Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

When fall hits, pumpkin becomes the most popular flavor. Everywhere you look there's pumpkin bread, pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin everything. Let's not forget pumpkin spice lattes, which have their own, not-so-flattering, meme.

As a typical white girl, I love pumpkin and fall (yoga pants not so much), but especially pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake. Recently, I was in a cheesecake mood, but didn't want to fuss with making a whole big thing. Not that making a cheesecake is difficult, but we don't need to have one of those evil things in the fridge, calling our names. A creamy cheesecake flavored with pumpkin and spices sings a siren's song, for sure.

I like making brownies and I love eating them, so figured combining pumpkin cheesecake with a brownie could be a perfect thing. This despite my thinking that I really don't like the combination of pumpkin and chocolate. Years and years ago I made a pumpkin pie that had a layer of chocolate on the bottom. It was awful. The chocolate was too dark and competed with the spices in the pumpkin. I can still taste it, and cringe a little. Can't remember where I found that recipe, but I'm pretty sure this was pre-Internet.

This time, I did consult the Internet for a pumpkin cheesecake brownie recipe, but all of the ones I found involved swirling the cheesecake batter into the chocolate batter. That's not cheesecake-y enough for my taste. Why not simply layer the two elements? The cheesecake batter would be lighter than the brownie batter, and should float nicely on top without sinking down into it. But I wasn't sure if the combination of elements would require two bakings--bake the brownie first, add the cheese, and bake again. Overbaked or burnt brownies would be bad, so it all went into the pan at the same time, for one baking. And it worked! The brownie made a nice crust for the fluffy and light cheesecake element. It wasn't too chocolately (yes, there is such a thing), and the cheesecake wasn't too spicy. It was just right.

So, ladies, I present to you the perfect treat: pumpkin AND chocolate. You're welcome.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

For brownie layer:
3/4 stick unsalted butter
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

For cheesecake layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line 8" or 9" baking pan with two long sheets of parchment, placed parallel to each other. Let long ends hang over the pan, to use as handles later. Spray with a bit of release spray.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a sauce pan. Stir in the sugar until well combined and remove from the heat. Add the pumpkin and cinnamon and mix well. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the flour and salt.

Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing out the top.

Combine cream cheese, sugar, and butter in a mixer until very creamy. Beat in egg, milk, pumpkin, flour, vanilla, and spices. Pour over brownie base.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until cheesecake is puffed and no longer jiggly or wet-looking (the center may be very slightly wobbly). Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Lift brownie from pan with parchment handles and slide onto a serving plate. Cut into bars. Store covered in the fridge.



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Non-Babaganoush, Non-Shakshouky Eggplant Dip

Once a month I hold a stitch-n-bitch in my living room. If you don't know what a stitch-n-bitch is, it's a gathering of knitters/crocheters/other fabric-crafty people that involves working on projects and chatting. And often, wine. My gatherings always include food, both savory and sweet. Who doesn't like a little nibble in the afternoon? The biggest concern is that the food be neat to eat. Nobody wants to have messy fingers while crafting, and I'd prefer folks not drop stuff on the floor or sofa. (Yes, we have a dog, but he's very polite.) I usually end up making a thick dip that more often than not includes eggplant. Why eggplant? Because it's easy, tasty, and thick. I can pick up a big glob of it on the end of a pita chip and shove it in my mouth in between stitches without missing a beat or getting messy.

Though the meetings are only once a month, I don't think my guests want to eat the same babaganoush or hummus every time, so I mix things up. Like I said, eggplant is easy, and it certainly takes on flavors well. I had half a preserved lemon in the fridge that I wanted to get rid of so I could use the jar for a fresh batch and decided to use that as a starting point for flavoring. I added a bit of this and a bit of that until the dip had a balance of tart and sweet flavors with a little nip of heat.

If you don't have preserved lemons on hand, use the juice and finely grated zest of half a lemon.

Lemony Eggplant Dip

1 large eggplant
1/2 preserved lemon, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 roasted red pepper (jarred or fresh)
Extra virgin olive oil
Agave syrup
Salt
Cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and place cut-side-down on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until soft and collapsed. (Or...skip the oven and cook in the microwave for 8-10 minutes.) Set aside until cool enough to handle.

When eggplant is cool, scrape out the flesh and put it in the bowl of a food processor along with the lemon, cilantro, garlic, red pepper, and a glug of olive oil. Pulse to a puree. Season with agave syrup, a big pinch of salt, and as much cayenne as you care to add.

Enjoy with crudites and pita chips or fresh pita triangles. Also tasty stuffed into a pita with some baby greens and more roasted red pepper. Feta, too, if you have it.



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Pasta with Sausage and Sauerkraut

On a recent visit to Belvedere Square Market, we checked out Hex Ferments, a local company that makes fermented products like sauerkraut and kombucha, a fermented tea beverage. We sampled a range of things, including three kinds of kraut, pickles, and the kombucha (which wasn't as scary as I thought it would be).

I grew up eating sauerkraut; we had it for every major holiday, with garlicky kielbasa. Hex Ferments owner, Meaghan Carpenter, told us that she likes to use sauerkraut on everything, including pasta. Intrigued, we bought a jar.

I figured the tart sauerkraut would work best if tempered with something fatty and creamy. I didn't want to do the usual Polish kielbasa, so bought the milder-flavored bratwurst instead. A bit of cream sauce also helped temper the tartness, yet not drown it out. The end result was very, very good and rather Eastern European, what with the sour cream and paprika.

Sausage and Sauerkraut Pasta

1 package Roma Natty Boh Brats
1 lb rotelli pasta
1/2 onion, chopped
Olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 jar Hex Ferments sauerkraut, any variety
1/4 cup sour cream
Paprika
Cayenne
Salt and pepper

Par-boil the bratwurst in beer or water for fifteen minutes. Remove from heat and slice. Set aside.

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Saute onion in olive oil until translucent. Remove onions to a bowl and add the butter to the pan. When melted, stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook for a minute or so, but not long enough for the roux to brown. Whisk in the chicken stock. Turn down the heat to a simmer and add the sauerkraut, sliced sausage, and onions. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until sauce is thick. Stir in sour cream. Season with a big pinch of paprika, a sprinkle of cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over pasta.



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Grace Garden

We've posted about Grace Garden many times here on Minxeats. It's also the answer I most often give to the question, "what is your favorite local restaurant?" Truthfully, my favorite restaurant changes from day to day, depending on where I've eaten most recently and what I  might be craving at the moment. But Grace Garden remains a favorite, and on days when it's not #1, it's definitely firmly in second place.

A hole in the wall in a strip mall in Odenton isn't always the first place one thinks of for a Chinese feast, but there it is.

We visited in September for my brother's birthday (an annual tradition) and the place was slammed. Thankfully we had made a reservation this year. (Last year we were yelled at for not doing so and urged to hurry though our meal so someone else could get our table. But as far as I can tell, they don't actually keep track of reservations.) There were still several tables available when we arrived, but the carry-out orders were stacking up. One group of three chicks ordered ten items. A father came in with his two noisy children. The kids didn't seem to want anything, so I imagine they'd be enjoying chicken fingers and microwave mac and cheese while Dad chowed down on fish noodles and XO chicken.

There are two dishes we order every time we visit Grace Garden, as the four of us, my picky father included, enjoy them: vermicelli with pork and pepper, and Sichuan pork belly. This occasion was no different. And despite having to wait nearly half an hour for our food (about 20 minutes longer than usual), and hearing the normally mild-mannered-seeming chef yelling in the kitchen (I could actually see him from my seat, and he seemed pissed at something or someone), there was no change in the quality or flavor of his food. Now that's consistency.

Sichuan pork belly with leeks, bell peppers, Sichuan bean paste

Vermicelli stir fried with ground pork and chiles

We also normally order the salt and pepper squid, big slabs of roughly chopped squid coated in a eggy-tasting batter, aggressively seasoned with salt and pepper and topped with fried shallots and slices of raw jalapeno. This dish did suffer a bit from the kitchen chaos; it tasted fine, but it was a bit oily.

Salt and pepper squid

We're always pleased to see new dishes added to the menu. A few years back, we ate some marvelous lamb chops served with lemongrass and scallions at a Chowhound Chinese New Year dinner and made a special request for them from time to time. The last time I called for them, I was told that it's too expensive to make, since they basically have to buy a case of the chops and then can't sell them. Instead, they used the same preparation on some pork ribs and put it on the regular menu. It's basically a variation of the salt and pepper squid, with a crispier batter and lots of deep fried lemongass bits. Yummy.

Pork spare ribs with lemongrass and fried scallions

Another new dish we tried is the house special chili pepper chicken. They do two versions, one a stir fry, the other with deep fried chicken. We chose the latter, which came to the table buried in a mountain of fried chile peppers and a big handful of stir fried Sichuan peppercorns. Pretty much everything on the Grace Garden menu is spicy, and to the newbie, probably incendiary. We don't notice so much anymore. But this dish was crazy spicy. Not so much hot--I didn't really get much impact from all those chiles, but the numbing quality of the Sichuan peppercorns was off the hook. Not really peppers, the dried berries of the prickly ash have an unusual floral flavor and might be off-putting to people not used to them. I normally don't mind them, but this dish was a little over the top. Just as I'd bite into a morsel of lovely fried chicken thigh, a peppercorn would assault my tongue. Eventually I grew tired of fighting and gave up.

Chili pepper chicken

No matter. There was plenty of other delicious items on the table to choose from.





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