Chocolate Cayenne Cupcakes

A few months ago, a coworker of mine brought in "Mexican Brownies" for our department's Food Day. Apparently, these brownies had a little cayenne surprise mixed into them. I was excited to try them and discovered that they were a spicy, sweet treat. Hey, I like spices and I like sweet stuff. And speaking of sweet stuff, why couldn't I convert these into a cupcake...

Chocolate Cayenne Cupcakes
slightly adapted from ICE Cupcake Workshop's Chocolate Cupcakes recipe

yields ~24 cupcakes

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream or buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2) Combine the eggs, sour cream and vanilla in a large bowl and set aside.

3) Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Set aside.

4) Combine the water, cocoa and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

5) Remove from heat and immediately whisk this into the egg mixture. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until combined. (Don't worry...the eggs won't scramble.)

6) Add cayenne pepper to batter and whisk to incorporate. (Note: Add the cayenne pepper gradually and taste after each addition. Add more or less cayenne pepper based on your preference.)

7) Pour into cupcake liners and bake about 25 minutes or until the center springs back when touched.

I wasn't sure how I wanted to frost these at first. Then I recalled that we had learned how to make a ganache in ICE's Cupcake Workshop which I took a few weeks ago. In the spirit of being unique (and a little lazy, since I wouldn't have to pipe it), I decided to go with the ganache as a frosting for these cuppies.

Thin Chocolate Glaze
recipe from ICE Cupcake Workshop

• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

1) Place the chocolate in a bowl. Set aside.

2) In a medium saucepan, combine the cream and corn syrup. Bring to a boil.

3) Remove from heat and immediately pour on the chocolate. Allow to stand 1 minute.

4) Add in butter and stir until smooth and glossy.

5) Dip cupcakes into ganache. You may need to smooth the ganache over the top of the cupcake.

6) Optional: You can recreate this ganache with white chocolate instead of semi-sweet chocolate. I added red dye and drizzled over the ganache.

In my opinion, the cupcakes were tasty but a little dense. I usually like my cupcakes to be a little lighter. However, most of my taste testers didn't actually share my opinion and really liked the moist texture of the cupcakes. The chocolate flavor was pronounced and the cayenne pepper gives you a mild kick in the mouth a few seconds after you've finished chewing and swallowing the cupcake. Since I used semi-sweet chocolate for the ganache, the cupcake didn't end up being too sweet. Overall, there is a nice balance so that you don't get a complete sugar rush with each bite.

Green Chicken Curry

I somehow got sucked into The Next Food Network Star shows this season. I don't really know how it happened, but I guess it was inevitable since I watch Food Network about 75% of the time I turn on the television.

A few weeks ago, I was watching the Food Network Star hopefuls make a team dinner. One of my favorite contestants, Aarti Sequeira, made a Green Chicken Curry dish that looked amazing! It even had Bobby Flay (my close personal friend, as I have humbly mentioned in a previous post) raving about it. I had food envy.

So when my roommate wanted to go to the grocery store later that same day, I made a game time decision that this dish was going to make an appearance chez moi that evening. Oh yeah...

Green Chicken Curry
adapted from recipe by Aarti Sequeria

• 1 large bunch cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped, ~1 1/2 cups
• 1 bunch fresh mint, leaves, coarsely chopped, ~1 1/2 cup
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2-inch piece ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
• dash habanero sauce
  
• Salt and black pepper to taste
  
• 1/2 cup water, plus 1 1/2 cups
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, about 1 3/4 pounds, halved
• 1/2 teaspoon malt vinegar
• 1/4 cup plain whole milk or yogurt

1) Blend the cilantro, mint, jalapeno, red onion, garlic, ginger, habanero sauce, salt, and pepper, to taste, in a blender. Puree on high until smooth.

2) With the processor running, add about 1/2 cup water, and blend until the mixture is the consistency of a thick paste, then set aside.

3) In a large pot or deep skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the shallot and cook, stirring often, until golden brown.

4) Add the spices and cook for 30 seconds.

5) Pour the blended cilantro mixture into skillet and cook, stirring often until it deepens in color and aroma, about 5 minutes.

6) Add the chicken, coating every piece in the cilantro mixture and stirring often. Continue to cook for 5 minutes.

7) Add about 1 1/2 cups water, just enough to cover the chicken, and the vinegar.

8) Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is tender and sauce has thickened slightly, about 20 to 25 minutes.

9) Remove the pan from heat and stir in the milk.

10) Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.

Here are a few tips so that you won't run into the same troubles that I did:

1) the recipe calls for "boneless, skinless chicken thighs". I don't know about your grocery store, but we have an abundance of skinless chicken thighs in ours. Not so much of an abundance of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Although I guess this is a moot point since I totally forgot I needed to look for boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the first place. I should work on that whole reading and comprehension thing. At any rate, I spent 15 minutes de-boning my skinless chicken thighs. Just buy the right protein to begin with and save yourself the hassle.

2) Again, I had reading issues. My roommate and I sat down to enjoy the meal and a commercial for dairy products came on the television. For some reason, this triggered the memory that I hadn't actually used the milk that the recipe called for. I ran back to the stove and added the milk. But never fear, the chicken tasted great even before the milk was added. After tasting it though, I could tell that it wasn't as spicy as before.

Let me tell you, making this dish is not a decision that I regret. I had some of this chicken curry over a serving of brown rice and it was delicious, but I'm sure it would taste just as great over a plate of white rice or with some naan. Mmmm naan...The chicken was tender and moist, since it was braised. The cilantro mixture was a bit spicy and smelled heavenly. Once it was boiled down with the chicken and spices, the result was a tangy, smoky chicken dish with a rich curry sauce.

Zucchini & Butternut Squash Bake

Walking through the grocery store a few weeks ago, I noticed that butternut squash is no longer being stashed in the back of the produce section. It's slowly but surely inching it's way into the spotlight. I love butternut squash and cannot believe that I have posted zero -- yep, zero -- blog posts which reference butternut squash. I love this squash variety and I just don't know how I've managed to overlook it for the past year and a half.

With this in mind, I greedily eyed the beautiful, large butternut squash as I continued on my way through the store. Since I was actually picking up ingredients for another recipe, I decided to stay the course and come back the following week for my coveted butternut squash.

One week later: I rolled into the grocery store, super excited to pick up the beautiful butternut squash that I had seen a week earlier. What I actually found were 3 small to medium sized butternut squash that appeared to be the sad leftovers of last week's gorgeous bounty. Of course by this time I had already committed (internally, at least) to making a dish with butternut squash, so I snagged two of the squash anyway. I also picked up a few zucchinis, because everything's better with zucchini.

A little bit later, I got back to our kitchen with no real idea of what I wanted to make with these vegetables. I was thinking of maybe throwing together another galette, similar to what I had seen on the Smitten Kitchen website, but since I made one of these recently I wanted to branch out. I eventually found a few recipes for something called a "bake".

Hmmm...what exactly is a bake? Non-technically (since this is the culinary language that I speak), it's very similar to a casserole. So I grabbed all the vegetables up and tossed them together for a unique bake.

Zucchini & Butternut Squash Bake

• 2 small zucchini, sliced into rounds (or 1 medium to large zucchini)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2-4 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• pinch of sugar
• 3 lbs butternut squash, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 3 garlic scapes, diced finely
• 1 clove garlic
• handful basil leaves (~8-10 leaves), julienned
• ~1 cup parmesan cheese
• ~1/2 cup fontina cheese
  
• additional salt and pepper to taste (if necessary)
  

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Spread the zucchini out over several layers of paper towels.

3) Sprinkle with a tsp of salt and let drain for ~30 minutes. Gently pat the zucchini dry with paper towels before using.

4) Meanwhile, melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook the onion over medium heat with 1/2 tsp of salt and a pinch of sugar. Stir occasionally until soft and lightly golden brown The exact timing for this step will depend on the level of heat applied. It took about 30 minutes for my onions to be done, but it could take longer.

5) Saute the butternut squash and sweet potato in 2 tbsp butter (or olive oil). Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Note: I sauteed the vegetables using what I refer to as the "stir and steam" method. This is when I stir the vegetables, then place the cover over the pan for a few minutes. Then, guess what, I stir again and replace the cover for a few minutes. Repeat until vegetables are softened, but still a bit firm (I did this for ~20 mins, but I would suggest maybe only 15 mins).

6) Add the butternut squash, sweet potatoes, onions, zucchini, garlic scapes, jalapenos, garlic, and basil leaves together in a large bowl and toss to incorporate. Add more salt and pepper if you think it's necessary.

7) Pour into a buttered/greased 9 x 11 inch pan.

8) Sprinkle cheeses on top.

9) Bake for ~30 minutes, or until vegetables are at the desired consistency and cheese is melted.

8) Let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This could really be my new favorite vegetable combination. The smell was "warm" and "hearty". Are these real smells? I don't actually care. If you could bottle a whiff of fall in a dish, this would be it. The entire dish, when eaten together, was sweet and savory at the same time. The butternut squash and sweet potatoes were really the meat of the dish and provided a robust texture. The caramelized onions wrapped themselves around with the starches and gave them a sweeter taste. The zucchinis and garlic scapes added a little crunch and texture to the dish. I know that sage is usually the preferred herb when working with butternut squash but since we had fresh basil on hand, that's what I ended up using. The basil's scent and flavor really served to enhance this dish. The great thing about this dish is that I can add in or take away vegetables pretty easily, since the recipe is so adaptable. Try a unique version yourself and let me know how it turns out!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberry Pistachio Pesto

Brussels sprouts? Uhhhhh...

Yup, I decided to try something with Brussels sprouts. I found this recipe on the Steamy Kitchen's blog. It's apparently made by Chef Todd at Checkers Restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles. Since I'd never really tried Brussels sprouts before I figured I'd give it a shot. (OK, I had a taste of one of my roommate's forays into the Brussels sprout arena and it was pretty good.) But I definitely hadn't made them before.

Add in the cranberry pistachio pesto recipe and, why yes, I'll take a serving or two. Finally, finally, finally, last weekend I got around to some much-needed taste-testing of this concoction. The verdict? Well, let me give you the recipe first...

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

• 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup Cranberry Pistachio Pesto (see below)

1) Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

2) Cut off the stem end of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any loose or bruised outer leaves.

3) Cut the Brussels sprouts in half, lengthwise.

4) Toss with olive oil.

5) On a baking sheet, spread the Brussels sprouts evenly and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

6) Roast for 25 minutes or until you begin to see a bit of browning on the Brussels sprouts. The interior should be fork tender.

Cranberry Pistachio Pesto
slightly adapted from Chef Todd's recipe

• 1 cup pistachios
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 3 cloves garlic
  
• 1/2 cups olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1) Place the pistachios, cranberries, and garlic into a food processor and process until very finely chopped.

2) While the food processor is running, slowly drizzle in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.

3) Spoon out the pesto into a bowl and stir in remaining olive oil.

4) Season with salt and black pepper to taste. The pesto will be sweet and salty.

5) Spoon over the Brussels sprouts. (You will have leftover pesto.)

First of all, let me talk about the Brussels sprouts. I'm really sad to say that I wasn't overwhelmed by them. I'm just not sure they're for me. Maybe I didn't roast them long enough? But no, my roommate really likes this dish. The sprouts reminded me of cabbage, which I do like. This is why I'm so confused as to why I'm not a fan. Although they were roasted, the sprouts still had crisp and tender leaves. And, not surprisingly, they tasted like cabbage as well. They were also very crunchy, which is probably due to the intact "core" of the sprouts. Perhaps this is what I have an aversion to...or maybe my palette is just not up to this yet. I'll have to try again in the future. I do want to like them more. [Sigh]

Let's move on to the pesto. Yum! I liked the pesto a lot more than the sprouts. When I was making it, I omitted the parsley because 1) I didn't have any parsley on hand and 2) I don't really like parsley anyway. I also didn't toast the pistachios or roast the garlic as the original recipe suggested. Why? Mostly because it was a lazy Saturday afternoon and the last thing I felt like doing was toasting pistachios and roasting garlic. Hey, you can make your own pesto any ways you like, but mine is going to be "no-fuss".

After I got to the last step of the original recipe, I realized that I may have put too much oil in the pesto. Yes, the original pesto called for 1/2 cup each of olive oil, cranberries, and pistachios, but after tasting it I thought the oil proportion was kind of excessive. So I processed another half cup each of cranberries and pistachios and added them to the mix. Much better in my opinion! You can try it both ways and see what tastes better to you. I really liked the salty-sweet combination of the cranberries and pistachios., which was much more pronounced when there was a higher cranberry/pistachio : oil ratio. The cranberries and pistachios also made the pesto a little chewy and a little crunchy at the same time. I like chewy and crunchy.

I have to say that I preferred the Brussels sprouts when they were drizzled with the cranberry pistachio pesto. I feel that it really dressed the sprouts well and gave them a "kicked-up" flavor. Keep in mind, these are just my opinions. Try this dish for yourself (especially if you love Brussels sprouts) and let me know how it goes!

Paneer Makhani

Recently, I was thinking about making my favorite Indian dish at home, Paneer Makhani. It's not very expensive to order Indian food here in Hoboken, but why not make it myself? I always welcome a challenge.

Little did I know that the most challenging part of making this dish would be finding the ingredients. Seriously, Hoboken, let's get an Indian grocery store here ASAP. After a few days of intense research, I finally found an Indian grocery store down the street from where I work in Pennsylvania.

I bought the basic ingredients for a Paneer Makhani dish. So, ingredients in hand, it was time to tie down a recipe. After some searching I found a relatively easy recipe online. And of course the picture that goes along with it was very appetizing. Yes, this selection process was very precise.

Paneer Makhani
(slightly adapted from Chef In You's Paneer Makhani recipe)

Serves 4-6 people

• 2 generous cups Paneer cubes
• 1/2 tsp oil or ghee
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
  
• 2-3 green chiles, chopped
  
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 2 inch ginger, peeled and chopped
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1/2 – 3/4 cups tomato puree
  
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/2 tsp crushed kasoori methi leaves (also called fenugreek leaves)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream (as needed for consistency)
• salt to taste

Something that was recommended was soaking the store-bought paneer in boiling water for 10-15 minutes prior to using them. "D", which is what the blogger calls herself (maybe she's shy) says the purpose of this step is to soften the paneer and remove any impurities. I don't really care so much about impurities, but I love melted cheese. Softened cheese is a close second, so why not?

1) Cube the paneer and place in a bowl of boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Drain the cubes and set aside for later use.

2) In a pot with 1/2 tsp ghee (or oil, if you don't have ghee), add the onion, chiles, garlic and ginger with a little salt. Saute until soft.

3) Transfer this mixture to the blender and add 1/4 cup water. Blend it into a paste.

4) In the same pot as before, add 3 tbsp of butter and add the onion paste. Allow the mixture to saute for 3-5 minutes. This will help to mellow out the flavor of the onion paste.

5) Add the tomato puree and all the spices. Stir well and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

6) Add sugar and cook for another 5 minutes. Add more salt if necessary.

7) Gently drop in the paneer and stir to coat the cheese cubes. Cook for another 2-3 minutes so the paneer can absorb the flavors.

8) Lower the heat to a simmer, then add the heavy cream. Mix well.

Here's a tip for making this dish: Make it in a pot. I know this is kind of strange, but the puree won't evaporate as quickly. If you want a drier dish(though I don't know why you would), feel free to use a skillet.

In case you haven't figured it out yet from the recipe, this Paneer Makhani is not a meal for the dieter or faint at heart. If you want to help reduce your caloric intake, you can simply use less cream. It won't taste as good, but carry on as you wish.

The chiles made this dish pretty spicy. I used 3 chiles the first time I made it, but I stuck to 2 chiles the second time. I like spice, but I enjoy being able to finish a serving more than anything. If major spice is the thing for you, then by all means go for it. The combination of the paneer and the heavy cream helps to balance out the heat of the dish and make it smooth and creamy. In addition, it helped to tone down the tang of the tomato puree. It's soooo good. The reason I had to make this recipe twice is because I ate most of it in the same day the first time I made it. Oops. You may have the same problem too, once you make this.

Zucchini & Caramelized Onion Galette

This recipe was once again inspired by a post on Deb's Smitten Kitchen blog. I seriously need to block this woman from my blog and twitter feeds, but it's really difficult! Besides, the results are so tasty, it would be impossible to deny myself for too long.

I initially saw the a Zucchini and Ricotta Galette recipe on the Smitten Kitchen blog which reminded me that, mmmmm, I heart zucchinis. They're one of my new favorite vegetables. I then proceeded to check out the rest of the Deb's galette recipes. Within 15 seconds, I stumbled across a post for a Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette. In case you don't know, I have a lovely obsession with onions. And Caramelized onions are a fave. Since I was drooling over both the zucchini and the caramelized onions, I decided to improvise and combine these vegetables into one galette.

As for the cheese, I decided against using ricotta cheese purely because I always have some left over and usually some pesky mold gets to the rest of it before I do. I really hate throwing away food. I thought feta would provide the galette with a nice tangy flavor. Since feta doesn't melt very well though, I supplemented it with some grated fontina cheese to provide creaminess.

Zucchini & Caramelized Onion Galette

• 1 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds
  
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1-2 tbsp butter
• pinch of sugar
• 2 garlic scapes, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• ~1 tsp olive oil
• 9-inch Ready to Bake pie crust (I used a store-bought crust that I could just unroll, though you can make your own if you're motivated enough)
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
  
• 1 cup fontina cheese

• Egg Yolk Wash: 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water
  

1) Spread the zucchini out over several layers of paper towels.

2) Sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and let drain for ~30 minutes. Gently pat the zucchini dry with paper towels before using.

3) Meanwhile, melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook the onion over medium heat with 1/2 tsp of salt and a pinch of sugar. Stir occasionally until soft and lightly golden brown. The exact timing for this step will depend on the level of heat applied. It took about 30 minutes for my onions to be done, but it could take longer.

4) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

5) Mix the caramelized onions, garlic scapes, garlic, and ~1 tsp olive oil in a bowl. Toss to combine the ingredients.

6) Assemble the galette:

- Unroll the pie dough onto parchment paper. (You'll thank me when the galette comes out of the oven.)

- Sprinkle half of the feta cheese and a third of the fontina cheese in the center of the dough, leaving about a 2-inch border all around.

- Layer half of the zucchini slices on top of the cheese.

- Add half of the caramelized onions mixture on top of the zucchini.

- Add the rest of the feta cheese and another third of the fontina cheese.

- Add the final layer of zucchini.

- Add the final layer of caramelized onions mixture.

- Top with the remaining fontina cheese.

7) Fold the edges of the pie dough up to "close" the galette.

8) Brush the crust with the egg yolk wash.

9) Bake the galette for 30-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted.

10) Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I was so excited to finally taste this galette and let me tell you that I was not disappointed. Wow. The zucchini was still crisp when bitten into and it was accentuated by the soft, sweet caramelized onions. The fontina was creamy and helped to hold the entire galette together. The crumbled feta offered a salty and tangy bite when diving into each slice of the galette. Add the buttery, flaky pie crust to this combination and you will find yourself with the perfect appetizer or light meal.