Ahhhhhhh. Memorial Day Weekend was such an unexpectedly sun-filled blast. Everyone seemed in the mood to get down, so it was perfect timing for my friend Andrew to host his housewarming party. In the spirit of the recession, all of the snacks Andrew wanted to have on hand were to be economical and comfort foods, like pigs in a blanket, homemade hummus with pita, crab rangoons, potato chips, cookies, twizzlers and the like. On Friday night, I went over after work to prepare a few treats ahead so we could enjoy ourselves the day of the affair: Sour Cream Fudge Mini-Cupcakes and Three-Cheese Mini Macs (affectionately called "those mac 'n' cheese balls you make" by some).
I hate to brag...but people kind of loved them. So I decided to share the recipes for both below.
- Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 1/4 cups Organic Quinoa Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 Eggs, seperated
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla
- 1/4 cup Sour Cream
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place the butter and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, remove from
heat and whisk in the cocoa powder. Sift together the sugar, quinoa
flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the cooled cocoa
mixture, egg yolks, vanilla and sour cream and blend well. The consistency will be fairly thick. Beat the egg
whites until stiff but not dry. (This took me forever using my arm as the motor, but went very fast as soon as I regained my sanity and found the electronic mixer in Andrew's pantry.) Fold into batter, which will now become rather loose. You might worry that you did something wrong, but you didn't.
Spoon into a muffin tin lined with paper cupcake liners. Or, if you're like me, you can take a cue from Martha stewart and cut small squares out of parchment paper and scrunch them down into the individual tins for a fancier touch. They will not stay until you actually place the batter inside of them, so it's best not to do this near an open window. Also, I would recommend using a baster to inject the batter into the parchment scrunches, because it will have a neater overall effect. (This is something I decided in hindsight, so the picture above exhibits slightly more devil-may-care cupcakes.) Bake for 15
minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 24 mini cupcakes. And if you really want to get nuts, you can ask you boyfriend to teach you how to use a pastry bag, like I did, and then pipe little blobs and baubles of cream cheese frosting on top.
The Three Cheese MiniMacs were originally adapted from a recipe I found in Food & Wine. They are portable, bite-sized and people's eyes lit up literally every time I came toward them with a plate fresh from the oven...ahem, Jamie. I think the next time, I may up the ante and add a mix-in, like bits of jalapeño or bacon or a thinly sliced cherry tomato on top for fun. But for now, here is the basic recipe. The only thing I do different from F&W is I never add the egg or the Spanish paprika. It's just pure creamy goodness.
Ingredients:
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for brushing
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 packed cup)
4 ounces deli-sliced American cheese, chopped
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425°.
In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al
dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, shaking off the excess water. Brush four 12-cup, nonstick mini muffin tins with butter. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the Parmigiano; tap out the excess. In a large saucepan, melt the 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in
the flour over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook,
whisking, until boiling, about 5 minutes. Add the cheddar and American
cheeses and whisk until melted. Off the heat, whisk in the egg yolk and
paprika. Fold in the macaroni. Spoon slightly rounded tablespoons of the macaroni into the
prepared muffin cups, packing them gently. Sprinkle the remaining 2
tablespoons of Parmigiano on top. Bake the mini macs in the upper and middle thirds of the oven for
about 10 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Let cool for 5 minutes.
Using a small spoon, carefully loosen the mini macs, transfer to a
platter and serve. Food & Wine claims that this recipe yields 48 mini macs but I have always ended up with 36, so clearly I over-stuff my cups.
More Memorial Day Weekend Food Coverage on great dishes (like the one Jason made below) to come!
