Appreciating What We Have

Today is Memorial Day, and I know many of you are griping that you cannot celebrate the holiday the way you would like. There will be no large family gatherings (at least, there shouldn't be) or neighborhood block parties (again, there shouldn't be), or gatherings of clustered maskless folks in enclosed spaces (once more--there shouldn't be). Honestly, I don't care what your state tells you is ok, it's most likely not. (I welcome you to come back in 6 weeks if there hasn't been a spike of cases and tell me I was wrong.)

This whole situation has been going on for ten weeks now, and honestly I have gotten pretty used to spending 80% of my time in my own dining room with no company other than my husband and our dog. Last week, however, we had the opportunity to get out of the house and socialize. It was Dara's birthday, and she invited friends to come over and sit on her lawn, 6'+ away from each other, to enjoy cake and company. We were to arrive in shifts, and fortunately our shift overlapped with that of other friends, the Keefers, whom we have not seen at all in 2020. We spent a good hour or more discussing life after Covid, the current season of Top Chef, and the local restaurant industry. I haven't had such a good time in, well, at least 10 weeks! And I realized that such simple pleasures--sitting in the sun, talking with friends--are among the most important things in life. Not haircuts and manicures or going to bars.

Stay well, readers. See you on Thursday for our next recap.

* 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.

Flashback Friday - Sweet Potato Panna Cotta

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on May 6, 2015.

I'm a fan of sweet potatoes, but Mr Minx is not. I really hate having to prepare two different starches with dinner if he doesn't want any of my sweet potatoes, because of course he won't go without. So I normally don't buy them at all, and only eat them around Thanksgiving, or if I can get one as a side dish in a restaurant. But we sometimes get sweet potatoes in our shipment from Washington's Green Grocer, and then I have to be inventive. I've incorporated sweet potatoes into snack cake, scones, hummus, and spaetzle, all quite successfully. And now I've used them in panna cotta.

I saw it somewhere online, perhaps a restaurant review or blog: sweet potato panna cotta with toasted marshmallow. I had sweet potatoes, and I had nice homemade vanilla marshmallows (well, not homemade by me, but by Nikki of Mallow Crunchies), and it just struck me as something I wanted to eat. And as something I could feed to my husband.

We ate the panna cotta both refrigerated and frozen. The latter is a lot like the Indian ice cream, kulfi, especially with a dose of cardamom. The former works best with the marshmallow, but both need the crunchy, burnt sugar bitterness of the pumpkin seed brittle, which also adds texture to the creamy richness.

Sweet Potato Panna Cotta (adapted from Christina Tosi)

2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons water
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup milk
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Release spray
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sugar
Marshmallows, preferably homemade

Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a microwave-safe bowl. Let stand 3 minutes, until softened.

In a blender, combine the potatoes with the milk, cream, condensed milk, sugar, spices, and pinch of salt.

Warm the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, until melted. Add to the blender and blend well to combine.

Pour sweet potato mixture into a loaf pan sprayed well with release spray. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until set.

While panna cotta is setting, make the brittle. Prepare a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and set aside. Pour the pumpkin seeds into a small skillet and toast over medium heat, shaking the pan regularly, until the seeds puff up. Remove from pan and set aside. Pour the sugar into the pan with a few tablespoons of water. Cook the sugar over medium heat until it melts and then starts to turn light amber around the edges. Stir in the pumpkin seeds and cook the mixture, stirring regularly, until the sugar turns medium brown. It will smoke; open a window. Once sugar is browned and is just starting to smell burnt, remove from heat and pour onto prepared parchment. Spread brittle slightly with a wooden spoon, then set aside to cool. Once cool, break into large shards.

If you're using homemade marshmallow, cut them into long fingers. Place a few on a piece of aluminum foil and brulee with a creme brulee torch. (If using store-bought marshmallows, line up 2-3 of them and brulee.) Cut chilled panna cotta into similarly-sized rectangles. Top each one with a piece of bruleed marshmallow and a shard of brittle.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Sweet Potato Panna Cotta

I'm a fan of sweet potatoes, but Mr Minx is not. I really hate having to prepare two different starches with dinner if he doesn't want any of my sweet potatoes, because of course he won't go without. So I normally don't buy them at all, and only eat them around Thanksgiving, or if I can get one as a side dish in a restaurant. But we sometimes get sweet potatoes in our shipment from Washington's Green Grocer, and then I have to be inventive. I've incorporated sweet potatoes into snack cake, scones, hummus, and spaetzle, all quite successfully. And now I've used them in panna cotta.

I saw it somewhere online, perhaps a restaurant review or blog: sweet potato panna cotta with toasted marshmallow. I had sweet potatoes, and I had nice homemade vanilla marshmallows (well, not homemade by me, but by Nikki of Mallow Crunchies), and it just struck me as something I wanted to eat. And as something I could feed to my husband.

We ate the panna cotta both refrigerated and frozen. The latter is a lot like the Indian ice cream, kulfi, especially with a dose of cardamom. The former works best with the marshmallow, but both need the crunchy, burnt sugar bitterness of the pumpkin seed brittle, which also adds texture to the creamy richness.

Sweet Potato Panna Cotta (adapted from Christina Tosi)

2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons water
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup milk
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Release spray
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sugar
Marshmallows, preferably homemade

Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a microwave-safe bowl. Let stand 3 minutes, until softened.

In a blender, combine the potatoes with the milk, cream, condensed milk, sugar, spices, and pinch of salt.

Warm the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, until melted. Add to the blender and blend well to combine.

Pour sweet potato mixture into a loaf pan sprayed well with release spray. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until set.

While panna cotta is setting, make the brittle. Prepare a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and set aside. Pour the pumpkin seeds into a small skillet and toast over medium heat, shaking the pan regularly, until the seeds puff up. Remove from pan and set aside. Pour the sugar into the pan with a few tablespoons of water. Cook the sugar over medium heat until it melts and then starts to turn light amber around the edges. Stir in the pumpkin seeds and cook the mixture, stirring regularly, until the sugar turns medium brown. It will smoke; open a window. Once sugar is browned and is just starting to smell burnt, remove from heat and pour onto prepared parchment. Spread brittle slightly with a wooden spoon, then set aside to cool. Once cool, break into large shards.

If you're using homemade marshmallow, cut them into long fingers. Place a few on a piece of aluminum foil and brulee with a creme brulee torch. (If using store-bought marshmallows, line up 2-3 of them and brulee.) Cut chilled panna cotta into similarly-sized rectangles. Top each one with a piece of bruleed marshmallow and a shard of brittle.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

The Mallow Bar

I'd tried Mallow Munchies at the UMB Farmers' Market a couple of summers ago and was delighted at the moist texture. When I was a kid, I loved when Mom made Rice Krispies Treats, but preferred to eat them while they were still somewhat warm and gooey, pretty much straight out of the pot. Once they hit the fridge and firmed up, they were a bit too crunchy and hard. Nikki Lewis' Mallow Munchies are made with her own home-made marshmallows (aka Mallow Softies), and I think they are the key to the improved texture of her treats. They taste pretty darn great, too.

Nikki recently opened the Mallow Bar, near Golden Ring, as the first crispy treat cafe probably in the world. She sells her confections there, as well as a handful of other locally-produced edibles (Zeke's Coffee, Teaz, Mouth Party caramels, Dirty Carrots cupcakes and muffins). We tried a couple of varieties of Mallow Munchies on a recent visit to the cafe, including CaraMallow, Crunch, and Toffee Nut. I think the caramel-topped CaraMallow is my favorite, but the Crunch, which contains popcorn and M&Ms, is also pretty tasty (and would make a fabulous movie theater treat!). She sells the marshmallows alone, too, and they also come in a variety of flavors like pistachio and banana pudding.

Enjoy your Mallow-y goodies to go, or hang out in the cute brown and pink decorated cafe, which is WiFi-equipped and a perfect place to linger with a cup of Zeke's coffee.

The Mallow Bar
8767 Philadelphia Road
Rosedale, MD 21237
(443) 231-7399
themallowbar.com


Posted on Minxeats.com.

Hurricane Cupcakes

So what's a girl to do when there's a hurricane barreling up the coast? Do some baking while the power's still on, that's what! We have a gas stove, so a power outage wouldn't really keep us from cooking, however, I'm not all that thrilled with the idea of manually lighting the oven as it fills with gas. Right. Anyhoo, I decided that we would need baked goods to munch while we played cards in the dark, so I whipped up a batch of cupcakes. I used my standard cupcake recipe, omitting the melted chocolate component and adding a bit of sweet spices. Not enough to make spice cake, mind you, just a bit to add a hint of flavor.

Fellow food blogger Nakiya, of Taste of Baltimore, had challenged me to make something with the Biscoff Spread I found at the new ShopRite in Timonium. Biscoff Spread, made from crushed Biscoff cookies, is predominately cinnamon flavored, so I thought it would make a great addition to the frosting for my lightly spiced cupcakes.

I suppose I should call these "Nakiya Cupcakes," even though it's probably not fair that she won't taste one. Not from this batch at least...the few that are left are quite stale. Next time!

Nakiya Cupcakes

1 cup flour
3/4 cup almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup almond milk (can use regular or soy milk)

Preheat oven to 325F. Line muffin pans with 18 cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla extract. Alternate stirring in flour mixture and almond milk, ending with flour. Mix until no streaks of flour remain, but do not overmix.

Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.

Bake at 325F for 20-23 minutes until a tester comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a fingertip. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 18 cupcakes.

Biscoff Frosting

1 stick of room temperature butter
1/4 cup Biscoff spread
7 ounces marshmallow fluff
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine the butter, Biscoff spread, and marshmallow in a bowl, and with a hand or stand mixer, beat on medium until completely smooth. Reduce speed to low and add confectioners sugar, vanilla, and salt. Continue to beat until smooth and fluffy. Distribute evenly among cupcakes using a pastry bag or, as I did, with a knife and spoon (was feeling lazy).

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

S'more or Less

I have a confession to make: I don't like s'mores. Go ahead, blink in disbelief. I can wait until you're done.

Have you recovered yet? Then I shall proceed.

When I was a kid, I loved eating toasted marshmallows. At least once a summer we'd pack the family into the car and make a trip to my uncle's house in Pasadena. Only a county away and probably an hour or so drive, it always felt like a real journey to me. In addition to the proximity to the dead-fish-and-broken-bottle-covered "beach," Uncle Charlie had something we didn't have - a grill. After the family feasted on burgers and hot dogs, he'd let the kids roast marshmallows over the dying coals.

It wasn't until years later when I realized I could toast a marshmallow just fine with a fork held over a gas burner on the kitchen stove.

But never did I contemplate putting the gooey, melty, caramelized-and-slightly-burnt wonder that is a toasted marshmallow on a dry, scratchy graham cracker with a piece of horrible Hershey's milk chocolate. Why would anyone do that?

I'd make a lousy Girl Scout.

I tried my first s'more when I was in my early 30s, when Mr Minx and I shared one at a friend's block party. It was one of those special moments of adulthood when I realized that I had not been missing anything.

Everyone else in the country seems to adore s'mores and s'more-flavored things. Restaurants even offer them - or a variation on the theme - as a dessert option (Vina Rosina and Jack's Bistro locally, to name two). I still don't get it. Marshmallows and graham crackers are perfectly fine by themselves. Hershey's chocolate, not so much. So I thought, what if I changed things up? Would better chocolate and different cookies make a difference?

Welcome to the Great S'more Experiment, in which the Minxes pair different cookies and different varieties of milk chocolate with regular old squishy grocery store marshmallows.

Test #1: Leibniz biscuits and Lindt milk chocolate with hazelnuts

While the Leibniz biscuits had a less-scratchy texture than graham crackers, they were still too dry. The Lindt chocolate, however, was a huge improvement over Hershey's. The experiment concluded with my eating the rest of the chocolate bar and calling it a night.

Test #2  Lorna Doones with Trader Joe's milk chocolate

I love Lorna Doones! Why don't I eat these more often? They're a pretty decent shortbread cookie, far better than the rancid-butter-smelling and much more-spendy Walker's brand. And they made a pretty decent s'more. And once again, the non-Hershey's chocolate proves to be better than the original. Yes, thank you, I'll have another. Or should that read, "I'll have s'more?"

Test #3  Trader Joe's Chewy Caramel Cashew cookies with TJ milk chocolate

The chewy texture of these cookies was just about perfect, however they had a few too many things going on and were perhaps too sweet. Still, better 'n grahams.

Test #4  Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate covered Butter Biscuits

No additional chocolate required here, just two marshmallows sandwiched between two cookies. Perfection. I'm starting to think that milk chocolate has been the wrong idea all along.

That was easily remedied by a trip to the store to buy more cookies and some dark chocolate!

Test #5  Lorna Doones with Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Bar

Ok - this is more like it! The dark chocolate is definitely better than the milk. But it's still not perfect. Oh, and did I mention that I love Lorna Doones?

Test #6 Trader Joe's Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies and TJ's dark chocolate

The chocolate is right, but the cookie is too sweet. Of course this makes me want to experiment with real waffles....

Test #7 Archway Snickerdoodles and Trader Joe's 72% Dark Chocolate

While the cookies had a slightly artificial flavor on their own, teamed with chocolate and marshmallow they shone. The chewy texture was a plus, as was the hit of cinnamon. Guest taster Kate, who had never eaten a s'more of any type, gave it a big thumb's up.

Test #8 Trader Joe's Triple Peanut Cookies with TJ's 72% Dark Chocolate

Ok, so this was overkill. Still, better than the traditional by a mile.

After seven different combinations, we were getting a little sick of s'mores, so that's where we stopped. So what was learned through this experiment? That just about anything other than the original combination of graham crackers, third-rate chocolate, and marshmallow is pretty damn tasty. In all versions, there was some intense sweetness, so a little went a long way. And that marshmallow stickiness pops up in the oddest places, even when you're absolutely sure you licked it all off....

My favorite combo? #4. To my tastebuds, it had the proper ratio of chocolate to marshmallow to cookie, and good texture.

What's your favorite s'more, or have you never ventured away from the original?