Ancho Seasoned Burgers

My friend Anna, from freshman year of college, came to visit this past weekend. I decided to make her Red Chile Rice with Sweet and Spicy Ancho Seasoning Paste. I had some left over ancho seasoning paste and decided to try it mixed in with ground beef to make hamburger patties instead of just making myself more rice like the last time I made it.

The burgers turned out very moist, with just a hint of spice and chile flavor. This is the kind of burger that a guest or friend will ask, "What is in this burger?". It also turns them red, making it harder to tell when they are done by sight. I served them on tiger rolls (rawr!) with grilled onions, avocado and homemade queso fresco. A delicious way to use up leftover ancho seasoning paste!

xo

April

Serves 4-5, depending on how big/small you make your burgers
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1-2 tablespoons ancho seasoning paste (roughly a teaspoon per 6 ounce burger)

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl combine the ground beef and ancho seasoning paste, mix it just enough to combine.
2. Divide the meat into 4 equal portions (about 6 ounces each). Loosely form each portion into a 3/4 inch patty with a deep depression in the center (this helps them to not bulge in the center when cooked). 
3. Heat a gas grill to high heat. Placing the burgers on the grill and cooking on each side for about 4 minutes or to desired doneness. Serve and enjoy immediately!

Daring Bakers: Tiger Rolls

Sara and Erica of Baking Jds were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara and Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread.

This bread tastes as good as it looks. The pattern on the top is supposed to resemble that of a tiger, maybe it does on a loaf of bread, on these rolls it is closer to a giraffe pattern. This type of bread is very popular in the Bay Area of Northern California. Technically Dutch Crunch is not the type of bread but the topping. In Dutch, it is called Tijgerbrood or "tiger bread". After it comes out of the oven you get the lovely pattern on top. The topping gives these rolls a slightly sweet and crunchy finish.

I decided to use the finished rolls to make spicy ancho seasoned burgers, using leftover sweet and spicy ancho seasoning paste. If you make these for burgers, you may want to try dividing the dough up into 8 rolls. My dad felt they were a bit too big for his tastes. The bread would taste delicious with sliced turkey, cheese and avocado too. The rolls can also be made without the topping, but the topping is very straightforward to make. The roll itself is moist, slightly dense and delicious. 


xo


April


Adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Bread Bible

Soft White Rolls
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (lukewarm to hot to the touch)
1 cup warm skim milk (lukewarm to hot to the touch)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 to 4 cups all purpose flour (I used about 3 1/2 cups)

Instructions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the yeast, water, milk and sugar, stirring to dissolve and combine. Let it stand for 5 minutes. The mixture should become foamy and smell yeasty.
2. Add the vegetable oil, salt and 2 cups flour into the mixer.Using the dough hook attachment, mix at medium speed until everything is well combined. It should be very wet and sticky.
3. Add the remaining flour a 1/4 cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Stop adding flour at this point and continue to knead in the machine for 4 minutes at medium speed. Place the dough in a greased bowl, covered with plastic wrap. Let it rise for 1 hour or until it has doubled. 
4. Preheat the oven to 375F before you form the rolls. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, dividing the dough into 6 balls and placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Try not to work with the dough too much at this point. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes while you make the Dutch Crunch Topping.
5. Generously coat the top of each roll, using a spoon, with the topping. Place the rolls into the oven and bake for 15-25 minutes (I baked mine for the recommended 25 minutes and the bottoms got a little to done)

Dutch Crunch Topping
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup rice flour (brown or white)

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, beating vigorously with a whisk. It should be the consistency of royal icing and drip off the whisk slowly. Let stand for 15 minutes, while the rolls are rising.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcake

Think of these cupcakes as a boozy deliciousness wrapped up in a pot o' gold. What could be better? These cupcakes are fashioned after the popular Irish Car Bomb drink, which is a variation on the Boilermaker cocktail. The Irish Car Bomb cocktail consists of dropping a shot of whiskey and Baileys into a 3/4 pint of Guinness. You have to drink it quickly or it will curdle! They are actually pretty tasty. If you have never tried one, you're in luck! There will be enough Guinness leftover to make your own while the cupcakes bake. 

Surprisingly these are not too boozy tasting. The Guinness in the cupcake batter enhances the flavor of the chocolate, similar to the way adding coffee would. These cupcakes have great flavor on their own. Make just the cupcake batter and top with your favorite frosting. You can pick up the flavor of the whiskey and Baileys in the chocolate filling and frosting but not in a bad way. If you are not into the boozy part of these cupcakes, substitute the Baileys with milk and don't add the whiskey. Happy St. Patty's day!

For the cupcakes:
1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2/3 cups sour cream

To make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. In a small saucepan, bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt to combine. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, beat the sour cream and eggs until combined. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat to combine. With the mixture on low speed, add the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners, using a 1/3 cup measuring cup. Bake for about 17 minutes and cool on a rack.

For the whiskey ganache filling:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon Irish whiskey

To make the ganache filling:
1. Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a medium bowl. Heat the cream in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, just until bubbles form around the edge of the measuring cup. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for one minute and then stir it until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until well combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.
2. To fill the cupcakes, cut the centers of the cupcakes out, to make a 1-inch circle that is 2/3 deep. Fill a sandwich bag with the cooled ganache and snip one corner of the bag to pipe into the cupcake holes.

For the Baileys frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter
2-3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

To make the Baileys frosting:
1. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Add the baileys, increasing the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.

Daring Cooks: Olive Oil Braised Carrots

The March 2012 Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Carol aka Poisonive--and she challenged us all to learn the art of braising! Carol focused on Michael Ruhlman's Technique and shared with us some of his expertise from his book "Ruhlman's Twenty".

This is my first Daring Cooks Challenge! I was very excited to see that the challenge was braising. In the January/February fine cooking magazine, they featured olive oil braised vegetables. I had been wanting to try some out and this presented the perfect opportunity. Braising is very simple and fast. Most of the time spent is inactive. The flavor is amazing for such minimal effort. The same is true of meat dishes. I made braised short ribs, but failed to take any pictures. The short ribs were assembled and put into the oven for 4 hours, in under 20 minutes.

These carrots are a great way to add variety to your average vegetable side dish. They are such little work, for huge flavor. Try slicing them and drizzling them with red wine vinegar, it adds a nice tang. Enjoy them!

Recipe courtesy of Fine Cooking
Ingredients:
1 pound carrots (about 4-5 medium carrots), peeled and halved lengthwise
2 medium cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 scant teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt to taste
Mint, roughly chopped or torn

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Fit the carrots in a single layer in 9 x 13 baking pan. Sprinkle the garlic slices over the carrots.
2. In a small bowl whisk together the broth, olive oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, and salt and drizzle over the carrots. cover the baking pan with aluminum foil.
3. Braise the carrots in the oven until fork tender, about 30-40 minutes. Garnish with mint.

Banana Muffins

What do you do when you have browning bananas? Make banana bread, or chocolate chip banana muffins, of course! I'm pretty picky when it comes to eating bananas. They can't be too green, but they can't be too ripe, either. I guess my pickiness for bananas rubbed off on my boyfriend because he let a banana bushel get a little on the ripe side and he didn't want to touch them. So, he gave them to me to turn into a delectable pastry treat!

The recipe I found for these muffins is simple and (with an alteration) calls for ingredients that are normally staples for a household. So, when those bananas sit on the counter too long, you won't have to  throw them away nor will you have to run to the grocery store before turning them into a perfect baby shower munchie, book club snack, or just a simple breakfast treat!

Banana Muffins

recipe from this week for dinner

Ingredients

1 1/4 c. sugar

2 1/2 c. flour

1 stick butter

2 eggs

4 ripe bananas

1 tsp. lemon juice*

1/2 c. milk*

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. mini chocolate chips

*The milk and lemon juice can be replaced with buttermilk. I can never seem to use up buttermilk when I buy it so I went with the milk/lemon juice alternative. 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place cupcake liners into cupcake pan(s). This recipe will make about 20 muffins.

2. Put the teaspoon of lemon juice in a 1/2 cup measuring cup and fill the rest with milk. Set aside.

3. Blend in a large bowl sugar and softened butter. 

3. Mix in eggs, milk (with lemon juice), bananas and vanilla. 

4. Stir in the dry ingredients (besides the chocolate chips) slowly. Try not to over blend - just mix until the batter has a even consistency. 

5. Fold in the chocolate chips.

6. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes.

Enjoyed best when warm!