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Why Did You Eat That: How Do You Like Them Apples?

By |November 22nd, 2011|Recipes, Why Did You Eat That?|
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It seems like during this time of year pumpkins get all the attention.  Pumpkin pie, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin cupcakes… the list goes on and on and on.  Now, let’s be serious, I love pumpkins as much as the next gal, but sometimes you (and your sweet tooth) crave something a little different for dessert.  Boy, do I have a treat (literally) for you.  I stumbled upon a super easy, super delicious recipe for baked apples that will blow your mind.  Now, I am no pastry chef, but I can read directions.  At first, this recipe may seem daunting, but I promise it’s easier than pie (did you catch that one?).  It takes a bit of attention, so you are gonna have to get up during commercial breaks of Real Housewives of ______, but it will be well worth it.

 

Ingredients: 

For Baked Apples

  • 8 sweet apples, Gala or Fuji
  • Butter
  • 1/2 cup pecan pieces
  • 8 ounces mascarpone
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 orange, zest only
  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1/4 cup brandy

For Crumble Top

  • 1 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 ounces butter, cold

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Generously spread butter on a 9″ x 13″ baking tray.
  3. Slice top and bottoms of each apple to make level. Hollow apple with a core to remove stems and seeds. Cut skin in vertical or horizontal stripes to give a decorative look, if desired.
  4. Make crumble by combining flour, brown sugar, salt, and sugar in a mixer bowl. Cut butter into smaller pieces. Combine butter and dry ingredients until crumbly and sandy. Keep in refrigerator until needed. 
  5.  For the filling, mix mascarpone, brown sugar, dried fruit, salt, cinnamon and orange zest until combined. 
  6. Fill apples tightly with filling and place in buttered pan. 
  7. Top with crumble. Pack it well on top, cut portion of apple.
  8. Pour apple cider and brandy around the apples. 
  9. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes.
  10. Baste apples with juice every 20 minutes.
  11. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving. Drizzle with cider and brandy baking liquid. 

Served with vanilla bean ice cream and perhaps a drizzle of caramel… Mind. Blowing.  So, seriously, how do you like them apples?

xx,
WhyDid

Why Did You Eat That: Not Pumpkin Muffins

By |November 7th, 2011|Recipes, Why Did You Eat That?|
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By the end of October, I’ve overindulged in pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin cupcakes, and pumpkin pie.  To be honest, the thought of pumpkin anything makes me want to high kick a gourd… at least until Thanksgiving and it’s time for pumpkin pie again.  Just because I want nothing to do with this orange vegetable (or is it a fruit?) doesn’t mean that I don’t want delicious baked goods.  That is why I searched for a non-pumpkin, yet still seasonally festive snack.  And would you just look what I found?

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour, plus 1/2 tablespoon, divided
  • 1 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons grated orange rind
  • 3/4 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup dried cranberries, or 2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped
  • 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
  • Cooking spray

Directions: 

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Spray two eight-cup muffin tins with cooking spray.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Make an indentation in the middle.
  4. In a large glass measuring cup, mix orange rind, juice, oil and egg. Pour mixture into flour indentation and stir until everything is just combined.
  5. In a small bowl, stir dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, and remaining 1/2 tablespoon flour. Stir into batter.
  6. Divide batter evenly among muffin tins. Sprinkle with reserved 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake 15 minutes.
  7. Remove from tins and cool on a wire rack.

Perfect with breakfast or warmed up with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert.
xx,
WhyDid

Why Did You Eat That: Pumpkin Patch Snack

By |October 17th, 2011|Recipes, Why Did You Eat That?|
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It’s pretty clear that people are crazy for pumpkins.  Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread.  I mean, if you can add a pumpkin to it, people are gonna eat it.  I know this because I saw a stand for pumpkin topped pizza at Half Moon Bay’s Pumpkin Festival this past weekend.  The only thing I didn’t see was pumpkin wine… and I’m wondering when that’s gonna happen cause then I’ll be a truly happy camper.  This leads me to believe that if you combined pumpkins and cupcakes… you’d really have a homerun.  And someone’s beaten me to the punch…

There’s a magical place called Sprinkles where I first encountered the pumpkin cupcake and it was love at first bite.  Sadly, there isn’t a Sprinkles on every street corner, so not everyone has access to such delightful baked goods.  Lucky for you and me… and everyone else reading this post, I’m about to let you in on a little secret.  Sprinkles was smart enough to realize that they just can’t franchise fast enough.  So, they’ve packaged their cupcake goodness and you can buy it at Williams-Sonoma (and at their store, but if you don’t have a store then you can’t buy it… and if you were in the store, wouldn’t you just buy a cupcake?).  This weekend, I took on the task of whipping up these babies.

Now, since I’ve been going on and on and on about pumpkin cupcakes… you probably would like to make them (and eat them).  And because it will take too long to either 1) order and wait for your Sprinkles Cupcake Mix to arrive, or 2) find your closest Williams-Sonoma, I’ve taken the liberty of providing you with an alternate cupcake recipe (but have kept the Sprinkles Icing recipe – which is kinda the best part).

Ingredients: 

Pumpkin Cupcakes

  • 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour, sift before measuring
  • 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 5/6 cups sugar
  • 1 eggs, beaten until frothy
  • 1/2 cup mashed cooked or canned pumpkin
  • 3/8 cup milk

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8oz. cold cream cheese
  • 1 stick (113g) unsalted  butter, firm but not cold
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

  1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a bowl.
  2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs.
  3. Blend in mashed pumpkin.
  4. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk, blending until batter is smooth after each addition.
  5. Spoon batter into well-greased and floured or paper-lined muffin pan cups.
  6. Fill about 2/3 full.
  7. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.
  8. Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the cream cheese, butter, salt, and cinnamon on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.
  9. Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until incorporated.
  10. Add the vanilla and beat just until incorporated.  Do not overmix or the frosting will incorporate too much air.  It should be creamy and dense, like ice cream.
  11. Add milk 1 tsp at a time if frosting does not have a spreadable consistency.

If this doesn’t get you into a festively fall mood, then I really don’t know what will.  Probably that pumpkin wine.

xx,
WhyDid

 

*Editor’s Note: I did, in fact, make that cupcake up above.  Sprinkles is so thoughtful that they even include the cute little candy dots. 

Why Did You Eat That: This Little Piggy

By |October 3rd, 2011|San Francisco (The Bay), Why Did You Eat That?|
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While traipsing around San Francisco, running errands and popping into open houses (what? it’s okay to look), we managed to work up a little appetite.  So, we stopped in for brunch at The Tipsy Pig to grab a quick bite.  I have to say the name drew me in, but the menu is what got me to agree to stay.

To me, this place was like a grown up sports bar.  There were plenty of other restaurants and bars nearby that were filled with loud SF fans… and I really can’t be bothered with that.  The Tipsy Pig still had all the games on their several scattered TV’s, but I didn’t have to worry about a drunk  jersey clad fool falling into my breakfast.

Speaking of booze, I don’t drink beer, but I could be persuaded with the way they named their sizes: Piglet (10oz), Pint (15oz), and Tipsy Pig (20oz).  How cute is that? Oh, and apparently, they have a pretty extensive selection of beers for those of you who are interested.  Instead I opted for a Mary Pig (bloody Mary) and my dining compadre tested out the root beer float (an adult beverage version).  Both were delicious.

For our midday snack, we ordered the Pig’s Almost Famous Smoked Bacon Mac and Cheese (it was good… but I’ve had better) and the Pulled Pork Sloppy Joe to share.  I was pleasantly surprised with the pulled pork and for a great recipe to try at home, click here.

So what would be a great outfit for a day of strolling and shopping?  An outfit that won’t get you thrown out of an open house, but will still be comfortable when you curl up in a booth with a bloody Mary?  I love colored skinny corduroys and a snuggly sweater.  Throw a big fringe bag over your shoulder and wedge booties (still the height without the pain) and you’re good to go.

1. Polo Ralph Lauren Aberdare Sweater, $725, 2. Blank Skinny Corduroy Pants, $86, 3. Ember Skye Tote, $468, 4. Charlotte Russe Multi Sized Metallic Bangles, $4, 5. Elizabeth and James Manor Wedge Booties, $375

Everybody’s gettin’ tipsy.

xx,

WhyDid

 

 

Why Did You Eat That: Spar-becue

By |September 26th, 2011|Guest Blogger, Recipes, Why Did You Eat That?|
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This week, I asked one of my oldest (not in age, but in friendship duration) and very dearest friends if he’d be willing to share one of his recipes.  I know I’m partial, but I can’t believe that not only can my pal speak German fluently, recite Shakespeare, and mix up the perfect purple drank, he can cook!   I mean, ladies, how is this man single?  Anyway, this isn’t some froofy girly girl recipe … so if you wanna impress your main man with something delicious that he will appreciate, keep reading. (Oh… and please behold this amazing school dance photo of me my male bff.  Sorry, dude, had to):

After a pilgrimage to Neely’s Interstate BBQ in Memphis and sampling their phenomenal BBQ spaghetti, I was determined to recreate it for myself.  It’s not nearly as difficult as one would think, but it does take a bit of time.  For the record, if my writing seems disjointed or broken, I’m watching Nigella Lawson and am enthralled by her accent and, um, other attributes.

What you need: 

  • 1 tablespoon good olive oil
  • 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon garlic salt
  • BBQ sauce (recipe follows)
  • 1lb pork, beef, chicken, turkey, dog, cat – cooked and chopped to bits
  • 1lb spaghetti

First things first, the BBQ sauce:

  • 2 cups of ketchup (about 1 20oz bottle)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 5 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 5 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground mustard (don’t skimp – get Colman’s)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
What you do:
  1. Combine everything in a pot, bring it to a boil and then reduce to a slow simmer for about an hour or an hour and a half.  Length of time depends on how thick you want it.  There’s also a lot of wiggle room in the sweetness/bite of the sauce.  The recipe I listed is Neely’s original and it’s got decent balance.  However, I like a little more vinegar flavor so I added a bit more and cut back on the sugar.  If you want it sweeter, add more sugar/brown sugar.  The sauce as is has decent tang, but if you want some heat, throw in some cayenne pepper or some hot sauce to bring the spice up a bit.
  2. Once you’ve got the sauce square, heat up the oil and throw in the peppers, onion and garlic salt and cook everything until it’s nice and soft.  Once done, throw in the BBQ and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, put in your chopped meat and reduce to a simmer.  Bring your pasta water to a boil, salt it appropriately and then cook your pasta til al dente.  Mix the sauce/meat and the pasta and voila, BBQ spaghetti.
  3. For the meat, you have a lot of options – you can buy pulled pork (sans any kind of sauce) or brisket, brown some ground beef/turkey/chicken – whatever.  Just make sure you chop it up small enough so it blends well.  When I made this, I bought smoked pork loin from one of the BBQ joints down here and chopped it up and it turned out really well.  I doubled the recipe and it fed a dinner party of 10 perfectly, and I’ll take the lack of leftovers as a testament to how good it was.

OK – back to Nigella.

JC

 

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