Brown Sugar Scones with Butterscotch Glaze

                         The Get-Together

    The Scones with Buttery Sweet Dough Flavoring

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These scones are such Plain Janes that I hesitated to feature them this evening. I thought about it, but then tossed out that idea because they are so good. I hosted my book club yesterday morning and these scones were one of the items I made for the meeting. I wanted to serve things that were a bit out of the ordinary and these scones certainly filled that bill. I was attracted to the recipe because it called for a flavor enhancer called Buttery Sweet Dough. Another blogger sent me a large bottle of the extract for Christmas, and I thought these scones would be a perfect recipe for its trial run. The scones are easy to make, and while their appearance leaves much to be desired, they are delicious. I made one batch with the enhancer and one without it. They are good either way, but the buttery sweet dough extract adds richness and a bakery butter flavor to the scones that the other batch lacked. I found the recipe for the scones on a site called The Merchant Baker and I followed that recipe to a tee, save for the fact that I refrigerated my dough for about 30 minutes once the butter had been cut in and the dough came together. I think this makes for higher, flakier scones and it definitely makes them easier to roll and shape. I know they are not pretty things, but they are delicious and I hope you'll give them a try. Here is how they are made.

Table for Two - Sticky Garlic Chicken

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is an adaption of a recipe that has been on the internet for over a decade. I can't find the source of the original recipe, so I'll have to save my thanks to its creator for a later date. I've gone ahead and altered the recipe to feed a family of two and in the process have found yet another way to use those huge pterodactyl breasts that are sold in supermarkets today. Our supper tonight was a single breast that weighed 1-1/2 pounds. I normally save these huge breasts for soups, stews and stir fries, but I knew this adapted recipe was a perfect way to use one the three huge breasts in my sale package. I honestly don't know how a chicken this size can move, much less fly, but I'll just have to assume that nature somehow finds a way. Breasts are not the most flavorful part of the chicken, so one of my cautions to those of you who follow in my stead, is to be sure and liberally season the meat with salt and pepper before you cook it. I season my chicken before I tenderize it, and I've found that using a jaccard helps to season the interior of the meat as well. I, by the way, routinely use a jaccard to tenderize chicken breasts and I think it works wonders. I've also doubled the amount of sauce I make to serve with the breasts for two. With the understanding that tastes differ from one person to the next, I thought the most popular version of this recipe produced a dry and under-seasoned chicken. That was easy enough to take care of and the recipe below reflects the changes I've made. You might want to make changes of your own. I like this recipe. I wouldn't serve it to guests but I think it makes a great family meal. I served our chicken tonight with oven roast potatoes, but the chicken is also wonderful when served in a Cobb or Caesar salad. I do hope you'll give this dish a try. Here is how my version of it is made.

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Breadsticks

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This recipe, while new to me, was popular several years ago. I've seen it in many places but I wanted to credit the correct source before using it here. It took a bit of searching and some back -tracing but I was able to identify Bon Appetit magazine as the place it originally appeared. These breadsticks appealed to me because they are really simple to make and I thought they'd be a wonderful addition to a game day spread. If you like bacon, I suspect you'll love these. There are a couple of tricks to making this a nosh that everyone will enjoy. You'll need to use a good quality bacon and exercise some judgment when it comes to baking it. I baked my breadsticks for 10 minutes longer than the time suggested in the recipe to assure the bacon was properly cooked. Once you take them from the oven, you'll want to move and roll them around so they don't stick to the racks as they cool. This is tricky because they'll be soft, but they'll firm up again as they cool. I suggest making these several hours before you plan to serve them. We were of two minds when it came to these. The Silver Fox, who loves bacon, thought they were great. Me? Maybe not so much. If you are looking for easy snack for game day these are worth a try. Here's the recipe.

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Breadsticks...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Bon Appetit

Ingredients:
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons chili powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
12 slices thin cut bacon
24 long thin breadsticks (grissini)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) Combine brown sugar and chili powder and optional cayenne in a shallow pan; set aside.
3) Cut bacon in half lengthwise. Wrap 1 piece of bacon around each breadstick barber pole style. Roll each bread stick in brown-sugar mixture. Place bread sticks in a single layer on a cooling rack. Place rack on a foil-lined 15 x 10 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan.
4) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve at room temperature. Yield: 24 breadsticks.









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Baked Indian Pudding

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite... I suspect I'm about to make a fool of myself. Despite that, I'll continue on, sure in the knowledge that I am in the company of good friends who won't judge me too harshly. Here's the deal. Last weekend, I was blog browsing and found a recipe for (American) Indian pudding on a site I like and trust. It looked delicious and as I read through the ingredient list I realized, that despite my years in the kitchen, I had never made or tasted this dessert. It was a perfect weekend to give it a try. Which I did. The thing is, I don't know if my pudding was a triumph or a tragedy. I know it was delicious and redolent with spices, but its texture was not what I anticipated and I suspect that this was my bad. I searched the internet trying to find a blurb that described the texture of the finished pudding. If one exists, I couldn't find it, so here comes the part where I make a fool of myself. Despite 3 hours of cooking and an hour of rest, my pudding was like a soft polenta that had a very thin crust. It certainly didn't look like any of the photos I found while surfing the net. I thought it was to runny to serve, but rather than toss it out, I decided to see what would happen when it was chilled. Several hours later, I pulled it from the refrigerator and the once polenta-like mass had set and now held its shape. It looked a bit like bread pudding. I quickly warmed a serving, topped it with a scoop of ice cream and had a taste. It was delicious. Its appearance left much to be desired, but the combination was lovely and the dish had wonderful flavor. My problem is that I have unresolved issues with its texture and appearance. I hope a few of my Yankee readers will bring me up to speed. Should the pudding be loose or firm? This is a dessert that did not move westward with the pioneers and we, out here in the diaspora, are clueless. Your input would be appreciated. At any rate, here's the recipe I used to make the pudding.

Baked Indian Pudding...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Yankee Magazine and Linda Thompson

Ingredients:
4 cups milk
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon each of ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup cream

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a sauce pan, bring 3 cups of the milk to a boil. Mix 1 cup of cold milk with the cornmeal and stir slowly into the hot milk. Cook on low for 20 minutes, stirring often.
2) Add butter, sugar and molasses. Remove from heat. Add salt and spices. Beat eggs in a small bowl. Gradually add 1 cup hot liquid to eggs, stirring constantly. Stir tempered eggs into cornmeal mixture. Pour into a 1-1/2 quart baking dish and bake for 2 to 2-1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes during the first hour. After 1 hour, pour cream over top of pudding but do not stir. Continue cooking until top is set, 1 to 1-1/2 hours longer. Served warm topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Cook's Note: I used light molasses and golden brown sugar to make this pudding. The color, I'm sure, is better with a full-bodied molasses and dark brown sugar. Those flavors, however, are too strong for my palate. If you are watching calories or fat grams, milk or light cream can be used in place of the heavy cream.








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