Category Archives: Butters

Cheese & Jalapeño Sour Cream Muffins

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This is what you’ll need to create these treats:

Cooking spray
3/4 cup fine corn meal
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbs sugar
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
3 Tbs light sour cream
3 Tbs canola oil
2 eggs
3 Tbs chopped jalapeños
3/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400°.
Lightly coat 8 muffin tins with cooking spray
Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in large bowl.
In separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, oil, and eggs.
Add sour cream mixture to cornmeal mixture, stirring until just combined.
Fold in jalapeños and cheese.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes until golden.
Insert knife or pick in center to test for doneness.
About 150 calories per muffin.

I was in Cabo when I concocted these little nuggets of a muffin, taking full advantage of the abundance of jalapeños. Fun fact: jalapeños account for thirty percent of Mexico’s chili production. I snapped the above left photo at the end of the day when they were freshly baked and the sun was streaming dreamily in through the living room window. The next day we pulled out the preserves and enjoyed brunch with the muffins reheated, along with Donaldo’s delicious version of Huevos Rancheros, where flavors comingle in the best imaginable way.

Donaldo is his Cabo name, assigned by the Diamante caddies. He is on those golf courses when not in the kitchen with his skillet in hand! Go on, send your taste buds on holiday.

Mexican Street Corn

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Diamante Resort, Cabo San Lucas
Left: Poolside View of the Villa ~ Right: View from The Dunes Course

When in Cabo…Try your darndest to consume all of the locally farmed goods available. We hung out in the beautiful villa kitchen almost every evening, prepping fresh deliciousness to share around the dining table. So let’s all stretch our culinary senses and live more scrumptiously. Yum…and more to come (think Baha Artichokes!)

8 ears fresh sweet corn
2 Tbs canola oil
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Zest of a lime
2 jalapeno peppers, ribs and seeds removed, and sliced
1/2 cup cotija
Sprinkle of chili powder

Brush corn with canola oil.
Grill corn and peppers over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes.
(Or boil until tender if a grill is not available. Then char it in a skillet over medium high heat.)
Stir together sour cream, cilantro, and lime zest in bowl.
Brush corn with mixture.
Sprinkle with cotija and then chili powder to taste.

Quick and Easy Biscuits

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Start to Finish in Less that 20 Minutes. And That’s a Promise! This is life in abundance, as we neither bake nor eat biscuits in this household often. But when we do, we do it right baby! I paired this wonderful bread with homemade pimento cheese, cilantro butter, and homemade blueberry jam. That was for Sunday brunch. Sunday Supper saw us making tiny turkey sliders and topping them again with yummyness. The Don enjoyed his with pimento cheese and jam; and I enjoyed mine with cilantro butter and jam (and plenty of it)! I made it just to share with you excellent people who follow along on this joint journey. Southern know how people! Shine Bright Like a Diamond.

2 cups all purpose flour 
1/4 cup sugar
2 t baking powder 
1/2 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1 cup whole milk 
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs melted butter

Preheat oven to 450°.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.
In separate bowl, whisk together milk and mayonnaise.
Stir milk mixture into flour mixture until just combined.
Spoon level scoops of dough onto parchment paper, spacing them an inch apart.
Spread with melted butter.
Bake until golden, about 12 to 14 minutes.
Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Roasted Asparagus with Garlic Butter

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Zinging into spring with a simple little midweek veggie; heck I’d serve this at a dinner party…oh that’s right, we don’t have those anymore, but SOON!! Nothing unusual about this little asparagus side dish, except its deliciousness. It’s perfect vintage southern and an ideal pairing with any protein. Try it, even if you’ve tried it before. Totally worth every little dancing taste bud that it hits sliding down the throat. Yum! Captured the below pics with the afternoon sun streaming in my westward facing kitchen windows. Perhaps it’s a bright and encouraging sign that we are turning the corner on Covid.

2 lbs thick asparagus, trimmed
1 Tbs olive oil
2 t fresh thyme leaves
3/4 t  Kosher salt, divided
4 Tbs room temperature unsalted butter, divided
1/4 t ground black pepper
4 minced garlic cloves

Place oven rack 6 inches from broiler.
Preheat oven to medium broil.
Place asparagus on rimmed baking sheet.
Pour oil, thyme, 1/2  t salt over asparagus.
Toss gently to combine.
Broil asparagus for 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove and toss asparagus to turn over.
Broil another 3 minutes, until lightly browned.
Transfer asparagus to serving platter.
Place 1 Tbs butter and garlic into skillet over medium high.
Cook until lightly golden.
Place remaining 3 Tbs butter, pepper, and remaining salt in small bowl.
Pour garlic melted butter into bowl.
Stir until combined; will make creamy sauce.
Pour sauce over asparagus and serve.
Serves 4 to 6.

Mahi, Two Ways: Part One

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Well hellodie from the fishing scene in Istanbul! Follow the journey from the Turkish shore all the way back to Morehead City’s Captain Jim’s Seafood, and then straight in to Peg’s Kitchen for a lively adventure in fish prep! First, Istanbul, 2013… Lone fishermen in small boats catch Bluefish on the Bosphorus Strait and deliver them straight to the docks where they are cooked on sight for locals and tourists alike. Fanciful, docked, decorative boats serve as open air kitchens. Can NOT get any fresher than that! The cooks are constantly singing melodic tunes of “Balik Ekmek”, meaning “Fish Sandwich.” We indulged happily!

Fast forward to 2021 , where we are state side, and here in Greenville, NC cooking some great fresh mahi filets, two ways! No need to escape to the shore, I’m gonna school ya from right here. So, Be Inspired and Come in Hungry! Perhaps one of these recipes will become your signature fish dish…One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish! (Thank you Dr. Seuss.)

First Way: Sautéed Mahi with Clarified Butter

6 oz mahi filet, 11/2″ thick
1/4 t Kosher salt
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
1 t olive oil
2 Tbs clarified butter
1/4 cup dry white wine, more if needed
1 Tbs capers
1/4 cup baby tomatoes
1 Tbs chopped chives, for serving
Cilantro, for serving

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper.
Heat skillet over medium-high heat.
Drizzle oil on bottom of skillet.
Add butter to skillet and swirl to evenly coat pan.
Add fish to skillet.
Cook 4 minutes.
Flip fish to other side.
Add wine, capers, and tomatoes to skillet.
Reduce heat to medium low.
Cook 6 minutes, until cooked through.

To plate:
Place filet on plate.
Spoon cooking juices with capers and tomatoes over filet.
Garnish with chives and cilantro.
Serve with a side of roasted red potatoes.

Goat Cheese Butter

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Butter Goat Cheese IAssembled treasure; this is it! Simple and loaded with deliciousness; fab on every little thing you can imagine!!

“Butter vs Margarine?
I trust cows over scientists.”
Unattributed.

There are endless ways to use this yummy butter. Knock yourself out!

2 sticks of butter, softened to room temperature.
4 oz of goat cheese, softened to room temperature.
Mix the two together by hand until well combined.

Place 2 small sheets of wax paper on counter.
Separate into 2 equal portions by hand.
Shape into 2 log rolls.
Place the 2 rolls onto paper.
Sprinkle with black pepper.
Wrap wax paper around log, then place in a Ziploc.
Refrigerate or freeze.
Slice as needed.

Butter Goat Cheese Butter Soup II

NOT a great pic…sorry!

Toss into soup, dot on a chicken breast or burger, use on baked potato and rice, asparagus, green beans. Basically, add jazz to ANYTHING with this amazingly simple concoction. Yep…continuing to keep you fresh and slightly gourmet!!
Keeps 2 months in freezer.