Apple Crisp

I've blogged about apple crisp here before. The first time was after trying Top Cheftestant Robin Leventhal's Quickfire-winning recipe. It was good, but the orange zest in the topping kinda threw me a flavor curveball that I'm still not sure I liked. Last Fall, I tried famous chef Betty Crocker's version. It was fine, but the cook time of the recipe was off. This time, I decided to take matters in my own hands and put together my own recipe. It's very simple, nicely spiced, and has a super-crunchy topping that stays crusty after refrigeration.

I used Macoun apples, but you can use any type that float your boat.

Crunchy Apple Crisp

6 apples (use your favorite)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
large pinch salt
1 stick cold, unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease an 8" or 9" round or square baking pan.

Peel and slice apples. Arrange in the baking pan. (I used one of those peeler/corer/slicer gizmos, which makes the chore go by lickity split. It also leaves the equivalent of half a cup of apple sauce/juice on the countertop.)

Combine the next ten ingredients in a large bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and, using your fingers, smush it around in the bowl with the dry ingredients until pretty well incorporated and the mixture is lumpy. Use the topping to completely cover the apples in the pan.

Bake at 375 for 50-55 minutes until bubbly around the edges and browned on top. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes and serve topped with freshly whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Japanesque Eggplant

I've been on an eggplant kick recently. Mr Minx had always claimed to hate eggplant, but I find if I puree it with various seasonings, he'll eat it. I usually lean toward Mediterranean flavors, like a babaganoush or something with tomatoes, but recently I decided I would do something with a Japanese feel. We have a tub of miso in the fridge that I don't get to use very often, so I blended a few spoonfuls with eggplant that I nuked into submission. The dish was a pureed riff on a Japanese broiled eggplant dish, and I think the flavors were spot on.

Miso Eggplant Dip

1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 medium eggplant (to produce about 2 cups of cooked flesh)
3 tablespoons white miso
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
pinch cayenne
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Place sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, and cook, shaking the pan regularly, until the seeds are fragrant and have turned a slightly darker shade of brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove stem end and cut the eggplant in half from stem to base. Place halves cut side-down on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with plastic wrap and nuke for 8-10 minutes until deflated and soft. Set aside and allow to cool.

When cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh from the eggplant into the bowl of a food processor. Add the miso, mirin, and rice wine vinegar. Stir in the cayenne and add salt and pepper to taste. Scoop into a serving bowl.

When ready to serve, combine olive and sesame oils and drizzle over the eggplant mixture. Sprinkle on the toasted sesame seeds.

Serve on crackers or French bread.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Choice Bites 10.9.12

Grant Achatz' team at Chicago's Alinea recently spent five days cooking at Eleven Madison Park in New York. And vice versa. All of the advance prep work that needed to be done (since Alinea's menu and servewear is so famously complex) is rather fascinating. NY Mag's Grub Street has the scoop.

Bravo's Top Chef is so popular, they've opened a restaurant. An extended pop-up, Top Chef Kitchen sold out within an hour (I know - I tried to get a reservation within minutes of receiving the press release). Food Republic has a bit more on the concept, plus links to the official Web site.

Elvis Presley's daughter has a food truck. Sorta. Does it serve deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches? Nope. Fish and Chips. Which isn't exactly more healthy.

Have you read the horrible news that there may be a shortage of pork products in 2013? How will we get our bacon fix? Some say not to worry - it's not true. (Besides, the world is going to end in December of 2012, so we won't need the bacon anyway.)

For the prurient among us, Neil Patrick Harris has a food-porn-only Twitter account @NPHFoodPorn.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Ruben's Mexican Food

Ruben's Mexican Food, aka Ruben's Crepes, is a little shop on Charles Street in Federal Hill, but I know it best as a farmers' market stand, and provider of many of my Tuesday lunches.

Ruben's has both sweet and savory crepes and a handful of Mexican street foods like burritos and quesadillas. But what I enjoy most are the tacos - griddled corn tortillas filled with a choice of ground beef, chorizo, chicken, or carnitas and topped with a ladle of fresh pico de gallo and cilantro. They're a bit too sloppy to pick up and eat; I use a knife and fork so I don't dribble chorizo grease onto my reading material.

Unlike some of the fancier truck-produced tacos in town, Ruben's are simple, yet extremely savory. The meat is nicely seasoned and doesn't need to rely on fancy sauces to give it flavor. Speaking of sauces, Ruben's hot sauce is dynamite - and available by the bottle. The smoky stuff gives a great kick that intensifies with each taste, but is nicely tempered with a bit of sour cream.

I'm disappointed that I'll only be able to eat them until November, when the UMB farmers' market closes for the season.

Ruben's Crepes
1043 S Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 756-0667
rubenscrepes.vpweb.com



Posted on Minxeats.com.