Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Slightly modified from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/red-velvet-whoopie-pies-recipe/index.html

Cookies:

1/2 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 ounce milk chocolate, chopped
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup greek yogurt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon red food coloring
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Melt the butter than let cool for a few minutes. Add to the bowl of a mixer along with yogurt, eggs, cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and food coloring. Mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift into the liquid ingredients in four batches, mixing until each addition is combined.

Melt the semisweet and milk chocolate in a microwave. Whisk into batter.

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Prep 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and place 1 tablespoon of batter for each cookie. Wet your fingers with water and smooth out the tops of the cookies. You’ll also want to shape them into rounds so they turn out as circles once baked. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough springs back slightly when poked with a finger. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla using a stand or hand mixer. Slowly add in the sugar, continuing to beat until incorporated. Spoon 1 tablespooonful between 2 cookies to finish.

Krystal's Style Sliders

This week’s theme is guilty pleasures, which to me conjures images of food with insanely-high calorie counts, such as megafries (French fries covered in melted cheese, with bacon and ranch dressing), or something dead-simple such as grilled cheese (white bread, processed cheese). I figured I’d split the difference, and make Krystal’s style sliders.

In case you’re not familiar, Krystal’s the southern equivalent of White Castle, tiny burgers that you end up eating a dozen of at a time and feeling like crap afterwards. I’ve only eaten there once during a college road trip, but I definitely remember those sliders. My take on them isn’t an exact replica, but I think I captured the spirit of the thing pretty well. The rolls are actually a dinner rolls recipe from the King Arthur Flour website, and the sugar adds sweetness, as do the caramelized onions (Krystal’s just uses dehydrated onions, if I recall correctly). The mustard and pickle work perfectly to balance out the sweetness.

Hamburger Rolls

56 grams lukewarm water

227g warm milk (100 to 110 F)

23 grams butter (slightly less than 2 tablespoons)

10 grams sugar

½ tablespoon salt

14 grams instant yeast

361 to 422 grams all-purpose flour (I ended up using ~361g)

Add the water, milk, butter, sugar, salt, and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit for 10 minutes or so, until the yeast starts to foam.

Add 312 grams of flour and mix with the dough hook attachment until the ingredients form a mass.  Add flour, ¼ cup (30 grams) at a time with the mixer running, until the dough forms a smooth ball (this took me about ½ cup total). Knead using the dough hook for about 5 minutes (or by hand for 10 minutes), until the dough is soft and smooth, and feels tacky to the touch.

Turn the dough out into a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 30 to 45 minutes (depending on how warm it is in your kitchen), until the dough is puffy and has risen ~50%.

Remove the dough from the bowl, and work into a rectangle approximately 8” x 12”. Cut into 4 strips, then cut each strip into 3 portions and form into balls, rolling on a cutting board to give them their shape.

Place the rolls into a 13” x 9” baking/roasting pan that has been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Cover the pan with plastic wrap, and let the rolls rise for 20 to 25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, until they reach an internal temperature of 190°F. My rolls didn’t really brown at all by the time they reached this point, so I turned on the broiler for a minute to give them some color.

Remove, and let cool on a baking rack.

Sliders (for 2 servings a.k.a. 6 sliders)

½ large white onion, diced

1 tablespoon Butter

Scant 1/2 lb. Ground Beef (I used 80/20 Chuck)

Mustard (plain old yellow mustard, none of that fancy stuff)

Pickles

American Cheese (processed only, none of that ‘real’ cheese here)

Salt and Pepper

First, you’ll want to caramelize the onions. Heat a medium pan over medium high heat. Toss in the butter, then the onions. Let them cook for about 8 minutes, until they’ve released a good amount of liquid and taken on some color, then add salt. Cook for an additional 10 minutes or so. We’re looking for onions that have some color on them, but not full-on French onion soup style caramelized onions. You’ll probably need to turn the heat down as the onions are cooking to prevent burning. Make sure you keep an eye on them so this doesn’t occur. These can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

Finally, the burgers: Form the beef into 6 small patties, approximately ½” to ¾” thick. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Cook in a heavy-bottomed pan, over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side, until cooked through. Top with cheese, onions, mustard and a pickle. Serve with a side of French fries.

Chipotle Buffalo Turkey Meatballs with Ancho Ranch Dressing

Buffalo wings are an absolute staple of Superbowl cuisine, so I figured I’d make something based on those flavors to munch on during the big game. I was originally going to use chicken, but the grocery store only had ground turkey so there you go. The meatballs are based on Martha Stewart’s recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/349216/mini-spicy-buffalo-chicken-balls-blue-cheese-and-hot-sauce and the ranch dressing is from http://penniesonaplatter.com/2012/06/04/buffalo-ranch-dressing/.  I thought these would have been a bit spicier than they turned out to be; I think next time I would use another chipotle and toss in some cayenne pepper as well.

Meatballs:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

3/4 cup Frank's RedHot hot sauce, plus more for serving

2 pounds ground turkey

2 large eggs

3 ribs celery, minced

1 2/3 cups panko breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons coarse salt

1 teaspoon cumin

1.5 teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

2 chipotles in adobo, minced

In a small sauce pot, melt the butter add in the hot sauce and whisk until emulsified. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix to combine. Form into 1” meatballs and place on 2 baking sheets, lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Heat the oven to 450°F. Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the center of the meatballs reads 165°F. Serve with Ancho Ranch Dressing, additional Frank’s, blue cheese crumbles on a crusty roll.

Ancho Ranch Dressing:

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ cup chopped chives

1 clove garlic, halved

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup buttermilk

3 teaspoons ancho chili powder

1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a blender and give it a whiz to fully incorporate everything.

Coffee Macarons with Bailey's and Chocolate Ganache

Macarons have been on my list of things to attempt, but all the literature out there seemed to suggest that baking macarons was some real magical voodoo type stuff, and that the slightest misstep would ruin everything. Honestly though, these weren’t too difficult to turn out. Now I’m not saying that I’m a master of the macarons afer one decent looking batch, just that if you take your time and follow the recipe carefully you shouldn’t fear the macaron.

The macaron recipe is from http://playingwithflour.blogspot.com/2012/02/sweet-taste-of-success-coffee-macarons.html and the ganache recipe comes from: http://www.raspberricupcakes.com/2012/03/shamrock-macarons-with-baileys.html

Coffee Macarons

90 grams egg whites (3 eggs) (aged at least 24 hours – see below)

110 grams almonds (use slivered almonds – not the sliced ones with some skin still on the outside)

1.5 teaspoons ground coffee or espresso powder

200 grams confectioners (powdered) sugar

30 grams granulated sugar

A day or two before you bake:

Separate the whites from the yolks of 3 eggs and refrigerate the whites for 24 hours or up to 5 days. You’re looking for 90 grams of egg whites by weight. This step is to eliminate moisture from the egg whites, which helps thicken the batter. Before you start making your macarons, remove the egg whites from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.

Step 1: Prepare the dry ingredients:

I found it helpful to use a coffee grinder for this step, but if you don’t have one you can just use a food processor. Add the coffee to the grinder (I used regular coffee grounds, but I wanted to break them down a bit. If you use espresso powder, you may be able to skip this step) and pulse to grind fine. Add to the bowl of a food processor. In two batches, add the slivered almonds to the coffee grinder, pulsing until fine. Add to the bowl of a food processor.

Add the powdered sugar to the food processor bowl, and run it for a few seconds to make sure everything is chopped and incorporated. The mix should be powder-y. Run the dry ingredients through a medium sieve (Too fine a sieve and you’ll run into issues getting everything through), sifting the mixture into a bowl. If there are pieces remaining at the bottom of the sieve, run them through a coffee grinder and back through the sieve and into the bowl.

Step 2: Make a meringue:

Add your room-temperature egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium/medium-high until the whites are good and foamy. Slowly pour in the 30 grams on granulated sugar, and whisk on medium-high until you get a glossy white meringue with stiff peaks. Keep an eye on the meringue, as overmixing will dry it out.

Step 3: Combine the ingredients:

Add the dry mixture into the meringue in two or three batches, carefully folding the mixture together to form a batter. The meringue should be completely incorporated into the dry ingredients, and the mixture should be thick and viscous. If you take a spoonful of batter and place it on a plate, it should hold its shape and the top should flatten. This is how you know the batter is ready.

Step 4: Piping and resting:

Prep two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a ½” tip (I used an Ateco #806, in case you’re interested about such minutiae) with the batter. If you’re not confident about your ability to pipe perfectly sized circles, use a pencil and a guide to draw 1.5” circles on a piece of parchment paper (I used the bottle cap of a growler that was lying around), and flip the paper over, pencil side down, so you don’t get graphite in your cookies. Pipe the batter into 1.5” rounds (too big and they won’t set up correctly in the oven – this happened on a few larger cookies that I freeform piped), spaced about ¾” apart from each other.

If the batter has little nubs on the top, you can bash the baking sheets against your counter 2 or three times to flatten them. This is also the time to shape your batter into perfect little rounds, in case you’re a perfectionist. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes up to an hour, to allow the tops to dry out. While that’s going on, preheat your oven to 400°F and make your ganache (recipe below).

Step 5: Bake and Finish:

Place your oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Add the two baking sheets, and immediately turn the temperature down to 300°F (the higher initial temp helps the cookies get a bit more spring) and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. The macarons are ready when the tops are set and you can lightly tap on the tops (they should feel hollow).

Remove from the oven and let rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Match up like-sized pairs, and spread ganache onto the bottom of one macaron and make a sandwich. The easiest way to do this is with a butter knife. Let the macarons rest for 24 hours in the fridge before eating for best results.

Bailey’s Chocolate Ganache:

150 g good quality chocolate

85 grams (100 ml, just over 1/3 of a cup) heavy cream

65 grams (1/4 cup) Bailey’s Irish Cream

In a small saucepan, heat the cream until boiling. Meanwhile, break the chocolate into small chunks and place in a medium bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes, then whisk to combine. If not all the chocolate has melted, place the bowl over a small pan of boiling water to create a double boiler (make sure the water in the pan doesn’t touch the bowl), and whisk until the chocolate is all melted. Remove from heat and add in Bailey’s, whisking to combine. Refrigerate until thickened and ready to use, 20 to 30 minutes.

Black Bean Ragout

This is my lightly adapted version of a recipe in the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. What’s great about this recipe is that you can use the beans for any meal of the day. That, and it’s dead simple to make. The chilis, cumin and oregano give these beans a great depth of flavor with a definite nod to Mexican cuisine.

Note that you do not have to soak the beans beforehand, but you can if you want to (it should knock some of the cooking time off. Also, according to a slow-cooker cookbook I have, if you presoak the beans before cooking them in a crockpot, you get more consistent cooking times.  I haven’t tried testing this out to see if it’s true).

For the beans:

1 lb. dried black beans

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, finely diced

1 tbsp cumin

1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons salt

1 guajillo chili

1 dried chipotle chili

9 cups water, divided

Lime juice

In a dry skillet over medium heat, heat the chilis for about 30 seconds per side, until they are fragrant. Remove the seeds from both and the stem from the guajillo, and break into pieces. Place in a blender along with 1 cup of water and puree. Add the puree to your slow cooker.

Rinse the beans and add to the slow cooker, along with all the other ingredients beside the lime juice. Cook for 3 to 6 hours on high, until tender. Mine took 4 hours to get to the correct amount of tenderness. Stir in the lime juice when the beans are finished cooking.

For the pickled shallots:

2 shallots, chopped

2 tbsp lime juice

Salt

Mix the lime juice, shallots and salt in a small bowl for 15 minutes.

To finish:

Rustic Bread

Garlic Clove

Olive Oil

Egg

Cilantro

Brush a piece of bread with olive oil and rub with a garlic clove. Toast the bread as you see fit.

Meanwhile, poach the egg: heat some water in a medium sauce pot, along with a splash of vinegar. Heat to a simmer, just before the water boils. Create a whirlpool with the water. Crack your egg into a small dish/ramekin, and slide the egg into the middle of the whirlpool. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon.

Spoon the beans on your toast, top with the egg, pickled shallots, and cilantro.