Muffin Season (belated)

I know, it's technically been "muffin season" for quite some time. I got a little derailed this year, but I'm catching up. I woke up this morning thinking about a muffin with dates and pecans; when I got downstairs and looked at the pantry, I decided they'd be great in a spiced sweet-potato batter. This is what I came up with, aided by the always-fabulous King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking.

Sweet Potato Muffins with Pecans and Dates
adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

• 8 oz (2 C) whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• fresh nutmeg, grated to yield about 1/4 tsp
• 3 oz (3/4 C) chopped pecans, toasted lightly
• 4 1/2 oz (3/4 C) chopped dates
• 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 7 1/2 oz (1 C) brown sugar (any kind; I actually used muscovado)
• 1 3/4 oz (1/4 C) cane sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 9 1/2 oz (1 C) pureed sweet potato (mine was canned)

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease every other well in two 12-muffin tins.

Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. Mix in the pecans and dates. Cream together until fluffy the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, then the vanilla and sweet potato. Add the dry ingredient mixture, stirring until evenly moistened.

Pour the batter into the prepared tins (I used two pans so the muffins would rise more evenly). Bake 20-24 minutes, until a tester inserted into a muffin comes out cleanly.

yield: about a dozen muffins

Slow-Cooker Stuffed Greens

Even though he was sick, V still managed to put this together while I was out running errands. We both loved it, though I think the next time we make it I'll just use cabbage - I missed its flavor here.

Italian Sausage Stuffed Greens
adapted from here

• 4-6 large greens leaves (Swiss chard, kale, or collards)
• 1 lb. of ground Italian sausage
• Handful of breadcrumbs
• Small handful of Parmesan
• ½ onion, shredded
• ½ zucchini or carrot, shredded
• 1 egg
• 2 T. tomato paste
• Tomato Juice or V8
• Fresh Herbs, chopped

Wash greens and make an inverted “V” in the base of the leaf to remove the steam. Combine the sausage, breadcrumbs, parmesan, onion, zucchini (or carrot), egg, and tomato paste. Divide mixture and using the greens, roll into “burritos”. Place in crockpot and cover with tomato juice or V8 and fresh herbs. Cook on high for 1 hour and low for 3 hours.

Serves 4

Eye of the Storm, Mid-Flu Season 2012-13

We were actually both well for almost the entire week, but Victor finally succumbed Saturday morning. In between our illnesses, though, we got some tasty food in.

Su: Zuni Chicken; Roasted Carrots; Vanilla Bean Pudding
M: Mushroom Ravioli & Sweet Potato-Sage Ravioli in broth (still need to write up these recipes); Dark & Stormy Sorbet
T: Chipotle Red-Bean Chile
W: out
R: "Snacker" Pizza (ended up being topped with an eccentric mix of turkey "snack sticks" and a single smoked-mozzarella stick)
F: left-overs
Sa: Quince-Rosemary Glazed Ham; Braised Leeks & Potatoes; Pan-Seared Brussels Sprouts; Pear Sorbet

company's coming.... not

We'd planned to have this meal with friends, but were utterly thwarted by this year's intense flu season. First our friends' little girl got sick; even if that hadn't derailed our plans, V woke up this morning with a sore throat and a fever. Sharing this meal would have meant also sharing some nasty germs - so not a gift we want to give our friends. But the ingredients were ready to go, and I felt fine, so I went ahead and we had a very fancy dinner for the two of us.

Menu: Quince-Rosemary Glazed Ham; Braised Leeks & Potatoes; Pan-Seared Brussels Sprouts; Pear Sorbet

For the ham, I baked a 4 lb. boneless smoked ham for 2 hours at 350F, basting every 20-30 minutes with quince-rosemary jelly (a homemade gift). Probably could have cooked it a bit less, but I was trying to time things with the leek-and-potato braise.

literary muffins

This recipe originates from a mystery novel by Kerry Greenwood. The main character is a baker; her apprentice comes up with the idea of making a "plum pudding" muffin. It sounded fantastic when she described it and I was thrilled to discover that Greenwood included the actual recipe at the end of the book. It's been a few weeks since I finished Earthly Delights, but I only got around to making the muffins this weekend. They were easy and tasty and I will definitely be making them again.

Plum Pudding Muffins

• 2 C AP flour (I believe you could substitute white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour as well)
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 C chopped dried fruit (I used a combination of candied lemon rind, golden raisins, and raisins)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch allspice
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 C milk (I used skim)
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 Tbsp rum (or brandy)

Heat oven to 300F. Spray muffin tins with oil (or my favorite, oil-and-flour baking spray). Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour through allspice) and wet ingredients in another bowl. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir. Pour batter into prepared tins. Bake for about 15-20 min, until they smell cooked and are lightly browned on top.

yield: about 12 muffins

flu

The last week has pretty much disappeared in a haze of Nyquil for me - I did manage to go to work for 2/3 of the work-days last week, but I'm lucky they like me there because I wasn't good for much. And I collapsed when I got home both days. So we ate a lot of leftovers and delivery; Victor also whipped up several of his go-to dishes (fried rice and omelets). Before I got sick, I did manage to make one meal, though. It's quickly become one of my favorites, mostly because (assuming you've pre-made the dough), it comes together in a snap and requires pretty minimal ingredients.

Margarita Pizza
from the wonderful new Smitten Kitchen cookbook

• ~ 1/2 C strained and pureed tomatoes (I literally strain them to get excess liquid out so it doesn't make the pizza soggy, though I'm not sure that's what she intended)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• pinch red pepper flakes
• few drops red wine vinegar
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 3/4 lb ball pizza dough (recipe follows, or use your own favorite)
• 4-5 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
• some basil leaves, torn or chopped (or use fresh oregano)

Heat your oven as high as it goes (ours goes up to 550F, which works wonderfully). Sprinkle a rimmed baking sheet (9x13) or a medium-sized pizza pan with cornmeal or spray with that cooking-spray-plus-flour stuff I'm so fond of.

Blend the tomatoes and seasonings together. Stretch the dough to cover your baking sheet/pizza pan - no worries about holes or whatever, you can always pinch them together. Spread the mostly-flat dough with tomato sauce, sprinkle with basil leaves, and arrange the cheese slices to more-or-less cover your pizza. Bake for 7-11 minutes (in my oven, it always takes the full cooking time). The cheese should be very bubbly and even a little blistered.

serves 2 generously

"Leisurely" Pizza Dough
also from the new Smitten Kitchen book; she has a "rushed" pizza dough, too, but I've never made it; instead, I make a double batch of this one and freeze the second half. The day before I want to make pizza, I move it to the fridge and then proceed with the recipe as written. The book also has directions for hand-kneading the dough.

• 1/2 C warm water
• 1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp dry yeast
• 1 1/2 C (190 g) AP flour (or a combination of AP and whole-wheat flour - I generally do about 50/50)
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt 
• little bit of olive oil

Combine water and yeast in the mixer bowl; let stand for a few minutes if that's a thing your yeast needs. Add the flour and salt and mix with the dough hook until you have a craggy mass. Reduce the speed to low and let it bang around for about 5 minutes, until it is a smooth and cohesive ball. Take the dough out and coat it with a little olive oil; then put it back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest in the fridge for at least 8 hours and up to 24.

When you're ready to use it, remove from the fridge and allow to double in a warm spot (I put mine on top of the kitchen radiator).

makes about 3/4 pizza dough, enough for a medium pizza

Travel Menu (late December)

Whew - will I ever get back to posting regularly here?

We were out of town part of last week for the holiday, so I did an (unusual for me) two-week menu plan. I hate coming home from a trip and having to eat out yet again because there's nothing edible in the house: this is my solution.

Su: simple pizza from the new Smitten Kitchen cookbook (still need to write this up) link here
M: my grandmother's beef stew (somehow, I've never posted this recipe, either)
T: left-over cannellini bean soup
W: dinner out
R - M: out of town
T: pasta with red sauce
W: goosh buns (my, but we get A LOT of ground beef from our meat CSA)
R: roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed kale, smoked brats (massive quantities of all, as we had guests)