Chocolate Bark with Dried Figs, Almonds, Salt and Orange Zest

Hey Ma-

We had John's work holiday party this weekend. As with every year, it was a really good time. There was a ton of food (appropriate for a restaurant's party) and plenty to drink (giant bowls of Margaritas anyone?) and laughter and good times abounded. Every year they do a white elephant gift swap that promptly deteriorates into raucousness. John has a knack for putting in hilarious gifts. This year he wrapped up a shrine to himself, complete with a lock of his hair, a swatch of an old sock (he always wears mismatched socks), a framed photograph of himself from 9th grade, candles and daily affirmation cards (which, needless to say, were pretty funny). I, on the other hand, usually go a different route. Wanting to include something actually desirable with my contribution this year, I made chocolate bark and included pieces in a jam jar on top of my gift.

I found the recipe here. It is absurdly easy and insanely delicious and, though certainly not Pop-pop's toffee, I highly recommend it if you find yourself needing something homemade without much time to turn it out in. I swirled together bittersweet and semisweet chocolates, adding slices of dried figs, chopped almonds, and generous sprinklings of salt and dried orange zest. Fortunately, only half of what I made fit in the jam jar, meaning we're left with the difficult task of consuming the rest.

Yum.

XXOO
R

Food for Thought Thursdays: Our Illustrator Can Cook!

John here: Before Rachel got pregnant, I knew two truths about pregnant women: they are hormonal and they are picky eaters. Rachel’s always been hormonal, I have tools for navigating that, but the food issue had me nervous. I can’t eat pickle sandwiches for dinner, I just can’t. Rachel did have a pickle phase but it was short lived and stayed mostly to eating them out of the jar and not in weird combinations like with ice cream or something else ridiculous. I could deal with that and I did. While I was expecting the worst from my beloved pregnant wife, sneaking yummy snacks so as to not be too hungry when her urge for okra or uncooked rolled oats kicked in, she was busy building a formidable hunger and unending desire for the staple food of her pregnancy: Hot Wings. Whoa…. Am I the luckiest man alive or what? Not only is my beautiful partner emotionally consistent with her roller coaster hormones, but also she craves my favorite food! HA to all of you other schleps running to grocery stores in the middle of the night for a jar of pickled beets! We live within walking distance of a great wing spot that has done the brunt of the work feeding Rachel, but last night I made her hot wings as a labor of love and joy and to show her my undying gratitude for carrying and supporting our child through the last seven months. She is the best partner I could ask for, and I really can ask a lot sometimes.

Creamy Orange and Chipotle Hot Wings
serves 2

Ingredients
10 whole chicken wings (makes 20 hot wings)
1 12-oz, bottle of Frank's Red Hot hot sauce
1/4 stick of butter
1/2 an orange
1/3 7-oz. can chipotle peppers (about 4 peppers plus juice), chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 pint buttermilk
salt and pepper
olive oil
celery, cut into sticks
blue cheese dressing (or dipping sauce of your choice)
Up to 1 T. brown sugar (or more, if you like sweet sauce)

Method
Wash chicken wings. Divide each wing into two pieces (this is easy to do at the joint). Steam wings for 30 minutes. Lay flat in a baking pan and chill until cooled (roughly 30 minutes). While cooling, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Season wings with salt and pepper before tossing with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, or until skin is crisp. Immediately start on your sauce. Pour the Frank's into a sauce pan with the chipotles and their juice. Grate in the zest of your 1/2 orange and squeeze in its juice. Add garlic, butter and brown sugar. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly. When ready to serve, stir in buttermilk. Add wings to the sauce and toss before serving.

Mini Orangey Blueberry Oatmeal Muffin Bites

Rachel here: One of my major pregnancy cravings is oranges. I like the fruit, I like the juice, I like the artificial flavor...you name it, if it tastes even remotely orangey I probably want it (and I also probably don't particularly care to share). This is odd to me because in my entire life up to this point oranges have never held much sway over my taste buds. I've never been anti-orange per say, just never been one to seek an orange out. And now, seriously, I need to eat an orange (or orange-related something) on a daily basis or I am simply just not quite satisfied. This is a deliciously strange shift in my eating patterns.

Anyway, this orange-centric eating pattern I've developed leaves me desiring new and interesting ways to bring the orange into my daily diet. I'm also trying to eat healthy so that our baby grows big and strong and whatnot (and because, generally, eating healthy really appeals to me). And so, I ventured into the kitchen and concocted my very own mini-muffin recipe to try to satisfy both of these interests.

The muffins I developed are little things and are sort of like the runt cousins of pretty, super sugary and floury muffins. They are absolutely scrumptious, though, and I've been throwing a few in my bag each morning on my way out the door to nibble on when I get a little peckish. They've really been hitting the spot. Plus, I'm always just amazed when I generate my own recipe and the food actually comes out remotely resembling what I was thinking of, so I'll admit to cherishing these little nubbins a little extra on that count.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the recipe. If orange isn't your thing you could use lime or lemon zest instead. I'm also a fan of using clementines, but I didn't have any around when I was baking. Also, know that you can go lighter on the zest depending on how strong of a citrus flavor you're looking for. Obviously, per my incessant orange cravings, I went as heavy as I dared and these are certainly quite orangey as a result.

How do you incorporate your favorite fruits into your food (besides the topnotch way of whole and raw)?

Mini Orangey Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins Bites
makes 12

Ingredients
4 T. butter
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 large egg
1/2 tspn. vanilla
1/4 tspn. salt
1 tspn. cinnamon
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 tspn. baking soda
zest from 1 large orange
1 c. blueberries
demerara sugar (for tops, optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tin. Beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add buttermilk, egg and vanilla and mix (this will be very wet). Add salt, cinnamon, flour, rolled oats and baking soda and mix until just combined. Fold in zest and blueberries. Fill muffin tin and sprinkle demerara sugar on top. Bake, rotating halfway through, 20-25 minutes until firm to the touch. Cool on wire rack before removing.