Chocolate Custard Muffins

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Raise your hand if you need an excuse to eat chocolate for breakfast (my hand is not raised☺).  If your hand is in fact raised, this muffin recipe is the excuse you've been looking for.  Unlike a standard muffin or quick bread, this recipe uses cornstarch and water to make a thick custard as a base for the batter.  Once baked, the dome of the muffin becomes cracked and crunchy, but the center stays soft and cake-like tender.  The ingredient list might read that these are actually dessert, but with the nutritional benefits from dark chocolate and safflower oil, I like to think these are rather good for you.  More importantly, these are absolutely scrumptious. Enjoy them for breakfast, pack in school lunches, serve as a snack, or sneak one in as a late night treat.  They are delicious on their own, but are also enjoyed with a slather of raspberry or black cherry jam.  And with Valentine's Day on the brain, I think these would be a perfect way to spread the love. I ♥ chocolate muffins.

Sunday Dinner

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Pomegranate Glazed Sausage Bits

Southern Fried Chicken

Rice and Gravy

Southern Green Beans

Biscuits 

Meyer Lemon Pudding

This is what happens when you let your 13 year old son plan the Sunday dinner menu. I asked him to plan a menu that his father and sisters would enjoy after a weekend in Wisconsin for a basketball tournament.  Without hesitation, he declared fried chicken to be the main course.  We all love fried chicken, but why do I have a feeling that he was thinking of his own appetite when planning the menu?  That's o.k.  It really has been quite some time since I fried up a batch of that southern specialty.  But since I had a bit of pomegranate juice that needed to be used up, I took charge of the appetizer.

Three ingredients (well, 4-5 if you include the hot sauce and crackers) and 10 minutes is all you need for a simple, but very flavorful starter to a meal or snack with cocktails.  It is sliced kielbasa that is glazed in a reduced syrup of pomegranate juice and ketchup (just one tablespoon). 

Serve them by themselves with toothpicks or place them atop your favorite cracker (Ritz is a good pairing). Serve them as a starter to your meal, as a snack with cocktails, or bring them to a game day party for a nice alternative to the regular mini meatballs or little smokies. Hit those meaty coins with dash or two of Tabasco and I guarantee this recipe will be filed in the "hit" category.

Sunday Dinner one year ago

Magic in the Middles

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After enjoying a delicious, savory Italian Sub Sandwich, I like to finish the meal with something sweet.  A cookie after a sandwich is always a welcome treat.  But these are not ordinary cookies. These are magic.  No, I am not talking tricks.  I am talking about a chocolate cookie dough that is stuffed with a sweetened peanut butter filling, rolled in sugar, and baked until the whole house smells like a peanut butter cup.  Put out a plate of these and they disappear before your very eyes.  Get it?!?  Good.  Now go make them!