Red Cabbage Glazed with Maple Syrup

I adore snow.  People up here think I’m crazy.  I was convinced that everywhere but New York City would see more snow than me this winter and I assumed it was my fault.  I tend to repel snow (except the infamous blizzard of Christmas 2010 where Chesapeake/Virginia Beach got over a foot of snow, stranding Robbie and me from Christmas, Part Deux with my family – luckily my parents didn’t give my gifts away).

Last winter (my first winter here) was one of the mildest winters in New York City and this winter seemed to be heading in the same direction.  We’ve had some really cold spells but I don’t mind the cold either.  I have a jacket that looks like I’m walking around in a sleeping bag so I can cope.  I can’t hear anything and my peripheral vision becomes obsolete but that’s ok. 

There were rumblings at the beginning of this week about snow at the end of the week.  I got semi-excited.  But then, when I heard Al Roker say “Nor’easter” and “Clipper” in the same sentence, I immediately perked up.  This could be big.  We went from the 3 – 6 inches range, to the 3 – 30 inch range (quite a range), to the 12-18 inch range and ended up in the 6-12 inch range.  Enough to make everything pretty and white and not so much that my weekend is ruined.  I’d say it was a pretty perfect situation.  Side note – I have yet to step outside since yesterday afternoon so I may change my mind the first time I step out into the street into what appears to be asphalt and is actually six inches of dirty snow water . . .

Here’s something else I love that may seem strange – cabbage.  And when you bake cabbage with maple syrup and apples a wonderful thing happens.  It becomes sweet and soft with a wonderful tender texture.  Throw an egg on top and you have yourself a complete meal.  And that striking red from the cabbage looks great against the backdrop of a snowy evening.  

Red Cabbage Glazed with Maple Syrup

Adapted from the Essential New York Times Cookbook

5 slices bacon

1 onion

1 medium firm, tart apple (I used a Granny Smith)

1/2 a head of a good size-red cabbage (or as much as you want, you could use a lot more if you like)

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup maple syrup (the original called for 1/2 cup maple syrup but you don't need this much if you use just 1/2 a head of cabbage)

salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice your bacon and then saute until crisp in a cast iron skillet (or some other ovenproof casserole dish).   Mince your onion and slice your apple.  Prepare your head of cabbage by removing the outer leaves and the core.  Shred the remainder.  Add the onion and saute until translucent.  Add the remaining ingredients, cover with foil, and transfer to the oven.  Bake for 30 minutes.  

Fat Witch Brownies

I have found that New Yorkers are really social.  People who live in the city offer to host dinner parties/get-togethers/general hanging out in their homes all the time.  Especially in the winter when the local bar or restaurant is too far to travel because your ears my fall off from frostbite.  It turns out ear muffs were not just something that looked cute on me when I was six-years-old. They actually serve a purpose.

The willingness to host guests for an evening of fun in one’s apartment is fascinating to me because everyone who lives here (correction, everyone with whom I associate) has either A) an incredibly small apartment or B) random nooks and crannies that would deem a dinner party impossible to accommodate in one room leaving someone sitting by themselves in the bathroom because that is the only seat available.  Or both.  These two are not mutually exclusive.

Nevertheless, people are still willing to open their hearts and homes on a snowy Friday night to hang out and that is where we found ourselves last night.  Two of my neighbors and I thought we should host a progressive dinner party in an effort to hang out with our fellow 33 West 89ers.  The plan was to start on the second floor for appetizers, head to the fourth floor for empanadas and hit up the fifth floor for dessert (this was my contribution, naturally).  Once I got over the fear of letting ten people into our miniscule living room (complete with floor maps of what the most efficient seating arrangement would look like), I was ready.  As we all gathered on the second floor and mingled with our neighbors, we realized we should just bring the food there instead of moving herds of folks up three extra flights of stairs after gorging on wine and cheese.  And that is what we did.  We brought the progression to them.  And it was lovely. 

 

My contribution included cupcakes (to be revealed on a later post) and these brownies from the popular Fat Witch Bakery in Chelsea Market.  Chelsea Market has long been one of my favorite spots in NYC.  When I would visit Robbie here (pre-Robbie-in-London, pre-law-school, pre-marriage), we made it a point to stop in and peruse the shops.  In the five years since, it has become much more of a tourist attraction (can’t say I blame them) with a random Anthropologie thrown in the mix of local bakeries and vendors.  They were a hit last night, even with some unintentional extra chocolatey-ness. (I added 1 cup of bittersweet chocolate instead of ½ cup.  Oops.) 

These are best eaten the same night (or soon after) unless you can find a way to keep them as airtight as possible. There’s a reason Fat Witch Bakery individually wraps their brownies with tight cellophane.  I will say, though, that they are still their crumbly, chocolate deliciousness on a Saturday morning with one’s cup of coffee.  Just saying. 

Fat Witch Brownies

Adapted from Fat Witch Brownies – The Cookbook

14 Tablespoons Butter

1 cup bittersweet chocolate (The original recipe calls for ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chips but I used a bar of bittersweet chocolate and chopped it up until I had a cup.  So I broke the rules twice.)

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour

Pinch of Salt

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate together, stirring often.  Set aside to cool once they have melded into each other.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.  Cream the sugar, eggs and vanilla together.  This can be done by hand, no need to break out the mixer.  With a whisk, mix with some hearty elbow grease until it is a light yellow color and well-incorporated.  Add the chocolate mixture and mix until blended.  Add the flour and salt and mix until combined and you see no more dry ingredients in the batter.  Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 33 minutes.  (I left mine for 36 minutes. This is what happens when my timer breaks and I convince myself I can just remember that I have brownies in the oven and should check back in 33 minutes.)  Remove from the oven and let cool for 1 hour.  They are much easier to cut if you wait this hour although I know it will be tempting to dive right in.