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Lemony Blue Heart Cupcakes

January 19, 2012 By 86 Comments

It’s Kitchen Improv!!!

Have you ever watched Chopped on The Food Network?  It’s one of my favorite shows!  How those chefs combine 4 totally obscure ingredients in the most cohesive way in 20 minutes is mind blowing to me!  And though I’d love the challenge, it would take me days to figure out how to put them all together!

Luckily for me, I’ve found a more reasonable, realistic, and fun version of this concept.  It’s called Kitchen Improv.  And it is hosted by Kristen from The Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.  If Kristen is a harried homemaker, you would never know it.  She’s a wonderful chef, baker, blogger, mother, whose site is filled with amazing recipes for “family style cooking, frugal tips, and an occasional random post”.  And it is awesome!

The premise of Kitchen Improv is that each month we are given 2 ingredients to incorporate into a recipe of our choice.  I can do that!  This month we were to utilize lemons and sour cream.  A fabulous combination!  Let me show you how I worked these into a scrumptious and lemony cupcake filled with a creamy lemon and blueberry filling.  Hopefully I won’t be hearing Kristen say, “Chef Anne, you have been chopped!” [Read more...]

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Wild Blueberry Oatmeal in Warm Maple Cream

September 18, 2011 By 34 Comments

“YOU HAVE TO EAT OATMEAL OR YOU’LL DRY UP.  ANYBODY KNOWS THAT.”  Kay Thompson, author of ‘Eloise’.

Growing up in New England, and especially in the winters, my dad would very often make me oatmeal for breakfast.  To some, this may have seemed like the dreaded, dreary breakfast.  I think oatmeal has a bad rap of being a sticky, clumpy, heavy gruel.  But I have always loved it! Dad always served it with milk and maple syrup.  And I remember secretly wishing that he would be distracted while making it, because I was sure to find a lump or two in my bowl.  And I loved finding the sweet, unexpected texture of those lumps!

I still love oatmeal and eat it all year round.  And who says oatmeal can’t be sexy!  So I’ve tried to elevate it a little bit from it’s rustic form; while still giving a wink and a nod to my dad, who I miss with all my heart.  A neighbor gave me this recipe some time ago telling me how she tweaked it from when it was given to her.  And I did my own tweaking to get it to my personal liking.  Here are the basics, but I hope you will feel free to tweak away……. [Read more...]

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Summer Corn Custard with Blueberry Compote

July 20, 2011 By 23 Comments

“AH, SUMMER, WHAT POWER YOU HAVE TO MAKE US SUFFER, AND LIKE IT.”  Russell Baker

 

Every season has its harvests.  To me, summer seems to have the best!  And I think this is true in both flavor and variety.  So I wanted to share a recipe that combines two of my very favorites from the summer produce stand……corn and blueberries!   I love corn on the cob, I just don’t like to eat corn on the cob! (At least not in public! Ha!)  But I love when the corn is so sweet, you really don’t need to put butter on it.  (But I do, anyway!)  Well this custard is lovely, because you don’t grind the corn, you infuse it in with your vanilla cream!  Sounds good so far?  Wait….it gets even better……. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creamy Desserts Tagged With: , , ,

Blueberry Pie Ice Cream

July 9, 2011 By 46 Comments

“I GO RUNNING WHEN I HAVE TO.  WHEN THE ICE CREAM TRUCK IS DOING SIXTY.”  Wendy Liebman

This is so far the BEST  ice cream I have ever tasted in my life!  I love it because it truly is a great combination of pie and ice cream.  I’ve seen other recipes include graham crackers in their version of ‘pie ice creams’.  But pie to me, is crust, not crackers.

This ice cream has all the components of pie a la mode.  Sweet cream ice cream with a hint of cinnamon, fresh blueberry compote, and chunks of sweet and savory cream cheese pie crust.  You won’t be running for the ice cream truck with a pint of this in your freezer!  Check out how easy it is to throw together…….. [Read more...]

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Wild Blue Lager

July 8, 2011 By 6 Comments

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!

 

I originally intended on posting a festive cocktail for Happy Hour today.  But the late afternoon here in D.C. has been quite stormy!  So I decided to post an interesting beer that I tried over the 4th of July weekend.  It is called WILD BLUE.  And yup!  It’s a blueberry beer!  If you like a sweet tasting beer like I do (Red Stripe is one of my favorites)….then you should give this a try!

 

As you can tell by the color…..there is quite a predominance of blueberry flavor.  Not your typical beer.  But I liked it.  And I am pondering a way to put it into a dessert recipe!  Until then…..kick your feet up and have a Wild Blue….and enjoy listening to a great clip of James Taylor and Elvis Costello singing Crying In the Rain.  And have a great weekend! 

 

 



Filed Under: Beer, Sweet Happy Hour Tagged With: ,

Chilled Blueberry Soup with Honey Lemon Mascarpone

July 4, 2011 By 16 Comments

“I’M SICK OF SOUP OF THE DAY. IT’S TIME WE MADE A DECISION.  I WANT TO KNOW WHAT SOUP FROM NOW ON IS.”  Mitch Hedberg

 

Well I know what soup I’m having from now on!  I may not know the flavor, but I  can tell you it’s going to be chilled!  This is really a lightly sweet, summer dessert soup.  Just a few small ladles in a shallow bowl or dish is perfect.  I topped this with a savory honey and lemon mascarpone cheese and adorned it with a couple of toasted cream cheese pound cake croutons.  Okay….I won’t lie.  I had this for lunch after I took the picture!  Well someone had to eat it!!!  And it was delicious!!!  Now don’t get me wrong.  I love ……… [Read more...]

Filed Under: Berries Tagged With: , ,

Still Life

July 3, 2011 By 2 Comments

 

 


 


 

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Berry Basil Ice Cream

June 15, 2011 By 14 Comments

B is for BASIL

 

Well this is the second post in my series “My Spice Rack from A-Z”.  This month, I had to choose a spice beginning with the letter B.  Not sure what is in your spice rack that would fit the bill.  But I had bay leaves and basil!  While I cook enough times with both spices, I’ve never created a dessert with either.  Inspired by a poem by Keats, I chose basil!

I searched online a bit, and most recipes matched basil with lemon, and usually in a panna cotta.  I decided to keep it simple and basic and I made some ice cream.  I made it a bit differently than I usually do.  And I wonder if those of you who make ice cream can tell me the difference………. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creamy Ice Cream Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Blueberry-Vanilla Cream Cheese Hand Pies

May 7, 2011 By 6 Comments

“A MOTHER IS A PERSON WHO SEEING THERE ARE ONLY FOUR PIECES OF PIE FOR FIVE PEOPLE, PROMPTLY ANNOUNCES SHE NEVER DID CARE FOR PIE.”  Tenneva Jordan

 Well the bad news is, it is Mother’s Day weekend and my guys are once again away at school.  The good news is, this recipe makes 10 hand pies and there’s only one of me!!!  This is a perfect Saturday morning recipe.  It is quick and easy and amazing in flavor!  I love, love, love blueberries!  And I will be using them a lot as spring turns into summer.

But this recipe is simple and  delicious!  The pies are incredibly light given the buttery, flaky crust and the amount of blueberries and cream cheese packed inside of them.  They come together quickly, but the end result is something pretty special.  I hope you will give them a try and feel free to mix and match berries and liqueur.  Yum! [Read more...]

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Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Maple Blueberry Sauce

April 23, 2011 By 4 Comments

“ALL HAPPINESS DEPENDS ON A LEISURELY BREAKFAST.”  John Gunther

 

It is so nice when I have the time to make breakfast.  Most mornings I am gulping down a quick yogurt while standing up; or grabbing a Starbuck’s along the way to work.  Sometimes it just feels good to treat yourself right and make something a little special.  This is one of my favorite recipes; quick and easy.  The ricotta makes it a little savory, while the lemon keeps it light and fresh and the blueberries  add the right touch of sweetness.  A great idea for breakfast or brunch.  And it’s definitely a great way to start the day.  Today, it was a burst of sunshine on my rainy morning! [Read more...]

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