Beanie Weenies

My life has been entirely too hectic recently. Besides my day job, my various writing jobs, a time-consuming gig as a book editor/designer, and media dinners, we've had to run back and forth to a local nursing facility to visit my Dad, who's been an in-patient for physical and occupational therapy. Normally I get to do quite a bit of cooking on the weekend, but recently I've had to resort to making things that were fast because time was short. One-pot meals are ideal.

One particular weekend, we had a relatively quick chicken dish that yielded a decent amount of leftovers. My suggestion of chicken pot pie with a puff pastry crust was met with a non-committal shrug from Mr Minx. I realized he doesn't particularly like pot pie (a sentiment I do not quite understand, as he likes both stew and pie) so switched gears. I found two cans of cannellini beans in the cupboard, and remembered that we still had a package of Hofmann German Brand Frankfurters in the freezer. Beans and Franks it was!

I recall that beans and franks was a favorite fast dinner in my house when I was a teenager. Mom would cook some onions, add two cans of Big John beans and sliced Esskay franks and we'd devour it with white bread (one of the few times we'd eat white bread untoasted). Big John beans are pretty sweet, but everyone in my family has a sweet tooth. Mr Minx does, too, but he's not a fan of sweet entrees. Keeping that in mind, I toned down the sweetness of the beans quite a bit. If you are a fan of sweeter beans, then by all means, add more brown sugar and/or ketchup. I think it's one of those recipes that's easily customizable--just add more or less of any of the ingredients to taste. Want spicy beans? Add more hot sauce. Want tangier beans? Add more vinegar and mustard. Hate marjoram--leave it out. (I only used it because I happened to have a bunch of fresh marjoram in the fridge left over from another dish.) Don't have sundried tomatoes? Use more tomato paste. No salami? Leave it out. You get the drift. In other words, the recipe below is a loose guideline.

Beanie Weenies

1 tablespoon bacon grease or olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
2 teaspoons minced fresh marjoram
2 tablespoons 'nduja or other salami, minced if hard salami
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, rehydrated in boiling water for 15 minutes, chopped
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste
Splash Worcestershire sauce
Pinch smoked paprika
1 cup chicken stock
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (use Navy beans if you prefer smaller beans)
4 hot dogs, sliced on the bias

Melt the bacon grease (if solid out of the fridge, like mine was) in a 3-quart saucepan or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to turn golden, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the marjoram, 'nduja or salami, and tomatoes and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly, until the mixture is pasty. Add the ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, mustard, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, and stock and bring to a boil. Add the beans and bring back to the boil. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until beans are tender, 30-35 minutes. Add the sliced hot dogs and cook until warmed through.

Serve with buttered bread, if desired.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Maryland Dogs

Upstate New York's Hofmann Sausage Company has been around since 1879 but only started expanding their market in 2013. If you haven't heard of them yet, they're still working their way through the Maryland area. They have, however, partnered with University of Maryland Athletics to create a special "Maryland Dog." I didn't think their recipe was Maryland-centric at all (but should probably have cut them some slack since they're not local). In any case, they sent me vouchers for free hot dogs so I could develop my own Maryland Dog.

I found that Harris Teeter sells Hofmann products, but the one at Canton Crossing only had the German Brand Frankfurters. They are made with pork, beef, and veal, and are stuffed in a natural lamb casing. They are smooth-textured with a snappy bite and a nice mild flavor that was absolutely perfect to pair with crab. For what is Maryland cuisine without crab?

My first idea was to top a frank with cold crab dip and a little tomato for color. Mr Minx felt that corn needed to be an essential element in the topping as well, but I didn't want to muddle the crab dip with another ingredient. So we made a crab salad using both tomato and corn. The corn we charred a bit so the topping would have all the colors of the Maryland flag: gold, black, red, and white (from the mayo used to bind the ingredients). We used claw meat, because it has extra crabby flavor and is less expensive than lump, but if you're not on a budget, by all means use lump crab in both recipes.

The cold crab dip on Maryland Dog #1 warmed up nicely when it came in contact with the hot dog, and the creaminess was a nice foil to the snappy casing. The bit of tomato brightened the flavors and added a pop of color to the otherwise pink palette. Maryland Dog #2 was just as tasty but had a lot more texture. I'm not sure which I preferred, but I will say that I very much enjoyed the hot dog itself. We normally buy Nathan's or Hebrew National, both of which have strong garlic and spice flavors that would probably overpower the delicate flavors of crab. The Hofmann dog, however, was nice and mild, and worked beautifully.

Tailgate season may be over, at least here in Maryland, but baseball starts up in a little over 2 months! Time to make a batch of crab dip and put it on a hot dog.

Maryland Dog with Crab Dip

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoons full-fat plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons cocktail sauce
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
3 ounces crab meat, preferably claw
4 Hofmann German Brand Frankfurters
4 potato rolls
1 small tomato, seeded and diced

Stir together the first 9 ingredients (cream cheese through crab meat) until combined. Chill until ready to use.

Cook frankfurters in your favorite method (boiling, pan frying, microwaving). Place franks into buns. Top with dollops of the crab dip mixture and sprinkle on a row of tomato. Top with a sprinkle of Old Bay, if desired.

Serves 4.

Maryland Dog with Crab Salad

1 ear of corn, with husk and silk removed
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
Dash lemon juice
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 ounces crab meat, preferably claw
2 small or one large tomato, seeded and diced
4 Hofmann German Brand Frankfurters
4 potato rolls

Place the corn cob directly over a gas flame or on a grill, turning regularly, until charred in spots. If using a grill, move the corn over indirect heat to finish cooking for 5 minutes. If using a gas stove, microwave the corn for a few minutes until tender. Allow the corn to cool before cutting the kernels off the cob. Set aside.

Stir the Old Bay and lemon juice into the mayonnaise. Fold in the crab meat, the cooled corn, and half the tomato. Taste for seasoning and add a pinch of salt, if desired.

Cook frankfurters in your favorite method (boiling, pan frying, microwaving). Place franks into buns. Top with dollops of the crab salad mixture and sprinkle on a row of tomato. Top with a sprinkle of Old Bay, if desired.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

On second thought...don't.

I know this post comes really really really late in the season, but I attended my first Orioles game in about four years just this past weekend. When I was younger (much younger), I was a rabid fan and went to as many games as humanly possible. It became even easier to attend games when the family moved within walking distance of Memorial Stadium. But since the Os moved downtown, I probably haven't been to a dozen games. Part of the reason is that the park is a pain to get to, and part of it is that the Os sucked for what, 14 consecutive years?

They're not sucking so much now, so I was eager to take advantage of some free tickets. I figured while at the game, I could check out the new and improved concessions available on Eutaw Street. Along with stalwart Boog's Barbecue, there's Stuggy's hot dogs, Gino's, and Rick Dempsey's eponymous restaurant in the warehouse.

After a semi-crappy $20 lunch and insanely-priced beer, I recommend that game attendees with shallow pockets take advantage of the fact that MLB allows patrons to bring food and drink in from home.

I was so intrigued by the idea of a Gino's Giant topped with a crab cake, I had to order the Camden Giant, despite the fact that it came with fries and cost $16.50. The burger came out fast; it was piping hot, fresh, and tasted much like the Giant that I regularly order and pay $6 for at the free-standing Gino's on Joppa Road. Except for that crab cake. About 3" in diameter and not worth the $4 more the Camden Giant cost over the regular Giant, the "crab" cake could have been made of any fish-like substance. Even cat food. It had an off flavor, was very fishy, and should scare most out-of-town baseball fans away from our fair city's favorite seafood treat.

My brother chose to sample the bacon on a stick sold at the Jack Daniel's booth. The thick slab of tender pork belly, coated in a sweet glaze with hints of dried herbs, was a more reasonably-priced $5. And there was nothing fishy about it. That heart attack on a stick was mighty tasty, and almost made us forget that my small soda cost $4.50 and his 12oz cup of Heavy Seas Loose Cannon cost three dollars more.

While the food prices were ridiculous and the Os lost the game, the real reason I'm not planning to go to another game any time soon is the Maryland MTA. Not only did the hordes of angry post-loss stadium evacuees have to wait 20 minutes for a train, but the conductor announced that he was dumping us at North Avenue just as we were approaching Cultural Center (a mere two stops prior). I immediately intuited that the "bus bridge" assigned to carry the abandoned passengers to the next working station would be: 1) a grand total of two buses to transport two train's-worth of standing-room-only passengers; 2) a clusterfuck. Because that is the way of the MTA. I scrambled to reach Mr Minx by phone, and after three disconnects (thank you, Virgin Mobile!) managed to telegraph that we'd be alighting at Mount Royal and awaiting his arrival.

:::deep breaths:::

He arrived quickly and we were able to continue our journey home in a civilized manner.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Beanie Weenies

One of my mother's favorite easy suppers was franks and beans. She'd sauté a mess of onions first, then dump in two cans of Big John beans and several cut up Esskay hotdogs. In a short time, dinner was served, along with white bread for mopping up the sauce. (One of the rare occasions we ate white bread untoasted.)

We regularly had franks and beans for lunch at St Stanislaus, too, but it wasn't as tasty as Mom's. And definitely not as tasty as the spicy version I whipped up for dinner a few nights ago.

Hot Dogs and Black Beans

1/2 onion, diced
olive oil
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon sriracha
2 15oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
4 hot dogs, sliced (we prefer Nathan's)

In a medium saucepan, sauté onion in olive oil over medium heat until softened. Add next eight ingredients, turn up the heat, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer the mixture for thirty minutes. Add the hot dogs and cook an additional 10 minutes.

Serve with bread for mopping up the sauce.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Chicken Wings with Red Curry Jam

Father's Day was a big mess this year. First we decide to switch venues and do it at Chez Minx instead of Chez Dad. Then we planned on getting 'cue from Andy Nelson's only to find that they're closed on Sundays. Bah! So I said that's fine, I'll cook, but none of the customary grilling as the weather was expected to be hot 'n' heavy. I spent that Saturday baking brownies and lime bars, breaking down three dozen chicken wings with a dull chef's knife and lots of grunting, and making a batch of red curry jam with which to coat the wings.

Yes, I did say, "red curry jam." A recent, very brief, e-mail conversation with Top Chef season 5 cheftestant Stefan Richter reminded me of a dish I saw on his catering site: sweet and spicy chicken drumettes with red curry jam. I found the concept of red curry jam to be fascinating and thought I'd try to make my own version of it. Seemed like it could be a perfect match with chicken wings.

Red Curry Jam

1/2 cup onion, roughly chopped

olive oil

dash salt

1 jar red currant jam or jelly (save the jar)

1 tablespoon Thai red or panang curry paste 

Sauté the onion over medium heat in a bit of olive oil and a dash of salt until they soften and are slightly browned. Stir in curry paste (it will clump) and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly.

Transfer curry/onion mixture to a food processor and pulse until you get a chunky paste. Add the jam and process until all is well blended and there are no large pieces of anything. 

If your currant jam had seeds, strain the mixture into a bowl first to remove them. If  you used a smooth jelly, then you can skip this step if you want a jam with some texture. Transfer the strained (or not) jam into the cleaned jar. Refrigerate until ready to use.

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In the end, we postponed Father's Day celebrations until further notice and the wings went into the freezer. I broke out half of them the following Sunday because I was impatient and just had to try wings with a glaze of sweet red curry jam goodness.

For the wings themselves, I used J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's recipe from Serious Eats.  I didn't get the full amount of time in which to dry the wings, and that apparently would have made the difference. Even after nearly an hour in the oven at 450F, the wings were a bit too fatty, and the skin wasn't crisp.

Chicken sure tastes good with red curry jam on it though. I put some on a chicken salad sandwich a few days later and it was da bomb!  And if you like ketchup on your eggs...try red curry jam instead. Your taste buds will love you for it.

Hot Dog!

I think I need that doggie.