For the Muffins:
1 lb. (3-1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. table salt
1-1/3 cups granulated sugar
5 oz. (10 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 cup crème fraîche or sour cream, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1-1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (no need to thaw)
3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted (optional)
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze:
3 cups confectioners sugar
6 Tbsp. water

Instructions for the Muffins:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil (or spray with cooking spray) the top of a standard 12-cup muffin tin (cups should be 2-3/4 inches across and about 1 inch deep) and line with paper or foil baking cups.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, butter, milk, crème fraîche or sour cream, eggs, and egg yolk until well combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently with a rubber spatula just until the dry ingredients are mostly moistened (the batter will be lumpy)–there should still be quite a few streaks of dry flour.

Sprinkle the blueberries, pecan pieces, lemon zest, and vanilla extract onto the batter, and fold them in until just combined. (The batter will be lumpy; don’t try to smooth it out.) Do not overmix.

Use an ice cream scoop if you have one with a “sweeper” in it; otherwise, use two spoons to spoon the batter into the muffin cups, distributing all of the batter evenly. The batter should mound higher than the rim of the cups by about 3/4 inch. Bake until the muffins are golden brown and spring back lightly when you press the middle, 30 to 35 minutes. (The muffin tops will probably meld together.) Let the tin cool on a rack for 15 to 20 minutes.

For the Glaze:
Put the confectioners’ sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add 6 Tbs. of water and whisk until smooth. The glaze should be thin enough that it will drip off a spoon; if it’s more like a spreadable icing, thin it with more water, 1 Tbs. at a time.

When the muffins have cooled down but are still slightly warm, use a table knife to separate the tops, and then invert the pan and pop out the muffins. Put the muffins on a rack over foil to catch any glaze that drips off. Dab the glaze on the muffins with a pastry brush, or spoon the glaze on and let it drip over the sides. It should leave a smooth, somewhat translucent coating. You may not need all of the glaze. Wait 20 to 30 minutes for the glaze to set; it won’t dry completely.

Topping:
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
pinch of kosher salt
1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix egg whites, brown sugar and salt in a bowl. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Set aside.

Cake:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until blended, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly. Stir in flour mixture alternately with sour cream in three additions, beginning and ending with flour. Mix only until just blended, then gently stir in chocolate chips. Spoon evenly into greased 10″ tube pan, smoothing top with spatula. Spoon topping evenly over batter, but do not stir in. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto plate, then invert again onto plate so that nuts are on top. When cool, drizzle with glaze if desired.

Glaze:  (optional)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp sour cream
Milk to thin

Blend until smooth and of desired consistency. Drizzle over cake.

1/2 cup wild rice, cooked
2 1/2 cups white rice, cooked
2 Tbsp. butter
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 onion, coarsely chopped
8 oz chicken broth
1/8 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add celery and onion; saute until tender. Add shredded carrot, chicken broth, cranberries and seasonings. Simmer gently until cranberries are plump, about 10 minutes. Stir in cooked white rice and wild rice. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until thoroughly heated. Taste; adjust seasonings if needed.

1 pkg turkey sausages, casings removed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 (15 oz) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
32 oz chicken broth
10 oz fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped

Remove sausage from casings, breaking into small pieces. Cook sausage in olive oil; drain and crumble. Add onion and garlic to pan; saute until soft. Add turkey back into pan, then add beans, tomatoes, and broth. Cover pan and simmer until hot. Add spinach and heat until just wilted. Serve with Parmesan shavings and crushed red pepper for a little heat.

Cut potatoes into small, bite-size cubes. Dice peppers; chop onions. In large pot, saute onions and peppers in reserved bacon fat until soft. Add chicken broth and potatoes; bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat, cooking for about 10 minutes. Uncover, stir in corn and creamed corn; cook until potato is tender, stirring occasionally. Whisk flour into milk. Strain into soup, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Add bacon; stir in parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls; garnish with shredded cheese.

Toss first 7 ingredients in a large bowl to mix and coat.

To serve, line a large serving platter with lettuce; top with ham mixture and sprinkle with almonds. Serves 4

3 cups sugar
1 cup Crisco
4 beaten eggs

Cream together the sugar, Crisco and eggs.

2 cups boiling water
1 cup chopped dates
3 tsp baking soda

In medium-sized bowl, pour 2 cups boiling water over dates and baking soda. Let stand for 3 minutes.

4 cups flour
4 cups All-Bran cereal
2 cups Bran Buds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 quart buttermilk

Mix together and add to creamed mixture; stir, then add date mixture. Mix well. Pour into large covered container for storage in the refrigerator. It will thicken as it stands. To bake, scoop into muffin pan lined with paper muffin liners. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Place all ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to boil; lower heat to simmer and cover. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until apples are soft enough to mash. Taste to check for sweetness/tartness and add sugar if desired. Cook until sugar is dissolved if you added more.
Remove from heat and mash with potato masher. Serve hot to accompany poultry or pork. Store in fridge for a week or two if it lasts that long, or freeze up to a year.

4 center-cut boneless pork chops, 6-8 ounces each, 3/4 – 1 inch thick
Table salt for brining (I used kosher salt)

To brine: Dissolve 1/4 cup salt in 1 quart water. Submerge chops, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes. Remove from brine, rinse chops under cold water and dry with paper towels. If you are using enhanced pork injected with a salt solution, eliminate this step.

Breading:
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn in 1-inch pieces
1 small minced shallot (about 2 Tbsp)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed in garlic press (about 1 Tbsp) (this tends to be a bit garlicky, so watch out!)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Ground black pepper
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 tsp of dried)
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour - plus 6 Tbsp, used separately
3 large egg whites
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Lemon wedges

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pork chops with brine as directed above.

2. Pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground. You should have about 3 1/2 cups crumbs. Transfer crumbs to rimmed baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Toss until crumbs are evenly coated with oil. Bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. (Do not turn off oven.) Cool to room temperature. Toss crumbs with Parmesan, thyme and parsley.

3. Place 1/4 cup flour in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined and smooth; add remaining 6 Tbsp flour to mixture and whisk until smooth, with pea-sized lumps remaining.

4. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Spray wire rack with cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. Season chops with pepper. Dredge 1 pork chop in flour; shake off excess. Using tongs, coat with egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to chop. Transfer breaded chop to wire rack. Repeat with remaining three chops.

5. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chops registers 150 degrees, about 17-25 minutes. (It took longer for my chops to reach 150 degrees, but maybe living at 7400 ft. had something to do with that.) Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

These chops were tender from the brine bath and the tops of the chops were crunchy, just like ATK promised they’d be. The bottoms of the chops, however, were not as crunchy as the top. If you went through the trouble of browning them before baking, maybe you could remedy that, but I like the ease of popping them in the oven straightaway.

3 cups cooked couscous
1 medium red or yellow sweet pepper, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries and/or golden raisins
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 green onion, chopped
1 cup bottled poppy seed dressing
1/2 tsp grated lime peel
dash of hot pepper sauce
8 cups mixed baby greens
1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds

In a large bowl, combine cooked couscous, sweet pepper, dried fruit, cilantro and green onion. In a small bowl combine dressing, grated lime peel, and hot pepper sauce. Stir half of dressing into couscous mixture. Cover and chill mixture and remaining dressing for 1 to 4 hours. To serve, combine salad greens and almonds in a large bowl. Pour remaining dressing over greens; toss to coat. Divide greens among 6 salad plates. Spoon couscous mixture atop the greens.