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gingerbread pancakes

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Gingerbread Pancakes_main

Looking for a Christmasy twist to the Sunday morning classic? These pancakes are the perfect way to start any holiday morning – they’ll fill your house with the smells of the season and fill your tum with cheer. Tex-Pat Sprague visited this weekend from Brooklyn & after brunching way too hard on Saturday these gingerbread pancakes & scrambies seemed like the perfect cure for our holiday hangovers. Also, gingerbread pancakes are oh, so special to Tex-Pat Sprague and I as we shared many a platter of Kerby Lane’s every summer we trounced around Austin during debate camp (we were very cool).

While these evoked similar flavors to Kerby Lane’s perfect cakes, the texture wasn’t quite the same on ours. There’s a time and a place for every pancake, so file this recipe under “looking for a thick, dense, hearty cake” (we have a favorite fluffy, cloud-like recipe we’ll share next!).

gingerbread pancakes ingredients

Makes ~12 pancakes

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 c brown sugar

4 tbl buter, melted

3 eggs

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon ginger

1 tablespoon nutmeg*

1/2 c brewed coffee

1/2 c water

1/2 c buttermilk

pancake batter & griddle

Make your batter by creaming together your eggs & sugar. Add your liquids: coffee, water, buttermilk. Mix it all up and then set aside. Combine all of your dry ingredients & then add your eggies. Next, gradually combine the wet & dry until you have a thick batter. Stir in your melted butter for good measure and then start cookin! Plop scoops of batter into a greased skillet or onto a greased griddle and then cook until your pancake comes alive (consistent bubbles throughout). Once your cake’s alive it’s time to flip!

Serve with melted butter & maple syrup.

* Important to note we learned in the creation of this recipe that nutmeg is in fact a seed, so One Sock Wonder could enjoy these tasty cakes in spite of his nut allergy! #themoreyouknow

basics: homemade applesauce

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applesauce title page

Happy Hanukkah,  everyone!

I’m sure all of my fellow shiksahs in the kitchen can agree that the holidays can be a doozy.  As much as you love to cook, you’ll never shine a light to the recipe that has been passed down by tough critics.   I’ve made my fair share of high-holiday-hiccups (starting with a milchigs fork mix-up and ending with bringing a butter-laden bread pudding to Thanksgiving) but this applesauce is not one of them.  It’s the perfect way to preserve your apples and requires only two added ingredients.  And during Hanukkah, you won’t find a better topping for your potato latkes.

You’ll need: (for 2 cups applesauce)
4 apples, mixed
1 tbs honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup water

ingredients

We used Red Macintosh and Pink Lady apples for this recipe.  You can use whichever are in season (the farmer’s market usually has enough apple samples out to give you a tummy ache), but I recommend a mix of apples to elevate the depth of flavors.  Start by peeling your apples roughly (a little apple skin never hurt anyone) and chopping them into cubes.  Add them to a saucepan with the water over medium heat, until they’re just simmering.

apples in pot 1

Add the cinnamon and honey and stir.  In the past, I’ve used white sugar for the sweetness in my applesauce, but switched to honey because, well, apples and honey taste great together.

Let the whole mixture simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.  Then, using a hand potato masher (or a food processor if you’re looking for a really smooth sauce), mash the apples until they look like applesauce.

apples in pot 2

Serve over freshly-fried latkes and or just enjoy as a sweet snack.

applesauce final

xoxo,

the hungry texans

miso soup

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Title pageOk this was an exciting night in the Hungry Texans kitchen- our foray into dashi!  The classic Japanese seafood stock is the base of so many dishes, including one notorious cure for an annoying cold… miso soup.  I’m not going to lie, I thought of dashi as the japanese equivalent of chicken stock, but it’s quite different.  It’s smoky and earthy and tastes (and smells) like the sea.

It’s also quite easy to make, if you have a bit of time.  The miso soup, from start to finish, took about 1 hour to make.  So pop open a bottle of sake and get cookin’!

for the dashi, you’ll need: 

3 quarts cold water

3 kombu stalks

1 handful bonito flakes

for the miso soup, you’ll need:

2 quarts dashi

1 quart water

1/4 cup white miso paste

1/2 cup scallions

1 cup shitake mushrooms

1 block tofu

2 cups kale

Start your dashi by filling a large pan with cold water.  Add your kombu stalks and bring to a boil.  Once the water is boiling, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes of simmering, add your bonito flakes.  Stir and bring to a boil.  When the whole mixture reaches a boil, turn the stove off.

kombu and bonito flakes

Drain the dashi through a colander. Alright, you’re ready for Top Chef!

dashi

To start your miso soup, add your dashi to a soup pot.  Add your miso paste and stir until it has dissolved.  Throw in sliced shitake mushrooms & scallions, sliced thin.  De-stalk your lovely kale and chop it into small-ish pieces.  You can add the kale directly or blanch it quickly first.

mix ins

If you are making dashi with the hopes of turning it into miso soup, then slice your tofu and let it drain onto paper towels while your making the dashi.  Then, slice into small cubes and add it to the miso pot.

Ok, now are you ready?  This is the hardest part.  Stir it once and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat.  Then, you’re done.

soup!

xoxo,

the hungry texans

a hungry texans guide to thanksgiving!

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we all do it- that weekend before thanksgiving when friends gather, drink too much spiced cider, and potluck our faces off for that pre-thanksgiving thanksgiving celebration.  call it Friendsgiving or Fakesgiving, we just call it delicious.

and this year was no different.  the man chefs brought their extremely tasty green beans and a rendition of thomas keller’s stuffing that blew us meat eaters’ socks off (vegetarians beware: this stuffing starts with 1 lb of rendered bacon fat).

use these recipes for your own thanksgiving feast or just as side dishes for a wonderful meal.  click through for recipes!

honey butter chicken biscuits

roasted root vegetables with charred scallion goat cheese & garlic confit

middle eastern spiced roasted cauliflower

jalapeno honey butter & sage roasted garlic butter

cranberry-orange relish

 

happy thanksgiving!

xoxo,

the hungry texans

jalapeno honey butter

jalapeno honey butter

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combine 1 tbs honey, 1 tbs diced jalapeno & 4 tbs softened butter. spoon onto plastic wrap, roll into a cylinder, and wrap in parchment paper. place in your freezer for 1 hour, until hardened. serve over biscuits, cornbread, potatoes … Continue reading →

tres leches

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The man chefs made Mexican brunch today (nom nom nom), so this lady baker opted for a classic Mexican cake to bring for dessert. I’ve made tres leches a time or two before, but this was by far the fastest (most recipes call for a multi-hour soak!) & most successful. The cake was so spongy that it sopped up lots of liquid in a relatively short amount of time, and I know it’ll be even better tomorrow!

To recreate this sweet, make sure you have the following:

5 eggs, separated

1 c & 3 tbl sugar

1 c flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

vanilla

1/4 c whole milk

1 pint + 1/4 c heavy whipping cream

1 can condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

cinnamon

 

Preheat your oven to 350 & prep a large rectangular pan. Start by mixing your yolks & 3/4 cup of sugar until they’re pale yellow. While that’s mixing, mix your dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the milk & as much vanilla as you want to the pale yellow mixture & then gently fold into your flour mixture. Next, take your egg whites & the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and mix those until the peaks are stiff. Be patient and wait for those peaks, then gently fold that into the mix. Pour into your prepped pan and bake for 30ish minutes or until you pass the toothpick test.

Let your cake cool & then poke holes in it with a fork. Combine 1/4 c heavy whipping cream, evaporated & condensed milks in a pitcher & pour it all over the cake watching it slowly sopp up all this sweet milky mixture. Let that cake relax and make your whipped cream topping. I made a simple whipped cream with 3 tbl. sugar, 1 pint heavy whipping cream, and vanilla & cinnamon to taste. Try to be as patient as possible to let the flavors absorb, but slice this baby whenever you please.

¡Buen provecho!

Thirsty Texans

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thought we couldn’t get hungrier?  just you wait.  for the next 3 days, we’re juicin’ baby.  that’s right- goodbye, cheese grits & sweet potatoes.  hello, coconut water & kale juice.

we bought a 3-day juice cleanse from Khepra’s Raw Bar and we’re holding each other to it!

stay tuned for our thoughts &  feelings about juice, as well as some sure-to-be-tasty fast-breaking meals.

 

thirstily yours,

hungrytexans

 

chicken salad, two ways

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sometimes i have everything planned for a quick, healthy dinner at home- and then that last minute call comes with the happy hour i can’t refuse, the movie tickets i’ve been wanting, the list is endless.  and it usually ends up with me abandoning ship on dinner.

so maybe i can’t always predict what will happen between quittin’ time and dinner time.  but i can control what i’m eating for lunch.  which is why i try to spend sundays whipping up lunches for the week- a hearty soup that reheats well, turkey-cheese wraps and sliced bell pepper, even just leftover Pho stretched to last until Thursday.  and if something is delicious, i can eat it for days- no variety necessary.  but this afternoon, i thought i would mix things up, so i made two chicken salads to keep me satisfied through the week.  one curried chicken salad with golden raisins and another lemon-thyme chicken salad with feta and raw corn.  both delicious.  both healthy.  both recipes (and gifs!) follow:

 

for the curried chicken salad, you’ll need:

2 chicken breasts

2 tbs curry powder (divided)

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 tbs non-fat mayo (you could sub greek yogurt here, but i didn’t want to)

1 tbs non-fat sour cream


season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and one tablespoon of the curry powder.  grill for about 4 minutes on each side, or until they are done.  chop the chicken breast into rough cubes and add the chopped onion, golden raisins, curry powder, mayo & sour cream.  mix until combined and pop it into the fridge until you’re ready for lunch!

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

for the lemon-thyme chicken salad, you’ll need:

2 chicken breasts

6-8 sprigs of tyme

1 lemon

1/4 cup red onion

1/2 cup raw or grilled corn (i did a mixture of both!)

1/4 cup feta cheese

just like the curried chicken salad, start by seasoning the chicken breasts (i used thyme and lemon zest) and grilling them.  i also threw an ear of corn on the grill.  chop the chicken breast into cubes and add the red onion, corn, feta, mayo, sour cream, and a bit more thyme and lemon zest.  mix until combined and munch on it with radicchio, pita chips etc.

chicken mole tacos

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The long story of this recipe is that it was really an attempt to recreate the most amazing chicken tacos from a little place in Houston called 100% Taquito.  I know, I know, the name is bad.  The name actually kept me from trying it out for many years.  But once I had their chicken mole tacos, I was 100% converted.  Making these tacos cured my tastebuds’ homesickness, if only for the day.  Which is a great thing. The short story is that they’re delicious, and you should make them.

you’ll need:

1 roasted (or poached) chicken
3 tbs mole paste
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups monterrey jack cheese
Flour tortillas (buy these fresh or make your own!)

to garnish:
cilantro, lime, sliced radish, avocado, pico de gallo, etc etc.

What you’ll do:
I started with a two-pound roasted chicken from whole foods.  I think that next time I make these tacos, I’ll roast my own chicken, rubbed in mole paste.  But this time, I was hungry and feeling crummy, so I skipped that step.  I pulled the entire chicken from the bone using two forks.

I bought a homemade mole sauce from a mexican market on 11th street- it conveniently came with zero instructions and it resembled more of a paste than a sauce, so I improvised!  In a saucepan, I heated two tablespoons of vegetable oil and started adding the mole paste/sauce (three tbs in all).  I added about 1 cup of chicken stock (if you poached your chicken, the stock would come in handy here) and watched in awe as the sauce came together.   Once the sauce was reconstituted and tasted y-u-m, i added the shredded chicken.  Easy! To assemble, heat up two flour tortillas, layer a scoop of chicken on top of a small mountain of jack cheese, and let the whole thing melt together in a pan.  I garnish with lots of lime, radish, cilantro, and avocado.   The end.   Love, Hungry Texans

‘noodlin

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Fewer catfish, more ginger. A lot more ginger.

Perhaps the most important thing about what became a lovely meal for HungryTexan and her BoyFromBoston is the ingredients for this meal were procured purely from her pantry. This is no small feat for the girl who’s been trained from birth that every meal requires at least one, if not one-to-three trips to the grocery.

Now, these noodles required some improvisation—I used whole wheat noodles instead of soba, sunflower seeds instead of sesame, jarred instead of fresh ginger, plus I added some green beans for a little substance sans tofu. Substitutions in all—this ginger dressing made the perfect Monday meal (and Wednesday leftovers!). BoyFromBoston was trés impressed as was OneSockWonder (“ging-her? hardly even knew her!”).

Inspired by the much more aesthetically pleasing 101Cookbooks, behold a ginger dressing these HungryTexans are going to want to remember.

1 tablespoon freshly grated fresh ginger (I used jarred, pickled ginger)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup / 2.5 oz / 70 g chopped white onion (I used a red onion)
1 teaspoon mirin (skipped it!)
2 teaspoons brown sugar or honey (I used honey!)
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
3 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1 celery stalk, strings removed, then chopped
1/3 cup / 80 sunflower oil or untoasted sesame oil