Apricots

Apricots are an amazing fruit. Aside from looking pretty in a plain bowl presentation, you can use them for a wide range of accompaniments:

• Pit and cut the apricot into slices and put in a fresh leaf lettuce salad with goat cheese
• Chop finely with pistachios, red onion, some oil, vinegar and sugar for a great meat relish
• Chop and saute, then add soy sauce, sherry and a bit of brown sugar for a jam-like sauce
• Add with raisins to cranberry sauce for a light twist on the traditional turkey side
• Peel the skins and mash the flesh in a blender or food processor, add 1/2 package of unflavored gelatin and a bit of water then freeze into popsicles

Image from LiveStrong

Bobby Baker Chicken Revisited

Made this last night for dinner. Not a new dish - made it before - but seriously, you should try it :)

This time, I baked it - 30 minutes at 450°F - rather than broil. And I did it on a rack to drip out the extra fat, but the thighs stayed pretty juicy.

S'More Cupcakes

Do I actually need to say anything?

These are cool because you can make them in a number of different ways whether you use a mix or not.

What you need:
Graham crackers (I used a box of pre-crushed crumbs)
Butter
Dark chocolate
Dark chocolate cake mix
Eggs
Water
Oil
Mini marshmallows

Make a batch of the cake mix. Seriously, I never make a whole box - that's way too many for just 2 of us - so I usually make about 1/3. In a separate bowl, blend graham crackers with melted butter (about 1 tsp per 5 crackers) which will help hold it together. Carefully melt about 1/4 bar of chocolate (nuke it for 20 seconds then stir it until it's smooth).

Put cupcake papers into a tin. Distribute about 1-2 tsp of graham mix in the bottom, then drizzle a small spoon of melted chocolate over it - this will help hold it together. Pour cake batter in until cups are 2/3 full. Bake as normal but just slightly less (2 minutes) than recommended. Remove from oven and switch oven to broiler. Place 3-4 mini marshmallows on top and place under broil until they start to turn golden. When you pop them out, drop 1-2 squares of dark chocolate on the side.

Enjoy!