Cornmeal Blueberry Cake

The best part of this cake are the crispy edges!  If the top browns before the cake is done, cover with foil for the remainder of the baking time.

Adapted from a recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 TBSP butter, room temperature
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 TBSP buttermilk
• 1 cup blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, lemon zest and salt in a large measuring cup. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar until  light and well-incorporated.  Add the egg and vanilla.
4. Beat in half of the flour mixture into the egg mixture.  Add the buttermilk, then the remaining flour mixture, beating in between.  Scrape the sides down as needed .
5. *If doubling the recipe, add flour mixture in thirds, combining the last third of flour with the blueberries before folding it into the batter.
6. Fold in the blueberries.
7. Spread into the green oval Le Crueset baking dish.
8. Baking until golden brown and the edges are crisped, about 45 minutes.

The recipe as is yields a thin crisp cake, almost cross-between a cookie.  Doubling the recipe would likely yield a thicker more cake-like structure.

Sip and Swap v 2.0 – Recipes for cocktails, appetizers and mini desserts

Two years ago, I hosted one of the most fun parties.  It was a sip and swap where all the girls brought 5 items from their closets, with at least one being an accessory.  They would come to sip cocktails, nosh on hand held nibbles and take home new treasures to mix up their wardrobe.  I hosted another this past week with about 20 guests.  Everyone went home with something new, no matter what their size, shape or style!

For the first rounds, we took turns selecting our favorite item.  After that, everyone was free to choose anything they wanted to take home.

I made food small enough for just a few bites and ensured there was a good mix of items.  I also didn’t want to fuss with utensils since everyone would be standing with drink and plate in hand already.  It did take quite a bit of work and organization to ensure everything was done on time.

I learned few things along the way that will make entertaining in a sort of cocktail party style a little less stressful

• Make a mix of food that can be served cold/room temperature and hot food.  The cold food can be ready to go before guests arrive.  The hot food should be able to be prepared ahead of time and can be left in a warm oven until guests arrive.  I like having hot food to feel like you’ve had a real meal.
• Handheld food resting atop different bases (crackers, crostini, veggies, puff pastry, pizza dough) lends to variety in textures and flavors.  Possibilities are endless!
• Deviled eggs, although always popular, are a pain and take a lot of time considering the prep needed.  I don’t like peeling eggs!
• Have a simple house cocktail that you can batch and have ready to serve right when your guests arrive.  My friends need to be nudged a little before they partake in a cocktail, otherwise they won’t bother you with anything other than water.  I opened all the drinks and hand a drink in their hand right when they arrived.  It got the party started right away.  My house drink was a little strong (I think I just pour servings that were too big).
• Narrow cups work better than wider ones for cocktail parties.  A narrower cup can be rested on a dessert plate and leave more room for food.

Drink and Food for the party:  I made approximately 24 pieces per dish with plenty of leftover.  I actually ran out of table space and didn’t put one of the dishes out…I think next time, I will be sure to use smaller serving dishes and mix all of the different crostini together rather than separating them onto different plates.  Perhaps separate by sweet and savory or pair bites with complementing or contrasting colors.

DRINKS:

• 1/2 ounce Blackberry Rosemary syrup + 1/2 ounce Vodka or Gin + Prosecco
  • 2 1/2 cups blackberries + few sprigs rosemary, chopped + 1/3 c sugar + 2/3 cup water simmered for about 20 minutes, strained and chilled
  • Omission of vodka and sparkling lemonade or pomegranate could be substituted
  • The French 75 also adds lemon juice
• Sangria
  • Stella Rosa sparkling wine + 3 oz Brandy + 1 1/2 oz triple sec + apple + orange plus juice + lemon + apricot or other stone fruit
• Non-Alcoholic – it was warm and I should have had more.  I only had 1 L club soda, 1 L Perrier + 2 sparkling sodas.  2 more bottles would been have nice

Cold Appetizers

• Charcuterie board:  1 box water crackers + 3 cheeses (brie, cheddar, spicy jack) + grapes + strawberry + smoked almonds + dried apricot + pepper spread + olives
• Caprese on a stick: mozzarella, tomato and basil with TJ’s balsamic vinegar/honey thyme oil + salt
• Strawberry Crostini: Ricotta/Sugar/Lemon Zest + sliced strawberry + balsamic and brown sugar reduction (about 1/2 cup reduced by 2/3) + sliced basil
• Turkey Sandwich:  Ciabatta, Mayo+Cream Cheese,  bacon (put in cold oven till 400 degrees (about 17 minutes), avocado, turkey, spicy pepper spread, microgreens

Other make-ahead appetizers

• Brazilian cheese bread (Yields 36):
  • 1 1/2 c tapioca four
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 c oil
  • 2/3 c milk
  • 1/2 c packed shredded mozzarella
  • pinch salt
  • Place everything in food processor and blend of about 20 seconds
  • Fill well greased mini muffin tins 3/4 full (1 TBSP)
  • Bake at 400 X 17 minutes till puffed and light brown (I over cooked these at 20 minutes)
  • Let cool a few minutes then remove onto rack.  I waited too long so a few got stuck onto the pan
• Deviled Eggs with herbs

Hot foods kept in the warmer till guests arrived

• Crostini + 50/50 whipped cream cheese and herbed goat cheese + sauteed mushrooms with rosemary
• Pigs in a blanket: Aidell’s chicken sausage (1pound) and puff pastry.  Refrigerate until ready to bake, brush puff pastry with egg wash, bake at 400 degrees till puffed and browned.  Baked lying flat-turns out light and flaky
• Artichoke dip crostini: Spoon onto crostini, bake at 375 till cheese melts
• Crostini+Brie+Thinly sliced apple+Cubed pancetta or pomegranate+walnut+honey
  • Melt cheese, then add apple.  Keep in warmer
• Minced Chicken+Water Chestnuts+Pine Nuts in Endive leafs
  • Keep chicken warm and spoon into endive last minute
• Meatball Cups (Yields 18):  Pillsbury pizza crust+mozarella+Sriracha BBQ sauce+chicken meatball
  • Cut 3 inch circles and place in greased mini muffin tins.  Spoon cheese and BBQ sauce and bake for 400 degrees for 6 minutes.  Place quarter meatball and top with sauce.  Tope with cheese and pop in oven till dough is brown and cheese is melted

Dessert

• Mini coconut banana cream pie with TJ’s salted caramel – filling made day ahead
• Nutella brownies
• Lemon Bundt cake made day ahead
• Mini Blueberry Pie topped with Whipped cream
  • 1 box pie crust makes 24-can be made day before
    • Use mini muffin tin, prick bottom with fork and freeze
    • Bake at 400 till light brown
  • Filling made day ahead
    • 2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried
    • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
    • 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
    • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    • 2/3 cup sugar
    • Pinch of salt
      • Place half blueberries, sugar, zest and cornstarch, water in pot.  Bring to boil and simmer
      • Add remaining blueberries and heat through till sauce is thickened.
      • Take off heat and squeeze in fresh lemon juice

Oat Blueberry Pancakes

Yields 9-10 small pancakes

• 3/4 cup flour
• 2/3 cup quick oats
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 pint blueberries, rinsed and pricked with a fork (allowing the juices to release and the berry soften, aiding in the cooking the baking to completion

1. Combine milk and vinegar and let sit while you measure the rest of the ingredients.
2. Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl.  Stir in wet ingredients until well incorporated
3. Heat electric skillet to 275 degrees
4. Pour in batter and add blueberries to each pancake (about 7-8 each)
5. Flip over once well-browned, then remove from heat once batter is fully cooked

 

Blueberry banana peach kiwi smoothie

So we continue with the utilization of all the summer fruits in our fridge! We enjoyed these with our Sunday breakfast of scrambled eggs, salami and cheese on whole wheat English muffins.

INGREDIENTS/DIRECTIONS

In a blender, combine:
1 cup ice cubes
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1 cup plain yogurt
1 banana
1/2 cup blueberries
1 peeled kiwi
1 peeled peach
Agave nectar to desired sweetness

Blend until smooth
Yields about 2 1/2 cups

Whole wheat blueberry almond pancakes!

One of the best things about summer are the wonderful fruits in season. This past week, we’ve font through pints of blueberries, strawberries and blackberries. My mom sent homegrown cherries, we harvested THREE peaches from our backyard, and B’s parents sent us home with some more exotic fruits-rambutans and cherimoyas!

This morning, I treated B to some special pancakes after our trip to the gym. They turned out light and fluffy with just enough butter flavor that there was no need to spread any extra over the finished pancakes. I prefer to add the blueberries and almond to each individual pancake to ensure more even distribution

DRY INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

WET INGREDIENTS
2 eggs
2 tbsp melted butter (unsalted)
1 1/3 cup buttermilk

PANCAKE FILLING
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS
1. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl
2. Whisk wet ingredients in a separate bowl
3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir with spatula to combine. The batter should stay lumpy and be slightly thickened
4. Using a 1-oz scoop, add the batter to a buttered griddle. I used an electric griddle set at 325 degrees. Add a few blueberries and a sprinkling of almonds to each pancake. Flip pancakes when the bottom has browned. Keep on a warmed plate and cover with foil until serving
5. Serve with blueberry maple syrup (recipe below)

Yields 16 4-inch pancakes

INGREDIENTS FOR BLUEBERRY MAPLE SYRUP
2 cups blueberries
1/3 c sugar
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1/2 cup maple syrup

DIRECTIONS FOR SYRUP
In a small saucepan, heat blueberries, sugar, lemon zest and juice. Mash blueberries with the back of a spoon and cook till reduced to about 1/2-3/4 cup. Turn off the heat and stir in syrup. Serve warm

blueberry muffins

I made two versions of blueberry muffins using ‘the best blueberry muffin’ recipe by book’s illustrated and shared them with neighbors yesterday morning. One version was topped with lemon sugar, and the other had a streusel topping. I made only half the quantities of each of the toppings and made 6 of each.

I’ve never made muffins from scratch, but from the first try, they are definitely worth the effort over artificially sweet and oddly sticky boxed mixes. This particular recipe did have extra steps including making a homemade jam to compensate for the lackluster flavor of store-bought blueberries.
B and I had different opinions on which version we liked best,
I was a little worried about the muffins getting stuck into the tins, but the all released without a problem except for one blueberry that got left behind.

Note: be generous with the topping. Once the muffins bake and rise, the topping can look sparse if a thick layer is not added.

I used fresh blueberries for this recipe. Frozen would be an option if dried and tossed with flour. I also substituted soy milk mixed with a tablespoon of lemon juice for buttermilk.

Makes 1 dozen muffins

Lemon-Sugar Topping
1/3 c sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest

Streusel
3 T brown sugar
3 T granulated sugar
5 T flour
4 T melted butter

Batter
2 c blueberries
2 1/2 c flour
1 1/8 c sugar + 1 t for the jam
2 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 1/2 t vanilla
2 eggs
4 T melted butter
1/4 c oil
1 c buttermilk

1. For either topping, combine the ingredients and set aside. You’ll want a few larger clumps if you are making the streusel for added texture and crunchy bits of yumminess! For the lemon sugar, I used granulated sugar since that is what I always had, but I think courser grained sugar with stand up to baking a lot better.

2. Simmer 1 cup of blueberries with 1 teaspoon of sugar in a small saucepan, stirring frequently till the blue berries are cooked down to about 1/4 c (about 6 minutes). Set aside to cool

3. Position oven rack to upper-middle height and preheat to 425 degrees

4. Whisk dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, salt

5. Whisk eggs and sugar together till thick and homogeneous (about 40 seconds). The add buttermilk, melted butter and oil

6. Mix in blueberries into dry mix

7. Fold liquid into dry ingredients and fold gently. DON’T OVER MIX. Batter will be thick and lumpy with dry streaks

8. Spoon in batter into a greased muffin tin. Fill wells to the top

9. Add 1 teaspoon of jam into each well. Using a toothpick, mix jam into batter, distributing it below the surface.

10. Add the topping of choice.

11. Bake until tops are golden brown (about 17-19 minutes)

12. Let cool in the tins for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack