Sweet Blueberry Muffins

Have the blueberries been amazing lately or what? I am used to having delicious berries in the summer, so it has been quite a pleasant surprise to have them in February.  Even though it feels more like summer around here.  We spent the day picking strawberries in nearly 80 degree weather.  These muffins were a huge hit in our house.  C came home from a ski weekend and devoured three in one sitting.  Miss F had one for breakfast and then again for snack every day.  The recipe is from King Arthur Flour.  And I will be adapting it to make strawberry muffins since I have two huge bucket fulls in our refrigerator.

Sweet Blueberry Muffins

½ cup (8 tablespoons) butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
½ cup milk
2 ½ cups blueberries, fresh preferred
¼ cup sugar, for topping

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the baking powder, salt and vanilla. Add the flour and milk, beating gently until just combined. Mash ½ cup of the blueberries. Gently stir in the mashed blueberries and whole blueberries. Scoop the batter by ¼ cup full into the prepared liners. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Bake for 30 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove to a rack to cool completely.

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Hearty Beef Stew

I find Tide and Thyme to be my cooking kindred spirit. She lives in Maryland, which is where I am from originally, and even better, lives on the wonderful Eastern Shore.  I have several beef stew recipes, two years of Colorado living will do that, but as soon as she posted this recipe, I knew I needed to try it.  Even though "winter" now means a cold snap in the 60s (brrrr...) is rolling through town.  Miss F picked out all the potatoes, naturally, but C and I really enjoyed this aptly titled hearty beef stew.

Hearty Beef Stew

1 ½ pounds beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
Salt and ground pepper
1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
¼ teaspoon salt
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup dry red wine
1 cup beef broth
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon dried thyme
3 red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
½ pound carrots, peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick
1 cup frozen peas

Season beef generously with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat. Add the meat so that pieces are not touching and cook not moving until brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Use tongs and rotate pieces until all sides are browned, about 5 minutes more. Transfer beef to medium bowl.

Reduce heat to medium and the remaining oil to now empty pan and swirl to coat bottom. Add onions and ¼ tsp salt and cook, scraping bottom of pan for brown bits until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for 30 seconds more. Stir in the flour and cook until lightly colored, about 1 minute more. Add wine, scraping the bottom and stirring until thick and flour is dissolved. Slowly add the beef broth, stirring constantly, scraping up the remaining browned bits on bottom of pan. Add bay leaves and thyme and return to simmer. Add beef, return to simmer, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 1 hour. Add potatoes and carrots, leave uncovered, increase heat to medium and cook for additional hour. Add the peas, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 min. Discard bay leaves, and season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

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Buttermilk Brined Roast Chicken

I love roasting a whole chicken, especially since you always have leftovers that are great to use in things like chicken pot pie.  This recipe is from Bon Appetit and couldn't be any easier.  The chicken came out perfectly tender and full of bright lemon flavor.  I devoured a leg and a thigh, Miss F still hasn't decided that chicken skin is good to eat (it is!)  I added quartered red potatoes to the bottom of the roasting pan, onions and carrots would make great additions as well for a one pan meal.

Buttermilk Brined Roast Chicken

2 lemons
3 cups buttermilk
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 3 ½ to 4 pound chicken
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Thinly slice one of the lemons. Whisk the buttermilk, garlic and salt together in a 4 cup measure. Place the chicken in a large re-sealable plastic bag with the lemon slices. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the chicken and seal the bag. Refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to a day.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the chicken from the plastic bag, rinse with cold water and pat dry. Place the chicken on a wire rack in a roasting pan and stuff the cavity with the other halved lemon. Rub the chicken with the butter, salt and pepper to taste. Tuck the wings under the chicken. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and roast until a thermometer inserted into the thigh reaches 165 degrees, about 20 to 25 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a platter, tent with foil and let the chicken rest 10 minutes before carving.

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