Blueberry Buckle

Adam has been telling me I have to make blueberry buckle for awhile now, but as I mentioned, I haven’t been doing much cooking/baking as of late.

This weekend I decided to finally give it a whirl, since it’s one of his favorite things his mom makes. I baked it a little too long, but other than that, I think it turned out well. It was really delicious. Kind of like a blueberry crumb muffin in cake form.

Next time, I’ll shave 10 minutes off the baking time.

This is good for dessert, it would also be great to serve at brunch. You can serve it with whipped cream or ice cream, but I just ate it plain. I think you could probably also substitute other fruit: raspberries, peaches, apples. Go crazy, people!

Blueberry Buckle

Ingredients
For the Cake:

• 2 cups and 1-2 Tbsp of sifted, all purpose flour separated
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups blueberries

For the topping:

•  1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
•  1/2 cup sugar
•  1/3 cup sifted all purpose flour
•  1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease an 8-inch springform pan. Set aside. (I didn’t have a springform pan with me at Adam’s, so I just used a 9 x 9 square cake pan, which worked fine. A round cake pan would work, too.
2. Sift together the 2 cups of flour, the baking powder and the salt. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixtrue in 3 parts, alternating with the milk. Toss the berries with the remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour (to separate and scatter evenly throughout the batter) and fold in. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Set aside.
3. Combine ingredients for topping with a fork to make crumbly mixture. Sprinkle this over the batter.
4. Bake for one hour, then test for doneness by gently inserting a fork. If it does not come out clean, give the cake another 5 to 10 minutes to bake. (As I said, I would cut this to 45–50 minutes next time. At the very least, start keeping a close eye on it when you get to 45 minutes.)
5. When the cake has cooled, run a knife around the edges and lift the cake out of the pan.

Blackened Chicken Pasta

Well, I’m back. Kind of. I apologize for my lengthy absence. Life has been, to put it mildly, a little busy lately. I’ve been working on a huge project at work since May, and I have pretty much been eating, sleeping, and breathing it since then.

I haven’t been cooking much — takeout has become my new best friend. But finally, I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and so I return, hopefully to become a much more regular cook (and blogger).

A few weeks ago, I did manage to whip up something yummy for Adam (the previously-referred to “boyfriend”). He requested Blackened Chicken Pasta. I had never made it, but I like to try new things. So I went out in search of ingredients, and I must say, the final product was delicious. It reheated well and we enjoyed it all weekend.

So, loyal readers, try this one out. It’s a winner.

Blackened Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

• 4 (5-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup blackening spice (recommended: Paul Prudhomme’s Chicken)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 cup roughly chopped marinated sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 3 cups heavy cream
  
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound cooked fettuccine
• 1/2 cup sliced scallions

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Dredge the chicken breasts in the blackening spice and place in a cast iron skillet over very high heat. Blacken both sides of the chicken and place in the oven for 10 minutes, or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Slice in strips on the bias and set aside.

In a saute pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Add garlic and lightly caramelize. Then add the sun-dried tomatoes and the chicken slices. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add the heavy cream, increase the heat to a simmer, and reduce the cream sauce by half.

When the cream sauce is to desired consistency, stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan, salt, pepper, and pasta.

Nest the pasta on large rimmed plates, pour sauce over pasta, and garnish with scallions and the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.

Cilantro Lime Rice

If you’ve ever eaten at Chipotle, you understand this rice.

White rice bores me. I’d rather eat brown rice because at least it has some taste. If I eat white rice I have to smother it in soy sauce (I know, healthy).

This rice, however, is great. It has just the right amount of flavor to make life interesting.

I’ve tried making iterations of this rice before. It’s come out too dry, too limey, too sticky.

Then I found this recipe. I think this is the closest I can come to Chipotle’s version. I made this as a side dish for dinner Saturday night. It’s a good accompaniment to any Mexican dish and would be good with grilled fish or shrimp.

Cilantro Lime Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup white basmati rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted.
2. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute.
3. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil.
4. Once the water is boiling, cover the pot, and lower heat. Simmer until rice is tender and water is absorbed, about 25 minutes.
5. Add cilantro and fluff with a fork.