Beyond Beef

Burgers are the quintessential comfort food grilled throughout the year; and now the patty is exploding beyond the beef...

Blueberry Nut Muffin

The Blueberry Nut Muffin is the most popular muffin! No sweat if fresh blueberries are not available, a good quality frozen berry will do just fine. Note, I usually stock up my freezer with summer blueberries for recipes just like this. Oh, and blueberry just happen to be my favorite muffin too!

 

Tip: Did you know? Tossing blueberries with flour before adding them to the batter will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin during baking. 

Blueberry Nut Muffins
Recipe by George Hirsch | Makes 10-12 muffins

For the topping:
1/3 cup lite brown sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons nuts, walnuts or pecans, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1 Tablespoon sweet butter

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nuts. Blend butter in with a fork until mixture is crumb like.

For the muffin mix:
1/2 cup sweet butter, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon flour for coating blueberries, plus greasing muffin cups
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup pure cane granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup milk

Grease a regular size 12-cup muffin pan with butter and dust with flour, banging out excess flour; or use muffin cups liners.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. 

In a separate bowl use a mixer to cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla and orange zest to beaten eggs, then add eggs one at a time, mixing until eggs are absorbed. 

With the mixer on low speed, add flour mixture and milk in three stages, mixing until all are incorporated.  Do not over mix. 

Toss blueberries in a fine strainer with about one Tablespoon of flour to lightly coat. Using a rubber spatula, fold in 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries. With an ice cream scoop or large spoon, place batter into muffin cups filling each cup to three quarters full. Add remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries on top of the muffins and divide crumb topping over muffins.  

Bake about 25-30 minutes, until muffins are golden brown. Check muffins half way through and rotate if oven temperature is uneven. Test with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin and it should come out clean; or when touched lightly the muffin should have a slight resistance to finger pressure.  

Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove muffins from pan.

Tip: Did you know? Tossing blueberries with flour before adding them to the batter will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin during baking. 

Dedicating today's Muffin Monday's post to the Blueberry Nut Muffin, the most popular muffin! No sweat if fresh blueberries are not available, a good quality frozen berry will do just fine. Note, I usually stock up my freezer with summer blueberries for recipes just like this. Oh, and blueberry just happen to be my favorite muffin too!

Quiche or Tart

Some people think the bigger the better. OK, if you like that kind of stuff. But I've always made my quiche tart-like in delicate proportions. Meaning, packed with flavor, but reaching only an inch high - which is the height of my tart pan. Makes sense, right?

But, more important than the height is the bottom crust. No soggy bottom on my quiche/ tart. Pre-bake lightly, cool, and then your ready to add the filling and resume baking. You are guaranteed, a fully baked non-soggy crust.  

Broccoli Ham Quiche

Recipe by Chef George Hirsch | Makes six servings 

1 nine inch pre-baked pie crust
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup sweet onion, chopped
1 cup broccoli florets, cooked & chopped
1 cup Smoked Ham, chopped
4 eggs, well beaten
1 pint half & half
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
Pinch fresh grated nutmeg
Fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Beat eggs with half & half, parmesan cheese, hot sauce, nutmeg, and pepper. 

Add olive oil to sauté pan, heat ham, cook onions and broccoli until slightly tender. Cool and put in pre baked pie shell. Pour egg mixture over the filling and place in oven. 

After 20 minutes, the eggs begin to set, lower the heat to 350 degrees for 4-5 minutes, until firm yet moist. 

Grow It, Grill It

Sometimes to go forward in life we just need to look where we came from, our ancestors. The sustainable way of life has lit a fire, (no pun intended) under many people today in the US. A trend I hope sticks around. The funny thing is if we just travel 8 hours by plane to many places in Europe; like Ireland, Italy and Sweden, we can see first hand how simple it is, because this kind of lifestyle hasn't changed much for many there. They still grow it, raise it, cook it, grill it and in this case - just keep the recipes simple. 

homemade manicotti I was so fortunate to have been embraced by the beautiful Barba family, who own Trattoria La Tagliata, perched high in the hills above Positano. You know, that Amalfi coastal village made extra famous in the movie, 'Under The Tuscan Sun'. This trattoria is hidden from the tour buses and shops. And you'll find centuries old-style cooking. Sustainable is an understatement there; the wines, olives, olive oil, cheeses and meats are all raised by the family.

very fresh mozzarella and vine ripened tomatoes

A combination of fresh ingredients and traditional family recipes, made from their hillside farm crops create simple tasty, original dishes. The Barba family uses every inch of their steep hillside property. The olive trees are artistically grown among lemon trees, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, basil and chickens on the loose.

The part that really struck me was the way the family works together. Everyone has an important role. Bartolo Barba (nicknamed O'Baron) helped La Tagliata blossom and grow through his brotherly love. He's the king of the grill and knows all the secrets of cooking meat to perfection. To describe the precise taste of his meats are, well, you just have to taste it. It's not just one thing- the magic of meat, meets fire and smoke.

Luigi Barba, (bellow, nicknamed O'Cheffon) had a vision. His passion for good and wholesome food took him to a piece of land high up on a hill and with his dedication he realized a dream come true, at La Tagliata.

Dora his wife, has always worked with her husbend, O'Cheffone. She enriches each recipe with her experience. Her dedication contributed to Tagliata becoming a family business. Her smile always warming, awaits you and encourages you to mangi or eat up. 

Enzo and Peppino are the sons of O'Cheffone and Dora. They were raised with good work ethics from their parents. Thanks to strong family values and love of their land, they have continued improving the family business created by their father.

So the story is- grow it, cook it, or grill it and do anything for that matter with love and it will be good!

Magnoodles

Good things happen, when great people step up™. 

I've been involved for many years on hunger and nutitional related causes especially geared to benefiting childern. Today I am delighted to support Maganoodles relief effort in DC at the Capital Area Food Bank. 

Concerned with her family’s diet after battling breast cancer followed by her husband’s fight with cancer and heart issues, 55 year old Aileen Magnotto created an all natural multi-grain vegetable based pasta (MAGNOODLES Pasta) now sold in markets and online.

Today, I'll be teaching kids how to cook a healthy pasta dinner with food bank ingredients. The new Capital Area Food Bank will receive more than 23,000 much needed servings of multi-grain pasta to feed local families thanks to the generosity of Magnoodles Pasta.

Way to go Aileen!