Dining in New York, August 2019, Part 1

Mr Minx wanted to see an exhibition of old Batman comic art at the Society of Illustrators in New York, so we made a long weekend out of it. Blessed with magically cool late-August weather, we enjoyed our wanderings even more than usual.

Our first trip after dumping our luggage at our hotel was to Rip's Malt Shop. Some of you may know that I am a graphic designer, but you probably don't know that I designed Rip's logo and menu. Their original Brooklyn location is a bit of a palaver to get to, but their new Manhattan location is a short subway ride away from our regular Midtown base camp. After I snapped some pics of their snazzy neon sign, we sat down to enjoy some vegan comfort food. I had the Chicago dog, topped with tomato, neon green relish, sport peppers, diced onion, celery salt, mustard, and a pickle spear (with another on the side). It was a pretty reasonable facsimile of a meat hot dog.

Mr Minx had the Rip's Burger, a vegan patty topped with chili, cheese, bacon, special sauce, and cole slaw. It, too, was tasty, but not as convincing a replica to my taste buds. I'm not crazy about meat substitutes, and never sought them out in my brief time as a vegetarian. YMMV, of course.

After Rip's, we wandered up to Dough for some giant-ass doughnuts. We tried the Cafe au Lait, "inspired by a classic coffee cake made with a roasted coffee glaze and crunchy pecan topping," and a blueberry one with an oaty crumb topping. They were pretty good, but maybe too big? If there's such a thing as a donut that is too large, that is. And they were super fluffy as well, more the texture of coffee cake than a donut. The flavors of the glazes could have had more oomph, too. I dunno. I wanted to be more impressed than I was.

After dinner at NoNoNo (post coming soon), we hit up the Spot Dessert Bar in K-town for dessert. The Milky Puff sounded best to us: warm puff pastry, brulee bananas, white chocolate honey comb, corn flakes, and condensed milk ice cream. It was pretty good. The puff pastry was cooked nicely, and the chocolate honeycomb was a fun novelty that we had seen made on a recent episode of the Food Network's Worst Bakers in America. (The trick is to spread melted chocolate over bubble wrap. When it hardens and is peeled off, the result looks a bit like honeycomb. Cool, huh?) I wanted more bananas though, and didn't see the need for cornflakes when the puff pastry had a similar texture.

I know my reactions to these items are pretty meh, but they failed to excite me. We did eat a lot more on our trip, and much of it tasted great, so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out these sites.

Rip's Malt Shop
48 Greenwich Ave
New York, NY 10012
https://www.ripsmaltshop.com/

Dough
14 W 19th Street @ 5th Ave
New York, NY 10011
https://www.doughdoughnuts.com/

Spot Dessert Bar
11 W 32nd St, 2nd floor
New York, NY 10001
https://www.spotdessertbar.com

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Chile Chili

A few weeks ago, I realized that the entire winter had gone by without my making a batch of beef chili. While it is Spring (believe it or not), and chili might be thought of as cold weather food, cooking it up is a snap and it tastes fine all year long.

My preferred method of making chili involves chunks of beef, canned tomatoes, and no beans. This time, I went the opposite direction by using ground beef, no tomatoes (at least not many), and a can of black beans. Why? Because sometimes we need change in our lives. Change is good.

Beef and Black Bean Chili

4 New Mexico chiles
2.5 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1-2 chipotles en adobo, mashed
2 tablespoons cacao nibs, ground or 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 bottle beer of your choice (not too hoppy)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 tomatoes, diced (optional)
Sriracha
Lime Juice
Salt
Additional spices for re-seasoning
Grated cheese
Scallions or spring onions for garnish

Put the chiles and 1 1/2 cups water in a large glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Remove from microwave and set aside. If the chiles aren't submerged, put a small plate over to keep them under the water.

Cook the ground beef in a dutch oven, stirring regularly, until it begins to brown. Drain any accumulated fat, then add the onions to the beef in the pot. Cook, covered, 5-6 minutes until onions soften. Combine the next 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Once onions have softened, stir in the spices and cook an additional 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in the garlic, then add the tomato paste, chipotles, and cacao or cocoa.

Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles put them in a food processor or blender with enough of the soaking liquid to make a puree. Add to the pot, along with the beer and the strained soaking liquid. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.

Cook, covered, for at least one hour, or until ground beef is tender. Add the beans and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add sriracha, lime juice, and salt to taste.

Sometimes, when a dish like chili has been cooking for a long time, it needs a bit of re-seasoning. Add pinches more of cumin, coriander, and smoked paprika to taste.

Leftovers taste great on a hot dog.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Pretzel Rolls

While I'm a pretty adventurous cook, baking still scares me a little. I'm not a scientist by any means, and baking is a pretty science-y thing. If one doesn't follow directions exactly, chances are, things might not turn out the way they should.

I bake bread now, but only with the almost fool-proof technique found in Artisan Baking in Five Minutes a Day. My first attempt at bread, 20 years ago, was so bad, I haven't tried any other recipe. Until I decided to put on my big-girl apron and tackle soft pretzels. The dough required very little handling, so maybe I couldn't mess it up too badly. And I thought it might be nice to eat sandwiches on homemade pretzel rolls while we watched the commercials during the Super Bowl.

The recipe, which I found in an old Better Homes and Garden special baking magazine, called for twisting the dough. That part didn't turn out so well. When I lowered the twists into a pot of hot water with baking soda, they untwisted. The end result was a bit uneven-looking, as you can see from the photos. And, they fell apart once we crammed a sausage into them. But...they tasted pretty damn good.

We ate them with smoked kielbasa topped with a honey pickled mustard seed mayo, fennel slaw, caramelized onions, and tomato jam.

I'd make them again, but wouldn't bother with the twist part. I'd just shape the dough into 6 long rolls before the 30 minute rise and leave them that way for the dunk in soda water.

Pretzel Rolls (adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Fall Baking 2013)

3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/3 to 2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 cups hot water
1/2 cup baking soda
1 egg yolk lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
Coarse salt

Heat milk, water, and sugar until just warm (110°F). I used a microwave, but you can use a saucepan over low heat. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook. Sprinkle with the yeast and let stand for a few minutes until foamy. Add 2 1/3 cups of flour, the butter, and salt and beat on low speed until combined, 2-3 minutes. Turn speed to medium-low and beat an additional 8-10 minutes, until a soft dough forms. Scrape bowl as necessary. If the dough seems too sticky, add the additional flour. When the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl, turn it out onto a dry surface.

Knead dough a few times, shape into a ball, and place into a bowl that has a bit of olive oil in it. Turn the dough to coat with oil, cover bowl, and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment.

Punch risen dough down and divide into six portions. Roll and stretch each portion into a 12" rope. (OR, just make fat 6" - 8" long rolls.) Place each on prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Fold each piece of dough in half, then twist twice. (OR, just skip the twist if you made the fat rolls.)

In a deep dish or pot, add the water and the baking soda, stirring to dissolve soda. Using a slotted spoon, lower dough twists into water for 10 seconds, then drain on paper towels. Arrange drained twists on prepared baking sheet.

Beat egg and water together in a small bowl. Brush over dough twists and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes until deeply browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 6 rolls.

Posted on Minxeats.com.