Savory Corn and Pepper Bites

I don't know when the trend began. But I can no longer eat pasta or soup or a salad without having a nice giant slice of bread next to me. I think this began when Ron and I started dating. We often ate pasta at his parents' house and there was always a basket of bread on the table. Oddly enough, I didn't start eating all of these "carbs" until the whole low-carb / no-carb diets became trendy. Perhaps it was my way of saying 'screw you' to all of the carb-naysayers out there, but I was indulging in the bread basket. And I still do!

With pasta, it's always some kind of cheese bread or garlic bread. With soup, it's always some kind of herb bread. With chili, it's always cornbread. The last time we had chili, I was looking for a different type of corn bread and landed upon a corn muffin recipe published in my Dorie Greenspan cookbook. They were supposed to be muffins, but I decided to change them to bites when I realized that I did not want to use the last of my liners. The bites have a little bit of a kick to them, but I definitely could have used more! I might have to add more jalepeno next time or maybe mix in some sharp cheddar cheese to change it up. But whatever I do, they will definitely be served with chili again.
Savory Corn and Pepper Bites
from Dorie Greenspan: Baking from My Home to Yours
Yield: 12 bites (of muffins)
Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal (stone ground is best)
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 small jalepeno, seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
• 2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  If making muffins, like 12 muffin cups with liners.  Alternatively, line a baking sheet with parchment paper if making bites.
2. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, baking powder, chili powder, baking soda, and black pepper; set aside.
3. In another large bowl, lightly whisk egg yolk, buttermilk, and butter until blended.
4. Pour liquid into the dry ingredients (mixture will be thick).
5. Fold in corn kernels, minced and diced peppers, and cilantro.  
6. Divide batter evenly (in muffin tins or as bites) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops are brown.  
7. Cool on a rack before serving.  Enjoy!

Hoisin Glazed Salmon

I often blog about my love for salmon. It is my go to meal when I am on the brink of starving and need something fast before I turn to handfuls of cereal! Salmon is such a versatile fish. It's own mild flavors tend to blend really well with sweet flavors. I had two jars of hoisin and was looking to use some, so I searched for a recipe that would add that asian flavor that I was craving.

This hoisin glazed salmon was very, very good. The preparation was simple. The meal was done in about 15 minutes. What more can you ask of a quick weeknight meal? I really enjoyed the flavors from this glaze, but I did decide that I needed something else. So, I cut some orange segments to pair with and added some sesame seeds. What a very healthy and quick dish! Serve the salmon with a hearty grain and some fresh vegetables for a complete and nutritious meal.
Hoisin Glazed Salmon
from the Meal Planner
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp fresh orange juice
• 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 2 tsp honey
• 4 salmon steaks (about 8-10 ounces and one inch thick) or 4 salmon fillets (totaling 1 lb)
• coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat the broiler.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, hoisin sauce and honey to make the glaze.
3. Season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper. Place the salmon on a rimmed baking sheet and brush both sides generously with the glaze.
4. Broil the salmon about 4 inches from the heat source. If cooking salmon steaks, baste once and cook until opaque in the center, 10-13 minutes. If using salmon fillets, cook only about 6-7 minutes until opaque in the center.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

I absolutely love stumbling upon yummy dessert recipes that you can mix up in a matter of minutes. I actually mixed these up immediately after seeing them because I had all of the ingredients on hand. These peanut butter pretzel truffles are so delicious and ridiculously easy to make. Chocolate + peanut butter + pretzels = a fantastic combination! Enjoy. :)

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles
from How Sweet it Is, originally from Eating Well
Yield: about 20 truffles
Active Time: about 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup finely chopped salted pretzels
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, melted

Instructions

1. Combine peanut butter and pretzels in a small bowl. Chill in the freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.
2. Shape the peanut butter mixture into about 20 balls (about 1 tsp each). Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper and freeze until very firm, about 1 hour.
3. Roll the frozen balls in melted chocolate.
4. Place balls in refrigerator until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.

Asian Chicken Burgers

Not too long ago, I hosted an "ethnic" week in our house. I cooked up some indian food. I made some thai food. I made some mexican food. It was quite fun and a nice adjustment to the normal weekly meals. For the most part, my ethnic week stuck with traditional meals. But my asian night went outside the box. I had spotted these chicken burgers in an issue of Food Network magazine and was excited to try them. I have had good experiences making chicken burgers in the past.

This recipe did not disappoint. They were very good, incredibly flavorful, unique and interesting. It was very easy to mix up. I highly recommend using the hoisin sauce because the burgers seem to be missing without them. As a side, I mixed up an "asian inspired brown rice" dish, that apparently took over my whole plate. It's not normally something you would eat with a burger, but it somehow worked... at least for this night. Try this tasty dish out next time you want something different.
Asian Chicken Burgers
from Food Network magazine
Ingredients

• 1 small carrot
• 1 small red onion, halved
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 Tbsp grated peeled ginger
• 4 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tsp hot Asian chili sauce, such as sambal oelek
• 8 ounces white mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• juice of 1 lime
• 4 whole-wheat sesame hamburger buns

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mist a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Grate the carrot and 1/2 onion into a large bowl. Add the chicken, panko, 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce, ginger, 3 tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp sambal oelek and mix until combined. Shape the chicken mixture into 4 patties and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, thinly slice the remaining 1/2 onion. Toss with the mushrooms, sesame oil, lime juice and the remaining 1 tsp soy sauce in a bowl. Mix the remaining 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce and 2 tsp sambal oelek with 1 Tbsp water in another bowl.
4. Warm the hamburger buns in the oven. Serve the burgers on the buns with a drizzle of the hoisin-sambal sauce and some of the mushroom mixture.

Buttermilk Blueberry Walnut Bread

My good friend, Colette, told me today that she really enjoys reading my blog. Thank you, Cole! I love that you enjoy reading my postings here on Pb and Graham! Honestly, when I started this thing, my only goal was to learn how to cook. Eventually, I felt that it was time to announce my URL because I was no longer ashamed of the crap I had been eating! It's fun to post about the food I eat (though, sometimes I will admit that I get a little annoyed about the 5-20 minutes I spend trying to get a decent picture when Ron is sitting there finished with his meal). And it's even more exciting to hear that people try and enjoy the recipes that I post. I hope that the food makes up for the incessant ramblings that occur and the occasional lackluster commentary. I enjoy finding new recipes and I enjoy sharing the good ones with my family and friends!

So in light of the smile that Colette's comment planted on my face, I've decided to post about this bright, light, and hearty bread. Yes, another delicious bread recipe. I know I just posted one, but this one is actually slightly healthy! A few posts back, I mentioned that I could not find the recipe for a quick bread that I had recently made. But, YAY! I found it. I searched for this recipe after developing a craving for blueberry muffins one day and hoping to use up some leftover buttermilk. It was sooo good. It was delicious plain, or toasted, or with a spread of butter, or some jam, or with a smeared banana. It also freezes beautifully and smelled amazing while it was baking. It easily fulfilled my craving for blueberry muffins and I highly suggest checking it out the next time you want a delicious breakfast bread.
Blueberry Buttermilk Walnut Bread
adapted from Buns in my Oven
Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients

• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 2/3 - 1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, add brown sugar, breaking up any clumps. Mix in buttermilk, applesauce, and eggs until combined.
3. Slowly add in AP flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until just combined and mixed thoroughly.
4. Gently fold in blueberries and walnuts.
5. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Double Chocolate Bread with Peanut Butter Frosting

A few weeks ago, I celebrated my birthday. And to celebrate, I obviously needed to bake up something that I normally would not bake on a random "I want dessert" type of day. So, I turned to my fabulous new cookbook, Baked Explorations, of New York Baked fame, to help.

I absolutely love reading cookbooks. I love reading the side stories that the writer is telling. I love reading the list of ingredients. I love reading about how to prepare the food. Of the 200+ pages in the book, I think I am interested in making all but one of the recipes, and this is mainly because I had to draw the line somewhere. But I kept returning to one recipe in the "breakfast" category: the Double Chocolate Loaf with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread. I love chocolate. And I love peanut butter. And I love quick breads. So, I knew this was the one.

Woah. This bread was delicious. Though, arguably, I do not think that I would really call it a bread that I would want to eat for breakfast. The ingredient list is beautiful for a dessert, but I can't really say the same for breakfast! I've made chocolate bread before, but never with this much chocolate. But I'm not going to lie - I really didn't mind all of the added chocolate. Truthfully, I probably spent about $20 just on the chocolate alone. (When I go big, I go BIG!) I've been advocating for good quality chocolate ever since I made the NY Times cookies. Sorry Hershey's. You simply can't cut it in some of these recipes. Try this bread/cake for your next special occasion. It is absolutely worth it!
*The bread freezes beautifully. I actually cut our loaf in half so we wouldn't eat it in one sitting! I'm waiting for the right time to defrost the other half. After writing this post, it might be today.

Double Chocolate Bread with Peanut Butter Frosting
from Baked Explorations
Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients
Bread

• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder (like Valrhona), sifted
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 8 ounces good quality dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped

Cream Cheese Spread

• 5 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup sugar

Instructions

1. Bread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and position the rack in the center. Butter a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan, dust it with flour, and knock out the excess flour.
2. Place the brown sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Press out any lumps with the back of a large spoon. Add the cocoa, flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk until blended, then add the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla; whisk until combined.
4. Turn the mixture to low and slowly stream the wet ingredients into the dry ones, mixing just until combined. Stir in the dark chocolate chunks by hand.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
6. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Spread: In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until incorporated. (If you are not using the spread immediately, place it in a ramekin, tightly cover it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for up to 3 days.)
8. Serve the loaf plain or toasted, topped with peanut butter spread. The loaf will keep, in an airtight contained or wrapped tightly, at room temperature for up to 3 days.

*Freezing bread is incredibly easy: let the loaf cool entirely to room temperature and just wrap tightly in two layers of plastic wrap and one layer of aluminum foil. You can freeze bread for up to two months. Bring the loaves back to room temperature by way of your fridge for 8 hours, then let sit at room temperature for 4 hours before unwrapping the loaf.

Pioneer Woman's Chicken and Dumplings

On my way home from school this morning, I took the normal route. I got on the highway, then exited to finish the remainder of the drive on the city streets. I turned on my street and noticed the most exciting thing: the road is almost back to its normal size! This means that cars can pass one another and we can see the curb! I was squealing with delight in the car because sheesh! It has been a long, long winter. This morning, a local meteorologist stated that the Twin Cities have been with 1"+ of snow for 126 days straight. The record, 136 inches, was set back in 1950 or something. And we've also started seeing grass! Albeit muddy, brown grass covered in 3"+ of muddy water, but it's GRASS! Amazing. So given the fact that spring is arriving, I need to quickly publish some of these delicious winter meals that we have been eating.

I finally tried to make the Pioneer Woman's chicken and dumplings. I had been looking for something different to do with chicken and I had never made dumplings before. This recipe was awesome! I loved watching the dumplings cook. There was some type of debate on the Pioneer Woman's site about whether this was a true chicken and dumplings dish.  But Whatever. I wouldn't know the difference and the meal was delicious! I did switch up the chicken prep (my usual boil and shred method) but I'm listing the recipe as is because I'm certain it's equally delicious. I highly suggest checking out Ree's site - and her photos - because they are amazing.
Chicken and Dumplings
from Pioneer Woman
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cups AP Flour
• 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cups finely diced carrots
• 1/2 cups finely diced celery
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp ground thyme
• 1/4 tsp tumeric
• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cups apple cider
• 1/2 cups heavy cream

Dumplings

• 1 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 Tbsp (heaping) baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 2 Tbsp freshly minced parsley (optional)
• salt as needed

Instructions

1. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then dredge both sides in flour.
2. Melt butter in a pot over medium-high heat. In two batches, brown chicken on both sides and remove to a clean plate.
3. In the same pot, add diced onion, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes over medium-low heat. Stir in ground thyme and turmeric, then pour in chicken broth and apple cider. Stir to combine, then add browned chicken. Cover pot and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. While chicken is simmering, make the dough for the dumplings; sift together all dry ingredients, then add half-and-half, stirring gently to combine. Set aside.
5. Remove chicken from pot and set aside on a plate. Use two forks to remove chicken from the bone. Shred, then add chicken to the pot. Pour heavy cream into the pot and stir to combine.
6. Drop tablespoons of dumpling dough into the simmering pot. Add minced parsley if using. Cover pot halfway and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Check seasonings; add salt if needed. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.