Easy Lemon Blueberry Jam + An Itchy Berry-Picking Experience

Blueberry season.  

Those two words make me incredibly happy.  

I literally wait all year until glorious summertime, when I can get my hands on heaping gallon-sized buckets of the little spheres of blueberry goodness.

This year, Brad and I got adventurous and took a short drive to a nearby blueberry farm, where I excitedly picked berries to my heart's content.  After almost 2 hours of hand-picking the finest berries, we had TWO gallons to lug home with us.  Visions of blueberry jam and countless blueberry desserts were swimming through my head.  I was thrilled...

Until.the.bites.started.itching.

Have any of you ever had the unfortunate experience of practically being eaten alive by little demon bugs called chiggers/red bugs?  Oh my dear...Over 40 of those little buggers got a hold of me and had quite the snack.  At first, I thought they were simply mosquito bites, but OH NO.  Brad and I were both itchy, scratchy messes.  The thing that's so bad about chiggers is that you have no clue they've bitten you until it's too late.  Once you start itching, they are long gone.

Was it worth it?  That's a hard question to answer because the berries are so incredibly delicious, but those little demon bugs sure made their presence known.   After 2 weeks, the bites still haven't gone away completely.  However, we will be enjoying these two mountains of blueberries for a LONG time, so I'm a happy camper.  Next time, I'll just be sure to cover myself with about 10 layers of bug spray before we venture out into the blueberry bushes!

This mouth-watering blueberry jam is one way I put those berries to good use.  The rest are either snuggled away in the freezer, or have been turned into other desserts.  This recipe is easy, yet is packed with the sweet flavors of summer.  The tart lemon juice is the perfect addition to the sweetness of the fruit.  Y.U.M.M.Y.

Bon Appetit, my friends (and don't forget the bug spray)!

Easy Lemon Blueberry Jam

Ingredients:
6 cups fresh blueberries
3 cups sugar
Juice of 1 large lemon

Directions:
Place blueberries in a large bowl and crush them with a potato masher or fork, to release their juices.

Next, pour the crushed blueberries into a large saucepan, over medium heat.  Add the sugar and lemon juice.  Stir until all ingredients are mixed well, and continue to cook over medium heat for 25-35 minutes, stirring often.  Be careful not to let the mixture bubble over, and lower heat as needed.

Once the desired consistency has been reached, carefully pour the jam into mason jars or other heat-proof, covered containers.  Place in the refrigerator (jam will continue to thicken as it cools).

Enjoy!

Delicious Peach & Blackberry Cobbler

A warm cobbler right out of the oven possibly screams "Summer!" better than any other dessert that I can think of.  They are easy to put together and are a wonderful way to showcase summer's bounty of fresh fruits.  My personal favorite always involves peaches, and this particular recipe adds fresh blackberries to the mix.  

Speaking of blackberries, I was pretty excited to discover several blackberry bushes on one of our nightly walks with the pup, very close to our house.  I have to give my hubby, Brad, a special thank you, because he hand-picked the blackberries for this dish!  After all, food always tastes better when you pick the fruit yourself.  :)

I've made a lot of different cobblers throughout my dessert-making adventures, but this one is definitely going to be my new go-to recipe.  It was inspired by a Paula Deen dish that I tweaked here and there.  My secret ingredient is cardamom, in addition to the traditional cinnamon.  It adds a scrumptious depth-of-flavor that I love.  I also used buttermilk and substituted half of the white sugar for brown sugar.

I have to admit - I've made this cobbler THREE times over the past several weeks.  I took it to a family get-together recently, and then it was requested again at our July 4th celebration.  I wanted to make sure that there was plenty to go around, so I made 2 dishes of it for the holiday.  And you know what?  It's already all gone...This stuff doesn't last long!

Bon Appetit, my friends!

Blackberry Peach Cobbler

Adapted from:  Paula Deen

Ingredients:
4 cups peeled, sliced peaches

1 cup blackberries

1 cup white sugar
 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar 
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups buttermilk  
Extra sliced peaches & blackberries, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the peaches, blackberries, 1 cup white sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and water in a saucepan and mix well.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Whisk together 1 cup brown sugar, flour, and buttermilk slowly to prevent clumping.  Pour mixture over melted butter.  Do not stir.  Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup.  Batter will rise to top during baking.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Garnish with fresh peach slices and blackberries.

Classic Buttermilk Biscuits

After the 2013 Southern Baking Retreat, I couldn't help but come home and bake biscuits.  This resulted in a delicious explosion of flour in my kitchen, but it's so worth the mess.  Homemade biscuits have always been a favorite thing of mine to make.  Mostly in part because it brings back all those wonderful memories of being in the kitchen with my grandmother, cutting biscuits with an upside-down sweet tea glass.  Plus, I'm a self-proclaimed "bread girl," so no meal is complete without some sort of biscuit, toast or roll on the side.

When it comes right down to it, is there any food more quintessentially southern and delicious than a well-made buttermilk biscuit?  

It's an art form in itself.  Even though there's really only 3 ingredients involved - flour, butter & buttermilk - so much can go right, or so much can go wrong on any given biscuit-making day.

It's all about the technique and ingredients that you use: 

• Southern flours, like White Lily, are made from soft winter wheat, and therefore have much lower levels of protein.  This results in lighter, fluffier and more tender biscuits.  

• In addition, always use COLD butter and buttermilk.  

• Work quickly while making the biscuits, so that the ingredients stay cold.  Once that cold butter hits the hot oven, it will create steam, which helps the biscuits rise higher. 

•  And most importantly - Use a gentle hand and do not over-mix.

This recipe is a delicious, yet basic one that I've always used.  Biscuits only get better with lots of practice, so don't be afraid to make a flour-y mess of your own.  :)

Bon Appetit, my friends!

Classic Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 cups Southern, self-rising flour (such as White Lily brand)
1/4 cup COLD, salted butter, cut into cubes
2/3 to 3/4 cup cold buttermilk 
2 Tbsp melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or coat with no-stick cooking spray.

Pour flour into a large bowl.  Using a pastry blender, cut 1/4 cup cold butter into the flour until butter pieces are the size of peas.

Slowly blend in buttermilk using a fork, just until dough begins to leave the sides of the bowl.  Do not over-mix!

Place dough onto a lightly floured work surface and very gently knead the dough 2-3 times, just enough to bring it together.  Do not over-knead. 

Pat or roll the dough until it is 1/2 inch thick.  Cut biscuits using a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter, being careful NOT to twist as you cut.  (This will seal the edges and prevent the biscuits from rising as high.)

Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, so that they are almost touching.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.

While still hot, brush additional melted butter on the top of each biscuit.

2013 Southern Baking Retreat - A Recap

Recently, the wonderful folks at White Lily & Martha White invited 10 food bloggers for a fun-filled weekend in Nashville, TN for their first ever Southern Baking Retreat.  I was lucky enough to be among those 10 bloggers chosen, and it truly could not have been more fun.  It not only was a great opportunity to learn a little more about two southern brands that I already love, but it was also an unforgettable experience filled with great food, fun times, incredible music and new friends.

Here's a fun little video that they put together of the retreat.  It does a great job of summing up all the fun we had!

Also, here's a list of the other 9 fantastic food bloggers in attendance.

Be sure to check out their sites:

Mommy's Kitchen

Southern Bite

A Farm Girl's Dabbles

Add a Pinch

Bake or Break

Table for Two

Love and Olive Oil

Mostly Homemade Mom

The Country Cook 

 

Mike Rutherford welcomed us into his studio.

DAY #1:  

We spent Day #1 at the photography studio of uber-talented photographer Mike Rutherford.  His studio is simply incredible.  One of Mike's specialties is food photography, and he has an entire room FILLED to the brim with the most amazing props you've ever seen.  As you can imagine, I was practically drooling at the sight of all those beautiful plates, bowls, forks, spoons, cutting boards, etc. etc.  You name it...he had it.  Here are a few shots from his studio:

Glorious props:

The next part was really fun...They paired us up into teams of two and tasked us with creating a recipe using Martha White muffin mix.  There was a beautiful kitchen filled with pre-heated ovens and every utensil and tool you'd ever need.  After a little brainstorming, we all got to work on our creations.  The experience was so fun!  I pretty much felt like a contestant on The Next Food Network Star...Only there was no judging and no one got sent home...thank goodness! :)

There we are hard at work!

Julie and Robyn were all smiles!

There's me and my partner, Stacey Little, from Southern Bite!

Our creation - Red, White & Blueberry Tartlets

 That night, we were treated to what was probably one of the most special dinners I've ever had the pleasure of attending.  We dined on the rooftop in downtown Nashville, TN at a place called Aerial, with a breath-taking view of our surroundings.  It was really quite spectacular. 
I chose the Sweet-Tea Pork Loin with Pimento Cheese Grits (OMG!), Molasses Glazed Green Beans & Bourbon Jus.  It was heaven!  Chocolate Cake with a Raspberry Ganache followed for dessert, which was beyond.words.delicious.

 

And if that wasn't incredible enough, dinner was followed by an intimate performance by Hall of Fame singer/song-writers Tony Arata and Pat Alger, along with the grammy-nominated Bluegrass Queen herself, Rhonda Vincent.  

If you're a country music fan, you've probably heard of 3 little hits called "The Thunder Rolls," "Unanswered Prayers," and "The Dance."  Tony and Pat actually wrote those songs, and it was amazing to hear them sing those, among many others.  Rhonda is also incredibly talented and their performance was one I'll never forget.

Tony Arata and Pat Alger

 

DAY #2:

We started Day #2 off right, I tell you!  We took a field trip to The Loveless Cafe for one mouth-watering breakfast.  I'm talking fried chicken, perfectly seasoned grits, farm fresh scrambled eggs, bacon, country ham, fresh fruit, hashbrown casserole, and buttermilk biscuits (made with White Lily flour, of course!).  Needless to say, we were STUFFED when we left.

 

 

YUM!

White Lily biscuits in the making at Loveless Cafe

Fried chicken for breakfast?  Yes ma'am!

Gosh, those biscuits were tasty!

After breakfast, we traveled back to Rutherford Studios and got back into the kitchen for one last challenge.  We were paired up again and got the chance to put our biscuit-baking skills to the test.  There were 5 teams of 2, and we each were assigned a different White Lily biscuit recipe.  The results sure were yummy!

Here's me and my partner, Lindsay, of Love & Olive Oil.

 Once the biscuit-making festivities were finished, we got to meet and listen to the new Southern Living Test Kitchen Director, Robby Melvin, dish on all things southern.

 

And that, my friends, just about wraps it up.

 

I want to say a special thanks again to the great folks at White Lily, Martha White and DVL Public Relations & Advertising for putting together such a great event.  It's surely something I'll never forget! 

Also, many of the photos that you see here were taken by Erick Blackwood, the talented  photographer/producer that followed us around like the paparazzi during the event.  He also created the video above.  Thanks, Erick!

Vanilla-Glazed Yeast Doughnuts W/Dark Chocolate Ganache & Hazelnuts

Usually, my fried food intake is limited to the occasional french fry stealthily stolen from someone's plate or an egg roll at my favorite Chinese restaurant.  I try not to eat too many fried foods, but gosh, every now and then you just NEED a sinfully delicious doughnut that's been fried until golden brown and topped with chocolate ganache wonderfulness, I tell you!

When my eyes first caught site of the cover of Saveur issue #154, my mouth began watering and it only got worse as I opened the magazine and was greeted by page after tempting page of all things doughnut.  There were pages of doughnut recipes, followed by pages of homemade glazes to top them with.  

I mean, SERIOUSLY!?!  A girl's will power only goes soooo far.

When National Doughnut Day (of all things!) rolled around, I decided to bite the bullet and make these divine doughnuts you see here.  And if you're wondering, they were worth every single calorie!

Bon Appetit, my friends!

Vanilla-Glazed Yeast Doughnuts
Adapted from:  Saveur magazine, Issue #154
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen

Ingredients:
2 (¼-oz.) packages active dry yeast
½ cup sugar
1½ cups milk, scalded and cooled
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 eggs
6 tbsp. vegetable shortening, plus more for greasing
5 cups (1 lb. 6½ oz.) all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for dusting
Canola oil, for frying
10 tbsp. unsalted butter
⅓ cup evaporated milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract
2½ cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Combine yeast, 1 tbsp. sugar, and 6 tbsp. water heated to 115° in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add remaining sugar, plus milk, salt, eggs, and shortening; mix until combined. With the motor running, slowly add flour; beat until dough is smooth. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap; set in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; roll dough into a 13" round about ½" thick. Using floured 3½" and 1½" ring cutters, cut out donuts and holes; gather and reuse scraps. Place on greased parchment paper—lined baking sheets, at least 3" apart, and cover loosely with plastic wrap; set in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Heat 2" oil in a 6-qt. saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer reads 325°. Using scissors, cut the donuts out of the parchment paper, leaving about 1" of paper around the sides of each donut (the paper makes it easier to transfer them to frying oil). Working in batches, place donuts in oil, paper side up, using tongs to peel off and discard paper. Cook, flipping once until puffed and golden, about 3–4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a baking sheet with a wire rack; let cool completely.

Melt butter in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium-low heat. Using a small ladle, skim and discard white film from surface. Slowly pour liquid from pan into a bowl, leaving sediment behind; let cool 1 minute. Add evaporated milk, vanilla, ¼ cup water, and sugar; whisk until smooth. Dip donuts in glaze, coating completely; return to wire rack until glaze is set.

To avoid oily donuts, remember: Fat attracts fat. The less you use in your dough, the lighter the donut will be after frying. Also go light on flour when rolling out dough, and use a brush to remove any excess; loose flour particles attract and absorb oil. 

Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze
Adapted from:  Saveur magazine, Issue #154

Ingredients:
8 oz. dark chocolate, grated
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
⅛ tsp. kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts

Directions:
Mix chocolate, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. Bring cream and butter to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan. Pour cream over chocolate; let sit for 2 minutes without stirring. Whisk until smooth; chill until thick. 

Dip doughnuts into the chilled glaze and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts.

Enjoy!