Mmmmmm Blueberries

I think I'm getting the hang of discerning which recipes will be good and which aren't. This is a really nice recipe for blueberry muffins found at http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/blueberry_muffins/#ixzz3QK6hUkKbat They are buttery, and lemony, with just the right zip of blueberry. I would say they are delicate, and yet, I can see manly men digging into them. They aren't health food by any means. There's a lot of fat and sugar in them. I wouldn't eat them on a regular basis, but they would be a great treat for spring and summer events.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe. It called for just a teaspoon of lemon zest. Well, if I'm going to zest a lemon, I'm going to zest the whole thing. So, I used all the zest. It also called for a cup and a half of blueberries. I bought a 16 ounce container. I cleaned and sorted them, and used the whole container. It was only a bit more than a cup and a half. Finally, I used a cup and a half of yogurt rather than sour cream. I didn't have that much sour cream, and it tasted great. Dad, I know how much you love blueberries. I've thrown a few in the freezer and I'll bring you a couple when I get down there next.

I think I still have a few more muffin recipes I want to try before I move on to something new. I hope you guys don't mind.

Roasted Chicken

Last night I tried a different method for roasting chicken. I found it at http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/6682-weeknight-roast-chicken?incode=MCSCZ00L0# I've always either made a rotisserie chicken, which really browns the skin well, or I've baked it, which left the skin soft white, and quite gross and simply disposed of it when eating. I've tried a few other methods over the years, smoking on the grill, brining, etc. But this is a slightly different method. You cover the chicken in oil and salt and pepper, and place it breast up in a preheated skillet in a very hot oven. You cook it that way for about 35 minutes depending on the size, and then you turn the oven off and let it cook internally for another 35 minutes, and then take it out and let it stand for 20 minutes or so.

This process reminds me a lot of poaching, where you cook in water by bringing the temp high and then slowly cook things through at a lower temperature. I really like poaching. I do it all the time to chicken breasts and eggs.

This method worked surprisingly well. The chicken came out perfect, just barely done. There was a touch of blood under the cartilage of the thigh and leg bone, but the meat was done. I probably wouldn't have noticed the blood if I hadn't removed the cartilage to give to my dog. Chicken does not go wasted in this house. Joey always gets some every day to supplement her food because of her food allergies, and I love chicken. Today I'll make chicken salad for my weekday lunches at work, and I'll take the carcass to make chicken stock. We'll finish the other thigh and leg tonight with rice and veggies.

I think this is a good method that I'll try again. I'd be much more confident of it if I had a good digital read out meat thermometer...I'll have to get myself one of those. I also think it would be better made when the weather is warmer and I can keep the kitchen windows open. I don't have an exhaust fan in the kitchen, and when I put that chicken on the preheated, very hot skillet, there was a lot stuff put into the air. It sort of exasperated my asthma. Not as bad as attempting to smoke chicken on the grill, but it wasn't very good for me.

Cranberry- Orange Muffins

Ok, so I tried another cranberry muffin recipe. These actually taste better than they look, and they're certainly better than the cranberry oatmeal muffins. I found the recipe at http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/11/06/cranberry-orange-muffins/. They aren't a muffin I'd want to eat every day. They're sort of like wine. Maybe the first couple of sips aren't so great, but it definitely improves as you drink more. The acidity of the orange zest and juice does mellow the tartness of the cranberries. But there was an instance where I thought I was eating a cranberry relish muffin.

This recipe verges on what I call "fussiness." I'm not a fan of fussy cooking. Ok, I'll do some crazy things if it's worth the effort, but I think too many cooks feel that cooking is some sort of alchemy that you have to mix just the right combination of this exotic herb and that spice. Our pallets are not that refined. I don't care who you are. What makes this recipe a tad fussy is the zesting and juicing of the oranges, and the detailed description of the creaming the butter and sugar. Come on, this isn't War and Peace! And then, in the long run, I felt the oven setting was too high for the delicate dough. I don't know if the picture shows it that well, but the bottom half of the muffin is much too dark, but I'm happy to say that they weren't too dry. I think it would have been better at a lower setting and longer cook time. I doubt I'll make these muffins again. I may give up on cranberries for a while, but I am very fond of them. For now, my favorite muffin is still the carrot-raisin-apple-nut muffin.

Cranberry and Oatmeal Muffins

So, I've really been into muffins lately. I made a batch of banana bread muffins (banana bread in muffin tins) recently, and the last post was about Carrot, raisin, apples, nut muffins (still my favorite). I think I've gotten into them because I'm falling apart. It's either my diverticulitis or my knee. They aren't terribly hard, so I don't have to stand in the kitchen all day, and they're an easy meal, the carrot, raisin, etc. makes a great breakfast. So, I thought I'd try a few different ones. The recipe I tried most recently was the Cranberry and Oatmeal muffins. I got the recipe at http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/cranberry-oat-muffins/print#ixzz3PCiVx7oV. They look good, right? I'm sorry to say they really aren't. There's too much baking powder and baking soda for such a small recipe. Sure they raise beautifully, but the muffin tastes like baking soda and oatmeal. The cranberries are it's saving grace, and there aren't enough of them to cover up the soda taste. Perhaps if it had included some sort of flavoring (the banana isn't enough to do it), like cinnamon or vanilla. However, I haven't given up on muffins because of this. There are a few more recipes I want to give a try, in particular, I'd like to do something with lemon and poppy seeds, ginger and pear, and maybe I'll give cranberries another shot, but match them with orange. We'll have to see. If you come across any muffin recipes that you think I might want to try, give a shout.

Muffin Bliss

Between my diverticulitis and a problem with my email, I haven't done much on the blog lately, but during my Winter break, I discovered this awesome muffin recipe. It isn't any fancy cooking, oh, but it is so good. It has some of my favorite things in it: carrots, raisins, apples, and nuts. Aside from the "Pam" spray in the muffin pan, there is not fat in these muffins. And there isn't even much sugar. They are yummy and moist, and I think the perfect breakfast muffins. You can find them at http://www.food.com/recipe/moist-and-low-fat-carrot-raisin-apple-muffins-194597 The only change I made was that I didn't use any whole wheat flour. I think it would be great with whole wheat flour, but I never keep any because as little as I use, it seems to go rancid before I get around to using it again. And it's just great with just unbleached all-purpose flour. However, they aren't good warm out of the oven. They are one of the few things that are better once it's cooled. I hope someone else tries them out and tells me whether they liked them as much as I do.