm still waiting for approval from the powers that be on the chicken fingers video, but here's a little double dip of silliness from a clip I shot to test the video camera on the new Nexus One Google phone.
This clip has sparked a huge debate on my Youtube channel over the dos and don'ts of double dipping. Hopefully we can have the same heated discussion here. Some say the DD is disgusting, others say it's been proven you don't get sick from this party foul. What do you think?
Very soon, maybe tomorrow, I'm going to be airing a crispy chicken finger how-to video and this honey mustard sauce recipe would have made it too long, so I'm posting it separately.
One reason there was no extra time in the chicken recipe was, in addition to showing you how to make chicken fingers for your Super Bowl party, I'll also be showing off an exciting new gadget I've been using recently. Hint: think biggest smart phone launch ever.
In the meantime, make some sauce and get ready to do some serious dipping. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 1/3 cup real mayo 2 tbsp Dijon 2 tsp yellow mustard 1 tbsp rice vinegar 2 tbsp honey 1/2 tsp hot sauce
I won't give you my full list, but if I had to decide on 10 contests for a Great American Food Decathlon, the first event will be buttermilk biscuits. Sorry, but if you can't make buttermilk biscuits, you have no business attempting the other nine events.
Buttermilk biscuits are not so much a recipe, as they are a mythology. Secret knowledge passed down from generation to generation, mother to child, blogger to people like you.
This deceptively simple recipe can come out a million different ways with some very minor variations on the ingredients and amounts. This one's my favorite – flaky, but not dry; chewy, but not tough; crisp in just the right spots.
This is a recipe you need to practice to really get a feel. Once you do, you can refine the formula to achieve your ultimate buttermilk biscuit. Some like their biscuits moist and tender, while others aren't happy unless they collapse into a buttery pile of crumbs.
In the video recipe, you'll notice I only cooked 10 biscuits. You can get a few more than that, but I only cooked the prettiest ones since, like the dinner rolls, this was made for the cookbook.
Anyone who makes the recipe below is encouraged to chime in. Thanks and enjoy!
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into thin slices, chilled in freezer 3/4 cup cold buttermilk
One of the oldest culinary traditions in American cooking is serving beans and greens on New Year's Day. Tradition has it that eating "poor" on the first day of the year brings wealth and good fortune throughout the rest of the year.
The greens represent paper money, and the beans, usually black-eyed peas, coins. I've posted all my beans and greens videos below. You can also click the titles to read the original posting with ingredients. These recipes are so tasty, the fact that they may, or may not, bring prosperity won't seem to matter. Happy New Year, and enjoy! Black Eyed Peas with Pork and Greens
Give or take a pinch of baking powder, most blueberry muffin recipes are pretty much the same. One thing that varies is the dairy used – some recipes call for buttermilk, while others use yogurt, or sour cream as this one does.
