BB BRC Orange Blueberry Scones

If only I had tried this scone recipe years ago…Before I tried other recipes.  Before I tried package recipes.  None of them compare to this one.  This one rivals the perfect scones we had at the inn we stayed in during our recent trip to Maine; the scones I regretted not getting the recipe for before we left.  But now I have my own perfect recipe.  The recipe that makes flakey and butter scones, not rocks.  Scones that are closer to soft and savory biscuits than rocks.  You’re probably thinking, I’ll take any recipe that doesn’t produce scones that are like rocks. But not every recipe will turn out like this one. I promise.

So to adapt the recipe for our preferences, I only had to swap out the cranberries for blueberries (I used fresh).  I did double the amount of orange zest based on the Musings comments but honestly, I could have used more zest. They needed a wee bit more zip.  Other than that, they were perfect and as a testament to these scones, my dad ate 3 of them during an already large Father’s Day breakfast last weekend.

Thanks to Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef for choosing this recipe as her BRC Recipe this month!!

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Are you wondering if you can freeze scones? Why yes, yes you can. They will actually puff up better and are flakier when baking them from the freezer because the butter is nice and cold.  Simply roll out the dough, cut the scones into desired shape(s) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Freeze the unbaked scones until hard then transfer them to a ziptop bag.  When you’re ready to bake, place the frozen scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake at 400 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or until nicely browned on top – do not thaw the scones before baking them. Frozen scones will keep well for a few months.

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Cranberry Orange Scones

source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home, page 214

• 4 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
• 4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 4 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy! Combine the dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of flour, add to the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.
3. Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn’t stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.
4. Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice, and drizzle over the scones.

BB: Gazpacho

Right off the bat I’ll say that I was not looking forward to making gazpacho. I had a bad experience as a kid with the cold [blueberry] soup that my grandmother made ::shudder::.  Granted, she’s never been a great cook but I’ve always avoided cold soup since that day.

However, since this group isn’t about taking the easy way out and skipping a recipe just because I may not like something, I forced myself to make the soup…and I LOVED it.  It was full of spicy-tomatoey goodness and I took Ina’s advice seriously when she stressed not to overprocess the veggies in the food processor; they added a nice textural difference to the soup which Kyle likened to eating salsa.  I put the recipe together one morning before work in the course of 15 minutes and let it chill all day…what a nice no-cook meal to come home to! Since this was the 4th or 5th soup recipe I’ve made from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, I don’t see how it could have been bad!!

My thanks go out to Meryl of My Bit of Earth for choosing a recipe that most of the group had never made before and forcing me to try yet another recipe I would not have tried on my own. Be sure to head on over to Barefoot Bloggers to check out the ever-growing list of members!

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One year ago: Perfection Poundcake and BB Parmesan Chicken

Two years ago: Choco-Peanut Butter Cups, Veggie Stuffed Chicken w/ Roasted Red Pepper Basil Sauce, and Apple Crisp Pie and Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cakes

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Gazpacho

source: Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, page 79

WW Points = 3

• 1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1. Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!
2. After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

Grilled Spice-Rubbed Shrimp “Niçoise” Salad

Up until about 3 months ago, I wasn’t able to watch any Bobby Flay show on FoodNetwork with Kyle in the room.  He couldn’t stand Bobby, saying that he was way too full of himself. Well, duh. But I’ve always thought that this personality trait was what made Bobby so good at what he does.  And because of this pull and push about this FN celeb, I never really got around to making any of Bobby’s recipes until we came across a recipe for sausage-stuffed portobello mushrooms back in March.  We loved the recipe but I never blogged about it because my photos were horrific – you can pop over to Annie’s blog for the recipe and some really pretty photos though.  And after testing this one out, we were both sold on Bobby’s abilities.  After all that time.  But I digress.

So when perusing the cookbook section of my local bookstore last month, I picked up Bobby’s Grill It! cookbook and after flipping through for a few minutes, I was sold.  This recipe here is the first one we’ve tried from the book and we were very, very pleased with the results.  And you can thank Kyle for choosing it (go figure).   It is a wee bit time-consuming of a recipe and I requested that Kyle help me with the prep the next time we make it but the salad was certainly worth every bit of my time; it was FABULOUS!!!  I do recommend cutting down the spice rub for the shrimp by half because it was very strong but I wouldn’t change a single thing about the rest of the recipe.  It’s a salad full of beans, tomatoes, onions, grilled fingerling potatoes (yum!!!) and topped with grilled shrimp (though traditionally topped with tuna) and a delicious vinaigrette. And mom, if you’re reading this, I ate  (and loved!) the green beans!! Only you would be so proud!!  So if you’re looking for an impressive main course salad to serve to guests this summer, you must give this one a try!!

Grilled Spice-Rubbed Shrimp “Niçoise” Salad

source: Bobby Flay, Grill It!, pages 227-228

For the salad:

• Kosher salt
• 4 ounces fresh wax beans (which I couldn’t find so I omitted)
• 4 ounces fresh green beans
• 1 pound fingerling potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound red and yellow grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Niçoise Vinaigrette, recipe follows

For the Spice-Rubbed Shrimp:

• 4 teaspoons ground fennel seed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound jumbo (21 to 25 count) shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1/4 cup olive oil

1. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice water and set aside.
2. Bring a medium pot of salted cold water to a boil. Add the yellow and green beans and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until just crisp-tender. Drain and immediately plunge into the ice water to stop the cooking. Let sit in the ice water for a few minutes, and then drain well.
3. Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with salted cold water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are almost cooked through (a knife or skewer inserted into the center should meet just a little resistance), 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well and let cool slightly.
4. Heat your grill to high.
5. Once cool enough to handle, slice the potatoes lengthwise, brush with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place on the grill, cut side down, and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn over and grill until just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Keep the grill on.
6. Combine the cooked beans, grilled potatoes, tomatoes, onion, basil and parsley in a large bowl. Ad the vinaigrette and gently toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let sit at room temperature while you prepare the shrimp.
7. To make the spice rub, combine the fennel, mustard and coriander with the salt and pepper in a bowl.
8. Put the shrimp in a large bowl and toss with the spice rub until evenly coated. Add the 1/4 cup olive oil and toss to coat. Place the shrimp on the grates of the grill in an even layer and grill until golden brown and slightly charred, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Turn the shrimp over and continue grilling until just cooked through, 45 seconds to 1 minute longer.
9. Arrange the salad on 4 large plates and top with the shrimp.

For the Niçoise Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon anchovy paste (don’t skip this!!)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, honey, garlic and anchovy paste and season with salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.

Chicken Gyros

I think you might find this very recipe pop up on a few other blogs in the coming days and I certainly hope you will consider making it yourself because these gyros are fantastic!! Granted, neither Kyle nor myself had ever eaten gyros before so we don’t really have anything to compare them to but when I saw them over at Annie’s Eats and that they were Elly’s recipe, I had to give them a fair shot.  How could they not be good coming from a person whose blog name is Elly Says Opa! ??

Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to make this one but trust me, you won’t be sorry! I had huge issues straining the water off the yogurt with cheesecloth and after a huge white mess I figured out how to make it work.  I only let it strain for about 2 hours but the leftover yogurt seemed to be plenty thick enough.  I should have read Elly’s tzatziki post before making it since she does note that using Greek yogurt (like Fage) will work fine because it is already strained and thick.  This would have considerably cut down on the prep time. And in another attempt to cut down on the prep time, I took Annie’s suggestion and use my food processor’s shredder attachment (for the first time which was tons of fun!!).

The chicken was bursting with flavor with a little tanginess from the yogurt in the marinade and the tzatziki sauce was both refreshing from the cukes and powerful from the fresh garlic (which we love!).  And the combination of the tzatziki and the chicken was to die for.  My only regret about the dish was not making my own pitas, which I will definitely do this weekend when I make these gyros again.  I ran out of time on Sunday and was bouncing between the yard and the kitchen trying to get things done in both areas and making pitas just wasn’t in the cards.  Keep your eye open for that post next week though!!

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One year ago: Pasta, Pesto, and Peas

Two years ago: Creamy Orzo with Herb-Rubbed Grilled Chicken

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Chicken Gyros

source: found on Annie’s Eats and adapted from Elly Says Opa!

For the tzatziki sauce:

• 16 oz. plain yogurt (not nonfat, if possible)
• 1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
• 2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
• 1 tsp. white wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

For the chicken:

• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 heaping tbsp. plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/4 lbs. chicken pieces (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

To assemble:

• Pita bread
• Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
• Red onion, sliced thin

1. To make the tzatziki sauce, strain the yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl.  Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible.
2. Shred the cucumber.  Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible.  Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
3. To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl.  Whisk together until mixed well.  If using chicken breasts, cut the breasts into 1/2″ strips and add the chicken pieces to the bowl; mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
4. Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler (I grilled them). Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.
5. Heat pitas.  Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions.  Serve immediately.

BB: Curried Couscous

It’s Thursday again, Barefoot Bloggers posting day…and for this recipe, I’d truly like to thank Ellyn of Recipe Collector and Tester for going out on a limb and choosing an atypical Ina Garten recipe that forced me to make something I would NEVER have considered making. Ever.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’ve loved just about every single recipe that has been chosen for the group so far but this one was different.  It had curry, the one ingredient that I’d been dying to try but was frankly terrified of.  I’ve kept my distance from Indian/Thai/Middle Eastern food where curry is the main ingredient because I’ve always been told that it is hot hot hot.  But Ina proved this absurd misconception wrong because this recipe calls for a sweet curry with just a wee bit of heat.  And that I can handle.

The recipe was a cinch to pull together even though I used Israeli couscous that had to be cooked according to the package directions (toast in a saucepan with some olive oil then boil for 12 minutes).  And I’m so so happy that I used Israeli couscous rather than traditional because not only did Kyle like the this couscous (he doesn’t like traditional) but it was so much fun to eat! As you can see in the photos the couscous are like little baubles and the texture was just great.  Speaking of texture though, it was a little awkward with small diced carrots (too crunchy) and next time I’ll  shred them so that they mesh a little better with the rest of the dish. I’ll also reduce the salt to 1 tsp next time as the extra 1/2 tsp seemed to really make a difference.  I’ve incorporated my changes below.

I was completely surprised with how much I loved this dish and am even more bowled over by how much better it was today as leftovers!!  We served the couscous as a side to grilled chicken sprinkled with Turkish seasoning so that the chicken complemented the couscous and didn’t overload us with curry flavor.  This is definitely another winner from Ina!!

If you haven’t stopped by Barefoot Bloggers recently, be sure to check out how this couscous turned out for everyone else!

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One year ago: La Palette’s Strawberry Tart

Two years ago: Peanut Butter and “Jelly” Cupcakes

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Curried Couscous

source: Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, page 94

• 1 1/2 cups couscous (I used Israeli and cooked according to package directions)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup small-diced 1 /3 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup dried currants or raisins
• 1/4 cup blanched, sliced almonds
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
• 1/4 cup small-diced red onion

1. Place the couscous in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in the boiling water and pour over the couscous. Cover tightly and allow the couscous to soak for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
2. Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, curry, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Pour over the fluffed couscous, and mix well with a fork. Add the carrots, parsley, currants, almonds, scallions, and red onions, mix well, and season to taste. Serve at room temperature.