Pan Roasted Chicken

A simple meal like roasted chicken is so comforting on a cold and dreary Sunday. Just the smell of the chicken roasting makes you feel warm and cozy inside. It must have made Shiloh feel warm, cozy and hungry because he stayed in the kitchen the entire time the chicken was roasting, snoring contentedly on the rug in front of the oven.

I adapted this recipe from one I saw at Boston Chef. It starts off with a good pan sear on the stove top and then goes into a preheated oven to finish up. You end up with really flavorful meat and a nice, crispy skin. And perfect drippings for a quick pan gravy. Add mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and you've got the perfect Sunday dinner.

Pan Roasted Chicken
1 small broiler chicken
1/2 stick butter (room temperature)
salt/pepper
poultry seasoning
1 Tablespoon EVOO

Remove backbone from chicken so it lays flat. If you don't have quality kitchen scissors, ask your butcher to remove it. Loosen the skin covering the breast and run your finger under the skin to separate from the meat. Take 2 tablespoon of butter and put under the skin, 1 tablespoon on each side. Sprinkle with salt, pepper & poultry seasoning. Place breast side down in pre-heated olive-oil coated skillet for 6-8 minutes. Move to oven for 15 minutes. After 15 mintues,remove from oven and turn chicken over, coating with remaining butter. Return to oven for about 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 175 (thigh/leg).

Red Velvet Cupcakes

What is better for Valentine's Day than Red Velvet Cupcakes? I've had this recipe set aside as a Valentine's treat since I saw Red Velvet Cupcakes decorated like this in a Christmas catalog at a ridiculously expensive price. For the crumbs on top, I set aside two cupcakes and grated them using a microplane. Delicious and beautiful, these cupcakes are the perfect treat for family, friends & co-workers. I'm actually taking a dozen into the office in the morning and saving the rest for Saturday.

Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting. After frosting, lightly sprinkle with cupcake crumbs.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

We have come to know & love the Strawberry Lady, a produce carrier from Florida who stops by my workplace weekly, allowing us to have deliciously ripe strawberries in the middle of January. And at only $24 a flat, you can't beat the price.

We devoured the first few pints, dipping some in melted chocolate & adding sliced berries to our breakfast cereal. But then we slowed down...way down. Not wanting to let the berries go to waste, I decided to try making freezer jam on Saturday. It is incredibly easy & tasty and there is something so satisfying about knowing you made it yourself.

If you try this, be sure to check out Ball's new plastic freezer jars.

STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM

INGREDIENTS
2 cups crushed fresh strawberries
4 cups sugar
1 (1.75 ounce) package dry pectin
3/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS
1. Mix crushed strawberries with sugar, and let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the pectin into the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Stir the boiling water into the strawberries. Allow to stand for 3 minutes before pouring into jars or other storage containers.

2. Place tops on the containers, and leave for 24 hours. Place into freezer, and store frozen until ready to use.

When Customer Service Goes Bad...

When you work in customer service, which I do, you know that the customer is always right. At least that's how it's supposed to be. That wasn't the case when I went to pick up the fresh turkey breast I had ordered for Thanksgiving dinner from our local meat market. Not only did I call the order in 9 days in advance, I even called a few days later to confirm it. I went to pick up my order on my lunch hour today, only to be told that I had ordered a whole, partially frozen turkey. Um, excuse me, but I think I know very well the difference between a turkey breast & a whole turkey. The manager, who happens to be the owner's daughter, offered no apologies, simply telling me that my order had been written on the wrong page of their very professional order system, a spiral-bound notebook. When I inquired as to who had taken the order, I was told that they had 6 different people handling phone orders, so she couldn't be quite sure who was responsible for my order landing on the wrong page. Finding it hard to believe there were no more turkey breasts available, I was told that they were all "spoken for" (by people whose order landed on the "right" page I suppose) and again offered the frozen turkey. No apologies, no discounts, no simple courtesy...nothing. I guess they would prefer having me tell people how lacking their customer service is, rather than how they turned a bad situation into a good one.

THANKSGIVING - ONE WEEK AWAY!

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? My favorite holiday is only a week away. My mom is hosting the family dinner this year & I'm responsible for the turkey, stuffing & a dessert. I'm fixing a fresh turkey breast using my tried & true recipe from Martha Stewart. It's a recipe I've used for several years and it does not disappoint. I'll serve it along with my mother-in-law's holiday stuffing. As for the dessert, I'm still trying to decide between my cranberry bread pudding & an apple butter pumpkin pie.

What's on your menu?

Chunky Monkey Muffins

Who doesn't love Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream? Bananas, walnuts & dark chocolate...yum! And that combination works just as well in muffins. I took my favorite banana nut muffin recipe from Tyler Florence & changed it just a bit, using walnuts instead of pecans & adding dark chocolate. They made a perfect Sunday morning breakfast.

CHUNKY MONKEY MUFFINS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly butter 12 muffin tins or use paper liners.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CARROT RAISIN CUPCAKES

Purist bakers out there may not want to read any further. Because for these cupcakes I used *gasp* a boxed cake mix. I saw an ad in Better Homes & Gardens magazine for Duncan Hines new Decadent Carrot Cake and decided to give it a try. This new mix differs from other boxed mixes as it contains a package of raisins & shredded carrots that you soak in hot water for at least 5 minutes before adding to the cake batter. That must be where the decadence comes in because it really does give the cupcakes that homemade taste & texture. I picked up the mix when I did our weekly grocery shopping on Saturday & whipped up these cupcakes yesterday, using the recipe listed on the side of the box. Lightly frosted with a homemade cream cheese icing, they made a pretty tasty breakfast this morning. And even though I love my homemade carrot cake, this mix is definitely worth a try.

CARROT RAISIN CUPCAKES
recipe courtesy Duncan Hines

• 1 box Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Decadent Carrot Cake
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup water (add carrot/raisin pouch and allow to stand 5 minutes)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup drained crushed pineapple (see below for other options)
• 1 16oz container Duncan Hines® Creamy Home-Style Cream Cheese Frosting

For Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare 12-cup* cupcake pans lined with paper baking cups. Add carrot/raisin pouch to the 1 cup of water and allow to stand for a minimum of 5 minutes. In a mixing bowl, add cake mix, flour, baking powder, eggs, oil, drained pineapple, and carrot/raisin/water mixture. Mix by hand until completely blended, approximately 50 strokes. Pour batter into paper-lined cupcake pans 2/3 full. Bake cupcakes for 20 - 22 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool in pans for 15 minute on wire rack, then remove from pans and cool completely on rack before frosting.

Variations:
For a different flavor, replace pineapple with white chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips.

*Note from Tonia - this recipe actually makes 18 cupcakes.