Bagel Bombs

There is nothing in the Midwest comparable to a New York bagel. If you disagree with me, I will argue until my throat is so sore I can no longer speak. And even then I will continue to hassle you with annoying texts. Just accept it. I have no idea what the magic ingredient is to making bagels so good. I've tried, and while they're tasty, they still don't have that...je ne sais quoi (also, I have updated my bagel recipe since that blog post, and prefer to use this one now).

So maybe I don't have the magic New York bagel touch, but I can do my best with what I've got. Right? Right. So once again I turn to my beloved Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook. I may have a level 2 girl crush on Christina Tosi. If you don't understand that reference...that's perfectly fine, haha.

Do bagel bombs count as bagels? I like to think so, yes. Comprised of a very versatile "mother dough" that is stuffed with a scallion and bacon cream cheese filling and topped with everything bagel mix. Sounds downright delightful to me. But on the off chance any of you dear readers from the New York area are making a random stop in Wisconsin in the near future, please bring me a bagel. I will love you forever. 

Oh hey there, Instagram. It's been a while. 

Bagel Bombs
from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook

Components:

• Mother Dough (Recipe Below)
• Bacon, Scallion Cream Cheese Plugs (Recipe Below)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp water
• 1 recipe Everything Bagel Mix (Recipe Below)

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silpat.
2. On a smooth, dry, lightly floured surface punch down the mother dough. Portion the dough into 8 equal sized pieces.
3. Taking 1 portion of dough at a time, carefully stretch it to about 3 inches wide. Place one of the prepared cream cheese plugs in the middle of the dough, then fold the dough back up to surround the cream cheese completely. Roll the dough between your hands to try and smooth out the crevices. You want it to look like a dinner roll. Place the finished ball on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and cream cheese.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the egg and water. Brush generously over each one of the bagel bombs.
5. Generously and evenly over the 8 bagel bombs, sprinkle the everything mix until it covers every inch but the bottoms.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 -30 minutes. They will brown up and eventually expel the cream cheese goo. Don’t worry when this happens – just shove the cream cheese back inside it’s respective bomb.
7. They are best eaten immediately (slightly cooled as to not burn your tongue). If you do have some left over, wrap them individually in plastic and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Mother Dough

Makes enough for the bagel bomb recipes. It is half of the original recipe.

Ingredients:

• 275 g (1 3/4 cups) bread flour
• 6 g (1/2 tbsp) salt
• 1/2 tsp or 1/4 packet active dry yeast
• Slightly above room temperature water – 2/3 to 3/4 cup
• Oil

Directions:

1.  In the bowl of your stand mixer using the dough hook, stir together the flour, salt, yeast and 2/3 cup water until it is “a shaggy mass.”
2. Attach the bowl and hook to your mixer and set to the lowest speed for 3 minutes.
3. After the 3 minutes the dough should be smoother and 1 larger mass of dough. Continue kneading on the lowest speed for 4 minutes. After the 4 minutes it should bounce back when poked.
4. Brush a bowl with a bit of oil, the dump the dough into it and turn it over in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and store in warm, draft free place for at least 45 minutes. The dough should double in size. 
5. Once it has doubled it is now ready to use. If you don’t want to use it that day, cover it very well in a container double it’s size and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you are ready to use it bring it back to room temp on the counter for 30 minutes.

Bacon, Scallion Cream Cheese Plugs

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 oz bacon – 4 or 5 slices
• 1 – 8 oz block cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Cook the bacon until dark and crunchy. You definitely want it crunchy for this so be a little patient! Reserve the bacon and bacon grease separately. 
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer using the beater attachment, mix the cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl. Mix in the cooled, reserved bacon fat until homogenous. Scrape down the bowl.
3. Add the scallions, crumbled bacon, sugar and salt. Mix on medium speed for 1 or 2 minutes, or until fully incorporated.
4. Scoop the mixture onto a lined cookie sheet. You want 8 equal sized lumps. Freeze until rock hard, 1 – 3 hours.
5. Once frozen solid they are ready to use.

Everything Bagel Mix Ingredients:

• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
• 2 tsp black sesame seeds
• 2 tsp poppy seeds
• 1 tbsp dried onion
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. Mix everything together in a bowl and use when needed.
2. Store in a covered container for up to 6 months.

Spaghetti Carbonara

I'm not really sure why I rarely blog the "real" things I eat. I swear, I do eat things beside cake. Sometimes. I think part of it is that when I'm cooking, I'm feeling more "I'm hungry and I don't want to take pictures, I want to eat my dinner" rather than "Oh, what a fun break this is from doing homework". You dig?

 And it's not even that I make really boring things for dinner. Some of the more notable meals have been pasta e fagioli, chicken tikka masala, pad thai, and pandan chicken. Oftentimes I even take pictures of my ingredients or process but I just forget to take a picture of the final dish. Or I just don't feel like it. Basically, I just suck, haha. 

I've also made spaghetti carbonara before and not posted it, but this time I've made a concerted effort to bring it to you! It's an incredibly easy and tasty meal, and a good way to use up random bits of food from the fridge. Perfect for a college student. 

Oh, by the way, today is the start of my spring break, woo! Or, as the Irish kids call it, reading week. I guess this is a period of study for them. For me, it's a period of almost interrupted travel! So I won't be able to post much/at all for the next week or two. But I promise you that when I come back, I'll have all sorts of stories to share. Wish me safe journeys!

 

Spaghetti Carbonara 
adapted slightly from BBC Good Food
serves 2ish

50 grams chopped back bacon (what I used), ham, pancetta, Canadian bacon...not American bacon
50g grated Parmesan
1 large egg
175 grams spaghetti
1 crushed garlic clove
a bit of butter or olive oil for the pan

Cook your spaghetti according to directions on the package. Add a little salt to the water. 
While the spaghetti is cooking, fry the meat with the garlic. Drop the butter into a large wide frying pan or wok and, as soon as the butter has melted, tip in the meat and garlic. Leave these to cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the meat is golden and crisp.
Keep the heat under the meat on low.When the pasta is ready, drain it, but leave a bit of pasta water to thin the sauce. I only needed a few tablespoons. In your now empty spaghetti pot, throw the spaghetti back in, plus the bacon/garlic mixture, and the cheese.
Take the pan of spaghetti and meat off the heat. Now quickly crack the egg in, and using the tongs or a long fork, lift up the spaghetti so it mixes easily with the egg mixture, which thickens but doesn't scramble, and everything is coated. Add extra pasta cooking water to keep it saucy (several tablespoons should do it). You don't want it wet, just moist. Season with a little salt, if needed.
Use a long-pronged fork to twist the pasta on to the serving plate or bowl. Serve immediately with a little sprinkling of the remaining cheese and a grating of black pepper. If the dish does get a little dry before serving, splash in some more hot pasta water and the glossy sauciness will be revived.

Shhhhhh....(Butternut Squash + Bacon Pasta)

I've been feeling kind of quiet lately. I dunno how many of you blog, but do you ever feel blogged out? Like, I've definitely been making food, no doubt, like The Pastry Affair's Chocolate Banana Cake, tomato basil bisque, and monster zucchini bread. I mean, look at this sucker! 

Also look at my fancy nails. 

But sometimes I don't have a story to go along with my food. Or, I could create one, but it would feel forced and distract me from simply enjoying the process. I'm not the kind of person who talks because they like to hear their own voice (I'm not sure anyone would willingly admit to being that person, but you can ask my close friends and family, it's definitely not true for me). I'm okay with long silences. I frequently revel in them. 

Hi! I'm a cute and annoying butternut squash who is far too difficult to cut!

So here's a many stepped but uncomplicated recipe, perfect for getting lost in the quiet of your thoughts. I made it for my family while they were out of the house, and it was a lovely treat to get to cook with the only sounds being a knife hitting a cutting board and the sizzle of oil in a pan. 

Butternut Squash + Bacon Pasta

adapted from Cooking Light magazine 

Ingredients

• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• 6 sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices (raw)
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• 8 ounces uncooked penne
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups skim milk
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 425°.
• Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and pepper. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray (don't forget the cooking spray like me, haha); sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Increase oven temperature to 450°.
• Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Increase heat to medium-high. Add onions to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Combine squash mixture, bacon, and onions; set aside.
• Cook pasta according to the package directions, drain well.
• Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add mozzarella, stirring until cheese melts. Add pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; top with squash mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

Sorry...

I'm lazy. Go ahead, say it, throw things at me, whatever you deem an appropriate punishment. I'm sorry for abandoning you. I baked a lot, I swear. 

Can I make it up to you? With bacon cupcakes? I know they sound weird, but be adventurous and try one. 

I love bacon. Especially when it's really crispy. I like when you can snap it apart. None of this floppy stuff. Bacon and chocolate is a magical pairing. The bacon adds a bit of salt and smokiness to the cake, and toffee bits provide some crunch. And maple cream cheese frosting is...simply delicious. 

...Don't be afraid.

Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes

adapted from Cupcake Bakeshop

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I like the dark stuff)

1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-1/2 slices cooked bacon cut into chunks
1/3 cup chopped chocolate covered toffee

1. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2 Add egg and beat until well combined.
3. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine
5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
6. Gently fold in the bacon and toffee chunks.
7. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 1/2-2/3’s full. Bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Frost when cooled, and keep in the fridge.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 pound cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 cups confectioners' sugar

3 tablespoons maple syrup

  

Beat the cream cheese and butter together in a large bowl until well combined; add confectioner's sugar and maple syrup and beat until smooth. Store in refrigerator until needed.