The best muffins ever made

"These are the best muffins I've ever made," I announced after one bite of my second batch of Gram's Mission Coffee Cakes from The Muffin Tin Cookbook (Thanks, Jack!). The first batch a week earlier, which followed the recipe exactly, had way too much clove and raisin. I felt like the cinnamon background longed for some apple. So this time, I subbed dried apples for most of the raisins and left out the cloves. I attributed their perfection to these changes. Then something occurred to me. I hadn't actually baked this batch alone. Mom was in town.

I asked her, "Did you do anything special to the dry ingredients?"

"I did add a little extra sugar," she admitted.

"How much?!"

"Well the recipe called for 1/2 a cup and I probably put about 2/3."

I assumed she was underestimating, so her answer made a lot of sense. The sublime sweetness wasn't coming from the apples.

"Then they're the best muffins we've ever made," I clarified.

Mom was equally impressed. She said they reminded her of the "poor man's cake" Grandma Leone used to make. We decided it was the same recipe, since the note in the book said it was inspired by the author's grandmother's World War II-era cake. 

Muffin ingredients (makes 9 regular size or 12 smaller ones)

• 1/2 c dried apples, chopped.
• 1/4 c raisins
• 1 c water
• 1/4 c butter
• 2/3 c sugar 
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c white flour
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c chopped nuts (optional)
• a touch of milk

Crumb topping ingredients

• 2 TBSP butter
• 1/4 c flour
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• dash of salt
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1. Make the crumb topping either by pulsing all the ingredients in a food processor until they're a coarse meal, or by mashing them with a fork or cutting them together with two knives. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350
3. Line or grease muffin tin
4. Put the raisins and diced dried apples in a large glass bowl with the 1 c water. Microwave for 4 or 5 minutes. 
5. Put the butter in your mixing bowl and carefully (with pot holders!) pour the hot water/raisin/diced apple mixture over the butter. Let it sit until the butter melts. 
6. Add the rest of the muffin ingredients, except the milk. Stir until combined. If it seems like it needs more liquid add the milk, about a tablespoon at a time. 
7. Divide the batter among the muffin cups, leaving a little room in each for crumb topping.
8. Put at least 1 TBSP crumb topping on each muffin. I think I've done it with two before and it's better. 
9. Bake for 25 minutes.

Green & Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are very versatile. Besides, this tuber is very high on dietary fiber and vitamins (especially vitamin A - very good for your skin and eyes).
This recipe combines sweet potatoes and a decent amount of vegetables and beans, to make the dish nutritionally complete.

Serves 2

2 sweet potatoes
1 head of broccoli
4/5 leaves of kale
1 boll of spinach
2/3 roma tomatoes
4 green onions
3 cloves of garlic
lemon juice (usually a little less that half a lemon)
ginger, rosemary, pepper and olive oil (seasoning quantities depending on how you like it)
kidney beans (or any other kind of beans). (1/2  - 1 cup per person - dry) .


There are four mains steps to prepare this recipe:

1 - Beans
    If you are using dry beans, you would have to put them in a pot, cover them with water and bring them to boil. Once they are boiling, turn the heat off, cover the pot and put the pot aside. Let it rest for one hour.
   Once an hour has passed, change the water, and put them to boil again, for two hours (until soft).


2 - Sweet potato

    Place the sweet potato on an oven rack, or on a pirex.
    Sprinkle a little bit of olive oil on your hands and spread it all over the sweet potato.
    Prick them in a few places with a fork.
    Put it on the oven until soft all the way through - for about an hour at 400 F (preheated oven)


3 - Stuffing
     3.1 - (15/20 minutes before the sweet potato is done)
           In a pan, sprinkle some olive oil so that you cover the inner circle of the pan. Chop the green onions, garlic, and tomatoes, and put them to cook with some rosemary and pepper.
When you have like a paste (almost all of the water from the tomatoes has evaporated) turn the fire off.
 
     3.2 - (5 minutes before the sweet potato is done)
           Cut the broccoli head in pieces and put them to boil until soft. Once done, remove the water and set them aside.

    3.3 - Wash and cut the kale in little pieces (you can do the same with the spinach if preferred). Dry it and add it to the pan so that it cooks until soft (for 4 or 5 minutes).
       
    3.4 - On a plate or boll, pour the broccoli and mash it with a fork.

    3.5 - When the beans are soft, strain them and add them to the pan. Pour the lemon juice, sprinkle some ginger and add the broccoli and spinach. Cover it and let it cook for about 5 minutes so that all the flavors mix. Stir occasionally and put aside when done.


4 - Stuffing the sweet potato
   Place the sweet potato on a plate and cut it deeply (but not all the way) and transversally with a fork. Open it and with a spoon, start to fill it with the stuffing.
   

I always serve it with a little salad aside, to add the raw vegetables needed for the day.
Hope you like it and that my English was intelligible enough!

Beef and broccoli: A delicious way to dirty every dish in your kitchen

Beef and broccoli isn’t something I ever order at restaurants. Maybe that’s why I like this homemade version so much. It reminds me of good Chinese food, and it doesn’t pale in comparison. It’s easy enough, but not quite simple. The original recipe in a Williams Sonoma Asian cookbook clocks it at 30 minutes start to finish, but I’d say more like 45. This is slightly adapted.

If you haven't done much with stir-frys, the secret is to cook the ingredients separately then throw them together with the sauce at the end. I should say that I've heard that's the secret. This is the only stir-fry I've ever managed to get right, and I think that's because it's hard to mess up beef in a frying pan.

The sauce

• 1/3 c water 
• 1/4 c oyster sauce
• 2-3 TBSP soy sauce (The sauce might be too salty with the full amount of soy. We’ve tried it with less and I think it’s better.) 
• 2 TBSP rice wine or dry sherry (or I usually use 1 tsp of whatever wine I’m drinking and 1 tsp. sherry vinegar) 
• 2 tsp. Asian sesame oil 
• 1/2 tsp. brown sugar 
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger 
• 1 small clove of pressed or grated garlic 
• 1 tsp corn starch

The stir-fry

• 1/2 pound broccoli 
• corn or peanut oil for sautéing 
• 1 pound of sirloin 
• Optional: 1.5 c sliced mushrooms and a half of sliced onion 

The accompaniments

• Cooked rice
• Store-bought frozen egg rolls

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil to blanche the broccoli in.
2. Make the sauce. Put all the sauce ingredients above in a bowl and stir them with a fork. Set it aside.
3. Trim the fat from the sirloin and slice it thinly against the grain. 
4. Cut the broccoli into florets and slice the onion and mushroom if you’re using them. 
5. When the water is boiling, blanche the broccoli for 3-4 minutes. When it’s done, drain it and set it aside. 
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan on high till it’s hot. Add the beef (and onions if using) and brown it on both sides. The recipe says it should only need two minutes per side, but I think it takes about 10 minutes total. Remove it from the pan when it’s done and set it aside. 
7. I take the frying pan off the stove and wipe it out with paper towels at this point. Some people might call what’s left behind flavorful “browned bits,” and if you’re one of them, best wishes. But I think it looks burnt and gross. If you’re using mushrooms, add a smidge of fresh oil to the pan to sauté them and then remove them from the pan and… set them aside.
8. Assembly: Pour the sauce into your frying pan. Let it bubble for a minute or so, until it slightly thickens. Then take each one of those ingredients you set aside and add them to the pan. Toss until it’s heated through, about a minute.

I'd love to hear how you adapt this one ... whether you add or omit anything from the sauce or the stir-fry. 

Fresh Basil Pesto

Instead of spending 3 bucks for a few ounces of basil pesto at the store, why not make yourself a vat of this yummy spread that can make any mundane food taste gourmet. It takes no time at all to make, and costs less if you use walnuts instead of pine nuts.  Here's what to do:


- 2 Cups Fresh Basil leaves (packed)
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan chees
- 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil - if you like more oily pesto you can up this
- 1/3 cup of pine nuts or walnuts (we always use walnuts)
- 3 medium sized garlic cloves (minced)
-  a pinch of salt

1.  If you are using walnuts, pulse the walnuts a 4 times in the food processor, then add the basil and pulse a 3 or 4 more times. If you are using pine nuts just combine with basil and pulse. Add the garlic, and pulse a few more times.

2.  Add the olive oil while the food processor is on and pulsing.  Add the Parmesan cheese and pulse until it is the right consistency. Add a pinch of salt to taste. Be careful not to over salt, as the parmesan cheese is quite salty.

Store in a tupperware container in the fridge so it stays fresh for the whole week.  It may brown a little after a few days, but it is still safe to eat. You can also freeze some for next week.

My favorite thing to do with pesto is to spread it on french bread, and add fresh mozzarella and tomato.  You can also make yummy pastas, and even top your burger with it! Enjoy.

Note: this recipe was adapted from SimplyRecipes.com

Spinach, ham and Swiss muffin pan stratas

I had a muffin pan epiphany the other day. For a brunch, I was looking for a veggie- and meat-studded egg dish that I could assemble the night before and would cook pretty quickly. Individual stratas! If you're not familiar, a strata is a bread, egg and cheese casserole. The bread breaks down and gives the finished product an elegant texture. Stratas usually take 45 minutes to an hour in the oven, but muffin tin statas crisp up in 30 or less. And they're adorable. I'll be making some version of these once a week now. (Nicer pic to come. My camera is on loan and this is the best my phone could muster.)

Spinach, ham and Swiss muffin pan stratas

• 4-5 1/2-inch thick slices of Italian bread
• 10 oz. pkg frrozen spinach
• 1/3 pound deli ham, chopped
• 1/3 pound grated Swiss (I used Jarlsberg, and it may not need to be shredded, now that I think back.)
• 8 eggs
• 1 1/3 c milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)

1. Butter a 12-muffin pan
2. Dry the bread in the oven at 400 for 10 minutes or so, then cut it into about 1/2-inch cubes
3. Thaw the spinach, cool it and press it between two plates to squeeze the excess water out of it
4. Saute the onion in olive oil until it's translucent.
5. Add the spinach and ham to the onion and saute for another minute or so.
6. Whisk together the eggs and milk.
7. These are assembled in layers. Start with around three bread cubes in each muffin cup.
8. Spoon a few tablespoons of the egg mixture into each cup. 
9. Add a ham/spinach/onion layer. 
10. Sprinkle some cheese. 
11. If they seem to be nearing the tops of the tins, compress them a bit with the back of a fork. 
12. Add another layer of everything. 
13. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes to 24 hours. 
14. Bake uncovered at 350 until the tops are browning, probably around 30 minutes. I'd set the timer for 20 and then keep checking them every 5. If you're using a mini muffin pan, they'll probably cook in 15.

Steak tacos with green sauce

The green sauce makes these steak tacos look and taste gourmet. We adapted the recipe from a Cooks Illustrated one for indoor steak tacos.

We took at 1.5-pound sirloin, marinated it in half the recipe of green sauce, grilled it, sliced it and served it on warmed whole wheat flour tortillas with homemade guacamole and sour cream.

A lively guacamole

Ingredients
• 1/4-1/3 Cup finely chopped Vidalia onion
• 2 Large (very ripe) avacados
• 2 vine ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Juice from one lime
• 1 large clove of garlic, pressed or chopped
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1/3 bottle or green tobasco sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bag blue corn tortilla chips