Muffin Mania

What's the point of blogging if you don't overshare every once in a while. When I split up with my husband, I found myself with no outlet for my unhealthy and overwhelming urge to nurture. The obvious solution was something that came to be known as Mini Muffin Mania! For a few weeks, my coworkers were inundated with nearly daily muffin deliveries. When I became unexpectedly unemployed, muffins seemed like the perfect outlet for my neurotic energy. Starting with a basic blueberry muffin recipe from my trusty Betty Crocker Cookbook and the internet, Muffin Mania is back with a vengeance.

Muffin Basics

I played around with a bunch of muffin recipes and finally hit on a basic recipe that I can use as a base for whatever flavor combinations I come up with.  But no matter what recipe you use, the basic process is the same. Mix the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ones in another. The additional ingredients get added to one of the mixtures, depending on whether they are wet or dry.

Wet Ingredients

• ¾ cup milk
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup sugar

1. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and sugar together
2. Add the vanilla, milk, and oil to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk well to make sure the sugar is dissolved

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder

1. Put everything together in a larger bowl and whisk it together

Add-ins

• ½ cup tasty stuff

1. If the add-ins are wet (like shredded apple or zucchini) mix them to the wet ingredients
2. If they are really wet (like shredded apples) reduce the milk to ½ cup
3. If the add-ins are dry or self-contained (like frozen blueberries or chocolate chips), mix them into the dry ingredients
4. Coating them in the flour mixture will help keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins as they bake

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°
2. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet stuff
3. Mix the batter gently just until the dry ingredients are moistened
4. Don't overmix the batter! That will make your muffins dense and tough
5. Grease a muffin tin (I use non-stick spray) and divide the batter between the muffin cups
6. Bake the muffins:
7. For regular-sized muffins, bake 20-25 minutes
8. For mini muffins, bake for 15-20 minutes
9. For Texas-sized muffins, bake for 25-30 minutes

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Apple Carrot Muffins

Notes: You can sprinkle the tops of these muffins with cinnamon sugar before baking for even more cinnamony goodness.

Ingredients

• 1 medium apple, peeled and grated
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°
2. In a small bowl, beat the egg and mix in the milk, oil, sugar, vanilla until the sugar dissolves. Add the shredded carrot and apple to the liquid mixture.
3. In a larger bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the liquid ingredients. Stir together just until everything is wet. Don't overmix it, the batter should be lumpy.
5. Divide the batter evenly into a greased muffin pan.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

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Caramel Apple Donut Muffins

These muffins are insanely delicious. Be careful not to burn your fingers dredging the hot muffins in the butter and cinnamon sugar. I found that dipping them in the butter then dropping them into a large bowl with the cinnamon sugar and swirling them around go the most even coating.  

Muffin Batter

• 1 ¾ cup flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ⅓ cup oil
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup milk

Apple Filling

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 large apple
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

• ½ cup butter, melted
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°

First, get the filling going:

1. Melt the butter on medium heat
2. Cube the apple and add to the butter once it gets foamy
3. Sprinkle the sugar and the cinnamon over the apples and stir until everything is well mixed
4. Cut back the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes

While the apples are cooking, put the batter together:

1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon
2. In a separate, large bowl, combine oil, sugar, egg and milk
3. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine

Now put it all together:

1. Coat your muffin pan well with nonstick cooking spray
2. Fill each muffin cup about a third of the way
3. Add apples to the middle of the batter, making sure there's room around the edges
4. Spoon batter into each muffin cup so it completely covers the apples
5. Don't worry about making it cover completely, the batter will spread out as it bakes but try and cover as much of the apple as you can
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes
7. Run a knife around the sides of the muffin and shake them out of the pan while still hot

Now the part that really makes them irresistible:

1. Melt the butter in a bowl
2. Mix the sugar with the cinnamon in another bowl
3. Dip muffins in butter, then into the cinnamon sugar
4. Let cool as long as you can resist them. 

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Chorizo for One

I was at the butcher the other day and got myself some chorizo. Then a week later I had a small stroke and decided to buy the jumbo package of chorizo at BJ's. Now I have a freezer full of chorizo. Luckily, it's tasty and relatively quick to prepare. Here are some of the things I've been doing with it.

Both these recipes make one serving. If you're cooking for more people, assume one sausage for each person.

NOTE: I'm talking about uncooked Mexican-style chorizo, not the cooked Spanish kind.

Chorizo Hash

This isn't so much a recipe, just a way to use some of your chorizo surplus and leftovers. When I made it this morning, I cut up some leftover French fries from 5 Guys.

Dice up some potatoes and add them to a preheated frying pan with some olive oil. Pour in a tablespoon or two of water and a little salt and pepper (how much salt you need depends on how salty your chorizo is). Put a lid on the pan. Meanwhile, remove the outer casing from chorizo. Once the water has evaporated form the pan, crumble the chorizo into the pan. Fry until the chorizo is cooked and the potatoes are a little crispy.

Herbed Chorizo and Garlic Grits

This recipe is loosely based on a really nice appetizer I helped a friend make at his Tapas-themed Christmas party last year.

Ingredients

• 1 chorizo, frozen
• 2 tbsp fresh herbs, chopped (I don't think it really matters what kind but I use thyme, rosemary, and oregano)
• Black pepper
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Instant grits
• Salt
• Garlic powder

While the chorizo is still frozen, remove the outer casing and slice into ¼" to ½" slices. Add the olive oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the chorizo until crispy. Add the fresh herbs and some black pepper. Take pan off the heat and splash in the vinegar.

Meanwhile, prepare the grits according to the instructions on the package and add garlic powder to taste. I always use chicken stock instead of water and add some garlic powder and black pepper to the stock while I'm bringing it up to a boil. Add salt based on how salty your stock is. Put the grits in a bowl and pour the chorizo on top. 

Thanksgiving Mania Begins

My family loves cranberries of all kinds at Thanksgiving. We always had to have both the whole berry kind and the kind that comes out shaped like a can. Actually, we have to have 2 cans of the jellied kind every year because once, in the 40 year history of my Thanksgivings, my mother forgot to get the jellied kind and ever since then, someone always brings an emergency, back-up can.

One year I decided to get all fancy and make the whole berry sauce from scratch, which is when I discovered that making cranberry sauce from scratch is idiot simple. So after the first year when I just used the recipe on the bag, I started playing with the recipe and this is what I make now.

Ingredients:

• 2 tangerines    
  
• ¾ cup sugar    
  
• 1-12 oz. package of fresh cranberries    
  
• 1 tbsp crystallized ginger
  

Directions:

Slice the crystallized ginger into thin strips. Zest the oranges and juice them. Add enough water to the orange juice to make 1 cup total. Add sugar, zest, ginger, and orange juice to a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook it until it is the consistency you like. If you prefer your berries almost fresh, take it off the heat as soon as they pop (about 5 minutes.) if you like a much more jelly-like sauce, cook it down for 15. Pour the sauce into a bowl, let it cool down to room temperature and then refrigerate until Thanksgiving.

Notes:

The first year I made this, I got out my fancy zester and made the long, pretty orange zest curls. The flavor was great but a few members of my family mentioned that they didn't taste so great. So now I use my vegetable peeler and cut off big sheets at a time that are much easier to avoid biting into. If you are putting this sauce on a Thanksgiving table that strives to look like it came from the pages of Gourmet Magazine, go for the fancy curls. If your family is more into power eating than appearance, go for the big sheets of zest.

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A Lovely Bunch of… Cucumbers

It's summer in Baltimore which means an abundance of cucumbers. And when I have cucumbers, I think Greek food.

Chicken Souvlaki

Note: this recipe works just as well for pork or beef.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 tsp kosher salt
  
• 1 tsp course black pepper
  
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
  
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  

Directions:

Mix the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt, and pepper. Reserve 1/4 cup of the yogurt mixture in a separate bowl. Cut the chicken into 1" cubes and add to yogurt mixture. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Skewer chicken and brush with olive oil. Cook on a hot grill for 3 or 4 minutes per side. Brush the reserved marinade on the chicken after you flip them. Serve on grilled pita or naan with tzatziki sauce and feta cheese.

One thing I am not especially fond of is runny tzatziki so while I am draining the excess moisture from the cucumbers, I put my yogurt in a coffee filter in another strainer to drain out the excess whey.

Tzatziki Sauce

Note: Spring for the Greek yogurt. You can really taste the difference in this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (or 1 container) plain Greek yogurt
  
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  
• 1 tsp course black pepper
  
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
  
• 1 cloves garlic, pressed or minced very finely
  
• 1 medium to large cucumber
  

Directions:

On the largest side of a box grater, grate the cucumber. Sprinkle with salt and place in a colander or strainer for at least half an hour to drain the excess water. Mix the yogurt, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Add shredded cucumber and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

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Howard County Shopping Odyssey

I set out this afternoon to fill a prescription and ended up with a bag of empanadas, and that's why I love Howard County. I walked into the Target at Long Gate and was immediately greeted with good news.

The idea of being able to get my Target shopping and grocery shopping done all at once is something I have been looking forward to for a very long time. While I was waiting for my prescription, I was wandering the aisles (always dangerous) and remembered that I needed a new 12" frying pan. But I was disappointed in what I found at Target, nothing seemed to be decent enough quality to justify the price. So after I finished at the pharmacy, I headed down Route 1 to see what I could find at Sysco, the restaurant supply store.

Too bad I forgot they close early on Saturday and it was almost 4pm. But since I was there, I decided to wander through the flea market and maybe grab something to eat. Sadly, the flea market was closing up too with most of the stalls already covered in tarps and the food court in the process of shutting down, watched over by My Little Militia Melanie.

Since we were already on Route 1 and had run out of coffee this morning, we headed over to MOM's to grab a bag of Zeke's but when we got

there, we realized we were far too hungry to go inside a grocery store so we headed around the corner to Pollo Fuego to eat our body weight in plantains and some chicken too. Stuffed full of Peruvian poultry goodness, we were able to get out of MOM's with just the bare necessities; coffee, half and half, and garlic powder.

As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I remembered reading on HowChow that the Latin market across the street sold frozen empanadas. I haven't had a decent empanada since Produce Galore went out of business so I have been eager to get over there. I wandered around, looking through all the freezer cases but no empanadas. I resigned myself to the terrible fate of buying fresh-baked empanadas and having to eat them immediately and ordered a bunch from the really friendly employee at the counter. I asked her about the frozen ones and she explained they keep them in the back, you just have to ask. Good to know for next time. I got the chicken, beef, ham and cheese, and spinach flavor so I will know which ones to stock the freezer with.

Bonus: they had a flavor of Goya soda I had never seen before.It smells like Worchester sauce but it really does taste like carbonated sangria, which is to say it tastes really good.

Remembrance of Restaurants Past

I finally made it to Bon Fresco and while enjoying an excellent Italian sandwich I couldn't help but think of my favorite sandwich of all time, The Giacomo, from the now closed Italian grocery and deli Giacomo's that used to be back by T-Bonz in Ellicott City. I've tried to reproduce this sandwich at home but somehow I never get it right. It's a combination of Italian deli meats (prosciutto and salami and something else), a layer of ricotta, and sliced green olives on focaccia. The first time I went there, I made the mistake of commenting out loud how odd that sandwich sounded and the owner convinced me to give it a try, promising if it wasn't the best sandwich I ever ate, he would give me any other sandwich on the menu for free the next time I came in. I never got to take him up on that because I never ordered any other sandwich.

That got me to thinking about other dishes I loved at restaurants that are now history. Back in the late 80s, there was a restaurant downtown called Café Park Plaza. They had a dish on the menu called Shrimp Angel that was basically a bowl of garlic and wine sauce with big shrimps in it. It may have been an appetizer and that was all to it. It might have been an entrée and come with pasta. I really don't remember because I always ate it the same way; scooped up with big hunks of fresh bread. I couldn't name one other thing they had on the menu and we ate there at least once a month for over a year.

Right down the street from Café Park Plaza was another icon in the Baltimore restaurant scene in the 80s, Gampy's. Now you can get a Monte Cristo sandwich at just about any diner but I have never found one that compares to my memory of theirs. Ham, cheese, fried, jam on the side; perfection. I think they put crack in it. There's no other explanation for what made it so good.

Then there were the kosher dogs and western fries at the Homewood Deli in Charles Village. Royal Farm Stores western fries come close but always seem to fall just a little short of my memory. There was a bakery that shared space with the deli that made the most amazing pinwheel cookies. I think I have tried at least a dozen pinwheel cookie recipes and none taste like those did. I can't seem to get them as flat and dense. Mine always puff up too much.

Of all the food you've eaten that is now gone forever, what do you miss the most?

NOTE: Recipes will return when Baltimore is no longer hotter than the surface of the sun and it's cool enough to cook again in my little house without air conditioning.

I love it when a plan comes together

It is finally grilling weather again and I had some fabulous skirt steaks from Treuth's waiting for accompaniments. Poking through the fridge, I found some Anaheim peppers, some jalapenos, and some leftover rice and a plan started to come together. I knew I wanted to stuff the Anaheim's with cheese grits but I wanted to use the jalapenos too and that rice was nearing the end of its shelf life. A quick check through the pantry revealed a can of black-eyed peas and I knew what I had.

Hoppin' Juan

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Black-eyed Peas
  
• 1 cup cooked rice
  
• 2 jalapenos
  
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
  
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 tsp chili powder
  
• 1 tsp ground cumin
  
• 1 tbsp lime juice
  

Directions:

Drain and rinse the black-eyed peas and let them continue to drain in a colander while you heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Mince the jalapenos. When the oil is hot, sauté the jalapenos until they have some char. Add the garlic, chili powder, and a pinch of salt. Once the garlic is warmed through, add the black-eyed peas and rice. Mix thoroughly and add salt to taste. Just before serving, add the lime juice and toss again.

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