Recipes: Spanish Inspired Snacky Goodness…

// April 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // Recipes

Hello, my name is Joel Brown and I have a snacking problem.  I like to snack.  I like to snack on crunchy, salty, munch-able things.  I LOVE popcorn.  I was recently watching a special on Spain while trying to go to bed when I got a craving for Tapas.  I could also smell my neighbor’s next-door making popcorn, so I started craving popcorn too.  As you can imagine, one thing led to another, and the recipe below is the brainchild of two cravings at once.

The popcorn variety used in this recipe can be purchased here and the Spanish Smoked Paprika I use can be purchased here.  It is totally worth buying for MANY other recipes.  Seriously, TRY THIS.  You will thank me.

Take off your Tapas Lady Popcorn

Food Geek Note:  This recipe could be made with microwave popcorn , but for my sake and yours pop the damn popcorn in a pot like grandma used to do…

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons fat (peanut oil, olive oil, butter, duck fat, lard)
• 1/4 teaspoon popcorn salt (unflavored)
• 1/4 cup Lady Finger Popcorn
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Smoked Spanish Paprika
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Preparation

Place a large, heavy-bottom pot (or other vessel suited for popcorn popping) on the stove, and turn the burner on high heat.  Make sure to have a lid for your pot or else you’ll be picking popcorn off the floor, or worse, for weeks.  Add oil, popcorn, and salt and cover and shake over the flame.  Once the popcorn has completed popping, remove from the heat, add the remaining spices , cover again, and shake to coat.  Let the popcorn sit about 2 minutes to allow the flavors to permiate the popcorn.  ENJOY!

Recipes: Just Another Cupcake Saturday….

// April 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // Recipes, Recipes: Cupcakes

With Easter being today, I was doing a little holiday baking yesterday.  I made two kinds of new cupcakes, and thought I would share the results.  For the first time EVER I made Red Velvet Cupcakes with my Bourbon Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting; and you can judge by the picture, but I think they turned out to be pretty damn amazing.  The taste was perfect, the texture was amazing.  All together it was an  A+ Cupcake and one that will become a regular.  I also took my basic buttercake recipe and switched things up and made an Orange Blossom Cake, topped with classic sugary buttercream.  The cake itself was amazing, but the icing was a little on the sugary side for me.  Recipes and more photos are below.  Happy Easter Everyone!

Easter Red Velvet Cupcakes

• 3 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons red food coloring
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pans.

To make the cake: In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not over beat. In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

Scoop batter into prelined cupcake pans and bake for 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean after being inserted into the middle of the cake.  cool in tins for about 15 minutes, then remove and place on a cooling rack until completely cool, and frost.

Bourbon Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 packages cream cheese
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons high quality Bourbon Vanilla
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

Preparation

Cream butter and cream cheese on high for about 3-4 minutes.  Add sugar and mix on high for an additional 2 minutes.  Then add the remaining ingredients, and beat again on high for another 3 minutes.

The Final Product

Yummmmmmmm

Birthday Goodness

// April 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // Food Geek, Recipes

I am blessed (and cursed) to be born on April Fools day, a VERY fitting birthday for me. Being a baker and what some would call a “cake snob”,  I opted to make my own birthday cake cake… again…  Nothing against my friends and co-workers, I just enjoy being in my kitchen and coming up with a cake that represents me and my current tastes and obsessions at the moment.  As I was driving home from work yesterday, I was a ball of childlike wonderment coming up with what I wanted to make for birthday 2009 (God, I am getting too close to 30 for comfort, ha ha ha ).  I knew it was going to be a banana cake base, but beyond that I was open for suggestion.  I needed eggs for the banana cupcake, so I went to the grocery store looking for inspiration and decided I would make a traditional banana cupcake (ala’ joel with homemade vanilla bourbon extract and baby ice cream bananas) and pair it with a Nutella Cream Cheese buttermilk frosting. As you can see they turned out to be pretty damn cute, and I guess we will see what they end up tasting like… Here is the recipe if you want to celebrate my birthday with me today

“Tuesday night” Easy like Sunday Morning Banana Cupcakes

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 1/4 – 1/2  cup buttermilk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350.  Cream Butter and sugar on high speed until fluffy (about 3 minutes) add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla, and banana goo.  Mix together dry ingredients, add half of dry to the wet mixture, add 1/4 cup buttermilk, and the second half of dry mix and mix to incorporate.  Add up to another 1/4 cup of buttermilk if mix looks too dry (you want it about the consistency of a thick pancake batter).  Scoop into lined cupcake pans and bake for about 20 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into cupcake.

Nutella Cream Cheese Buttermilk Frosting

• 2 packages of cream cheese (room temp)
• 1 container (about a 1-1/4 cups) Nutella
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons buttermilk

Method

Mix Cream cheese, Nutella, vanilla, and milk on high with the paddle attachment in your mixer. Add sugar slowly and beat again until light and fluffy like a magical bunny.

(cooks note:  i just licked some of the frosting off the paddle… all i have to say is HAPPY BIRTHDAY ME, and here is to 27+ more years of baking!)

Breakfast for Dinner Recipes: Baked Eggs with Cheddar Potatoes

// March 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // Recipes: Breakfast, State of the Plate

Baked Eggs with Cheddar Potatoes

adapted from food network kitchens

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds red-skinned potatoes, diced (russets work as well )
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 large cloves garlic, minced (in the summer i use double the amount of green garlic from the farmers market)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 large eggs (farm fresh if possible)
1 cup extra-sharp farmhouse cheddar, shredded (about 4 ounces)

Hot Thai Chili Paste to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a large, well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally until tender and brown, about 15 minutes. Stir in the parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper, and remove from the heat.

Push the potatoes aside to make 4 evenly spaced shallow nests and break 2 eggs into each. Bake until the egg whites are cooked and the yolks are still runny, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese over the eggs and continue baking until it just melts, about 1 minute more. Serve immediately.

Breakfast for Dinner Recipes: Strawberry-Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

// March 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // Recipes: Breakfast, State of the Plate

Strawberry-Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Adapted from www.seriouseats.com

- makes about 20 servings, depending on molds and tins used-

Ingredients

Cake Layer:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (112g)
2/3 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of one lemon and one orange
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 large yolks

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 10 mini (2”X4”) loaf pans or one 13”X9” baking pan and line the bottoms with parchment (you may also use cupcake pans, lining 24 standard size molds with standard paper cupcake liners).

2. With an electric mixer, cream together butter, sugar and zests until light and fluffy.

2. Add vanilla, followed by eggs – one at a time – beating well to incorporate between each addition.

3. Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder to evenly distribute. Add one third of this dry mixture to the butter-egg mixture and mix to incorporate.

4. Add one yolk, and mix to incorporate. Add half of remaining dry mixture, followed by remaining yolk, finishing with remaining dry mixture, mixing well after each addition.

Cream Cheese Layer:
10 ounces cream cheese
Finely grated zest of one lemon
6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, well beaten, but not aerated

Procedure

1. Place cream cheese and lemon zest in a heat-proof mixing bowl set over simmering water. Stir every so often, until cheese becomes warm, smooth and liquid.

2. Remove mixing bowl from heat. Add sugar and vanilla extract well. (Do not whip or whisk, as incorporating air will make the cream cheese layer pasty and dry).

3. Add beaten egg and mix to incorporate.

Crumb Layer:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (112g)
1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
½ cup whole wheat flour (60g)
½ cup brown sugar (105g)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt

Procedure

1. Combine all ingredients and mix with your hands or a mixer until ingredients are evenly distributed and mixture falls in chunky crumbs.

Assembly:
1 recipe cake layer
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, diced
1 recipe cream cheese layer
1 recipe crumb layer

Procedure

1. Divide cake layer batter evenly among prepared pans.

2. Divide strawberries evenly among pans, spreading the berry pieces evenly over the surface of the cake batter and patting down gently.

3. Diving cream cheese layer batter evenly among pans (there should be enough to just cover the berries in each pan).

4. Sprinkle a healthy handful of crumbs over the cream cheese layer in each pan. Do not push down.

5. Bake coffee cakes for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the center cakes comes out clean (it may appear a bit damp, but should not have any batter clinging to it). Allow cakes to cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the pans. Carefully loosen each cake with a paring knife and gently turn cakes out. Cool completely, crumb-side up on wire racks. Cakes keep about 3 days (though crumb topping will become less crunchy/crumbly after storage).

Breakfast for Dinner Recipes: Kick Ass Waffles

// March 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // Recipes, Recipes: Breakfast, State of the Plate

Kick Ass Waffles (base recipe)

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

- makes three 9-inch square waffles -

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 cups lowfat buttermilk (cold)
1/2 cup canola oil
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Procedure

1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center.

2. In another bowl beat egg yolks slightly. Stir in buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract.

3. Add egg yolk mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (should be lumpy).

4. In a small bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight up).

5. Gently fold egg whites into flour and egg yolk mixture, leaving a few fluffs of egg white, Do not overmix.

6. Spoon waffle batter into your waffle iron, making sure not to overfill it.

7. Serve with real maple syrup and unsalted butter.