Max Brenner

Before Christmas this year, my friend, T, and I decided to plan a date day for ourselves. Part of our fun day was to visit Max Brenner in Union Square for some major food consumption and boy, did we do our jobs well! Unfortunately I forgot my camera so you will have to pardon the photos from my phone camera.

I had never been to Max Brenner, although T had and guided me through the menu. Of course, we had to try EVERYTHING. And I do mean EVERYTHING! We started off debating between milkshakes and hot chocolate and decided to split a milkshake (even though it was freezing outside) and to order hot chocolate after our meal to-go.

So, after much deliberation, we decided on the Hazelnut Cream Chocolate Milkshake, which had vanilla bourbon ice cream, dark chocolate truffle and whipped cream.



WHOOO! Talk about delicious. This ended up being my favorite part of the meal. And aren't the cups adorable?! It was sort of like drinking Nutella, which we all know I can't stop myself from eating.

Next up was the main course. We decided t get two dishes to split, the first being the Mushroom and Ricotta Pizza with black olives and sun dried tomato pesto.



Since pizza is one of my favorite foods, if it's on the menu, I pretty much have to eat it. This pizza was good! Not my favorite but I enjoyed the thin crust and zesty pesto that was used as a sauce.

The other entree we split was Max's Sandwish of the Seas which had pan seared/seasoned salmon, caramelized onion, spicy roasted pepper aioli, tomato and lettuce.



 I LOVED this sandwhich. Next time I will probably just get one for myself. The coating on the salmon was super crunchy without compromising the soft fish inside. It came with a side of french fries that they dusted with cocoa powder. What a great idea!

(Side story: Speaking of cocoa powder on french fries, when I was little I ordered fries at a restaurant and mistakenly sprinkled them with sugar instead of salt. At first I refused to eat them and put up a huge fuss. Of course, after trying them I fell in love and for years after, I always ate my fries with sugar. What a wierdo!)



And, of course, what is the point of going to Max Brenner without getting dessert? At this point, we were both pretty full, but having run 10 miles earlier in the day, I had no problem singling out the dessert menu. We decided to split The Euphoria Peanut Butter Chocolae Fudge Sundae (say that three times fast!). It had chocolate peanut butter ice cream, caramelized banana toffees, pure chocolate chuncks, milk chocolate sauce and warm peanut butter sauce. It was garnished with whipped cream and hazelnut bits and served with extra peanut butter sauce and pure chocolate ganache. 



Lawda mercy was this thing crazy good! And SO rich! I am ashamed to admit we couldn't finish it. Chocolate and peanut butter were in each bite I took! So good!



Unfortunately we were both too full for hot chocolate afterwards, but will definitely be going back  at some point soon. We got lucky and didn't have to wait long for a table (about 30 seconds if you can believe it), but I hear it gets a little nuts so plan accordingly if you do go. I can't wait to return to Max Brenner and eat my face off again!

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Butter

I've been talking about Gnocchi for awhile now. I was begging Spice to make it for me, but she hasn't gotten around to it yet. When I was home for Christmas, however, LadyJayPee pulled out an article in the Seattle Times for Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Butter and with a few pumpkins still fresh from her garden, I knew what my dinner project was going to be!



This was no doubt a time-consuming project, but SOOOO much fun! And the finished product...WHOOOO! Boy! Have I been missing out on the gnocchi train!



Although I followed the recipe this time, next time I will make pumpkin puree the "easy" way, by cutting the pumpkin in half and baking before scraping out the insides and pureeing it in a food processor. I also drained the puree a bit through a strainer to remove the access liquid. 

My pumpkin was approximately 3 lbs instead of the recommended 1 1/2. It still worked out perfectly though!



According to Atkinson, pressing the gnocchi dough into simple discs that are thinner in the center than around the edges allows them to cook evenly, like the hole in a doughnut. Many other versions are made by rubbing the gnocchi against the tines of a fork to create shell-like nuggets.

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Butter
From The Seattle Times, Greg Atkinson

For the Gnocchi:
1 1/2 lbs fresh pie (sugar) pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons butter
1 to 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, or to taste

For the sage butter:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
24 fresh sage leaves

For the garnish:
2 ounces parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

1. Pile the pumpkin cubes onto a rack over a cup of water in a medium-size saucepan. Steam over medium-high heat until the pumpkin is soft and tender, about 10 minutes. Lift the rack from the saucepan, discard the cooking water and allow the pumpkin to cool to room temperature. 

2. Force the steamed pumpkin through a food mill or press it through the holes of a colander. Put the puree back in the pan and stir in the 2 tablespoons of butter. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the pumpkin has thickened and dried, about 10 minutes.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and when the pumpkin puree has cooled almost to room temperature, stir in a cup of the flour, the egg yolk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. You should have a very sticky dough. Stir in another half cup of flour, then sprinkle the remaining flour onto a clean, dry surface and scrape the dough onto the flour. Knead the mixture gently, incorporating just enough flour to make a soft dough.

4. To form the gnocchi, divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a rope about an inch thick and cut the rope into 12 pieces. Gently pinch each piece of dough with a well-floured thumb and forefinger to make a concave dumpling. Place the formed gnocchi in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you're not going to cook them immediately, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the gnocchi for up to 4 hours or freeze them for several days.

5. When you're ready to cook the gnocchi, bring a gallon of water with a tablespoon of salt to a boil. Cook the gnocchi in several batches (I did about 15 at a time) in the boiling water until they rise to the surface of the water, about 3 minutes. Life the gnocchi out of the water with a slotted spoon and hold them on a warm platter. Toss with gnocchi with the butter sauce. Use a vegetable peeler to cut curls of Parmesan over the top of the dish and top with a few grinds of fresh pepper.

6. To make the butter sauce, melt the butter in a small skillet over low heat. Add the sage leaves and simmer until the butter turns golden.

Favorite Pancakes

Get a load of this: Breakfast is almost eclipsing dinner as my favorite meal of the day. And I credit it to new, fun and healthy options. These pancakes are another in a long line of recent breakfast creations that I have come up with.



They are packed with nothing but good, fueling food for a morning on the run. Since I am frequently on the run from dance classes to running to the gym most mornings, I really do need something good that sticks to my rubs.

Toppings are endless with these, but my favorites are nut butters, pumpkin butter, cranberry sauce, coconut and nuts. Let me know if you come up with other fun toppings!

Also, these pancakes freeze very well. I made them a month or so ago and keep popping them out of the freezer and into the toaster oven for a quick breakfast!



Pancakes
With a Side of Sneakers

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
cinnamon
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup pumpkin puree 
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup almond milk
2 heaping tablespoons Chia seeds
2 heaping tablespoons Ground flax seed
1/4 cup Oat bran
2 heaping tablespoons Wheat germ 

Mix together dry ingredients. Whisk in coconut oil. Stir in yogurt and milk (and pumpkin if you're using it). Cook pancakes a few minutes on each side.

Toppings:
Vanilla Cinnamon Peanut butter
Pumpkin butter
Walnuts

Peanut Butter Fudge

I have been becoming ever so increasingly obsessed with nut butters if you couldn't tell. Of course, that translates itself to topping everything with a dollup of almond butter and making peanut butter cookies. And also, fudge, according to this post! I enjoyed making this awhile ago and really couldn't stop eating the stuff so I suppose it was pretty darn good! Very easy too. It would be perfect for a Christmas gift next year. Bookmark!

PS: Excuse the picture. I was lazy. Please forgive me.

Peanut Butter Fudge
All Recipes 

• 1/2 cup butter


• 2 1/4 cups brown sugar


• 1/2 cup milk


• 3/4 cup peanut butter


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth; pour into an 8x8 inch dish. Chill until firm and cut into squares.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato fries. Obsessed. I really can never get enough of these guys. At a restaurant, if these are on the menu, I will order them. No questions asked. Sweet or savory, you really can go no wrong with sweet potato fries. These home made guys were just as good too! I gobbled them right up all by myself.



Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Annie's Eats

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil greased with cooking spray.

Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into long spears.  (Soak in cold water for 20-30 minutes before continuing for crispy texture outside.  Drain well and pat dry.)  Place the potato spears on the sheet pan and toss with olive oil.  Spread them in a single layer.  Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes.  Bake for 15 minutes, then turn with a spatula or tongs.  Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve hot.