When Rich Meets Rich: A Case for Lighter Desserts

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There’s a little-known, though entirely predictable, phenomenon in restaurants that I like to call the dessert escalation. You know the drill: you’ve just survived a main course that could probably sustain a small nation—cheeses aged like fine antiques, pastas swimming in butter, sauces richer than a trust fund—and then the dessert menu lands on your table like a dare.

Chocolate lava cake? Check. Triple-layer buttercream cake? Naturally. Cheesecake so dense it might qualify as a building material? Absolutely. (Also, is this menu trying to kill me? Asking for a friend.)

I love dessert. Don’t get me wrong. I worship at the altar of a perfectly caramelized crème brûlée and can have emotional conversations with a good gelato. But sometimes--hear me out chefs--sometimes less really is more.

After you’ve navigated a rich main course, your body might be quietly screaming, “Enough!” That’s where lighter desserts come in. A delicate poached pear, spiced ever so lightly, or a scoop of tart lemon sorbet can feel like a breath of fresh air for your palate. Even a tiny fruit tart or a selection of macarons. (And, bonus, your digestive system might actually forgive you.) 

These aren’t just “diet” desserts or sad compromises. They’re the unsung heroes of the meal. They refresh the palate, highlight the flavors of what came before, and make your diners feel, dare I say it, graceful as they leave the table, instead of waddling toward their cars, regretting their life choices.

So here’s a friendly plea: next time you design a dessert menu, think about the arc of the meal. Dessert doesn’t need to be the final battle; it can be the gentle, elegant bow that leaves everyone smiling, planning their next visit, and secretly hoping for a small scoop of something light.

Indulgence is divine, yes. But surviving a butter-laden meal, dear chefs, deserves its own medal.

* 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!

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Pumpkin Recipes, With and Without Spice

Click image if you're basic.

I'd have my Basic White Girl card taken away if there weren't at least a dozen pumpkin recipes on the blog. No chance of that happening, as there are eighteen recipes (so far) using pumpkin as a main ingredient. Most of the recipes are sweet, of course, but a couple are savory. Pumpkin is a vegetable, after all. I am rather surprised that I don't have a recipe for pumpkin hummus here somewhere--a situation that will be rectified very soon. I recently found a yummy-sounding one on the Interwebs but haven't had a chance to whip it up. 

I've made more variations on pumpkin cheesecake (3) than anything else. There are also muffins, cake, cupcakes, breakfast items, plus soup and risotto. One thing I noticed while searching for pumpkin recipes: the older posts have some pretty horrible photography! Going from small digital camera to iPhone camera has made a big difference in the quality of my images. Good lighting makes an impact as well. So this post is recipe-heavy and photo-light. 

Curried Pumpkin Soup This recipe is stupid-simple. 

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chai Muffins This is clearly one of my more recent recipes, as I eat mostly gluten-free these days. Plus I'm hoping that the term will attract new followers to the blog....

mini pumpkin cheesecakes

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes Specialty pan alert! You need two 4-inch springform pans for this recipe. I suppose one 6" pan will do, but the cheesecake will need to bake for a bit more time. Don't ask how long. It's in your hands now.

Pumpkin Bread Just to be different, I added a bit of curry powder. 

Pumpkin Butter Don't spend $5 on a jar of pre-made pumpkin butter! Make it yourself for much less.

Pumpkin Cheesecake This is for a full-sized cheesecake to serve to family and friends. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies Rather than the usual cream cheese-swirled brownie, these are topped with a thick layer of pumpkin cheesecake. 

Pumpkin Cornbread There's actually no good reason to add pumpkin to cornbread. But I did it anyway.

Pumpkin Cupcakes Rich and moist, these cupcakes taste better after a day or two.

Pumpkin Fruitcake Don't be afraid--this is more pumpkin bread with dried fruits and nuts than actual fruitcake. Real fruit, not those awful red and green plasticized cherries.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle is a great dish for the upcoming Winter holidays. Make it easy on yourself and use boxed gingerbread and pudding mixes.

Pumpkin Oatmeal sure is cozy on a fall morning!

Pumpkin Pancakes are too!

"pumpkin" pie made with squash

"Pumpkin" Pie There are quotes around the word "pumpkin" because this recipe calls for fresh squash. Pretty much all canned pumpkin is actually butternut squash, and it can be substituted for the other squashes in this recipe. 

Pumpkin Risotto There are no "pumpkin spice" spices in this recipe!

Pumpkin Seed Brittle only uses the seeds, not the flesh. My late Dad said it was "like heaven" in his mouth. 

Pumpkin Spice Cake This is like a blondie, only pumpkin-spicier.

Pumpkin Waffles with Apple Compote Do make the compote! 

* 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!

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Pandemic Eats, Week 1-8, Home Edition

While we ate a lot of carry out and delivery food during the first 8 weeks of #stayhome, we also cooked regularly, too. Some of the food was completely from scratch, while other dishes repurposed restaurant leftovers. (I hate food waste, and you should, too.)

On the Tuesday of what would become Week One, I had tickets to The Band's Visit at the Hippodrome, and I had planned to take my friend Jeremy. The show was postponed pretty early on, so he and I made alternate plans. Those alternate plans were also changed by coronavirus. Plan C involved J coming over to make us Chinese dumplings, from scratch--wrappers and all. I was sous chef, and I am responsible for the horrible pleating on the dumplings. (I think we added too much water to the dough.) Still, they were delicious, particularly the fried ones.

I made gluten free apple pie for dessert, which we consumed with an Irish coffee on the side. Pierish coffee, as J calls it. It's not a thing, yet, but it should be.

My friend Laurie, @Baltimorehomecook on Instagram, started a project of making pasta and delivering it to folks. I can't turn down her homemade cavatelli, which I served with chopped up Italian cold cuts, spinach, parm, and fresh chives.

I was still attempting to continue Whole30 at this point, so these pancakes are made with Bob's Red Mill gluten free one-to-one flour.

Then I decided, since I wasn't losing anything, that I'd allow some gluten back into my life. Like the crust on this ham and brie quiche.

And the pumpernickel bread used for this toasted cheese sandwich served with a quick soup of canned tomatoes, cannellini, and stock, with fresh swiss chard.

Black bean soup with pickled watermelon radish yielded enough to stash a quart in the freeze for future eating.

Leftover pork tenderloin became an element on this salad, a riff on the classic nicoise, with a mustardy vinaigrette and potatoes. Cheese and nuts just because.

I found that beets make great lunch salads. I tried red, chioggia (candy stripe), and gold beets, and determined that the earthy flavor of red goes best with cheese (feta or bleu) and nuts (walnuts or anything else).

Turkey meatballs with creamy pesto were good for a couple of meals.

Ditto this pot roast, which we ate at least 4x.

I like changing up my daily lunch, so when I don't have leftovers to eat, I make something like this beet hummus.

I opened up a jar of Desert Pepper Salsa Rio and knew we wouldn't be able to eat the whole thing before it got funky, so I repurposed it as a soup with cannellini beans, leftover pork, and pickled onions. Cheese quesadilla on the side.

We've been eating a lot of potatoes, mostly baked. One time I got fancy and made Smitten Kitchen's cacio e pepe potatoes Anna. Pretty good, but next time I'll use butter instead of olive oil, for more flavor.

We've had Chinese carry out a few times, from Red Pepper Sichuan in Towson and Asian Kebab and Hot Pot in Lutherville. (They are owned by the folks who operated the late, lamented, Hunan Taste in Catonsville.) A ton of rice meant fried rice one night. I also repurposed some crazy spicy pig ears into this dish, and the avocado mellowed that heat out nicely.

I broke out my recipe for sriracha bouillabaisse one evening to use up a pack of frozen TJ's mahi mahi. With some rouille-coated toasts, it made a fine light supper on two evenings.

What have you been cooking at home?

* 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!



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Turmeric Cheesecake

I've been a fan of The Ginger People for a while now. I try to always have a bag of their chewy ginger candy--Gin Gins--in the house. They've recently moved into the turmeric market, which makes sense as turmeric is also a rhizome in the Zingiberaceae family. Turmeric is full of curcumin, which is thought to have anti-inflammatory properties and has long been used in Ayurvedic medicine. It's also delicious.

Among The Ginger People's new turmeric products are the Wild Turmeric Rescue Ginger Shot, a tiny bottle of concentrated goodness with 30% ginger juice, their Ginger Soother with Turmeric (a great tummy soother), and Turmeric Latte Mix, a zingy combo of palm sugar with turmeric and ginger extracts. I thought the latte mix would be good in other things, like ice cream and cheesecake. There was no room in the freezer to fit the capsule for our ice cream maker, so I decided to try cheesecake instead.

More like a cheese pie, since it's not that tall, this golden beauty is creamy and delicious.

Turmeric Cheesecake

For the crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed Lorna Doones or other shortbread cookie
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 stick butter, melted

For the filling:
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 packs The Ginger People Turmeric Latte mix
3 large eggs at room temperature

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Place a 9" or 10" springform pan on a piece of aluminum foil that is about 4" larger than the pan on both sides. Wrap the bottom of the pan tightly to prevent the butter leaking out of the crust into the oven. Put the pan on a baking sheet as an extra precaution.

Combine all the crust ingredients in a bowl. Stir well with a fork to coat every crumb with the butter. Pour the crumbs into the prepared pan and pat them down firmly to cover the bottom and slightly up the sides of the pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool before filling.

To make the filling: Combine the cream cheese, sugar, latte mix, and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until smooth. Pour into the prepared crust and bake for 50 - 60 minutes, until the filling is mostly set but the middle jiggles just a bit. Remove to a rack to cool for at least three hours before serving. It's actually best refrigerated.

Gently remove the sides of the pan. Cut cheesecake into slices and serve with whipped cream.

Makes 8 servings.

* 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!

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Gingerbread Linzer Tart

I made the original variation on this tart (with chocolate cookies and raspberry jam) 20+ years ago. I have no idea where I got the recipe, but every once in a while I pull it out and make it for dessert. It's pretty simple, and the results are delicious. Last year, I decided to tinker with the flavoring a bit. Rather than chocolate cookies and cocoa powder, I opted to use gingerbread cookies and spices. I almost made a cranberry curd for the filling, but I was stressed out and feeling lazy, so I used a jar of Polaner seedless blackberry All-Fruit. Everyone seemed to like the variation, so I thought I'd share it with you here.

A baking note: The butter tends to ooze out of the bottom of the pan, so it's a good idea to bake this on a foil-lined baking sheet. If you use a tart pan or baking dish without a removable bottom, you won't have this issue, but it will also be a little harder to cut into wedges and serve.

Gingerbread Linzer Tart

1 1/2 cups almond flour
1 1/3 cups gingerbread cookie crumbs (I used Pepperidge Farm Ginger Family cookies)
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 whole egg
1 jar Polaner All-Fruit seedless blackberry jam, or your favorite blackberry jam
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Place ground almonds, cookie crumbs, flour, sugar, ginger, and cloves into a large bowl and mix well. Distribute the butter over the mixture and add the egg. Work the dough with your fingertips, rubbing in the butter and making a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to two hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Pat about 3/4 of the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the a 9" tart pan with removable bottom. Spread the jam thickly over the crust but not quite to the edges. Roll pieces of the remaining dough into strips and arrange on jam in a lattice pattern. Sprinkle on the chopped almonds.

Bake for 35 minutes. Let the pastry cool completely in the pan.

Carefully remove the sides of the pan. The crust is fairly sturdy, so this shouldn't be a problem. You can use a knife to coax the bottom off the tart, but I usually just leave it there. Place the tart on a serving plate and cut into wedges.

Serves 12.



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Flashback Friday - Cherpumple Pudding

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on November 16, 2012.

Cherpumple. It's a funny word, isn't it? Kinda like "turducken." Exactly like turducken, as a matter of fact. That particular funny word is a portmanteau combining letters from the words turkey, duck, and chicken; the dish it refers to comprises a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck which in turn is stuffed into a deboned turkey. Poultry on poultry (on poultry) action, and an interesting dish to serve for Thanksgiving dinner.

Like the turducken, the cherpumple combines multiple elements into one over-the-top dessert. This combination of cherry, pumpkin, and apple pies bound by cake was created by humorist Charles Phoenix after noticing that his family tended to take small servings of each of several desserts served during a typical holiday meal.

While I'd happily eat turducken, I think three pies, each baked into a layer of cake, and covered with cream cheese frosting, is like a nightmare starring Paula Deen. Or maybe Sandra Lee, considering that the original recipe calls for frozen pies, cake mix, and canned frosting. BUT...I think the combination of flavors, at least of the pie components, would make for a pleasant holiday sweet.

Rather than dealing with pies and such, I opted for a much simpler solution: pudding. A nice tapioca pudding, flavored with pumpkin and spices, and topped with a compote-like mixture of sauteed apples and dried cherries.

Cherpumple Pudding

1 large egg
2 3/4 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons Minute tapioca
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons dried cherries

Beat the eggs and milk together in a saucepan, then stir in sugar and tapioca. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Mix together pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. When tapioca has cooled somewhat, stir in the pumpkin mixture. Pour into a bowl that has a cover, or cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed down onto the surface of the pudding. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Cook apple with butter and brown sugar until the fruit is tender and the sugar is syrupy. Stir in the cherries and cook an additional few minutes, until they plump up. Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature.

When ready to serve, spoon some of the tapioca into a bowl. Top with some of the apple and cherry mixture. Garnish with a dollop of freshly-whipped cream, if desired.

Posted on Minxeats.com.



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Tomato Pie

I made the most beautiful tomato pie with bounty from our garden. So many tomatoes ripened at once, I had to do something that would use up more than one or two at a time. Pie seemed to be the answer.

I was prepared. I had refrigerated pie crusts, frozen puff pastry, and filo dough on hand. Using the refrigerated option seemed the easiest way to go, but that sort of crust would require blind baking, so the pie wouldn't turn out soggy. Invariably, when I blind bake a crust, it shrinks in the pan and is barely tall enough to hold the filling. I got clever this time and used a tart shell, which is already shorter than a standard pie pan. Rather than crimp the pastry or trim it while it was raw, I just let the excess dough overhang the top of the pan, which cut back on the shrinkage. I also don't have pie weights to prevent the crust bottom from puffing up. I had used rice for a while, but after several uses it started to smell bad so I threw it out. This time, I used a springform pan bottom wrapped in foil that fit perfectly within my pastry shell. It worked like a charm.

For the topping, I sliced my tomatoes and salted them and left them to drain on several thicknesses of paper towel. I also blotted them periodically to get off as much moisture as possible. While those were draining, I made a filling using various things I had on hand. Now, you won't be able to duplicate my filling exactly, but you can probably approximate it easily enough. I knew I wanted to use cheese, so I combined cream cheese and feta. I wanted a savory element, so I added a few spoonfuls of bacon jam (you can use finely crumbled cooked bacon and a bit of sauteed onion), and then for balance, some vinegar. But not actual vinegar. I have a bottle of Crafted Cocktails blackberry shrub in the fridge. It has a flavor somewhat like a very sweet balsamic vinegar, so I added a couple teaspoons to the filling for a touch of acidity. You can add balsamic, but start with a teaspoon and taste before adding more, as it's more tangy than the shrub.

Once the pie crust had cooked and cooled, I smeared it with the filling and topped it with the tomatoes. Into the oven it went for 35 minutes until the tomatoes had shriveled somewhat and the filling was bubbling. I let it cool completely before removing it from the tart pan and garnishing it with fresh basil.

It was delicious. And beautiful.

Tomato Pie

2 lbs tomatoes (I used a combination of Black Krim, Tie Dye, and Roma)
Salt
1 refrigerated pie crust
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese (or flavorful cheese of your choice)
2 heaping tablespoons bacon jam (or 1 tablespoon of crumbled bacon + 1 tablespoon caramelized onion)
2 teaspoons Crafted Cocktails Blackberry shrub (or 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar)
Freshly ground pepper
Fresh basil for garnish

Slice tomatoes about 1/4" thick and place in one layer on a double thickness of paper towels. Salt liberally. Allow to drain for at least half an hour, blotting occasionally with more towels.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Fit the pie crust into a 10" tart shell with 1" sides and a removable bottom. Do not trim the crust, just allow it to hang loosely over the top of the pan. Prick crust all over with a fork. Line the crust with aluminum foil and weigh down with raw rice or beans, or pie weights if you have them. If you don't have any of the above, take a 9" springform pan bottom, cover with foil, and place within the crust. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the crust starts to turn golden. Remove the pie weights or pan bottom and foil and bake an additional 5-8 minutes. Remove pie shell from oven and cool on a rack. Once cool, use a knife to trim the excess crust flush with the top of the pan.

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, feta, bacon jam, and shrub. Stir well to combine and add freshly ground pepper to taste. Smear onto cooled crust and top with drained tomatoes.

Bake for 30-35 minutes,  until filling is bubbly and the tomatoes have shrunken a bit. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan. Garnish with fresh basil, cut into wedges and serve.



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B&O Brasserie Spring Menu

When Chef Scott Hines took over from his predecessor Mike Ransom, there was a bit of a transitional period in terms of the B&O Brasserie menu. With the new spring menu, Chef Hines has revamped the entire lineup. focusing on familiar favorites with sophisticated refinements and getting back to the true mission of a brasserie. To that end, you will find the burgers, steaks, and salads that you would expect in a brasserie alongside more adventurous items like sweetbreads and quail. Also, the daily specials--fried chicken, pot roast, meatloaf--have a homey quality that should attract diners looking for comfort foods.

We were excited to get an opportunity to try out some of the new offerings.

Of course, we always have to start with an exotic cocktail from the wildly creative mixologist Brendon Dorr and his crew. Rabbit's Revenge, with flavors of gin, carrot, and beet, is reminiscent of a Bloody Mary, and would be lovely with a big fat shrimp or two perched on the rim. The Rook's Return is a refreshing cocktail using Ford's Gin; it reminded us of pickle brine with a floral aspect. That description might turn some people off, but it's actually delicious.

I certainly experienced a flash of nostalgia when I ate the salmon tartare. It reminded me a bit of the salmon mousse that my Aunt Kay always served for holiday parties. While salmon mousse is typically made with canned salmon, the tartare, a simple yet elevated dish, is made with fresh raw salmon mixed with tiger sauce (mayo and horseradish). The feather-weight, crispy salt and pepper crackers provide the perfect vehicle for the tartare. Even the Minx liked it and she is not a fan of raw salmon.

For some reason that escapes us, many people are turned off by sweetbreads. I think it's just the idea of eating the glands of an animal, but going on taste alone, they are tender and mild. (The Minx likes to think that the phrase "tastes like chicken" came about because of sweetbreads.) At the B&O, they are drizzled with a completely unexpected ancho and bourbon barbeque sauce with some straight-off-the-grill smokiness. The dish also has a scallion cornbread for a contrasting texture.

Chef Hines's sous chef Tyler Johnson once worked at Wolfgang Puck's Italian restaurant, so he has quite a few tricks up his sleeve when it comes to Italian cooking. He has strong influence over the pastas and sauces at the B & O and his rich Sunday gravy is excellent. It has great depth of flavor, as if Grandma was cooking it all day, and is the perfect accompaniment to the tender beef, mortadella, and foie gras meatballs. Now it might seem odd to add fancy bologna and duck liver to meatballs, and I couldn't really taste them specifically. They're mostly there to add unctuousness. The Minx was all over this dish and would love to make it at home.

The lamb rib appetizer is braised in gin for a long time, and the constant reduction of the sauce coats them in a rich glaze that shines like glass. The apricot yogurt accompaniment cuts the meaty intensity with its fruity sweetness and the pea salad brings acidity and crunch.

The Minx loves carrots for some reason, so she was insistent about having the smoked carrot agnolotti with morels, onions, and peas in a simple butter sauce as her entree. This dish of tender pasta filled with a cream-enriched puree of mesquite-smoked carrots may be the vegetarian entree on the menu, but we carnivores found it immensely satisfying. The combination of smoke and mushrooms made up for the absence of meat. More restaurants should offer such well-thought-out meatless options.

As a pasta person, I really wanted to order this too, but we had to try as many dishes as we could so....

My entree was the crispy black sea bass in a spicy boullabaisse with potatoes and confit tomatoes. Crusty bread with rouille is a traditional accompaniment to a fish stew like this, and the B & O doesn't skimp with their coating of the garlicky sauce. Be careful with this; the flavors of garlic and saffron are pretty intense and can linger in your mouth for some time, so if you don't want so much rouille, feel free to scrape it off. As for the bass, it was perfectly cooked with a lovely crisp skin and silky smooth flesh, and the broth was spicy but mellow.

As if that wasn't enough food, we sampled three desserts.

The B&O Oreos, chocolate cookies sandwiching creamy marshmallow filling, are served two to an order. That would be plenty, but it also comes with a large bar of peanut butter mousse encased in chocolate along with several dots of creme anglaise on the plate. It's almost like one dessert to eat there (the mousse) and one dessert to take home (the cookies).

If not a trend, elevated versions of humble s'mores have become a frequent feature on many dessert menus. This particular version takes the unique approach of sandwiching toasted marshmallow flavored ice cream in between house-made graham crackers. A pool of chocolate sauce and some actual toasted marshmallow completes the flavor profile. The ice cream is really subtle, and I recommend that you try a few bites without the cracker to notice its toasty flavors.

Possibly our favorite dessert of the evening was the buttermilk pie with blackberry jam ice cream. The sweet lemony pie has the consistency of thick custard, and the blackberries provided a tangy counterpoint. The ice cream is served on a bed of feuilletine bits, which keep it from sliding all over the plate and also add a crisp texture.

It's a special treat to go to the B&O Brasserie because, while the food has evolved over time, it's always inventive and offers new taste sensations. I think Chef Hines is on an especially smart track with this new menu, blending the familiar with the exotic and evoking taste memories while creating new ones at the same time.

B&O Brasserie
2 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland, 21201
443-692-6172

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Apple Pie a la Mode

More ice cream! Yes, I do love playing with ice cream flavors, never having been a "plain vanilla" kind of girl. This one has all the flavors of apple pie a la mode: cooked apples; cinnamon; even chunks of buttery crust. There are a few more steps involved here than in some other ice cream recipes, but the result is well-worth the effort.

Apple Pie a La Mode Ice Cream

1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Rome apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
Squeeze of lemon juice
2 cups whole milk
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
3 cinnamon sticks
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons softened cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 an all-ready pie crust, baked and cooled

Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cook, stirring regularly, until the apples have softened but are not mushy, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in a pinch of salt and a little lemon juice. Scrape into a container and refrigerate until cold.

Mix 2 tablespoons of the whole milk with the cornstarch to make a slurry. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream cheese, salt, and cinnamon together until smooth.

Put the remaining milk and cream in a large saucepan with the cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat and allow to steep for 1 hour.

Prepare a shallow ice bath: in a large bowl or baking pan, place an inch or two of cold water and several ice cubes. Set aside.

Remove cinnamon sticks from the milk mixture and add the sugar and corn syrup to the pot. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 4 minutes, watching carefully so it doesn't boil over (stir when it starts to expand), remove from heat, and slowly whisk in the slurry. Bring back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Blend a few tablespoons of hot milk mixture into the cream cheese to loosen it, then pour the cream cheese mixture into the pan of milk. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Whisk well until smooth. Pour into a container with a tight-fitting lid and place the container into the ice bath until cool, ensuring that the water level doesn't come up as far as the lid. When the mixture seems mostly cool, refrigerate until completely cold.

Freeze ice cream according to manufacturers instructions. Once ice cream is mostly done, start adding the apple mixture a little at a time. When the ice cream is completely done, scoop some into a lidded storage container. Layer on some of the crust pieces. Continue to add layers of ice cream and crust to container until both are used up. Press a piece of wax paper onto the surface of the ice cream. Seal container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.



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Squash Pie

I was recently reminded why we buy our holiday pies, rather than bake them at home.

Recently, I purchased a copy of The Splendid Table's How to Eat Weekends: New Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show. Amazon was offering the Kindle version for $1.99, and I couldn't pass it up. Perusing it, I noticed a recipe for "pumpkin" pie made with butternut squash. As it happened, I had at home two medium-sized winter squash looking for an application, and this recipe seemed like a perfect fit. I also had a box of pie crusts in the fridge, because I'm too lazy we don't have enough counter space to deal with rolling out a crust.

The problem with those refrigerated pie crusts is that they're not quite big enough for my pie pan. They just barely reach the top, and shrink miserably when I blind bake them. Oh well. I use them anyway because of the counter situation. Also because until very recently, we didn't own a rolling pin. (After 16 years of happy rolling pin-free domesticity, Mr Minx decided that we needed one. And so we now have one. Maybe some day we shall use it.)

Anyway...back to the recipe. And why we don't make pumpkin pies from scratch.

Canned pumpkin (or butternut squash, as it were, masquerading as pumpkin) is really such a time-saver. An ultimate convenience food. Pre-cooked and pre-pureed, it just needs to be plopped into whatever pie, soup, quickbread or other dish requires its earthy presence. Making squash puree at home, however, takes a bit more effort and lots more time. The squash needs to be halved (which requires a large, sharp knife. If you don't have a chef's knife (we have several, thankfully, and a Chinese cleaver, just in case), be prepared to struggle a bit. Once split, a squash needs to be de-seeded, oiled, and baked at high temperature for 45 minutes to an hour to soften the flesh to a scoopable texture. The baked squash then needs time to cool a bit; this is important, otherwise fingers are burnt. The scooped-out flesh then needs to be pureed, which means dragging out the food processor or blender, whichever is the least amount of trouble (or in our case, already lives on the counter). Then the food processor (or blender) needs to be cleaned and returned to its cupboard, not to mention the baking sheet and whatever utensils were used to remove the squash's caramelized flesh from its now-sagging carapace. At this point, two or more hours later, the squash is ready to pie-ify.

I was so glad to have the pie crusts on hand. That was at least one thing that was simple and quick in this whole pie-making project. Except I decided make more work for myself by using one of the two crusts included in the box as decoration. I cut vaguely leaf-shaped pieces and placed them on a separate baking sheet, brushed them with a bit of egg yolk (almost-clever tip: there's usually enough yolk left clinging to the bowl in which they were beaten to glaze a few bits and bobs of pastry) and a sprinkle of granulated sugar, and baked them alongside the pie once the oven temperature was lowered.

I used a delicata squash and a Thelma Sanders acorn squash, both of which had fairly pale flesh. The combination of sweet spices + pale yellow squash makes for a somewhat grayish-brown filling (which looks much better when covered up with fancy pastry shapes). It still tastes good, however, much like the more orange butternut squash called for in the original recipe. (Raw butternut squash is a real bitch to cut in half though - you are forewarned.)

If you're up for the task of making a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving next week, here's the recipe, with my alterations. Or you could just go to your favorite bakery and purchase one, like I plan to do.

"Pumpkin" Pie (adapted from the Splendid Table)

1 box refrigerated pie crusts
2 small to medium butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
3/4 cup sugar, or to taste
Generous 1/4 teaspoon salt
Generous 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional - my addition)
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional - my addition)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup plain full-fat yogurt
About 1/2 cup milk
3 large eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 400°F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Butter a 10" metal pie pan. Fit one of the crusts into the pan and if there's enough dough there, crimp the edge. Then line with a piece of foil and pie weights (raw rice, beans, or these ceramic thingamabobs) and bake 10 minutes. Carefully remove the foil liner, with a fork pierce the crust in several places, and bake an additional 5 minutes or until dry looking. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Keep at room temperature up to 24 hours.

Roast the squash flesh-side down on an oiled cookie sheet in a 400° oven. Bake one hour, or until a knife slips easily into the thickest part of the squash. They should be extremely tender. Cool, then scoop out the squash and puree it completely. You should end up with 3-1/2 to 3-3/4 cups puree.

To make the pie, have the oven at 400°F. In a large bowl, beat together the squash, sugar, salt, spices, vanilla, yogurt, and milk until smooth. Taste for sweetness and spiciness, adding more sugar and/or spices if needed. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then add to the squash mixture.

Pour the filling into the baked pie shell. If your shell shrunk, as did mine, only fill it to the top of the shell, not to the top of the pan (duh!). (There will be extra filling - pour it into as many small ramekins as it requires and bake them alongside the pie for about 30 minutes.) Set the pie on a cookie sheet to catch any spills. Bake 15 minutes at 400°, then reduce heat to 325°. Bake another 45 minutes to 1 hour. The pie is done when a knife inserted an inch or more in from the edge comes out nearly clean (the center will still be soft).

If you're feeling crafty, cut shapes out of the second pie crust (most refrigerated crusts come with two per box), brush with the bit of egg yolk clinging to the bowl in which you beat it, and sprinkle with sugar. (If there's no egg yolk left, use milk instead. No use wasting a whole egg for a few bits of crust.) Put in the oven once the temperature is turned down to 325° and bake for 20 minutes or so, until golden brown and slightly puffed. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

Cool the pie on a rack. Top with any crafty pastry shapes. Chill if you are holding it more than a couple of hours. Serve the pie at room temperature, topped with whipped cream or ice cream.

I had enough filling for two ramekins, and enough of the second crust to make two
little hats for them. Cute, huh?

Posted on Minxeats.com.

13.5% Wine Bar + Food

I know, I know - you're thinking that we should change the name of this blog to "Stuff Cyrus Keefer Feeds Us." And maybe we should. We've covered his cuisine at Fork & Wrench, his Pique pop-up, and at his most recent gig, 13.5% Wine Bar. And we're doing it again. This time, we were invited to a media tasting, which meant we would get to try several more of his dishes than the two of us would normally order on our own.

13.5% Wine Bar has really embraced their new chef. For one thing, notice the recently added "+ Food" in their name. While it's still a great place to enjoy a glass or three of vino, the food game has been stepped up considerably. It's now a place that even non-wine-drinkers can enjoy (they have cocktails and beer, if you're still into the booze). The restaurant is bigger, with table seating for 70, 20 additional at the bar, and al fresco dining, too, courtesy of the new retractable facade.

But we were there for the food, so let's jump right into it. Here's the current menu, for your perusal.

Cyrus started us with an off-menu app of tuna and tomato crudo with miso poached mozzarella. The mozz and tomato made it a bit like a Caprese, but with tuna instead of basil, and the chef's customary touches of Asian flavors, like kombu. This dish hit so many flavor points - tangy, sweet, umami, salty - and I would love to see a larger version of it on the menu.

We had two types of pizza next, the "pizza pie," which had classic pizza flavors and aromas on a crust of pate brisee, or regular pie crust dough. The other was a French bread-style pizza topped with snails and chorizo. The two versions were as different as night and day, the "pie" version light and fresh (despite the very buttery crust) and the other rich and garlicky. Not expecting to get so much other food, we each ate two slices, almost (but not quite) regretting it later in the meal.

Then came a salad of sauteed zucchini, white corn, and baby arugula with fresh cherries and avocado. The vinaigrette showed off the chef's talent with such sauces, being both savory and acidic, with the lightest kiss of black truffle oil. While I normally don't see the point of white corn, especially the tiny kerneled-type, here it punctuated the salad with juicy bursts of texture.

We also tried the tender and cheesy gnocchi-esque goat cheese dumplings with smoked tomato caper sauce and the sous vide octopus with a similarly smoky red pepper sauce, zucchini puree, and polenta. My palate doesn't enjoy smoked + some non-fish seafood, but the octopus was so fork-tender, I ate it all anyway.

So. Much. Food. And we're not done, folks! We also tried "our heavenly take on ramen," which was on the menu the last time we ate at 13.5%. (If soft shells hadn't also been on offer, I would have ordered it.) The soup takes elements from traditional Japanese tonkotsu and Hokkaido-style broths by using both pork (in the form of house-made bacon) and corn (a corn dashi). The genius noodles are actually house-made linguine with baking soda, to give them a very ramen-like bite. There's also a soft-boiled egg, kale, and mushrooms in the mix. There was no way I could finish the dish, so thank goodness for doggie bags.

Our last item, which I didn't photograph, were the pork belly and smoked shrimp spring rolls we had eaten before. They were lovely then and still lovely today, even though I had to eat mine slightly soggy at lunch the next day. Best spring roll in town though.

Whew. Lots of food. No room for Morgaine Brunn's desserts (which could have been a wee peach ice cream-stuffed almond macaron, were we not stuffed). Lots of excellent flavors and textures, too. Cyrus has some great and clever ideas floating around in his head, and the ability to execute them.

The whole purpose of this post is to continue to get the word out about the new focus on food at 13.5% Wine Bar + Food. If you don't go, I'll just have to post again in the future. You are forewarned.



Posted on Minxeats.com.