Super Smoked Sweet and Spicy Wings

A few weeks ago I shared this recipe for Smoked Mac and Cheese, prepared in Tim's smoker. We are loving this smoker, you can make just about anything in it. The flavors in these wings are a nice combination of smoky, sweet and spicy. You can adjust the sweet and spice to your own taste.

 Super Smoked Sweet and Spicy Wings
 Recipe Courtesy of John McLemore

2 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
5 pounds chicken wings, rinsed and dried
1 cup honey
 1/2 cup hot barbecue sauce
3 tablespoons apple juice
Suggested wood for smoking Apple wood chips 1. In a small bowl, mix together the black pepper, onion powder, chili powder, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. Place the chicken wings in a large Ziploc bag. Pour in the dry rub and shake to coat the wings well. Marinate for at least 30 minutes (at room temperature) or as long as 24 hours (in the refrigerator). 2. Preheat smoker to 225˚F. Place the wings on the top rack of the smoker and cook for 20 minutes. Turn wings and cook for another 25 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165˚F. 3. While the wings are cooking, mix the honey, barbecue sauce, and apple juice together in a small saucepan.Cook over medium heat until warmed through. Remove the wings from the smoker and place in a disposable aluminum foil pan. Pour the warm sauce over the wings and toss to coat evenly. Return to smoker on second rack and cook for another 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the smoker and serve immediately.

I am linking this to On The Menu Monday, Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday and Foodie Friday.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love a good muffin. I love sweets and always enjoy a delicious muffin for breakfast. When browsing, Jenny's Cookbook, my assigned blog for Secret Recipe Club this month, I found this recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. This recipe was just what I was looking for, a quick recipe using ingredients I had on hand.

These are a moist, delicious muffin with a crunchy top.  A half recipe made 9 good size muffins.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
 Recipe Courtesy of Jenny's Cookbook
Makes 18 muffins
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
 3 ripe bananas, mashed 1/2 cup margarine, melted and cooled
1/2 cup 2% milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla oats and sweetened shredded coconut
 Directions Preheat oven to 350F. Line 1 and 1/2 muffin trays with paper liners (18 muffins). In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients and chocolate chips together. In another bowl, combine bananas, margarine, milk, eggs and vanilla. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until just combined. Use an ice cream scoop (about 1/3 cup) and divide the batter between the paper liners. Sprinkle on some oats and coconut. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

Cacio e Pepe with Lemon

We recently finished a five week wine and cheese class at our local Hy Vee store. What a great way to learn about wine and cheese.  It's so interesting to see how tasting the wines and cheese together enhances the flavors of one or both of them.  During the class on "The Kings of Cheese" we tasted one called Grana Padana. Not only did I love the flavor, what a fun name!!! I bought a piece and was looking for a recipe to use it in when I ran across this recipe. Perfect, I also just happened to have a Meyer Lemon from my plant that needed to be used. Cacio means cheese and pepe, pepper. For those of you who enjoy a simple yet delicious pasta, this is for you! If you're looking for a pasta recipe that is easy yet elegant enough for a dinner party, give this one a try.  We'll be having this one again, soon!!!!

 Cacio e Pepe 
Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart Living

 Ingredients
Coarse salt 8 ounces
Thick spaghetti or bucatini
 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, softened 3 ounces
Grana Padano cheese, grated (1 cup)
 2 teaspoons freshly cracked pepper (use a mortar and pestle or the coarsest setting on a grinder), plus more for garnish
3/4 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
1 small lemon (preferably Meyer)
High-quality extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Directions
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than called for in package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water before draining.
Transfer pasta to a 12-inch skillet (preferably nonstick). Add butter and 1/2 cup pasta water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. The heat helps the starch in the water meld with the fat from the butter, which prevents the Grana Padano from becoming stringy in the finished dish.
Reduce heat to low, and mix in Grana Padano and cracked pepper. Grana Padano is softer than Pecorino Romano; it will melt into the buttery water, creating a sauce as the pasta finishes cooking. Toss pasta with tongs to thoroughly coat it with sauce. Keep everything at a gentle simmer just until cheese melts and sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute.
Remove from heat, then stir in Pecorino Romano. (Always add Pecorino off direct heat; it clumps when cooked.) Zest lemon over the pasta. Any type of lemon will do, but a Meyer is particularly nice in this dish: It's sweeter in flavor and aroma, with back notes of orange and lime.
If pasta looks dry, toss it with a bit more pasta water until it has a glossy coating. Divide between 2 warm bowls. Drizzle each with oil and lemon juice, and garnish with more cracked pepper. Serve immediately.

I am linking this to On The Menu Monday and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday!!

Lemon Olive Oil Banana Bread

Seems there's a wide variety of banana bread recipes available these days.  Having tried many recipes,  my favorite still remains Mrs. Flint's.  Mrs. Flint was my good friend Larry's mother. Something about a recipe that's been around for probably a hundred years, just makes it hard to beat.

When I ran across this recipe,  I was intrigued by the use of lemon and olive oil, so I decided to give it a try.   I love the flavor lemon adds to the bread and the chunks of chocolate give it an extra richness.  If you're looking for a new take on banana bread, give this recipe a try,  it's delicious. 

Lemon Olive Oil Banana Bread
Recipe courtesy of 101 Cookbooks

1 cup / 4.5 oz / 125g all-purpose flour
1 cup / 5 oz / 140g whole wheat flour
3/4 cup / 4.5 oz / 125 g dark muscovado or dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup / 4 oz / 115 g coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup / 80 ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups / 12 oz / 340 g mashed, VERY ripe bananas (~3 bananas)
1/4 cup / 60 ml plain, whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1/2 cup / 3 oz / 85 g sifted dark muscovado or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup / 2 oz / 55g confectioners' sugar
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350° F, and place a rack in the center. Grease a 9- by 5- inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan, or equivalent.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate pieces and combine well.
In a separate bowl, mix together the olive oil, eggs, mashed banana, yogurt, zest, and vanilla. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and fold with a spatula until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes. You want to get that beautiful color on the cake, but at the same time you don't want to bake all the moisture out of it. So the minute you're in that zone, pull it. Erring on the side of under-baking versus over.
Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out of the pan to cool completely.
While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. In a bowl, whisk together the sugars and the lemon juice until smooth. When the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze on top of the cake, spreading with a spatula to cover.

I am linking this to On the Menu Monday, Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday and Foodie Friday.
 

Smoked Mac n Cheese

Tim recently purchased an electric smoker.  Foods prepared on the smoker are delicious but with a charcoal smoker they require so much tending!  An electric smoker is a breeze, you still have to check the wood and keep an eye on the temperature but it's not a project like with charcoal.  There's a great site, Dadgum That's Good,  hosted by John McLemore of Masterbuilt Smokers.   Looking for the ins and outs of smoking, we found this recipe for Four Cheese Smoked Mac n' Cheese!  Mac and cheese kicked up with bacon, four cheeses and the added flavor of smoke, well I just can't resist saying it "Dadgum That's Good!".

Four Cheese Smoke Mac n Cheese
Recipe courtesy of Dadgum That's Good

1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
1/4  cup butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 cups milk
1 (8 ounces) cream cheese, cut into large chunks
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups extra sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups Gouda cheese shredded
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
Directions
1. Load the wood tray with one small handful of wood chips and preheat the smoker to 225° F.
2. Cook pasta according to package instructions. In a medium saucepan, melt butter, and whisk flour into the butter. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, until sauce is bubbly and thick. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil.  Cook 5 minutes until thickened. Stir in cream cheese until mixture is smooth. Add salt and pepper.
3. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup Cheddar, 1 cup Gouda cheese, Parmesan cheese, pasta, and cream sauce. Spoon mixture into an 11 by 9 ½-inch aluminum roasting pan coated with nonstick cooking spray.  Sprinkle top with remaining Cheddar cheese and Gouda cheese.
4. Place in smoker and cook 1 hour at 225° F, until brown, bubbly and delicious.

I am linking this to On The Menu Monday and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday!

Morning Glory Muffins - Secret Recipe Club

It's Secret Recipe Club (SRC) reveal day!  I was assigned The Tasty Cheapskate, as she says "where tasty and cheap eat together (and hopefully remember to write down the recipe)".

In my quest to continue to choose something besides a dessert recipe for SRC, I chose Morning Glory Muffins.  One of my favorite restaurants in town has a fabulous selection of muffins and Morning Glory is one of my favorites.  Never having made Morning Glory Muffins or even looked at a recipe for them, this month's choice was made!!!

These muffins have fruit and vegetables in them, so as muffins go, they're better for you.  If you adapt the recipe to reduce the sugar and the oil, they would be even better for you.  I didn't have whole wheat flour, so I used all purpose and substituted dried blueberries for the cranberries or raisins.  These muffins are delicious, very moist with a nice crunch!!! 

Morning Glory Muffins
Recipe Courtesy of The Tasty Cheapskate

Makes about 20 muffins
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Cost: $3.60 with nuts. About $1.00 less without
(whole wheat flour: .20, flour: .10, sugar: .15, coconut: .25, raisins: .25, apple: .30, pineapple: 1.00, walnuts--I didn't use, but I'm guessing 1.00, eggs: .20, oil: .15)

1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
1 C all-purpose flour
1 C sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C shredded, sweetened coconut
3/4 C raisins or cranberries (optional)
1 large apple, peeled and grated
1 C crushed pineapple, drained (about on 15 oz. can, drained)
2 C grated carrots
1/2 C chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
2 eggs
1 C vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 and line your muffin tins.

Whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Add coconut, raisins, apple, pineapple, carrots, and nuts. Stir to combine. (I shredded my carrots and apple in the food processor, which was speedy. If you've got a food processor, you could probably use fresh pineapple too and just sort of puree it in the food processor before you change it to 'shred.')

Add eggs, oil and vanilla. Blend well.

Spoon batter into muffins tins. Bake about 17-25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

I am linking this to On the Menu Monday and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday!

Smoky Blue Cheese Potato Soup and Beautiful Wine Glasses

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Wine Enthusiast wondering if I would like to receive a set of wine glasses.  Anyone who knows me knows I love a glass (or two) of wine, so of course I said Yes!!!  Next question, would I prefer white or red?  Normally a white wine drinker,  I chose white.  Wine Enthusiast sent me these beautiful Fusion Whirl wine glasses.  They're designed for the ultimate swirl.  I love swirling my wine!  Not necessarily for the reasons wine aficionados suggest you swirl your wine, just because it's fun.  If you're a red wine drinker, Wine Enthusiast has a great selection of red wine glasses, too!  Thank You, Wine Enthusiast!

Tim and I are attending a series of wine and cheese pairing classes at our local HyVee store.  It's so interesting to see how the different cheeses affect the taste of the wine.  Perfect timing to try a recipe using a cheese we tasted and enjoy a glass of wine in the new glasses.  One of our tastings was a smoky blue cheese and a white wine.  One our favorite restaurants in town serves a fantastic blue cheese burger.  I picked up some smoky blue to use in burgers.  Knowing the burgers wouldn't use the entire package of cheese, I began searching for another recipe to use the rest of the smoky blue.  I settled on this recipe for Smoky Blue Cheese Mashed Potato Soup.  A little smoky blue goes along way, so be careful with the crumbles for the top, you don't want to over power the delicious creamy mashed potatoes! Paired with a sandwich or salad, this makes for a comforting meal!

Smoky Blue Cheese Mashed Potato Soup

Recipe Courtesy of Wisconsin Cheese Talk
Serves 4
4 bacon slices
1 medium onion, diced, about 2 cups
2 cloves garlic, minced
Two 14.4-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth or 3 1/2 cups homemade broth
3 cups mashed potatoes (see recipe below)
1/2 cup Blue cheese, crumbled, about 3 ounces
Garnish
4 scallions, minced
1/4 cup smoke-flavored Blue cheese, crumbled, about 1 1/2 ounces
Cook bacon in heavy, large pot over medium heat until brown and crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels. Crumble bacon and set aside to use as a garnish.
Spoon off all but a tablespoon of bacon drippings from pot. Add onion, celery and garlic, season with salt.  Sauté over low heat for 10 minutes or until onions are golden, but not brown.  Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Blend in the mashed potatoes and Blue cheese. Puree soup in batches in a blender or use an immersion blender directly in the pot. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each bowl with Blue cheese, bacon and scallions just before serving.
Mashed Potatoes
2-3 large potatoes, about 1 1/2 lbs
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Peel the potatoes and cut into small chunks, place in a pot, cover with cold water. Boil until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the water, then add the butter and milk and mash with a potato masher in the pot. Season with salt.

I am linking this to On the Menu Monday, Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday and Foodie Friday!!!

Wine Enthusiast sent me a set of Fusion White Wine glasses!  All opinions expressed are my own!