Witchy Kitchen

Tag: cheese

  • Northwoods Nachos with Badger Sauce

    Northwoods Nachos with Badger Sauce

    Jennifer’s Body may have flopped when it came out in 2009, but 10 years later it is finally getting the respect it deserves. Diablo Cody’s script is sharp and snappy, and Karyn Kusama’s direction is slick. Regardless of what you thought you knew about Megan Fox, she is brilliant as man-eating cheerleader Jennifer. It’s a biting (literally) rape revenge film, that also reflects on society’s questionable reactions to tragedy, and the painful dynamic of female friendships. But it’s also wildly campy and entertaining, ripping through all the typical high school tropes. 

    Food is used throughout the movie to highlight place – Devil’s Kettle, Minnesota, how apt – and theme. Sweet small-town girl Needy (Amanda Seyfried) makes fried bologna sandwiches and offers them to her ferret. Her boyfriend is excited to take her to the Cheesecake Factory before the school dance. The layered red, white and blue Twin Towers shooters Jennifer procures from the bar look as tasty as they are absolutely tasteless. And then, of course, there is the rotisserie chicken that Needy’s mom bought from Boston Market that Jennifer rips into like an animal the night she comes back changed. 

    Another food mention comes as Needy is begging Jennifer to come home with her and not leave with the band in their creepy white van. The “Northwoods Nachos with Extra Badger Sauce” she tries to tempt her with sound great, but unfortunately were not enough to snap Jennifer out of her trance. They do, however, perfectly encapsulate the quirk of the film and the Midwest setting of Devil’s Kettle, so that’s what we’re making for our recipe!

    These Northwoods Nachos take a cue from a classic Midwestern comfort food. “Hotdish” is a casserole, often cheesy, and always topped with crispy tater tots, so we are using tater tots as our base. This makes these nachos, or should I say totchos, charmingly trashy. They are topped with spicy, saucy black beans (bonus movie tie in if you mix in some shredded rotisserie chicken; I served it on the side to keep these vegetarian). 

    For the Badger Sauce I made a beer cheese sauce appropriate for the area. I used Alton Brown’s recipe for rarebit, and stirred in a can of diced green chilis to make a spicy Minnesota queso. Drizzle some on top, and there’s plenty extra for dipping. 

    Northwoods Nachos with Badger Sauce

    For the Northwoods Nachos 

    • 1 pound frozen tater tots
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
    • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
    • 1/2 teaspoon coriander
    • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
    • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
    • 1 14.5 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
    • 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed 
    • 1 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (optional)
    • Badger Sauce (see below)
    • Optional garnishes: green onions, pico de gallo, salsa, sour cream

    Cook the tater tots according to package directions in a large casserole dish. Keep warm.

    Heat olive oil on medium-high and fry onion until golden. Stir in garlic and fry another minute or so, then add cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant. Stir in tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until they are well broken down and starting to caramelize. Add black beans (and shredded chicken if using), and a cup of water. Mix well, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or so until thick, adding more water if necessary. 

    Spoon on top of tater tots, drizzle with Badger Sauce, and garnish.

    For the Badger Sauce

    • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
    • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
    • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
    • Pinch coarse salt and some fresh cracked pepper
    • 1/4 cup beer (the darker the better)
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
    • 1 cup shredded cheddar 
    • 1 4.5 ounce can diced green chilis

    On low heat in a saucepan, heat butter and flour, whisking continuously for several minutes (do not let it brown). Add in dijon, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and stir until combined. Stir in beer and heavy cream, then add cheddar. Cook, whisking constantly until cheese is melted and mixture is thick, about 5-7 minutes. Add a little cream to loosen it if necessary, and stir in diced green chilis. Drizzle over Northwoods Nachos and serve extra on the side. 

    First published on Nightmare on Film Street.

  • Rye Popovers with Welsh Rarebit Sauce

    Rye Popovers with Welsh Rarebit Sauce

    I adored Tim Burton’s 2016 film Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children based on the book of the same name by Ransom Riggs. I can attribute most of my love to the film’s charming and spookyl atmosphere, from the Burtonesque settings, to the paranomal abilitied children I’ve described as X-Men through an Instagram filter, to the hauntingly lovely Florence and the Machine song that plays through the credits. I can attribute the rest of my love to the luminous Eva Green as Miss Peregrine.

    Illustration by Andrew Tarusov

    Miss Peregrine’s school is located in Wales, and to my American sensibility the most iconic Welsh food is Welsh Rarebit (please comment and school me if there are more dishes I should know). As far as dishes go though, this is a good one, the sauce is simply amazing. One of my peculiar children declared “dis is yum!”

    I made the lovely rarebit creamy cheese sauce flavored with dijon, worcestershire sauce and ale (I used pumpkin beer!) but rather than on rye toast, I made some light and airy rye popovers to evoke Emma (yes in the book it’s Olive) who is lighter than air. I wonder if she’s a good cook – she’s probably great at things like popovers, soufflees, meringues, puris, foams and lattes.

    Just a note, in a rare twist I adapted nothing this time, both unaltered recipes came out really nice.

    Rye Popovers with Welsh Rarebit Sauce

    For the popovers
    Recipe from Food.com

    • 3⁄4 cup rye flour
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup milk
    • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
    • 2 eggs, lightly beaten

    Heat over to 450° and grease a muffin tin.

    Whisk together flours and salt, then add milk, butter, and eggs. Mix well and divide between muffin cups.

    Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350$deg; and bake for another 5 minutes. Cool on a rack. Serve with rarebit sauce, below.

    For the rarebit sauce
    Recipe from Alton Brown

    • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
    • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
    • 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce (vegetarian sauce to make vegetarian)
    • 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
    • 1/4 cup beer (porter is best, I used a lighter pumpkin beer, also good)
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
    • 3/4 cups shredded cheddar

    On low heat in a saucepan, heat butter and flour, whisking continuously for several minutes (do not let flour brown). Whisk in in dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper until well combined. Whisk in beer and cream, and add cheddar. Cook, whisking constantly, for 5-7 minutes until cheese is melted completely and mixture has slightly thickened. Remove from heat and serve warm with popovers.

    Recipe for Fiction Kitchen Podcast Episode 48: MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN in which Carrie and Diana discuss the 2016 Tim Burton film and the novel by Ransom Riggs that it’s based on. Giant carrots, weird little back-teeth, eyeball munching, carnival food; all very peculiar.

  • Eclipse Pizza

    Eclipse Pizza

    Who should I summon with my pizza?

    It’s finally here!! It’s #Witchtober, hosted by Fiction Food Café. THAT’S RIGHT WITCHES!! Check out the tag for Witchy recipes from fiction all month long.

    The House of the Devil (2009), written and directed by Ti West, is a bit of a haunted house movie, a bit of a slasher, and a bit of witchy movie rolled in to one. What’s otherwise a basic tropey horror movie gets elevated by it’s full 80s style. From the titles to the soundtrack to the camerawork to the feathered hair and Satanic Panic, this movie feels like the cover of a VC Andrews novel and I loved it.

    An eclipse features heavily in the film, being both the occasion for the final ritual as well as inspiration for the special of the day in the pizza parlor that our final girl Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) and her friend Megan (Greta Gerwig) have lunch. “Eclipse Pie” is detailed on the chalkboard: white sauce, garlic, tomato, olives and feta. I put together such a pie using a few techniques I’ve collected over the years: those for New York pizza dough, white sauce, and deliciously slow-roasted romas that I make all the time and use for everything (you know, salads, pastas, drawing pentagrams). And voila: pizza fit for a demon.

    Eclipse Pizza

    For the white sauce
    From Serious Eats

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 small onion
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1/4 cup heavy cream
    • 2 sprigs thyme, chopped
    • salt & pepper

    Heat olive oil. In a food processor, blitz together onion and garlic (alternately you can finely chop both), and cook until softened and most of the moisture has evaporated, being careful not to brown. Add heavy cream and thyme and a pinch of salt & pepper, and cook for a few minutes until reduced and thick. Remove from heat.

    For the tomatoes (slices or sauce)

    • 2 pounds roma tomatoes, trimmed and medium sliced lengthwise
    • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
    • olive oil
    • salt & pepper

    Heat oven to 300°. Toss tomatoes and garlic with generous olive oil, salt and pepper, and spread in a single layer in a couple roasting pans or a couple baking sheets. Cook for 1 1/2 hours. They can be used as is, OR if you want to make a sauce for drawing symbols and such, transfer to a food processor and blend with just enough water to get a thick but squirtable consistency. Transfer to a squirt bottle.

    For the pie

    • One New York-style pizza dough (recipe from Serious Eats)
    • white sauce & tomatoes (above)
    • 4 ounces ricotta
    • 4 ounces mozzarella
    • salt & pepper
    • palmful kalamata olives, sliced
    • palmful basil, small chop
    • palmful feta

    Heat oven to 500°

    Grease a pizza peel, stone, or baking sheet, and gently stretch the dough to a 14 inch round. Top with white sauce.

    Mix ricotta and mozzarella, season with salt and pepper, and spread over the pizza. Add olives, basil, feta, and either the whole tomatoes or draw a pentagram (or heart or happy face, whatever).

    Cook for about 15 minutes (start checking at 12) until golden and bubbly. Allow to cool slightly, slice and serve.

    Bonus: Samantha bopping around the spooky house like an 80s music video!

  • Three Cheese Pastizzi

    Three Cheese Pastizzi

    This month’s MENA Cooking Club country is Malta, hosted by Yasmeen of the lovely blog Wandering Spice.

    Malta is a sun-drenched archipelago in the Mediterranean. It’s gorgeous, and seems almost otherwordly; it’s thought to be the home of the lost city of Atlantis, as well as Calypso’s cave from the odyssey.

    These pastizzi are a common street food – puff pastry with fillings such as ricotta, curried split peas, or ground meat. I had just made a lasagna to take to my friend who just had a baby, so it seemed perfect to use the leftover ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan to make these little bites. I used store bought puff pastry as I’ve not yet been brave enough to attempt my own, but that made these extremely quick to whip up, which makes them the perfect low-maintenance tea snack or appetizer.

    I’d definitely make these again, and I’d love to try some of the other fillings, or add some herbs to this one. Next time I’ll pinch them shut a little tighter so the filling doesn’t escape, and probably do an egg wash too for a nice golden color.

    Three Cheese Pastizzi

    • 1/2 cup ricotta
      1/4 cup grated mozzarella
      1/4 cup grated parmesan
      salt & pepper
      2 sheets puff pastry, partially thawed

    Heat oven to 400°. Mix together cheeses and season with salt and pepper to taste. With a ring cutter, cut each sheet of puff pastry into 9 rings. Fill each ring with a heaping teaspoon of the cheese mixture, then pinch the edges together and twist the ends to make little oblong pouch shapes.

    Place evenly on a prepared baking sheet and cook 17-19 minutes (start checking around 15 to make sure they aren’t getting too brown. Mine took 18) until golden brown. Cool slightly and serve warm.

    If you want to become a pastizzi master and make your own puff pastry, here’s a great little video for inspiration, complete with song about pastizzi!

    Photograph of the azure window Stuart Brampton Photography


  • Pumpkin Quesadillas

    Pumpkin Quesadillas

    For the last several years, it’s been a tradition to make pumpkin quesadillas on Halloween – they’re easy, the kids love them, and they go great with Beetroot Chili (or any chili for that matter).

    Pumpkin Quesadillas

    • 4 oz cheddar cheese, or a mix of cheddar and jack, grated
    • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
    • 1/2 tsp garam masala (or a mix of cumin and cinnamon)
    • 1/2 tsp paprika
    • good pinch cayenne
    • salt & pepper to taste
    • small corn tortillas

    Heat a pan or griddle over medium high heat – I use my tawa 🙂

    Combine cheese, pumpkin, and spices and mix well. Spread a smallish amount over a tortilla and top with another, cook on both sides, flipping, until toasty and brown. Allow to cool slightly then slice in quadrants, serve with salsa/sour cream/chili.

  • Pumpkin Cheese Soup

    Pumpkin Cheese Soup

    Ok: I already made my pumpkin apologies so whatever, I love it, my heart will go on, this isn’t ending anytime soon. Proceed.

    This soup is destined to become one of my fall favorites, especially now that the weather is finally starting to cool off. It’s smoky and rich, but not too heavy; it’s warm and homey, but still elegant; it’s got a nice complexity of flavor, but it couldn’t be simpler to make. It’s not enough for a meal on it’s own, but it’d be perfect with a sandwich on pump or roasted veggie fall salad for lunch or as a first course in an autumn dinner.

    Pumpkin Cheese Soup

    • 1 tbsp butter
    • ½ tbsp olive oil
    • 1 onion, diced
    • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
    • Salt & pepper
    • 2 tsp paprika
    • 1 tsp cumin
    • pinch cayenne
    • 4 cups chicken broth
    • 2 cups pumpkin puree (about 1 small sugar pumpkin, roasted and smashed, or 1 can)
    • 4 oz cheddar cheese, grated
    • ½ slice pumpernickel per serving, cubed and pan toasted with a little olive oil
    • chopped green onions for garnish

    In a pot, heat butter and olive oil on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, generous salt & pepper, and saute until golden. Add paprika, cumin, and cayenne and stir for a minute or two, then add chicken broth (stirring well to scrape up any brown bits) and pumpkin puree.

    Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes or so. Pour into a blender (don’t allow it to cool because you will be adding the cheese and want that to melt evenly) and carefully blend, making sure to hold the lid down with a dish cloth so you aren’t maimed by steam. Add grated cheese and blend again. Pour back into pot and gently warm back through, adding a pinch more salt if necessary.

    Serve garnished with pumpernickel croutons and green onions.

    This is beautiful in its simplicity, but I’d like to try variations as well, maybe trying smoked gouda instead of cheddar, or adding a splash of beer or slivers of mushroom.