Fridge Friday: Episode 18

Was it really January when I last posted a Fridge Friday? O.M.G. I knew I have been slacking, but wow. Someone needs to give me a kick in the pants.

This morning, April 15th, I woke up to snow. Yep. Snow. It had rained and misted most of the day yesterday, and when I finally drifted off to sleep last night, it was sleeting and the ground was white. 6-8 inches of heavy, wet stuff greeted me this morning, and it is still coming down (who knows what the final snowfall total will be). The wind is trying to whip it around, but thankfully this moisture-loaded stuff isn't really into playing the full on blizzard scene. With the saturated ground from the recent rains, the slop underneath is ugly enough without minimizing our visibility and drifting.

So...since I won't be readying my herb garden for something to keep those now-buried-under-snow chives company, I decide that I should do a Fridge Friday.

What jumps out at me? I thought about grabbing a tube of those refrigerator biscuits and making another batch of Banana Monkey Bread. I whipped that up on Sunday by modifying a recipe I found at another blog, Pinch of Yum. Hubs and I gobbled it up with big glasses of Burbach Dairy chocolate milk for a huge sugar rush. It was delish. But right now, my gaze is drifting to left of those biscuits on the middle shelf. The blueberries caught my eye.

Hubs has a benefit for the local Volunteer Fire Department tomorrow. The guys will be frying chicken and serving it up with baked beans and potato salad. The wives of the crew are providing desserts. Hubs requested something with blueberries, and I picked up 2 big boxes. At this point, I really have no clue what I am going to bake up for the chicken dinner, but some Blueberry Cupcakes with Butter Cream Frosting that I created last summer from a Bon Appetit recipe sound good...so does Blueberry-Lime Pound Cake (that ended up on the floor last time I made it...that is a fateful tale)...and Lemon-Blueberry Zucchini Cake....and there is always the Blueberry Cream Cheese Bar Experiment that I haven't yet perfected... Damn. Too many choices.What blueberry option would YOU like On YOUR Plate?

EDIT: As I post this, I get a call that the Fire Department Benefit will be postponed until April 30th. Weather has forced the school's prom to be delayed until tomorrow (I bet that there are a lot of unhappy kids right now, but...what do you do?). This means that the facility for the chicken fry will be needed on Saturday for the prom banquet. Schedule juggling due to winter weather conditions isn't fun...and, I still have to decided what to do with those blueberries... Cupcake, anyone?

Blueberry Cupcakes with Butter Cream Frosting

(adapted from Bon Appetit)

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries, frozen for 4 hours
Frosting:
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 teaspoons (or more) whole milk
1 cup chilled fresh blueberries
Fresh mint sprigs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.
Sift flour and next 4 ingredients into large bowl.
Whisk melted butter and oil in medium bowl.
Add eggs; whisk to blend.
Whisk in buttermilk, milk, vanilla extract, and peel.
Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients; whisk just to blend.
Stir in frozen blueberries.
Divide batter among liners.Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 23 minutes.
Transfer cupcakes to racks; cool.
For Frosting:
Combine first 4 ingredients in medium bowl.
Add 4 teaspoons milk.
Using electric mixer, beat until well blended and fluffy, adding more milk by teaspoonfuls if dry, about 4 minutes.
Spread frosting over top of cupcakes.
Garnish cupcakes with chilled berries, and mint sprigs, if desired.
(Can be made 4 hours ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)