Scallion Cakes - a Three-fer Celebration

Scallion Cake

It’s almost Chinese New Year and also Ed’s birthday and also Super Bowl. I can think of no food that would be more perfect for all three occasions than Scallion cake. Crispy. Delicious. Freezable.

SCALLION CAKES

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup boiling water

• 1/3 cup cold water

• vegetable oil

• 4-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 3 scallions, finely chopped

Place the flour in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the boiling water and mix at medium speed until a rough dough has formed. Let cool for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the cold water and mix until the dough forms into a ball. Knead for 4-5 minutes or until smooth and elastic (you can do all this in a food processor). Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Using a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 10-inch circle. Brush the dough with about 1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil. Sprinkle with about 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Sprinkle with about one tablespoon of the chopped scallion. Roll the circle jelly roll style. Form the rolled dough into a coil. Press down on the coil to flatten it slightly. Roll the coil into circles about 1/8-inch thick (don’t worry if some of the dough breaks and the scallions pop through slightly). Repeat with the remaining dough, salt and scallions. Keep the circles separated. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a skillet large enough to hold the circles. Cover the pan and cook each circle, one at a time, over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes per side, or until browned and crispy. Add more vegetable oil to the pan as necessary for each circle of dough. Drain the fried circles on paper towels. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Serve hot. Makes 48 pieces

More Chicken Wings: Maple-Mustard

In our family we don’t wait for Superbowl Sunday to feast on chicken wings. We eat them throughout the year, often.

In fact, I have an enormous file folder filled with recipes, maybe almost as many recipes for wings as for banana bread (and as everyone who reads this blog knows, I have a lot of recipes for banana bread!).

Here’s one of the latest versions. Eat anytime. Don’t wait.

Grilled Maple-Mustard Chicken Wings

• 2 pounds chicken wings, separated into pieces

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoons chopped chives or scallion

• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• salt to taste

Preheat an outdoor grill or oven broiler. Wash and dry the wings and cut them into separate pieces. Brush with olive oil and grill, turning once, for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. While the wings are cooking, mix the maple syrup, mustard, chives, cider vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, cayenne pepper and salt to taste until well blended. Brush this glaze on the wings and cook for another 10-12 minutes, turning the wings occasionally and brushing with remaining glaze, until crispy and fully cooked.

Makes about 24

Honey Orange Chicken Wings

Honey Orange Chicken Wings

You can never have too many recipes for chicken wings, whether or not you watch or even care about the Superbowl. 

My latest chicken wing recipe came about recently, after I attended a honey tasting with my friend Liz Rueven, who blogs at Kosherlikeme. We went to Red Bee Apiary in Weston, Connecticut, where all of us were in rapt attention as beekeeper Carla Marina Marchese told us all about different kinds of bees and different kinds of honey. Then we had a feast of single origin honeys with tidbits of food (cheese, fruit and so on) that went best with them.

Of course, everyone knows that there are many varieties of honey and they all have a unique flavor. No different than wine, for example. You don't have to be an expert to understand and appreciate the differences. But it is fun to taste several all in one sitting. So I recommend this place (or one near you if you don't live in Connecticut).

After it was all said and done I bought a few jars of honey and experimented with them.

Buckwheat honey proved to be very interesting to work with. It has a distinct, intense, almost molasses-ey flavor that makes it a big winner for cookies, muffins and similar types of baked goods. Or baked apples. Or mashed sweet potatoes and so on.

But my favorite was this recipe for chicken wings. Just in time for Superbowl. Or whenever.

 

Honey Orange Wings

• 1/4 cup honey (I used buckwheat honey)

• 2 tablespoons orange juice

• 1 tablespoon chopped chives

• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

• 2 teaspoon grated orange peel

• salt and pepper

• 24-30 dozen wing pieces

Preheat the broiler with the rack at least 6-inches from the heat. Place the honey, orange juice, chives, mustard, orange peel and salt and pepper in a bowl and mix for a minute or so or until well blended. Add the chicken wings and toss them in the liquid to coat all the surfaces. (You can let the chicken marinate for an hour or so if you wish.) Place the wings in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil the wings for about 15-18 minutes, turning them every 3-4 minutes to prevent over-browning.

Makes 24-30

PuPu Platter Chicken Wings

What I am about to say may acknowledge me as a dinosaur but here it is: I remember the time before there was a Superbowl. 

I remember the first Superbowl. 1967.

I didn't watch. It was sort of a big deal, but not nearly the kind of nationwide (worldwide?) event it is today.

I can't recall what people served at Superbowl get-togethers. Or even if there were Superbowl get-togethers.

But I do remember that over the course of time, people everywhere used the occasion not only to watch football or bet, or both, but as time for a relaxed day with good friends and casual food. Like chicken wings.

I can remember before Buffalo Wings became a thing. And that after they did, wings of all sorts became one of the popular Superbowl foods.

For me -- wings were always a thing. The best part of the chicken. My mother told me they were the best part mostly because of the soft soft meat between the two narrow bones in the middle part of the wing.

She made chicken wings for us often.

I have made chicken wings often too. My mother was right. They are the best part of the chicken! Whether or not you serve them for Superbowl.

But if you do, how about these?

PuPu Platter Chicken Wings

• 15 chicken wings
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoons crushed crystallized ginger
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
•  

Cut the chicken wings at the joints, wash and dry the pieces and set them aside. Combine the red wine, soy sauce, brown sugar, crystallized ginger, lemon juice and garlic in a large container. Add the wing pieces and let marinate for at least 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the wings in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Turn the wings and bake for another 15-18 minutes or until crispy.

Makes 30 pieces

Chili Con Carne

I used to cook chili a lot more often than I do these days. I suppose I overdid it and Ed said “HALT!” on the chili and that was that for a while.

But it’s chili season isn’t it?

Maybe it’s time to start the cycle again. 

I have plenty of recipes that I’ve tried over the years but this one is my favorite. It’s extra delicious with a blob of guacamole on top.

Chili Con Carne

1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound chopped or diced beef

28-ounce can Italian style plum tomatoes, drained and chopped

6-ounce can tomato paste

1-3/4 cups beef stock

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

2 bay leaves

15-ounce can white beans, drained

Heat the vegetable oil in a large, deep sauté pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables have softened. Add the meat and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the meat turns brown. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock, chili powder, oregano, cumin, crushed red pepper, black pepper, salt and bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the beans and cook for another 15-20 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the meat is surrounded by sauce as thick as gravy.

Makes 4 servings

 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I’ve been thinking about finger foods lately. The stuff of wedding cocktail hours, Superbowl parties and so on. There are many that I love and could eat any time, for any occasion. Fancy ones like smoked salmon Napoleons with Meyer lemon and caviar creme fraiche. And good old goodies like franks-in-blankets.

What’s not to like? Most of the time I fill up on the finger foods and don’t leave much room for the rest and that suits me just fine.

But honestly folks, when I started thinking about which finger food I like best, which I crave most often, which I would pick first before anything else, I realized it’s not any of the ones I mentioned. Not even potato puffs or goat cheese and caramelized onion bruschetta.

It’s the cookies.

Fannies, Grand Finale cookies, gingersnaps, peanut butter cookies, frozen dough cookies, Hello Dollys, Orange Marmalade cookies, Honey-Oat Granola Bars. Or old-fashioned Oatmeal Raisin cookies.

Which is why I blog about cookies so often.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanila extract

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups quick oats

1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed, cream the butter and sugar together for a minute or so until creamy. Add the brown sugar and blend it in thoroughly. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and beat until the ingredients are well blended. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop mounded tablespoons of the mixture onto the cookie sheet, leaving some space between each lump of dough. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 42-48

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

If desserts were football, who would win the Superbowl: brownies or chocolate chip cookies? 

Brownies seduce you from the first dizzying perfume they give off as they bake to the last caress of tender crumbs on your lips. They are edible magnets of melted chocolate mixed with just enough ingredients to give them some form. Brownies are winners for sure. 

But chocolate chip cookies! Mmmm. Buttery and tender, with a compelling crisp edge and oozy half-melted, half-firm chocolate melting on your tongue. Aren’t they the champions of all cookies, outshining all others? The classic you call on when you want to be on top of your game?

At a bake sale, which outsells the other, brownies or chocolate chip cookies?

If you serve either or both, brownies or chocolate chip cookies, are any left over and if so, which ones?

Maybe it’s time to find out. Serve both on Superbowl Sunday. Or on Valentine’s Day. Or anytime. Here’s a recipe for Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies. But there’s another recipe for classic fudge brownies here and click on the link above for a recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies ever. 

Then let me know which won.

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Put the chocolate and butter together in the top part of a double boiler set over barely simmering water. Stir 3 to 4 minutes or until the chocolate has melted. When the butter and chocolate have melted and are blended, stir in 2 cups sugar and 3 eggs. Whisk ingredients thoroughly.

Add the flour, salt, nuts and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and stir in the ingredients with a large wooden spoon. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla until thoroughly blended. Place blobs of the cream cheese mixture over the top of the chocolate batter. Cut through the cheese, making swirls and designs with the chocolate.

Bake about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool. Cut into bars with a sharp knife dipped into hot water. Refrigerate brownies. Makes 32 to 40 brownies.

So which wins the Superbowl of desserts, brownies or chocolate chip cookies?