Blackberry Glazed Pork Chops

After making the amazing blackberry cupcakes, I had a half a jar of blackberry jam leftover. Miss F's school is nut free, so PB&J sandwiches aren't allowed in her lunchbox, so I decided to try and make something savory with it. I always have an abundance of pork chops from the Costco pack and I am always looking for a new way to prepare them. C was a big fan of the chops, which was a pleasant surprise. Miss F was not as big of fan. She kept insisting they tasted smoky, which I have no clue where she came up with that one...

Blackberry Glazed Pork Chops

½ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons blackberry jam
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon soy sauce
Dash hot sauce
4 1-inch thick pork chops

Whisk together the broth, jam, vinegar, Worcestershire, soy sauce and hot sauce. Pour over the pork chops and marinade for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a glass baking dish with cooking spray. Place the marinated pork chops in the prepared dish and bake for 30 minutes. Transfer the marinade to a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Pour over chops during the last five minutes of cooking. Serve.

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Recipe Swap: Mini Blackberry and Chocolate Cupcakes

The theme of this week's recipe swap hosted by A Taste of Home Cooking was a recipe for a special occasion, which was perfect for Valentine's Day.  I received a recipe for Chocolate Cake with Blackberry Jam Buttercream from Cookies on Friday.  A group of my girlfriends get together every couple months for a Foodie Getogether.  This month's theme was chocolate for Valentine's Day, so I knew this recipe would be just perfect.  I did convert the original cake into mini cupcakes so it would be easier to serve to the girls.  I saved a few to send with Miss F in her lunchbox.  I may have found a new chocolate cake recipe, it was fantastic!  Be sure to check out the other recipes below.

Mini Blackberry and Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
½ cup hot water

½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup blackberry jam
2 cups powdered sugar
1 pint blackberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 48 mini muffin pans with paper liners.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir on low to combine. Add the eggs, vanilla, sour cream, vegetable oil, vinegar and hot water and mix on medium until smooth. Pour 1 tablespoon batter into prepared pans and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans for about 10 minutes; remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool completely before frosting.

Make the blackberry buttercream filling: In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and the blackberry jam. Mix until thoroughly combined. Add the powdered sugar and mix until incorporated. Add additional powdered sugar if required to get to desired consistency. Frost the cooled cupcakes and top with a fresh blackberry. Serve.

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Triple Berry Smoothie

I make this smoothie a couple of times a week for breakfast. Miss F probably drinks more than I do, she loves the smoothie. I am tearing through my frozen stash of Froberg Farms strawberries, it is going to be a sad day when they are all gone. Spring is so far away and I am already wanting to pick strawberries again. Triple Berry Smoothie ¾ cup frozen strawberries ¼ cup blueberries ¼ cup blackberries ½ cup plain non-fat yogurt Small handful of ice 2 teaspoons of honey Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

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Blackberry Chocolate Cupcakes

My favorite way to eat blackberries is over vanilla ice cream, giving it a really good stir to break up the berries and turn the ice cream the most beautiful shade of purple. The blackberries have a very similar effect on cream cheese frosting and they are made even more decadent with the addition of a chocolate cupcake. Blackberries are probably my most favorite of all berries, anyone know anywhere near Houston where they can be picked? Even though the berries I have been getting at the grocer have been sweet and delicious, I imagine fresh picked would be amazing.

Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting
frosts one cake or 24 cupcakes

1 cup fresh blackberries
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
4 ½ cups of confectioners sugar

In a mini-chop or blender, blend blackberries and the tablespoon of sugar. Strain the blackberry mixture over a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Cream the butter and cream cheese, add the confectioners sugar 1 cup at a time, adding the blackberry puree halfway through.

Chocolate Cupcakes
makes two dozen

2 cups sugar
1 ¾ cups flour
¾ cup cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin cups (2 ½ inches in diameter) with paper liners.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

Fill cups ¾ full with batter. Bake 25-28 minutes.

Adapted from Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake

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Triple Berry Pie

For our 4th anniversary, I gave C a year of pies. Each month I baked a different fruit pie. I never did any combination of fruits, but I did learn a lot more about pie baking. C's favorite over the year was the blueberry pie, my favorite was the Batali Family Blackberry Pie. We had an excess of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries that were destined to be frozen until C mentioned bringing a pie into work. This pie is a good marriage of our two favorites.  The filling was my own invention, but the crust is from Martha Stewart. It was 80 degrees and humid when I made it, so the crust was not so fun to roll out.

Triple Berry Pie

2 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, cut into ½” pieces
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

1 ½ cups blueberries
1 ½ cups blackberries
1 ½ cups strawberries, quartered or halved, depending on size
½ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
juice of half a lemon

In a food processor, process flour, sugar and salt until combined. Add the butter and process for 10 seconds. Add the water through the feed tube in a slow stream. Process until the mixture begins to come together. Place the dough in a large Ziploc bag and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, sugar, corn starch and lemon juice. Toss gently to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Roll out the dough to fit a 9” pie pan, reserving enough dough to create the lattice top. Once the dough is lining the pie dish, pour the berry mixture over top. Roll the remaing dough into 9” strips that are ½” wide. Weave the dough on the top of the pie. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

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Pie of the month: Batali Family Blackberry Pie

C's fourth anniversary gift continues with a fruit pie for the new year: blackberry pie. When I found that Mario Batali had a blackberry pie recipe, I knew that was the winner. C loves Babbo in NYC, so how could he not love a Batali fruit pie? This pie was exceedingly easy and I will be making it again. As an added bonus, it is National Pie Day, what a way to celebrate! I used Martha Stewart's pate brise recipe, increased by 50% to get a nice two crust pie crust.

Batali Family Blackberry Pie
printable recipe

4 cups fresh blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Put the blackberries in a bowl and toss gently with the sugar and flour. Drizzle with the lemon juice and toss gently again.

Transfer the berries to the pie shell and dot with the butter. Cover the filling with the dough, trim the excess dough, and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Cut a few steam vents in the center of the crust. Bake in a 350°F oven for 1 hour, or until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. Let cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes, and devour.

Courtesy of Mario Batali

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