I Love Soup

Allegedly, to everything there is a season. Right now it's time for soup, though I'm the kind of person who enjoys it all year long. Maryland Crab in the summer is a must, but so is gazpacho and any other chilled soup. But when there's a nip in the air, my instinct is to toss things in a pot, add water, and a few hours later enjoy a hearty bowl of something that warms me from the inside. (When soup isn't possible, I use bourbon.) 

There are 30+ soup recipes on Minxeats, a dozen cold and the rest suitable for the current season. The simplest of hot soups doesn't need a recipe. To make it, you need aromatics (onions, leeks, shallots, garlic, carrots and/or celery), stock, bouillon, or broth, and seasonings. French onion soup, for example, only requires onions cooked low and slow in olive oil and butter, stock (beef or a rich chicken or veg), and seasonings (salt, pepper, sugar, bay leaf, thyme, a bit of wine). A topping of sliced baguette and Gruyere cheese and a few minutes under the broiler is totally optional (and a great way to burn your mouth, if you're into that sort of thing). Homemade tomato soup needs tomatoes, garlic or onion, stock, seasonings, and quick rendezvous with a stick blender. Or an actual blender, if you are adventurous. Hot liquids expand while blending and can blow the top off. To avoid the mess, remove the center rubber cap from the blender lid and hold a folded kitchen towel firmly over the opening. Or better yet, avoid hot soups and blenders. Unless you really want to clean the kitchen thoroughly afterward. (I love my 40-year-old Cuisinart Stick Blender!)

If you decide to try any of my recipes, please do leave a comment and let me know how it went.

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Avocado Soup and Crab Salad There are other versions of both avocado soup and crab salad below, but they're not the same as the ones in this recipe. Feel free to mix and match; I can't tell you what to do in your own kitchen. I can try, but I know you won't listen.

avocado soup with chipotle shrimp and blue corn polenta croutons

Avocado Soup with Chipotle Shrimp and Blue Corn Polenta Croutons Feel free to leave out the croutons, or use purchased ones instead. 

Black Bean Soup I often make black bean soup with some sort of meat protein, but this version is vegetarian. Use non-dairy yogurt instead of sour cream and it's vegan.

Bloody Mary Gazpacho Gazpacho, with celery, Worcestershire, and...vodka.

broccoli cheese soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup This is unlike a typical broccoli cheese soup in that it's not the texture of wallpaper paste. It's thickened with a modicum of roux, and flavored with hard cider and roasted broccoli.

Cantaloupe Gazpacho Keep reading, and you'll see that I can make gazpacho out of anything.

Cauliflower Soup This simple recipe is from a Rocco DiSpirito cookbook. His non-diet book, so it's actually good.

celery root vichyssoise

Celery Root Vichyssoise Vichyssoise is traditionally made with potatoes, but it can be made with any starchy tuber or root. Celery root just happens to be one of the more delicious root vegs.

Coconut Gazpacho I don't know why I called this gazpacho. It's more of a chilled tomato soup with Thai seasonings and coconut milk.

Creamy Chilled Tomatillo Soup was reverse engineered from a dish at SoBo Cafe. Tomatillos can be pretty tart, so add more honey or agave syrup if you can't hang with the tang.

Creamy Chorizo, Chicken, and Corn Chowder If you've never cooked with Mexican chorizo, definitely pick some up. It's an annatto-bright and spicy raw sausage, not cured like Spanish chorizo, with a distinctive flavor and crumbly texture. It's not easy to locate, but I have found it at Asian markets like H Mart.

Creamy Parsnip Soup Parsnips are another tasty root veg that is under-utilized. This soup is easy and filling, but if you need more than a bowl of soup for dinner, make the bacon pie recipe included in this blog post.

creamy roasted vegetable gazpacho

Creamy Roasted Vegetable Gazpacho I was tasked to use up some cottage cheese and this was the result. Yes, it's good!

Creamy Tomato Peanut Soup My Dad used to make peanut soup when I was a kid. IIRC, it was pretty simple: onions; peanut butter; chicken stock. I loved it, but it was a little heavy. This one includes tomatoes and seasonings and is a little lighter on the palate, though just as tasty.

Edward Lee's Tomatillo Gazpacho This version of the chilled soup uses cooked vegetables that are cooled before pureeing. 

Gazpeacho aka peach gazpacho.

Green Gazpacho Tomatillos instead of tomatoes and a wee bit of yogurt make this one different.

Mashed Potato Soup Random leftovers tend to make pretty good soup. 

Mediterrasian Seafood Soup I've made many variations on this theme, based on a reverse-engineered dish I ate at a long-closed restaurant called Ixia. It's easy and delicious, but needs to be simmered for quite a while to guarantee that the flavors meld.

Mr Minx's Gumbo Soup Gumbo is usually more stew-like, thanks to thickeners like roux, filé powder, and okra. This batch came out rather more runny, but still had that lovely browned flour and Cajun spice flavor.

nectarine soup with crab salad

Nectarine Soup with Crab Salad This chilled soup is a little sweet, but the citrus dressing on the ceviche-like salad balances the dish nicely.

Polish Mushroom Soup Simple mushroom and potato deliciousness.

Red Cabbage Soup reminded me of my Grandma's barszcz, or Polish red beet soup. IYKYK.

Roasted Parsnip and Sweet Potato Soup I used white Japanese sweet potatoes, but you could use the easier-to-find red or orange ones instead. This would make a nice Thanksgiving starter.

Roasted Poblano Soup This is more of an appetizer soup than a full meal, but would work well as a side to a sandwich.

Spicy Corn Gazpacho This recipe calls for corn on the cob, which is cooked before blending. But you could use frozen corn kernels and skip the cooking part. Just make sure they are thawed before proceeding. And don't forget to strain the soup!

spicy fish soup

Spicy Fish Soup see Mediterrasian Seafood Soup above. Same base, different flavors. 

Spiced winter squash soup

Spiced Winter Squash Soup The cumin/coriander/cinnamon/paprika/cayenne mixture is fairly common in the southern Mediterranean cuisines and goes beautifully with mellow and slightly sweet winter squash.

Strawberry Gazpacho Strawberries stand in for tomatoes in this version, with balsamic in place of the usual sherry vinegar.

Thai Avocado Soup Apparently I like making soup with avocados. This one has that bright/sweet/ garlicky/ fishy/funky thing that reminds me of one of my favorite Thai dishes, drunken noodles.

tomato garlic parm soup

Tomato Garlic Parm Soup This is a copycat recipe of a dish served at my favorite Cajun restaurant, Cajun Kate's, though it's not quite as decadent as theirs.

White Bean and Kale Soup While there's a classic Italian soup that stars these two ingredients, this version is a pastiche of leftovers + freezer staples that is a bit different.

* 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.

Pumpkin Spice Forever!

I don't own a pair of UGGs. (I think they are UGG-ly.) I do love a cardigan, but none of mine are oatmeal-colored or fisherman-style. I most definitely do not decorate the house for Halloween--in fact, Mr Minx, Minxdog, and I flee the neighborhood to avoid the little candy-grubbers on that holy fall holiday. I don't make a turkey feast on Thanksgiving because there are hundreds of things I'd much rather eat. So while I am a white American female human whose favorite season is autumn, I am perhaps slightly atypical. Except that I wholeheartedly embrace all things Pumpkin Spice. Well, perhaps not all things, but many. At least those items that are meant to be sweet and spicy (as I am).

Pepperidge Farm Pumpkin Spice Milanos - real, or fake?

Once upon a time, the only pumpkin spice things to be found were variations on pumpkin pie. I love pumpkin pie, but it's special, to be consumed solely on and around Thanksgiving. Or so I once believed. The combination of pumpkin (or butternut squash, which comprises most canned pumpkin) with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg, is both tasty and fragrant and can be a real mood-lifter. So why limit the consumption of this heavenly elixir to only one or two days a year? Why not dedicate a whole season (maybe a season and a half) to it? 

Blue Diamond Pumpkin Spice Almonds - real or fake?

We can probably blame the geniuses at Starbucks for making pumpkin spice everything a thing. They start serving their OG pumpkin spice latte on AUGUST 30, well before the barest whisper of chill in the air, while leaves are still green, and my cucumber plant is still producing obscenely large specimens. Dunkin' puts out their pumpkin coffee variants even earlier in that month. (I tried their pumpkin spice cold brew last year and still don't understand why people think Dunkin's coffee is good.) August is also the time for pumpkin-y items to start popping up on supermarket endcaps.

Starkist Tuna Creations Pumpkin Spice - real, or fake?

Literally everything from soup to nuts is flavored with pumpkin spice these days. And those two items make total sense. Pumpkin or winter squash makes a lovely creamy soup that can go totally savory or a bit sweet. (Wouldn't pumpkin+cumin+coriander+chiles still be considered "pumpkin spice?") And the thought of a squash-based soup seasoned with dashes of cinnamon and ginger and a wee splash of maple syrup is not at all controversial. The same goes for nuts, which are neutral enough to work well with sweet spices, or curry, chiles, etc. 

Cheetos Pumpkins - real, or fake?

A few years before regular supermarkets started tempting shoppers (well, some shoppers are tempted) with seasonal orange-hued packaging for every product imaginable, Trader Joe's was the king of Pumpkin Spice. I looked forward to their seasonal newsletter, as I imagine most basic white bitches do, and oohed and aahed over the myriad pumpkinified options, from cookies to salsa to body butter (which was usually sold out before I got to the store).

Pillsbury Grands! Pumpkin Spice Rolls - real or fake?

There are, however, some things that don't need to be tarted up with pumpkin spice just because 'tis the season. I'm not sure we need pumpkin spice salsa, or hummus. Or pumpkin ravioli, samosas, or raw vinegar (srsly?). Budweiser has created a pumpkin spice Bud Light Seltzer, and Nissin introduced pumpkin spice Cup-O-Noodles. No thanks.

Rachael Ray Nutrish Zero Grain Beef & Pumpkin Spice - real or fake?

There have been spicy pumpkin beers around for a few years now. Some taste like pumpkin, most don't. (I like Southern Tier Pumpking Imperial Ale. It's sweet and spicy and at 236 calories for a 12-ounce bottle, best sipped for dessert.)

Burt's Bees Pumpkin Fiber & Cinnamon Towelettes - real or fake?

Clearly, the pumpkin spice trend is lucrative. Consumers bought over half a billion $ of pumpkin spice whatnots in 2019. Starbucks sells about 31 million PSLs (pumpkin spice lattes) a year @ $6-ish a pop.

Secret Pumpkin Spice Deodorant - real or fake?

What do you think of the Pumpkin Spice Industrial Complex? Too much? Not enough? What products do you like and which do you think are ridiculous? Do you have any pumpkin spice in your house right now? (We currently have a bar of pumpkin spice-scented soap in the shower.) As always, please leave a comment!

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* 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.

Gluten-free Pumpkin Spicewalla Chai Masala Streusel Muffins

One of the most important things in my kitchen is my collection of herbs and spices. Without them, food would be bland and uninteresting. I have never been brand-loyal--I buy everyday spices that are the most affordable, but once in a while I splash out for a blend that seems too delicious to pass up. I'm always open to trying new things, so I was pretty pleased when Spicewalla offered to send me a selection of their spices to play with. Four were savory blends, but I cracked into the two sweeter items right away. The first thing I did was to make golden milk with their Golden Milk blend (Turmeric, Cinnamon, Ginger, Black pepper, Nutmeg, Roasted Coriander) warm hemp milk, and a dash of maple syrup for sweetness. I like to make a base mixture first, combining a few heaping teaspoons of spices with non-dairy milk to make a very runny paste and keeping that in the fridge. Then when I want a bit of warm golden milk before bedtime, I mix a few spoonsful of the paste into about half a cup of hemp milk and warm it in the microwave, adding a bit of maple for sweetness. (A half cup is plenty, as I don't want to drink too much liquid before going to bed at night.) Spicewalla's blend has all the right elements for a tasty and soothing sweet-savory beverage.

The other spice I used right away was the Chai Masala blend, though not to make chai. (Did you know that since "chai" means tea, saying "chai tea" is like saying "tea tea?") I thought it would be perfect as the spice in some pumpkin muffins. And damn if I wasn't absolutely right! Spicewalla's freshly-ground small-batch blend of ginger, cinnamon, green cardamom, black pepper, clove, and allspice was the perfect seasoning for these ultra-moist muffins. Like pumpkin spice, but with a little bit extra. While plain muffins are nice, muffins topped with streusel are even nicer, texture-wise. I also added chopped walnuts to the batter. Chopped, toasted, pecans or almonds would work as well, or you can omit both the streusel and the nuts. Up to you. 

Did you catch the words "gluten-free" in the title of this post? Since 2019, I've been on a mostly gluten-free diet, which I have found is a big help in losing weight. Sometimes, though, I crave a sweet treat that's not a piece of chocolate (though nothing is wrong with that!), like a cookie, cupcake, or muffin. There are several good gluten-free flour blends on the market, but I am not particularly crazy about the texture of ones that are primarily rice flour; I find it to be gritty. Almond flour makes a tasty wheat flour substitute, but I find that makes things too dense. A combination of GF flour and almond flour is just perfect, and what I used in this recipe. (If you're ok with gluten, you may substitute 1 3/4 all purpose white flour for the GF and almond flours.)

I know, enough talking. Here's the recipe.

Gluten-free Pumpkin Spicewalla Chai Masala Streusel Muffins 

For the muffins:

3 large eggs

1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée

1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional, only if your flour blend doesn't already include xanthan gum)

3/4 cup finely ground almond flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons Spicewalla Chai Masala spices

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts, optional

For the streusel:

1/4 cup Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon Spicewalla Chai Masala spices

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons butter, melted

To make the muffins:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease one 12-well or two 6-well standard-size muffin tins.

Whisk together the eggs and pumpkin purée. Set aside.

Whisk together the gluten-free flour (with additional xanthan gum, if needed), almond flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, and Spicewalla Chai Masala spices.

Using a hand or stand mixer, whip the butter until fluffy. Add in the flour mixture and combine until it looks like wet sand. Add the egg/pumpkin mixture a bit at a time, beating well after each addition. The final mixture should be light and fluffy. Stir in the walnuts, if using.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, filling each cup to the top. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.

To make the streusel:

Combine all of the ingredients until it forms crumbs. Sprinkle about a tablespoon onto each muffin, pressing it in so it sticks. 

Bake the streusel-topped muffins for 22 to 25 minutes, until the middle springs back when lightly touched. Let rest for 5 minutes before removing muffins from the pan. 

12 servings

Posted on Minxeats.com.

I received a collection of spices from Spicewalla, including the Chai Masala spices, but I am not being otherwise compensated for this post.

August Uncommon Tea

I'm a bit of a tea addict. I practically collect it. When I'm in NY, I always stop in my favorite tea shop and emerge with $50 worth of goodies from rooibos to oolong. I even follow tea company accounts on Instagram. And you know those scary Facebook ads, the ones that are hawking products that are almost always exactly something that you've been looking for or didn't know you needed? Sometimes mine are for tea. I'm pretty sure that's how I discovered August Uncommon Tea. In any case, they have every type of tea one needs in life, from dark and rich to light and floral with everything in between, and all are available in 14g deluxe samples, which are good for four cups of brew. Try before you buy is my motto!

I went a little crazy and purchased a baker's dozen of samples last fall, just at the beginning of peak tea drinking season. I justified the number as I planned to give a few to a tea-drinking friend, though in reality he only received three. And I had a hard time deciding which ones to give up.

Some of the teas have fairly unusual ingredients, like the Leatherbound which has an obvious caraway note. The Black Lodge features smoky banana and black truffle. I think both of these flavors are my favorites of the ones I've tried thus far.

And of course I do plan to try more. In fact, I have the site open in another browser tab and have already put a few more samples in my shopping cart. (Psychocandy! Biarritz!) This is one addiction that is not harmful--well, except that caffeine gives me heart palpitations, but I never drink *that* much tea. (That would be a lot.)

Tell me - are you a fan of tea? What is your favorite type? Do you prefer herbal blends or real tea? To be honest, I like it all. Because of the caffeine thing, I need to drink more decaf teas, so Rooibos is always on my playlist. But I can't quit black tea, which is actually my fave. I just maybe drink less of it. Maybe.

* 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 - Apple Crisp

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on November 16, 2011.

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It's Fall, and Fall means apples, apple pie, apple butter, apple cider, and especially apple crisp. There's almost nothing more comforting to me than a big bowl of hot apple crisp topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or maybe a drizzle of cream.

Just typing that sentence makes me want some right now.

I tried Top Cheftestant Robin Leventhal's Quickfire-winning apple crisp recipe a couple years back. It was good, but it had too many extraneous flavors. I prefer apples+cinnamon+maybe walnuts. My mom made a great version, very plain, but I have no idea where she got the recipe. Her beloved Better Homes & Gardens book only has apple brown betty, which just isn't the same. So I poked around teh innernets and found a simple recipe from Betty Crocker.

It was good, but not perfect. I used half Granny Smith and half Fuji apples, which at the end of the recommended 30-minute cook time were still somewhat crunchy. We ate it anyway. It was much better a couple of days later, when I popped the casserole back into the oven for a while. The apples grew more tender and the crumble got crustier, but there was this third somewhat gooey texture from where the topping got saturated by the apple liquid. I think it was my favorite part.

If you want that version, follow the recipe below. Either eat part of it or just stir it up a bit so some of the crisp topping can get soggy. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate. The next day, put it into a 350F oven for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes. (Yes, an additional 30 minutes seems like a long time, but remember it's now cold from the fridge.) Enjoy with ice cream, whipped cream, or a drizzle of heavy cream or half-and-half.

Betty Crocker's Apple Crisp

4 cups of sliced apples (Granny Smith and Fuji, or Golden Delicious)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Cream or Ice cream, if desired

Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.

Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients except cream until well mixed; sprinkle over apples.

Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with cream.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

* 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 - Smoky Joes

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on January 8, 2014. Might make a good playoff snack.

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I decided one Sunday to throw together a pan of sloppy joe to eat during football. I didn't want to make the same old same old, so I poked around in the fridge for ideas. There, I found a jar of roasted red peppers, a container of chipotles en adobo, and a jar of freshly-made pumpkin butter.

Yes, pumpkin butter. The stuff has a lot of the same spices as ketchup--cinnamon, ginger, cloves--and it also contains an actual vegetable and no high fructose corn syrup. It also lacked a certain tangy-ness, which I remedied with a bit of cider vinegar. Mr Minx was skeptical when I told him of my brilliant idea to use pumpkin butter in our dinner, but after I mixed a bit of vinegar into it and gave him a taste, he was a believer.

Not only did I want to use the pumpkin butter, but I also wanted the sloppy joe to have a pronounced smokiness. I stopped short of cooking the meat in my stovetop smoker, but added all of the smoky-flavored ingredients I had on hand, apart from liquid smoke (which might have taken it over the edge), plus the usual Worcestershire and mustard flavors. The result was rich and sweet, but not overly so, with a smoky edge.

While the sloppy joe was delicious the day it was made, it was even better a few days later.

Smokey Joes

1/2 cup pumpkin butter
1-2 chipotles en adobo, finely minced (depending on your tolerance for heat)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground pasilla negro (optional)
3/4 cup chicken stock, plus additional
1/2 teaspoon smoked salt (optional)
1 tablespoon agave nectar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
oil
salt
1 lb ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 roasted red bell pepper, diced

Make the sauce: Combine the pumpkin butter, chipotle, vinegar, tomato paste, Dijon, and Worcestershire sauce in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the paprika and ground pasilla and slowly stir in the chicken stock. Stir in the smoked salt, if you have it, and taste the sauce for seasoning. If it needs sweetening to your taste, add some or all of the agave syrup. Bring sauce to a simmer, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

While the sauce is simmering, start cooking the onion in a separate pan over medium heat with a bit of oil and a pinch of salt. When onion is translucent, add the ground beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and cooking until no longer pink. Add the garlic and the roasted pepper.

Pour in the prepared sauce. Stir well to combine. Add additional chicken stock if the mixture seems dry. Bring mixture to a simmer, then turn heat to low. Cook for 30-45 minutes, until beef is tender, adding more stock if necessary and skimming off any fat that rises to the top. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Serve on your favorite rolls, buns, or toast.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Apple Crisp

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on November 16, 2011.

It's Fall, and Fall means apples, apple pie, apple butter, apple cider, and especially apple crisp. There's almost nothing more comforting to me than a big bowl of hot apple crisp topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or maybe a drizzle of cream.

Just typing that sentence makes me want some right now.

I tried Top Cheftestant Robin Leventhal's Quickfire-winning apple crisp recipe a couple years back. It was good, but it had too many extraneous flavors. I prefer apples+cinnamon+maybe walnuts. My mom made a great version, very plain, but I have no idea where she got the recipe. Her beloved Better Homes & Gardens book only has apple brown betty, which just isn't the same. So I poked around teh innernets and found a simple recipe from Betty Crocker.

It was good, but not perfect. I used half Granny Smith and half Fuji apples, which at the end of the recommended 30-minute cook time were still somewhat crunchy. We ate it anyway. It was much better a couple of days later, when I popped the casserole back into the oven for a while. The apples grew more tender and the crumble got crustier, but there was this third somewhat gooey texture from where the topping got saturated by the apple liquid. I think it was my favorite part.

If you want that version, follow the recipe below. Either eat part of it or just stir it up a bit so some of the crisp topping can get soggy. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate. The next day, put it into a 350F oven for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes. (Yes, an additional 30 minutes seems like a long time, but remember it's now cold from the fridge.) Enjoy with ice cream, whipped cream, or a drizzle of heavy cream or half-and-half.

Betty Crocker's Apple Crisp

4 cups of sliced apples (Granny Smith and Fuji, or Golden Delicious)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Cream or Ice cream, if desired

Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.

Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients except cream until well mixed; sprinkle over apples.

Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with cream.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Butterscotch Bourbon Apple Bread Pudding

Every year, when Fall comes along, I have a strong urge to bake up a big dish of apple crisp. My mama used to make it pretty regularly, and I adored it. Still do. But, hubby isn't a fan. I know - he's weird. He loves apples, and will happily eat apple pie, but top those apples with a crumbly topping and it's game over.

A couple years back, I switched things up and tried an apple cobbler on him, but it still wasn't a favorite. No worries - that cobbler was so damn good, I ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until it was gone, with absolutely no regrets.

This time, I put apples in a bread pudding. Mr Minx has no argument with those. I even sprinkled the top with a bit of brown sugar partway through baking in order to get a little crunch. He seemed to enjoy it just fine. So while it's not apple crisp, it was tasty and apple-y and fall-ish.

I used whole wheat bread, just shy of an entire grocery-store loaf. You can use what you like, from challah to baguette to plain old white bread. If you don't have apple cider and don't want to invest in it, then just use an extra cup of milk. Cider, however, gives the dish a more apple-y flavor. You can add some cinnamon, too, if that's your thing, but I preferred to taste the subtle butterscotch combo of brown sugar, booze, and salt.

Butterscotch Bourbon Apple Bread Pudding

3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar (divided use)
3 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
4 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Large pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup melted butter
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup whole milk
1 cup apple cider
3 large eggs
Enough stale bread to fill about 8 cups

Heat oven to 350°F.

Melt butter and 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Add apples and toss well to coat. Add the bourbon and cream and cook for five minutes, until apple has softened a bit and the sauce is bubbly. Stir in the salt and remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, stir melted butter into condensed milk. Whisk in milk, cider, and eggs. Add the bread and press down on the mixture to ensure all of it is saturated with the milk mixture.

Place half of the mixture in a greased  9- or 10-inch springform pan. Top with half of the apples. Pour in remaining bread mixture and sprinkle with remaining apples.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining tablespoon of brown sugar over top. Bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool for a bit before cutting into wedges and serving. Softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream is a nice touch, but not necessary.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Caramel Apple Cobbler

I love apple pie, but I don't like making pie crusts. There's just not enough counter space in my little kitchen to roll one out properly. Sometimes I use store-bought crusts; they're ok, but not quite good enough. So I was a bit stymied as to what to do when there were too many apples in the crisper.

An apple crisp would be a perfect solution, but I found out recently that Mr Minx really doesn't like crisps. Unbelievable, I know. He made the announcement after I had made a rather large peach crisp, which resulted in my having to eat just about the entire thing myself. (I loved it!) If not a crisp, then what? I didn't think a traditional biscuity-cobbler would work as well with apples as it does with a juicier fruit, but found a couple recipes for cobblers topped with a sweet cookie-type batter. That seemed absolutely perfect.

A combination of brown sugar and Lyle's Golden Syrup (a British product found in some supermarkets) makes a lovely caramel-y sauce for the apples. Chunks of nuts in the batter add a lovely crunch to the topping. The result is delicious when eaten warm with a scoop of ice cream, or cold, straight out of the pan.

Caramel Apple Cobbler

For apples:
6-8 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/2 cup Lyle's Golden Syrup
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch ground cardamom

For cookie topping:
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 stick of butter (4 oz), melted
2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 cup flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole almonds, crushed roughly
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425°F.

To make apples: Place apples, brown sugar, flour, and butter in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter and sugar melts and starts to bubble. Add the golden syrup and spices. Cook for about five minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a 8" or 9" square baking dish.

To make cookie topping: In a mixing bowl, beat together brown sugar, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients, minus almonds, in a smaller bowl. Add flour mixture to sugar and butter mixture and stir until combined. Stir in almonds. Dollop batter over apples in baking dish.

Place baking dish on a sheet pan to catch drips. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crust is nicely browned and firm to a light touch.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with ice cream or chilled without.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Smokey Joes

I decided one Sunday to throw together a pan of sloppy joe to eat during football. I didn't want to make the same old same old, so I poked around in the fridge for ideas. There, I found a jar of roasted red peppers, a container of chipotles en adobo, and a jar of freshly-made pumpkin butter.

Yes, pumpkin butter. The stuff has a lot of the same spices as ketchup--cinnamon, ginger, cloves--and it also contains an actual vegetable and no high fructose corn syrup. It also lacked a certain tangy-ness, which I remedied with a bit of cider vinegar. Mr Minx was skeptical when I told him of my brilliant idea to use pumpkin butter in our dinner, but after I mixed a bit of vinegar into it and gave him a taste, he was a believer.

Not only did I want to use the pumpkin butter, but I also wanted the sloppy joe to have a pronounced smokiness. I stopped short of cooking the meat in my stovetop smoker, but added all of the smoky-flavored ingredients I had on hand, apart from liquid smoke (which might have taken it over the edge), plus the usual Worcestershire and mustard flavors. The result was rich and sweet, but not overly so, with a smoky edge.

While the sloppy joe was delicious the day it was made, it was even better a few days later.

Smokey Joes

1/2 cup pumpkin butter
1-2 chipotles en adobo, finely minced (depending on your tolerance for heat)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground pasilla negro (optional)
3/4 cup chicken stock, plus additional
1/2 teaspoon smoked salt (optional)
1 tablespoon agave nectar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
oil
salt
1 lb ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 roasted red bell pepper, diced

Make the sauce: Combine the pumpkin butter, chipotle, vinegar, tomato paste, Dijon, and Worcestershire sauce in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the paprika and ground pasilla and slowly stir in the chicken stock. Stir in the smoked salt, if you have it, and taste the sauce for seasoning. If it needs sweetening to your taste, add some or all of the agave syrup. Bring sauce to a simmer, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

While the sauce is simmering, start cooking the onion in a separate pan over medium heat with a bit of oil and a pinch of salt. When onion is translucent, add the ground beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and cooking until no longer pink. Add the garlic and the roasted pepper.

Pour in the prepared sauce. Stir well to combine. Add additional chicken stock if the mixture seems dry. Bring mixture to a simmer, then turn heat to low. Cook for 30-45 minutes, until beef is tender, adding more stock if necessary and skimming off any fat that rises to the top. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Serve on your favorite rolls, buns, or toast.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Fall Menu at J. Paul's

I love when restaurants change their menus seasonally, not only to reflect available produce, but also to include heartier dishes when the weather turns cold. At J. Paul's, Chef Jason Dyke does just that. The new fall menu for 2013 includes a rib-sticking Virginia beef chili that combines ground beef with smoked short ribs topped with cheese and sour cream. There are also baked oysters topped with bacon, smoked gouda, scallions, and garlic butter...

...and chicken Marsala, with fettuccini, goat cheese, mushrooms, and asparagus.

There are also two salmon dishes on the fall menu; one is a salad with dried fruits and hazelnuts, and the other is grilled with a honey bbq glaze.

J. Paul's also has a new Ravens-inspired cocktail on the menu, the Ravens Nation, comprising Bacardi Razz rum, black raspberry liqueur, cranberry juice, lime, a splash of soda, and served with a sugar rim.

J. Paul's will also be part of Downtown Partnership's Maryland Crab and Oyster Celebration. From October 25th-November 3rd, J, Paul’s will be offering a special menu that highlights crab and oysters from Maryland including the yummy crab cake appetizer: a Maryland jumbo lump crab cake over a boursin-stuffed fried local tomato with corn relish and cherry pepper remoulade. There will also be a fried oyster po' boy, local fried oysters in an amoroso roll with lettuce, tomato, red onion and tarragon mayonnaise; and a crab cake salad with mixed field greens, tomato, onion, corn, red and green bell peppers and cucumber tossed in peppercorn ranch topped with a Maryland jumbo lump crab cake. For more information on the event: http://dinedowntownbaltimore.com/.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Cardamom Ginger Pear Butter

Some people might be intimidated by the thought of making jams and butters and "putting them up." I am one of them. For one thing, I don't have a lot of extra cupboard space for storing jars of fruit and whatnot, for another, I don't trust my ability to sterilize something well enough to prevent botulism. Oh sure, I could probably sell my failed fruits to a dermatology clinic that would shoot them into the faces of people who refuse to grow old naturally, but both the American Board of Dermatology and the FDA would probably have something to say about that.

Instead, what I like to do is make tiny batches of various fruit products, things that can be consumed in a week or so. I make a pint of this and a pint of that and once they're gone, I can make more, or something else entirely. My fridge is usually full of these Crate and Barrel working glasses with lids (the pint size, which they don't seem to have on the site right now), each containing some concoction or another.

One of my more successful ones came when I noticed that three of the large bosc pears I had recently purchased at the farmers' market had soft spots. I didn't want to eat all three pears at once, so I decided to cook them down with some sweet spices. The result is a delicious butter-type spread that can be eaten on toast, stirred into plain yogurt, or used as a side dish for roast pork or chicken. It would also make a nice filling for hand pies or little tartlets. The recipe is also easily doubled or tripled, as needed.

Cardamom Ginger Pear Butter

3 very ripe bosc pears
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt

Peel pears and cube the flesh. Place into a saucepot with the brown sugar, spices, and water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer mixture until the pears break down and are easily smashed with the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Turn up the heat to evaporate any excess water, then smash the pears with a potato masher. Stir in the vanilla and salt and allow to cool before eating.

Makes about 2 cups.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Apple Crisp

It's Fall, and Fall means apples, apple pie, apple butter, apple cider, and especially apple crisp. There's almost nothing more comforting to me than a big bowl of hot apple crisp topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or maybe a drizzle of cream.

Just typing that sentence makes me want some right now.

I tried Top Cheftestant Robin Leventhal's Quickfire-winning apple crisp recipe a couple years back. It was good, but it had too many extraneous flavors. I prefer apples+cinnamon+maybe walnuts. My mom made a great version, very plain, but I have no idea where she got the recipe. Her beloved Better Homes & Gardens book only has apple brown betty, which just isn't the same. So I poked around teh innernets and found a simple recipe from Betty Crocker.

It was good, but not perfect. I used half Granny Smith and half Fuji apples, which at the end of the recommended 30-minute cook time were still somewhat crunchy. We ate it anyway. It was much better a couple of days later, when I popped the casserole back into the oven for a while. The apples grew more tender and the crumble got crustier, but there was this third somewhat gooey texture from where the topping got saturated by the apple liquid. I think it was my favorite part.

If you want that version, follow the recipe below. Either eat part of it or just stir it up a bit so some of the crisp topping can get soggy. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate. The next day, put it into a 350F oven for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes. (Yes, an additional 30 minutes seems like a long time, but remember it's now cold from the fridge.) Enjoy with ice cream, whipped cream, or a drizzle of heavy cream or half-and-half.

Betty Crocker's Apple Crisp

4 cups of sliced apples (Granny Smith and Fuji, or Golden Delicious)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Cream or Ice cream, if desired

Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.

Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients except cream until well mixed; sprinkle over apples.

Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with cream.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Pumpkin Waffles

Last weekend was positively cold and the weather was a perfect excuse to break out the waffle iron and make some pumpkin-flavored waffles. I noticed that we had several apples in the crisper, some of which were starting to look elderly, so whipped up some apple compote with which to top the waffles.

The apples are so sweet and juicy, there's really no need for extra syrup, but you can certainly add some (and butter) if you wish!

Pumpkin Waffles with Apple Compote

Waffles:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup pumpkin purée
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk

Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine melted butter and pumpkin, stir in eggs, then milk. Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined, but still a bit lumpy. Cook in a waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.

Makes 10-12 waffles.

Apple compote:
1 tablespoon butter
3 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

Melt butter in a saucepan, add apples and sugar. Cook over medium-low heat until apples soften and sugar and butter thicken into a sauce, about 15 minutes. Stir in cardamom. Serve over waffles.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

New Fall Menu at B&O American Brasserie

I got an e-mail about the new Fall menu at B&O and some of the offerings sound so good, I think another visit to the restaurant should be in my not-too-distant future.

What sounds most enticing? Some of the new starters, like the Spice Cured Hamachi with peppadew chili puree, freekah (parched green wheat) salad, blood orange, and micro shiso, and the Foie Gras & Oxtail Terrine with duck rillette, cranberry marmalade and toasted brioche. Also this season’s Market Flatbread with celery root, braised kale, egg, and truffle cheese. And this new cocktail caught my eye as well: Axel Grease Beer with 42 Below Manuka Honey Vodka, Youngs Double Chocolate Stout Syrup, Chambord, Angostura Bitters, Gunniess.

Check out the full menu here.

Also, From October 1 to World AIDS Day on December 1, B&O is helping guests feel good about having a cocktail or two with the launch of “Cocktails for a Cure,” to support the fight against HIV/AIDS. Each time a guest purchases any of three hand-crafted Red Ribbon Cocktails, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants will donate $1 to Chase Brexton Health Services.

ETA - more news from B&O: B&O American Brasserie is pleased to announce that they have won the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and Nation’s Restaurant News 2010 SPIRIT Award for their commitment to their workforce and a strong understanding of how their staff impacts the organization’s overall success.