Lemon Blueberry Streusel Muffins

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 I love the combination of lemon and blueberry, and lately I’ve been craving both. I’ve also been craving a recipe that actually makes lemony lemon muffins. Most of them with just a hint of lemon don’t suit my taste. If you feel the same way that I do, then this recipe just may be for you. There is a lot of lemon here, but it makes a delicious, flavorful, and refreshing muffin, and the perfect offset to those wonderful sweet blueberries.

 Lemon Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Streusel Topping

1/2 c. flour

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

2 T. butter, melted 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Slowly pour in melted butter, and mix until small crumbs form. You can do this by hand or more rapidly with a mini food processor, either works just fine.

Muffins

2-1/2 c. flour

1 T. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. kosher salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 T. grated lemon zest

3 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 c. buttermilk, room temperature

1 T. vanilla extract

1 t. lemon oil

2 c. fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

 

 Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a standard muffin tin with tulip liners.* You can use standard size liners, but you will end up with more than a dozen muffins. If you’re not using liners, spray each cavity with Baker’s Joy.

In a separate, medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, melted butter, zest, and juice. Stir in buttermilk, vanilla extract, and lemon oil.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture stirring until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries. 

Using an ice cream scoop, evenly divide the batter into the muffin liners, filling them to the top. (Only fill to the top if you are using the tulip liners. If using standard liners, fill them ⅔ full.) Top with streusel. 

If using tulip liners, bake for 20 to 22 minutes until they test done; if using standard liners, bake for 18 to 20 minutes until they test done. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely.

These are wonderful as it is, spread with butter, or if you crave lemon the way that I do, topped with a dollop of lemon curd. Heaven!

*If you don’t already have tulip liners on hand, stop what you’re doing right now and buy some. These. I mean it. I’m not just kidding around. Yes, they are a bit more expensive than the standard muffin liners, but they make the perfect size muffin, give you a beautiful bakery shop quality presentation, and make quite an impressive display. Get some for yourself, and buy some for a gift. They’re perfect for Mother’s Day, young brides, or as a hostess gift.

 

 

Leek and Cabbage Pasta with Mushrooms & Bacon

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I was wondering how I could incorporate a little Saint Pat’s into a pasta dish. and here it is. Cabbage and leeks are common ingredients in Irish cooking, so I decided to use both of those as well as mushrooms, and tossed bacon in for good measure because everything is better with bacon. This creamy and delicious pasta dish is light because it gets its creaminess from cream cheese rather than loads of heavy cream. It is satisfying and delicious, gives you one of your daily portions of vegetables, but doesn’t weigh you down. Because there’s no cream to separate in reheating, this can be warmed successfully in the microwave the next day.

Leek and Cabbage Pasta with Mushrooms & Bacon

4 thick-cut bacon slices, chopped
8 oz. uncooked linguine
8 oz. Cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 t. kosher salt
½ t. freshly ground black pepper
2 c. shredded Napa cabbage
2 c. Melissa’s cleaned and sliced leeks
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
¼ c. shredded Parmesan cheese 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.

Meanwhile, while pasta is cooking, in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, cook bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate; reserve drippings

Add mushrooms to skillet, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. Add cabbage and leeks, and cook until they wilt and have begun to caramelize, 5 minutes. Add cream cheese and all of the pasta water, and stir until smooth. Stir in bacon. Carefully stir in cooked pasta and heat through, about 2 minutes.

Serve immediately. Makes two main dish servings or 4 side dish servings.

 

St. Patrick's Day Cards

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 I just put this year’s St. Patrick’s Day cards into the mail, via Saint Patrick, Missouri, in order to obtain their special postmark, available for the entire month of March. This has become somewhat of a tradition with me. I don’t go crazy embellishing the envelopes, because their lovely postmark and accompanying cachet (in green ink, no less) is nice enough on its own. If you would like to do the same, address your envelopes, stamp them, package them up, and mail to:

 Postmaster (Special Postmark Request)
Saint Patrick Post Office
Two Erin Circle
Saint Patrick, MO 63466

 

 It is probably too late to get cards for this year, but you can get some lovely cards from Amazon here, here, and here. So, plan ahead for next year. It is really great fun! This one is a real wowzer.

I’ll post a picture of what the postmark looks like when my card is received. Yes, I always send one to myself as well.

 

Green Bean Salad with Dill and Feta

 

The late Mr. O-P and I had differing opinions about salad. For him, a salad was pretty straightforward: lettuce, tomato, onion, and perhaps a sprinkling of Parmesan. For me, anything that I can throw into a bowl and toss with vinaigrette I call salad; I have a particular fondness for green beans. Because of this fondness, and I realize that I’m wandering from my point a bit, I tend to over buy green beans because they’re cheaper to buy in case lots. Don’t judge. I know it’s crazy. As a consequence, I end up with a lot of green beans. Turning them into salad is a tasty way to use them, and making such use of my stash of green beans generally means that I can always have a salad on hand should I need one. You know, for those occasional salad emergencies. If the thought of canned green beans appall you, feel free to use fresh.

This is an interesting combination of tastes and textures. The fresh dill makes it taste garden fresh, the feta provides a salty pungency, the onion gives it a complex bite, and the pine nuts give it a buttery crunch.

Green Bean Salad with Dill and Feta

2 lbs. fresh green beans (or 2 14-oz. cans)
½ c. chopped red onion
1/3 c. chopped fresh dill
1 3-oz. container feta cheese crumbles
1 3-oz. pkg. Melissa’s pine nuts, toasted
Vinaigrette of your choice

If using fresh green beans, cook to the tenderness of your liking, rinse in cold water, and drain.

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours (or overnight) prior to serving to allow flavors to meld.

 

Pistachio Ice Cream

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Traditionally I make either Bread and Butter Pudding or Chocolate Stout Cake for dessert for St. Patrick’s Day. But sometimes, after a large meal, I want to serve something light. If you feel the same, then this pistachio ice cream is St. Patrick’s Day perfection. No, it doesn’t contain Irish whiskey, but, if you use food coloring, it is green, and who doesn’t love a green dessert on St. Patrick’s Day? This is a wonderful make ahead dessert that will please both young and old.

 Pistachio Ice Cream

 1 cup shelled pistachios

¾ c. sugar, divided

2 c. whole milk

1 vanilla bean

1 T. pistachio powder* (or 1 t. pistachio flavoring)

2 large egg yolks

2 large eggs

1 c. heavy cream

10 drops green food coloring, optional

½ c. shelled, salted pistachios, chopped

 Bring pistachios, sugar, milk, and vanilla bean to a boil in heavy large saucepan. Remove from heat. Whisk in pistachio powder or flavoring.

 Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, and remaining ½ cup sugar in a medium bowl. Gradually (I cannot emphasize this enough) whisk in hot milk mixture. Return custard to saucepan. Cook over low heat until custard thickens and coats the back of spoon, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes (DO NOT BOIL! I’m warning you.). Strain through a medium mesh sieve into large bowl. Chill until cold, about 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

 Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold the cream and the chopped pistachios into the custard along with the food coloring, if desired. Process mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to container and freeze.

*You can buy this commercially, or make your own. Directions: Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch 1 lb. raw pistachios for 20 to 30 seconds. Drain and pat dry. Spread onto a lined sheet tray and allow to dry overnight. Grind the pistachios in a food processor being careful not to allow the nuts to turn to butter. Sift; discard any large pieces that remain.

Irish Whiskey Bran Muffins

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You may have noticed lately that I have been a little bit obsessed with St. Patrick’s Day. Well, there are worse obsessions, so I’m just going to go with this one. St. Patrick’s Day has always meant the beginning of spring, and I don’t know about you, but I am so eager for spring to arrive. I’m also looking forward to my traditional corned beef dinner. Despite the plethora of recipes for St. Patrick’s Day dinner, little is said about what one should enjoy for breakfast on St. Patrick’s Day. I, for one, do have a cup of Irish coffee, but was thinking the other day that I really should pair that with something appropriate, considering I’m going to spend a good bit of time cooking and potentially wielding knives. As a consequence, I came up with this recipe. I figured I’d add a little bit of Saint Patrick in the Irish whiskey-soaked raisins, and a healthy dose of bran for a sensible breakfast. It works for me, and it just might work for you too.

Irish Whiskey Bran Muffins

 

¼ c. Irish whiskey

½ c. golden raisins

1½ c. raisin bran cereal

1 c. buttermilk

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 large egg

2/3 c. brown sugar

½ t. vanilla extract

¼ t. cinnamon

1 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

½ t. salt

½ c. chopped pecans

Soak golden raisins in whiskey while you prepare the muffins. Ideally, soak them overnight to allow all of the wonderful whiskey to be absorbed into the raisins.

Preheat oven to 375° F. Spray muffin cups with Baker’s Joy, or line with paper muffin liners.

 In a large mixing bowl, combine raisin bran and buttermilk; let stand for 10 minutes.

 In a medium mixing bowl, beat together oil, egg, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon; add to buttermilk/bran mixture. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture, until just blended. Fold in raisin/whiskey mixture, and spoon* batter into prepared muffin tins.

 Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. You have my permission to enjoy these with a cup of Irish coffee, I don’t judge.

Yields: 12 regular sized muffins

6 jumbo muffins**

 

*I use an ice cream scoop for this, it makes it quick, easy, and far less messy.

 **If you choose to make these in a jumbo muffin pan, bake for 30 minutes.

 

Twenty Delicious and Clever Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

 

It's officially March, and St. Patrick’s Day will be here before you know it. It’s time to start planning those beautiful tables, clever cards, luscious desserts, marvelous main dishes, sumptuous sides, and bountiful breads. Here are twenty ways to make your St. Patrick’s Day one of the best and tastiest ever!

To see the blog post and/or recipe/table/devastatingly clever idea associated with each of these pictures (shown in no particular order), click on the title below the photo and it will take you directly to the post.

Lepre-corn

Irish Guinness Brown Bread

St. Pat’s Pinwheel Cookies

St. Patrick’s Day Side Dishes

Irish Mash

St. Patrick’s Day Tablescape

Dining St. Pat’s Style

Colcannon Soup

St. Patrick’s Day Postmarks

Murphy’s in a Clogher Valley Mist

Irish Stovetop Potatoes

Lunching with Leprechauns

Celtic Apple Crumble with Irish Whiskey Cream Sauce

Irish Mist Chicken

Champ

St. Patrick’s Day Basket Vignette 

Irish Cheddar & Leek Strata

Bread Pudding with Irish Whiskey Sauce

Leeks au Gratin

Irish Whiskey Soda Bread