DOUGHNUT MUFFINS

Last week, I was watching the cooking channel, and someone was raving about a bakery that sold donut muffins (a new one for me). A few days later, I bought a baking magazine and sure enough, there was a recipe for...doughnut muffins!! I don't need to be hit over the head THREE times in order to get the message...I needed to make doughnut muffins!! I'm very glad I did, they are delicious.

Light and tender, buttery and sweet, these muffins are more like a delicious cake doughnut than a heavy dense muffin. Another delightful thing about this recipe is that it makes four dozen muffins, AND you can keep this uncooked batter in the fridge for up to three days, which gives you plenty of time to bake them all off!!

1½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1¾ cups white sugar
4 large eggs
6 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon +2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 + 2/3 cups milk
¼ cup buttermilk

Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl (stand mixer works best because it's a lot of batter). Beat in eggs, one at a time until well mixed.
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Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside. Mix the milk and buttermilk together and set aside.
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Mix the dry ingredients, into the butter-sugar mixture, alternatively with the milk mixture (add in thirds), mixing only until it is well mixed after each addition. Don't over mix.
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Grease and flour standard size cupcake pans and fill them 2/3 full. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until they feel firm to the touch.
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Remove the baked doughnut muffins from the pan and dip them (on all sides) in melted butter, then roll them in cinnamon sugar.

To make cinnamon sugar, just mix 2 cups of white granulated sugar with a tablespoon of ground cinnamon. If you are a BIG cinnamon fan, use two tablespoons. These muffins are extremely light and tender and taste like a very good cake doughnut.

CARAMEL PEAR UPSIDE DOWN CAKE FOR VALENTINES DAY

I hope you will consider making this caramel pear upside down cake for your Valentine sweetheart. Served warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, it will knock his/her socks off. Fresh Bosc pears, are baked in a homemade caramel sauce while a ginger-cinnamon cake bakes on top. This recipe has a couple of extra steps (to make the caramel sauce) but it is not hard to do. It is the most moist cake I've ever made.


Preheat your oven to 350F and spray a 9" x 2" cake pan with vegetable spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and then spray it again.

TOPPING
2 large firm-ripe Bosc pears (about 1 pound)
1 cup white sugar
¼ teaspoon lemon juice
¼ cup cold water
4 tablespoons warm butter (cut up)

Peel, core and slice the pears in ¼" slices. Arrange the slices in the bottom of the pan, set aside. Make the caramel in a heavy bottomed 2 quart sauce pan. Stir sugar, lemon juice and cold water together. Bring to a boil over medium high heat (occasionally brush the walls of the pan with a wet pastry brush to wash down any sugar crystals). Boil, stirring, until it starts to turn amber. Watch carefully, once it starts to turn color, because it will darken quickly. Remove from heat and stir in the butter (it will really foam and sputter, so be careful). When it is well mixed, pour over the pear slices, set aside.

CAKE

1½ cups all purpose flour

1¾ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup butter (room temperature)

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

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In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder, ginger and cinnamon together, set aside. In another small bowl, mix milk and vanilla extract, set aside.

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With electric mixer, beat the room temperature butter for one minute, or until it is light and fluffy; add brown sugar and beat on high for 3 minutes. Reduce speed and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl once in a while.

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Now you need to mix in the milk mixture and the flour mixture, but make sure you alternate (dry...milk...dry...milk etc.). Scrape down the bowl and give it one final mix but don't mix too long. Pour the batter over the caramel-pears.

Bake at 350F for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert on a serving plate and peel off the parchment paper. Cool.

Happy Valentines Day!!

NOTE: Do not make this in a springform pan because the caramel sauce might leak out.

NOTE: Bosc pears are a "baking pear".

CROCK POT REFRIED BEANS FOR A CROWD

I have been tweaking this recipe for about a year and I finally have it just the way we like it. It is one of those great recipes that you dump everything in the slow cooker and wait for the magic.

Canned refried beans just don't "do it" for us after trying this one. Honestly, I could just eat this with a spoon right out of the slow cooker...forget the toppings.

1 medium sweet onion (cut in half but not chopped)
3 cups of rinsed (and sorted) DRY pinto beans
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
3 tsp. chili powder
6 slices of crisp bacon (crumbled)
1 tsp. ground cumin
(1) 4 ounce can green mild chiles
½ fresh jalapeno (seeded and chopped)
9 cups water

Put everything in the crockpot and cook on high for 8 hours or till tender. Drain but reserve liquid. Put drained bean mixture into the food processor and puree, adding just enough of the reserved bean liquid to make the beans the right consistency. Keep warm in the crock pot.

NOTE: No need to pre-soak the beans

NOTE: Check the beans after 6-7 hours, if it looks like they are losing too much liquid, add another cup of water.

NOTE: I put the cooked onion (from the crockpot) in the food processor with the beans. A few pulses and it disappears.

NOTE: It's up to you how finely you puree the beans. If you like your refried beans a little chunky, just pulse them a few times.
NOTE: I use a medium size sweet onion, like a Vidalia
NOTE: Leave out the bacon if you are going vegetarian.

BEER BATTERED HALIBUT with (TWICE FRIED) FRENCH FRIES

Most people in our part of Alaska have halibut in the freezer. Whether they caught it themselves, or (like us) they have a generous neighbor who is an avid fisherman...it is a delightful mid-winter staple. Fish & Chips is one of Hubbies all time favorites and it is very quick to make.

BEER BATTER HALIBUT
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt & ½ tsp. black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
pinch of Old Bay seasoning
12 ounce bottle of COLD beer
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Whisk everything together until it is very smooth and free of any lumps; cover and let this sit in the fridge for at least 20 minutes (or up to an hour).
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In a deep, heavy bottomed pan, preheat cooking oil to 350F. Cut the halibut into 1½ to 2" chunks and roll them in corn starch before dipping into batter. Fry in hot oil until the fish is golden brown. Drain well and keep warm in the oven.

(TWICE FRIED) FRENCH FRIES
For years, I made french fries that were limp, greasy and soggy. We still ate (and enjoyed) them, but they were never, what I would call, "company worthy". Then, this past year, I noticed that several of the shows on the food channel were frying their potatoes twice, so I thought I would give it a try. I was amazed at the difference this pre-cooking step made. If you haven't tried it yet, you will be very pleasantly surprised. As you can see in the above photo, my fries are now "company worthy".

Peel and slice 4 large Russet potatoes into ¼" thick french fries (Alaska potatoes do not work well for this because their water content is too high). Soak the cut potatoes in cold water for half hour (see note). Remove from water and pat dry.

Working in batches, so you don't overcrowd the pot, fry the potatoes in 325F cooking oil for two or three minutes, or just until they turn pale and a little limp. Remove from the oil and drain well on paper towels and cool the potatoes to room temperature. Make sure you let the oil heat back up to 325F between batches in this first-cook step.

For the second-fry, increase the cooking oil temperature to 375F and fry the potatoes again, this time for about 2-3 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on fresh paper towels and salt immediately.

NOTE: Most cooking shows call for frying in peanut oil, which I never seem to have. I fry in canola oil, but any good cooking oil would work well.

NOTE: If you don't have the time to soak the cut, raw potatoes in cold water, don't worry about it. This step does help, but it is not absolutely necessary.

BEEF POT ROAST (OVEN BRAISED)

I will be posting some old classic recipes, from time to time, for the younger cooks that visit my recipe blog. These recipes are classics for a reason (they are really good) and todays post is a real winner.
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Not only is this an easy family style meal, but it creates some of the best leftovers. Start by browning large chunks of chuck roast, then slow roasting them (in beef broth) in a low temperature oven, the end result is super moist, super tender and super beefy.



4 pound beef chuck roast (about 2" thick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (14 ounce) beef broth
potatoes
carrots
salt and pepper

Don't let the simplicity of the ingredients fool you, this is more about the cooking method than the ingredients. The final flavor is huge and it comes from browning the beef well before you put it into the oven (at least 4 minutes per side). Cut up the chuck roast into large pieces by removing any large white (fat) pieces that run through the meat. Some of you have commented that meat grosses you out. I hope you are courageous enough to try this cooking method, because your family will love you for it. After you cut the large pieces, salt and pepper them, generously, on all sides and brown them in a hot (preferably not a Teflon pan (see note). After the meat has nice crusty brown edges, remove it from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, saute a medium (diced) onion (about a cup). If you used a non-Teflon pan, there should (hopefully) be bits of browned beef stuck to the bottom of the pan. The moisture of the onions, will help de-glaze these little crusty treasures (where a lot of the flavor comes from). Keep cooking the onions until they turn soft. They should look like this (brown from the meat).
When the onions are soft, add the beef broth and stir to loosen everything in the pan.
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Place the meat in a large roasting pan and arrange potatoes and carrots around the meet. Pour the onion-broth mixture over everything (make sure everything gets coated) like this:

Seal the pan tightly with foil and put into a pre-heated 300F oven for three hours. The meat will be extremely tender and moist and there will be enough broth to make a gravy (or we like the broth just spooned over the meat and potatoes); just make sure you have lots of crusty bread to dip in the broth.
NOTE: If you use a teflon pan, your meat will not leave those wonderful browned bits in the bottom of the pan, thats why I like to use a non-teflon pan to brown.
.NOTE: Leftovers make delicious cold sandwiches, beef & cheese burritos, barbecue beef sandwiches, etc.

NOTE: This recipe can be done in the crock pot, but it is just never quite as moist as it is when cooked in a 300F oven for 3 hours.

NOTE: We are purists when it comes to beef pot roast. I've tried adding herbs and other flavorings, but Hubby likes this simple recipe the best. If you want to liven up the taste with herbs, garlic, etc, go for it.

Baked Eggs - A Sunday Morning Treat

This is such an easy method for making eggs, that you can not even call it a recipe. It would be great for any breakfast buffet...even for a crowd. It is delicious and requires only a couple ingredients. I hope you try it.

Put an un-greased cupcake or muffin pan into a pre-heated 400F oven (to let it get good and hot). When the pan is very hot, increase your oven temperature to 450F and remove the pan. Working quickly, spray the pan with a little vegetable spray and line each muffin cup with a slice of thin sliced deli ham (see note). Crack an egg into each ham lined cup and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Bake in the 450F oven for about 10 minutes or until the eggs are set.

Remove from oven and use a spoon to help you lift the eggs and ham out of the pan (they come out easy). I left my eggs in the oven for 10 minutes, then shut off the oven and let them sit in there for another two minutes; it gave me a soft set egg like this:

My kids used to call eggs cooked to this degree "dipping eggs" because they were just right for dipping toast. If you like your eggs cooked more, just leave them in the oven for another minute. The eggs pick up the flavor of the ham and they are delicious and kind of "cute", don't you think?

NOTE: If you have ham sliced at the deli, the slices should be big enough for this recipe. If you use pre-packaged sandwich ham, the slices might be a little small, so just use two of them to make sure the ham is taller than the muffin cup edge.

CLASSIC CHICKEN-RICE BAKE

I think all cooks have their own version of this baked chicken and rice recipe. Some people use cream soups, some use broth, but they all call for baking chicken and rice together in the oven. This is our version (my favorite part is the rice). I usually put in tons more chicken than the recipe calls for, because it is a "freebie" way of making sandwich fixings (not to mention, chicken cooked this way has a wonderful flavor).
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4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons chicken bullion granules
1 cup raw long grain white rice
½ teaspoon black pepper
¾ teaspoon poultry seasoning (see note)
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
16 ounce bag frozen peas and carrots
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Brown the chicken breasts in a couple tablespoons of butter then set them aside. In the same pan that you browned the chicken in, saute the onion and celery until tender, then stir in the raw rice (you stir in the rice so that it will get coated with butter and not stick together while baking). Once the rice has sauteed for a minute or so, add the soup, stock, chicken bullion and spices. Whisk until smooth. Pour this mixture into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and stir to distribute the rice evenly. Set the browned chicken on top of the rice (push it down into the liquid a little) and top the whole casserole with frozen peas and carrots. Cover tightly and bake at 325F for 1½ hours (if the chicken breasts are large).
 

NOTE: I don't buy poultry seasoning because I use it so seldom and it goes to waste. Instead, I use equal parts of dry rosemary, rubbed sage leaf and thyme leaves and a pinch of marjoram. I grind these together then measure ¾ teaspoon.