Baked Black Bean Dip

The first thing I want to do is challenge you to try saying "Baked Black Bean Dip" five times in a row! Now that's a tongue twister. Fortunately, who cares if you can say something when your mouth is busy downing some of the best chip dip around.

This recipe is in honor of my recently horrible diet. I figure by the week's end, I've hit all of the food groups, even if I don't within a day. Last night's dinner was a huge plate of broccoli. Tonight, it was this dip with chips. Well, maybe a lot of this. I feel a little roly-poly...

... but it was worth it! So tasty!

I've been fiddling around with some new ingredients lately. I bought my first jar of crema mexicana last month and tonight was its second use. I also recently purchased some queso fresco, which despite having talked about it before, was used in my kitchen for the first time tonight. That is some good cheese. And when they talk about it being a "crumbling" cheese, they ain't a-kidding. It was so fun! See how it's so beautifully crumbled on top of this dip that's ready to go in the oven?

When it came out, it had melted, but had not lost its integrity (which I appreciate since I'm rather fond of integrity). It has a great flavor, but even better, I love the texture. It's a bit... I'm afraid to say chewy because I don't want you to get a negative connotation. But - dang it, it was chewy, and I mean that in the best sense possible! The bits of cheese were my favorite part of this concoction. It's so velvety and flavorful with these great bits of chewy cheese in it.

I must warn you, though; I think if you are planning on serving it at a party, you might want to bake it in two smaller dishes so that you don't end up with a fight at the dip bowl!


Baked Black Bean Dip
Yield: approximately 2 1/2 cups of dip

1 - 16 oz can of black refried beans
1/2 cup crema mexicana
1/4 cup salsa (drained of excess juice)
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco (divided)
2 TBS shredded cheddar

Mix the beans, crema mexicana, salsa, and 1/4 cup of the queso fresco thoroughly in a bowl. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a shallow 10-inch round baking dish (or other similar sized dish) with cooking spray. Spread the bean mixture into the dish and smooth out with a rubber spatula.

Sprinkle the top with the remaining queso fresco and the cheddar. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Be sure to let cool five minutes before serving. If desired, you can garnish the top with sliced olives (before or after baking) and sliced green onions.

NOTE: If you do not have queso fresco, you can substitute mozzarella cheese. If you do not have the crema mexicana, you may substitute sour cream. Also, be aware that most beans are very salty and pre-seasoned so no additional salt or seasoning is necessary. If the beans you are using, however, do not fall in this category, you can add salt, garlic powder, and cumin to taste.

Marshmallows!

Oh la la... can it really have been almost two weeks since my last post? And Christmas - is it really only fifteen days away? WAIT! Stop the clock! I haven't been able to do anything yet. Christmas shopping? Uh, nope. Christmas cards? Ditto nope. Holiday decorations? Hmmm... does hanging a wreath on the front door count? Oh my goodness! How about holiday baking - my favorite part of the holidays? Not a darn thing. Not one single little cookie. It's positively depressing. Unfortunately, those darn priority things are getting in my way. Grrrr.

The worst part about the whole deal is what I've been eating for dinner. In the last week, the closest I have come to cooking was boiling up a packet of ramen. Other dinners this week have included canned soup, frozen burritos, and a bowl full of salad greens. Fortunately, while my mom was visiting over Thanksgiving we cooked a few things, so on these recently rare occasions when I have a few extra minutes, I at least have something to share with you. Please bear with me as I make it through the rest of this school year... believe me, lately, I would much rather spend the time with you than continually trying to convince my students that the purpose of my class is to prepare them for life, not to simply give them another 'A' they haven't earned. But - I digress - this is a cooking blog for crying out loud!

So, let's cook! I am not a marshmallow fanatic, but I like them reasonably well in certain applications and occasionally as a snack. I always wanted to try making homemade marshmallows and I rather enjoyed the process. As far as the product goes, they really don't differ that much from the store bought. In fact, in a blind taste test, I'm not sure I'd be able to tell the difference. The good news is that with homemade marshmallows, you can play with flavorings, colorings, and shapes. How fun! Of course, I'm not going to talk about that today. Since it was my first go at the things and I needed a baseline from which to work in the future, I just made plain ones.

It starts with unflavored gelatin. This type of gelatin requires "blooming" before you use it. All that means is that you mix it with a little cold water to soften it up. Here it is in the bowl of my mixer looking funky.

The next step is to heat up a sugar syrup on the stove. It gets heated to the soft ball stage, or about 240 degrees F.

The hot syrup then gets poured slowly into the softened gelatin with the mixer on low. Be sure to use the whisk attachment. Once the syrup has all been added, the speed gets cranked up until a magical transformation occurs.

It turns a beautiful white, glossy color and expands significantly in volume. It only took about 7 minutes in the mixer to get a nice, thick marshmallow cream.

While the marshmallow is beating, prepare a couple of cookie sheets with parchment and then sprinkle with the cornstarch/powdered sugar mix. I used a little strainer to get an even distribution. Don't be stingy with the powder or you'll regret it later. You can never have too much, but believe me - you can definitely have too little.

Once the marshmallow cream can stand on itself like shown in this picture, turn the mixer off and remove the whisk.

Spoon the cream into a pastry bag either with the tip cut out or use a large, round tip. You could simply line a rectangular pan with the parchment and powder, but I like the whole marshmallow shape too much. Pipe the cream into rows on your sheet. I found it's best to make them on the small side unless you don't mind them having a slightly oval shape, as the large ones tend to flatten a bit under their own weight.

Refilling the bag can be a bit tricky. In the future, I might simply use a new disposable bag for each refill. It's a pretty sticky situation...

When you have finished piping out the rows, sprinkle them again very generously with the starch/sugar powder mixture. Let them sit out for a few hours to firm up.

There are two ways to go about separating the little buggers. I tried the scissor method first. It was fine, but the scissors tended to goop up more quickly that I have the patience for, so I ended up using the secondary method.

Ah... now this is more like it! The pizza cutter worked like a gem. Just be sure to use plenty, plenty, plenty of the powder to keep from ending up with a crazy, sticky mess!

Hey, look! It's a marshmallow! As I cut them up, I tossed them around in a bowl with more of the sugar to cover all sides. I then placed them in a colander to shake off the excess.

Be sure to store them in an airtight container. Because they are mostly sugar, if you keep them air tight, they will last for weeks... which is good, cause I'm not ditching them after just a few days with all this effort!

Oh, and let me tell you about the hot chocolate application. Here is where I might actually be able to tell a difference between store-bought and homemade. The homemade ones seemed to melt differently - and in a good way. Yup, they were worth the work after all!


Marshmallows
Yield: about a half-gallon container of small marshmallows
Adapted from Alton Brown's recipe

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup ice cold water

1/2 cup water
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp table salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract (or any other flavoring you choose)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup corn starch

Place the gelatin and the 1/2 cup of cold water in the bottom of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk.
In a small saucepan, mix together the other 1/2 cup of water, granulated sugar, salt, and corn syrup. Outfit the pan with a candy thermometer. Turn on the heat to medium high and cook without stirring until the mixture reaches soft ball, or 240 degrees F. Remove from the heat.

Bring the pan of hot syrup over to the mixture and add slowly while mixing at low speed. Once you have added all the syrup, increase the speed to high. Mix on high until it gets thick, shiny, and white, and can stand up on itself (see picture above). This step took me about 7 minutes. Add the vanilla and whip just until well mixed. While mixing, prepare a couple of baking sheets with parchment and a liberal sprinkling of the cornstarch and powdered sugar mixture.

Spoon cream into a pastry bag with a round tip (or with the end cut out). Pipe into 1/2 - 3/4 inch logs on the prepared pans. This is a sticky procedure, so be prepared! When finished, sprinkle the top sides completely with the powdered mixture.

Set the tray aside for a few hours to firm up. Use a pizza cutter to cut into small marshmallows. Dip into a bowl with the starch/sugar powder mixture to completely coat all sides. Remove excess by shaking marshmallows briefly in a colander.

Store in an air tight container for at least a month.

A Belated Thanksgiving Wish

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and was able to spend time with family and friends and able to enjoy great food and fellowship. We had a small gathering here, just me, my mom, and my husband. But it was an unexpected bonus, as we had been working under the assumption that the hubby was going to have to be out of town over the holiday. It is nice to have family near at the holidays, isn't it?

We decided that this year, minimalism was an okay thing. For dinner itself, we only served three dishes, just like I do for my meals throughout the year: a meat, a starch, and a vegetable. We also decided to be a bit unconventional with the meat this year. We roasted a duck. It was a great choice, because with only three people, we could reasonably feed our "crowd" with only one bird (note to self... ducks are small!). We boiled it first to render off some of the fat and then finished it in a really hot oven to brown. We also put together a nice sour cherry, red wine, and orange sauce to go over the duck. It worked out really well.

While I could give up the turkey or ham at Thanksgiving without any remorse, I just couldn't do without dressing. I put together a stuffing using bread cubes from some left over potato wheat bread I had in the freezer. I sauteed a bunch of aromatics and mushrooms, added herbs, a fair amount of butter, and some chicken broth. I like stuffing that is fluffy and moist on the inside and crunchy and golden on the outside. This stuffing fit the bill!

The last item I made was an old standby. I love peas with caramelized shallots. I should have taken a picture of them last night, as they were much prettier than what you see below (an older photo from when I didn't really know how to use my camera properly yet). I love caramelized shallots because they give a sweet, full flavor to a sometimes pedestrian vegetable.

We finished the evening off with a non-traditional dessert. My mom wanted to taste my cornmeal crust, so we made small blueberry tarts. They were so delicious. We made six so we each had one last night and now we each have another waiting for us today. I can hardly wait! So often, a crust is simply a vehicle for the filling. What I love about this cornmeal crust is it really is the star of the dish. I added a little lemon zest to it this time as well. It is sweet and delectable with a slight hint of lemon and a nice je ne sais quoi from the cornmeal.

This had been an interesting week of cooking... some of which was successful, some not. We made marshmallows, which were delicious. I attempted to make some mozzarella cheese for the first time, but I kept forgetting to come in from our yard work at the proper times and it failed. Fortunately, serendipity took over and I found the end result was a great base for a spreadable cheese. I'll have to see if I can recreate that serendipity to develop a real recipe to post. We really enjoyed the spread on crackers. Lastly, I also tried to make yogurt. It's a really simple process, so I was a little miffed when it didn't seem to come out quite as thick as it should... until I read the date on the carton of yogurt I used as a starter. I guess I don't always use plain yogurt as often as I need to! The carton "use by" date was in late September! Oops! I think I can still use the homemade yogurt for cooking, however, so all is not lost.

While I am starting to come to the sad realization that my week of relaxation is coming to a screeching conclusion (I'd better get my red pen in gear soon to finish grading papers), I will try to start posting some of the recipes I made this week that worked great. I hope food brought you and your family closer together this week, too. Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Mincemeat Handpies

Hard to believe I almost forgot to post these little gems! While I love these with mincemeat in them, they would be great with any other kind of fairly firm pie filling you can think of. Mini-apple pies? Oh yeah. Mini-berry pies? Splendid. The trick is keeping the right ratio of pie to filling.

To be honest, I think I got the ratio off a bit on this batch. You want to be sure to roll the crust thinly enough so that they aren't too doughy. The trick is finding where that line is. Shoot for about 1/8 of an inch and fiddle from there.

I typically use a traditional crust, but you could use any pastry crust adaptation you want. You could even use my Whole Wheat Pie Crust for an added nuttiness. I used the mincemeat I canned last year. I would love to post how to make it, but I would have to do it without any pictures, because that batch made a dozen quart jars... I won't need to make mincemeat for at least another two years! However, any store-bought mincemeat works, or you could easily cook a filling that is very mincemeat-like. My Ice Cream a la Pie recipe is pretty close.

The other thing I love about these little pies is that they freeze so well. One day of making these little pies, and you'll be able to enjoy them for many days to come. Simply bake them! No need to thaw first. I just bake them at a slightly lower temperature than when they are not frozen. Also, it helps to place them in the oven when you first turn it on so that they warm up with the oven.

Making the pies is fairly straight-forward. Roll out the dough until it is nice and thin. Again, go for thinner than what you see here, as I thought this batch turned out a bit crusty. I use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut the rounds out.

I place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and spoon a small amount of filling into the middle. I use my #100 disher (about 2 tsp). Have some egg wash handy (one egg yolk beaten with 1 TBS of water) and brush the edges of the bottom crust.

Place the other crust over the top. Now, sealing takes a bit of practice to get a motion that will work for you. The important thing is to try and get any large pockets of air out. Seal the edges of the pies with the tines of a fork. Brush the tops with the egg wash and then sprinkle with sanding sugar (regular sugar works fine, too). Lastly, using a toothpick or cake tester, prick a few holes in the top to allow the steam to escape.

Bake in a 400 degree F oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until they are nicely browned. If you want to freeze some instead, freeze them unbaked on the baking sheet until they are nice and rigid. Remove from the sheets into a freezer container. I have used both zip top bags and plastic containers; both work well. When you are ready to serve the frozen pies, simply place on baking sheets and place in the oven right as you turn it on. Use a slightly lower temperature with frozen pies - about 375 degrees F. They will take slightly longer to bake, but they will taste just like they did on the day you made them!

Maple Blueberry Topping

I am currently enjoying a wonderful week off from work. My mom is visiting as well and we are enjoying our time in the kitchen. Today we are sitting down and making a list of the items we want to make this week so we can go to the grocery store. Of course, to properly focus our minds on such intense tasks requires sustenance.

That sustenance today took the form of my best ever pancakes. While these pancakes are very good with plain old syrup, they are extraordinary with blueberries. I like to spice up my blueberry syrup with a little extra flavoring.

The idea for this sauce came one day when I made these pancakes. I served them with regular maple syrup and a traditional blueberry sauce so each person could choose their favorite topping. I decided to use a little bit of each on mine and was blown away by the combination of blueberry and maple. This sauce cooks up very quickly, so you can make it while you wait for the pancakes to cook. Oh, and it is also wonderful on ice cream.

Maple Blueberry Topping
Yield: about 2 cups topping

2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries
3 TBS sugar (or to taste depending on your berries)
2 TBS corn starch
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup real maple syrup
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon zest
dash cinnamon
dash nutmeg

Mix all of the ingredients together in a heavy sauce pan over medium to medium-high heat. Heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Let cool slightly before serving.

Cheddar Cheese Sauce

Not everyone loves broccoli the way that I do; for those of you who prefer your broccoli with a bit of adornment, this sauce is the way to go. As easy as it is to make a real cheese sauce, I'm not sure why anyone would make one of those fake cheese sauces.

Sorry, folks, as far as I'm concerned, Velveeta is just not cheese. My husband loves the stuff though. Out of love for him, I suffer through the humiliation of having that yellow box in my shopping cart. I've been trying to break him of this habit ever since we got married... but, alas, I guess when you grow up with the stuff, it holds a special place in your heart. However, this sauce tastes great regardless of your affinity for those processed cheese sauces. This sauce is smooth and creamy. It's got a sweet edge from the shallots and and a tangy edge from the sour cream. It's a great combination. And you can make it in the time it takes to steam your favorite vegetable.

It starts with butter and shallots. Saute over medium heat. This just may be my favorite smell in the whole-wide world. It's completely different from the smell of sauteing onions or garlic, and it is perfect. Let them go until they are nice and soft.

Then add the flour and stir until the flour is all moistened. Add the sour cream and combine until smooth; then add the milk. Keep the heat around medium and stir regularly. Add the nutmeg and pepper. When the mixture begins to thicken, turn off the heat and add the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Lastly, taste and add salt as needed to season. If you want to add a special twist, add a small splash of cognac. Yowza!

The last point to remember is to let the sauce stand for a couple minutes before serving so that it can finish thickening up a bit. If you serve it immediately, it will still be a bit thin and will not stick to the vegetables as well.

Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Yield: about 1 1/2 cups sauce

1 TBS butter
1 TBS minced shallot
1 TBS flour
1 TBS sour cream
1 cup milk (whole milk is best)
sprinkle freshly grated nutmeg
dash of ground white pepper (or black)
2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt to taste (cheese is salty, so go easy)

Saute the shallots in the butter over medium heat until they are nice and soft. In this case, you do not want them to brown too much. Add the flour and stir until it is completely moistened. Add the sour cream and stir throroughly. Then add the milk and stir until smooth. Add the nutmeg and pepper. Stir regularly over medium heat until the sauce just reaches a boil and begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and add the grated cheese. Stir until it is melted and the sauce is smooth. Taste and season as needed with salt. Let stand 3-4 minutes before serving so that the sauce can thicken slightly.

Maple Glazed Bacon Bits

A while ago I posted about pancetta and how I like to keep it handy for cooking with. While I do love pancetta, I have recently decided that I really am an all-American gal, because, deep down, cured pig just ain't the same without that smoked flavor. So last time I was at the market, I specifically looked for some of the thickest cut, hardwood smoked bacon I could find.

When I am cooking with bacon, especially as small pieces, I think thicker is better. When I make bacon to eat as strips, I like it thinner as I am all about the thin, crispiness. I specifically bought this thick-cut bacon to cook with. I'll use it as the base for soups. I'll use it in fried rice. Oh! And don't forget about pasta carbonara! There are any number of recipes in which bacon is a useful, flavorful addition. But sometimes, it's a star in its own right. These little bacon bits are divine. Crispy and salty, smokey and just slightly sweet. They are the perfect addition to any salad and a darn sight better than those fake bacon "bits." (Bits of what, I'm not sure - it sure isn't bacon!).

To prepare bacon to be useful for cooking, I open up the package and freeze the strips individually. This allows me to easily grab out however many strips I need at any moment. They thaw so quickly this way that you can pull them out and use them right away. I love convenience! Be sure to line the tray on which you plan to freeze your bacon with parchment so that you can easily get the slices apart once they're frozen. Later, I remove them from the sheet and place them into a zip top bag. Voila! Bacon is at the ready for a shot of flavor anytime!

To make the bacon bits, cut the bacon strip into small pieces. You can do this while the bacon it still frozen; it'll all come out the same in the end. Place the pieces into a skillet over medium heat. You want the heat low enough that all of the excess fat can render out before the pieces get too browned. Stir periodically, adjusting the heat if necessary.

When the bacon is just about done and is nicely browned and completely rendered (required if you want a crispy bacon bit), drain off as much of the excess fat as possible, turn off the heat, and then add a small dollop of real maple syrup. Don't go overboard, here. You want them to have a slightly sweet, maple essence, not become a sticky gloppy mess! Keep the bits moving for a minute or so and then let them cool completely in the pan. In this case, you do not want to remove the bits onto paper towels to drain because the sugars will cause them to stick to the paper. If you want, when draining the fat, you can pat them with paper towels to sop up the extra grease, but once the syrup is on there, paper towels are anathema. Once they are completely cooled, sprinkle over your favorite salad and enjoy their salty, sweet crunch!

Lemon Ricotta Tarts

I made lasagna last week. It seems that I bought too much ricotta cheese, but I had less than a cup left over. I know, I know. Why didn't you just add it to the lasagna? Because I'm weird about ricotta in lasagna. I like it to be there, but I don't like it to be too there. Thus, the left over ricotta. So, then the quandary began... what do you do with less than a cup of ricotta cheese?

I really like cheesecake. I love the decadence. I love the creaminess. I love it's slightly tart edge. It is the one dessert I will regularly imbibe in at a restaurant. Earlier this year, I made mini-cheesecakes from some homemade cheese I had in my fridge. Tuesday, I decided I needed to try using that left-over ricotta to make a cheesecake-like dessert. You know why I thought this was important? Have you ever compared the nutritional information on the side of a tub of ricotta to the info for a brick of cream cheese? You should. And then you will make this tart and congratulate yourself for a job well done. While these tarts are not as creamy as a cream cheese cheesecake, they are just as delicious.

I made these guys two ways. I made a couple of four-inch mini-tarts using the cute little pans you can find almost everywhere nowadays. I also made a dozen of these adorable little one-biters. I love mini-muffin tins. However, I really should finally throw away that old pan I have that pretends to be non-stick. Every time I use it, I grumble about what a bald-faced liar it is. Regardless, they still came out reasonably attractive and darn delicious!

The first step, of course, is the crust. I went with the requisite graham cracker crust. It's just the right thing to do. I pulsed the crackers in my food processor and then added the sugar, butter, and the lightest hint of cinnamon. Mix together and then divide amongst your baking vessels. I have this cute little wooden tamper that was a wedding gift, but fingers and spoons are pretty useful, too.

Bake the crusts in a preheated 400 degree F oven for about 7-9 minutes, until they are slightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Turn the oven down to about 335 degrees F. Mixing the batter together is really easy. The "hardest" part is using a fork or whisk to fluff up the egg white. I went just shy of soft peaks. The most important thing is not to forget the lemon! These tarts have such a great lemon flavor. It's subtle but distinctive. Distribute the batter evenly between the tarts.

Bake in a fairly cool oven for about 20 minutes for the mini-muffin tin size and about 30 minutes for the four-inch tart size. Remove them before they brown. They are done as soon as a tester comes out clean. By the time these would start to brown, they would be over-cooked and be a bit dry. We don't want dry cheesecakes! I like mine chilled, but you can serve them at room temperature if you want. Just be sure to let them cool completely before trying to remove them from their tins or the graham cracker crust will fall apart on you!

Lemon Ricotta Tarts
Yield: 24 mini-tarts or 4 - 4" tarts

Crust:
7 full graham crackers
3 TBS sugar
sprinkle cinnamon
3 TBS melted butter

Filling:
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
2 TBS Creama Mexicans (or creme fresh or sour cream)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
zest of one small lemon (or half of a large one)
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 egg yolk
1 egg white, beaten just shy of soft peaks

Process the crackers in a food processor or bang into crumbs in a plastic bag. Add the sugar and cinnamon, stir to evenly distribute. Add the melted butter and stir completely. Divide the crust evenly between your pans. Tamp the crust firmly down. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 7-9 minutes, or until the crusts are just lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Reduce oven temperature to 335 degrees F. Mix the ricotta, Creama Mexicans, sugar, vanilla, zest, lemon juice, and egg yolk together gently. In a separate bowl, beat the egg white until it is almost to soft peaks. Fold it into the other mixture. Evenly distribute the filling between all the pans. You can fill them all the way up as this batter does not rise much at all. Bake the minis for about 20 minutes and the tarts for about 28-30 minutes. Remove as soon as a tester comes out clean. Let cool before removing from tins. Serve at room temperature or chilled.