Ricotta and Parmesan Ravioli with Pomodoro Sauce
Plump ravioli stuffed with ricotta and parmesan cheese and topped with pomodoro sauce.
Month: July 2020
Chopped Fried Chicken and Peach Salad
A stunning summer dinner salad filled with fried chicken, peaches, blueberries, pecans, and goat cheese, and tossed with a blueberry balsamic vinaigrette.
Corn Popovers with Blueberry Honey Butter
Puffy Popovers, full of corn flavor, and topped with creamy Blueberry Honey Butter, are the perfect accompaniment to any summer dinner. Every time I eat a popover, I feel like I’m sitting on the deck of a rustic New England inn, eating a hearty and delicious gourmet meal.
Popovers are one of those foods that are unique and special, and really stick in people’s memories. One friend told me that popovers always make her think of her beloved country club, which always has them on the bread boards of their sumptuous buffets. And, my mother, when I asked her if she even knew what a popover was, instantly replied “, Of course, I love the popovers that Neiman Marcus always has in their Zodiac restaurant bread baskets!”
The Equipment
- If you can find a popover pan, I highly recommend using one. I was able to get one at Williams Sonoma, but I had to send a clerk into the backroom to search for one.
- If you don’t have a popover pan, I would try using a muffin tin.
- Don’t use custard cups or ramekins, as some recipes recommend, or you’ll never be able to get the popovers neatly out of the pan.
- Whatever pan you use, grease it well with vegetable shortening. I normally grease every pan with butter, but these popovers tend to really stick to the pans, so use the Crisco.
The Ingredients
- I used fresh corn on the cob for these popovers. To prepare the corn, I wrapped a cob in a paper towel and microwaved it for 5 minutes.
- I used tiny frozen Maine blueberries for the Blueberry Honey Butter, but of course you could use fresh blueberries. To use the frozen blueberries, I simply microwaved them for 1 minute.
How I made the Corn Popovers and Blueberry Honey Butter
- I started the recipe by mixing up the popover batter. I love that you don’t preheat the oven for this recipe, since my big oven takes awhile to heat up. I also love that everything gets mixed in one bowl without a mixer.
- It is very important to not open the oven while the popovers are baking. Doing so will cause them to deflate.
- While the popovers were baking I made the Blueberry Honey Butter. Ideally you would make this with fully softened butter. I, however, was too impatient for that, but my Blueberry Honey Butter was still absolutely delicious.
If you’ve never tried popovers, this is is a great, simple recipe to try. Some popover recipes are very complicated, and have you baking the popovers at multiple temperature, making slits in them, whipping the egg whites, and practically standing on your head, all to make a bitty pan of popovers. This recipe, though, is really easy enough for any beginning baker, and I hope you will try it soon.
Corn Popovers with Blueberry Honey Butter
Fresh corn kernels baked into puffy popovers and topped with blueberry butter.
Equipment
- popover or muffin pan
Ingredients
For the Corn Popovers:
- 1 tbsp. melted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup bread flour (120g)
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup corn kernels
- 1 tbsp. vegetable shortening
For the Blueberry Honey Butter:
- ½ cup softened butter
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 1 cup mashed blueberries
Instructions
For the Corn Popovers:
- Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
- Grease a six cup popover pan with vegetable shortening, and divide the batter evenly between the cups.
- Put the pan into a cold oven, and then set the temperature to 450°. After 15 minutes, turn the temperature down to 350° and bake another 15 minutes.
- Serve right away with Blueberry Honey Butter.
For Blueberry Honey Butter:
- Mix all the ingredients together and chill until serving.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Fennel and Rosemary Hummus with Flatbread Crisps
Lemony hummus, filled with fennel seed and rosemary, and accompanied by crispy flatbread crisps.
Blueberry Streusel Pull Apart Bread
A sweet and buttery pull apart bread full of blueberries, and topped with a cinnamon pecan streusel.
Fried Chicken and Blackberry Honey Butter Biscuit Sandwiches
What could be more delicious than crispy fried chicken topped with sweet blackberry honey butter and fluffy biscuits? Fried chicken may not be health food, but it sure is a family pleaser. Apparently, eating chicken with its skin and bones is a struggle for some people I know, so this fried chicken uses boneless, skinless chicken breasts. So, I should get some health points, for at least not serving chicken skin, right?
The Ingredients
- The Chicken- This recipe uses boneless, skinless breasts. I often like to buy breasts with the skin and bones, though. They are less expensive and I like to save the skin and bones for making chicken stock.
- The Buttermilk- I like to use the really thick full fat buttermilk, when I can find it. But, any buttermilk will do for this recipe.
- The Blackberries- I used frozen blackberries for this recipe. I pureed them in my food processor, and then pushed them through a wire strainer, to remove the seeds.
How I made the Fried Chicken and Biscuits
- The most important thing you need to know about frying the chicken, is that you need to use the deep frying thermometer. Deep frying is all about maintaining a constant temperature. So, do not overcrowd your pan, and if the temperature drops, wait awhile before adding more chicken.
- Watch the chicken and the oil carefully. Once the oil is hot, the chicken will cook quite quickly, in about 5 minutes.
- The timing of this dish is a little tricky. I got everything ready to fry the chicken, and then I made the biscuits. While the biscuits were baking, I fried the chicken. I made the blackberry honey butter first.
- Be sure not to overmix the biscuit batter, or put too much buttermilk in. If you do, the biscuits will be cakey, rather than flaky.
As I may have mentioned before, I cook for a house full of skinny, very picky people. For a long time, my kids pretty much lived on air. Now that they’re teenagers, their appetites have improved, a little. This fried chicken, though, is a huge hit at my house, and I encourage you to try it out on your picky eaters.
Fried Chicken and Blackberry Honey Butter Biscuit Sandwiches
Buttermilk fried chicken with whipped blackberry butter slathered on fluffy biscuits.
Equipment
- Food processor
- cast iron skillet
- deep frying thermometer
Ingredients
For the Fried Chicken Sandwich:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. paprika
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- 1 cup vegetable oil
For the Honey Blackberry Butter:
- ½ cup softened butter
- ⅔ cup blackberries, pureed and strained
- 2 tbsp. honey
For the Biscuits:
- 3 cups flour (360g flour)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 10 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut in half inch pieces
- 1 cup buttermilk plus 2 tablespoons
Instructions
For the Fried Chicken Sandwiches:
- Cut each breast horizontally into 4 even pieces. Take one piece at a time, and pound them in a plastic bag, until they are a ¼ inch thick. Season them with salt and pepper.
- Prepare 3 bowls for dipping the chicken. Divide the flour and spices between 2 bowls and place the buttermilk in a third bowl.
- Heat a cast iron skillet with one inch of oil to 350°. Dip each piece of chicken in the flour, then buttermilk, and then into the second bowl of flour. Fry each piece until golden brown on both sides. Drain the chicken on a wire rack.
- Serve the chicken on the biscuits with the Honey Blackberry Butter.
For the Honey Blackberry Butter:
- Mix all the ingredients together and serve.
For the Biscuits:
- Preheat the oven to 425°.
- In a food processor, mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Cut the butter in ½ inch cubes and sprinkle on the flour. Pulse the mixture until the butter is the size of peas. Remove the mixture to a bowl and with a fork stir in the buttermilk, slowly. You may not need all of it, just use enough so that the dough is barely together.
- On a floured board, pat the dough out until it's about an inch thick. Using a three inch biscuit cutter, cut out your biscuits. Keep patting out the dough to make additional biscuits, about 9 in all.
- Place the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with buttermilk. Bake them 15 minutes or until light brown.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
