Corn Gazpacho

I was looking at a restaurant menu online and saw an appetizer description that turned me on: corn gazpacho with chipotle, extra virgin olive oil, and feta. I thought - I can make that! So I did.

And then I forgot to drizzle the soup with olive oil and feta before photographing it. You might not want to omit that part.

Spicy Corn Gazpacho

2 ears corn
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup almond milk
2 green tomatoes, cut into chunks (you could use ripe, if green aren't available)
1 chipotle en adobo, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 1/2" thick slice of country bread, broken into pieces and soaked in a bit of water until mushy
pinch smoked paprika
lime juice
salt
extra virgin olive oil
feta

Shuck the corn and cut the kernels off the cob. Place kernels in a small pot of boiling water and cook until corn is crisp tender, about 6 minutes (about halfway through, add the garlic). Drain, and, reserving a few kernels of corn for garnish, place corn and garlic in a blender with the almond milk. Blend to a puree. Strain the corn puree into a bowl through a strainer, pressing down on the solids to get all of the juice. Discard solids and place corn liquid back into blender. Add the tomatoes, chipotle, bread, and smoked paprika and blend well.

Season with plenty of lime juice and salt to taste.

Serve garnished with a slick of olive oil, some cubes of feta, and the reserved corn kernels.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Next Food Network Star Season 9 Episode 10 Recap

I am so not into writing a recap for this episode, so this one is going to be short and sweet. Mainly short.

In this penultimate episode of Food Network Star, the final four are asked to pitch one solid concept to the Network, aka Susie Fogelson and Bob Tushface. They in turn will choose only three Wannabes to make "pilots." Damaris, Russell, Rodney, and Stacey are told to come up with two concepts to present to Bobby, Giada, and Alton, who will tell them which one sucks the most.

Stacey presents first. Concept number one involves going to restaurants, a la Restaurant Impossible, and giving one dish a makeover from vintage to modern. Her second concept involves modernizing old recipes that just don't seem to work anymore, like Jell-O salads and chicken a la king over Minute rice, I suppose. The mentors think she should combine the ideas, so that she could modernize either restaurant dishes OR recipes from home cooks.

ZZZZZZZ.

My concept for Stacey: I think she should go to restaurants that have fancy schmancy Modern American food and teach them how to make Jell-O salads (preferably green ones with canned pears) and sloppy Joes with Campbell's chicken gumbo soup.

Russell is up next. He suggests that either he go to other people's restaurants and talk about culinary sins, or have Russell's Dinner Party with Sinful Foods. (Shouldn't all proper dinner parties include bourbon, bacon fat, ice cream, and offal?) The mentors suggest that he go to restaurants and cook dishes with a sinful twist.

My concept for Russell: I kinda like the dinner party idea. But he should always have one guest that's a fussy tee-totaling vegan who is forcefed bourbon and pig tails.

Rodney wants to take restaurants' signature dishes and turn them into pie - a Throwdown Pie Style. Or he could visit famous musicians and make pie with them. The mentors suggest that he have restaurateurs dare him to make pie out of their signature dishes, which Rodney thinks is brilliant, even though it's essentially his first concept.

My concept for Rodney: I think he should go around to celebrities like Brad Pitt and George Clooney and sock them in the face with giant pies.

Finally, Damaris suggests she could do a boring cooking show on modern Southern food, or teach guys how to cook to "trap" a woman. While the mentors take umbrage to the word "trap," they prefer the second concept.

My concept for Damaris: She should wear a grey feathered wig and get her teeth replaced with giant, blindingly-white, Giada DeLaurentiis-brand false teeth and deep fry everything, including butter. Oh wait - that's been done already?

Now we basically see the same thing all over again, this time in front of Susie and Tushie. Once again, Stacey presents first. She wants to show the Selection Committe that she can make an emotional connection, so she comes out telling a sad tale about her restaurant woes. The pathetic air carries over to her pitch for "Stacey's Modern Magic." Susie tells her the maudlin attitude doesn't make her pitch appealing. So basically Stacey just pulled a Plaxico and shot herself.

Russell is reveling in his "Guilty Pleasures." He tells the judges he wants to take ordinary foods and make them sinful. Susie decides that she likes him and that she gets his concept.

Damaris has cleverly decided to title her show, "Eat, Date, Love." She manages to convince the judges that Southern food is the "food of love," and that she is going to teach hapless men how to cook for their wimmenfolk. When asked if it worked for her, she claims to have "caught and released a lot of gentlemen" in her time. (Or vice versa.)

Finally, Rodney comes out and is Pie Style all over the place. The judges don't need much convincing that he can make a pie out of anything. They find him charming and fun.

Ultimately, Stacey's pilot pitch is boring and a little pathetic, and she is sent home.

Next, the pilots get filmed. Or in the case of Rodney, the "pie-lot" is filmed. He meets Guy Fieri at Eric Greenspan's restaurant, the Foundry, where the most popular dish is a grilled cheese sandwich with Taleggio and short ribs. After Rodney takes a huge-ass bite and unsuccessfully tries to talk with his mouth full, Guy Fieri--a pro at talking with his mouth full--shows him how it's done. And then Rodney makes a pie. The result is highly entertaining. I'd watch it.

Russell goes to Bennett's Ice Cream in the LA Farmers' Market. He asks to taste the Cabernet Sauvignon sorbet, and then whips out a briefcase full of culinary sins. I *love* the conceit of the briefcase, which has been fitted to hold containers of fat, bourbon, etc. He then goes into the shop's kitchen to whip up some bacon bourbon ice cream with liquid nitrogen. I'd watch his show, too.

Finally, Damaris films her pilot with Guy. While her concept is pretty good, she's just not making any eye contact with the camera, instead concentrating on the guy she's teaching to make pork loin and sweet potato biscuits. She's also waaay too giggly. I like the idea of the show, and I like Damaris, but she'd be better off in a different format, I think. She's more interesting when she's off-the-cuff.

So, what did you think about the pilots? Which, if any, are you voting for?


Posted on Minxeats.com.

Strawberry Lemon Bars

I was looking for a dessert to take to a cook-out, and stumbled upon a recipe for lemon bars flavored with strawberry. I love lemon bars, but Mr Minx thinks they are occasionally too tart. Using strawberry juice to replace some of the lemon juice does a nice job of offsetting the tangy-ness, while adding an additional fruit flavor.

To make strawberry juice, one simply cooks very ripe strawberries for a couple of minutes until they surrender their juice. If you have a juicer, of course you can use that, instead. You want about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of juice.

Strawberry Lemon Bars

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
1 1/2 cups ripe, juicy strawberries, hulled and chopped
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
grated zest of two lemons
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray and line it with a piece of parchment long enough that the ends flop over the top of the pan. Set aside.

Sift together flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add butter and work with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into bottom and 3/4 inch up sides of prepared pan. If there seems to be too much butter and the dough sticks to your hands as you press it into the pan, put it back into the bowl and mix in a couple of additional tablespoons of flour. Refrigerate crust 15 minutes.

Bake at 350 until crust is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan.

While crust is cooling, make the filling. Cook the strawberries over medium heat until they are saucy. Strain and discard solids (eat them!). The remaining liquid should be about 1/3 - 1/2 cup. Allow to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, juice, flour, and strawberry sauce until smooth. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and slowly pour filling over hot crust. Bake until filling is firm, about 35-40 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

Use parchment to lift bars from pan. Cut into squares using a sharp knife and dust with powdered sugar before serving.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

A New Kind of Loyalty Program

Have you noticed how food trends come in waves? Some years back, bagels were all the rage and bagel shops popped up all over town. Then it was coffee, with Starbucks and other national chains opening up across the street from each other. Gourmet hamburgers, made by everyone from Bobby Flay to Richard Blais. Cupcakes everywhere. And now coffee is back again, except this time, the coffee shops are more community-driven, and don't belong to giant conglomerates that ship their pastries in from a central facility clear across the country. Because a good neighborhood coffee shop should be about more than just a hot cup of joe and free wi-fi.

Baltimore's coffee culture is slowly growing, and in an effort to encourage loyal customers to further explore the developing coffee culture in Baltimore, LAMILL COFFEE has invited several of Baltimore’s most forward-thinking coffeehouses to join their new Disloyalty Card program, which launches on August 12.

The concept of the Disloyalty Card began with Gwilym Davies, a London-based barista and World Barista Champion of 2009, who wanted to entice customers to explore London's cafés by rewarding repeat guests with a free beverage. LAMILL is bringing the Disloyalty Card to Baltimore to encourage Baltimore residents to explore the city’s great cafés and coffee shops outside of their daily routines.

Alongside LAMILL, some of the area’s top coffee shops will be a part of the Disloyalty Card program in Baltimore including:

Charmington’s – A Charles Village neighborhood café serving Counter Culture Coffee and espresso, fresh baked muffins and pastries, sandwiches, salads and other light fare. Charmington’s is located at 2601 Howard St., Baltimore, Maryland 21218.

Dooby’s Coffee – A fun and welcoming Mt. Vernon establishment where friends and neighbors can gather over Counter Culture Coffee beverages, pastries, sandwiches and beer from morning to night. Dooby’s Coffee is located at 802 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland 21201.

High Grounds – Located in Highlandtown, High Grounds roasts coffee beans six days a week for use in their coffeehouse and for sale at premier local stores. In the coffeehouse, a La Marzocco espresso machine grinds coffee at point of order and customers can enjoy bagels, muffins, scones and pastries from Uptown Bakers. High Grounds is located at 3201 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, Maryland 21224.

Pitango Gelato – An espresso bar in Fells Point, Pitango creates an authentic Italian experience with a focus on quality and excellent service tapping local roaster Counter Culture Coffee to guarantee the freshest product possible. Pitango Gelato is located at 802 South Broadway, Baltimore, Maryland 21231.

Sidewalk Espresso – Just a couple blocks from Camden Yards, UMMC and the Convention Center, Sidewalk Espresso offers ridiculously awesome espresso and coffee drinks using Ceremony Coffee. Sidewalk Espresso serves local pastries in a relaxing atmosphere at 625 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

Consumers can obtain a Disloyalty Card at any of the participating cafés, and they will receive a stamp at each location when they purchase a qualifying beverage. Once guests have completed the card by visiting each café and receiving the appropriate stamp, they will be entitled to a complimentary beverage at the café of their choice.

To learn more about the Disloyalty Card program, visit any of the participating coffeehouses and ask for details.

Posted on Minxeats.com.