Tropical Jalapeño Margaritas

I recently bought and moved into my first house (yay!) and I have a friend who was kind enough to come help me pack.  That's true friendship!  To help ease the pain of packing, we decided to make some fun margaritas.  She told me about a recipe her friend used that involved watermelons and jalapeño-infused tequila and I knew we had to make it!  Margaritas always involve a bit more work than other drinks, but a good margarita can be delicious, fun, and relaxing.  Since we are well past watermelon season, I bought a couple bags of frozen fruit which are perfect for when you're craving margaritas outside of summer!  I'm not normally a big tequila drinker so I upgraded and got some top shelf tequila to make it a bit smoother and it really makes a big difference!

The jalapeño-infused tequila adds a bit of kick to the drink which my friend and I love, but if spice in drinks isn't your thing, then just use regular tequila and leave out the jalapeños.  But there's something about the spicy and sweet combination in these drinks that was so good that it made packing a painless breeze...well kinda.

Servings: 4 drinks

Ingredients:

6 ounces tequila

1 jalapeño, sliced

8 ounces pureed fruit, strained (I used a frozen tropical mix with pineapple, mango, and strawberry)

4 ounces orange liqueur

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (approximately 8-12 limes)

Salt, for rimming

Lime wedges, for garnish

Instructions:

• Make the jalapeño-infused tequila by placing 6 oz of tequila and 1 sliced jalapeño in a jar in the fridge for at least one hour (I did two hours one time and three hours another), but no more than several hours.  The longer you let it sit, the spicier it will get!  If you don't want spicy, then just omit this step and use regular tequila.
• In a small saucepan or pot, heat over low heat 1 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Set aside and let cool.
• Puree your favorite fruit until you have about 8 oz.  
• I used my immersion blender because I don't have a real blender.  That worked fine, but if you do that I'd recommend defrosting the fruit first.  Sometimes I got impatient and blended the frozen fruit, but it took more time and I had to be more careful with fruit chunk splatter.
• In a pitcher, mix the fruit puree, the cooled sugar-water mixture, 1 cup lime juice, and 4 oz orange liqueur together.  Strain the mixture and discard the solid bits.
• Remove the jalapeño slices from the tequila and stir in the jalapeño-infused tequila to the margarita mixture (or if you don't want spice, just add regular tequila).
• For serving, cut lime wedges and use them to wet the glass rim and then dip the rims in coarse salt.  Pour the margarita into the glass over ice and garnish the glass with a lime wedge and/or jalapeno slices.

Now time for the photos!  These were taken pre-move.  I think this might be my last Grubbin Pugs post taking place in my old apartment!  (Unless I find old ones I forgot to post before.)

The dishtowel behind the glass is to hide all the packing supplies and clutter!

Even though there are watermelon slices on the cup, sadly there are no watermelons in the drink. But the pineapple, mango, and strawberry frozen fruit mix I got from Target was delicious!

Cheers Sunny and Rosy!  Let's toast to the new house and to not moving again for a very very very long time!

The pugs were all confused and anxious with all the packing at the time I took these photos.  Poor Suns Buns and Rose Pose. 

Adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride.

Coconut Banana Bread

There's some sort of banana gene that runs in my family on my dad's side.  My dad, my sisters, my nephew, and I all love bananas and eat them regularly.  To see the amount of bananas that my mom buys for my dad and my sister buys for herself and her son on a weekly basis, you would think they worked at a zoo or lived with Curious George.

While I love bananas, I don't always manage to eat them all before they start browning (and I'm not talking about some slight browning and freckling - I actually love bananas when the peels are a bit brown because that means it'll be sweeter and soft inside).  I wish I had taken a picture of the bananas I used for this recipe so you could see how far gone they were.  So even if you think your bananas are too brown and mushy for use, have no fear, they'll just be easier to mash and will make your bread even more banana-y in flavor!

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm a coconut addict and I have a huge bag of shredded coconut sitting in my pantry that was just asking to be used in this recipe.  Bananas and coconut = yum!  If I'd had coconut milk I might have considered using that instead of regular milk to intensify the coconut flavor, although maybe that would overwhelm the banana flavor.

Banana bread also freezes very well, so there's never a good reason to throw out your brown bananas. Make some banana bread and then eat it or freeze it for later!  Nothing better than freshly baked bananas and some coffee (or in my case and with the warmer days approaching, iced coffee).

Servings: 1 loaf made in a 9x5 loaf pan.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2-3 medium very ripe bananas
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut (plus some extra for topping the loaf)
Cooking spray (I used a coconut oil spray from Trader Joe's)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees. For ease of removal later, line the loaf pan with parchment paper, letting the edges stick out over the sides so  you can grab onto them later. Spray the pan and paper. 
• (I have a love/hate relationship with parchment paper - love its nonstick properties but trying to keep the curling paper straight and out of the way was a pain. If you don't have any parchment paper, just make sure to grease the pan well.)
• Melt 1/2 cup butter in the microwave over low heat and then whisk together the butter with 3/4 cup white sugar in a large bowl until combined.
• Add 2 large eggs to the batter and whisk until smooth.
• Add 2-3 bananas to the batter and mash with the whisk or a fork (or, if you don't want any banana lumps, mash the bananas in a separate small bowl and then add the mush into the batter).
• If your bananas are very brown then the banana flavor will be stronger and you can get away with 2 bananas. If they are just a little brown and freckly, maybe consider going up to 3. I used 2 since my bananas were completely brown. 
• Add 2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt to the batter and, using a spatula, stir everything together until just mixed and there is no more dry flour visible.
• Fold in 1/2 cup shredded coconut (this is the stage where you can add other ingredients based on preference (e.g., nuts, chocolate)).
• Pour batter evenly into the pan and smooth the top.  
• Optional: sprinkle the top of the loaf with some extra shredded coconut. I did this mainly to look nice with some toasted coconut on top, but then afterwards when cutting the bread it was kinda a pain crumbling all over the place (which Rosy LOVED cleaning up).
• Bake for 50-65 minutes, depending on your oven. Start checking at 50 minutes and then every five minutes after until the loaf is dark brown and cracked on top. Toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.
• Place pan on a cooling rack and let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
• After the first cooling period, remove bread from pan (if you used the parchment paper method, simply lift the bread out by grabbing onto the paper's edges) and cool another 10 minutes before slicing.
• Keep bread covered  for several days (if the loaf lasts that long!) or wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and keep in freezer for up to 3 months.

And now time for the pictures!

Stupid parchment paper. Hate trimming it to fit the pan while it's curling all over the place and getting in the way. But gotta love the benefits of using it while baking!

Since I had 4 super duper ripe bananas, I simply doubled the recipe above and made two loaves.

Love that crack!

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

Anytime I bake anything, Sunny is never intrigued and just stays on the couch or her bed. But Rosy loooves baked goods and sweets! She came trotting over as soon as I opened the oven and my apartment was filled with delicious banana bread smells!

"Excuse me, are you sure you don't need a taste tester? I'd gladly offer up my services!"

Sunny finally realized something was going on in the kitchen and came to join us after the cooling periods were over. She didn't necessarily want any crumbs, she was just hoping that all this kitchen activity meant I'd open the fridge so she could wedge herself in there and beg for her beloved carrots.

Slicing into the loaf!

Rosy's totally focused on the bread! Sunny's in her own little world, probably dreaming of carrots.

When it was time to sample the bread I decided to enjoy my afternoon snack with some iced coffee. I used to only drink my coffee black, but my sister has ruined me by introducing me to fun flavored non-dairy creamers, like Girl Scouts cookie-flavored creamers! Now I can't stop! Today I used the Samoa flavored creamer (I also have a Thin Mint flavored one). Sunny and Rosy got REALLY close to the bread for some good sniffs. 

Look at Rosy's begging shiny eyes!

Hope you enjoy!

Adapted from The Kitchn.

Pancakes/Waffles with Dark Chocolate and Coconut Pudding Filling (Taiyaki/Bungeoppang)

Snow day, snow day!  Woohoo!  Sunny and Rosy are thrilled to have me home for the day but they're not so thrilled with the snow.  Unfortunately I still have some conference calls to dial into, but at least I can make something fun at home like these taiyaki/bungeoppang!  Taiyaki is the Japanese version and Bungeoppang is the Korean version, and it's essentially a crisp pancake-y/waffle-y dough with some sort of fun filling inside.  Sweet red bean paste is the common and traditional filling, but there are all sorts of different fillings nowadays including different kinds of puddings, nutella, mashed sweet potatoes, custards, and even savory fillings like cheese or breakfast sandwichy kind of things.  In Japan and Korean it's common to find street vendors cooking these up fresh and serving them piping hot on cold wintry days.  While they now come in different molds, the fish one is the one that I remember growing up and it's the traditional shape oddly enough.

To make these fun little fish, first you need this bad boy

I got mine from Amazon but I bet you could find it way cheaper at an Asian market/store.

I almost didn't post this because there's no real recipe here and it involves a special type of pan, but something about these lil fish-shaped pancakes just make me happy and me and my family love these!  And snow days are just begging for something fun to make and eat!  While I like sweet red bean paste ok, it's not necessarily my favorite and I didn't have any red beans handy so instead I made something I'd like better - dark chocolate and coconut pudding!  Oh yeah.

These are best eaten fresh and hot, but I've frozen them and reheated them ok in the toaster oven.  Sometimes the filling doesn't heat up all the way, but in a way I actually like that even better!  You get the hot and crisp waffle-y texture on the outside and then an ice cream-y pudding inside!

[Update 2/15/14: I think next time I make these I'll add a tablespoon of sugar to the batter to sweeten it up.  If you use a pre-made pancake/waffle mix and you may want to add something to sweeten it up a bit.]

Servings: Depends on how much batter and filling you make.  You need a lot more batter than filling and you can cook two fish at a time.

Ingredients:
Favorite pancake/waffle mix/recipe
14 oz can of coconut milk, divided
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt (coarse or sea salt, otherwise you might want to use a little less)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
5 ounces (a little more than 1/2 cup) of dark chocolate, chips or coarse chunks

Instructions:

First we have to make the pudding so that it has time to chill.

• Shake the can of coconut milk well and then in a medium saucepan or pot heat over low heat half the can of the coconut milk, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp salt.  Heat slowly and don't let the mixture boil.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining coconut milk, 3 tbsps cornstarch, and 3 tbsps of cocoa powder.
• Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan/pot while stirring everything together well. Continue to whisk over low heat for a few minutes until the mixture starts to thicken and resemble a pudding texture.
• Remove the saucepan/pot from heat and stir in 5 oz (approximately 1/2 cup) of dark chocolate and 1 tsp vanilla.  Continue stirring until all of the chocolate is melted and mixed in and the mixture is smooth and pudding-like.  

• Pour pudding into a bowl, cover, and put in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.  If you want to avoid a skin forming at the top, you can press a plastic wrap against the top of the pudding.

Now it's time to make the taiyaki/bungeoppang!

• There are more traditional recipes for the batter that use cake flour, but if you're lazy like me, just use your favorite pancake/waffle mix.  I used Bob's Red Mill 10-grain pancake/waffle mix in an effort to try to make these a little healthier (ha!) and followed the waffle instructions.
• Oil the pan and heat it over low heat to warm it up.
• Pour some batter into the fish molds so that they're about halfway filled.  You don't have to worry about getting the fin so much because as the batter heats up it'll spread, but the tail is a bit trickier so you may need to add a few dribbles there. 
• Take your pudding (or favorite filling) and spoon it into the middle of the batter.  This will also spread when heated up so be careful to not overfill.  I found that about 1 tbsp was the right amount for me.
• Then pour some more batter on top to cover the filling.  It's ok if you don't cover it completely but try to do as best as you can without overfilling the molds.  See my crappy attempt below (notice how I had to go back and fill in the bald spots in the tail, and I still had more to fill in the left one).

• Shut the lid of the pan and then vigorously flip over the pan and heat the other side.  Flipping the pan with some force helps to dislodge the batter from the other side of the pan.
• Continue cooking for a few minutes, flipping every minute or so until the fish are golden brown.  You can lift up the lid a bit to peek and make sure they're cooked all the way. 

• If you overfilled then there will be some crunchy extras along the fish that you can remove with kitchen scissors, knife, or fingers.
• Eat them quickly while they're still hot!  They'll start to get soggy if you let them sit out so if you don't plan on eating them soon consider freezing them so that you can reheat them later.

And now some pictures featuring my kitchen "helpers"!

 

Sniff the fish!

Rosy's moving to a better begging spot.

Sorry none for you girls, but if you pose nicely I'll give you a special dog treat!

Ok now time to test one of these out...

It's so hard to resist Sunny's begging when she puts on her saddest face and dances around on her back paws!  But no, this is most definitely not a dog-friendly treat!

Pudding-licious!

And lest you think that all my fish were well shaped and browned on my first attempt, here's a plate of my rejects.

Sunny and Rosy offered to help me get rid of these rejects.  But I put them in the trash instead.  And by trash, I mean my stomach.

Chocolate pudding recipe adapted from The Kitchn.

Ginormous Pancake aka Dutch Baby Pancake

I love special and fun traditions, especially those that revolve around cold weather and/or holidays. One of my favorites was one my first grade teacher had for every first rainy day of the month. I grew up in southern California so it only really rained in the fall and winter months (I was shocked to discover when I got older that most areas of the U.S. have rain year round). And every first rainy morning of the month my teacher would bring in a huge urn of hot chocolate and bags of marshmallows. You had the option of bringing in your own mug and I always brought in my beloved mug with my name on it (I have an unusual name so this mug I found in Solvang, CA was a treasured possession!). This simple and yet awesome tradition made a dreary and rainy school day seem so special.

Now that I live on the east coast where it rains so much, I don't really make a big deal out of a rainy day other than to chase around my wet pugs with paper towels as I try to dry them off. But now my CA rainy day equivalent is a snow day! There's nothing better than the first few snowy days in a winter, especially if it means cancelled work or a late arrival! Sadly, today's wintry mix is on a Sunday but I still wanted to do something special for it. Usually I make a fun breakfast for a snow day, like a breakfast sandwich or pancakes. And now I'm adding this ginormous pancake aka Dutch baby pancake to my snow day routine!  This is best served right away but it's super easy to put together and quick to bake. What could possibly be better than eating this delicious pancake on a cold, snowy day, except for maybe sipping a steaming cup of hot chocolate with melting marshmallows on top in a special mug with your name on it?

Servings: 2-4 (or if you're feeling really glutinous 1 - shhh, I won't tell!)

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar and lemon wedges for topping
(Can top instead with maple syrup or fruit)

Instructions:

• Place oven-safe skillet in the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees 
• In a large bowl whisk 2 large eggs and 1/2 cup milk until light and frothy.
• Add 1/2 cup flour, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and whisk together until well mixed and smooth (a feat I still am never able to fully achieve). Let the mixture sit at room temperature while you wait for the oven to reach temperature.
• Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven and add 1-2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet. Swirl the butter around to coat the entire pan.
• Pour batter into the skillet and place back in the oven to bake for 12-18 minutes until pancake has puffed and is golden brown.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar, squirt a bit of lemon juice on top, and serve immediately (you can slice it up into wedges for serving).
• [Alternatively: you can top instead with maple syrup or fruit.]

As soon as I go into the kitchen to cook, Sunny assumes her usual pathetic begging pug position. She alternated between looking sadly at the ground, resting her chin on the drawer handle, and staring up at me with her sad lil eyes.

Ahhh fresh out of the oven!

I like topping my pancake with powdered sugar and some squirts of a lemon wedge, but you can top it with lots of other things like maple syrup or your favorite fruit.

Ah nothing like a fun and delicious breakfast/brunch on a cold snowy day!

The begging pugs are back.

Rosy really really wanted to try some of this. She was begging more for this than a lot of my other savory dishes!

Trying to sneak a lick!

Sunny's eyes here crack me up!

Maybe I should rename these Pug Baby pancakes?

For those wondering, a quick internet search informed me that Dutch Baby pancakes are actually of German-American origin and the name is the result of a misinterpretation of the word "deutsch" for "Dutch" (like the Pennsylvania Dutch).

Sweet Potato Biscuits with Rosemary

Some days I don't feel like cooking at all and eat shin ramen or frozen food. And then other days I go into a internet-researching-and-cooking frenzy. Well, I think we're entering one of those phases. It started off so simply, with a brief conversation with my sister about our Thanksgiving duties. She asked if I could bring a dessert and do mashed potatoes. I did a vanilla cranberry crumb cake last year which was good but a little dry and so I decided to do some research for something new. And then the internet researching part of the frenzy began. So now I've decided to make four things for Thanksgiving - pumpkin pie cake, onion-mustard monkey bread, mashed potatoes, and these sweet potato biscuits with rosemary.

My first time making biscuits! The quality of my biscuits vary wildly based on how careful I am with evening out the dough and my carelessness, but regardless of how they look, they taste delicious! I made two batches and froze them for easy reheating before Thanksgiving dinner. I like the savory aspects of sweet potato things, but you can easily tweak this recipe to make it sweeter.

Now that I know that making biscuits is relatively easy, I'm very concerned about my waistline in the coming cold months. I ate two right as they came out of the oven. But so worth it. Nothing better than slightly burning your fingertips as you tear apart at a warm biscuit! Man I wish I had some bacon so that I could make a super yummy breakfast sandwich!

Servings: 12-16 2-inch biscuits

Ingredients:
1 pound sweet potatoes, scrubbed
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for cutting the biscuits)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (use 3 if you want your biscuits sweeter)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into chunks
1/2 cup reduced fat milk (plus 1-4 more tablespoons as needed)
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Handful of rosemary sprigs
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional - adds a nice kick but I omit it for the ones my niece and nephew might eat)

Instructions:

• Pierce the sweet potatoes in several places with a fork and microwave for 10 minutes (alternatively, you can bake them for about 1 hour in the oven at 400 degrees, but microwave is easier!). Let cool a bit and then peel the skin off and mash the sweet potatoes in a bowl with a fork. Place 1 1/2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes in the fridge until it's chilled (if you have any extra you can save for another batch or do what I did and give your dogs a treat).

• In a large bowl add 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper and stir until all ingredients are well mixed together.
• In a small bowl mix together 1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potato with 1/2 cup milk until well blended together. 
• Cut 8 tablespoons of butter into the dry mixture using a pastry blender, two knives (slicing like crossed swords), or your hands. Cut in the butter until there are pea-sized pieces of butter incorporated in the mixture. You want to have small pea-sized amounts of butter left intact as these lil pockets of cold butter help create air pockets in the biscuits when they bake and help the biscuit rise and keep it fluffy.

• Add the sweet potato-milk mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just mixed. If ingredients are too dry and not sticking, add some extra milk, 1 tablespoon at a time as needed. Don't overmix or this will lead to tough biscuits.
• Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees and either line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease it.
• Mix together one egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream and set aside.
• On a floured surface dump the dough and pat it out until it's about 1/2 inch thick throughout. 
• Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter (or upside down glass/jar/can) cut out as many biscuits as you can. Push the cutter down sharply but do not twist! That'll seal off the edges and seal in the steam so the biscuits won't rise. Place biscuits on the cookie sheet.
• Once you've cut out as many biscuits as you can the first go around, gather up the leftover scraps and pat it together and then out again. Stamp out more biscuits and add them to the cookie sheet. Supposedly each round you do this the biscuit will be less fluffy and potentially tougher so some recipes I saw said to only do this one extra time, but I hate waste and so I keep doing this until almost all the dough is used.
• Brush the egg-cream mixture on top of the biscuits and then lightly press a few pieces of rosemary on top. 

• Bake the biscuits for 20 minutes or until they are golden.
• Serve warm (or in my case, eat it while burning your tongue and fingertips over the kitchen sink) or you can freeze them and then reheat in the oven.

Now the fun part, more photos! 

You can see how inconsistent I was with the height of my biscuits. Meh - I'm no perfectionist.

Mmm!

Moved some over to the cooling rack.

Back to eating more biscuits!

If you cook it, they will come.

Nom nom nom!

Sigh, my view every time I eat.

So of course I felt bad and had to give the girls a teeny bit of sweet potato! Sweet potatoes for my sweet pugtatoes!

Adapted from Food and Wine.