Blueberry Muffins

 

As you know I am not a baker! I don't like all of the rules and equations that you have to follow. I am a color outside the lines kind of guy. Luckily my wife is a nurse and is used to measuring things precisely, so she is good at baking. They are the best muffins I have ever had. This recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated The Best Light Recipe cookbook.

These are the best blueberry muffins ever. They are light and moist. The lemon juice and zest add just a hint of flavor surprise that brings out the sweetness of the blueberries. They freeze well and can be thawed one or two at a time in the microwave for a little treat anytime. But the best secret about these muffins: they are much lower in fat than other muffins because of the yogurt. They are only 250 cal each, according to the recipe--but they used low-fat yogurt. I use non-fat yogurt, so I guess that makes them even better!

2 Cups (10 oz) plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Cup (4 oz) cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup (7 oz) sugar
1 tablespoon raw (Turbinado) sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons juice from a lemon
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 Cups non-fat plain or vanilla yogurt
2 Cups fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare muffin tins with papers or vegetable spray.
2. Whisk 2 cups of the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1/4 Cup of sugar together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Beat an additional 3/4 Cup sugar and the butter together with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until light & fluffy (3-5 minutes.)
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
5. Beat in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.
6. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture until just incorporated, followed by 1/3 of the yogurt. Repeat this twice more until all the flour and yogurt is added. Do not over mix.
7. In a separate bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, then fold them into the batter.
8. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with remaining tablespoon of raw sugar.
9. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes.
10. Cool muffins in the pan for 5 minutes then flip them out onto a wire rack and cool 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 15-18 muffins

Steak Florentine

At my house it is my wife who is the meat and potatoes person. Very seldom do I get the craving for a slab of beef. This weekend she had the hankering for a hunk of red meat. Having been married to her my entire life, I knew resistance was futile. So I fired up the grill and pulled out the rib eyes. Of course I let the Italian influence in me take over.

Steak Florentine
1 clove garlic, large, peeled and slightly crushed
1 steak, 1 to 1 1/2 pounds I used a ribeye
salt and pepper to taste
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tsp olive oil

Preheat grill to medium heat.
Rub both sides of the steak with the garlic clove. Make sure you rub the bone with the garlic as this will get more of the garlic essence out of the garlic. Grill the steak to desired doneness, about 4 to 5 minutes per side for for rare, 6 to 7 minutes per side for medium rare. The doneness will vary by type and size of steak. After the steaks are done. Squeeze the lemon over the steak and drizzle with olive oil. Let the steak rest for about 5 minutes, then enjoy.

Seared Salmon With White Beans & Spinach Topped With Olive-Lemon Relish

Last week I received 4 cookbooks in the mail and then went away for the weekend. So this weekend I had to put the first one to the test. This week's book is Stir Mixing It Up In the Italian Tradition by Barbra Lynch. Since Annette wanted salmon for dinner I had to select from 3 recipes. Two of the three recipes called for ingredients that I did not have on hand. I had to make a few changes to put my own spin on this recipe because I thought it was kind of bland and there was a lot of fat where none was needed. Also Annette is not a big olive fan so I adjusted the Olive-Lemon Relish so the olives flavor wasn't so strong.

Seared Salmon With White Beans & Spinach Topped With Olive-Lemon Salad

White Bean and Spinach
1/4 cup chicken/vegetable broth (the original recipe called for 1/4 cup olive oil)
8 oz fresh spinach, tough stems removed cleaned and dried (I used frozen)
1 15 oz can white beans, rinsed and drained
1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper, add more if you like heat

Salmon
2 tbs olive oil or Canola oil

Olive-Lemon Relish
1/4 cup Picholine olives, pitted and chopped (I only had Kalamata so I used those)
1/2 Lemon juiced, cut the other 1/2 into segments and finely dice
1/2 Lemon peeled and pith removed fruit cut into small pieces the size of the olive pieces
1 tbs parsley, finely chopped, original called for 2 tbs
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 tsp honey, more if needed original called for 1/2 tsp
splash of white wine vinegar, original called for 1/2 tsp
1/4 tsp kosher salt, I left this out brined olives took care of the salt
fresh ground pepper to taste

White Bean & Spinach
In a frying pan, over medium heat, add 1/2 the broth, the pepper and the garlic, bring to a simmer. Toss in the spinach and cook until it cooks down (if all of the spinach doesn't fit cook 1/2 then add the rest once the first batch cooks down). After the spinach is cooked down add the beans and the rest of the broth. Cook until the beans are heated though. This will be the the base the salmon sits on.

Salmon
In a frying pan , over medium high heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot add the salmon and cook until the salmon is golden, then flip over and cook until the second side takes on some color. Sit on the spinach and beans.

Olive-Lemon Relish
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Taste and add pepper, honey, vinegar or whatever is needed to make this taste how you like it. Spoon over the top of the salmon.

Electrolux #splits: Lemon Sorbet

When Foodbuzz offered to donate $50 to Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) for every Foodbuzz featured blogger who posted a banana split recipe, I had to do it. The problem is I mainly post healthy recipes. I decided to post my version of ice cream and do a sorbet. Foodbuzz picks the Top 9 recipes each day and on Monday the entire top 9 will be "banana split recipes" in order to show support for OCRF. You can help to by going to http://www.kelly-confidential.com/foodbuzz and build a virtual banana split. So as soon as you are done reading this click on the link and go help the cause.

Lemon Sorbet

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbs lemon zest finely chopped
Sprig of mint for each serving

Combine sugar & water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once it starts to boil, reduce to low and simmer until sugar dissolves. Cool completely. I usually put it in the freezer to cool quicker. When completely cool add lemon juice & zest. If you have an electric ice cream maker, turn the machine on, pour lemon mixture into the freezer bowl and mix until thickened. If not, pour into a freezer-safe bowl and freeze until thickened.

To serve put in bowl and garnish with mint sprig and/or lemon slices. Or you could add fresh berries. If you wanted to serve to adults but a scoop in a glass and fill with prosecco. This recipe is based on one that came with my Cuisinart Ice Cream maker.

Lemon and Garlic Shrimp

Can you tell who got a really good deal on shrimp a couple of weeks ago?

This is a healthy version of Shrimp Scampi, that I adapted from EatingWell magazine.

Lemon Garlic Shrimp

2 tsp olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tsp lemon zest

1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tbs fresh parsley, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the garlic and lemon zest, stirring until fragrant. Then add the shrimp and let cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. While shrimp is cooking add cornstarch to chicken broth and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to the shrimp. Cook until mixture has thickened and shrimp have turned pink, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add the lemon juice and parsley. Serve shrimp and sauce over angel hair pasta.