Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: November 12, 2015
Its coming… It’s here… the most wonderful time of the year, you can drop the ball, and roll around with it or you can just keep it simple and delicious.
No guilt trips, no counting calories, just decide what makes you feel good before, during and after you eat it. I think that will be my mantra for the season and the year to come. I do not know if I will survive but I know that at least by asking this question it will make me chose better options with happy endings and no regrets like this Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie with Pecan Crust. To tell you the truth, when I was creating the recipe I was a little skeptical about if was going to be a recipe that will stand up side by side to all the goodness on a Thanksgiving table. Because after all it is “that time of the year” to be grateful and enjoy.
Trying a slice, this delicious creamy pumpkin pie that made me feel good while eating, before, during and after. I was hooked.
Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: October 27, 2015
This year to celebrate Day of the Dead, I decided to make some cookies utilizing ingredients that were more commonly used in more traditional Mexican cooking. I used Amaranth and an assortment of seeds and dried fruits to decorate the cookies. Amaranth has being cultivated in Mexico by the Aztecs 8,000 years ago. It was a great source of nutrition for them. The real value on amaranth was and is its seeds. These tiny little seeds are loaded with 12 to 17% protein and are high in lysine and essential amino acids. Amaranth seeds are also high in Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and many more minerals and vitamins. I think we should start looking at this plant and its nutritional value with wider eyes. Puffed amaranth seeds taste like a nutty popcorn. They are soft, tender and hold a great natural flavor.
Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: October 3, 2014
October is here and I can’t wait for pumpkinized everything. My primary pumpkin craving is pumpkin bread (delicious moist and spiced). So, here is my spin for this season. Its delicious and a new flavor combination for you to try.
The pumpkin flavor with Matcha is like having tea within your slice. The Matcha green tea powder, tames the sweet sweet notes and enhances the pumpkin, and the spices. These are the ingredients that ordinarily don’t meet in a recipe and come from opposite sides of the planet. Sometimes thats the kind of combo that we need. Matcha Streusel Pumpkin Bread will pumpkinize your tea time. Enjoy!
Happy Fall and stay tuned for Octoberfest! Pretzels, sausage, and beer recipes coming up soon!
Matcha Streusel Pumpkin Bread
Makes 1 loaf 9″x5″ or 10″x5″ or about 24 muffins
Dry ingredients:
1 Unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 whole wheat flour
1 cup of turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 -1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Wet ingredients:
1-1/2 cups roasted pumpkin
2 eggs room temperature
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup natural Bulgarian yogurt
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the streusel:
1/2 cup Unbleached all purpose flour
1/8 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons organic Matcha powder
1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans
6 tablespoons butter room temperature.
Directions:
Preheat oven at 375F
1. Prepare the matcha streusel, with a fork, combine all the ingredients with the softened butter until the mixture resembles a coarse lumpy dough. refrigerate while you prepare the rest…
2. In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients. Whisk. 3. On a medium size bowl combine all wet ingredients, mix well until well combined. 4. Combine wet into dry and fold until well incorporated being carefull of not over mixiing the batter. 5. Butter up a 10″x 5″ loaf pan, lined up with a piece of parchment paper long enough to hang about 4-5 inches on each side. (See picture below) 6. Pour batter into the mold and cover completely with the matcha streusel mixture. Lightly press so the crumbs stay attached to the top.
7. Bake at 350F for the first 30 min.- Check your bread at 30 minutes mark and tent it with a piece of aluminum foil shiny side up, to prevent he streusel to over-brown . Lower the temperature to 325F and bake for another 25-30 minutes. 8. Passed the 50 minutes mark, check near the center with a toothpick to check for doneness. Toothpick should come out clean with a few moist crumbs attached.
Remove from oven and cool it on a rack for 20 minutes, before slicing.
Once cool, slice it and enjoy!!!
Notes:
Store the bread in a piece of parchment paper and plastic wrap. It tastes better the next day!!!.. keep it safe and away from temptation… It will last for about a week, no need to refrigerate. This recipe will work for muffins. Divide the batter into cupcake molds lined with cupcake liners, fill up a bit over 1/2 way and add 1 heaping tablespoon of matcha streusel, you will need to make a double batch of the streusel. Bake at 325F for about 20-25 minutes.
Music Pairing: The Smashing Pumpkins – Tonight, tonight
This Pumpkin Bread is extra moist, has a fine crumb, great spice flavor with our masking the natural pumpkin flavors. The crumbly matcha streusel is a top-notch addition.
Makes 1 loaf 9″x5″ or 10″x5″ or about 24 muffins
Course
Breakfast
Cuisine
wholesome
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
1Unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4whole wheat flour
1cupof turbinado sugar
1teaspoonsalt
1 -1/2teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoonground cinnamon
1/2teaspoonground all-spice
1/2teaspoonnutmeg
Wet ingredients:
1-1/2cupsroasted pumpkin
2eggs room temperature
1/4cupolive oil
1/4cupmelted butter
1/3cupnatural Bulgarian yogurt
1teaspoonfresh grated ginger
1teaspoonvanilla extract
For the streusel:
1/2cupUnbleached all purpose flour
1/8cuppacked light brown sugar
2tablespoonsturbinado sugar
1/4teaspoonkosher salt
2teaspoonsorganic Matcha powder
1/4cuproughly chopped pecans
6tablespoonsbutter room temperature.
Instructions
Directions:
Preheat oven at 375F
Prepare the matcha streusel, with a fork, combine all the ingredients with the softened butter until the mixture resembles a coarse lumpy dough. refrigerate while you prepare the rest…
In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients. Whisk.
In a medium-size bowl combine all wet ingredients, mix well until well combined.
Combine wet into dry and fold until well incorporated being careful of not over mixing the batter.
Butter up a 10″x 5″ loaf pan lined up with a piece of parchment paper long enough to hang about 4-5 inches on each side. (See picture below)
Pour batter into the mold and cover completely with the matcha streusel mixture. Lightly press so the crumbs stay attached to the top.
Bake at 350F for the first 30 min.- Check your bread at 30 minutes mark and tent it with a piece of aluminum foil shiny side up, to prevent the streusel to over-brown. Lower the temperature to 325F and bake for another 25-30 minutes.
Passed the 50 minutes mark, check near the center with a toothpick to check for doneness. Toothpick should come out clean with a few moist crumbs attached.
Remove from oven and cool it on a rack for 20 minutes, before slicing.
Once cool, slice it and enjoy!!!
Substitutuions:
Any combination of oils like: melted coconut oil, canola oil, will work.
For the sugar: use a combination of coconut sugar and turnbinado, or brown sugar and turbinado, always use half and half to obtain a better crumb.
For Eggs you can make a vegan egg using 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds and 3 tablespoons of water. Mix this well until frothy, this amount will make the equivalent of 1 egg.
Recipe Notes
Notes: Store the bread on a piece of parchment paper and plastic wrap. It tastes better the next day!!!.. Keep it safe and away from temptation… It will last for about a week, no need to refrigerate. This recipe will work for muffins. Divide the batter into cupcake molds lined with cupcake liners, fill up a bit over 1/2 way and add 1 heaping tablespoon of matcha streusel, you will need to make a double batch of the streusel. Bake at 325-350F for about 20-25 minutes.
Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: November 22, 2013
I wish you could have smelled my kitchen the day I baked these crostatas, it was intoxicating!…
A cloud of buttery pecan, apple, cinnamon and allspice in the air.
Crostata, my absolutely favorite pastry. Let me tell you why…
During my sweet tooth life I’ve tried many pies: the open pies, the double crust, the lattice, you name it. I always felt there was too much sugary filling compared to the amount of crust. The pie ratio in most of the cases does not work for me.
The day I tried my first crostata I was madly in love. It was an apple crostata, in the town of apples Julian in California. It had the perfect ratio between crust and filling and the crust was golden brown , flaky and crumbly, tender, and buttery. The sensible single layer filling had a bubbly, slightly crusty caramelized top. Inside it was juicy and fruity, and I was lost. Yet, I felt illuminated, just like the Greeks when they discovered “the golden ratio”. I prefer to call it Crostata like the Italians, over Gallette like the French, and of course the less romantic name free form pie….any way you name it, it’s always so simply and utterly delicious.
What I call“The Crostata Golden Ratio” is that perfect amount of crust and filling, allowing you to savor the buttery flaky crust and the sensible layer of fruit topped with some sugar allowing the crust to stay crispy and flaky in every bite. The fruit acts like the butter; slightly sweet and a bit tart. Suddenly, all your tastebuds are awake; sweet, tart, creamy, crusty , buttery flaky…even days after its made, you can warm it in a toaster oven and it feels like you just baked it.
Now, if we talk about appearance, I love crostata with its rustic and honest look. It’s not decorated and definitely you can apply some decor, however I think the beauty comes from its baked right ingredients, the simple look is what makes it so attractive to eat and to prepare, no fuss, it is what it is.
I serve these crostatas with a cinnamon whipped cream and a honey-balsamic vinegar reduction, I love the tangy-sweet note that the reduction brings to the crostata, a caramel sauce will go great too….
Thanksgiving Crostatas will make a fabulous and sweet end to your dinner.
~ Happy Thanksgiving ~ from Ian and Mariana.
Thanksgiving Crostatas: Pecan, Apple & Pumpkin-Yam
Makes 3 – 7 ” x 11″rectangular Crostatas. Serves 24 to 18 slices.
For the Crust:
3-3/4 cups of unbleached-all purpose flour
3 sticks of butter
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 pinch salt
3/4-1 cup Ice cold water
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
1 cup of turbinado sugar to top the edges of the crust.
Directions:
Measure all your ingredients. Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix. Place the bowl in the freezer. Meantime cut your cold butter, and iced water ready to measure. Remove the bowl of dry ingredients from freezer and add the butter. With a pastry blender incorporate the butter and flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, and the butter pieces are small like the size of a pea. Slowly add the cold water and carefully, with your hands, form a dough that just holds together. Be careful not to over work the dough. Once that the dough holds together. Shape it into a rectangle about 9”x6” and then divide that rectangle into 3 pieces (see picture below) Wrap each rectangle with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour; you can rush it by placing into freezer for 20-25 minutes.
~ R o l l i n g ~
On a clean work surface, dusted with flour, unwrap the dough let sit for a couple of minutes and then roll the dough into a 13”x 9” rectangle and about 1/8″and 1/4″thin.
Rolling little by little, rotating the rectangular, for even thickness (see picture below).
~ F i l l i n g s ~
Pumpkin- Yam Crostata
Filling:
1 cup hefty pumpkin purée.
1 egg
1 tablespoon of heavy cream
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon of heavy cream
pinch of salt
2-3 small Yams or sweet potatoes.
3 Tablespoon butter cut into little squares to top the yams.
½ cup turbinado sugar
extra cinnamon for dusting
Directions:
In a bowl, mix the pumpkin pure, egg, heavy cream, sugar and spices and salt until well combined.
Yams: steamed, peel and slice into ½ “ slices. Set aside room temperature. Preheat Oven at 400. In a 1/4 sheet pan lined with parchment paper, place the 9″x13″ crust spread the layer of pumpkin mixture leaving a 1.5” inch margin around the rectangle to be folded. arrange the slices of yam and sprinkle with the little squares of butter, turbinado sugar, and dust with some cinnamon. Fold the sides and fold the corners into a triangle, (see picture below) Egg wash and sprinkle the turbinado sugar all around the crust and a little over the filling. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Until golden brown.
Apple Crostata
Filling:
2 granny smith apples peeled and sliced.
1 Honey suckle or pink lady peeled and sliced.
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (taste your apples! if they are two sweet you might need less sugar, if they are to sour, you need to add a bit more!)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated.
the zest of half a lemon about ½ teaspoon.
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Smidge of salt
Directions:
In a sauté pan melt the butter, add the sliced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and juice, salt. Saute until the apples are slightly tender and the liquids reduce. Remove from stove and cool down filling before use. Preheat Oven at 400. In a 1/4 sheet pan lined with parchment paper, place the 9″x13″ crust spread the saute apples in an evenly layer leaving a 1.5” inch margin around the rectangle to be folded. Fold the sides and fold the corners into a triangle, (see picture below) Egg wash and sprinkle the turbinado sugar all around the crust and a little over the filling. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Until golden brown.
Pecan Crostata
Filling:
1 cup pecans halves roasted
½ cup fine chopped pecans
8 oz cream cheese softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Directions:
In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese, chopped pecans, egg, vanilla and one tablespoon of sugar.
Toast the pecans and quick sauté them using a little butter and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, set aside and let them cool before using. Preheat Oven at 400. In a 1/4 sheet pan lined with parchment paper, place the 9″x13″ crust and spread the cream cheese filling leaving a 1.5” inch margin around the rectangle to be folded. Top with the sautéed pecans. Fold the sides and fold the corners into a triangle, (see picture below) Egg wash and sprinkle the turbinado sugar all around the crust and a little over the filling. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Until golden brown.
~ T o p p i n g s ~
Cinnamon Whipped cream:
½ cup heavy whipping cream
dash of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon powder sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
In a clean chilled metal bowl, whisk all ingredients until it forms soft peaks.
Keep refrigerated until serving.
Honey-Balsamic reduction:
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
In a small sauce pan combine honey and balsamic bring it to a slow simmer, check for desired consistency by running your finger on the back of the spoon. Serve warm.
Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: October 13, 2013
Warm and velvety and with a hint of roasted sweetness….It is inevitable to succumb to the cliche of pumpkin soup. I assure you there are 1,000 recipes out there with all different combinations spices, creamy, vegan, vegetarian…This version is my humble version of the Roasted pumpkin-poblano soup.
For the past few years, I’ve been making my vegetable soups under one principle: “do not add chicken stock”. Yes, it is that simple. I don’t want, under any circumstance, my broccoli soup to taste like chicken (or my potatoes, carrots, or any vegetable to taste like the bird). I want to savor the flavor of the vegetable. It is certainly a challenge to follow this principle because our inner chicken stock flavored souls desperately want to add more “depth of flavor”. For me, this is totally wrong. The way I make my vegetable soups are by enhancing the vegetables using different cooking methods like roasting, grilling, braising; all these cooking methods bring out the vegetable qualities, enhance the sweetness and flavor concentration to the soup. And yes, at times just a little help from other vegetable friends can harmonize the flavor.
Pumpkin has a delicate flavor so it is easy to mask, yet easier to harmonize. I love roasting or braizing. In this case, I chose to roast the pumpkin and add some caramelized sweet onions to bring out the sweet and earthy flavor of the pumpkin. Roasted poblanos, charred sweet corn, and some tortilla crisps play perfectly in this soup and add contrast in texture. With no doubt, it is one of my favorite soups to make, so easy and comforting. It freezes well if you want to store it for a quick-thaw meal and I just can tell you that after the photo shooting this soup was our good comforting dinner…
Roasting pumpkin is easy and so rewarding, I love the way the house smells, it’s a welcoming to fall. When getting ready for the pumpkin season, I usually pick 2 small pumpkins the size of a volley-ball or smaller. They are easier to cut in half and they cook faster than the bigger ones. Once I cut them in half, I scrape all the inner seeds, save them for feature roasting if I feel like-, and I place the pumpkin halves flat side down on a full sheet tray covered with foil rubbed with some oil to avoid from sticking. I bake them on the lower rack in the oven at high-temperature 450F for 25-35 minutes or until a paring knife inserts easily through the skin. Remove them from oven and let them cool off. Using a spoon I scrape all the pumpkin ~this is my favorite part so I don’t have to peel the pumpkin, which is hard and lots of work~. Once I scrape all pumpkin into a bowl, I use my handy-dandy immersion blender to puree the pumpkin. About each pumpkin half yields 1 to 1.5 cups or puree depending on the size of the pumpkin, then I make little reusable bags with 1 or 2 cups of the puree depending on the recipes I want to make, and freeze. 2 pumpkins is usually all the pumpkin I need and I’m ready for the season! Click on this link to check a How to roast a pumpkin tutorial with step by step photos and how to make a delicious pumpkin seed snack!
Roasted Pumpkin-Poblano soup
Serves 2 hungry persons as the main dish for dinner or 4 starter soups.
2 cups roasted pumpkin purée(I do prefer natural and roasting my own, you will need about 1 small pumpkin the size of a softball. You can use canned, about 2- 8oz cans, but it is definitely not my favorite option)
4 cups water
1 small sweet yellow onion caramelized
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 -1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Garnish with:
2 poblanos roasted, skin, devein and cut into strips
1 cup of charred corn kernels, about 1-2 ears of corn depending on size
¼ cup of Mexican cream or Greek yogurt, If using Greek yogurt dilute with a bit of water and add a pinch of salt.
2 corn tortillas, thinly cut into strips, baked or fried
Directions:
Over medium-high heat using a heavy bottom soup pot, place the oil the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook until they are soft and translucent. Lower the heat and keep on cooking until deep golden brown and caramelized.
Add pumpkin puree, water salt, pepper nutmeg. With the help of an immersion blender blend the soup until smooth.Let it simmer until bubbly hot. Adjust the liquids and salt if needed, for desired consistency and taste. At last, right before serving, add the tablespoon of butter and stir until melted and incorporated.
Serve warm in a soup bowl and garnish with the warm poblanos, charred corn, and thinly fried tortilla strips.
You can add a dollop of Greek yogurt or a swirl of cream.
For vegan:
Use: vegan butter and replace cream swirl with any soy or coconut or almond based cream.
Music Pairing: The smashing Pumpkins, Tonight, Tonight
Warm up with this cozy Mexican spin on a fall pumpkin soup!
Course
Soup
Cuisine
Mexican
Prep Time35minutes
Cook Time20minutes
Total Time55minutes
Servings4people
AuthorMariana McEnroe
Ingredients
2cupsroasted pumpkin puréeI do prefer natural and roasting my own, you will need about 1 small pumpkin the size of a softball. You can use canned, about 2- 8oz cans, but it is definitely not my favorite option
4cupswater or vegetable stock
1smallsweet onion,caramelized
1tablesspoonbutter
1tablespoonextra virgin olive oil
1teaspoonsea salt
1/2teaspoonwhite pepper
1/4 -1/2teaspoongrated nutmeg
Garnish with:
2largeroasted poblanos,skin, deveined and cut into strips
1cupcharred corn kernels,about 2 small ears of corn depending on size
1/4cupGreek yogurt,diluted with some milk or water and pinch of salt
2piecescorn tortillas,thinly cut into strips, baked or fried.
Instructions
Over medium-high heat in a soup pot, place the oil the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook until they are soft and translucent. Lower the heat and let them become brown and caramelized. About 7-8 minutes.
Add pumpkin puree, water/or/vegetable stock, salt, white pepper, nutmeg. Let it simmer until bubbly hot. Adjust the liquids for desired consistency.
At last, add the tablespoon of butter and stir until melted and incorporated.
Serve warm in a soup bowl and garnish with the poblanos, charred corn, and thinly fried tortilla strips.
You can add a dollop of Greek yogurt or a swirl of Mexican crema. Enjoy!
Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: October 8, 2013
October, the month of the most beautiful moons, weather changes and…pumpkins.
Pumpkin shakes, pumpkin coffee, pies, cheesecake, soup, bread, cookies, everything pumpkin!
It’s all about the pumpkin season, spices, aromatics, baking!…what Am I baking? Pumpkin doughnut bites!
Pumpkin is so versatile,it can easily be used in sweet and savory dishes, and it makes the most comforting warm soup for the fall. For me it is always 100% worth the effort to roast them. Its so easy; the house warms up and it taste so much better than the canned stuff. My advice is to buy 3 to 4 small to medium pumpkins roast them puree them and keep them in small batches that you can freeze for feature dishes. Why small or medium pumpkins? They are easy to cut, they cook faster and you do not need 2 oompa loompas to carry them into the oven. But, if you prefer to buy a bigger one they are definitely more meaty and you can cut it into smaller pieces so it will bake faster. The more pumpkin the merrier.
This recipe is incredibly easy and rewarding, so few ingredients transform into the most delightful bites. The pumpkin flavor is enhanced by all the aromatic spices, they are like pieces of pumpkin clouds in your mouth, little pillows of comforting goodness. The pumpkin keeps the batter moist and when you bite into them, the contrast between the soft inside and crunchy sugar crystals make these doughnut like bites irresistible!..
They make the perfect little bite with your morning coffee, or afternoon cup of tea… I love them with a glass of cold milk.
Pumpkin -baked- doughnut bites
Makes 25-30 bites
Dry:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Wet:
1/3 cup vegetable oil
½ cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup pumpkin puree
½ cup whole milk
Roll them in:
1 stick of butter melted in a small bowl
In a separate bowl combine the next three ingredients:
2/3 cup fine granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
Directions:
Preheat oven at 350F/ 176C
1.-
In a medium bowl whisk all dry ingredients. In a medium bowl whisk all wet ingredients.
With a spatula, combine wet and dry ingredients until well incorporated. (do not over mix).
2.-
Proceed and grease 2 mini muffin pans with non-stick spray.
Using a small Ice cream scooper (1.5” inch diameter works best for a mini muffin pan)
scoop the batter immediately.
Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes.
3.-
Cool them on a rack for about 15 minutes.
Proceed to quick coat them into the melted butter, making sure to drip the excess butter before dumping them into the sugar-cinnamon dust. Roll them until well cover and tap the bites to remove any excess sugar-cinnamon. Place them on a cooling rack and allow to dry for about 30 minutes. Keep them in an air tight container far away from reach… they are highly addictive. Enjoy!
Keep them in an air tight container far away from reach… they are highly addictive. Enjoy!
