doughnut muffins

i'm always on a mission for a good muffin. sure, banana, blueberry, even cranberry orange are good, but they're perfectly ordinary. when i saw these doughnut muffins referenced on cakespy, they seemed like the perfect weekend breakfast treat. and they are.

the muffins are nutmeg scented, reminiscent of a powdered sugar doughnut. (when they're cool, they taste even more like a doughnut.) if you don't like getting powdered sugar down the front of your shirt, i bet these would be really good with a glaze drizzled over them too.

doughnut muffins
find the recipe at orangette

baked panko chicken tenders with honey mustard dipping sauce

if you want a really crunchy breaded crust, skip the bread crumbs, and use panko instead. panko - or japanese breadcrumbs (i find them in the asian aisle) - are simply unseasoned, course bread crumbs.



instead of getting soggy like regular bread crumbs sometimes do, panko tends to stay nice and crisp when frying or baking. whenever something is coated to be fried (think chicken and risotto cakes) it's panko all the way. if you've never used them before, i highly recommend making the switch. so how to use up that can of bread crumbs in your freezer (keeping them in the freezer slows down them getting stale)? they're a good mix in for meatballs, meat loaf, or any time you would normally use bread crumbs as a binder, instead of a crust.

last time i made these, i fried them. this time i wanted something easier, less messy, and less greasy, so i baked them. one word of advice - don't skip the buttermilk! i foolishly forgot to use it (or any other binder) and just coated my dry chicken tenders in panko (i was trying to catch up on my grey's anatomy - can you believe mark told lexi she could have a husband?! don't ruin it for me...i still have two more episodes to go!...and wasn't paying enough attention to my chicken). surprisingly it worked, but it would have been a million times better with the milk. i bet an egg scrambled with a little water would work well too.

oh and the sauce. how could i forget the sauce. this was the response i got -
"you made this? no way! this is better than the honey mustard sauce you get with chicken tenders at a restaurant!"

i used plain old wegmans yellow mustard. i bet spicy brown would be amazing.

panko chicken tenders with honey mustard dipping sauce
adapted from life's ambrosia
30 minutes start to finish, serves 4-6

for the chicken -
1 pound chicken tenders
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup buttermilk, or 2% or whole milk
salt & pepper

1. preheat the oven to 400F. line a sheet pan with aluminum foil. pound the chicken tenders thin and flat with the bottom of a pan or a meat tenderizer.
   
2. pour the panko into a large pan or bowl (i used a pyrex pie plate). season with salt & pepper.
3. pour the buttermilk into a separate bowl. add the chicken tenders and turn to coat.
4. one by one, remove the chicken from the milk, and place in the panko mixture. flip and make sure both sides and the edges are evenly coated. move to the sheet pan. repeat with the remainder.
5. bake for about 20 minutes, flipping the tenders over halfway through.
6. while the tenders bake, make the sauce.
7. for the sauce, whisk all of the following together in a bowl. serve with the tenders.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons mustard
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons honey

2011.08.15 this was one of tea and scones's selection for secret recipe club!

three cheese risotto cakes

the only thing better than risotto is leftover risotto for risotto cakes. fried to a golden crisp on the outside and rich and creamy on the inside, they're the perfect dinner paired with a big crunchy salad.

the recipe is incredibly easy and never fails.

take cold leftover risotto and warm it up a little. i usually microwave it for about 30 seconds. you want it to be warm enough to easily mold it into a cake.

when it's warm, add any additional flavor you want that wasn't in the original recipe. for these, i used leftover three cheese risotto and added a couple tablespoons of finely chopped basil and chives. depending on the original risotto recipe you made, you may want to add a bit more cheese too. mix in all your add ins. divide into portions - you're looking for about a heaping tablespoon size - don't go too much bigger or it may break when you try to flip it or be too thick and the middle won't get warmed through. the number of cakes you make will depend on how much leftover risotto you have. sometimes i end up with 4, sometimes 6, sometimes 2. just make sure they're relatively equal sized.

warm up your pan. heat a large skillet/saute pan over medium high heat. add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the bottom so it's well coated. this is not the time to skimp on oil.

while the oil heats, prepare the breading and bread the cakes. mix equal amounts of panko bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese together in a large pan or bowl. more often than not, i use a square or rectangular pyrex baker. you want something with deep sides and a surface large enough to hold at least one cake and allow you to flip it. season with salt & pepper and any other spices you like - garlic powder is a no fail choice. (but i skipped it this time since i wanted to taste the basil more than garlic.)

use your hands to form the risotto into cakes. make balls and press the balls into cakes between the palms of your hands. place in the breading. turn over and make sure both flat sides and all the way around the edge are coated.

cook in the hot oil about three minutes then flip and cook about three minutes more. if you make the cakes too big and they hang over the edge of your spatula, they'll fall apart when you flip them. you will most likely have to cook these in batches too, which is fine. don't overcrowd the pan - give them room to cook. you can keep cooked cakes warm in the oven while you finish up the second (and sometimes third) batches.

the hot cakes are best served with a side of warmed tomato sauce for dipping.

potato frittata

after a long saturday at the lilac festival full of not-good-for-me foods (an egg mcmuffin, corndog, and candy apple were all on the menu) it was time for dinner.

i know most people my age are planning their escape to a restaurant for saturday night dinner. this weekend i was definitely not one of those people. jason was working on his master's project (is it ever going to end?!) and i was finishing up housework. before i knew it, it was 8:00 and our corndogs had finally worn off.

i don't know about you, but by the time saturday afternoon rolls around, there isn't much left for food in my house. some random left overs from the previous week's meals, pasta, eggs, and milk are usually all that's left. i had some roasted potato wedges left over from earlier in the week and my original plan was to make them into breakfast potatoes (with onion and garlic) and have them with scrambled eggs. until i saw joy the baker's frittata. i was sold. why not combine the eggs and potatoes together into one perfect dish?!

i trimmed some chives from my bushes in the backyard. i bet basil, thyme, and parsley would all be good too. oh, and cheese, a little grated parmesan on top would be heavenly.

potato frittata
inspired by/adapted from joy the baker's potato frittata

about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds leftover roasted potatoes, sliced thin or cut into small cubes
5 eggs
1 small onion, chopped
3 gloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh chives, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons half & half (or heavy cream or whole milk)
salt & pepper

1. preheat your oven to 400F.
2. saute the onion and garlic in a 10 inch pan over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. if you have it, use an ovenproof pan.
3. add the potatoes and stir to coat. cook about 5 minutes, or until heated through and just starting to brown. move the potatoes around so they're evenly distributed throughout the pan.
4. whisk together the eggs, half & half, and chives. season with salt & pepper.
5. pour the egg mixture over the potatoes. do not stir. cook 3-4 minutes until the egg begins to set.
6. cover the pan with aluminum foil. if your pan is not overproof, cover the handle with aluminum foil as well. make sure the entire handle is covered.
7. move the pan into the oven and bake about 30 minutes. remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.
8. slice into wedges and serve. 

2011.11.07 this was one of Culinary Adventures with Camilla's picks for the secret recipe club!

meatball subs

i've really got to start checking my pantry for things instead of assuming i have them. and not only checking, but checking before i start cooking instead of when i need said item.

i could have sworn we had two jars of pasta sauce. yet somehow, we really had none. luckily i had a small can of diced tomatoes on hand just for instances like this. i sauteed some diced onion and minced garlic in olive oil until the onion became translucent. added the tomatoes and cooked it about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes were broken down. added a good handful of chopped basil and blended it all with my stick blender (a regular blender would work too). it was a perfect replacement. and since it came out a little thicker than the jarred stuff, we used it on the side to dip our sandwiches in.

this was a quick and easy weeknight dinner. make sure you have everything on hand and don't bake your subs too long, or the tops will burn like mine.

meatball subs
meatballs inspired by cook-eat-love

1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper
jar of your favorite pasta sauce
2 sub rolls
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1. preheat oven to 400F. mix the beef, egg, cheese, bread crumbs, and garlic. season with salt & pepper.
2. shape the meatballs using your hands and place each into a mini muffin tin.
3. bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
4. while the meatballs are cooking, heat the pasta sauce on the stove.
5. when the meatballs are done cooking, keep the oven on and put the meatballs in the sauce and cover with sauce. let simmer about 5 minutes.
6. slice open the sub rolls and line up meatballs inside. cover with mozzarella. bake in the oven about 3 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the rolls have started to crisp. be careful, it will burn fast!

2014.04.06 this was edesia's notebook's pick for the secret recipe club!