The Charmed Kitchen

My friend, Carl Skalak, from Blue Pike Farm recently asked what could be done with plums and chicken. Carl raises chickens and grows these delicious little plums. I decided to pair them for dinner and here is what I came up with. Carl and I had it for dinner and he really enjoyed it. Simple to make and really made the meal special.

Plum Glaze

2 T. oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 qt. plums, washed, pitted and chopped coarsely

1/4 c. honey

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

1 t. hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in skillet and cook onion until tender. Add garlic and cook a few minutes longer. Toss in  plums, honey and vinegar and cook over medium heat until plums have cooked down and mixture has thickened. Add seasonings and set aside until ready to use.

Prepping the Chicken

I cut a chicken in half and placed it in a roasting pan. Baked it in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. I took it out of the oven and spooned over the plum glaze and returned the chicken to the oven for another 45 minutes. Basted the chicken with the glaze  and returned it to the oven for another 20 minutes. Served with fresh cole slaw. So tasty and tender. The meat had a richness – almost like duck.

The plums I used- I think they are called Methany. Really juicy.

The kids did a super job today making braided breads and cheese filled loaves of bread. Here is some of their work today.

Baking is dirty work.

One of the girls asked this morning, as we were preparing to roll out the pizza dough, if she could make a bunch of little pizzas instead of one big one. Cute idea, smart kid. They loved the idea. Here is what we were up to in cooking camp this morning.

We also enjoyed some Ohio sweet corn with lunch.

Rhubarb-glazed Chicken

I  had some rhubarb and could not decide what to do with it. I cooked it up with a little water and sugar and popped in the freezer until I could decide. Took the first container out the other day and turned it into a glaze for some chicken I was cooking. I mostly eat poultry so I am always looking for ways to change it up. The glaze was really good. I had it with sweet potato fries and cole slaw.

Rhubarb Glaze

2 c. chopped rhubarb

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook until thickened and bubbly. Use as a sauce or glaze on chicken, pork, lamb turkey or duck.

Rhubarb Glazed Chicken

8 chicken thighs or 1 whole chicken, cut up

1 recipe rhubarb glaze ( recipe above)

salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken pieces in roasting pan, season to taste and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and drain any fat out of the pan. Pour over the rhubarb glaze and return chicken to oven for an additional 45 minutes. Baste the chicken with some of the glaze in the pan and return to oven for 15 minutes more. Serves 4.

We baked and decorated cakes in class on Friday. I showed the kids a few basics- gave them supplies and just let them go. The hardest part sometimes is just letting them have a good time and not trying to do things for them. The results were sweet!!

The cakes were colorful inside and out.

Rich Blueberry Muffins

They are in season and plentiful right now. I am always looking for new ways to enjoy blueberries but find myself going back to this recipe. I think what really makes it special is the folding in of 1 cup of melted butter at the end. Amazing. It’s a rich and crumbly muffin stuffed with berries. Not too sweet and a great breakfast, snack or even dessert. They freeze well, too.

Rich  Blueberry Muffins

4 c. flour

2 T. baking powder

1 ½ t. salt

1½  c. sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

2 eggs

1 ½ c. milk

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, melted

4 c. blueberries

Paper line 36 muffin cups or grease lightly and preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl mix dry ingredients. In smaller bowl mix eggs and milk and beat until smooth. Stir into flour mixture with a fork and mix until just moistened. Fold in butter and blueberries divide batter among cups. Sprinkle muffins with a little extra sugar. Bake 25 minutes, or until light golden. Makes 36.

The kids made the dough- cut out the cookies and frosted them. Well done, kids.

Rainbow Cheese Ravioli

We made pasta in camp today. We had egg pasta plus pastas made from carrots, peas, broccoli and beets. A beautiful rainbow of pasta- that was turned into angel hair and cheese and veggie raviolis. The kids were great, as usual.  Here are some of the pics. The recipes for the pastas also follow. We had a  ravioli making gizmo which made the process easier. Also one for pierogi and tiny little triangle filled pastas.

Ravioli for the whole family

Basic Homemade Pasta

 3 c. flour, more if using electric pasta machine. See note.

1 1/2 t. salt

4 eggs

Water, if needed

Mix flour and salt and stir in eggs, kneading until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be very stiff. Add a little water if needed to hold dough together. You may wish to mix the dough in a mixer or food processor. Cover dough and let rest 15-20 minutes before rolling. Under kneading your dough will result in coarse, crumbly pasta. This batch makes about 1 pound. Serves 4-6.

Roll dough out on well floured board or in pasta machine (non-electric) until desired thickness in reached. Add flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut into strips or whatever shapes are desired. You might want to let the noodles dry 1-hour or more before cooking, but this is not necessary. Pasta can be hung to dry or separated and allowed to dry flat on a table. When pasta is not hanging to dry it must be turned occasionally to dry evenly.      Although you may hear otherwise, homemade pasta, even when dried, should be frozen for long term storage. Storing at room temperature can lead to spoilage. Fresh pasta can also be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Note: All electric pasta machines vary slightly and you should use their recipes as much as possible. Still, for most models, adding 1/4 c. flour for each cup in a hand rolled recipe works the best. Also recipes that contain seeds and vegetables may clog an electric pasta maker. Follow your manufacturer’s instructions.

These are smaller batches which can be mixed in a processor or by hand. If you want to mix a vegetable based pasta by hand, puree the vegetables  first.                                                         

Carrot Pasta

 1 c. flour

1/2 t. dried dill

1/3 c. carrot puree

1-2 T. water, if needed

   Beet Pasta

1 c. flour

1/2 t. dill

1/3 c. beet puree

1-2 T. water, if needed

Pea Pasta

1 c. flour

1/3 c. frozen peas, thawed

water

Process in food processor until peas are blended in- add water, A little at a time as needed until dough forms into a ball.

Broccoli Pasta

1 c. flour

1/2 c. broccoli puree

 Ravioli Filling

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

2/3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

2/3 c. ricotta or cream cheese

1/3 c. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Combine all ingredients well and chill until needed.

Roll a batch of dough into  a rectangle, 18×12 inches and 1/16 inch thick. Arrange well rounded teaspoonfuls of the  cheese filling two inches apart on the pasta sheet. Roll out additional dough into an 18×12 inch rectangle. With a pastry brush moisten bottom sheet of pasta around edges with water. Place second sheet of pasta on top, using fingers to seal the dough around the edges of the filling. With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, cut between the ravioli to separate them. You should have 24 ravioli.

We started with the idea of making “pup”cakes. Cupcakes decorated to look like puppies. I wanted the kids to have fun and be creative. This is some of what they created.

This is some of the bread the kids made in camp this morning. Everyone did great on braiding. I am proud of every one of them!!!