Ideas for using 'Blueberries' other than for desserts? [Moved from General Topics board]

[fruglescot]

"I NEVER MET A BLUEBERRY I DIDN'T LIKE".....to eat.

I understand that Blueberries have many uses other than just landing in dessert items. I have a good supply of them at present and would appreciate knowing what other ways I could employ them in the kitchen. Thanks

[lexpatti]

Blueberries and balsamic reduction for a nice sauce on sliced roasted pork tenderloin.

[Tripper]

Just made them this morning...my favorite blueberry recipe is from the March, 1991 Gourmet, Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins Loseke. The sour cream makes them moist and the blueberries are in perfect quantity to make them flavorful but not to heavy. I think this recipe is available on epicurious.com. Enjoy!

[classylady]

Couldn't find the recipe on epicurious. Mine uses plain yogurt.

[lucyis]

I eat them with breakfast ricotta and yogurt. I make a parfait with fruit, cheese, yogurt and crunchy dry cereal.

[lgss]

Blueberries are good in muffins, in cold cereal, in smoothies with frozen bananas and oj.

[classylady]

Blueberry muffins very simple. Made 24 muffins this weekend almost gone.

[mrsfury]

If I'm cooking pork chops I'll sear them, remove from pan & add blueberries. Cook them down a bit then add the pork back to the pan to finish cooking. Delicious.

[BarbaraBarick]

Blueberries make great wine! Blueberry jam is good too, especially with a little cinnamon. And blueberry ice cream, chutney, pie, muffins, not to mention by the handful while picking...they are so versatile!

[Querencia]

Put a bag of frozen blueberries or a pint of fresh ones in saucepan with a cup of water and half a cup of sugar. Bring to boil. Thicken with about a tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in cold water. Eat this hot on waffles, pancakes, or French toast.

Also: put them in salad. A good combination is mesclun, blueberries, and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

[Bunnyfood]

Blueberry bar-b-que(or is that BBQ?) sauce. My sibling makes a huge batch of this every summer, when low bush berries are in season. Awesome and versitle- good on beef, lamb chicken and even mushrooms...

[Emme]

Add them to chicken salad... esp dried blueberries if possible.

[troutpoint]

As a sauce for salmon or halibut...Excellent!

[Quine]

Think with your tastebuds and not with your ingredient list! You have blueberries and you like them...simple, throw a few into the item you are eating/cooking that you think might work...Blam! Even if it is just a spoonful or a small test amount. What do you like about blueberries, the tang? Think something else you use tangy...the sweet? Experiment!

Now I sorta have to do a disclaimer here: blueberries (a huge part of why they are so good for you) also color what they mix/cook with, so while wild asparagus soup, would be wonderful with blueberries, the colors might look "ack".

[fruglescot]

Very creative thinking. Thanks Quine
homemade hummus and BB, hmmmh?

[halendanielle]

My favorite blueberry dish is an overnight blueberry french toast bake, made with leftover french bread. It's delicious. Here's a link to my favorite version of it: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blueberr...

[karykat]

They're great in smoothies with yogurt, a bit of cinnamon and whatever else you like in them.

[rouxmaker]

Cook them down slightly and add to a balsamic vinaigrette. We keep this in the fridge on an ongoing basis.
Also, as mentioned by others, add them to a hunter sauce or brown sauce for red meat.

[julesrules]

I've had them in restaurant dishes with both salmon and scallops. Both quite nice, can't remember the details.

[moh]

Blueberries make a very nice addition to rich fond-de-veau/pan juice sauces for venison and caribou. Little bit of fond-de-veau, some blueberries, add some port or red wine, some butter to make it even more decadent, berry nice with game meat. It is a popular combination here in Quebec bistros, especially with the availability of the intensely flavoured wild blueberries. We have a bunch of Lac St. Jean frozen blueberries from the summer (turns out the $80 basket is a lot of blueberries!) and we are loving them.

Classic breakfast uses include muffins, topping yogurt and cottage cheese, an my favorite, hubbie's fine blueberry pancakes.

[Sam Fujisaka]

moh, you beat me to it. I was going to mention as a sauce for elk meat.

[moh]

Sam, forgive my asking, I had thought you were in South America, do you get elk meat there? Please excuse my ignorance of South America, have not had the chance to visit or learn a lot about the Southern hemisphere...

[Sam Fujisaka]

moh, I was born in California and went to grad school in Oregon. Hunted when I lived in the US. Friends brought back elk meat from Alaska. I wish I had elk or caribou here. I made bluberry sauces for venison in Oregon. I've had venison and capybara from the Amazon when working in Pucallpa, Peru. I mentioned before that I steamed some smoked capybara, made a fruit sauce, and passed it off as imported Virginia smoked ham one time in Pucallpa.

[moh]

I imagine blueberry would work quite well with smoked capybara! Fruglescot can't ask for a more original idea than that! Thanks for the explanation!

[fruglescot]

Now you tell me, Sam & Moh. I just finished off some elk meat sausage last week.

[charlesbois]

I've had a dining companion choose a roasted chicken dish with a blueberry lemon sauce. It was more of a summer dish, but it was very good. Not sure how I would re-create it at home. Maybe shallots, mashed blueberries, lemon and thyme, with a little white wine?

[jsaimd]

My hubsand made a nice blueberry bacon maple sauce that went on top of a goat cheese panna cotta - not diet food but very good.

[foodie_guru]

Blueberry Chutney - goes great with poultry, pork, on sandwiches...I make tons when wild blueberries are plentiful here in Ontario.

[NYchowcook]

You can add them to a mixed salad, such as with an orange vinaigrette.
I add them to my breakfast yogurt/muesli mix.

(But I have mine in the freezer from the summer; can't help wondering where in the world your fresh blueberries came from -- carbon footprint??)

[Kagey]

I put them in oatmeal. I'm lazy, so my method is: put rolled oats (not instant) in bowl. Add a little squeeze of honey and a handful of blueberries. Pour boiled water over, then cover with a plate. Go away and do something else for about 10 minutes, then come back and stir and eat.

Of course, depending on how many berries you have, you could also make jam or compote, which is easier. Just boil them up with some sugar to taste, maybe a little lemon juice for extra tang. Simmer till mushy, then store in a jar in the fridge. Use on ice cream and yogurt, or on toast. Or in oatmeal.