Jalapeño and Cheddar Bagels #BreadBakers

Spicy fresh jalapeños give these bagels just a little hit of heat, while the sharp cheddar cheese adds both a boost of flavor and extra chewiness most welcome in a bagel. 

Growing up in Houston, Texas, you’d think I wouldn’t know what a New York bagel was. After all, the bagel craze, and the proliferation of chain bakeries selling them, didn’t really gain momentum until I was married and living overseas. But I did. They came from one bakery. It is a family-run business and located in what was a predominately Jewish neighborhood, not far from my elementary school. Nearby is the Jewish Community Center with a great gymnastics program that attracts students from all over the greater Houston area, and just across the bayou, a synagogue. All I know is that, back in those days, before Einstein’s and other chains, and before every supermarket decided to jump on the bagel bandwagon, there were New York Bagels. And they were crispy-outside chewy-inside perfection. The line was out the door every weekend as folks lined up patiently to get their bagels. And I am delighted to say, it still is.

When my regular supply of New York Bagels was cut off, that is, when I moved away from home and was feeling particularly homesick, I had to resort to baking them myself. Steaming up windows of my kitchens in Paris, Balikpapan, Kuala Lumpur, Macaé, to first quickly boil and bake these lovelies, mine never did match the originals but they were still a chewy, yeasty, welcome mouthful of home. When this month’s Bread Bakers host, Heather from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks suggested bagels as the theme for February, I was all in!

My favorite bagel is a toss-up between cinnamon and raisin or jalapeño and cheese. What’s your favorite?

Ingredients for 12 bagels
7 oz or 200g extra sharp cheddar cheese
2 small fresh jalapeños – about 25g or just under 1 oz in weight, stems and all
1 cup or 240ml warm water
1 packet active rapid rise dry yeast (1/4 oz or 7g)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 cups or 150g wholemeal bread flour
1 1/3 cups or 170g bread flour
1/2 cup or 65g flour, if necessary
1/2 teaspoon salt
Olive oil for oiling bowl

For the water bath: 1 tablespoon sugar

Optional for baking:
1 3/4 oz or 50g extra sharp cheddar, grated

Method
Cut off the stems and mince your jalapeños and cut the cheese for inside the bagels into little cubes. Set aside a tablespoon or so of the minced jalapeños for adding to the top of the bagels before baking.

Add all the bread flour to the bowl of your stand mixer. (You can do this by hand but get ready for some hard labor.) Make a well and add in the yeast and the tablespoon of sugar.

Pour your warm water into the well and wait about 10 minutes.

If the water has gone all bubbly, that means your yeast is active and you may continue. If not, buy some new yeast and start over.

Give the whole thing a good stir then add in your cubed cheddar, the bigger pile of the minced jalapeños and the salt. Stir well.

Using your dough hook, start mixing in the wholemeal bread flour a little at a time. Keep going until all of the wholemeal is incorporated.

If it’s still too sticky, start adding normal flour until the dough is firm and kneadable. I ended up adding 1/2 cup or 65g. You may need less.

Knead for several minutes.

Go, Kenwood, go!

Remove the dough from your bowl and form it into a ball. Drizzle a little olive oil into your bowl. Put the dough back in and turn it around to coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave the dough to rise for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and cut it into 12 equal pieces.

First into four, then the each fourth into three. Easy!

I like to use my kitchen scale to even them out but if you aren't anal, you can skip that step. Each of my dough balls weighed between 65 and 70g. Cover the balls with some cling film and let them rest for 15 minutes.

Make holes in the center of each ball by sticking your thumb through and gently easing the hole open with thumb and fingers.

Cover once again with cling film and leave the the dough to rise again for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone mat and put it at the ready, next to your stove, with a clean folded kitchen towel nearby. I ended up needing two baking pans because I didn’t want the bagels too close together in case they rose more while baking.

When your second rising time is almost up, preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and put a large pot of water (about 2 quarts or just shy of 2 liters) on to boil. Add one tablespoon of sugar to the water.

Here they are after the second rise.

Turn the pot down to a low boil and add the bagels a few at a time. Boil for just a minute or two on each side.

Remove each one with a slotted spoon and rest the spoon gently on the clean towel to absorb the excess water, then transfer the bagel to your prepared baking pan or pans.

Sprinkle the bagels with the grated cheese and the small pile of minced jalapeño. I must admit that I was disappointed that my jalapeño pieces didn’t stay green and decorative but they did add some nice little crispy bits on top.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until the bagels are golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Despite their well-plumpedness when rising and boiling, mine fell a little bit while baking. I’ve never had that happen before so I’m going to put it down to the wholemeal bread flour, which was a new experiment in bagel baking for me. They are not rounded pictures of perfection but they were delicious.

My favorite part was actually the bottom of the bagels, which turned out beautifully golden and cheesy and crunchy.

Many thanks to Heather at Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks for hosting this month’s Bread Bakers and for giving me a chance to reminisce about a childhood favorite.

Check out all the fabulous bagels we have for you!

• Asiago Cheese Bagels by Jenni at Pastry Chef Online
• Basic Bagels by Caro at En la Cocina de Caro
• Basic Bagels with Blueberries from Holly at A Baker's House
• Blueberry Bagels by Sophie at Sweet Cinnamon Honey
• Chocolate Chip Bagels by Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Classic New York Water Bagels by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cornmeal Bagels by Renee at Magnolia Days
• Easy Homemade Bagels by Wendy at A Day in the Life on a Farm
• Homemade Truffle Salt Bagels by Tara at Noshing With The Nolands
• Honey Multigrain Bagels by Laura at  Baking in Pyjamas
• Jalapeño and Cheddar Bagels by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Orange Ginger Bagels by Rocio at Kids & Chic
• Parmesan Garlic Bagels by Heather at Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Simit (Turkish Bagels) by Adam at Bakers and Best
• Sour Dough Bagels from Veronica at My Catholic Kitchen
• Whole Wheat Oat Bagels by Kelly at Passion Kneaded

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send me an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Dark Chocolate Toasted Sesame Muffins #MuffinMonday

Toasted sesame seeds and toasted sesame seed oil boost and complement the dark chocolate roasted sesame Lindt bar in this fragrant chocolate muffin. Plus, look how pretty the sesame seeds look!

I have a small collection of chocolate bars that I have been amassing for a number of months because they come in such wonderful and unusual flavor combinations. Chocolate, of course, with orange, mint, sea salt, black currant, crunchy caramel, salted caramel, blueberry, passionfruit, cherry, chili, coconut, dark lemon and pepper, just to name a few! My master plan is to do a muffin series based on the chocolates. Doesn't that sounds like a fun idea? I finally got around to baking the first one today. And, before you ask, let me say that I have no affiliation with any of the chocolate makers and I have bought all the chocolates myself.

I was extremely pleased with this first batch, using Lindt Dark Chocolate Roasted Sesame and my usual Monday morning taste testers enjoyed them too.

Ingredients 

1/2 cup or 70g sesame seeds
2 cups or 250g flour
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1/4 cup or 20g cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup or 240ml milk
1/4 cup or 60ml toasted pure sesame oil
1 Lindt dark chocolate and roasted sesame bar (3 1/2 oz or 100g)

Method
Toast your sesame seeds in a nonstick skillet over a medium flame. Stir or toss them often to keep them from scorching. This takes just a few minutes. Set them aside to cool.

Chop your chocolate bar with a knife and put aside a small handful for decorating the tops of the muffins.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and either grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper muffin cups.

In a large bowl, stir together your flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and half of the toasted sesame seeds. No need to measure. Just eyeball it.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together your eggs, milk, and toasted sesame oil.

The toasted sesame oil is a rich, golden brown.

Fold your wet ingredients into your dry ones.  Stop when there is still quite a bit of flour still unmixed.

Add in the larger pile of the chopped chocolate bar and stir again until the batter is just mixed.

Divide the batter between your prepared muffin cups.

Sprinkle on the remainder of the toasted sesame seeds then add a few little pieces of the reserved chocolate bar to each muffin.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool for a few minutes in the tin and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

The Candy Bar Series

2. Pecan Caramel Chocolate Muffins using Frey Pecan & Caramel

3. White Chocolate Lemon Muffins using Movenpick Swiss Chocolate White Lemon

.

New Orleans Bloody Mary

Tomato juice spiked with hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce and lime juice, not to mention vodka, the traditional cocktail gets a twist in this New Orleans Bloody Mary, the addition of pickled okra.

 

A couple of summers ago, my friends and I organized a long weekend trip to New Orleans, to celebrate all of our fiftieth birthdays that year. We booked a great apartment just off Bourbon Street with enough beds for the 10 of us, where we could park the cars nearby and not need to use them again till Sunday for the road trip back to Houston. There was going to be some drinking.

And because this is the digital era, I created a group Pinterest board where we could all pin favorite restaurants, places to shop, what we wanted most to see and do. Planning the trip, the anticipation of excursions and meals and time with dear friends, was a big part of the fun.

Over the years, I’ve been to New Orleans many times since I have family there, but this was the first time it would be just a group of girlfriends with no ties and no firm plans, except to eat and drink and enjoy.

That great weekend immediately came to mind when I received an email offering me a copy of author Steven Well Hicks’ updated 2015 edition of 25 Definitive New Orleans Restaurants (And a Dozen Damn Good Places to Drink.) for review. (<affiliate link) This is the sort of book I could plan whole vacations around, never mind the occasional long weekend! 

Not your typical restaurant review book, Hicks has consciously limited himself to just 25, to make sure that justice is done to each restaurant, both in telling its history and sharing what makes it special. It’s a great read, even if you don’t have a trip planned to New Orleans any time in the future. But if you are going, or if you have good memories of a trip already taken, you are really going to love this book.

The New Orleans Bloody Mary
On Saturday morning we had split into smaller groups of three or four to wander the French Quarter and do a little shopping. We had been walking for a while when we happened upon a small shop selling witchcraft and voodoo supplies. New Orleans is like that. We went in but the whole thing gave me the heebie-jeebies so I left my friends there and moseyed on down the block window shopping until I came to a corner bar. 

Doors and windows were wide open, dark green shutters folded back, a ball game was on the television and the friendly bartender called out a welcome. I helped myself to a comfortable bar stool and ordered a Bloody Mary. Because Bloody Marys are totally allowed in the morning, on weekends or holidays. This was all three.

Now there are lots of recipes for Bloody Marys and I’ve been drinking Bloody Marys for a lot of years. But the icy red libation, spiked with hot sauce, lime and Worcestershire sauce, that was pushed across the bar to me – in a plastic cup, of course – had one element I’d never seen before in a Bloody Mary. Pickled okra! “Oh!” I exclaimed in delight and surprise. “I love pickled okra!” And that doll of a bartender filled another glass with more okra and passed that over too.

Ingredients
2-3 pickled okra (plus more for munching) Talk o’ Texas is my favorite brand.
Ice
Wedge of lime
1 1/2 shots vodka
Worcestershire Sauce (Lea & Perrins is the best.)
Hot sauce (We like the Louisiana Habanero Hot Sauce. It is SPICY.)
Tomato juice

Method
Tuck one long pickled okra on the side of your glass as you fill it with ice cubes.

Add in your vodka, then a generous amount of Worcestershire (at least a couple of teaspoons) and a more moderate few shakes of the hot sauce.

Squeeze in the lime juice and drop the lime wedge in.

Top up with tomato juice and give the whole thing a good stir.

Add a couple more pickled okra for garnish.

Enjoy!

A little more about the author and book from the official blurb
“After 40 years of searching for what makes the restaurants and saloons of New Orleans unique, novelist Steven Wells Hicks has come up with some answers – 37 of them to be precise. In his sixth guidebook on the subject, 25 Definitive New Orleans Restaurants (& A Dozen Damned Good Places to Drink), Hicks has distilled several hundred reviews into a manageable cluster of establishments that he believes will point city visitors toward ‘the real deal.’ “

Hicks’ bio describes him as a curmudgeon but I thought he was delightful and honest, an entertaining storyteller. Whether you are planning a trip to New Orleans or just love a good foodie story, you’ll enjoy this book.

Pin this New Orleans Bloody Mary!