Honey Baked Chicken

INGREDIENTS
1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place chicken pieces in a shallow baking pan, skin side up. Combine the melted butter or margarine, honey, mustard, salt and curry powder and pour the mixture over the chicken. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/4 hours (75 minutes), basting every 15 minutes with pan drippings, until the chicken is nicely browned and tender and the juices run clear.

Quick Mediterranean Pasta

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces spaghetti
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon olive oil

DIRECTIONS
In a large pot with boiling salted water cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Rinse with cool water. Drain well.
In a large bowl mix the bread crumbs, oregano, basil, and cooled pasta. Pour olive oil to your likening over the mixture.
Serve salad cold.

pear & vanilla bean filled chocolate cupcakes with vanilla bean buttercream

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cupcakes

~30 regular cupcakes / 375 degree oven

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temp

2-1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, room temp

1-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about

3 minutes.3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.

4. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.

5. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine

6. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.

7. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 1/2’s full. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Pear Filling
1 good sized pear, pealed, pitted, and chopped into small dice

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 vanilla bean

1. Add pear and water to a medium sized pan. Cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.

2. Stir together sugar and cornstarch then stir into the pears.

3. Split open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds to the pears.

4. Cook until thick, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

Note: The filling can be made a day in advance and stored covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

Soft Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature

4 cups sifted powdered sugar1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 vanilla bean2 tablespoons milk

1. Beat butter at medium-high speed until creamy.

2. Sift powdered sugar into the mixer bowl (right on top of the beaten butter). Beat to combine.

3. Split open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds to the frosting.

4. Add the vanilla and the milk. Beat until combined.

Pear Chips
1 good sized pear
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Using a mandolin or very sharp knife, slice thin cross-sections of pear.

3. Place on a baking sheet making sure that the slices do not touch.

4. Let them dry in a 200 degree oven for about 1 hour (depends on how thin the slices are) flipping 2 or 3 times until they are dried out and no longer soggy.

Types of Chocolates

Dark Chocolate - can contain anything from 30% to 75% cocoa solids. It has slightly sweet flavor and dark colour. It is the chocolate most used in cooking. For everyday cooking and the majority of these recipes calling for dark chocolates, choose one with around 50% cocoa solids. However, Dark chocolate with a higher cocoa solid content will give a richer more intense flavor. This cocolate is often called luxury or continental chocolate and has a cocoa solid content from 70% to 75% cocoa solids.

Milk Chocolate - as its name suggest, contains milk and has lovely creamy, mild and sweet flavor. It is mostly used as an eating chocolate rather than cooking. However, it does have its place in chocolate cookery especially for decorations and when a milder creamy flavor is required. It is more sensitive to heat than dark chocolate so care must be taken when melting it.

White Choolate- Contains a lower cocoa butter content and cocoa solids. It can be quite temperamental when used in cooking. Always choose a luxury cooking white chocolate to avoid problems and take great care not to overheat when melting. White chocolate is useful for colour contrast especially when decorating cakes.

Couverture- although this is the preferred chocolates by the professionals (it retains a high gloss after melting and cooking) it requires tempering and is only available from specialist suppliers.

Chocolate Chips - are available in white, dark and milk chocolates. varieties are used for baking and decoration.

Cocoa Powder - is the powder left after the cocoa butter has been pressed from the roasted and ground beans. It is unsweetened and bitter in flavour. It gives a good, strong chocolate flavor when used in cooking.

Definition: Frosting vs. Icing

Frosting: A sweet glaze often made with sugar, butter, water and egg whites or milk, often flavored and cooked (although it can be uncooked). It's used to cover or decorate baked goods, such as cakes or cookies and can range from thick to thin.

Icing: see Frosting. Yep that's right, the words are interchangeable. Often frosting is actually a type of icing, but it depends on where you're from.
Frosting and icing seem to be words that vary by region. So how about you, what do you call it?