Flashback Friday - South x Southwestern Hummus

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on November 5, 2012.

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I was in the mood for hummus. Not traditional hummus, mind you - I can't eat chick peas without suffering some painful consequences (I know, TMI) - but a reasonable facsimile.

My tastebuds were leaning toward a hummus flavored with tomatoes and red bell peppers, something Southwestern-ish, so I really wanted to use black beans. But lo and behold - I had none. I did have a cup of dried black eyed peas, however, and because I really wanted hummus (and was too lazy to walk to the store), I did a quick boil and soak, and then cooked the peas to tenderness. Beans are bland enough that just about any kind can be successfully used in a hummus-like preparation, but black-eyed peas are a little more South than Southwest.

Tahini is another traditional hummus ingredient, but just about any nut butter will do. If peanut butter is good enough for Alton Brown, then it's good enough for me. But I happened to have a can of tahini in the fridge, so that peanut butter hummus will have to wait another day. I did have bags of sundried tomatoes and sundried bell peppers (find them at nuts.com), which were rehydrated in boiling water, and the whole mess was bunged into the Magimix. (Sorry. Channeling Jamie Oliver there.)

Cumin and garlic are usually found in hummus, but to spice it up a bit more, I added some ground chipotle for a smoky kick. The result was quite luscious, and we scooped it up with chips made from stale flour tortillas.

South x Southwest Hummus

1/2 cup loosely packed sundried tomatoes
1/2 cup loosely packed sundried red bell peppers (or 1 jarred or freshly roasted red bell pepper)
3 tablespoons tahini
2 cups cooked or canned black eyed peas (or your favorite bean)
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper (or 1/2 canned chipotle in adobo)
extra virgin olive oil, as needed
salt to taste
chopped scallions

Place sundried tomatoes and peppers (if using) in a saucepan with about a cup of water. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature.

Drain tomatoes and peppers and chop coarsely. Place in the bowl of a food processor with the tahini, beans, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, and chipotle. Blend until well puréed, adding olive oil to aid the process. (If you're using jarred bell pepper, you'll need less oil than if you use the sundried.) The texture should be thick enough to be scooped with pita or tortilla chips, but not so thick that the chip would break. Add salt to taste.

Serve drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and garnished with chopped scallions.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Bar Louie at White Marsh

The restaurants at the Avenue at White Marsh don't seem to change very much, except for the one across from Red Brick Station. That space most recently housed The Tilted Kilt; before that, Bayou Blues Cafe. Now it's a Bar Louie. This nationwide chain specializes in the kind of food that seems to make Americans the happiest: burgers and other sandwiches; flatbreads; Mexican-inspired items like tacos and nachos; plus salads, pasta, and booze. It's one of those places that, if you're among a group of people who all want different things, can make everyone happy.

Before the restaurant opened to the general public, Mr Minx and I were invited in to taste the menu, on them. Having been to the Bar Louie in Hunt Valley a couple of times, we knew what the restaurant was all about. Normally a loud and boisterous venue, it was nice to be able to dine there while it was still uncrowded and somewhat quiet, though the "friends and family" guests were already starting to have a good time at the very early hour of 4pm. It was happy hour, after all.

We started off with cocktails, two of the restaurant's signature martinis. Mr Minx had the cucumber-forward Effen Good, made with Effen cucumber vodka, mint, lime juice, and agave nectar. I had the Tea Ketel, with Ketel One vodka, Earl Grey and honey syrup, lemon juice, Fee Brothers orange bitters, and La Marca Prosecco. Both were good, made with quality ingredients (and a steal at $5.50 during Happy Hour), though I preferred his drink to mine. I felt the fizz of the prosecco to be unnecessary and somewhat disconcerting in a martini.

We started off with a couple of apps, labeled "bar bites" on the menu. The flash-fried calamari with spicy pickled peppers and a charred lemon to squeeze over were served with a dip of aioli rather than the usual (and tired) marinara. There was a generous amount of tender tentacles, and we were happy with the dish overall.

What really turned me on was a dish called "roasted roots," namely carrots and radish, in an Angry Orchard cider glaze with warm whipped goat cheese and spiced Rice Krispies. Honestly, it was pretty shocking to see a dish of roasted carrots on the menu. Vegetables that are not brussels sprouts are rare as hen's teeth in chain restaurants, and I have to wonder how long these will be on the menu. (There is also the trendy roasted cauliflower!) The menu at the White Marsh Bar Louie is a test menu, btw, that they are hoping to roll out to the other restaurants at some point in the future. You'll find things here that aren't at other locations, and vice versa. Like those carrots, which despite the cider glaze, were not at all sweet. The radishes--a highly underutilized vegetable that is far more delicious cooked than it is raw--were a nice earthy touch. Carrot freak that I am, I would order this again.

I wasn't as thrilled with the chicken and churros. While perfectly Instagrammable, the textures were a bit disappointing. The boneless white meat chicken was juicy and perfectly cooked, but the coating quickly grew soggy under the buffalo maple glaze. The savory churros were a little tough. The flavors, though, were fine.

Mr Minx's sandwich, however, the "BBQ Pork & More," was the highlight of the meal. A crispy and sturdy (but not hard) pretzel bun stood up to its filling of moist chunks of pork in a bbq sauce topped with bacon onion jam, white cheddar, crispy pork rinds, and aioli. It was sweet (but not too), juicy, porky, and delicious, and surprisingly not at all messy. The accompanying fries were pretty good, too.

There are only two desserts on the menu, churros with bourbon-spiked maple dulce de leche (or a non-alcoholic double chocolate sauce), and an ice cream sundae of sorts. Having already had enough of the churros, we decided to split the sundae. We had a choice of a squeeze bottle of Bailey's espresso liqueur, or boring non-alcoholic espresso cream sauce; we chose the former. After applying the sauce to the vanilla ice cream, the effect was somewhat like a chilled, boozy, affogado (espresso over ice cream).

As I mentioned earlier, we'd been to the Hunt Valley Bar Louie a couple of times. In fact, I had a blog post started quite a while ago, but never got around to finishing it. This seems like as good a time as any, as some of the things we ate are still on the Hunt Valley menu and will likely remain there until the future new menu rollout.

I am a sucker for most Asian-flavored items, so we had to try the tempura shrimp. Tempura was a bit of a misnomer, as the batter on the shellfish was more akin to a beer batter in texture. It came with three sauces, Szechwan (sic), Thai chili lime, and buffalo.

I was also into the Thai Chicken flatbread, topped with spicy chicken, mozzarella and provolone cheese, green onion, red pepper, jalapeños, and house-made Thai peanut sauce.

We also had a straightforward beer-battered cod and fries with tartar sauce...

...and beef brisket sliders (sliced beef brisket, peach moonshine barbecue sauce, pickles, topped with grilled pear slaw) that were served with fries. Though I didn't taste the moonshine, the menu states that diners "must be 21" to order them, so I guess they use a goodly amount.

Everything we tried those on those prior visits was satisfying, particularly the flat bread (because peanut sauce). As I said before, if you want tacos and your friends want pizza and burgers, Bar Louie can make everyone happy.

Bar Louie
The Avenue at White Marsh
8133-C Honego Blvd
Baltimore, MD 21236
410-844-7512
http://www.barlouie.com/locations/states/maryland/white-marsh

Hunt Valley Towne Centre
118 Shawan Rd
Hunt Valley, MD 21030
443-541-2950

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Busy Mom's Cookbook

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on August 3, 2012.

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Antonia LoFaso was thisclose to winning Top Chef season 4, and did extremely well again on Top Chef All Stars. Now, she's writing cookbooks. Her first is The Busy Mom's Cookbook: 100 Recipes for Quick, Delicious, Home-Cooked Meals. I got a review copy to read, and I must say...I wasn't quite getting it at first.

When I think of a busy mom, I think of a person who is too busy to cook a hot home-cooked meal because there's so little time between running kids to school and softball and ballet and whatever. Of course, I'm not a mom at all, busy or not, but I can tell you that on most nights, the last thing I want to do when I get home from work is to make dinner. Flipping through this book, I see recipes for homemade ricotta and other stuff that takes far longer than the thirty to sixty minutes that some people are willing to put toward preparing a week-night dinner.

But then I got to thinking. Antonia is a working mother herself - one who cooks all day long. If these recipes are ok with her, who am I to judge?

Mr Minx and I decided to put her recipe for spaghetti and meatballs to the test. It was fairly easy and pretty tasty (but probably won't replace our usual recipe).

The sauce is a simple affair of canned whole tomatoes (San Marzano, please), olive oil, and garlic. An Emerilesque amount of garlic - eight cloves each in the sauce and the meatballs. In both cases, the garlic is cooked quite a bit so it doesn't overpower. Honestly, I don't mind a little raw garlic now and again and think the meatballs would be better with two cloves of raw garlic rather than the eight cloves of lightly sauteed garlic, but that's just my personal preference. I also think a full cup of heavy cream in the meatballs is overkill. Not that it makes the meat mixture sloppy - surprisingly, it did not. But meatballs don't need cream - and neither do your children.

In other words, don't go thinking that this book is full of low-calorie, vegetable-laden, 30-minute meals. The title is misleading. This cookbook is for anyone who likes to cook and likes to eat, and hopefully has children who feel the same way.

All Top Chef is giving away one copy of the book, so if you're interested, head on over there and leave a comment on that post.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Homemade Chubby Hubby Ice Cream

I am an ice cream fanatic. I could eat it every day (but I don't). One of my all-time favorite flavors is Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby (though it ranks a distant second to B&J fabulous Wavy Gravy). Chubby Hubby seemed to disappear from the market. I heard that it was discontinued. Now I hear it's back again, but different--the pretzels have changed or something. I still haven't seen it in the grocery store, so it seemed like high time to attempt to make it at home. And here's the recipe.

I changed the name to avoid copyright infringement. Also to be more inclusive.

Pudgy Partner Ice Cream

For the ice cream:
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons softened cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2/3 cup malted milk powder

To finish:
Fudge ribbon
1 cup peanut butter-filled pretzels, lightly crushed (I used Trader Joe's)
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter, warmed in the microwave for 30-45 seconds to liquefy

For the fudge ribbon:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/8 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/8 cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon fine or table sea salt
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the ice cream: Mix 2 tablespoons of the whole milk with the cornstarch to make a slurry. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream cheese and salt together until smooth. Prepare a shallow ice bath: in a large bowl or baking pan, place an inch of cold water and several ice cubes. Set aside.

Cook the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan until it comes to a rolling boil, Boil for 4 minutes, watching carefully so it doesn't boil over (stir when it starts to expand), remove from heat, and slowly whisk in the slurry. Bring back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Blend a few tablespoons of hot milk mixture into the cream cheese to loosen it, then pour the cream cheese mixture into the pan of milk. Whisk well until smooth. Pour into a container with a tight-fitting lid and place the container into the ice bath until cool, ensuring that the water level doesn't come up as far as the lid. When the mixture seems mostly cool, refrigerate until completely cold.

To finish: Make fudge ribbon.

To make the fudge ribbon: Combine all of the ingredients except the vanilla in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook on low heat until everything is melted, then cook an additional 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Freeze ice cream according to manufacturers instructions. Once  the ice cream is done, scoop some into a large lidded storage container. Drizzle on some of the fudge sauce--feel free to allow it to settle in big globs--followed by some of the pretzels, and some of the peanut butter. Continue to layer ice cream, fudge, pretzels, and peanut butter--ending with a layer of ice cream--until all ingredients have been used up. Press a piece of wax paper onto the surface of the ice cream. Seal container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

There will be a little bit of fudge sauce left over. Store in a covered container in the fridge. Warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds to use as hot fudge sauce, or eat it from the container with a spoon.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - A Tale of Two Burgers

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on June 27, 2012.

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We went to Hamilton Tavern specifically to eat their Crosstown Burger. We'd both been jonesin' for some beefy goodness after eating mostly poultry and fish for the past several weeks. Word around town was that Hamilton Tavern had some of the best burgers in town and we needed some of that.

We also heard that the Tavern got crowded, so we got there just after it opened on a Saturday afternoon, took one of the few tables in the small restaurant, and settled back to admire the Art Deco bar back and the old tools that decorated the walls while we waited for our food.

Not long after we got our beers (Brewer's Art Resurrection for me; the owner is a partner in that restaurant, too), our fried pickle appetizer arrived.

The juicy slices of sour pickle slices coated in an armor of batter and deep fried were accompanied by a tangy goat cheese dip. Personally, I think a sweeter dip would have provided more of a contrast in flavors and would have worked better, but I enjoyed the pickles in their rather hard crusts.

After a bit of a wait (perfection takes time), we got our burgers. Mr Minx got his as advertised, but I opted to add sweet spicy bacon to my burger and swapped out the fries for a side of Boh-battered Os.

The burger portion of the meal was outstanding. The fat patty was juicy and moist inside, pink but not quite medium. The Tavern did not skimp on the horseradish cheddar, and the cheesy flavor was prevalent in every bite. The bacon added a bit of sweetness that I really enjoyed. My only problem with the sandwich was the bun from nearby Hamilton Bakery; it tasted terrific, but shedded something awful. Not exactly fell apart, it was sturdy enough to withstand the weight and moisture of the burger, but pieces of the crust adhered to my fingers every time I put the burger back down on the plate. Eventually I was left holding the insides.

The onion rings were a huge disappointment. If I thought of them as donuts filled with onion, they worked better, but as onion rings, they were a failure. They were too doughy, not crispy enough, and too sweet. Mr Minx's fries were bland and a bit undercooked.

Overall, however, a stellar burger experience that we're eager to recreate over and over again.

Flash forward to the following weekend, when we once again had a hankering for red meat. Not wanting to be boring and go back to Hamilton Tavern, we decided to head to Piv's Pub in Cockeysville. Their online menu listed a 10oz char-grilled burger on a brioche bun, which sounded pretty tasty.

And it was tasty. The meat had a good char on it and the grilled flavor took me straight to Summer cookouts. But, unlike the burger at Hamilton Tavern, Piv's burger was as dry as a desert. There was a slight tint of pink inside, but it was nowhere near the requested medium. And the burger was as flat as a pancake, with a dense, compressed, texture, which tells me that it was smashed unmercifully against the grill, which produced a nice crust but allowed all of the meat's moisture to escape into the flames.  

Honestly, why do people do that? Are they stupid? Are they in such a rush to get the food out to the customer that they willingly let quality slide? Eating this dry burger made us realize why the wait for our burgers at the Tavern seemed so long. Because they were cooked with care.

We also tried the slider sampler, which included one each of shrimp salad, crab cake, and pulled pork in addition to the horribly dry beef. The best of these was the crab cake, which was moist and had nice chunks of crab. The shrimp salad was bland, and the pulled pork was very salty. The rolls had been toasted, which might be a nice touch for larger burgers, however, these were very dry as a result. And the fries, the kind with the little bumps on them, what I call "shrapnel," clearly came out of a bag from the freezer. Disappointing.

Slightly less disappointing was the wedge salad, which inexplicably came deconstructed, with bland bleu cheese dressing and mass-produced croutons. Once everything was cut up and mixed together, it tasted fine, but it wasn't $8.50 worth of salad.

Neither meal was perfect, but you can probably guess where we'll be spending our money in the future.

Hamilton Tavern
5517 Harford Rd
Baltimore, MD 21214
(410) 426-1930
hamiltontavern.com

Piv's Pub
9811 York Rd
Cockeysville, MD 21030
(410) 666-7487

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Miso Caramel

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on March 6, 2012.
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During a recent episode of Chopped, the competitors' dessert baskets included a tub of white miso. Both chefs made some sort of miso caramel sauce, which was also the first thing that came to my mind. Why? Well, salted caramel has been the Big Thing for quite a while now, and miso is definitely salty. Why not take a very basic caramel recipe and substitute miso for butter?  I tried it, and it worked like a charm. The sauce was sweet and salty, but didn't taste miso-y in the least.

For those of you afraid of making caramel for some reason, don't be! Homemade caramel is easy-peasy, but you do have to keep a couple things in mind.

1) Once the sugar is melted and bubbling, DO NOT STIR. It'll do its thing all on its own.
2) PAY ATTENTION. Don't make a phone call, read the paper, or do anything other than stand near the stove, keeping an eye on the pot.
2) Melted sugar is HOT. Be careful not to get any on yourself.

Miso Caramel Sauce

3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons yellow or white miso

In a heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat, stir together sugar and water. Without additional stirring, bring mixture to a boil. Use a wet pastry brush to wash down any sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan. When sugar becomes a deep golden brown and wisps of smoke just start to form, remove pan from heat.

Check out the photo below...see how the edges are getting dark but the center sugar is still light in color? It's going to start smoking any second now, so be prepared to take it off the heat before the caramel burns.

Once off the heat, carefully pour in the cream, which will cause the caramel to bubble. Stir to combine. If the caramel seizes up and hardens with the addition of the cold cream, then put the pan back over low heat and stir until the caramel is liquid again. Whisk in the miso. Allow to cool slightly before pouring into a lidded container. Store in the refrigerator.

Remelt the sauce by putting some in a ramekin and microwaving it on high for 30 second intervals until hot and liquid-y. Serve over ice cream, pound cake, or just eat it cold out of the jar with a spoon. Makes one pint.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Fleming's New Bar Menu

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar was one of the first restaurants to appear in the Harbor East development at the end of the last century. A great deal has changed in the now bustling location, but the bar menu for the elegant steakhouse had largely stayed the same over the last 20 years. Feeling that it was time for a bit of a facelift, Fleming's has introduced a host of new items to their bar menu for the patrons who wish to have a drink and a bite rather than a full dinner. We were invited to sample some of these new items.

We started off with some breaded and deep fried Casteveltrano olives. Unlike a lot of olives which can be mushy and salty, Casteveltrano olives are firm, mild, and bright green in color. When served with a deep fried crust and a spicy dipping sauce, they can be quite addictive. We also had candied bacon which was sweet, salty, crispy, and smoky all at once. The Minx said she could make a meal out of these two snacks and a cocktail.

Fleming's understands that some customers may go meatless, so they have added some vegetarian dishes to their menu, like this vegetable tempura that included asparagus, portobello mushroom, and red pepper fried in a light batter.

And for those who would like a little protein with their tempura, Fleming's also offers the Colossal Shrimp Tempura with U10 shrimp served alongside some of the vegetable items. An agrodolce dipping sauce is included on the side.

Also available for the vegetarian minded is the Mushroom-Farro burger. Vegetarian burgers by nature tend to be softer in texture than beef burgers, but the combination of mushroom, chick pea, and farro in this patty provides a burger that is firm enough to stand up to its toppings. Those toppings include goat cheese, arugula, campari tomato, and a French-fried onion ring. Although I knew we had more food to try, I couldn't help myself and finished the whole burger. By the way, all burgers are served with a side of French fries and some of those fried Casteveltrano olives.

We also tried their California burger which starts with a prime beef patty that's nicely grilled on the outside and perfectly pink on the inside. On top of that is tomato, arugula, bacon, avocado, cheddar cheese, and a smoked jalapano aioli. The toppings provide a great mix of flavors and textures, but the taste of the burger is not lost.

Since my grandfather was English, I've always been a fan of lamb, so I was looking forward to trying their grilled lamb lollipops. They did not disappoint with their grilled outer crust and moist, tender meat within. They were served on a bed of tomato, arugula, Casteveltrano olives, and herbed goat cheese.

Since this is a steakhouse after all, we had to try the filet mignon on potato waffles. I was concerned that the potato waffles might be too soft, but they actually had a crisp exterior like regular waffles and savory, fluffy potato inside. The filet mignon was perfectly medium rare and quite tender. The drizzle of demi glace over the top added just the right finishing touch.

While not technically part of the new bar menu, we were invited to try some of Fleming's dessert items. Chef Ty's key lime tart was definitely a winner, but our favorite was the molten chocolate lava cake served with ice cream and a delicate, crispy tuile. When we cut into the fluffy cake, a river of melted genache oozed out. The combination of the warm cake and cold ice cream was delightful.

We've gone to Fleming's in the past for special occasions like birthdays, but after sampling their new bar menu, I can see ourselves stopping by just to sit at the bar and enjoy some of these well-crafted  dishes along with one (or three) of their signature cocktails.

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar
720 Aliceanna St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-332-1666

Posted on Minxeats.com.