Wednesday, June 23, 2010

GRILLED CHIPOTLE CHICKEN

LOVE the smell of barbeque lingering in the air when I take my evening walks with the kiddos. That got me thinking about my favorite smells and (not) surprisingly my top 3 smells all have to do with food...the smell of freshly baked bread, summer barbeques, and the unbelievable smell that envelops my senses when I walk into Calabash Creamery (a favorite ice cream shop in Calabash, NC--to die for!).

So with barbeque on my mind, we decided to try a new recipe last night. Throw in some corn on the cob (Drew's new veggie love) and this meal is definitely one of my new favorites! We all gobbled this meal up!

GRILLED CHIPOTLE CHICKEN
photo & recipe via Life's Ambrosia

6 chicken drumsticks
1 (7 ounce) can chipotle peppers in adobo
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 garlic clove
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning chicken

Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Combine chipotle peppers, honey, vinegar, garlic, lime and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor. Process until it becomes a paste.

Place chicken in a glass dish, lightly season with salt. Transfer 1/4 cup of the marinade to a bowl and set aside. Spread remaining marinade over chicken and turn to coat completely. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

When ready to cook. Heat grill over medium heat. Grill chicken until browned on all sides, turning once and brushing with reserved marinade. Cooking time is about 25 – 30 minutes depending on the size of the chicken legs. Chicken is done when it is punctured and juices run clear.

Transfer to a serving platter and serve hot.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

CHERRY LIMEADE CUPCAKES

Wanted to make Danny something Danny-esque for Father's Day, soooo...since Cherry Limeade Slushes are one of his faves, thought this would be the perfect treat!

And let me just say, that this cupcake recipe actually tastes like what it's supposed to taste like! Other fruity cupcake recipes I've tried haven't tasted very fruity at all, but these have a distinctly tart & lime taste. Really fun for summer, and what a great take-along for a 4 of July celebration!
CHERRY LIMEADE CUPCAKES
photo & recipe via Good Life Eats

2 1/4 c cake flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c whole milk or buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 c sugar
Zest of 3 limes (I bought 1 extra for garnishing the cupcakes)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp pure lemon extract

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with liners. Makes 18-24 cupcakes.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and lime zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.

Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between 18-24 cupcakes. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch. Transfer the cupcakes cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes. Frost and decorate after fully cooled.

CHERRY FROSTING
3 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
4 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice (buy 1 small jar, use cherries for topping)
Red food coloring (optional)

To make the frosting, combine the confectioner's’ sugar, butter and maraschino cherry juice in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated, then increase to medium-high speed and beat until smooth. Add more maraschino cherry juice as needed to achieve desired texture. (I added more juice and a little bit of milk to get the frosting to a better consistency.)Add red food coloring if desired.

Frost cooled cupcakes. Garnish with lime slices and maraschino cherries, if desired.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

DRINK MADE FOR SUMMER


RASPBERRY MOJITO
photo & recipe via a la carte kitchen

MAKES 1 SERVING

8 fresh mint leaves
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
2 ounces white rum
2-3 ounces seltzer
4-6 fresh raspberries

Place mint leaves, lime juice and sugar in a highball glass (something tall and narrow is perfect). Using the straight end of a wooden spoon, gently press on leaves to release flavor (“muddle” is the official term).

Fill glass with ice cubes. Pour in rum. Top off with seltzer. Drop in raspberries, and sip!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

JUST THE BEGINNING MY BABY


"All I really need to know...I learned in Kindergarten." ~Robert Fulghum

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