Amarena Cherry Lemon Muffins #MuffinMonday

Made with delicious Amarena wild cherries and their syrup, these fluffy cherry lemon muffins are perfect for snack or teatime. 

I'm guessing that most of you aren't cherry snobs because nor was I until just a few short weeks ago! A maraschino cherry was a maraschino cherry. Red, bright and sweet. 

But then I learned about Luxardo cherries and had to buy some. Guys, they are a world apart from the jarred cherries we can buy in a grocery store with a price tag to match. Enter the Amarena cherries at Costco! They are also more expensive than grocery store maraschinos but they come in a very large jar making them much cheaper than Luxardos. 

And, to make cherry buying decisions even easier, when I did just a little research, their reviews online are better too. We did a taste test and the Amarenas slightly outdid the Luxardos. 

Amarena Cherry Lemon Muffins

If you don't have fancy cherries though, by all means use the grocery store maraschinos. Lemon and cherries are a great combination. This recipe makes about 16 regular muffins.

Ingredients

2 cups or 250g flour

1/3 cup or 66g sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 small lemon (for zest and 4 teaspoons juice)

2 eggs

1/2 cup or 120ml milk

1/3 cup or 75ml canola or other light oil

1/4 cup Amarena cherry syrup, plus extra to brush on, if desired

5 2/3 oz or 142g Amarena cherries (about 3/4 cup once halved)

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Butter or grease your muffin pans or line them with paper liners.

Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Grate in the lemon zest and mix.

Juice your lemon. Halve your cherries and set 16 pieces aside for topping the muffins.

Put the bigger pile of cut cherries in the flour mixture and toss well to cover.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, cherry syrup and lemon syrup.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and fold until just mixed through.

Divide the mixture between the muffin cups in pan.  Top with reserved cherry halves.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Allow them to cool for a few minutes then remove the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Brush on a little extra cherry syrup, if desired. 

Enjoy!

It's the last Monday of the month so that means it's time for Muffin Monday! Many thanks to Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories who stepped up and created this link list. Check out all the great muffin recipes we have for you today! 

• Amarena Cherry Lemon Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Cranberry Eggnog Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Honey Corn Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Orange and Pear Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Orange Poppy Seed Mini Muffins from A Messy Kitchen
• Sourdough Cranberry Banana Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

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Scotch Quail Eggs

Soft-boiled on the inside and crunchy on the outside, these tasty Scotch Quail Eggs are wrapped with sausage meat and covered in panko before frying. 

The culinary origin of Scotch eggs is much debated but what all the sources I can find do agree on is that they aren’t actually Scotch, that is to say, they don’t come from Scotland. 

More than likely, they are English with both a grocer called William J Scott & Sons in Yorkshire as well as the London gourmet food purveyor Fortnum and Mason claiming to have created them. Fortnum and Mason from as far back at 1738, predating the Yorkshire claim by close to 150 years. 

Whoever made the first ones, they are still on the menu in many pubs all over the United Kingdom. Normally made with hen’s eggs, they are a substantial snack. My quail egg version is much less filling, so they make an excellent addition to an appetizer spread or party table. 

Scotch Quail Eggs

Here in the States, your typical British sausage is hard to come by. Fortunately, we do have a company that makes them in Houston but you can substitute another raw pork sausage meat (not breakfast sausage though) with the caveat that American sausages are generally more coarse and saltier than their British counterparts. I buy my fresh quail eggs at local Asian supermarkets. 

Ingredients

20 quail eggs

1 lb or 450g Cumberland sausages 

2-3 sprigs fresh thyme plus more for garnish, if desired

1 large egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 cup or 70g panko

For frying: canola or other light oil

Method

Bring a small pot of water to a simmer. Ready a bowl of ice water nearby. 

For soft boiled, which is always my goal, put four quail eggs in the simmering water at a time. 

Leave to cook 2 1/2 minutes, stirring often so that they cook evenly. Remove the eggs with slotted spoon and put them in the ice water. 

Peel the ones in the ice water immediately, starting at the pointy end. Add four more quail’s eggs to the pot, remembering to stir so they cook evenly. Repeat till all the quails’ eggs are cooked and peeled.

 

I forgot to stir one batch and they were not cooked evenly so peeling them was a challenge. Hence those are sitting in spoons for support. They still made lovely Scotch eggs. 

Squeeze the sausage meat into a bowl, discarding the skins, then pick the thyme leaves off the sprigs and add them to the bowl. Stir well to mix. 

Beat the egg in a shallow bowl with the milk. Place the panko into another bowl.

Weigh the sausage mixture and then divide it into 20 equal pieces. 

Shape the sausage around the quail eggs.

Carefully pinch the sausage around the egg and roll into a ball. 

At this point, you can continue with the preparation or chill in the fridge until you are ready to cook them. 

Roll each ball in the beaten egg.

Then in the panko until fully coated.

Using a thermometer, heat about 2 in or 5cm of oil in a deep pan to 350°F or 180ºC and very carefully fry the Scotch eggs in batches of three, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown, turning halfway through so the sausage layer is fully cooked. 

Remove with caution and drain on paper towels. Put some newspaper or a brown paper bag underneath for more absorption. I lower the Scotch eggs in and remove them with a slotted spoon, so the oil can’t splash and burn me. I recommend you do the same. 

Serve warm.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay so today we are sharing nibbles for New Year's Eve! Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the link list below. 

• Seared Scallops in Lobster Creme from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Boiled Egg Sandwiches from Sneha's Recipe
• Cranberry Brie Bites from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Fried Cheesy Pickles from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• From Cheesy to Chocolatey - Using My Caquelon All Evening Long from Culinary Cam
• Mushroom Duxelle on Toast from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Scotch Quail Eggs from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Candy Cane Meringue Kisses

These peppermint candy cane meringue kisses are the perfect little melt-in-your-mouth treat for after dinner. They are small so you can’t eat just one.

My mom had only one brand of candy cane that she’d buy; they had to be Bobs. As a self-professed candy cane connoisseur, she said they were the best because they were made with all-natural peppermint and, while I never did a taste test, I trusted her judgement. After all, she had grown up with Bobs.

Bobs Candies – no apostrophe because it is plural not possessive – was a family business which was started back in 1919 by Bob MacCormack and Bob Mills. Innovations included the Keller machine, invented by McCormack’s brother-in-law, Father Harding Keller, which perfected the twisting and cutting of candy canes, giving them their signature spiral stripes.

According to the Georgia encyclopedia, the company also began wrapping their candy canes in cellophane, making them the first candy maker to do so. This simple but effective move helped preserve freshness and appeal to a growing market. 

Growing up, we always had a box or two of Bobs candy canes, shrink wrapped in cellophane to eat/hang on the tree, so I made sure to continue the tradition in my own family. 

What this means though is that at the end of the holidays, when the tree comes down, there are always a few candy canes that missed getting eaten. These candy cane meringue kisses make perfect use of them! (Here's a tip: Homemade kisses are a perfect Valentine's Day gift.)

Candy Cane Meringue Kisses

This recipe makes about 6 dozen bite-sized kisses or about 4 dozen larger ones. You can drop the mixture by small spoonsful on to the baking pans but if you have a piping bag, the process is much neater. If you are making the bite-sized ones, like I did, you will need to bake them in two batches. 

Ingredients

3/4 cup or 150g granulated sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/3 cup or 50g crushed candy canes, plus extra for decorating

Method

Preheat your oven to 225°F or 107°C. Adjust two racks so that they are in the upper-middle and lower-middle position.

Line 2 baking pans with baking parchment or silicone liners and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt, and whisk to combine.

Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar together with an electric mixer on medium-low speed, until the mixture is foamy, about 1 minute.

Increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and whip until the whites are soft and fluffy.

Gradually, add the sugar mixture while the mixer is running, and whip until the whites are glossy and form stiff peaks, 1 to 3 minutes.

Gentle fold in the 1/3 cup crushed candy canes.

Use a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip to make 1 1/4 in or 3 cm wide meringue kisses on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about an inch or 2cm apart.

Sprinkle with more crushed candy canes.

Bake the meringue kisses for 1 hour. Turn off the oven, and let the meringues sit in the oven for an additional 1 hour (or 2 hours, if in humid or rainy conditions). 

Remove the kisses from the oven, and let them cool before serving, about 10 minutes.

Keep meringues crispy by storing extras in an airtight container, especially if you live in a humid area. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing peppermint recipes. Check out all the links below! 

• Candy Cane Meringue Kisses from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Peppermint and Chocolate Chip Cookies from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Hot Chocolate With After Eight Peppermint from Sneha's Recipe
• Mint Chocolate Cookies (Biscuits) from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Painted Peppermint Cookies from Culinary Cam
• Peppermint Patty Surprise Cookies from A Day in the Life on the Farm

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Zucchini and Bacon Pangrattato

Buttery golden zucchini with bacon pangrattato is a great combination of tender and crunchy making this dish one of our favorite sides. I have been known, in fact, to make a meal of it!

During the summer, when the zucchini abounds in our local honesty boxes and farm stands, I am always on the lookout for new ways to prepare it. While searching, I came across a Nigel Slater recipe online that sounded interesting. For the record, I love Nigel Slater and, in my book, he can do no wrong. 

HOWEVER, in the instance of this recipe, Nigel was clearly, ahem, mistaken. He called the breadcrumb topping gremolata! You and I both know that gremolata is an Italian condiment consisting of chopped parsley mixed with lemon zest and garlic. And it would be very tasty sprinkled on some zucchini but what Nigel actually made was a pangrattato! Because breadcrumbs. 

Potaytoe, potahtoe. Still delicious. 

Zucchini with Bacon Pangrattato

I use the very handy real bacon crumbles I buy in Costco for this dish but it’s never crispy enough, hence the extra frying step. If your bacon is already cooked extra crispy, you can skip that. Just put the bacon and butter in the pan and add the rosemary and garlic right away. This recipe is adapted from the one I found online (link above) but it is originally from Nigel’s 2013 book, Eat, The Little Book of Fast Food.

Ingredients

1/3 cup or 40g crumbled cooked bacon

2-3 tablespoons butter, divided

1 short sprig rosemary

1 clove garlic

Several sprigs parsley

About 1 oz or 28g day-old bread

zest small lemon

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

3 medium zucchini, approximate weight 340g

Method

Slice some day-old bread thinly. 

I like to use baguettes because they get pretty hard the same day I buy them. This pangrattato is the perfect way to use a stale baguette up that might otherwise be thrown away.

Cut the slices up in to smaller bits and pulse them in a food processor to make breadcrumbs. 

Pull the leaves off of the rosemary and parsley sprigs and mince them and the garlic finely. Zest the lemon. 

In a large skillet, fry the bacon with one tablespoon of butter, until it gets crispy.

Add the minced rosemary and garlic. 

Stir for a minute or two then add the fresh breadcrumbs. 

Add more butter if the crumbs look dry. Let these cook until golden, turning them regularly, then toss in the minced parsley and the lemon zest. 

Season generously with fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. When all is crisp and golden, remove from the pan and wipe it with a paper towel. 

Trim the ends off of the zucchini and then cut them in half lengthwise. Cut each half in diagonal pieces. 

Sauté them in the skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and some butter until they are golden on all sides. 

Season well with salt and pepper. 

Pile them in a serving bowl.

Top with a generous helping of the bacon pangrattato. 

Store any leftover pangrattato in a sealed container in the refrigerator. 

Enjoy! 

Whew! That’s a wrap on our Alphabet Challenge for 2024! This is the 26th edition, brought to you by the letter Z. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the Z recipes below:

• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Easy Ziti Bake
• Culinary Cam: Zabaglione alle Mandorle
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Zuppa Toscana
• Blogghetti: Baked Ziti with Ground Beef
• Food Lust People Love: Zucchini with Bacon Pangrattato
• Sneha’s Recipe: Zucchini Balls & Chicken Bake -Keto
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Kolokithipites
• A Messy Kitchen: Zucchini Jam
• Magical Ingredients: Zhoug Zalouk Paratha Pockets
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Zesty Italian Balsamic Baked Oyster Crackers
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Za’atar Swirls

Here are my posts for the alphabet challenge, thus far:
A: Anchovy Deviled Eggs
B: Spicy Braised Ginger Pork Belly
C: Cecilie's Favorite Coleslaw
D: Cajun Chicken Eggplant Dressing
E: Everything Pizza Tartin
F: Baked Chicken and Feta Meatballs
G: Grape Juice Jigglers
H: Crispy Bacon-wrapped Chicken Hearts
I: Raspberry Rhubarb Ice Cream
J: Java Dry Spice Mix Chops 

K. Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs 

L. Easy Lamb and Fresh Tomato Curry 

M. Fresh Mint Sauce 

N. Miso Butter Noodles 

O. Spicy Orange Braised Short Ribs 

P. Homemade Piri Piri Sauce 

Q, Cointreau Glazed Orange Quick Bread 

R. Leek and Lobster Mushroom Risotto 

S. Cheesy Sausage and Egg Casserole 

T. Stuffed Turkey Cutlets 

U. Spicy Urad Dal -

V. Spicy Vinegar Braised Chicken 

W. Honey Walnut Brittle 

X. Xmas Eggnog Fudge 

Y. Yemma Aouïcha – Eggplant with Chickpeas 

Z. Zucchini and Bacon Pangrattato - this post!

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