ginger snaps

I suppose I should come up with a "snappier" name for these cookies because there is more to them than your average snap. I was in the mood to make the cookies and compared several recipes. One added black pepper, which made no sense to me but got me thinking. In Asian cooking, ginger and chilis go together, so I decided to add some cayenne pepper instead. Then I thought about the chili and chocolate combination in Mexican cooking and added a little cocoa powder. The result is one seriously good cookie.

In an electric mixer, beat together

2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup vegetable shortening (I use an organic brand)
1/2 cup molasses

I let the mixer run a good five to seven minutes. Add

2 eggs

Mix eggs are combined. In a separate bowl mix

4 cups flour
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Add the dry mixture gradually to the butter-sugar mixture. Form 1 ounce sized balls and roll them in sugar before putting them on the baking sheet. Cook at 375 for nine to twelve minutes. Nine makes for a chewy cookie; twelve will get you a crunchy one.

Peace,
Milton

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roasted asparagus and poblano soup

2 bunches asparagus, trimmed
2 sweet white onions
2 leeks (white and light green parts only)
2 poblano peppers
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup Arborio rice
4 cups stock (either chicken or vegetable)
2 limes, juiced
olive oil
salt and pepper 

If you have a gas grill, turn the burner on high and put the poblano peppers directly over the flame until they char. Put them in a mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let them sweat for ten or fifteen minutes. Take them out of the bowl and, using paper towels, wipe the outer skin and char off the peppers. Also clean out the seeds from the inside. If you want more heat in your soup, add more seeds. Try not to wash the peppers clean; this affects the flavor. (If you don’t have a gas burner, put them in the oven for about twenty minutes in a small pan covered with foil and then sweat them.)

Peel the onions and cut them in half. Put the flat side of the onion down and cut across the grain, so you get little half moon slices. Cut the leeks in half and due the same thing. Put about two tablespoons of olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat and add the onions, leeks, and garlic. Cover, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to caramelize – about fifteen minutes. Cut the asparagus into one to two inch segments and toss with olive oil and then spread out on a baking sheet. Cook in a 350 oven for ten to twelve minutes. Take out of the oven and add to the stock pot, along with poblanos, the Arborio rice and the stock. (The rice will make the soup creamy without adding cream.) Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about a half an hour.

Remove from the heat and add the lime juice. Puree using an immersion blender, or let the soup cool a bit and carefully puree in batches in either a food processor or a blender. When you serve the soup, Drizzle good olive oil over the top.

Peace, Milton

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pumpkin seed brittle

For Christmas, Ginger gave me The New Southern Latino Table, which is an awesome cookbook. This recipe came from there. I made one small change in that I used pumpkin seeds that had already been roasted, rather than buying raw ones.

2 cups roasted pumpkin seeds (out of the husks -- they are small and green)
1 ¾ cups sugar
¼ cup honey

Butter a large metal baking sheet.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and honey and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the sugar melts. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring for 8-9 minutes, or until it turns a dark amber color; it should register between 300’ F and 310’F on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat and stir in the seeds.

Spread the mixture carefully onto the prepared pan (it will be very hot).

Cool completely (about 25 minutes) and break it into pieces.


This tastes great on its own, but I served it with my Coffee Flan and it added a nice touch.

Peace,
Milton

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coffee flan with bourbon coffee sauce

I love flan. I love coffee. I love this dessert.

1 cup sugar
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup whole milk
5 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons instant coffee dissolved in 1 teaspoon boiling water
1 tablespoon bourbon 

Preheat the oven to 200F. Place a 9 inch round x 2 inch deep cake pan on the sheet and warm it in the oven. (You can also make smaller individual flans in ramekins, if you like; warm them the same way.) In a heavy medium saucepan, cook sugar over medium heat, stirring frequently, until melted and golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Take your time melting the sugar, but move quickly when it reaches a dark amber and pour the caramelized sugar syrup into the warm cake pan. (Take it out of the oven, first.) Tip the pan around to coat the bottom and up sides a bit with the caramel syrup. Set aside.

Raise the oven to 325. In a saucepan or the microwave, bring about 3 cups of water to a boil. Combine the three milks, the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, coffee, and bourbon in a blender. Mix on low speed for one minute until everything is completely mixed and smooth. (If there is too much liquid, blend in two batches to prevent overflowing.) Pour the custard into the caramel-lined pan and place it (or the ramekins) is a larger dish or baking sheet that has high sides and then put it on the middle rack of the oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the larger holding pan to a depth of about an inch. Bake uncovered for thirty minutes and then check it. If custard is still not set (which mine usually is not) increase the temperature to 350 and set the timer in ten minute increments and continue cooking until custard is set and a thin knife blade inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack and then refrigerate covered with plastic for at least two or three hours. You can refrigerate it over night.

While it's cooking, make the Bourbon Coffee Sauce.

1 cup sugar
1 2/3 cups extra strong coffee (best at room temperature)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 teaspoon salt 

In a heavy skillet, melt the sugar slowly, stirring often, until the sugar melted and has turned a light amber color, about five minutes. Slowly add 1 1/3 cups of the coffee, stir ring constantly. Be prepared for a lot of steam. In a small bowl, blend the cornstarch and the remaining 1/3 cup of coffee until smooth. Stir the mixture into the hot coffee-sugar mixture. Continue cooking over low heat and stir until the sauce boils and thickens, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let it cool and then refrigerate.


Set both the sauce and the flan out of the fridge for a couple of hours before serving. When you are ready to serve the flan, run a thin knife around the edge of pan between custard and pan. (Press the knife against the pan, not the custard.) Place a deep serving plate with a rim over the pan and invert it to move the flan to the serving dish. Carefully lift up pan and allow syrup to run over the flan. Cut into wedges and enjoy. I served the desserts with chards of Pumpkin Seed Brittle.

Peace, Milton

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pimento cheese stuffed sweet potatoes

This was one of my Thanksgiving creations this year.

3 large sweet potatoes

Preheat oven to 375. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and then in the oven. Bake for an hour, until they feel soft to the touch. Set aside.

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 small jar pimentos
1 tsp bourbon
black pepper

Ritz crackers, crumbled

Mix the ingredients together. Cut the potatoes in half and scoop them out into a bowl, leaving enough in the skins for them to hold their shape. Add the cheese to the potato in the bowl and mix them together. Put the filling back into the skins and place them side by side in a baking dish. Cover the tops with the cracker crumbs. Lower the oven temperature to 350 and put them back in the oven for twenty minutes.

Peace,
Milton

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white chocolate, craisin, and pumpkin seed cookies

This started from a recipe that had the white chocolate, craisins, and macadamia nuts, but I didn't want to spring for the macadamias, so I began thinking of other options. The roasted pumpkin seeds seemed a good replacement, bringing a little crunch and savoriness to the cookies.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Cream butter in electric mixer and then add sugars and mix until fluffly. Take your time: let the mixer run a good 6-8 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well. Add vanilla. Add the flour mixture gradually, mixing until just mixed. Then add

1 pkg (11 oz) white chocolate chips
1 cup Craisins
1 cup roasted, salted pumpkin seeds

Mix just until the added ingredients are well distributed throughout the dough. Drop on to a cookie sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes.

Peace,
Milton

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figs stuffed with goat cheese

1 dozen figs
4 oz. goat cheese
4 oz. cream cheese
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
honey

Cut the figs in half from top to bottom.

Mix the goat cheese, cream cheese, and balsamic vinegar together in a food processor or mixer until thoroughly combined. Spoon about a teaspoon of the cheese mixture into each half of each fig and lay them out on a baking sheet. Heat in a 325 degree oven for about four or five minutes. Place on a serving platter and drizzle with honey.

Peace,
Milton

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blackberry french toast

1 12 oz. loaf French bread, cut into half inch cubes
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, cut into half inch cubes
1 cup blackberry preserves
1 cup fresh blackberries

Heat the jam and berries in a small saucepan over medium heat for four or five minutes until jam is melted and smooth and berries are softened a bit. Stir occasionally, so things don’t stick, but not too much. Put bread cubes and cheese cubes in a big bowl and toss with blackberry mixture until everything is coated. Pour into a 13 x 9 greased pan.

4 large eggs
2 cups half and half
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Whisk eggs, cream, cinnamon, and vanilla and pour slowly over bread mixture, taking time to let the break soak it in a bit. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top of everything. Wrap it tightly and chill it for at least eight hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake the casserole covered for twenty minutes and then uncovered for another 10-15 minutes until mixture is set and browned a bit on top. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup.

Peace,
Milton

P.S. -- This recipe is adapted from one I found in Southern Living's Best
Fall Recipes.

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vegetarian frittata

I made this dish for a wedding reception this weekend that required it to be dairy-free, gluten-free, and soy-free. It rocked.

I started with veggies I had on hand:

1 bunch fresh asparagus
4 or 5 fingerling potatoes
4 parsnips
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced

I sliced the parsnips into thin rounds, tossed them with olive oil and salt and pepper, put them on a baking sheet, and put them in a 400 degree oven for about ten minutes. While they were cooking, I grilled the asparagus on my stove top, tossing it with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. When they cooled a bit, I cut them into one-inch segments and layered them in the bottom of the dish. I then thinly sliced the potatoes and sautéed them in a bit of olive oil for about five or six minutes; I removed them from the pan and layered them on top of the asparagus. The parsnips were ready, so I took them out of the oven, lowered the temperature to 350, and layered them on top of the potatoes. I diced the tomatoes and put them into the same pan I used for the potatoes, adding a bit of oil, and let them cook till most of the liquid was gone and then layered them on top of the other vegetables.

(Again, I used the vegetables that looked best to me at the market. Use whatever you wish. I think it made a difference to roast or cook them before they went into the frittata.)

I made a big recipe (for 60), but for a 9x9 pan I would use

6 eggs
2 T almond milk

Whisk the eggs and almond milk together and then pour over the top of the vegetables. Move the veggies around to make sure the egg gets all the way to the bottom. Put in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until it’s set.

NOTE: After I saw this recipe, I realized this would also work great in muffin tins for individual servings.

Peace,
Milton

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gluten-, sugar-, and dairy-free dinner rolls

I have been on a bit of a culinary learning curve these days because I have been cooking for friends who require the food to be sugar-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free. This recipe met all the requirements and made pretty good rolls, if I do say so myself.

First, make a batch of the flour mix:

1 3/4 cup brown rice flour
1 3/4 cup white rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
2 scant teaspoons xanthan gum

Sift ingredients together. (If you make this ahead of time, store it in the refrigerator.)

Now, on to the rolls.

Prepare muffin tins by brushing them with olive oil and dusting with tapioca flour.

1/3 cup agave nectar
2 cups warm (not hot) almond milk
3 packets active dry yeast, such as Red Star

In a small bowl, whisk sugar into warm milk. Add yeast and whisk to dissolve. Set aside to allow the yeast time to proof -- you'll know this is happening when it starts to get foamy on top.

3 cups Jeanne's gluten-free all-purpose flour mix (recipe above)
1 tablespoon xanthan gum
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2 large eggs
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

In bowl of stand mixer, beat together eggs, apple cider vinegar and oil. Add yeast mixture, beat well, then add flour mixture, beating on high with paddle attachment for 3 minutes. (Time this part; the beating is crucial.)

Spoon dough into prepared muffin tins, filling to 3/4 of each cup. (I did this in two or three spoonfuls, so they came out as pull-apart rolls. The recipe should make about twenty-four rolls.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put muffin tins on top of stove to rise in close proximity to warmth of the preheating stove. Let rise until they have just about doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes. Once rolls have risen, brush the top of each with olive oil and bake until the tops are a nice golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Remove rolls from tins and place them in a towel-lined basket to keep warm.

This recipe is an adaptation of one I found here and who gave primary credit to this blog.

Peace,
Milton

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