Dragon's Sweet Teeth: Blueberry Lemonade Popsicles

This Friday isn't a drink (sorry to say, because I'm thirsty). Today, the Hand of the Kitchen brings you a variation on last week's blueberry lemonade: blueberry lemonade popsicles!

Our hand of the kitchen loves to freeze juices into popsicles during the summer and the lemonade last week was no exception. To make the popsicles extra tasty, though, we've mixed a special batch of lemonade with a little less water so the flavor is nice and juicy.

Fresh Blueberry Lemonade Popsicles

Ingredients

3/4 c hot water

3/4 c sugar

1 c fresh lemon juice

1 c fresh blueberries

2 c cold water 

1 popsicle tray

Step 1: Puree together your hot water, sugar, lemon juice, and blueberries until everything is thoroughly mixed. 

Step 2: Pour your mixture into a pitcher through a fine mesh strainer 

Step 3: Stir in your cold water and pour your juice mixture into popsicle trays, add sticks, and freeze. 

These popsicles are so delicious! 

4th of July Special: The Hand of the Kitchen's Ice Cream Recipe

Our Hand of the Kitchen is the second in command whenever we bake, fry, or throw food at each other. Since the unfortunate, temporary demise of our last Hand by White Walker Sugar Cookies, we've had to instate a new force for decision making.

 Naturally, we went with our guts and everyone pointed at the youngest while simultaneously touching their noses not-it.

Today, our Hand brings you her very own recipe for the 4th of July while the rest of us blow up stuff in the name of liberty. Introducing, the proper way to eat your ice cream from the littlest hipster we know.

First, you'll need to make sure you have everything...

Ingredients

blueberries
blackberries
strawberries
vanilla ice cream

homemade whipped cream ingredients:
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp powdered sugar
1/8 tsp of vanilla extract

Step 1: To make your whipped cream, whip your whipping cream, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar into a frenzy in a bowl until soft peaks form or it's the consistency you like best.

Step 2: Scoop 3 nice, round scoops of vanilla ice cream into a bowl.

Step 3: slice your strawberries and sprinkle strawberry slices, blueberries, and blackberries over your ice cream.


Doesn't that look delicious!

Finally, add a couple of dollops of our homemade whipped cream to the top of your ice cream and start eating!

Here in the Atlanta area we really only have a matter of minutes to eat ice cream out on the front porch while it still counts as "ice cream" and not just "cream." Our Hand tried her best to finish her deliciousness as fast as possible so she could join in festivities.

Happy 4th of July! From House Cook's littlest hipster and Hand of the Kitchen. 

They're Poisoned! Boysenberry Beignets

At the very beginning of Game of Thrones, the Hand of the King was poisoned: Jon Arryn. Unfortunately, there are things hidden in food even in the kitchen. Our Hand of the Kitchen found this out the hard way when she bit into one of our fluffy beignets. They were boysened! 

That's right, boysenberry jam filled beignets. This beignet recipe makes enough to feed the whole kingdom, but watch out. You don't want to lose your Hand of the Kitchen to a boysened beignet.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 envelope or 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

2 eggs

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 cup evaporated milk

7 cups bread flour

1/4 cup shortening

Oil, for deep-frying

3 cups powdered sugar

2 cups boysenberry jam (seedless is easiest)

Step 1: Pour lukewarm water into a large glass bowl. Stir in granulated sugar. Carefully stir in yeast. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, salt, and evaporated milk. After the yeast mixture has sat 10 minutes, add egg mixture and stir together.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, measure out bread flour. Add 3 cups of flour to the yeast mixture. Stir in. Next stir in shortening and then slowly add the rest of the flour while stirring.

Step 4: Remove dough from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth.

Step 5: Spray a large glass bowl with nonstick spray and place kneaded dough in bowl. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

Step 6: Preheat oil in a large pot to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. *If you can't check the temperature of the oil, then use a small piece of dough to check if the oil is hot enough.

Step 7: Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into squares about 1 1/2 inches wide. Deep-fry, flipping the beignets constantly, until brown. It should take about 3-5 minutes per beignet. Make sure not to overcrowd your beignets in the fryer. Remove from fryer and place on a plate covered by at least two paper towels. 

Step 8: To insert the filling -- Using a toothpick or any other small object, puncture a hole into the side of the beignet. Put jam in a piping bag with a round pastry tip. If you have a small round tip, make sure you're using seedless jam as seeds will need a larger tip to fit through. Insert the piping tip into the hole in the side of the beignet and squeeze out some jam. You'll probably have to do a couple of practice beignets to figure out exactly how much jam to push out of the bag.

Step 9: Sift powdered sugar over your beignets and serve.

This recipe makes a lot of beignets, but don't worry. If you don't want to make all of them at once, store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 36 hours. Enjoy!

Toasting the Hand of the Kitchen with a Red Wine Smoothie

Just as every king needs his castle and his Hand of the King to manage his affairs, so the kitchen of House Cook needs a sous chef--or, in our case, Hand of the Kitchen--to do most of the actual baking.

House Cook is, sadly, divided between two estates. One is where most of the sisters live in Georgia, and the other is where the oldest, Sarah-Lambert, lives in Texas. Most of our cooking is done in Georgia by the sisters there, but every Friday we will be introducing a new drink--some alcoholic, some not--from the kitchen of Sarah-Lambert.

Today, we toast the introduction of the Hand of the Kitchen, Katy-Lynn. You'll be able to spot who the Hand is at all times in our pictures because she'll be wearing her Hand of the Kitchen spoon brooch:

And now (drum roll, please)... meet the Hand of the Kitchen:

What should we toast her with, you ask? How about a delicious red wine smoothie! Yuuuuummy! 

This is an absolutely delicious drink. Perfect for the hot weather, but not out of place when the cool seasons return, this red wine smoothie is fabulous. Here's how to make your own: 

1 1/2 c red wine 

1/2 c frozen blueberries

1/2 c frozen raspberries

1/2 c frozen blackberries 

1 c Greek yogurt

1 tsp sugar *

Blend it all together and voilá, you have your smoothie! 

 Perfect with smoked Gouda cheese. I also enjoyed some Muenster cheese with mine. 

*I prefer mine a little more bitter, so 1 tsp of sugar is fine for me, but if you prefer sweeter simply add a tablespoon instead

**If you feel like 3 types of berries is too many then sacrifice the blackberries