Day 28: Homemade Cake Doughnuts

I'm a Krispy Kreme fan, myself, but I do love a good cake doughnut.  Whenever we move to a new place one of our first tasks is to scout out the doughnut situation, hoping to find a mom and pop joint that's been around for years.  So far we haven't found one here, but there is not a lack of Krispy Kreme, and there are even a few Dunkin Donuts around.

My husband grew up overseas where you couldn't just stop by a doughnut shop, so his mom made doughnuts for them.  He's begged me since we've been married to make them, and last year I finally gave it a try.  I was surprised at how relatively easy it is!  The only trouble, I see, is using so much oil to cook them in, which makes the house smell for a day or so.  BUT, I recently discovered (and I'm probably behind the times on this) that they make doughnut molds so that you can bake doughnuts!  This is going on my Christmas list, although I'm a bit skeptical that they will taste as good.

If you're looking for something fun to make for breakfast this weekend, this might be a great try.  This recipe is a classic from Better Homes and Gardens, so you can count on it being tried and true.

Homemade Cake Doughnuts

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sugar
vegetable oil for frying

In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.  Set aside.  In a large bowl combine eggs and sugar, beating until thick.  Combine milk and melted butter; pour into sugar mixture.  Using a wooden spoon, add the flour mixture to ingredients in large bowl and mix until combined.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.  The dough will still be sticky.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll (or pat) to 1/2-inch thickness.

Cut with a floured 2 1/2-inch cutter.  Use a 1 1/4-inch cutter to cut out the center.  (I used a glass turned upside down for the large circle, and then cut out the center with a knife.  Improvise here).

Fry about 3 doughnuts at a time in hot oil (it should be at 375F) for 2 1/2 - 5 minutes, flipping once, until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.

I used a candy thermometer to keep the oil at the right temp.

Coat warm doughnuts in cinnamon/sugar mixture or powdered sugar.  Makes about 15 doughnuts and doughnut holes.

source: Better Homes and Gardens

Blueberry Chicken Salad with Sage Butter Biscuits

This chicken salad came about as some other of my recipes do, simply because I'm trying to use what I have on hand, instead of going to the store and spending more money.  Does anyone else do this?  We were going to small group and everyone was supposed to bring an appetizer.  My mind was drawing a blank, though, so a friend inspired me by suggesting chicken salad in cream puffs (which, by the way, would be awesome--I just didn't want to spend the time to make the cream puffs, but someone really should tackle this!), which made me decide on chicken salad.

I found a great recipe tucked away in my collection that I had saved from a Better Homes & Gardens magazine in 2008.  I altered the chicken salad recipe a bit, but kept the original biscuit recipe.  There weren't any sandwiches left after our dinner, so I guess you could say that everyone liked them.

Chicken salad recipes are wonderful, but everyone has a different opinion on the proportions of dressing to chicken and other ingredients.  The recipe below is what I used, so you may need to adjust it to fit your own chicken salad preference.

These would be great for a shower, luncheon, or just make the chicken salad and serve it on a bed of lettuce. Hope you all enjoy!

Blueberry Chicken Salad:
2 cooked chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons sour cream
Blueberries
Craisins
Slivered Almonds
chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine chicken, mayonnaise and sour cream.  Gently stir in as many blueberries, craisins, almonds and chives as you desire.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for at least an hour before using.  Spoon onto Sage Butter Biscuits (recipe below).

recipe adapted from Better Homes &Gardens, April, 2008

Sage Butter Biscuits:
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup chilled, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 425F.  In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg until blended; set aside.  Blend flour, baking powder, salt, sage and pepper with a pastry knife, or in a food processor.  Add cold butter and pulse or quickly blend with pastry knife until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Do not overmix.  Add milk mixture and process just until moist clumps begin to form.  Transfer dough to a floured surface.

Knead dough until it holds together (this part was tricky for me because my dough was super moist.  I probably added about 1/2 cup of flour to the dough by the time I was done kneading it) about 6 turns.  Roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness.  Using a floured biscuit cutter, or the rim of a small drinking glass, cut out biscuits.  Reroll scraps and cut remaining biscuits.  Transfer to a large nonstick or lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.  Slice in half and spoon in Blueberry Chicken Salad.

recipe slightly adapted from Better Homes & Gardens, April, 2008


Linking to: Strictly Homemade Tuesday at Strictly Homemade

and

Pork Medallions with Cherry Sauce (BH&G)

A few weeks ago I picked up a magazine that I spotted while checking out at the grocery store.  I don't normally do this, but this Better Homes and Gardens special caught my eye.  It's titled, 'garden fresh recipes'.  Since we have a garden this year, I decided I could use some inspiration on how to cook some new recipes.  So far, I've not been disappointed.   The magazine is on display until August 16, so if you want one, go get it!

For some reason the picture won't rotate in blogger, but this is what the cover looks like.

This pork dish uses cherries, which are not from our garden, but they are fresh, so I enjoyed using some summery goodness for our dinner.  Everyone loved it!  And the girls were so excited to eat cherries for dinner!

Recipe:

1 pound pork tenderloin (I used half of a pork loin, so my directions reflect that size cut)

salt and freshly ground pepper

oil

3/4 cup cranberry, cherry or apple juice

2 teaspoons honey dijon mustard

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup fresh sweet cherries, halved and pitted

Cut pork into 1-inch slices. 

Cut those slices in half to achieve a medallion size. 

Place slices between two sheets of saran wrap.  Use the flat side of a meat mallet to pound each slice to a 1/2-inch thickness.  

Before pounding

After pounding

Sprinkle pork lightly with salt and pepper. Coat a large nonstick skillet with oil.  Heat skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pork.

Cook for about 6 minutes, until pork is slightly pink in center and juices run clear.  

Transfer to a platter and cover with foil.

In a small bowl stir together juice, mustard, and cornstarch.  Add to same skillet.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. 

 Add cherries; cook and stir for about 4 more minutes.  

Pour cherry sauce over pork.  

Source:  Recipe slightly altered from Better Homes and Gardens, garden fresh recipes, 2011