Paper Palate

When the weather gets warm and we can spend more time outside, it just seems like the perfect time to have more casual get togethers.  In the summer months, it’s just so easy to ask friends to stop on by for brunch or dinner.  When I saw the title of Rick Rodgers new cookbook, Summer Gatherings: Casual Food to Enjoy with Family and Friends, I was immediately intrigued. 

Now, when it comes to a new cookbook, the first thing I look at are the pictures. This book does not disappoint; there are pictures of almost all of the recipes. I like to know what the finished dish should look like before I attempt it, and sometimes a picture will inspire me to try something I might not have if I didn’t know what it looked like in the first place. I agree with the saying that you “eat with your eyes”; presentation is everything. 

There are recipes for everything from beverages to desserts.  We adore blueberry muffins, so the Melt-in-Your-Mouth Blueberry Muffins were a perfect first recipe to try from this cookbook. This recipe uses sour cream, and it helps create a nice cakelike texture in the muffin. Each muffin was bursting with blueberries, and they were a huge hit with my oldest. I am sure I’ll be revisiting this cookbook frequently during the summer months whenever we have friends over. I have a list of recipes I still want to try, such as: Fried Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms, Grilled Chicken with Rosemary White Barbecue Sauce, Grilled Pork Chops with Fresh Asian Plum Sauce, and Fettucine with Creamy Zucchini Sauce - just to name a few. 

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup full-fat sour cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
11/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 10 muffin tins with paper liners.  (I was able to get 12 muffins from this recipe.)

Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl.  Beat the eggs until combined in another medium bowl, then stir in the sour cream and melted butter.  Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon equal amounts of the batter into each muffin tin.

Bake until the muffin tops are golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cake rack. Serve warm or cooled to room temperature. (The muffins are best served the same day that they are baked. Freeze leftovers, stored in a self-locking plastic bag, for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature.)

Cookbook photo courtesy of Amazon.com.