Blueberry Lemon Muffins

I don't bake as much as I used to.  It's not because I don't love it...it's because I'm trying to cut carbs.  It's hard, lemme tell ya, because this girl LOVES her carbs.  But I'm having a rough week and I feel like I need some comfort food so let's make some muffins!  Hey, they're not terrible for you...not too much sugar and they've got fruit in 'em!   Blueberries are loaded with antioxidants and they taste super.  We'll throw in a bit of lemon zest for vitamin C and extra flavor.  It's a win-win. 

Oven to 375 aaaaaand let's pull out our starting lineup:

Go team!

The dry stuff gets mixed first: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.  Then the wet stuff gets mixed separately (but equally!): melted butter, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest (which is not technically "wet," I know, geez). 



Pour the wet stuff into the dry stuff and mix it together until just a lil bit lumpy.  Our blueberries, which have been patiently waiting off to the side, get mixed in very gently so they don't burst into little piles of juice.  They'll do that when they bake, which is what we want!

Batter up!  Wow...that was lame...

 

Once our batter is together, we'll line a muffin tray with liners (makes sense, huh?) and fill each one up about 3/4 of the way. 

I like my muffins to be domed on top, like a hill of yumminess.  If you're not into the doming, fill 'em up halfway.  That'll make them flat tops once they're done cooking.  I have this super little gadget that looks like an ice cream scoop but is actually, technically a cookie dough scoop.  It has now been repurposed into a muffin batter scoop as it gives me just about the right amount I need in each muffin cup. 

See what I did here?  Full, but not tooooo full



Pop these suckers into your oven for 25 minutes.  They'll be golden brown and gorgeous so very soon, see?

Racked up and good to go

I like them warm but they're just as good at room temp.  Maybe schmear a bit of butter on them, or some honey, or nothing at all.  Whatever you do, just make sure they find their way into your mouth. 

Blueberry juice waterfall!

Try it. You'll like it.

-Sam


Blueberry Lemon Muffins
 

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1 cup milk

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed & dried off

Oven to 375.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg (the dry stuff).
Microwave the butter in another medium bowl until melted. Whisk in milk, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla until well mixed (the wet stuff).
Pour the wet stuff into the dry stuff and mix together. Gently stir in the blueberries until evenly distributed. Line a muffin tin with liners and spoon enough batter in each one to fill it 3/4 of the way.  Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool, remove muffins from tin, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes about 16-18 muffins

Super-App! - Onion Bacon Gruyere Dip

What do we want?  Cheesy dip!  When do we want it?  Pretty much every waking moment!!! Wouldn't you agree?   Of course you would.  I'm supremely confident in this.  The cheesy dip I shall share with you is not your typical dip.  For example, the word "velveeta" will not be featured in this recipe.  Don't stop reading yet!  I'm not above shoving my face full of tasty Rotel dip featuring this processed log of cheese-like wonder.  However, we're talking about REAL cheese here.  REALLY GOOD cheese. Slightly expensive (but TOTALLY worth it) cheese.

Commence the learning portion!  Gruyère (which sounds like grew-yare) is in the Swiss cheese family and is a harder cheese made from cow's milk.   It grates and melts beautifully, which makes it perfect for our upcoming purposes.  In your grocery store, you'll usually find it in a small block in the "fancy cheese" section near the deli.  It also tastes really freakin' good. 

Slices of perfection...click here to find out more about this super cheese!

On to the dip!  Oven to 400 (hot stuff, baby!)  We'll need 4oz of this yummy cheese grated up to start.  Set it to the side for a moment while we prep our other amazing ingredients.  You see, cheese is not the only star of this appetizer...we've also got carmelized onions and bacon goin' on!  So much goodness...I can hardly contain myself!! 

Melt a tsp of butter and 1 tsp of olive oil in a skillet and add one finely chopped onion.  Let it saute in there for at least 20 minutes. Stir the onion around occasionally just to keep it from sticking/burning.  We're going for that beautiful caramel/golden color.  Once you're there, remove the pan from the heat and let the onion cool. 

 

While it's cooling, saute your bacon until crisp.  This recipe calls for 5 strips but I only had 3 today (bacon emergency!)  Maybe you should do 6 strips so you can eat one...that's what I would do!  Once crisp, remove the bacon from the pan and drain on a paper towel.

Bacon and its new BFF gruyere

 

Crumble it into a large bowl, add the cooled onions, and add 3/4 of the cheese you grated earlier.  At this point, I considered eating it all.  3 of my favorite things in one bowl?!  Crazy...just crazy.  I resisted the urge to prematurely eat my grub and added 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, and 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives to the bowl.  A spinkle of pepper...several stirs with a spatula, and my dip was ready to be transferred to my Pyrex dish for baking.

 

Just added the bacon...aww yea!

 

Safely inside the baking dish, sprinkle on the remaining cheese. 

 

Pop that sucker in the oven for 20 agonizing minutes.  When it's bubbling, golden, and melty, remove it from the oven and sprinkle on a few more chopped chive bits as garnish.  Oh man, this is so good!  It's also as hot as molten lava so you might want to let it cool for a minute, if you can resist.  If you can't, then feel free to burn your tongue, ya dummy!  

 

I like to serve this on toasted baguette slices, though pita chips or even tortilla chips would work nicely.  Or just eat it with a spoon.  Because you're an adult and you CAN!

 

Try it.  You'll like it.

-Sam

Onion Bacon Gruyere Dip

1 tsp butter

1 tsp olive oil

4 oz Gruyère cheese, shredded

1 large onion, chopped

5 slices bacon

2 tbsp chopped fresh chives

1/2 cup canola mayonnaise

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

 

Preheat oven to 400.

Shred the Gruyere and set aside for now.  Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Melt 1 tsp of butter and add oil.  Reduce heat to low, add onion to pan, and sauté for 20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.  Place aside to cool.

Saute bacon in a large pan until crisp.  Drain and crumble.

Combine ¾ of the shredded cheese, caramelized onion, chives, mayo, crumbled bacon, and sour cream in a bowl.  Transfer the mixture to an oven proof baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes, until browned and bubbling.

Serve with toasted baguette slices.



Maple-Cider Brined Pork Loin

So you bought a 5 pound pork loin on sale at the grocery store.  You got a great deal on it and it seemed like a good idea at the time...but it's been sitting, untouched, in your freezer because you have no idea what to do with it.  Don't worry, I can help.

Hopefully, you're reading this in the morning because we're going to need some time.  The bulk of that time does not involve cooking at all...just waiting.  "Waiting for what?," I hear you wonder.  Waiting for the magical alchemy of brining to occur. 

Step into my classroom.  A brine is basically seasoned water into which a piece of meat soaks for several hours.  This "seasoned water" often contains a good deal of salt, which helps to tenderize meat and provides flavor.  Our brine today also contains sweet elements as well as herbs and spices.  Flavor central!  We want our pork loin to turn out nice and juicy, not dried out like pork can sometimes become after cooking.  Nothing worse than a dry pork briquette...blech!  An easy way to get juicy pork is a little pre-planning with a brine.

Our brine ingredients: 1 tsp black peppercorns, 1 tsp clove, 1 tsp allspice, 3 juniper berries (optional, but hey, I had 'em!), 1/3 cup kosher salt, 2 cups apple cider, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup sugar, 6 garlic cloves, and 6 sprigs of fresh thyme.  We're going to toast the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan for just a few minutes over medium heat just to get their flavors and aromas to release.  To that, we'll add the salt, cider, syrup, sugar, garlic, and thyme and bring to a simmer. 


Now, stir in 3 cups of water and pour your brine into a deep roasting pan to cool.  Once cooled, place your pork loin in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for as long as you can, but at least 6 hours, turning once halfway through if it's not already completely submerged in the brine.

Waiting is hard, but it'll be worth it. 

(At least 6 hours later.....)  Good job, you patient person, you!  Now you shall be rewarded with dinner! Preheat your oven to 350 and remove your pork from the brine to drain on a plate for a minute.  Discard the brine as it has now served its purpose as your pork bath.  Pat the pork dry and season with salt and pepper. 

In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and brown your pork loin on all sides.  Line the bottom of your now dry roasting pan with apple segments about 3-4 apples worth).  This will serve as your "roasting rack" as you'll now place the pork loin directly on top of the apples.  At this point, because I love gravies and such, I also add another cup or two of apple cider to the bottom of the roasting pan.  As the pork cooks, the pork juices mingle with the cider and apples to make a tasty sauce!  Roast the pork for about 20 minutes.  You'll want your meat thermometer to read 140, so if you're not there after 20 minutes, add another 5 minutes and keep checking the internal temp.  You want that pork cooked through and through!

Browned and juicy!

 



Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes so the juices can reincorporate.   Serve the pork with some of the apples and juices from the roasting pan.  Yowza!  What a feast!

Pork and apples are BFFs

Try it.  You'll like it.

-Sam

Maple-Cider Brined Pork Loin
Serves 6

1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
3 juniper berries, optional
1/3 cup kosher salt
2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup sugar
6 cloves garlic
6 thyme sprigs
1 5lb pork loin
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 apples (I use Honeycrisp or Granny Smith)

Toast the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan for 2 minutes over medium heat.  Add the salt, cider, syrup, sugar, garlic, and thyme and bring to a simmer.  Stir in 3 cups of water and pour your brine into a deep roasting pan to cool. Once cooled, place your pork loin in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for as long at least 6 hours, turning once halfway through if it's not already completely submerged in the brine.

Preheat oven to 350.  Drain the pork and discard the brine.  Pat pork dry and season with salt and pepper.  In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil to shimmering and brown pork on all sides.  Roughly chop 3-4 apples and line the bottom of the roasting pan.  Place the pork on the apples.  Roast for 20 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 140.  Transfer pork to cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes.  Slice and serve with roasted apples and pan juices.

Beer Cheese Soup

Man, oh man, do you ever want to make this soup!  I'm telling you, it's just amazing.  Jess had a craving for it and I thought, how hard could it be to make?  Answer: not hard, and so very rewarding!  It's savory, flavor-packed, and just a lil bit smoky.  Chances are, you've also got most of the ingredients already right in your fridge...nice!

To start, grab some bacon (which I KNOW you have already, right?)  I mean, c'mon, everyone needs bacon in their fridge at all times, word to the wise.  You'll never lack for a quick meal and you'll have more friends too...it's practically guaranteed.  Just throw a few slabs in a hot pan, crack open a window, and just watch how many folks show up.

So yes, back to the food.  Bacon. 6 slices, cut into small pieces, in your hot pan.  Make sure your pan is a deeper one to hold all our good stuff.  Sauté the bits on moderate heat until nice and crispy (maybe 10 minutes or so.)  Place it on a paper towel in a bowl to drain.  Pour out the excess fat from the pan, but don't wipe it out.  We're gonna use whatever's left to sauté 1 finely chopped celery rib, 1 finely chopped medium Vidalia onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, and 1 tbsp. of fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried).  Let that hang out in the pan for about 10 more minutes, stirring frequently so nothing burns.  Savory stuff in bacon grease...yea, that's what I said!  YUM.

Add half a beer to the pan (I had some Negro Modelo leftover from Cinco De Mayo.  Use what you love but make sure it's some sort of a lager...nothing fruity or porterish).  Don't drink the rest...we'll need it shortly.  Crack open an additional beer for yourself while we cook.  You're welcome.  Let the beer reduce with the veggie mix for 5 minutes and then add 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth.  Bring it to a simmer.

The beginning of a beautiful soup...

Now, for some technical training, we're going to make a roux.  A roux, Wikipedia tells us, is a mixture of equal parts flour and fat that is used to thicken gravies, soups, and stews.  The fat is heated in a pot or pan, melting it if necessary, and then the flour is added. The mixture is stirred until the flour is incorporated and then cooked until at least the point where a raw flour taste is no longer apparent and the desired color has been reached. The final color can range from nearly white to nearly black, depending on the length of time it is over the heat and its intended use. The end result is a thickening and flavoring agent.  Blah, blah, blah...

For our purposes, we're going to use butter as our fat...4 tbsp. of it, to be exact.  Melt it in a separate small saucepan.  Once melted, add 1/4 cup of flour and whisk rapidly.  We're going to cook it for about 3 minutes...we want it a bit tan, but not brown.  Keep whisking it the entire time to avoid lumps and keep the mixture nice and smooth.  Your hand will hurt, but get over it.  NO PAIN, NO GAIN.

The bacon totally photobombed this roux picture.

As you can see, my scarred up left hand is holding on to the pot while my "when-will-the-pain-stop" right hand is stirring so fast that the whisk is a mere blur.  Be strong, folks.  A good roux is worth the effort!

After the 3 minutes has elapsed, whisk the roux into the soup mixture.  It will start to thicken up pretty quickly, within 7 minutes or so.  While that's simmering, let's grate some cheese!  We'll need 8 oz of sharp cheddar and 4 oz of either smoked cheddar, smoked gouda, or smoked Gruyere.  I had Gruyere, lucky me! 

It ain't easy bein' cheesy

Add the cheese, the other half of the beer, and 1 cup of heavy cream to your soup and stir to incorporate.  Simmer for about 5 minutes to make sure all that cheese is melted and the soup is heated through.  Mix in your bacon bits and season with a bit of freshly ground pepper (and salt, if you'd like).

Beer and cheese and bacon all in one soup?!  Heck yea!!

To soak up some of this yummy goodness, we toasted a few baguette slices and let them float around in the cheese lagoon.  Dolly and Kenny might have called these "Islands in the Cheese."  Optional, but fun! 

This soup was an absolute mindblowing winner.  Will probably make again tomorrow...it was that good!

Try it. You'll like it.

-Sam
 
Beer Cheese Soup
Serves 4

6 slices bacon
1 celery rib
1 Vidalia onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp. chopped thyme
1 12 oz bottle beer (lager)
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
4 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
4 oz smoked cheddar, gouda, or gruyere
pepper

Slice the bacon into small pieces.  Saute in a large saucepan until crisp.  Transfer the bacon to a bowl and drain excess fat.  Finely chop the celery, onion, garlic, and thyme and place into the pan.  Cook for 10 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.  Add half the beer to the pan and cook for 5 minutes until reduced.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the flour, whisking rapidly, and cook for 3 minutes to make a roux.  Whisk the roux into the soup mixture and cook for about 7 minutes until thickened.  Add the cream, cheeses, and the other half of the beer and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.  Stir in the bacon and season with freshly ground pepper.  Serve as is or with toasted bread/crackers.