Earl Grey White Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Last night was the championship game for my dodgeball team: Dodge Caravan. Despite a stellar season, we came up short in the championship game and fell to the winners: Can't Hit This. We're usually a very competitive team and while we may not have the power, we have skill and more importantly, I feel we have the best spirit in the league. The next season starts 3 weeks from now, but I don't know if I'll be able to make it. What is Monday night without Dodgeball?

Anyway, as a treat I decided to bring some muffins to the game to celebrate the end of the season for both teams. As some of you may know, I'm a big fan of Earl Grey tea. I have a chocolate Earl Grey cookie recipe that I'm in the process of perfecting. Until then, here's a great, simple Earl Grey muffin recipe. You can't have any better combination than Earl Grey and chocolate. The two are just made to go together and Earl Grey and White Chocolate are ideal. Make sure you use large chunks of white chocolate. Mine were too small so you can't make them out in the picture, but they're there!

Earl Grey White Chocolate Chunk Muffins

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground Earl Grey tea (or more if you dare)
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chunks

Preheat the oven to 400F. Butter or spray a regular-size muffin pan or fit the pan with paper muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground Earl Grey tea. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don't worry about being thorough - a few lumps are better than over mixing the batter. Stir in the white chocolate chunks. Divide the batter evenly among the muffins cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.

Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin.

Aubergine Charlottes, Cilantro Cream Pasta, Orange w/Caramel Zest Strips

What a lazy, lazy day. Today is the type of day that you just don't want to do anything but read comics, watch TV and just relax with your dog. Things have been rather hectic at home: new season, new job, a growing puppy. I've decided to start an herb garden on my deck. Growing up, my mom always grew fresh cilantro since she practically used it every day. Plus, it's hard getting fresh cilantro at the grocery stores here, without traveling to Pete's Frootique, which is a fair distance. I decided to keep it simple and grow my top three herbs: cilantro, flat leaf parsley and thyme. The next planter box will most likely have oregano, basil and dill.
There really isn't a theme for today's Sunday dinner. These are just fun dishes I haven't had in awhile and enjoy making. This is a simple but impressive looking three-course meal. We start out with Aubergine & Cumin Charlottes with a simple garden salad. The main dish will be one of my favorites: Bow-Tie(farfelle) pasta with smoked salmon in a Cilantro cream sauce. Dessert will be a light Orange with Caramel & Candied Zest.

Appetizer:
Aubergine and Cumin Charlottes

• 2 medium eggplants
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 pinch Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup fresh goat cheese

Heat the oven to broil.
Slice one eggplant lengthwise into 1/4-inch/5 mm slices. Brush with olive oil and season lightly. Broil until soft and golden, 10 to 15 minutes (they should not get crisp).

Turn the oven down to 375°F\190°C. Cut the other eggplant in half. Brush the surface with oil and lay cut-side down on a baking sheet. Bake until very soft, about 40 minutes. Remove.

Scrape the flesh from the baked aubergine halves into a bowl. Mix in the ground cumin, eggs, and milk. Season with salt and pepper.

Line ramekin dishes with the grilled aubergine slices, leaving an edge hanging over. Spoon in a layer of creamed aubergine mixture, scatter over with the chèvre. Top with a second layer of aubergine mixture. Fold the slices in over top. Set on a baking sheet. Bake until set, about 20 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes before turning out.

Main Dish:
Pasta w/Cilantro and Smoked Salmon

• 3 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 jalapeño chili, seeded
• Fresh cilantro bunch, chopped
  
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 12 ounces bow-tie pasta
• 1/4 pound sliced smoked salmon, cut into strips
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Using a food processor on medium speed, drop garlic and chili through feed tube; chop finely. Add cilantro; chop finely. Add cream; blend until thick, using on/off turns. Add lime juice. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta. Return to same pot. Mix in sauce. Add salmon and chives.

Dessert:
Oranges with Amber Caramel and Candied Zest

• 4 organic oranges, scrubbed clean
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water (more as needed)
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted (optional)
  
• Vanilla Ice Cream
  

Slice the ends off the oranges, and discard. Working from the top to the bottom, slice the peel off in strips, to reveal the orange flesh. Cut the white pith from the back of the peel with a sharp knife, and discard. Slice the orange peel into fine julienne strips, put it in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Drain, and rinse under cold running water. Repeat this process three times.

Cut out the sections from the oranges into a bowl, squeezing any juice out of the membrane before discarding it. Set aside. Pour the sugar into a large heavy saucepan. Melt it to caramel and let it get a dark amber colour, without letting it burn. Pour over the water and drain in any juice that has pooled around the orange slices. Leave on the heat until the caramel dissolves, as it will have seized. Add the drained julienne of zests and boil until they turn translucent, then become candy coated and a dark amber colour, 5 to 10 minutes. The zests will be sweet and chewy with a faint hint of bitterness and intense orange flavour.

Add about 4 spoonfuls of this caramel with candied orange to the fresh orange slices, and toss. Cover, and set aside in a cool place until serving. (Cool the remaining caramel and julienne somewhat. If too thick, thin out with a bit of water to achieve a thick syrup. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator: it will keep for at least six months.)

Serve the oranges with their caramel and candied peel with lightly toasted almond slivers and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Chicken Tikka with Zucchini and Fenugreek Seeds

I am SO sorry for the lack of posts, but I have a good excuse. I am very happy to announce that we have a new addition to the Zalera family (no, it's not what you think): Joanne and I picked up a new puppy in January. Her name is Katara. She was born at the beginning of December, making her 12 weeks as of this posting.

She is part Shepard, black Lab and Retriever, which means she's going to be one big and energetic dog. As you can imagine, she's been a handful so far and has been taking up a lot of our time. Now that she's been housetrained and used to the house (and Tobie), I can relax and start posting new recipes.

Every Sunday is a ritual at our house; Joanne and I invite her parents over for dinner. Even though we all live under the same roof, we rarely see each other. This gives us a chance to catch up on what's going on with everyone.
This particular Sunday I wanted to make a nice, three course meal. We started out with a really simple and light appetizer of bacon-wrapped bean sprouts with a honey mustard sauce. I never knew just how great everything could taste wrapped in bacon. I'm wrapping everything in bacon now! The trick to this dish is to have a HOT frying pan to cook the bacon quickly, without making the sprouts soggy.
The preparation for the main dish, Chicken Tikka, was done the night before. Even though you can get away with marinating the chicken for three hours, it's better if you leave it overnight. This is a GREAT summer recipe too, just use bone-in chicken pieces and grill on the BBQ. On sunday night, though, I used boneless breasts, cut into medium sized pieces. I added a simple zucchini side dish with Fenugreek seeds and served it with an extra side of rice.

Lastly, I served a simple but fun berry crumble dessert. I used blackberries and raspberries, but you can use whatever is in season at your local grocer/food market. Using berries is just a nice way of shaking things up from the typical apple crumble.

Appetizer:
Bacon Wrapped Bean Sprouts

• 6 strips bacon
• 100g bean sprouts, wash thoroughly, drain well
• salt and pepper
• fresh herbs for garnish (optional)

In a frying pan, lay the bacon strips side by side. Turn the stove to medium heat, cook bacon until they are haft-cooked and brown - but not crispy. Remove bacon from the pan.

Place the sprouts in small bunches on the bacon strip and sprinkle them with a little bit of salt and pepper. Roll and wrap with each bacon strip. Secure with toothpicks.

Put them back to the hot frying pan. Turn and cook until the bacon is crispy and the bean sprouts are cooked through. Remove toothpicks before serving. Garnish with your favorite fresh herbs (I used cilantro).

Main Dish:
Chicken Tikka
Spice Paste

• 1 Tbsp coarsely crushed black peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp garam masala
• 2 tspn ground cumin
• 2 tspn dried oregano
• 1 tspn salt
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp plain yogurt

• 1kg chicken pieces
• 1 large onion sliced
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil

Combine all the ingredients for the spice paste in a bowl and mix well. Rub the paste over the chicken as evenly as possible. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

Arrange onion slices in the bottom of a heatproof dish. Drizzle oil over the onions.

Arrange the marinated chicken pieces on top of the onion and cook under a preheated broiler, turning over once, half-way, during the 25-30 minutes cooking time.

Side Dish:
Zucchini & Fenugreek Seeds

• 6 Tbsp oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 tspn finely chopped ginger root
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 tspn chilli powder
• 2 medium zucchinis, sliced
• 2 smal tomatoes, sliced
• fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 tspn fenugreek seeds
• fresh cilantro, to garnish

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, ginger, garlic and chilli powder, stirring well to combine.

Add the zucchini and tomatoes and stir-fry for 5-7 minutes.

Add the cilantro and fenugreek seeds to the mixture and stir-fry for another 5 minutes.

Remove and transfer to serving dish. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve hot.


Dessert:
Berry Crumble
Filling

• 3 cups of your favorite berries or mix of berries (I used blackberries and raspberries)
  
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1/8 c flour
• Tbsp orange juice
  

Topping

• 1/2 c flour
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/8 c sugar
• 1/8 tsp Kosher salt
• 4 Tbsp cold butter
• 1/4 cup dry oats
• almond slices (optional)
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Start with the filling: toss all ingredients into a saucepan on low heat until combined. Pour berry mixture into 4 little ramekin dishes.

Next, work on the topping: Add flour, brown sugar, sugar, salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Cut up the butter and add to mixture, pulse until size of peas. Pour topping mixture into a bowl and stir in dry oats.

Place a few Tablespoons of topping over the berries in the ramekins.
You can even sprinkle some sliced almonds over the top for extra crunch and taste.

Bake these on a lined baking sheet until warm and bubbly, roughly 30 minutes.

Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream!