Let'sEat360

The Pumpkin’s Fate - A Kitchen Horror Story

That’s actually quite tasty.

Roasted pie pumpkins. Copious amounts of ginger, cinnamon, clove, and fresh nutmeg. Milk and a few well handled eggs.

The 6 Best Apples for Pie Rowan Jacobsen, food52.com

Today, James Beard Award-winner Rowan Jacobsen, author of Apples of Uncommon Character, dishes on five apple superstars that will rock your pies.

Lucky us. We are in the Second Golden Age of the Apple, with more great new varieties appearing in…

The 2nd degree burns on my left hand made that tomahawk ribeye all the more tasty.

Cherries

The summer harvest of vine-ripened cherrie tomatoes in Indiana.

T

minus the B & L

About the only reason to turn on the oven during the summer.

Zucchini Muffins

Gooey

I grew up eating Archway cookies. They were bigger than about anything else at the store. Kinda flat.

The only ones I remember were the molasses. Those were different. Soft and chewy.

Two nights ago I got the nerve to give this a shot. I adapted a recipe to what I thought these should be - strong flavored but not overpowered. Crispy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside.

Preheat oven to 350 F

1/3 C unsalted butter + 1/2 C shortening + 1/2 C ea of white & brown sugar. Into a stand mixer with paddle attachment on high for approx. 10 minutes.

2.5 C AP flour + 1 tsp baking soda + 1/2 tsp salt + .5 tsp ground cloves + 2 heaping tsp cinnamon + 2 heaping tsp of granulated ginger. Sift together.

Add one egg to creamed sugar. Beat on high for 1-2 minutes

1/4 C black molasses + 1 TBS water - add to egg/sugar and mix on low to combine.

Add dry mix to to wet, a little at a time. Mix on low between each until just partially mixed. DO NOT OVERMIX. 

Ball dough to the size of walnuts. Roll in a tray of white sugar. Flatten slightly on baking sheet (ungreased or with parchment).

Egg Salad

Small Packages

I don't recall my first introduction to baked Chinese barbecue buns. I do remember how brokenhearted my wife and I were when the only local Chinese bakery closed their doors.

The original hot pocket. Warm, soft dough. Tangy, salty, slightly sweet meaty filling. Portable. It gives the hot dog a run for its money in street food.

You'll find them under several names - char sui bao or bbq pork buns. In Honolulu, they're known as manapua. 

They are easier than you'd expect. A simple dry rub. A wet marinade. A quick yeast dough. Here's how I brought it together.

BBQ Pork

Full rack of St. Louis-style spare ribs

2 TBS Chinese Five Spice Powder

1 TBS white sugar

Dash of ground black pepper and kosher salt

Mix the spices and sugar. Then sprinkle each side of the ribs and rub in. Wrap in plastic wrap. Then, into the fridge overnight

1/2 C Hoisin Sauce

1/3 C Soy Sauce

2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2-3 TBS rice wine vinegar

Mix wet ingredients. Cut ribs into individual bones.  Place bones into 9x13 pan. Coat with marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and back into the refrigerator for 3-4 hours. Mix again halfway through.

Place ribs onto wire racks on foil-lined rimmed baking sheets. Place into 300 F oven for 1:45.

Take leftover marinade and place into sauce pan. Add 2-3 TBS of hoisin, 1 tsp of five spice powder, and 1/4 C of water. Bring to a boil and reduce for 45 minutes or until thickened.

With approximately 20-30 minutes remaining, baste ribs with sauce. Baste again after removal.

Let ribs cool. Then, remove meat from bones, chop, and mix with remaining sauce. Set aside or into fridge.

Dough

1/2 C Milk

3 TBS water

1/4 C white sugar

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

Warm milk and water to tepid. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add yeast and set aside until frothy - 10-15 minutes.

2 C AP Flour

3 TBS Olive Oil

1 tsp kosher salt

1 egg, beaten lightly

Mix milk/yeast mixture with ingredients above in mixer with dough hook for 5-7 minutes until smooth.  Ball up the dough and place in oiled bowl, covered in a warm place. Let raise until doubled - 1-2 hrs.

Punch down dough and divide into 12 pieces. Ball these up and let them rest 5-10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Flatten dough with pin to a 4" circle. Spoon in meat. Pinch closed.

Baste with mixture of 1/4 C of milk and 1 TBS of honey. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Baste again with milk/honey after baking. Let cool slightly. 

Often, when friends come over, they walk right past me, head into the kitchen, and start foraging around until ahhhh yes they find what they’re looking for: chocolate chip cookies.

Well, well, well. Look who's getting some love over at Yahoo!.

Personally, I've done a bit of experimenting over the years with my cookie recipe. For a time I was adding an extra egg yolk and I've always gone a bit heavy on the chocolate (because...it's chocolate). The other things I've learned is that a slight chill on the dough prevents over-baking as does piling the dough high.

Not When I'm Eating!

B & G

Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits paired with Herb Sausage Gravy

Winter Warmer

Beef and Black Bean Chili with Grilled Cheese on Homemade Sandwich Bread

Bring on the blizzard!