The Buckland Co. Quarantine Cooking Round-Up
The Buckland Co. Quarantine Cooking Round-Up
It seems the entire world has taken to cooking and baking more than ever during quarantine, and the Buckland Co. team is no different. For many of us, cooking isn't just about eating well, but it's about creating entertainment and community at a time when we can't be as social as we normally are. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our working style wasn't impacted as largely as other marketing agencies - we've always been a remote-first based team, but the things we miss most have a lot to do with spending time outside of the house, and you guessed it, food.
In case you've cooked your favorites too many times to count lately, we thought we'd share a few of our most-cooked recipes here with you. Let us know if you try any of these out at home. We're always looking to connect with people who want to talk about their marketing strategies, but we also really like to talk about food and the global impact the food industry has on all of us.
Without further ado, here are our most loved quarantine recipes:
Banana Pancakes:
You will need:
2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup quick-cook oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (optional)
Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Use 1/4 cup measuring cup to get batter onto a warm griddle or pan greased with avocado oil. Cook until brown on each side. This will make about 8 pancakes. For larger pancakes, use a 1/2 cup measuring cup when scooping batter.
3-Ingredient Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies:
You will need:
2 ripe bananas
1 and 1/2 cup oats
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Directions:
Mush the bananas, then mix in oats and chocolate chips. Brosh a cookie tray with avocado oil and scoop the batter onto the baking sheet in in teaspoon sized balls. Press down on each ball to flatten it. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until the cookies begin to brown a little, then move the cookies from the sheet to a cooling rack. Store in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
Slow Cooked Alaea Pork:
You will need:
3 strips of bacon
1 tablespoon Alaea (red Hawaiian) sea salt
a pork shoulder
Directions:
Put everything in a slow cooker and cook for about 9 hours for a 3 lb shoulder. Yum!
Cowboy Caviar Dip:
You will need:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sugar or to taste, see notes
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons Tony Chachere's creole seasoning
1 lime, juiced
1 pound Roma tomatoes seeded and diced
1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
1 (11 ounce) can corn, drained
1 red onion diced
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup chopped cilantro or parsley, from 1 bunch
Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sugar, white wine vinegar, lime juice and all seasoning. Add diced tomatoes, black-eyed peas, beans, corn, red onion, and bell peppers. Stir to combine. Stir in cilantro (or parsley). Cover and chill until serving time. Serve with your favorite tortilla or blue corn chips
Easy Breakfast Chilaquiles:
You will need:
3/4 cup diced white onions
4 ounces chorizo sausage
2 cups salsa verde
4 cups thick tortilla chips
4 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
3/4 cup crumbled queso fresco cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 sliced and diced avocados
Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large oven safe skillet, sauté onions with chorizo over medium heat. Cook until chorizo starts to brown and is nearly cooked through.
Add salsa verde to skillet. Bring temperature up to medium high and bring mixture to a slow boil. Scrape up any brown bits. Simmer for 3-5 minutes until sauce thickens. Stir occasionally.
Add tortilla chips by the handful to the skillet. Toss with a spatula to completely cover the chips in the sauce. Don’t worry about breaking some of the chips.
Remove skillet from heat. With a large spoon, make a well in the sauce and chips. Then crack 1 egg into it. Repeat with the remaining 3 eggs. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer skillet to oven and bake until the whites are set and the yolks just start to set, about 8-10 minutes.
Remove skillet from oven and top with cheese, cilantro, and avocado.
Peanut Butter Cookies:
You will need:
1/2 Cup Butter Softened
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1 Large Egg
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar (for rolling cookie dough in)
30 Mini Reeses Cups (or chocolate candy of choice)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
In a large bowl beat together butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and peanut butter until light in color and fluffy looking. About 1-2 minutes.
Add in egg and vanilla extract. Blend together.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Stir with a whisk to break up clumps. Add half of this mixture to the butter/sugar mix and blend on low speed until incorporated. Add the other half and blend until just mixed together.
Measure the 1/4 granulated sugar and place in a separate bowl. Take a pick of dough (about a tablespoon) and roll into a ball. Roll the cookie dough ball into the sugar and place on prepared cookie sheet.
You should be able to put all 30 cookies on one cooking sheet. About 6 rows of 5.
Bake for 7 minutes. The cookies will look the same (they will be slightly paler in color and look “puffy”) but trust…they are ready to be pulled out of the oven.
Immediately press in mini Reeses cups or candy of choice. The edges of the cookie will crack-that’s what we want to see! Let cookies sit on sheet for about 15 minutes.
King Arthur Classic Birthday Cake (or Just Every Day Quarantine Cake:)
You will need:
Cake
2 cups (241g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups (397g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract optional, for enhanced flavor
1 cup (227g) milk (whole milk preferred)
4 tablespoons (57g) butter, cut into pats
1/3 cup (67g) vegetable oil
Frosting
1 1/4 cups (106g) natural cocoa
4 cups (454g) confectioners' sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (74g) hot water
1 tablespoon (14g) vanilla extract
16 tablespoons (227g) butter, softened
*See “tips,” below for an alternative to natural cocoa.
Directions:
To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the center. Lightly grease two 8” x 2” or 9” x 2” round cake pans; for extra protection against sticking, line the bottom of the pans with parchment rounds (you can cut these yourself or use precut 8” or 9” rounds), and grease the parchment. If your 8” pans aren’t at least 2” deep, use 9” pans.
Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, either using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, if using, until thickened and light gold in color, about 2 minutes at medium-high speed. If your stand mixer doesn’t have a whisk attachment, beat for 5 minutes using the paddle attachment. The batter should fall in thick ribbons from the beaters, whisk, or paddle.
Add the dry ingredients to the mixture in the bowl and mix — by hand or on low speed of a mixer — just enough to combine. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then mix again briefly, to fully incorporate any residual flour or sticky bits.
In a saucepan set over medium heat or in the microwave, bring the milk just to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter and oil, stirring by hand until the butter has melted.
Slowly mix the hot milk-butter-oil mixture into the batter, stirring on low speed of a mixer until everything is well combined. Scrape the bowl and mix briefly, just until smooth.
Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. You’ll use about 2 3/4 cups (about 580g) in each.
Bake the cakes until the edges are pulling away from the sides of the pan, a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, and the top feels set. This should take 26 to 30 minutes for two 9” pans, or 38 to 42 minutes for two 8” pans; a digital thermometer inserted into the center of the cakes should read 205°F. Remove the cakes from the oven, carefully loosen the edges, and allow them to cool for 15 minutes in the pans. Then turn them out of the pans and transfer them to a rack, right-side up, to cool to room temperature.
To make the frosting: In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, stir together - by hand or mixer - the cocoa powder, 1 cup (113g) of the confectioners’ sugar, and the salt. Stir in the water and vanilla, scraping the bowl if necessary.
Add the butter and remaining confectioners’ sugar, stirring to combine. Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the frosting at medium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until lightened in color and fluffy, stopping halfway through to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. When the frosting is ready, scoop out a bit on your spatula; does it seem nicely spreadable? If it's too stiff, beat in water (1 teaspoon at a time) until it's the consistency you want.
To assemble the cake: Place one of the cake layers on a serving plate; tuck pieces of waxed or parchment paper underneath the edge of the cake to keep the plate clean. Spread the bottom layer with about 1 cup of frosting, enough to make a 1/4” to 1/2”-thick layer. Center the second layer bottom-side up (for a flat top) over the frosted layer and press gently to set it in place.
If your schedule permits, place the cake in the refrigerator or freezer, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 hours) to firm it up. This will make the layers less likely to slide around as you work, and the cake won’t shed crumbs as you frost. If you’re pressed for time, you can skip this step.
To finish the cake: For the best-looking cake, do the frosting in two steps. First, spread a very thin layer of frosting around the sides and across the top; this is called a crumb coat. You should be able to see the cake through the frosting in spots, it’s that thin. Refrigerate the cake for 20 minutes to let this layer set. Again, skip this step if time is a factor.
Once the cake is chilled, use the remaining frosting to coat it thoroughly and evenly; our cake styling guide offers six pro-style options for "styling" your cake. If you have any leftover frosting, you can use it to pipe decorations on the top and/or around the base.
Store the cake, covered, at room temperature, or in the refrigerator if your kitchen is hot. Let it come to room temperature before serving. For tips on slicing, see The best way to cut cake