This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on December 12, 2012.

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After being urged by several different people to try the Food Market, we did, with some delicious results.

The place is popular. Seriously. We eat dinner early, partly to miss the crowd, partly because we're old. By 6pm on a Saturday, the place was hopping, and getting louder by the minute. The music was loud, the people were louder, and the restaurant has no sound-absorbing materials at all, apart from the barely-padded banquette seats. So bring earplugs and a hearty appetite because there's lots to try.

The menu at the Food Market has categories like "little," "small," "big," and "in-between," which translates as "finger food appetizers (plus a soup)," "appetizers that require a fork," "entrees," and "sandwiches." (You're welcome.) Absolutely everything sounded like something we wanted to eat, so it was a bit hard to narrow down our choices. Eventually we settled on two littles, two smalls, and one in-between to share.

The Amish soft pretzels were less the stereotypical salty twists and more like buttery bread fingers (think Aunt Annie's). The generous portion of beer cheese fondue was spiked with jalapeno and had a nice kick. It was so good, we hated to waste it; even after the pretzels were gone, we kept the cheese sauce as a dip for french fries and the tasty foccacia that was brought to the table when we arrived.

Amish soft pretzels, beer cheese fondue

The meatloaf fries were fat little fingers of very good, very moist, homestyle meatloaf, dipped in tempura batter and deep fried. Complete overkill, but quite tasty. I think I might enjoy the meatloaf more if it were served in a more traditional manner.

Meatloaf fries crispy tempura ketchup & black pepper beef gravy

At this point, after only two courses, I was getting full. The next two dishes that arrived were thankfully somewhat lighter. Yes, the pork belly seemed lighter than the meatloaf, probably because it hadn't been deep fried. Not that there's anything wrong with deep frying....

I am an ice cream fanatic. I could eat it every day (but I don't). One of my all-time favorite flavors is Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby (though it ranks a distant second to B&J fabulous Wavy Gravy). Chubby Hubby seemed to disappear from the market. I heard that it was discontinued. Now I hear it's back again, but different--the pretzels have changed or something. I still haven't seen it in the grocery store, so it seemed like high time to attempt to make it at home. And here's the recipe.

I changed the name to avoid copyright infringement. Also to be more inclusive.

Pudgy Partner Ice Cream

For the ice cream:
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons softened cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2/3 cup malted milk powder

To finish:
Fudge ribbon
1 cup peanut butter-filled pretzels, lightly crushed (I used Trader Joe's)
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter, warmed in the microwave for 30-45 seconds to liquefy

For the fudge ribbon:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/8 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/8 cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon fine or table sea salt
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the ice cream: Mix 2 tablespoons of the whole milk with the cornstarch to make a slurry. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream cheese and salt together until smooth. Prepare a shallow ice bath: in a large bowl or baking pan, place an inch of cold water and several ice cubes. Set aside.

Cook the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan until it comes to a rolling boil, Boil for 4 minutes, watching carefully so it doesn't boil over (stir when it starts to expand), remove from heat, and slowly whisk in the slurry. Bring back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Blend a few tablespoons of hot milk mixture into the cream cheese to loosen it, then pour the cream cheese mixture into the pan of milk. Whisk well until smooth. Pour into a container with a tight-fitting lid and place the container into the ice bath until cool, ensuring that the water level doesn't come up as far as the lid. When the mixture seems mostly cool, refrigerate until completely cold.

To finish: Make fudge ribbon.

To make the fudge ribbon: Combine all of the ingredients except the vanilla in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook on low heat until everything is melted, then cook an additional 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Freeze ice cream according to manufacturers instructions. Once  the ice cream is done, scoop some into a large lidded storage container. Drizzle on some of the fudge sauce--feel free to allow it to settle in big globs--followed by some of the pretzels, and some of the peanut butter. Continue to layer ice cream, fudge, pretzels, and peanut butter--ending with a layer of ice cream--until all ingredients have been used up. Press a piece of wax paper onto the surface of the ice cream. Seal container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

There will be a little bit of fudge sauce left over. Store in a covered container in the fridge. Warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds to use as hot fudge sauce, or eat it from the container with a spoon.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Pretzels with beer sauce

We started off with some familiar Food Market snacks: soft pretzels with beer sauce, and fried pickles. Those pretzels provide all the flavor you would expect from a soft pretzel, but are lighter and more buttery tasting. They're so good, they don't even really need the beer cheese dip, but eat it anyway. And somehow that combination of juicy dill pickle and crispy fried batter works so well, especially when combined with bleu cheese and hot sauce, flavors reminiscent of buffalo wings.

Fried Pickles

The first official course of the evening was modestly called Chicken Broth. The broth was indeed a clean and intensely chickeny-tasting chicken stock with a faint whiff of truffle oil. The broth became soup when poured over a bowl of items including roasted, finely diced mirepoix, freshly made farfalle, both raw and fried prosciutto, and an asiago cream. The combination of flavors and textures are incredibly fun to play around with.

Chicken Broth

The next course featured a pear poached in red wine and stuffed with goat cheese. The red wine was enhanced with clove, shallot, thyme, and other elements to further flavor the pear, which sat atop a raspberry emulsion, arugula, and spiced pecans. Again, the balance of flavors and textures was spot on, with crisp and spicy pear and pecan, creamy goat cheese, and fruity emulsion.

Poached Pear Stuffed with Goat Cheese

The seafood course featured a thick chunk of seared wild rockfish decorated with lemony lump crab meat and micro greens. The skin of the fish was perfectly crisp and the two types of aquatic protein provided an interesting juxtaposition of flavors and textures.

Rockfish with Lump Crab Meat

Our entree was charred lamb with salt-roasted baby potatoes, porcini cream, horseradish mustard, and strips of shaved portobello mushroom. The mustard provided a burst of sinus-clearing heat, balancing the hearty cream and potatoes. The medium rare lamb was succulent and tender, and I was not ashamed to grab both chops by the bone to wrestle them for every morsel of meat.

Charred Lamb

Dessert was a deconstructed s'more. A house-made graham cracker was decorated with swirls of rich chocolate pot de creme (sans pot) and toasted marshmallow. A hickory foam served to recreate the illusion of a s'more cooked over a wood fire. It's advisable to not taste the hickory foam on its own as the flavor was a bit harsh, but taken with the rest of the elements, there is a vague smokiness that completes the effect of the campfire treat. The Minx and I are not fans of traditional s'mores, but when each element is made from scratch with this level of care, the effect is quite satisfying.

S'mores

Along with some incredible food, the cozy atmosphere of the basement kitchen and the ability to watch your meal being prepared in front of you creates an enjoyable dining experience. It's rare when you get to watch chefs of this caliber at work in such close quarters. The whole evening is a bit like having a terrific dinner party--if your host happens to be an award-winning chef.

You can have this same meal (or one like it) at the Food Market Private Kitchen on March 26th, 2016. Tickets are $80 per person, and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. For more details and to buy tickets, go to http://www.thefoodmarketbaltimore.com/ and click the "Private Kitchen" link at the top of the page, then scroll down.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

While I'm a pretty adventurous cook, baking still scares me a little. I'm not a scientist by any means, and baking is a pretty science-y thing. If one doesn't follow directions exactly, chances are, things might not turn out the way they should.

I bake bread now, but only with the almost fool-proof technique found in Artisan Baking in Five Minutes a Day. My first attempt at bread, 20 years ago, was so bad, I haven't tried any other recipe. Until I decided to put on my big-girl apron and tackle soft pretzels. The dough required very little handling, so maybe I couldn't mess it up too badly. And I thought it might be nice to eat sandwiches on homemade pretzel rolls while we watched the commercials during the Super Bowl.

The recipe, which I found in an old Better Homes and Garden special baking magazine, called for twisting the dough. That part didn't turn out so well. When I lowered the twists into a pot of hot water with baking soda, they untwisted. The end result was a bit uneven-looking, as you can see from the photos. And, they fell apart once we crammed a sausage into them. But...they tasted pretty damn good.

We ate them with smoked kielbasa topped with a honey pickled mustard seed mayo, fennel slaw, caramelized onions, and tomato jam.

I'd make them again, but wouldn't bother with the twist part. I'd just shape the dough into 6 long rolls before the 30 minute rise and leave them that way for the dunk in soda water.

Pretzel Rolls (adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Fall Baking 2013)

3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/3 to 2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 cups hot water
1/2 cup baking soda
1 egg yolk lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
Coarse salt

Heat milk, water, and sugar until just warm (110°F). I used a microwave, but you can use a saucepan over low heat. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook. Sprinkle with the yeast and let stand for a few minutes until foamy. Add 2 1/3 cups of flour, the butter, and salt and beat on low speed until combined, 2-3 minutes. Turn speed to medium-low and beat an additional 8-10 minutes, until a soft dough forms. Scrape bowl as necessary. If the dough seems too sticky, add the additional flour. When the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl, turn it out onto a dry surface.

Knead dough a few times, shape into a ball, and place into a bowl that has a bit of olive oil in it. Turn the dough to coat with oil, cover bowl, and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment.

Punch risen dough down and divide into six portions. Roll and stretch each portion into a 12" rope. (OR, just make fat 6" - 8" long rolls.) Place each on prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Fold each piece of dough in half, then twist twice. (OR, just skip the twist if you made the fat rolls.)

In a deep dish or pot, add the water and the baking soda, stirring to dissolve soda. Using a slotted spoon, lower dough twists into water for 10 seconds, then drain on paper towels. Arrange drained twists on prepared baking sheet.

Beat egg and water together in a small bowl. Brush over dough twists and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes until deeply browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 6 rolls.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

After being urged by several different people to try the Food Market, we did, with some delicious results.

The place is popular. Seriously. We eat dinner early, partly to miss the crowd, partly because we're old. By 6pm on a Saturday, the place was hopping, and getting louder by the minute. The music was loud, the people were louder, and the restaurant has no sound-absorbing materials at all, apart from the barely-padded banquette seats. So bring earplugs and a hearty appetite because there's lots to try.

The menu at the Food Market has categories like "little," "small," "big," and "in-between," which translates as "finger food appetizers (plus a soup)," "appetizers that require a fork," "entrees," and "sandwiches." (You're welcome.) Absolutely everything sounded like something we wanted to eat, so it was a bit hard to narrow down our choices. Eventually we settled on two littles, two smalls, and one in-between to share.

The Amish soft pretzels were less the stereotypical salty twists and more like buttery bread fingers (think Aunt Annie's). The generous portion of beer cheese fondue was spiked with jalapeno and had a nice kick. It was so good, we hated to waste it; even after the pretzels were gone, we kept the cheese sauce as a dip for french fries and the tasty foccacia that was brought to the table when we arrived.

Amish soft pretzels, beer cheese fondue

The meatloaf fries were fat little fingers of very good, very moist, homestyle meatloaf, dipped in tempura batter and deep fried. Complete overkill, but quite tasty. I think I might enjoy the meatloaf more if it were served in a more traditional manner.

Meatloaf fries crispy tempura ketchup & black pepper beef gravy

At this point, after only two courses, I was getting full. The next two dishes that arrived were thankfully somewhat lighter. Yes, the pork belly seemed lighter than the meatloaf, probably because it hadn't been deep fried. Not that there's anything wrong with deep frying....

A recent party opportunity presented an occasion to make the pretzel crunch from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook I received for my birthday last month. I had originally wanted to make Chex Mix, but cereal is so damn expensive! Instead, I bought some malt powder, milk powder (which can be used for other Milk Bar recipes in the future), and a bag of pretzels, and whipped up some salty sweet crunchy goodness that ended up being a huge hit.

While it's lovely as is, I think it would be even better with the inclusion of some toasted nuts. Or maybe chocolate. Or both. Give it a try!

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.