snack – Cooking the Books

April 6, 2024January 27, 2024

Time for a redemption arc

Wren Martin Ruins It All – Amanda DeWitt

Summary: Wren Martin ascends to student council president with the chance to finally cancel the stupid heteronormative big dance, but his vice president has other ideas that are (unfortunately) not terrible.

I carefully pull the cupcake out of my backpack. I made it myself, which is unbearably embarrassing, but I swear it’s more arrogance than romance. My cookie bars didn’t get much of a chance to shine at the bake sale, so it’s time for a redemption arc: lemon-lavender cupcake with cream cheese frosting, but I like to call it perfection. The fact that I had to put it in an old plastic Chinese takeout container is a little less elegant.
p. 315

Perhaps, as the name of the book suggests, Wren Martin is not the nicest nor the most savvy, but it’s still pretty easy (for me, at least) to fall for someone so clueless and mostly well-meaning. From the introduction of Wren hitting his head on a locked door to the [redacted] at the conclusion, the audience (me) is a bit ahead of where he is in terms of where everything is headed, but the joy is in the journey not necessarily the destination.

I picked this book up both because I’m always a sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers type plot, and the cover blurb sort of hints at such a story, but also because I’ve been interested in reading more ace/aro stories to read more widely in the vast alphabet that entails LGBT+ and this one sounded entertaining enough.

Boy, I was in for a treat, not unlike the perfection that makes up the cupcake described in the quote. I’m not sure if I can explain exactly why this hit all the right notes for me—I’m decidedly not in the ace/aro category, but otoh am a bit of an oblivious asshole that may help me feel seen—but I can say that Amanda DeWitt is going to be one to watch (at least for me, and she has one other book I plan to get to soon!).

Unlike “Imogen, Obviously,” Wren is not unsure of his sexuality; he describes himself early on as asexual (as does the blurb). But, like that other book I loved, Wren is still new to understanding and processing his feelings when they don’t jibe with a pre-ordained idea he has of himself, and the book (both books, tbh) is a good exploration of finding yourself as you find yourself interested in another person who doesn’t necessarily factor into that idealized person.

Both also work really well in demonstrating, at least to me, how easy it is to be yourself behind a screen, when there’s some distance (and in this case, anonymity) between you and the other person you’re vibing with (in whatever way). It’s both freeing to be able to flirt/chat/be more open but also limiting in terms of being seen and experienced at your worst, or as a whole of a person. Maybe that’s just the older millennial in me reckoning once again with the disconnect I feel between online and “real life,” but I think the exploration in Wren is well explored and an interesting contrast between Wren’s feelings for his anonymous friend and his new-found frenemy.

Like Wren, the cupcake he describes is more complicated than it first appears. But I couldn’t resist showing within the quote his arrogance but also his joy at a job well done, as well as a little bit of awkwardness.

Here’s hoping I did his story and his cupcake justice with this attempt at mashing up a handful of Food Network cupcake recipes, and how I did it:

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 ⅓ c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
10 T. butter
¼ c. lavender flowers
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 c. milk

For the frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ c. (1 stick) butter, softened
3 c. confectioners’ sugar
2–3 T. lemon juice or whole milk, as preferred
Purple food coloring, if desired and available

Directions

Step 1: Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liner.
Step 2: Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
Step 3: Melt the 10 T. of butter with the lavender flowers on low heat, and cook for 5 minutes. Strain the lavender flowers from the butter, discarding the flowers and placing the butter in a large mixing bowl. Let the butter cool slightly.
Step 4: Beat together the butter and sugar, and then add the eggs, one at a time until mixed in. Then, add the lemon zest and juice.
Step 5: Slowly add in the flour mixture and then the milk until a smooth batter is formed.
Step 6: Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until the tops spring back, 20 to 25 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove cupcakes from the pan and let cool completely on a rack before adding frosting.
Step 7: For the frosting, use an electric mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment to beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar. Add in the lemon juice/milk. Continue mixing until combined, adding a little more juice/milk or sugar until the consistency looks correct.
Step 8: Use a knife or a decorating pipe to add the frosting to the cooled cupcakes.

March 23, 2024January 27, 2024

Still counts

Imogen, Obviously – Becky Albertalli

Summary: Imogen visits her bestie at her nearby college and gets a taste of what it’s like to be seen as queer, and along the way realizes that maybe she isn’t so straight after all.

Tessa stops short. “You’re an award-winning chef?”
“Yeah… I don’t want to brag, but”—I bite back a smile—”I kind of swept the ten-and-under category in the Li’l Cookies Library Fundraiser Bake-Off.”
“Yeah you did,” Tessa high-fives me.
“Best Rice Krispie Treat of my life,” Lili says.
“Thanks! It’s the recipe from the back of the Rice Krispies box.”
“Still counts!”
p. 45

This book made, at least to my eyes, several year-end best lists for queer YA fiction in 2023, and so I could not resist giving it a try. Then, I read the whole thing in more or less one sitting, and I understood what all the fuss was about.

A thing I’ve heard more and more from the LGBT+ community (or maybe my ears were finally ready to listen) is the phrase “You are queer enough,” and this book is basically the embodiment of this concept.

In some ways, Imogen had never given too much thought to her sexuality. Since all her friends are queer, and while she’s never kissed a boy (or anyone else!), she’s always seen herself in contrast to them. In other ways, because she’s always seen herself in contrast to them and has that message constantly reinforced by another friend, she’s never had reason to give it much thought. Then, a little white lie gives her a weekend where no one questions that she *could* be queer. That gives way to weeklong flirting exchange with another girl that has Imogen questioning everything she thought she knew.

What does being queer look like? What if her love of queer people and queer media left her blind to the fact that it could look like her? What about earlier obsessions with girls? And most importantly, what about this new girl keeps her up too late and smiling?

Imogen, obviously, is a delight to spend an easy 300+ YA pages with, and one that left me up too late and smiling way more than I’m used to. And the Rice Krispies treats, well, they were a bit easier and made well before bed time, but they were no less satisfying than the book (given it’s been years since I have had or made them).

Here’s what I did, following the recipe on the back of the box (well, the Rice Krispies website anyway), obviously:

Ingredients

3 T. butter
1 (10 oz.) package JET-PUFFED marshmallows
6 c. Rice Krispies cereal (or generic, shhhh)
Oil, for coating

Directions

Step 1: Melt butter in a large saucepan or pot over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add in the cereal, and stir until well coated.
Step 2: Spray or spread oil in a 9×13 casserole dish, and then use an oil-coated spatula or wax paper to evenly press the mixture into the dish.
Step 3: Let cool, and cut into 2 in. squares. Freeze any leftovers by separating squares with wax paper.

January 27, 2024January 27, 2024

Anyone can cook, but Thimble knows best

Legends & Lattes – Travis Baldtree

Summary: An orc from a legendary group of fighters completes one last score for a lucky charm to help her leave the mercenary lifestyle for a simple life where she owns and operates a coffee shop in a mid-size port town.

The rattkin made an urgent dipping motion.
Viv shrugged. She dunked one end into her latte and took another bite. Her eyes went wide. She chewed, swallowed, and allowed herself a moment to appreciate this subtle elegant comingling of flavors. “Oh hells, Thimble. That old man was right. You are a genius.”
p. 149

From the tagline of “A novel of high fantasy … and low stakes,” this book had me. As someone who has now been involved with a role-playing group for nearly 10 years and who loves the game’s rare town days as much as she enjoys slaying her foes, the tagline and the idea spoke to me. I’m happy to say that the book didn’t disappoint; the tagline was accurate and delivered exactly as hoped.

In some ways, there is not much more to the story than the summary I provided above and the previous paragraph—but where the book excels and where you would hope it would excels given its claim of “low stakes” is how much it focused on the small joys of a coffee shop (which I will admit is a rarer experience for me in this post[???]-COVID world), the scents of freshly ground beans and fresh baked bread, and immense pleasures of getting to know the local characters, and more importantly those who get you well enough to form a friendship, perhaps a new team but this one a little less focused on treasures and the slaying of supposed beasts. Baltree clearly knew what he was doing in focusing on character-building and slowing down the “action” to enjoy a quick sip, a small bit, a moment of conversation.

The peak for me was the creation of thimblets, clearly a biscotti, but the moment where the food and drink come together and as the shop needs something new for its customers. But also, perhaps when everything is finally coming together for the characters and this new less dangerous but no less thrilling adventure in a fantasy world. Though the book doesn’t provide a recipe, enough of a description is given, and I have made biscotti before, that I figured I could approximate it well enough.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 c. sugar
6 T. butter, melted, plus more for coating
1 T. cardamom
Zest from 1 orange
2 t. juice from (same) 1 orange
1 T. baking powder
3 c. flour
Pinch of salt
1 c. walnuts
1 c. currants

Directions

Step 1: Whisk together eggs and sugar, and then add butter, cardamom, and zests and juice from orange.
Step 2: Mix in baking powder and salt, and then gradually stir in flour until well cohered into a dough.
Step 3: Once dough is mixed, add in the walnuts and currants.
Step 4: Form into two 2 in. logs, and bake on a coated baking sheet in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes.
Step 5: Let cool slightly, and then cut logs to about 1 inch on a bias.
Step 6: Place crescents onto another (or cooled) baking sheet, recoated with butter, and bake for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Let cool.
Step 7: Enjoy with a nice hot coffee, or perhaps a latte, and a good sword and sorcery book.

April 1, 2022March 31, 2022

Foolish Morsels: Fruity Pebbles Bread

Inspired by my favorite food blogger Dennis Lee at Food is Stupid and his amazing no-knead Gatorade bread and resulting post, I was inspired to try my own ridiculous bread.

I once spent a year making bread every week, and it was almost as good as my year of pie, so I’m not a terrible baker but it’s also been some time since I’ve made bread on any regular basis. Count me among those who did not get into nursing a sourdough starter during the (ongoing) pandemic.

But when the idea of making bread using my favorite childhood cereal of Fruity Pebbles came to me, I couldn’t let it go. I was going to bake it, and I was going to blog about it, dammit*.

Credit: https://www.linaortega.com/ from Giphy

Building off of another favorite (a lot of favorites today!) of Gourmet‘s sweet dough recipe and accompanying orange and mint bread, I tried to make this bread as Fruity Pebbles-infused as possible. This of course started with Fruity Pebbles in place of orange zest and in place of mint-infused milk, and then I replaced the Cointreau with Three Olives’ Loopy vodka. Sure, it’s more Froot Loops, but it’s the best I could do. Also, there’s nothing quite like “infusing” warm milk with cereal known for getting mushy in cold milk.

Though I could have been better about shaping my loaves, I was as pleasantly surprised as Dennis was at his own creation at how well my stupid bread turned out. I’ve loved every slice I’ve had so far. I may be biased as a huge Fruity Pebbles fan, but even my sweetie has been enjoying it.

Either way, though, I’ll definitely be making and enjoying this bread again, and not just to enjoy the leftover Loopy vodka.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

1 c. + 2 T. whole milk
2 c. Fruity Pebbles, divided, plus more for topping
1 lb. 2 oz. (~3 ¾ c.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 pkg. (2 ½ t.) active dry yeast
½ stick (4 T.) butter, softened, plus more for greasing
3 T. sugar
2 t. salt
3 large eggs, divided
4 T. Loopy vodka, divided

Directions

Bring the milk and 1 c. of Fruity Pebbles to a simmer. Let sit for 10 minutes or until the milk cools to 120º to 130ºF.

Meanwhile, stir together the yeast and the flour. Rub in the butter. Add the sugar and salt and stir. When the milk mixture has cooled, add it and 2 eggs to the flour mixture. Fold in, rotating the bowl as you incorporate. The mixture will be stickier than a typical bread dough, and that’s OK.

“Knead” the sticky dough without adding flour by stretching and folding the mixture until it is cohesive and less sticky, about 8 minutes. You’ll notice the mixture either doesn’t stick to the bowl or your hands as much when it’s getting close to well kneaded.

Form the dough into a ball and set in a lightly floured bowl or on a flat surface. Cover with a towel (not terry cloth). Let rise for about 1 hour.

After the first rise, press down on the mixture and form a flat surface. Top the dough with 1 c. Fruity Pebbles and then 3 T. of Loopy vodka. Fold the dough and then knead using the previous stretching and folding method until the alcohol and cereal are well incorporated. Again, form the dough into a ball and set in a lightly floured bowl or on a flat surface. Cover with a towel (not terry cloth). Let rise for about 1 hour.

After the second rise, divide the dough in half and shape into 2 rounds. Place the loaves on a lightly buttered sheet pan. Mix together the last egg and the last 1 T. of Loopy vodka. Brush the mixture on top of the two loaves (reserve the remainder, chilled, for a second coating). Once the egg mixture has dried, cover with the (not terry cloth) towel or with coated Saran wrap. Let rise for about 1 ½ hours.

When ready to bake, heat oven to 425º. Brush the loaves with another coating of egg mixture and top each loaf with a handful of Fruity Pebbles. Place the loaves in the oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 400º.

Bake the mixture for 20 to 30 minutes until the loaves are dark golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool, about 1 hour, and enjoy. Perhaps with some Loopy vodka if you’re feeling, well, loopy.

[*For the five of you who care, I hit a wall about 11 months into the pandemic and had a really hectic and mostly rough 2021, so blogging about food was something I could let go to reduce my stress. Though we still live in tough times, I’m hoping to get back to food blogging again, albeit in a slightly different manner. I’m looking at retooling my site and making some changes in the coming months, but I make no promise as I hesitate to guess what’s in store for the future.]

January 23, 2021

I’m on a roll

After my first week of making rolls, and absolutely loving them, I couldn’t resist making more when I came across a cinnamon roll-like recipe that included the delightful mixture of “orange cheesecake” and “breakfast.”

Times being what they are, cheesecake for breakfast sounded like a really good idea to me.

Plus, I miss baking bread.

Once again, this one is a bit time-consuming, even if much of it isn’t active time, so another one to make on a weekend day or over a couple of days. However, like the savory rolls from the start of this year, these were amazing and disappeared quite quickly from our fridge.

Though the cheesecake filling and orange glaze do not use any cinnamon or other similar spices, the process is very much like a cinnamon roll: making the dough, letting it rise, making the filling, wrapping the filling in dough, cutting into rolls, letting it rise, baking, and then coating in a glaze, and then devouring.

Here’s what I did, slightly altering a Taste of Home recipe:

Ingredients

For the dough:

4 ½ t. (2 packages) active dry yeast
¾ c. warm water (about 110 to 115 degrees)
1 ¾ c. warm milk (about 110 to 115 degrees)
¾ c. sugar
2 large eggs
3 T. butter, melted, plus more for greasing
1 ½ t. salt
7 to 8 c. all-purpose flour (I needed a little more, but YMMV)

For the filling:

8 oz. (1 package) cream cheese, softened
½ c. sugar
2 T. orange juice concentrate, thawed
½ t. vanilla extract

For the glaze:

2 c. confectioners’ sugar
4 T. orange juice (from one orange)
1 t. grated orange zest (from one orange)

Directions

For the dough, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add the milk, sugar, eggs, butter, salt, and 5 c. flour. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

In a small bowl, beat the filling ingredients until smooth.

To form rolls, punch dough down, and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Roll one half into an 18 x 7 rectangle. Spread half the filling to within ½ in. of the edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 slices and place cut side down in a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Cover and let the rolls rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.

To make the glaze, combine the ingredients and stir until well mixed. Drizzle over warm rolls, and enjoy!

January 9, 2021

New year, new knowledge

One of my favorite things about doing this blog is regularly challenging myself to try something new. Sure, I like getting my favorites written down and sharing them, and of course, eating my creations, but that’s not all!

This week’s joy, after a whole year of making breads, was learning about tangzhong. It’s a technique to get softer bread and doesn’t take much time or effort. And, well, it works really well. It didn’t hurt that this week’s recipe — in my new equipment for the year, the ever-useful 9 x 13 in. casserole dish — was full of butter and sour cream, as well as chives: sour cream and chive dinner rolls from Bon Appetit.

Sour cream and chive dinner roll ingredients.

Spoiler: they’re so good, they were not just eaten at dinner. They were anytime rolls, and they’re already nearly gone after making them a few days ago.

I didn’t do much to alter the original recipe, but for once, I wish I would have read the comments in an article. At least before I ran into the exact same issue and could have saved myself some time, and a little bit of yeast and milk. The recipe says to use the same saucepan from the tangzhong steps to warm a little milk and add yeast until it dissolves; mine clumped. I, instead, ended up using a small bowl and microwaving the milk for a short bit until it was warm, then adding a pinch of sugar, and then the yeast. Worked like a charm on the second go.

Otherwise, while it was time-consuming, nothing was difficult and about all of it was expected for a yeast bread, so it was a nice way to kick off the new year. And stay away from the news for a few hours.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

½ c. plus 2 T. whole milk
5 ⅓ c. bread flour (667 g), divided, plus more for dusting
1 ½ t. active dry yeast
1 c. sour cream, room temperature
¼ c. sugar, plus a pinch more for yeast
2 ½ t. kosher salt
3 large eggs, divided
1 stick (8 T.) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
½ c. finely chopped chives
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Make the tangzhong: whisk together ½ c. milk, ½ c. water, and ⅓ c. flour in a small saucepan until smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a stiff paste forms (per the directions: it should resemble mashed potatoes), about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and scrape the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer, which is fitted with a dough hook.

Warm the remaining 2 T. milk until lukewarm. Add a pinch of sugar and the yeast, and whisk until dissolved. Let sit about 5 minutes until the mixture is foamy.

Meanwhile, add the sour cream, salt, 2 eggs, 4 T. butter, and 5 c. bread flour to the tangzhong. Scrape in the yeast mixture, and mix the dough together on low speed until it’s shaggy. Increase the speed to medium and mix, scraping as necessary and adding any more flour by the tablespoon if needed, until the dough is smooth, about 8 minutes.

Dust the dough with flour and shape into a smooth ball. Place the dough inside a large bowl and cover. Let sit at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Meanwhile, coat a 9 x 13 in. casserole dish with 2 T. butter.

Punch down dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface and stretch into a square. Roll out into a 12 in. square, dusting with more flour as needed. Sprinkle chives evenly on top of the dough.

Starting at one end, loosely roll up dough, and flatten into a long rectangle using your hands. Roll out dough again, dusting with flour as needed, into about a 6 x 16 in. rectangle. Cut into 24 squarish pieces, in a 3 x 8 grid.

Working 1 piece at a time, pinch the corners together to form a teardrop shape. Then, seam side down, roll the dough into a round ball. Place in prepared casserole dish and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, making about a 4 x 6 grid. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, place a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 375 degrees.

Whisk remaining egg in small bowl, uncover the dish and gently brush the tops of the rolls with egg, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake rolls until tops are deep golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediately brush tops with remaining 2 T. butter. Let cool about 5 minutes and then slide the entire grid of rolls onto a wire rack. Serve warm or let cool and enjoy!

December 29, 2020

Queso syrah syrah

Well, if you’re following along, we’ve made it to the end of the year. Good riddance to 2020, and I’m sending it off with one final dip.

For some small frivolity in this downer of a year, my sweetie and I were bantering about who knows what when I stumbled onto the phrase “queso syrah.” As a regular crossword puzzler, I am shocked I’d not thought of it sooner.

But as soon as I spoke the phrase, I realized this could just be an adaptation of port wine cheese spread. I found several recipes for port wine cheese, and ultimately decided to mash up the pounded cheddar with port sauce from Amy Thielen with a more typical port wine spread from Rachel Ray.

The port syrup is a very simple addition of brown sugar to port to make a little syrup-y wine. Since I used the less sweet syrah than port, I thought this especially a good addition and added a little more sugar than called for, but your mileage may vary on how sweet you want your cheese spread.

I also think I overdid it a little on the garlic. Rarely, for me, has doubling the recipe’s amount of garlic gone wrong, but in this case, it tended to overwhelm the gentler flavors of wine and cheese. Still, it tasted good for garlic lovers, so again, YMMV.

Other than that, I used my small skillet to make the sauce and also to serve the dip rather than rolling it into a ball, like the traditional recipe. So, I got double use and still a nice serving platter (even if it was just me and my sweetie enjoying it).

Here’s hoping for a better 2021 and thanks for reading!

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

½ c. syrah
1–2 T. brown sugar
2 c. sharp white cheddar, shredded
4 T. butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 t. Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pepper
Pinch of cayenne, optional
½ c. chopped walnuts, optional
3 T. fresh parsley, chopped, optional
Crackers or bread, for serving

Directions

Combine syrah and brown sugar in a small skillet or small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for about 3 minutes, until the mixture slightly thickens and all the sugar has dissolved. Pour into a large bowl and let cool.

Once the wine syrup is cooled, add in the cheddar, butter, cream cheese, mustard, garlic, and peppers. Stir with a fork or spatula until all ingredients are well combined.

In a cleaned small skillet, spread the cheese mixture. Press to create an even layer. Add the walnuts and parsley on top, if using.

Chill for at least an hour, or overnight, for the mixture’s flavors to combine, and enjoy!

November 30, 2020

Beans, beans, they’re good for the heart

I have had a number of solo or near-solo Thanksgivings, so this year’s forced isolation wasn’t so bad for me. While I know it’s not the same for everyone, I do truly appreciate all those who decided to stay home for the safety of everyone.

However, just because it was just the two of us this Turkey Day didn’t mean I didn’t go all out with my usual meal prep. I’m a sucker for traditional sides, if not traditional main meats. A turkey is too much for two people.

So, after a busy day of cooking, it’s nice to be able to have something super simple to make.

I must confess that I found yet another dip recipe from Better Homes & Gardens, and I couldn’t resist making just one more. They’ve all been so good and delightfully simple, and I wanted to make just one more before the year was out.

This one is billed as a bean dip, and while there are both pinto beans and black beans, there’s enough else in there that it doesn’t seem right to focus on the beans. There’s chorizo (I used fake!), chipotle, cheese, and that’s just other food items that start with C.

OK, there’s not too many more beyond that and the beans, but still there’s a lot going on, and it’s simple and a total delight. Just what’s needed after stress-cooking and/or a stressful year.

So much cheese, chorizo, and chipotle (and beans!). Nom noms.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

10 oz. ground chorizo (fake OK – but add a little oil if cooking with fake meat)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
¼ c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1-2 t. chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained (since these end up smashed, I think you could buy refried beans, but I did follow the recipe and it worked out well)
1 c. jalapeno jack cheese, shredded
Lime wedges, for serving
Tortilla chips, for serving

Directions

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

In a 9-inch ovenproof skillet, cook sausage, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat until the sausage is brown, and using a wooden spoon to break up as it cooks (if using real meat). Remove mixture from skillet and drain on paper towels.

In a medium bowl, combine black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, chipotle peppers, and sausage mixture. In a small bowl, mash the pinto beans (if you didn’t use refried beans). Spread the pinto bean paste into the skillet. Top with the chorizo mixture. Add cheese on top.

Bake about 15 minutes until cheese is golden and mixture is bubbling. Serve with lime wedges and tortilla chips and enjoy!

November 14, 2020

That’s amore

It’s been an eventful few weeks around here, and well, around the country.

While so much is so awful, it’s important to celebrate the good things as best we can. So, this Tuesday, to take a moment to enjoy our anniversary, my sweetie and I poured some good wine and I made a very simple, not very classy pizza supreme dip.

We listened to music while it came together in minutes on the stove top, and then while I tried not to over-broil the cheese on top. We enjoyed it with bagel chips, because then you can have pizza anytime.

Chances are good that if this were a normal year, we would have done something similarly simple. However, I think in these circumstances, and after the year we’ve had, it took on an extra significance of enjoying those things we can.

Pizza dip and zinfandel might not be everyone’s ideal anniversary dinner, but it suited us, and it’s part of why we suit each other.

Here’s to our 8 happy years, even in tough times, and here’s hoping for many more.

Here’s what I did, mostly following a Better Homes & Gardens recipe:

Ingredients

8 to 10 oz. bulk Italian sausage (I used fake sausage crumbles that came in a 10 oz. bag)
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can pizza sauce
1 c. pepperoni pieces, chopped or sliced
1 small can sliced black olives
1 c. Italian cheese mix, shredded
Bagel chips or baguette-style bread slices, for serving

Directions

Preheat broiler.

In a seasoned or greased 9-inch cast iron skillet, cook the sausage, onion, and green pepper, until sausage is browned. (Since I used fake sausage, I didn’t need to worry about breaking up the meat as it cooked nor draining the fat, but if you use real sausage, you may need to do those things.)

Stir in the pepperoni, pizza sauce, and olives. Continue to cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbly and warm, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and sprinkle with the shredded cheese.

Broil the mixture for 2 to 3 minutes about 3 to 4 inches from the broiler, or until the cheese just starts to brown (and looks like a lovely supreme pizza). Let cool very slightly, and enjoy with bagel chips and/or bread!

October 30, 2020

It’s my birthday and I’ll geek out if I want to

I recently finished a wonderful YA novel called “Wicked Fox” by Kat Cho. One of my favorite things about it, though, for this foodie at heart, is the descriptions of Seoul food. Thanks to the glossary at the back, I got an even deeper description of each food item and have been making them in the weeks since.

I’m not too proud to admit that the kitchy date night dinner of corn dogs with fried potatoes caught my attention as much as the more traditional fare. Part of the appeal was figuring out exactly how it worked; then, once I knew, another part of the appeal was a whole new way to eat hot dogs surrounded by fried stuff.

There were not many recipes available from my usual sources. Even the (amazing) site I found to make the other traditional South Korean recipes didn’t include this more modern, more urban item. Thankfully, there’s YouTube.

The wonderful Aaron and Claire came through with several recipes, including one that was what I suspected the author was going for based on some additional research.

Now, the first thing to know is that these are not actually made with cornmeal, and that’s important because when the recipe says to roll the fried dough in sugar, it is slightly less unusual than it seems to American tastes. Since the dough more closely resembles bread than the sweeter corn batter, the sugar mostly just makes it taste more like American ideas of corn batter; that said, as a person who’s OK with slightly less sweet things, I tried them both ways and was totally fine without adding sugar.

I also found that I personally liked the way described in the video that skips the fried potatoes and instead uses a mix of panko and dried parsley as a coating. The crunch does it for me, but I also enjoyed the novelty of fried potatoes and “corn” dogs in the same dish.

While I mostly followed the recipes, one concession I did make is that since I wanted to sneak this into my small skillet recipes and recommend Cho’s book (not just for its Korean food items), I didn’t make them on sticks but instead cut the hot dogs and cheese sticks (!!) in half so I could try more variations and have them fit.

Here’s what I did, with the link to the direct Aaron and Claire YouTube video provided because I loved the descriptions:

Ingredients

~6 hot dogs, halved
~4 mozzarella cheese sticks, halved (and preferably frozen for about 10 minutes before cooking)
~1 to 1 ½ c. frozen potato cubes, if assortment preferred
~1 ½ c. panko
2 to 3 T. dried parsley
1 ⅔ c. (400 g) bread flour
½ c. (60 g) sugar, plus more for coating
2 ½ t. (10 g) salt
2 ¼ t. (8 g) active dried yeast
1 ¼ c. (300 ml) warm water
Oil, for frying
Ketchup, for serving
Mustard, for serving

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together the bread flour, sugar, and salt. Stir to combine. In a small bowl, mix together the yeast and warm water, and let sit about 5 minutes, and then pour into the dry mixture until a sticky dough forms, adding more water if necessary.

Let the dough rise in a cool, dry place for about 2 hours.

After the 2 hours passes, mix together the panko and parsley on a plate. If using, place the frozen potatoes on a plate. If using (and recommended), place a little bit (~½ c. additional) of sugar on a small plate to coat the fried food.

Heat up oil in a 9 in. cast iron skillet (or whatever) until it reaches about 275 degrees.

Use your hands (or corn dog sticks, if you have them) to wrap the hot dog pieces and cheese stick halves, individually, in the dough. This is where it really helps to have seen the video to get a good idea of how to wrap the dogs and cheese sticks, but I also feel like after you do it a couple times, there’s not too many ways to catch the dough to wrap it around the meat and cheese.

Once dog/cheese is covered in dough, coat it in the panko or the potato or leave plain to your heart’s desire. Then, fry it for three to five minutes until nice and golden. Place on a paper towel to drain excess oil, and then coat in sugar before serving

Repeat with remaining items, and using the coatings as desired.

Drizzle with ketchup and mustard before serving, or use for dipping, and enjoy!