Choice Bites 9.13.2011

Ben & Jerry's is putting out a new flavor inspired by a skit on Saturday Night Live called Schweddy Balls. Will you try it? (It might be the closest that any of us get to Alec Baldwin.)

Apparently Bethenny Frankel's products are as natural as her boobs. To those who watch those Housewives shows - why?

You never know what you're going to find in an Applebee's salad. Make sure to check out the slide show under the article, too!

Emeril's going to be in a movie. Sorry, but it sounds a bit like an April Fool's joke to me. Or maybe something from The Onion.

If you can't afford Botox, for heaven's sake, don't inject yourself with hot beef fat. Everyone knows pork fat would work much better!

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Meatless Monday - Savory Bread Pudding

Every year for Mr Minx's birthday, we head to his mom's house for steamed crabs. While crabs are yummy and all that, they're often not enough food - most of the time we're tired of picking before we're full! This calls for a supplementary nosh, which this year was a savory bread pudding made with the rest of our windfall of tomatoes.

 

I baked it in the morning before heading to Dundalk; it was still warm by the time we tucked in, but cool enough to eat with crab spice-coated fingers.

I like using Emeril Lagasse's recipe for wild mushroom bread pudding and altering the heck out of it. Basically I keep the proportion of eggs to cream to bread and change the flavors to suit my mood and what's hanging around in the fridge.

Tomato Bread Pudding

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup sliced yellow onions
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs
1.5 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
about 1/2 pound stale white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 5 cups)
4 roma or other similarly-sized tomatoes (divided use)
1 teaspoon softened butter

In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until lightly golden, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, salt, and 3/4 teaspoon of the pepper and cook another few minutes to cook the garlic.

Dice two of the tomatoes, discarding seeds and juice.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs and cream, whisking well to blend. Add the cheese, tomatoes, and onions and stir well. Add the bread cubes and let sit until the bread has absorbed the liquid, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 9 inch square baking dish and pour the bread pudding mixture into the prepared pan. Cut the remaining tomatoes into thin slices and arrange over top of pudding. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 45 minutes and uncover. Continue baking until the pudding rises and is firm in the center and golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.

Let cool slightly before serving.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

September 11, 2001

NEVER FORGET.

IMAGE: © David Turnley/CORBIS
Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday 9.9.2011

This post is from March 4, 2006

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Inspiration

After reading the Amateur Gourmet's post on short ribs with pumpkin orzo, I was inspired to make some for myself. I have a copy of Mario Batali's Babbo Cookbook in my collection, and forwarded a link to the post to Neal, suggesting that he pick up some short ribs on his next trip to the grocery store.

Unfortunately, he came home with pork country ribs. Not to worry! I decided to work with them. My standard recipe for country ribs involves homemade barbecue sauce, but I wasn't in the mood for that today. I looked through several cookbooks and was inspired by a recipe for country ribs with mango, lime, and coconut milk from Molly Stevens' The Art of Braising . Only I decided to use blackberries instead of mango, wine instead of coconut milk, and balsamic vinegar in place of the lime juice. Otherwise it was exactly the same. I served the meat with an orzo risotto, or orzotto and edamame tossed with salt and lemon juice (I adore edamame.)

Country Ribs with Blackberry Sauce
1.5 lbs bone-in country style pork ribs, approximately three ribs
olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, julienned
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 cup Oregon canned blackberries in syrup
1 cup red wine (I used valpolicella)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 square semisweet baking chocolate
Salt and pepper

Pat the ribs dry and generously salt and pepper on both sides. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven; sear ribs on high heat until nicely browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Remove ribs from pot and add onions and carrots. Turn down heat to medium and sauté vegetables until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic. After about 2 minutes, add the wine and the vinegar. Bring to a boil and cook down until reduced to about half, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen any bits from the meat. Add the berries and their juice and cook an additional 2 minutes. Place the meat back into the pot and turn the heat down to a bare simmer.

Cook for 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes until pork is very tender. Remove pork from pot and raise the heat. Reduce the sauce, smashing the berries with a spoon. Taste for salt and pepper. Add the honey and the chocolate, stirring to combine. Add the meat back to the pot and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Serves 2 - 3

Orzotto
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
8 oz orzo pasta
2 cups chicken stock or bouillion
Pinch saffron
2 oz of cheese (I used leftover truffled cheese, but any medium- to soft-textured cheese would probably do nicely)

Melt butter in a sauté pan; add onion and orzo, stirring until the orzo browns, about 5 minutes. Add stock and saffron and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cooked, uncovered, 10 minutes. Cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all of the liquid is evaporated. Add cheese and stir until melted.

Serves 4-6

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.