Sugar Crusted Blueberry Muffins

Last week I forgot about the blueberry muffins I was baking in the oven.

By the time I remembered the muffins were black, hardened fossils that reminded me of the mummified pharaohs in the museum in Cairo, Egypt.

So I made another batch and these were perfect.

SUGAR CRUSTED BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 cup plain yogurt, preferably Greek style

• 6 tablespoons avocado oil (or use vegetable oil or melted, cooled butter)

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup blueberries

• 1-2 tablespoons crystal sugar (or use turbinado sugar)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place muffin liners inside a muffin pan or lightly grease the hollows. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the yogurt, avocado oil, eggs and vanilla extract and whisk them together until well blended. Pour the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture and mix the ingredients until they are well blended. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon equal amounts of batter into each muffin pan hollow. Sprinkle the tops with some of the crystal sugar. Bake for about 22 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 10

Matzo Meal Pancakes with Blueberries

I love that matzo meal is slightly, vaguely grainy. It gives pancakes an entirely different texture. Sometimes I make them plain, sometimes with some fresh fruit, like these, with blueberries. I like them sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, but sour cream, maple syrup, jam are all fine.

Matzo Meal pancakes with Blueberries

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup milk, approximately

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup matzo meal

• 1/4 cup sugar

• pinch of salt

• 1 cup blueberries

• butter

Place the eggs, milk and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk them together until blended. Add the matzo meal, sugar, and salt and mix until well blended. Fold in the blueberries. Add more milk if the mixture seems too thick and dry — it should be the consistency of pancake batter. Heat some butter in a saute pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, drop some of the matzo mixture into the pan. Fry for about 1-1/ 2 to 2 minutes per side, or until lightly browned on both sides. Add more butter to the pan if needed.

Makes about 12

German Apple Pancake

People joke that for every Jewish holiday there’s a different food and that’s actually true, except for fast days which means no food, but food is still part of the holiday, if you know what I mean. 

Because I’m a food writer I love the culinary aspect of holidays and love making holiday specialties. Chremslach during Passover. Cheesecake for Shavuot. Honey Cake for Rosh Hashanah.

Of course other religions and ethnic groups have delicious foods for holidays too. I love making and eating some of them. I don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day but I can still enjoy an Irish coffee. And I don’t observe Lent but absolutely love being reminded about pancakes when Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Tuesday) rolls around, which it will, soon.

Actually our family enjoys pancakes on any given weekend, and particularly my German Apple Pancake in the fall, when the fresh crop of apples is available — this is a traditional treat for us for Rosh Hashanah.

But since I have been thinking about pancakes I figure, why wait? I like to serve a meatless meal at least once a week and I can’t think of anything I’d like more this week than that German Apple Pancake we love so much.

When I make this for Rosh Hashanah, I use Rhode Island Greenings, Gravensteins or Jonagold apples. This time of year I use Honeycrisp. 

GERMAN APPLE PANCAKE

• 2 large, tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup milk

• 4 large eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 6 tablespoons butter

• 1-2 teaspoons sifted confectioner’s sugar, optional

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the apple slices in a bowl. Add the sugar and cinnamon, mix and set aside. Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl and set aside. Combine the milk, eggs and vanilla in another bowl, add the flour mixture and whisk the ingredients into a smooth batter and set aside. Heat the butter in a heavy skillet, preferably cast-iron, over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add the apples, including any juices, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the apples are soft and caramelized. Pour the batter over the apples. Place the pan in the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the pancake is puffed and golden brown. Invert onto a serving platter. Serve as is or sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.

Makes 4 servings

Perfect Corn Muffins

Corn Muffin

Sometimes I get a yen for some food and I make it a lot. Recently, it’s been cranberry muffins for breakfast. But one morning I needed a change up so I made corn muffins. Not too sweet, they’re a good breakfast with some fresh fruit (for me, my favorite: ataulfo mango).

MAPLE CORN MUFFINS

• 6 tablespoons butter

• 1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 cup cornmeal

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 large egg

• 3/4 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease 8 muffin cups. Melt the butter with the honey and set aside to cool. In a bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In another bowl mix the egg, milk and cooled butter mixture, beating until well blended. Pour the liquid into the cornmeal mixture and stir to blend the ingredients. Spoon equal amounts into the muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 8

Grandma's Baked Blintzes

One of my grandma’s signature dishes was blintzes. But the cheese filling she made was different than the classic sweet version (with vanilla and/or cinnamon). Her blintz filling was lemony, and included cheese, egg and a small amount of sugar. Also, because there were so many of us, she had no time to fry them a couple at a time and still have everyone eat at the same time. So she placed the blintzes, seam-side down, on a baking sheet, topped each with a little dab of butter, and baked them until they were golden brown. I still love blintzes, lemony and baked. And so does my family. Grandma’s cheese filling recipe is below, but the instructions give you the option to make the more popular vanilla version (and also how to fry them). Don’t worry if the wrappers don’t fry into perfect circles — you’re going to roll them and if they’re a little off, no one will ever know.

GRANDMA’s CHEESE BLINTZ FILLING:
1 pound farmer’s cheese
1 large egg
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest, optional (I always include)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Place the cheese, egg, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the lemon zest OR vanilla extract and mix in thoroughly. To fill each wrapper: use the first fried side as the inside of the blintz. Use about 2 tablespoons of filling for an 8-inch wrapper and place the filling in the center of the wrapper. Fold the bottom side up, over the filling. Fold the left side, then the right side over the filling, then roll up to enclose the filling. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the blintzes in a single layer on a jelly roll pan, top each with a tiny piece of butter. Bake for about 10 minutes.

To fry: place the blintzes seam side down first over medium heat (using the same method as for frying the wrappers – let the butter melt and become foamy).

#blintzes #cheeseblintzes #shavuot #shavuot2024 #shavuos

Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits

Every once in a while I post a recipe that includes buttermilk and invariably someone tells me that they don’t want to buy it just for this one recipe. But really, I promise! — once you have buttermilk in the house, you’re going to use it again. Because it is SO SO wonderful for so many things like cold soups and cole slaw and most especially for baked goods.

Like these biscuits, baked especially because today is National Buttermilk Biscuit Day. In case you hadn’t heard.

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup cake flour (or 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch)

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon zest, optional

• 8 tablespoons cold butter

• 2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. Sift the flour, cake flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a bowl. Stir in the lemon zest, if used. Cut the butter into chunks and add it to the bowl. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (or use the pulse in a food processor). Pour in the buttermilk and mix until you can form a soft ball of dough. Try not to pound or overwork the dough (this makes the biscuits tough). Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead a couple of times. Roll or press the dough gently to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter or the bottom of a drinking glass. Place the circles one inch apart (for darker biscuits) or close together (for fluffier biscuits) on the baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they have risen and are lightly browned. Makes about 10 #biscuits #buttermilkbiscuits #buttermilkbiscuitsfromscratch #buttermilk #nationalbuttermilkbiscuitday

Grilled "Cheese," Tomato, Egg and Avocado Sandwich

A while ago I mentioned that I was given some vegan “cheese” by Never Better Foods and used it to make a kosher “cheese burger.” The product was excellent and I used it for several other dishes, bought some more and also bought some of the company’s “mozzarella,” which is also quite good (more on that some other day).

There’s a sandwich/panini that I love and have made many times, basically grilled cheese, but with other items such as roasted bell pepper, tomato slices, flat fried egg, avocado and the like.

Here’s the latest version — using the vegan “cheese” instead of dairy cheese. It was fabulous!

GRILLED CHEESE, EGG, ROASTED PEPPER AND AVOCADO SANDWICH

• 1/2 sweet red bell pepper, deseeded, optional

• 2 teaspoons butter

• 2 large eggs, beaten

• 1 ripe avocado

• A few drops of hot sauce, if desired

• 4 slices homestyle multigrain bread

• 3 ounces cheddar “cheese”

• 4-6 tomato slices

• 1 tablespoon butter

If including the bell pepper, preheat the oven to broil. Place the half pepper on a piece of foil and broil for about 5 minutes or until crispy and tender. Remove from the oven and wrap the foil around the pepper to enclose it. Let cool, then peel the pepper and set it aside. Melt the 2 teaspoons butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the eggs and cook until set. Dish out, cut in half and set aside. Mash the avocado, mixing in hot pepper sauce if desired. Spread equal amounts of the avocado on two of the bread slices. Top the avocado with equal amounts of cheese, tomato, egg and roasted pepper, if used. Cover with second piece of bread. Melt half the remaining tablespoon of butter in the sauté pan over low-medium heat. Place the sandwiches in the pan. Cover the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the underside is crispy and the cheese is beginning to melt. Lift the sandwiches with a spatula and add the remaining butter to the pan. When the butter has melted, place the sandwiches back in the pan, uncooked side down. Weight down the sandwich with a heavy pan and cook for about 2 minutes or until second side is golden brown and the cheese has melted. (If you have a panini grill, even better!)

Makes 2 sandwiches

Poached Figs with Orange, Cinnamon and Ginger

85 years ago today my father-in-law bought a set of “good” Limoges porcelain dishes for my mother-in-law, for their 5th anniversary.

By the time I met the Feins and became part of their family, they had moved on to other, more modern tableware, and this set, Charles Ahrenfeldt “Bouquet de France,” was tucked away in stackable storage bags in their pantry.

Many years later I inherited those dishes and saw them for the first time.

Of course, I didn’t love the why of my inheritance — who would? I was lucky. My in-laws were good, loving people.

But I did, and still do, love the dishes. I love the old fashioned floral centers, the slim blue and gold rims, the delicacy of Limoges.

Many of the dishes were chipped; several were missing from the service for 12. But over the years, Ed and I set out on a mission to replace them. Recently we were finally able to buy the fruit dishes in the photo above.

I use these dishes every day. I figure, why not? What am I saving them for?

And so I will serve dinner on the dinner plates tonight and for dessert? These luscious fresh figs, poached in orange juice and with a bit of citrusy spark from orange peel and fresh ginger.

I wish my in-laws a very happy 5th/90th anniversary! We will be celebrating. I wish they were here to celebrate with us.

POACHED FIGS WITH ORANGE, Cinnamon and Ginger

• 1 cup orange juice

• 1 cup water

• 1/3 cup brown sugar

• 1-inch chunk peeled fresh ginger, coarsely chopped

• 2-inch piece of cinnamon stick, broken

• 2 2-inch strips orange peel

• 8-10 fresh green figs (cut in half if very large)

• ice cream, whipped cream, sorbet, optional

Place the juice, water, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon stick and orange peel in a saucepan and bring the liquid to a boil. Stir to blend the liquids, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the figs and simmer for another 5-8 minutes, or until the figs are tender. Remove the pan from the heat and let the ingredients cool. Remove the figs from the pan and cut each in half (if not already cut). Set aside. Strain the ingredients in the pan. Discard the solid ingredients. Pour the liquid back into the pan and cook over high heat for 5-6 minutes or until the liquid is syrupy (the consistency of maple syrup). Let the syrup cool. Before serving, some of the fig halves in serving dishes, pour some poaching syrup on top. If desired, place some ice cream, whipped cream or sorbet on top.

Makes 4-6 servings

My Mango and Burrata Lunch

One of my favorite lunches if I’m able to find an Ataulfo or Haitian mango: slice the fruit, add a chunk or burrata and some slivers of purple onion (scallions work too) and a sprinkle of freshly ground pepper (or Aleppo pepper). It’s an “oh my, can lunch really be this wonderful?”

Mom's Corn Fritters

Mom’s Corn Fritters

Today is Shrove Tuesday, a Christian holiday, the day before Lent, when it has been traditional to eat pancakes. So it’s also known as Pancake Tuesday. I like that! Anyone can relate to pancakes! And enjoy a day feasting on some! Especially if the pancakes are my Mom’s Corn Fritters. Crispy on the outside, soft and puffy within and loaded with corn. For breakfast, lunch or dinner. With a little (lot?) real maple syrup.

CORN FRITTERS

2 tablespoons butter
1 large egg
1 cup milk
2 cups cooked corn kernels
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons salt (or to taste
butter for frying
maple syrup, optional

Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. In a bowl, beat the egg and milk together. Stir in the cooled melted butter and the corn kernels. In a second bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt; add this to the corn mixture and stir ingredients gently to blend them together. Heat a small amount of butter in a saute pan over medium heat (about 2 teaspoons). When the butter has melted and looks foamy, spoon the corn batter by the 1/4-cupful into the pan, leaving some space between each one. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the bottom has browned. Flip the pancakes and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until the second side is brown. Use more butter in the pan as needed. Serve with maple syrup if desired.

Makes 6-8 servings