Last Minute Muffins

I've had a couple of cans of pumpkin kicking around since Thanksgiving. I never got around to making any pumpkin pies, so have been trying to figure out a way to get rid of them. I thought about making my pumpkin pancakes before heading off to the gym on Saturday, but then realized that I didn't have any eggs. After the gym (and a trip to the supermarket) I decided to throw together a batch of muffins before a very important manicure appointment (more on that at a later date).

I love the flavor and texture of these muffins, but I might suggest a little streusel topping just to make them look a little cooler. They aren't particularly healthy to begin with, so it's not like you'd be instantly turning them into dessert, but they look healthy with that pepita garnish. Instead I threw in some chopped chocolate just to see what would happen. What happened was that I had a delicious pumpkin muffin studded with melty chocolate pieces! Unfortunately this recipe doesn't use an entire (15 ounce) can of pumpkin, so you might want to make a double batch or use the leftovers to make this for dinner.



Pumpkin Muffins
(Adapted from Gourmet)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoon raw green (hulled) pumpkin seeds (pepitas), divided
1/2 cup chocolate pieces, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the center. Butter the muffin pan if it's not nonstick.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, pumpkin, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, then stir in 2 tablespoons of the pumpkin seeds and chocolate, if using.

3. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and sprinkle with the remaining seeds. Bake until a wooden pick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool on a rack. Makes a dozen.

An Apple (Crisp) a Day

Apple crisp is one dessert that I had pretty regularly growing up. We didn't have a dessert every day, but apple crisp was easy enough to make that it became a familiar after dinner treat. And it's delicious, especially with vanilla ice cream. Or even the next day, cold for breakfast.

I do try to eat fruit every day, but sometimes I'm just not in the mood. (And you can tell by the apples that have been gathering in my crisper over the past few weeks.) Somehow eating those apples covered in butter and sugar is a lot more appealing than taking a giant chomp out of them. Knowing that it's dangerous for me to have more than a small amount of dessert hanging around, I decided to make individual sized apple crisps.

The recipe below is good for 2 - 3 desserts, depending on the size of your apples and the size of the baking dishes that you have. I used 2 apples and heaped my small ramekins full of apples. Since my dishes were so little I ended up making a third. (Be sure to pile in the filling as the crisp will deflate slightly after the apples are cooked.) Not a bad way to eat an apple a day.



Individual Apple Crisp

3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pound apples, peeled, cored, cut into chunks (about 2 medium apples)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (optional)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the apples and lemon juice, if using, toss together, and transfer evenly to two (6 - 8 ounce) ramekins or gratin dishes. (Mound the apple mixture about 1-inch above the rim of the dish.)



2. Combine the flour and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit to cover (there will be a generous amount).



3. Place the baking dishes on a sheet pan (or foil - to catch any drips) and bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until the top is golden and the fruit is bubbly and soft when pierced with a knife. Cool the crisps on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream. Serves two.

Sunday Supper

I survived my wine exam tonight and I'd like to think it was due in part to the hearty meal that I enjoyed (but didn't cook!) the night before. (What? Carbo-loading only counts for marathons? Whatever.) My awesome friend, Chad, made the most amazing Veal Ragout and I was a lucky dinner guest. (Thanks also to Ken for hosting!) We often get together for early Sunday suppers as a way to transition from the weekend to the work week, but we finish early enough to still catch our favorite Sunday night shows. (True Blood isn't currently on, so I went with The Simpsons 20th anniversary show last night.) We usually go out for dinner so this homemade meal was a delicious change.

I attempted to get the recipe so that I could share it with you, but it was kind of like asking your grandmother for a recipe. "First I sauteed some meat...then I sauteed some vegetables and added some seasoning...then I sauteed some pork belly...then I threw it all together with my leftover steak from The Palm, some red wine, and my homemade beef stock...then I just let it cook for a couple of hours." All of which roughly translates to, "Ohhhh...it's just a little of this and that." (Sorry, Chad. I'm sure you've never been compared to a grandmother before! Ha!) I think that I'll just have to be present the next time this ragout hits the dinner circuit. (Call me!) And I'll take copious notes. I'm thinking that this might do really well in the slow cooker that I haven't used in a year...

Below is my interpretation of the recipe. Note that we start with a delightfully oozy wheel of fat, baked Camembert, and there is nary a vegetable in sight.


1. First, roast a standing prime rib roast on Christmas Eve. (Thanks, Chad! It was delish!)


2. Make sure that the rib roast is 11 pounds so that the (only) five people eating dinner get a Flintstonian 2 pound chop each. This will guarantee leftovers. Simmer the leftover bones for hours in order to create the base stock for the ragout.


3. Bake a round of Camembert just before serving your pasta dinner. Serve it to your guests to try to distract them from how you actually made the ragout.


4. Alternatively, play The Price Is Right on the Wii.


5. Serve and enjoy the ragout over rigatoni. It is so delicious that you temporarily forget that you want to know how to make it.


6. You are now in a food coma. What was the point of this again?

Wine Whine

Yep. I had to drink all of that wine to study for my exam at the International Wine Center. I studied at the gym, in my bed, and on the subway. In 24 hours it will all be over. Cross your fingers that I get an A+!

Dinner!

Can you guess what it is and where it's from?

Perfect Polenta

Why didn't anyone ever tell me that you could make polenta in the oven and that you didn't have to break your arm slowly, slowly, slowly pouring and stirring the cornmeal into the boiling water? Granted baking it takes about 5 times as long, but if you can't lift your arm after you're done, what's the point? I am loving this recipe!

Of course I have Martha Rose Shulman from my favorite Recipes For Health column of The New York Times to thank for this discovery. I had to turn to her column for some dinner inspiration tonight. I haven't shopped for groceries in about a week so I'm down to the pantry staples and going out almost every night doesn't help. Of course I wasn't in the mood to go to the store after work when it was completely packed, so I had to get inspired from what I already had.

Fortunately I uncovered a package of cornmeal in the back of my cupboard that I probably should have thrown away about 2 years ago. Then I managed to find some leftover tomato sauce buried in my freezer that I just had to defrost. Voila! Dinner! By the way, polenta is a great source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, and vitamin B6 (and a gluten free alternative) in case you were wondering why you would want to eat something that resembles Cream of Wheat for dinner. Listen, just throw a bunch of butter and Parmesan on it and you'll eat it...and like it! (Omit if you care about fat and calories.)





Oven Cooked Polenta with Tomato Sauce
(Adapted from Martha Rose Shulman)

1 cup polenta (cornmeal)
1 quart water (4 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus additional for sprinkling
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Tomato Sauce (or high quality prepared tomato sauce)

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Combine the polenta, water, and salt in a 2-quart baking dish. Stir together, and place in the oven. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir in the butter and return to the oven for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and stir again. Return to the oven for 10 minutes more.

2. Remove from the oven, and stir in the Parmesan. Spoon onto plates, make a depression in the middle, and spoon 1/4 heaped cup of tomato sauce into the depression. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve. Serves four.

Variation: Polenta and Tomato Sauce Gratin - (You can make this dish with leftover or chilled polenta.)
1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Oil a 2-quart gratin dish. Cut the leftover polenta into squares or rectangles, and arrange in the gratin dish, overlapping the pieces slightly. Spread tomato sauce over the slices, sprinkle on Parmesan, and drizzle a little olive oil over the top.
2. Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until sizzling. Remove from the oven and serve.

Drunken Scallops

Yes, it's back to the daily grind, new diets (for some), and a long cold winter...but it doesn't have to be all bad! Plan a last minute beach getaway. Eat a calorie laden plate of spaghetti carbonara. Try a cocktail you've never had before. Smoke a cigarette. No, don't smoke a cigarette! I'm just checking to see if you're paying attention. Don't ever smoke cigarettes!

Because of the recent month-long holiday excess, I'm not quite ready for austerity. Soup and salad isn't going to cut it. Somehow scallops seem fancy even though they are extremely easy to prepare and don't actually cost that much. And for the calorie/health conscious, they are about 75 calories per 3 ounce serving, and are chock full of vitamin b12, omega-3 fatty acids, potassium, and magnesium. However, if you are really health conscious, you might want to skip this particular preparation. Bake or broil them instead.

Bacon and scallops are a classic combination. I'm sure you've encountered a bacon wrapped scallop at least once in your life. Maybe a bacon wrapped water chestnut? (What's that about?) Anyway, this recipe eliminates all of the handiwork required of wrapping, and simply has you cook the scallops in the rendered bacon fat. (See what I mean about being health conscious?) Oh, and here's a personal note about making the sauce. I never seem to have white wine in my apartment during the winter. For some reason I do have tons of sparkling wine, so I added Champagne (it was just New Year's!) in place of the white wine...and drank the rest. Cheers!



Seared Scallops With Bacon
(Adapted from Martha Stewart Living)

3 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 pound large sea scallops (about 6)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced shallot (about 1 small shallot)
1/2 cup white wine or champagne or chicken stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Sauteed spinach, if desired

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium-low heat, and add the bacon. Cook slowly, stirring frequently, until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes.

2. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, and transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Drain the excess bacon fat, leaving a thin coat on bottom of pan, about 1 tablespoon.

3. Increase the heat to medium, sprinkle the scallops on both sides with salt and pepper, and add them to the pan. Cook until golden brown and opaque, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the scallops to a serving dish.

4. Add the shallots to the pan. When the shallots are translucent, about 1 minute, add the wine (or stock). Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter. Pour over the scallops and top with the reserved bacon. Serve over sauteed spinach if desired. Serves 2.