Max's Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:  1 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of caramelized honey, 1 tablespoon agave/maple syrup, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 eggs, 1/2 can pumpkin (about 8 ounces), 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 splash of whiskey, 1/2 teaspoon each of the following spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, black cardamom.  Feel free to adjust the spices to your taste and you can easily omit the liquor.

Preheat oven to 350

Optional nut topping: 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and about 1/4 cup of finely chopped pecans.  Combine in a small bowl and reserve.

Pulse all your dry ingredients together in the food processor.  Then add all the wet ingredients and pulse a few more times to combine.

Spoon batter into a muffin pan.  I like to fill  mine pretty full.   This recipe makes 1 dozen large muffins and about 1 1/2 dozen smaller muffins.  After filling the pan you can sprinkle some of the nut topping onto each muffin.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Easy Pickles

When I was walking around the farmers market today I spied a pile of perfect Kirby cucumbers that needed to be made into bread & butter pickles.

Ingredients: 2 lbs of Kirby cucumbers, 2 small or 1 large sweet onion, 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon, 1.5 scant cups white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of  mustard seeds (you must use whole), 1/2 scant teaspoon of ground turmeric, 1 tablespoon of crushed coriander seeds (use 2 tablespoons of whole and 1/2 a tablespoon of powdered), 1/2 tablespoon of celery seeds.

Slice up the cucumbers into rounds.  Thinly slice the onion.  Mix the cukes & onion in a large bowl and then add in 1/2 cup kosher salt.  Mix well again.  Cover with ice and let sit out 2-3 hours on the counter top.

In a large saucepan heat together the spices, vinegar and sugar to a simmer.  Turn off heat and wait for your salted veggies to be done.  It might seem that you are not making enough of the pickling liquid, but trust me your are.

After the veggies are done sitting out drain them and add them to the pickling liquid.  Mix well.  Bring to a simmer.   Turn off heat and let cook.  Put the cucumbers into containers with lids and pour the liquid over the top.  Store in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.

As always my spices always come from The Spice Station in Silverlake.

Spicy Mac and Cheese Dinner

Ingredients: 2.5 cups of milk (whole or 2%), 4 tablespoons of butter, 4 tablespoons of flour, 4 ounces of grated pepper jack cheese, 2 cups of cooked pasta ( I used shells), 2 cups of sliced mushrooms, 2 cups of chopped broccoli, 1.5 cups of diced leftover chicken, 1/4 cup of bread crumbs, 1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese, spice blend, salt & pepper
My spice blend: 1 teaspoon each: aleppo pepper, cayenne pepper, hot paprika & black pepper.

Preheat Oven to 350 and spray a baking dish with oil or wipe down with butter.

Boil the pasta in salted water according to package directions and saute the mushrooms in a skillet with a little butter or olive oil.

Meanwhile start your Bechamel Sauce.  In a medium sauce pan melt down the butter until nice and foamy.

 While your butter is melting heat up your milk in the microwave or on the stove top almost to a boil.  Add your flour to the melted butter and whisk constantly.  When the flour-butter mix turns a nice sandy brown then start to add in your milk.

Keep whisking!  Bring the mix up to a boil and then turn down the heat to low.  Add in the shredded cheese & spice blend.  Whisk away - don't stop.  Your cheese sauce should be nice and thick now.  Keep stirring for a few minutes and then add in the cooked mushrooms.  Cook an additional 3 minutes.

Mix together your drained pasta, cheese sauce, chopped up chicken and broccoli.  Pour into a oven safe baking dish.  I used one of the round glass Pyrex dished that has a lid.  Mix together the Parmesan and bread crumbs.  Sprinkle over the top of the mac and cheese.

Bake for 1 hour at 350.

Making your own cheese sauce sounds a bit complicated but it's really not.  I got this in the oven in slightly less than 30 minutes.  If you are still freaked out by making your own bechamel you could cheat and used some canned cream of mushroom soup.  I'd still heat it up and melt in some cheese.

If you suck it up and learn out to make bechamel you can make so many other wonderful sauces.  It's one of the core sauces in French cuisine.  Besides, if you ever find your self home with just a little bit of milk, butter, flour and some cheese hunks left over in the fridge you are on your way to making some kick ass home mac and cheese.  Scour the freezer and pantry for some great additions.  I love adding crushed canned tomatoes or frozen peas to basic mac and cheese.  This is my go to dinner when I'm trying to raid the leftover's before I go grocery shopping again.

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients: 1 lb of sausage ( you can use turkey or soy if you want, I went with spicy Italian), 1.5 cups of cooked riced ( I cook mine is veggie stock for more flavor - feel free to use precooked or instant), 8 ounces of cubed Mozzerela, 4 large or 6 small bell peppers, 32 oz can of crushed tomatoes, grated Parmesan cheese & red pepper flakes.

Brown the sausage until almost cooked through.  It's OK to leave a little pink since the dish is going in the oven for about an hour.

Cut the tops off the bell peppers and arrange in a deep baking dish with a cover.  Scrape out any extra seeds.

Mix the crumbled sausage with the rice and Mozzarella.  I use my hands so that I can break up any big pieces of sausage.

Pack the bell peppers full of the rice & sausage mix. 

 
Pour the crushed tomatoes over the top and around the sides.

Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese and crushed red peppers on top.

Cook covered in the oven for about an hour at 350.  Remove the cover and cook an additional 10-15 minutes.  Serve warm.

I served my stuffed peppers with steamed baby broccoli and some toasty fresh baguette.   Don't forget to pour some of the sauce over the top of the peppers.

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Salmon Cakes

I love seafood and am always looking for a recipe that lets me sneak in ton's of veggies too.  This one is perfect!

Ingredients: 1 lb of salmon steak, olive oil, salt & black pepper, 1 small red onion, 3 ribs celery, 1 small red pepper, 1 small green pepper, 1/4 cup parsley, 3 green onions, 1/4 cup chives, 5 dashes Tabasco, 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 cup mayo, 2 large eggs beaten, & lots of bread crumbs ( I used panko, but you can use what you like) and of course your spice blend.  I used some salt, pepper, onion & garlic granules, celery seed and Aleppo pepper.  If you want to you can use Old Bay seasoning to your taste.

Heat a non stick pan over medium heat with a bit of olive oil in the bottom of the pan.  Place the salmon steak skin side down and season the top with a little salt.  Cook until about 75% done.  The top will still be pink.

Flake the salmon steak and set in the fridge.
Rough chop all the veggies.

 Put the veggies in your food processor and pulse until finely chopped.   Do not puree.

In a large bowl mix together the veggies, flaked salmon, spice blend, mayo, and 2 beaten eggs.  Slowly start adding in your bread crumbs about 1/4 cup at a time until the mix holds together and you can form patties.  Refrigerate the mix for about 30 minutes prior to cooking to to help the patties stay together more easily.

Cook each fish cake in a nonstick pan with a little olive oil.  About 3 minutes and 30 seconds per side over medium heat.  Place the cooked fish cakes on an oven proof dish in a preheated 275 degree oven to keep warm until all are cooked through.

This recipe makes about 10-12 large fish cakes and up to 2 dozen mini cakes.  I served my cakes with a little lemon aioli, fresh corn on the cob, and steamed squashed.

Cakey Choco Cherry Cookies

Ingredients: 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 5-6 tablespoons Dutch Cocoa, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 stick of butter, 1 egg, 1/3 cup of milk + about 2 tablespoons, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup of dried cherries

In the bowl of your food processor using the blade attachment pulse together all the dry ingredients.   Then add the chilled butter cut into cubes.  Next dump in the choco chips, vanilla extract, egg and milk.  Pulse several times to combine.  It will be very thick.  Dump into a bowl and add in the cherries.  Slowly add in milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the cookie dough comes together.  You shouldn't need more than about 2 maybe 3 tablespoons of milk.

Spoon out decent size portions on a parchment lines cookies sheet.  Bake for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

 These cookies will not spread much on the pan and will be incredible cakey.  I think they go excellent with a super cold glass of milk.

Broccoli with Panko Bread Crumbs

Ingredients: Chopped Broccoli, 1/3-1/2 cup Panko Bread Crumbs, 1/3 cup olive oil, 4 cloves crushed garlic & spice blend.
Spice Blend: Salt, Lemon Pepper, Savory, Coriander, Garlic Granules & Onion Granules
I love spices and will change the amount depending on my mood.  For this dish I used 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon each of the other spices.  Adjust the blend to your taste.  

Steam the broccoli to your liking.  I usually go for about 8-10 minutes.  While the broccoli is cooking put your crushed garlic cloves in a small pinch bowl with the olive oil.

When there is about 2 minutes left on your broccoli eat the garlic infused olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Then bloom your spice blend in the oil for about 60-90 seconds.  You will smell it become very fragrant.  Then add the bread crumbs.  Toast the bread crumbs until lightly golden.  This will take about 2 minutes.

Drain the broccoli very well and return to a hot pan.  Cook off the excess water.  If you skip this step you will get soggy bread crumbs.   Add the toasted & fragrant bread crumbs to the cooked broccoli and toss to coast.  Serve warm.