{Perfect One-Dish Dinners} Mini Parmesan Muffins with Prosciutto and Basil

Growing up, Sundays in the fall were the days dedicated to finishing homework, watching football and eating a delicious dinner with the family. Every night of the week, my parents always made it a point to sit down as a family and enjoy dinner together. Some nights it was difficult thanks to practices and such but they always made it work. However, Sundays were always my favorite. The day was always so relaxing as we geared up for another week of busy schedules.

Thanks to my husband’s lovely work schedule, we rarely sit down to enjoy a meal together since he’s usually at work whenever I return home from the office. Sundays on the other hand, is the one day of the week when we get to spend the entire morning, afternoon and evening together. We love looking forward to this day of the week because we always have something exciting and fun planned.

Recently, we had the cutest and sweetest couple over for a Sunday dinner and I really wanted to make something extra special. Included in my swag bag from the Big Summer Potluck was Pam Anderson’s new cookbook, Perfect One-Dish Dinners: All You Need for Easy Get-Togethers.

This cookbook, filled with mouth-watering recipes and photos, is one of the most unique cookbooks I have in my very large collection. Pam Anderson makes cooking for get-togethers a breeze by providing the main entrée recipe, as well as an appetizer, salad, dessert and even a suggested beverage pairing for the entire meal. Another great feature of the cookbook is that the recipes are broken down into easy-to-follow steps. As Ree Drummond perfectly stated, “Pam makes you feel like you can cook anything, and with her help — you can!” 

Leading up to the dinner, I swear I flipped through the book at least once every night for about a week. I would flip through page after page trying to determine what would be the perfect dish…the only problem was that they were all perfect dishes. After about the tenth time of flipping through the book, I noticed that I kept stopping at the recipe for Coq au Vin Blanc. The photo was so beautiful and the dish looked absolutely delicious. After hearing rave reviews on the dish from other BSPers who prepared the recipe since receiving the book, I knew I had to make this for our dinner guests.

The Coq au Vin Blanc with Spring Vegetables was a French chicken stew that was light and incredibly fast to prepare. The combination of chicken, artichokes, white wine, new potatoes, pearl onions, mushrooms and prosciutto resulted in an intense flavor that kept all of us going back for more. Pam included the perfect shortcuts that made this dish easy to prepare all while making the end result taste out-of-this-world amazing.

To accompany the main entree, I also prepared these Cheddar and Parsley Biscuits, a goat cheese and beet salad and a delicious dessert which was Pecan Pie Sundaes, another favorite of mine from Pam Anderson’s book. As Pam stated, they “have all the lusciousness of pecan pie — without all the baking time and effort.”

After testing two recipes from the book, I immediately realized that I had to have this book handy at all times when it comes to planning a menu for a get-together…or even just a simple Sunday dinner…or any night of the week for the matter.

Here’s a sneak peek at a delicious appetizer recipe from Pam Anderson’s book that I recently prepared to accompany a hearty chili. These muffins are perfect to serve in mini-size if you’re looking for a simple appetizer. They’re also perfect to prepare in regular-size to serve in place of a roll, especially if you’re serving a soup, chili or stew this time of year.

Mini Parmesan Muffins with Prosciutto and Basil

Ingredients:

• 3 cups bleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
• 1/2 cup minced prosciutto (about 2 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, Parmesan cheese, prosciutto and basil in a medium bowl.
3. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
4. Whisk mustard and eggs together, then beat into butter mixture until it forms pea-size lumps.
5. Add dry ingredients and yogurt into the butter mixture, alternating between dry ingredients and yogurt one third at a time. Beat until smooth.
6. Spray four 12-cup mini muffin tins with vegetable oil-spray (I used a regular size muffin tin and buttered the tin instead of using the spray).
7. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
8. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes.
9. Cook pans on a wire rack, remove muffins and continue to cool or serve.

Pam Anderson’s cookbook, Perfect One-Dish Dinners: All You Need for Easy Get-Togethers, includes recipes for appetizers, stews, casseroles, roasts, salads, desserts…the list goes on and on. If you are hosting a dinner party, or need recipes for simple yet flavorful dishes for weeknight meals, this book, as stated in its title, is perfect. 

*Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. I was given a copy of Pam Anderson’s cookbook as a parting gift after the Big Summer Potluck.

To read more reviews of the cookbook or to check out other tasty recipes from the book, be sure to stop by these fantastic blogs:

• Dad Cooks Dinner
• Recipe Girl
• Art of Gluten Free Baking
• Kitchen Gadget Girl
• My Baking Addiction
• Wenderly
• Bluebonnets and Brownies
• The Sensitive Pantry
• What’s Cooking Blog
• Two Peas and Their Pod
• What’s Gaby Cooking
• Bellalimento
• Smith Bites
• My Favorite Everything
• Food For My Family
• Savor The Thyme
• Ivoryhut
• Dine And Dish
• Gluten Free Girl
• Picky Palate
• Tickled Red
• She Wears Many Hats
• What We’re Eating
• This Week For Dinner
• SugarCrafter
• Good Life Eats
• La Fuji Mama
• How To: Simplify
• Rookie Moms