Dunkin Style | Recipes, restaurant and product reviews, contests, essays and insight into culinary news.

Home » Archive

Articles in the Dunkin Style Category

Dunkin Style »

[19 Feb 2009 | No Comment | 106 views]

Today’s tips are not really about being frugal, but about avoiding theft of your identity and credit. I am extremely careful about such things (part of being frugal), and have a few tips that you may not be aware of.

1. When putting your return address on an envelope, omit your name and just have the return address. It will still get returned to you but no one will be able to associate a name with your address. (I learned this from an Engineer about 20 years ago)

2. Have a black wide tip felt pen with you at all times. Check the copy of your visa bill being left at a restaurant and ensure it does not have your credit card information on it, if so use your pen.

3. When they ask you if you “want a receipt” say YES, if you say no, they most likely will pitch your copy into the garbage can. (this question is asked more and more often to me)

4. Make sure you have a “theft proof” mailbox, with the economy the way it is, more and more thief’s are breaking into mail boxes to steal mail and your identity. If you don’t live in a community that has them and you have a regular mailbox, you can get one, my in laws did and it works perfectly.

5. Check your credit reports every year, every 6 months would be even better. You can get free credit reports once per year at www.freecreditreport.com, get them from all 3 agencies and ensure they are correct.

Dunkin Style »

Gingerbread Pancakes

[18 Feb 2009 | No Comment | 63 views]

I frequent Coconut & Lime, a great website by Rachael Rappaport, all of her recipes are original. I was there a few days ago and saw a recipe for Gingerbread Pancakes, and since we are breakfast FIENDS, I decided to try them this morning. The only change we made, was to add 1/4 cup of blue cornmeal and a bit more buttermilk.

All I can say is “OH MY GOD”, these are the best pancakes I have eaten in my entire life. Seriously, try them, then tell her how much you love them!

I served with Apple, Maple, Chicken Breakfast Sausage and the combination was incredible!

1 cup flour

1 cup buttermilk, plus extra

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 egg at room temperature

1/4 cup Blue Cornmeal (optional)

Whisk egg, molasses, butter, sugar and buttermilk together until smooth, set aside.

In medium bowl, whisk corn meal, spices, flour, baking soda, baking powder.

Slowly mix in egg/milk mixture, there should be no lumps, batter will be thick

Cook on your buttered non stick griddle until both sides are nicely browned

Dunkin Style »

Tuesdays with Martha Anne

[17 Feb 2009 | No Comment | 73 views]

Welcome to Tuesdays with Martha Anne, thanks for visiting!

Today our darling puppy got to spend the day at the Animal Allergy And Skin Clinic. We dropped her off at 9:00 a.m. and were not able to pick her up until 4:00 p.m., it was the longest day for her daddy and I without her.

Her allergies have gotten worse over time, so we finally bit the bullett financially and decided to take her to a Specialist.

It is quite similar to the way they test humans. They shaved her and tested her for over 100 allergens, and will come up with a serum which I will get to inject her with every other day. I am not looking forward to it, but if she gets relief it will be worth it.

The poor little wrapped up foot, they took some skin scrapings apparently.

If you look closely you can see the raised bumps where she indeed had an allergic reaction.

I think she is thinking “am I a freaking Supermodel or what” stop with the pictures!

Dunkin Style »

Apple, Maple, Chicken Breakfast Sausage

[16 Feb 2009 | No Comment | 79 views]

One day while watching the Food Network Channel, I saw Rachael Ray making this sausage for a breakfast sandwich. I thought it sounded tasty and would be a great deal less fat than regular sausage. It is sooo delicious, I highly suggest giving it a try. You could use the patties in a sandwich as well.

I purchased some ground chicken and a package of boneless, skinless thighs and used the grinding attachment of my Kitchenaid Mixer to grind some of my own chicken. I mixed the two together and it was a nice texture. I doubled the recipe, and used my round silicone pancake mold to make them a nice round shape.

It is pretty obvious which chicken I purchased and which I ground myself.

2 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 turn of the pan
2 pounds ground chicken breast
2 small McIntosh apple peeled and finely chopped (I used a green and a red apple)
1/4 to 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoon grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp Cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoon oil. Mix chicken with apple, syrup, grill seasoning, poultry seasoning, cinnamon, cayenne, salt pepper and nutmeg.

Form large patties and set into hot oil. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165-170, using your instant read thermometer. I highly recommend the CDN brand of Instant Read Thermometer

Dunkin Style »

Happy Valentines Day

[14 Feb 2009 | No Comment | 186 views]

Happy Valentines Day,

To my husband of 24 years! I am very lucky to still be madly and deeply in love with this man!

The keys to 24 years of bliss!

We don’t take each other too seriously and we have fun. The fact that we are best friends certainly helps!

Many people don’t understand us, and I don’t blame them, we have a pretty fantastic and unique relationship, for which I am soo thankful for!

Dunkin Style »

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

[13 Feb 2009 | No Comment | 184 views]

We like Peanut Butter in this family and my husband will actually eat one or two of these cookies if I make them (he is not a sweets type guy). I enjoy making them on the holidays as they are a hit with everyone who tries them.

This year I used Carmel Hersheys Kisses instead of regular chocolate, this added a new level of decadence!

1/2 cup Shortening
1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Sugar
48 Hersheys Kisses, unwrapped

HEAT oven to 375°F.

CREAM together shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat well.

STIR together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Beat on low speed until stiff dough forms.

SHAPE into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

BAKE 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

TOP each cookie immediately with an unwrapped chocolate piece, pressing down firmly so that cookie cracks around edge. Remove from cookie sheets to cool.

Dunkin Style »

Tips from a Frugal Housewife

[12 Feb 2009 | No Comment | 6 views]

Welcome to Tips from a Frugal Housewife.

Today’s tip is one I stumbled upon a few years ago. Did you know that most grocery stores have a website and on the website you can view this weeks ad?

You can actually pull up the weekly ad from each store on separate tabs of your browser and compare prices between stores. I find that quite often the stores have just about the same things on sale.

I figure out which store has the most things on sale that I need, and I shop there.

One thing to beware of are the dates on the ads, I have been burned more than once by not catching the dates the ads are valid thru!

Dunkin Style »

Tips from a Frugal Housewife

[12 Feb 2009 | No Comment | 172 views]

Welcome to Tips from a Frugal Housewife.

Today’s tip is a good one I have been using for many years. Instead of wasting paper towels in your kitchen, use white dish towels.

Once every few years, I buy the plain white bar towels or just plain white hand towels from Costco. They come in a 12 pack I believe.

I keep 2 on hand at all times in the kitchen. When they are dirty, just wash them. I bleach them all quarterly. When they start to fray or are too stained to continue to use, they become “dog towels” and are relegated to the garage.

No waste, and you save a bunch of money on paper towels.

Now if I could get my husband to slow down on his paper towel usage when he cooks I would be golden!

Dunkin Style »

Tacos Carne Asada

[11 Feb 2009 | No Comment | 263 views]

We both love Mexican Food and have Carne Asada Tacos on a fairly regular basis. The recipe we use is from Tyler Florence and we highly recommend it!

2 pounds flank or skirt steak, trimmed of excess fat (see Mojo Marinade below)

Olive oil, for coating the grill

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Corn tortillas

Shredded romaine or iceberg lettuce, for serving

Chopped white onion, for serving

Shredded Jack cheese, for serving

2 limes cut into wedges for serving

Sour Cream (optional)

Guacamole (optional)

Pica De Gall0 (we used store bought)

Mojo Marinade:
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 large handful fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 limes, juiced
1 orange, juiced
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

In a mortar and pestle or bowl, mash together the garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, salt, and pepper to make a paste. Put the paste in gallon ziplock

Add the lime juice, orange juice, vinegar, and oil. Shake it up really well to combine, add in your steak. Marinade for 1 hour up to 7 hours.

Preheat an outdoor grill or a ridged grill pan over medium-high flame (you can also use a broiler). Brush the grates with a little oil to prevent the meat from sticking.

Pull the steak out of the mojo marinade and season the steak on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill (or broil) the steak for 7 to 10 minutes per side, turning once, until medium-rare.

Remove the steak to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to settle. Thinly slice the steak across the grain on a diagonal.

Warm the tortillas for 30 seconds on each side in a dry skillet or on the grill, until toasty and pliable.

Assemble your tacos as you wish.