This is a favorite recipe from Food & Wine July 2008 and is excellent either over pasta as shown or used as a filling for tamales. I originally posted a link to this recipe a few years back on this blog, but since I make hard copies of this blog by year for each of the girls, a link to a recipe doesn't help anyone. 

Also, we use the blog as a back-up recipe holder when at the grocery store looking for ingredients or what have you. Now, we're finally up-to-date with this one. It's a fantastic recipe, too, I encourage you to try it! Very easy to make and quite impressive.

Ingredients

• One 2-pound piece of boneless pork shoulder
• Smoked sea salt
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cut into 1-inch dice
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch dice
• 1 carrot, cut into 1-inch dice
• 1 celery rib, cut into 1-inch dice
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
• 1/3 cup Champagne vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound pappardelle
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

How to Make It

Step 1    

Preheat the oven to 300°. Season the pork with 1 1/2 tablespoons of smoked salt. In a medium, enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the canola oil until shimmering. Add the pork and cook over moderately high heat, turning, until browned on all sides, 15 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate.

Step 2    

Add the apple, onion, carrot, celery, garlic and thyme to the casserole and cook over moderate heat until beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it deepens in color, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the chicken stock, vinegar and honey and bring to a simmer. Add the pork, cover and transfer the casserole to the oven. Braise the pork for about 3 hours, turning once halfway through, until very tender.

Step 3    

Transfer the pork to a plate. Strain the sauce into a large bowl, gently pressing on the solids. Pour the sauce back into the pot. Using 2 forks, shred the pork; discard any large pieces of fat. Transfer the shredded pork to the sauce and stir in the mascarpone. Season the sauce with smoked salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.

Step 4    

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pappardelle until al dente. Drain the pasta and transfer to the casserole with the sauce. Toss the pasta with the sauce and the parsley over moderate heat until well coated, about 1 minute. Transfer the pasta to warm bowls. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with smoked salt and serve.

Make Ahead

The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Pickled Red Onions



3 smaller red onions, sliced into half moons
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup cider vinegar
4 tsp. sugar

Add the sliced onions to a clean, warm, wide-mouth standard sized Mason jar.

Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan over medium high heat, until salt and sugar dissolves. Pour mixture over onions in jar, loosely place lid on jar until cooled to room temperature. Put lid on tight and place in fridge, chilling at least 1 hour.

From Cooking Light Magazine, May 2016

Mushroom & Charred Corn Street Tacos



1 cup finely chopped, stemmed, seeded fresh Poblano chili's (about 2 medium)
2 tbsp. olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt
4 cups mixed sliced mushrooms (cremini & shiitake)
1 bag frozen charred corn from Trader Joes, thawed (about 2 cups)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 package corn street tacos
Crumbled Cotija cheese
1/4 cup Mexican crema**
1 tbsp. adobo sauce (from canned Chipotle chilies)

Fresh guacamole
Fresh cilantro leaves

Add oil to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add minced Poblano and saute about 4 minutes. Add garlic, saute 2 minutes. Add 3/4 tsp. salt; add mushrooms and saute until most of liquid evaporates. Add thawed charred corn, mix well, cover and heat until corn is hot, stirring occasionally as needed.

Mix Mexican crema in a small bowl with 1 tbsp. of adobo sauce. Serve on the side with fresh guacamole in small corn street tacos, topped with Cotija and fresh cilantro.

**you can also mix adobo with sour cream, instead!

Recipe from Cooking Light Magazine, May 2016

Lime Aqua Fresca w/ Watermelon

1 container of store bought limeade, made according to directions on can
Watermelon, cut into chunks
fresh mint
fresh limes, sliced
water


In a large pitcher, at least 2.5 quarts, stir 2 cups cold water with 3 large sprigs of mint and 1 sliced lime to release flavors. Stir in 1 quart limeade, 1.5 cups cubed watermelon and 2 cups ice cubes.

OR

Make limeade according to directions on can in a large pitcher. Add cubed watermelon, lime slices and fresh mint leaves. Stir before pouring into glasses filled with ice cubes.

From Sunset Magazine, July 2016

I found this recipe on Pinterest, but here is the website it links through to. I decided to make it instead of the usual green bean side for Thanksgiving dinner. Pretty easy to throw together, once you get all the water out of the 3 lbs of thawed frozen spinach, that is. I told Eddie I was sure it was going to be delicious, but I was starting my decision to not make the green beans as I kept working all the friggin water out of the thawed spinach against a wire mesh colander in the sink!

Still, this is a keeper. I made it up the day before and before I slipped it into Agatha to heat up, mixed grated Guyrere and Monterey Jack cheeses to sprinkle on the top of it to melt. Yum!

This was probably the most popular item we made food-wise for Thanksgiving dinner and we'll definitely make it, again!

(Also, we used whole milk and even though the linked recipe calls for 1 clove of garlic, threw in two more cloves for a total of 3 cause, well, that's how we roll around here...)

Best Spinach Gratin Ever

3 TBSP unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose white flour
2.5 cups milk (we used whole)
2 tsp. koser salt
1/8 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
5 10oz  boxes of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (we used Parmesan-Reggiano blend from TJ's)
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2-1 cup grated Gruyere or Monterey Jack cheese (we mixed both for a total of 1 cup)

Thaw spinach and get to work squeezing all the excess water out of it so it is as dry as possible. Set aside.

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent but not browned. Mix in flour and stir constantly for 1 more minute. Add milk, salt and nutmeg. Bring mixture to a bubble then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the bottom doesn't scorch.

After about 10 minutes the mixture should be considerably thickened. Add spinach and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and mix until well blended. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 casserole pan. Either cover with foil and put in the fridge until ready to bake or place in a 400 F oven for 28-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly and spinach is heated through.

*Remember to put 1/2-1 cup cheese mixture on top of spinach before popping in the oven!

Eddie usually makes a terrific hot cocoa during the winter using whole milk, cocoa, sugar, cinnamon and dried ancho chilies. I love it but he couldn't be more "meh" about it. Something about growing up drinking it makes it not the same novelty it is for me as a grown-up.

Still, I wanted to have a Mexican Hot Cocoa mix on hand/on demand in the pantry, so thanks to Food & Wine (as usual) I'm now ready to go!

Note: This is a cocoa mix to be added to hot MILK and not water.

Note#2:  I did the amounts below 9x and had enough mix to fill a large mason jar with headroom. I also wrote the milk-to-mix ratio on the lid for easy reference.


Mexican Hot Cocoa Mix - Serves 2

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups milk (12 oz)
whipped cream

Whisk all dry ingredients in a bowl to blend together well. 

Heat hot milk in a small saucepan until hot but not boiling.

Place 3 tbsp. mix in each mug.

Pour 3/4 cup hot milk over the mix and stir until dissolved.

Top with whipped cream!

Yesterday my mom dropped off a large bag of fresh plums she picked from her backyard. I decided to make a plum crisp out of it, since I had a large container of granola cereal that had not been successfully received a couple months ago.

This recipe is doubled from what the original recipe I found online called for. Original recipe can be found here.

The plums from my mom's garden were purple plums. I washed them well and rubbed a bit of the purple off the exteriors before drying them, cutting and pitting them. I found that about four plums = 1 cup. Luckily, I used up all the plums she had given us in doubling the recipe!

Also, we had a young house guest last night and the plum crisp was a huge hit with everyone. It was enjoyed again, for breakfast this morning, too!

Plum Crisp

Filling

8 cups sliced fresh plums (total 36 plums halved, pitted, then sliced)
2 TBSP all-purpose flour
4 TBSP sugar
2 TSP Bourbon vanilla extract (from Trader Joes)
1 TSP ground cinnamon

Crisp

1 cup oats or lightly sweetened museli granola cold cereal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 TSP salt (we use Kosher)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted

(if you use margarine, you are no longer my friend...)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Toss filling ingredients together and pour into a deep enough baking pan to hold fruit + topping.

Mix crisp ingredients well until all moistened. It will be a little sticky. Use your hands to evenly put the crisp topping over the top of the fruit filling.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until fruit is bubbling and crisp is golden brown. (If you need more time for the filling, cover with tin foil to keep the crisp from burning.)

Serve warm for dessert or breakfast, with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream!

Delicious added to coffee, over ice cream or chocolate bread pudding or just by the spoonful into one's mouth. We like to give this as gifts during the holidays. (Make sure it's tagged that it's "boozy" if you do, as not everyone can have or enjoy boozy products.)

For a kid-friendly version, omit the bourbon or spiced rum. But then, what's the point of making it?

Sorry kiddos, this treat is for the grown-ups!

Boozy Salted Caramel Sauce

1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup of bourbon or spiced rum
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Place sugar in a 2 quart saucepan and add 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook over medium-high heat, swirling the mixture every 1 to 2 minutes, until the sugar is liquefied, about 6 minutes.  Continue to cook until the sugar is a medium-amber color, another 4 to 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the cream (it will vigorously bubble up at first, protect your hands from the steam!), whisking the mixture until smooth, then add the softened butter, bourbon or spiced rum, and salt. Set aside until cool or pour into a clean, sterilized and warm pint-sized mason jar. Sprinkle the top of the jarred caramel with more kosher salt and then seal with a lid and place in the refrigerator for future eating use.

Back in 2011 I posted about this amazing chicken recipe we made: Chicken Sofrito.

Unfortunately, I only linked to the recipe. When I started having actual books made of the blog for each year for future presents for the girls, I realized my folly. You can't link to the recipe through the paper pages of a book!

Since then, I've been making my way through writing out and posting those recipes we love and make regularly onto the blog, so they are actually fully accounted for. We currently rely on our blog to access these same recipes, too, so it makes additional sense for me to do this.

If you haven't had Chicken Sofrito, you're really missing out! It was an absolute favorite of our Mah Jong group years ago and one of our favorite dishes to make for fall and winter.



Chicken Sofrito

1 tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
8 chicken thighs with skin
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp bittersweet smoked paprika, plus more for dusting
1 medium onion cut into 1/2 inch dice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 large thyme sprigs
1 red bell pepper cut into 1/2 inch strips
rounded 1/4 teaspoons anise seeds
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup chopped canned tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 cup short-grain white rice
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup roasted slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 375 F.  In a large oven-proof skillet, heat vegetable oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper, dust with smoked paprika. Add chicken to skillet and cook over moderate heat until well browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Add the onion, garlic, thyme sprigs and jalapeno to the skillet, cooking over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally until the onion is softened, about 8 minutes.  Add the bell pepper, anise seeds, cayenne and 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and raise the heat, stirring occasionally until bubbling.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice and 1/2 tsp. salt and bring to a simmer.  Arrange the chicken pieces, skin side up, atop the rice.

Bake in the upper third of the oven for 25 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through and the rice is tender and has absorbed the stock.

Preheat the broiler and broil sofrito 6 inches from the heat for about 2 minutes, until the chicken is crisp.  Transfer the chicken to a plate.  Discard the thyme sprigs, stir in the lemon juice to the rice and scatter the toasted almonds on top. Spoon rice onto plates or in shallow bowls and place chicken on top of the rice and serve.

Lulu really wanted to make dinner for us and pulled this stuffed pasta shell recipe out of her cookbook. I got her all the ingredients she needed and she got to work getting it all cooked and put together.

A pretty simple and fool-proof recipe, cook jumbo pasta shells according to the directions and drain when cooked. Line the shells up in a large baking dish. Fill each shell with a cooked meatball. Top with spaghetti sauce and finally, put a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese over that. Bake in the oven until cheese is melted and meatballs are heated through.

Bon Appetite!

I made a delicious syrup this weekend for a 4th of July fruit salad using hand cultivated lavender from our garden!




Fresh Lavender Syrup
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
¼ cup sweet dessert wine (i used an iced cider gift from quebec)
2 tbsp fresh orange juice
3 tbsp chopped fresh lavender flowers

Heat all ingredients together in a small saucepan, except lavender, and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and add lavender, then let mixture seep for 1-2 hours.

Strain into a jar with lid and keep in the refrigerator!

Delicious served as a sauce or dressing for fresh fruit salad...

or any melon, stone fruit, or berries. We're going to try the syrup in cocktails, but I think it would be equally delicious in hot tea, over ice cream or cheese cake, the possibilities are endless!

It should be noted, that the fruit salad I made was done using mini-cutters in the shapes of stars for the honeydew and hearts for the watermelon, and was quite messy and labor intensive, though the end result is quite impressive!

I have taken to making iron skillet pies, recently, much to the delight of our family. I even bought a 10.25 inch cast iron skillet to do this, though truthfully we were lacking in that particular skillet size in the kitchen.

Eddie adores cast iron skillets and was more than pleased that we acquired a new piece! However, I just noticed now that I grabbed the larger size skillet for the pie I made last night (below). No wonder it was so heavy to get in and out of Agatha! Still learning to remember we have the slightly smaller size, now.

Below, homemade peach-blueberry iron skillet pie with my famous pie crust recipe. 

For cast iron skillet pies, make my pie crust recipe below and your filling according to it's particular fruit recipe (usually a combination of lemon juice, flour, spices, salt and sugar for cooked berry pies).

Before you assemble, however, melt a little butter and brown sugar together in the bottom of your cast iron skillet until melted and bubbling. Remove from heat and working carefully, place your bottom crust atop the butter/sugar mixture, add your filling, then cover with your top crust (crust recipe below). Sprinkle some granulated sugar on top, make sure there are cuts in the top crust, maybe some small pieces of butter under the top crust, and then cover with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes in a hot oven. After 20 minutes, remove foil and cook for another 20 minutes more until golden brown. Remove from heat carefully and cool, or, serve pie warm with ice cream!

I don't make pretty pie crusts, but they are DELICIOUS pie crusts. The secret is a butter/Crisco mix and orange juice for the liquid. This is one area where I could be a perfectionist about chilling the crust and rolling it out precisely and all that, but I gave up on that a long time ago. I prefer to go the rustic route, instead.

It's because of this pie crust that I have always been a pie snob. I rarely eat pie in restaurants because usually, the pie crust can't compare to mine. 

I'm serious, follow the ingredient recipe below exactly and you'll see what I mean. (And ALWAYS used real butter, never margarine or butter substitute.)

M's Famous Pie Crust

2.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 cube COLD unsalted butter (1/2 cup)

1/2 cup Crisco all-vegetable shortening

generous pinch of salt

4 tbsp orange juice

Place everything except the orange juice in a large mixing bowl. 

To do this recipe right, you will need to do it the old fashioned way and use a pastry hand blender. It looks like a hand-held metal half moon with about four blades for the moon part, like this:

Cut the butter and shortening into small pieces into the flour/salt mixture until everything is incorporated and the shortening is evenly mixed in and fine pebbles. 

Add the orange juice, then mix well with your hands until you have a dough. It may be sticky, depending on how warm the day and your kitchen. Use a tad more flour if you need to until its not.

Shape into a ball and place covered into the fridge until firmed up, if you want, for easier rolling out. 

OR

Cut ball in half and roll each half out until about 1 mm thick between two pieces of parchment paper using a rolling pin. Place one half of the flattened dough in the bottom of a standard sized pie pan and do the same with the second half of dough, for the top crust. Try to cut a pretty shape in the middle center of the top crust for decoration and to help the filling as it cooks.

You may need to piece smaller pieces of dough together in the bottom of the pie pan before you can crimp the edges around the pan to evenly cover the bottom of the pie pan.

Below, servings of warm peach blueberry pie with French vanilla Tillamook ice cream. I dubbed this particular flavor of pie "sex in a bowl" when served warm with vanilla ice cream way back in 1997. 

This has been our traditional 4th of July dinner ever since we got married and it definitely makes us think of summer! The original recipe comes from the William-Sonoma Complete Entertaining Cookbook.

Ginger & Orange Curried Fried Chicken

2 cups buttermilk
2 tbsp grated, peeled fresh ginger
3 tbsp grated orange zest
salt and freshly ground pepper
12 boneless half chicken breasts or boneless thighs w/ or w/o skin
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
4-5 teaspoons curry powder
3/4 tsp ground ginger
bag of panko crumbs
pinch of cayenne pepper, optional
peanut or canola oil for deep frying
mango chutney (our favorite is Sweet Mango or Major Grey by Pataks brand)

Recipe Notes: Although frying the chicken must be done at the last minute, it marinates in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Buttermilk and ginger tenderize the meat, so do not allow the chicken to stand in the marinade longer than the specified time.  The curry-flavored flour can be mixed in a large paper bag or on a deep plate. You can also use bone-in chicken parts, but then you must marinade them for 3 hours and then fry, turning often, for 20-25 minutes.

In a shallow glass or plastic dish, combine buttermilk, grated ginger, orange zest and salt & pepper to taste and mix well.  Add the chicken, turning to coat well. Cover and marinate for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.

In a large paper bag or on a deep plate, combine the flour, panko crumbs, curry powder, ground ginger, salt and black pepper to taste and the cayenne pepper, if using. (Eddie added a touch of turmeric and ground cumin on the batch below, for good measure.)

Remove the chicken from the marinade and, a few pieces at a time, shake them in the seasoned flour or coat them evenly in the seasoned flour on a plate.

In a large frying pan (or home deep-fryer) over medium heat, pour in oil to a depth of 3 inches and heat to 375 F or until a small cube of bread turns golden brown within moments of being dropped into it. When the oil is ready, add the chicken pieces and fry, turning once, until golden brown, 3-4 minutes on each side.

Using a slotted spatula, transfer to paper towels to drain briefly. (We used a large package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs.)



Arrange on a warmed platter or individual plates and serve immediately with chutney and tomato salad w/ summer herbs.

Along with our annual Ginger Orange Fried Chicken for dinner on the 4th of July, we always serve it with this tomato and summer herb salad. The original recipe was listed in party guide of InStyle Magazine from the early 'aughts and looks attributed to Lisa Hubbard though this recipe is MIA on the internet.

Anyhoo, this is an easy salad to throw together and keeps well for a day or two in the fridge, too.

Tomato Salad w/ Summer Herbs

3 lbs. assorted ripe red, yellow, or orange tomatoes such as beefsteak, plub or heirloom varieties. (I like using the Trader Joe's Heirloom Cherry Tomato mix in the produce section!)
1 pint red and/or yellow teardrop, grape, or cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup minced fresh herbs (basil, parsley, thyme and/or oregano)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Wash all tomatoes and remove stems. Quarter large tomatoes and scrape out seeds with spoon and discard. If using cherry tomatoes, halve them; leave smaller teardrop or grape tomatoes whole. Place all tomatoes in a large serving bowl. In a small jar with a tight fitting lid, combine olive oil, minced herbs, vinegar, garlic and mustard. Screw on lid and shake jar vigorously until dressing emulsifies. Pour over tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Serve chilled or at room temperature. (Serves 12)

Below, I used fresh basil, thyme and parsley from our garden, and substituted white balsamic vinegar for the red wine vinegar (we were out of the latter). DELICIOUS!!! Keeps well for several days, too.

This recipe is one of Eddie's absolute favorites, preferably made with pork! We've been making it since we first started dating and it's still a keeper after all these years. This is also an easy recipe to make vegetarian or completely vegan by eliminating the meat and/or adding tofu. Bonus, the pepper paste freezes well for cooking up a later time, just remember to have a fresh lemon on hand and fresh cilantro leaves when you do.

Red Pepper Sauce (from Madhur Jaffrey)

Put the following in a blender:

1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped
1-inch cube fresh ginger root, peeled and coarsely chopped
3-5 garlic cloves
1/4 cup blanched flaked almonds (you can substitute pine nuts in a pinch)
2 red bell peppers, de-seeded and coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt





Blend the above into a thick paste. You may have to gently push the ingredients down towards the blade using a wooden or kitchen spoon. (Be careful you don't push to far down or your blender will chew up your spoon. Eddie has ruined many a wooden spoon over the years because of this!)




At this point, you can either freeze the pepper paste for another time or continue with the following ingredients:

7 tbsp. rice bran oil or sunflower oil
2/3-1 cup water
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
up to 2 lbs. pork or skinned chicken, or frozen chicken tenders from Trader Joe's*
cilantro leaves finely chopped (garnish)
hot cooked white rice such as Basmati or Jasmine

Put the oil in a wok or straight sided sauce pan that has a lid. Put the pan on medium-high heat, add oil and wait until oil is hot. When oil is hot, add red pepper paste and fry in the oil, stirring regularly, for about 10-12 minutes or until you can see oil forming tiny bubbles around it.



Add the fresh chicken or pork with 1/3 cup water and the lemon juice. Stir to mix and bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat to low and simmer gently for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender. Add a little more water if necessary.

Serve with hot cooked rice and garnish with cilantro leaves. Also delicious with garlic naan (in the TJ's freezer aisle)!

* You can add the frozen chicken tenders with the lemon juice and water to the hot oil and fried pepper paste if you are not using fresh chicken or pork. Cover and continue cooking until chicken is cooked through. Cut chicken using a sharp knife or a sharp edged spatula within the pan before serving with rice.

Way back many moons ago, around 1994...1995, I got a most wonderful and memorable birthday present from a dear friend while I was at work. My birthday had fallen on a Saturday and because I owned a business with someone at the time, Saturday mornings found us working from 10 am to 2 pm. This dear friend (Anti-Auntie Hobbs) showed up at our office bearing a basket. Wrapped inside a vintage linen towel were homemade blueberry muffins and the little muffin book the recipe came out of.

The best part? The muffins were still warm from the oven!

Hands down, one of the best gifts I've ever received. The sweetest, simplest, kindest. As you can see, I still remember everything very clearly, even though it's been nearly 22 odd years.  I still have the vintage linen towel. I still have the little muffin book. Interestingly, the blueberry muffin recipe in the book is simply called "The Best Blueberry Muffins." Still accurate today as it was over 22 years ago.

Since the moment I received that wonderful birthday gift, I've been making those very same muffins throughout the years because, they simply ARE the best I've ever tasted. I think a lot of it is how moist they are inside and then the delicious and unexpected nutmeg sugar topping.

Follow the recipe to the LETTER, and then decide for yourself. I'm confident you'll be smitten!

(Note: You must use butter, no margarine allowed!)

The Best Blueberry Muffin's Ever

1/2 cup (one cube) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4-1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (mash 1/2 cup in small bowl)
1/2 cup milk (we use whole milk)
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
muffin/cupcake paper liners


Heat oven to 375 F. Line muffin pan with cupcake/muffin paper liners. (These pretties I picked up at Michael's Craft Store in the dollar bins about six years ago.)



Butter softening next to Agatha...



Mash 1/2 cup of blueberries in a small bowl. Set aside.




In a medium bowl combine softened butter and sugar until creamy.



Beat until pale and fluffy.  Beat in eggs. You can do so one at a time, or both at the same time...Add vanilla, salt and baking powder, mix well.



Mix mashed berries into batter.

Fold in half the flour (1 cup) and half the milk (1/4 cup) into the batter.

Note: Folding does not mean 'mixing/blending well' - It means you gently incorporate the ingredients using a 'folding' motion as you stir.




Add the remaining flour and milk. Fold in the remaining 2 cups of whole, fresh blueberries.



In a small bowl, mix the 1 tbsp. granulated sugar with 1/4 freshly grated nutmeg.

Note: I highly encourage you to invest in a nutmeg grinder. You can pick one up online or at Williams-Sonoma for about $30 and it's something you'll have forever. There is nothing quite like freshly ground nutmeg for your recipes. Many of the recipes we make at La Casa de Camarillo utilize freshly ground nutmeg including these muffins, our famous meatballs, the pumpkin risotto to name a few. You'll never want jarred ground nutmeg ever again!





Fill your muffin cups with batter and sprinkle with nutmeg-sugar.





Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.





Cool and enjoy warm or at room temperature (if they last that long for the latter!). These are delicious on their own or with bit of unsalted butter.



The recipe claims it makes 12 muffins but I tend to get about 18 out of a batch of batter. (Two have already been devoured thanks to myself and Lulu!)

Below, the vintage linen towel my original birthday muffins were wrapped in!

Lulu loves to check out these cupcake cook books from the library. It was a long weekend, due to President's Day, so I told her we could make one of the recipes in her book. Lulu wanted to do "Shark Attack" which is cupcakes with sharks made out of Twinkies, people in inner tubs from donuts and the like but I veto'd it. Too many types of candy and ingredients to pull off for our first go at this. I settled on Spaghetti and Meatballs, since all we needed were cake mix, vanilla frosting, white chocolate, strawberry preserves and Ferrero Rocher candies.

Here are the cupcakes after we cut the tops off of them (I put too much batter in each cup before baking in Agatha). The cupcakes need to be flat to pull off the intended effect. Below, the crumb coat of frosting...

Voila! Lulu made two batches and we saved a third batch for Bean to decorate. Lulu gave away each batch she'd decorated to neighbors. Lucky them! Would you refuse a plate of super cute cupcakes if they were delivered to your door? Exactly!

The finishing touch, grated "Parmasan cheese" (white chocolate)!

These are the cupcakes Bean decorate for us to eat for dessert last night. The secret to this looking realistic is making sure one "meatball" is on the plate and the rest are on the "pasta".

Bean, hamming it up for the camera, of course! These cupcakes were really delicious, too. Pretty easy to make, all things considered, and fun to create! Also, those Ferrero Rocher candies really do look like meatballs, it's incredible.

While I love the pumpkin waffles recipe that can be found here, the girls are not fans.
Below is a new recipe Eddie tried out a couple weeks ago, the same issue of People magazine where I found our new pumpkin risotto recipe, and thought he'd give this waffle recipe a go.

The girls LOVED them. He and I were both shocked...

They are okay, but the pumpkin and spices are very mild in this version, which is why I think it is so successful with kids and why I am 'meh' about them. Still, if Eddie's making waffles, I'm not complaining.

Pumpkin Waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
6 tbsps. unsalted butter, chilled & cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 oz (half a box) of Belgium sugar crystals (available at Whole Foods)

Maple syrup
Whipped cream
Toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Raisins (optional)

Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10-15 times, until finely chopped and mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, cream, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla until combined. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients, and whisk gently just until the batter is combined. Don't worry about lumps. Fold in Belgium sugar crystals at this point!

Lightly grease the waffle iron with cooking spray. Using a measuring cup or ice-cream scoop, place batter in the center of the iron's quadrants. Close the lid and bake until the waffle is crisp and golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Serve warm with maple syrup, sour cream, pumpkin seeds and raisins.

Leftover waffles freeze well!

NOTE:  The above recipe is exactly like printed, though it should be noted that we choose to just have maple syrup and whipped cream on our waffles at La Casa de Camarillo, which is why I've added 'whipped cream' to the ingredients list above and written "optional" next to the other garnishments.

I found a recipe in the back of a recent People Magazine for a vegan pumpkin risotto. The first time I made it, I swapped the vegetable broth for chicken broth instead. It was very tasty, and even better with some grated Parmesan Romano cheese on top!

The next time I made it I really went wild, including doubling the recipe! I kept the chicken broth swap, , but I sauteed up some pancetta with the onions and then added about 1 cup of the grated Parmesan Romano cheese to the mix before I served it up into bowls at the very end.

The family was bowing down before me, in between eating bites of this revised version. Lulu remarked that it was amazing, which is a huge endorsement!

Pumpkin Pancetta Risotto

5 cups chicken broth
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped or diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 oz pkg. pancetta Italian bacon, diced (4 oz pkg. available at Trader Joe's)
1 cup Aborio rice
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
freshly ground pepper
1/2 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
1/2 cup grated Parmesan & Romano cheese blend (also at Trader Joe's)

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, bring the chicken broth to a gentle boil and let simmer while preparing the recipe.

Heat a large skillet or dutch oven (the latter if you are doubling the recipe) over medium high heat and add the olive oil. Reduce heat to medium, and saute onions until soft and the pancetta until it gets browned a bit. You can let the onions caramelize a little, it will add to the overall flavor! Add garlic and let cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Stir in rice and 1 cup of hot broth, reducing heat so the mixture simmers. Stir often, cooking until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat with another cup of broth, and continue stirring, repeating the steps until the broth is all in the rice and the rice is tender (about 20 minutes) and thick but not soupy.

Stir in the pumpkin, salt, nutmeg and season with pepper until well blended and pumpkin is hot. Stir in Parmesan & Romano cheese just before serving and top with fresh sage.

* This would be awesome with crispy sage, too. Just quickly fry up fresh sage leaves in hot olive oil in a small cast iron skillet then drain on a paper towel until ready to serve up the risotto.

We love us some Cincinnati Chili at La Casa de Camarillo! We used to make it quite a bit when we lived in Vegas. Lulu is finally getting to the age where she is getting adventuresome in trying different foods. She has discovered the magic that is Cincinnati Chili, much to our delight, so I decided it needed to get added to the blog.

La Casa de Camarillo Cincinnati Chili

2 lbs ground beef (bonus points for grinding and using your own hamburger!)
2 cups chopped yellow onions
4 cups beef stock
2- 8 oz cans tomato sauce
2-3 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 oz grated unsweetened chocolate, or 2 3/4 tbsp cocoa
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red ground pepper or cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1-2 dried bay leaves

1 package spaghetti noodles, made according to package directions

Chili Toppings*

grated cheddar cheese
drained & heated kidney beans (optional)
chopped green onions (optional)
chopped yellow or white onions (optional)
sour cream (optional)


Brown your beef with the onion in a dutch oven. Drain fat. Add beef stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Add remaining 13 ingredients (up through the bay leaves) and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. Remove bay leaves and skim off any remaining fat. Serve over cooked spaghetti noodles or over hot dogs in buns for chili dogs.

The chili mixture once made freezes well!

*Cincinnati Chili is served different "ways" depending on how many toppings you wish to have added on.  Cincinnati Chili should always be served with grated cheddar cheese, no matter what. I like mine served to me "three ways" and includes green onion, kidney beans and sour cream on top.

Delicious!!!