Category Archives: Mouthwatering Monday

I’m going to make this my signature, go-to recipe. I’ll only tell you about it if you promise not to bring it to any parties we’re both attending, okay?

Blueberry Lemon Poundcake

I waffled back and forth about whether to share this recipe with you or to be a selfish wench and keep it to myself.  Since it’s the holidays I thought I’d be nice for once and share it with you.

Also, it’s already on the Internet, so it’s not exactly a secret.

I’m particularly proud of this recipe because it was originally published in Gourmet Magazine.  When I first got interested in cooking, I subscribed to that magazine for a year and made exactly ze-ro of the recipes.  They were all too hard and had too many ingredients and too many of the ingredients were things I’d never even heard of.  But this recipe!  Oh THIS recipe has ingredients that are easily found in any market and it was very simple to make.

Since it’s not blueberry season, I used frozen blueberries and they all sunk to the bottom of the bundt pan, despite the fact that I followed the directions in the recipe to toss them in flour and alternate blueberry and batter layers.  I think fresh blueberries would have stayed put.  Still?  Delicious.

I made this Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake to be both a dessert AND a breakfast bread.  Two birds with one stone!  Perhaps this would be a lovely dessert for your Christmas Eve dinner and then as your quick breakfast on Christmas morning??!! Good idea, huh!

A helpful baking hint that I *think* I learned from Casey/Moosh in Indy, is to be sure to get all your ingredients up to room temperature before baking.  I don’t know why, I just do as I’m told.  If you’re curious about the reason, either Google it or find a nerd to ask.  I’ll ask my chemical engineer husband when he gets home.

This was THE BEST POUND CAKE I EVER HAD THE PLEASURE OF EATING.  As someone who doesn’t even love sweets that much, this was perfectly sweet, but not rich.  The cake was moist (MOIST!) and even three days after baking, it is still moist.

Enough jabber, eh?  Let’s bake!

Here’s what you’ll need for Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake, recipe courtesy of Epicurious and Gourmet Magazine.

For the cake

1/3 cup milk
6 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup freshly grated lemon zest
3 cups thawed, frozen blueberries, tossed with 1 1/2 tablespoons flour

For the syrup

1/3 cup lemon juice (Fresh is ALWAYS best)
1/2 cup sugar

Mmmm, cake:

In a small bowl whisk together the milk, the eggs, and the vanilla. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, the baking powder, and the salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter with the granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and the zest until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the flour mixture alternately with the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating the batter after each addition until it is just combined, and fold in 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries. Spoon 1/3 of the batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (3-quart) bundt pan, spreading it evenly, and sprinkle 1/2 cup of the remaining blueberries over it. Spoon half the remaining batter into the pan, spreading it evenly, and sprinkle 1/2 cup of the remaining blueberries over it. Spoon the remaining batter into the pan, spreading it evenly, sprinkle the remaining blueberries over it, and bake the cake in the middle of a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until it is golden and a tester comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven, poke the top immediately all over with a wooden skewer, and brush it with half the syrup. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, invert it onto the rack, and poke it all over with the skewer. Brush the cake with the remaining syrup.

Mmmm, syrup:

In a small saucepan combine the lemon juice and the sugar, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and remove the pan from the heat.

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This is for after Thanksgiving when you’re sick of leftover turkey

mahogany beef stew

I know that conventional wisdom would dictate that if I’m going to post a recipe on the Monday before Thanksgiving, that the recipe would be Thanksgiving-ish.  Well I’m going to buck conventional wisdom and pour some hoisin sauce down her gullet.

So this is a recipe for great beef stew.  To be perfectly honest, I don’t really like beef stew.   Actually I didn’t really like beef stew until I met Mahogany Beef Stew and we began a torrid love affair.  He’s so meaty and hearty, there’s plenty of him to share.

This would be a perfect thing to fix, say, today or tomorrow, then reheat and serve on Saturday when you’re really sick of turkey or have already run out.

Let’s put on our aprons.

(Recipe adapted from Bon Appétit) (Fancy!  I know!)

4 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed, cut into 2 1/2-inch pieces (or pre-cut stew meat)
1 medium-large onion, chopped
2 cups red wine (pinot noir, cabernet, zinfandel…whatever you like)
1 can reduced-sodium beef broth
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
1/2 cup hoisin sauce (can be found in the Asian aisle)
2 bay leaves
1 pound carrots, peeled, cut diagonally into 1-inch lengths
1 package of baby portabella or white button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 1/2 cups of peas (frozen or canned)
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Add meat to pot; sauté until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove meat from the pot and place on a plate to add back later. Allow the pot to cool or the onions will burn.  Once cooled, set the heat to medium-low; add 2 tablespoons oil to pot. Add onions; sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add carrots and mushrooms.  Cook for 7-8 minutes.  Mix meat into vegetables. Add 1 cup wine, beef broth, peas, tomatoes with juices, hoisin sauce, and bay leaves. Bring to boil.

Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the remaining cup of wine. Cover; simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, increase heat to high; boil until sauce is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes longer. Reduce heat to medium, add cornstarch mixture and simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Season stew with salt and pepper.  Serve sprinkled with parsley.

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