Le Tablier Rose

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

2012-02-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

Blueberry muffins. I haven't made these in FOREVER. And I mean a very long time. However yesterday afternoon I once again found myself at Sprouts and ran across some delicious looking blueberries. Which sparked the idea, Why don't I make muffins for breakfast! Brilliant. Since I don't have a favorite, go-to recipe I paid Google a visit and ran across the concoction I made this morning, courtesy of allrecipes.com. Not only do they look pretty but also got passing reviews from the menfolk. Best of all, they're super easy. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg, beaten
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
STREUSEL:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add egg; mix well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in vanilla. Fold in blueberries. Fill 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until browned.

And now for the best part: photographic proof of their yumminess!

Blueberry Explosion!

Black Bean and Pea Bowl for lunch

2012-01-23T13:33:00.000-08:00

In an effort to avoid reaching for a carb, especially wheat, every time I'm hungry, I sometimes have to get creative at lunch time. Though I love making solid dinners, lunch and breakfast are not my strong suits. It's not that I don't enjoy making them. In fact, I recently discovered that I love having people over for lunch or brunch because I get to focus on new kinds of recipes. But for myself, there's just not enough time for things to get interesting. But move on over, almond butter sandwich! Here's a yummy, easy lunch that is low on carbs and uses things I happened to find in my house today. I think it would also be great with a Mexican style cheese (which I didn't have).

Ingredients
1 Tbl fat of your choice (I used bacon fat)
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, whisked (2 if you love egg)
1 cup frozen peas
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tbl frsh oregano, chopped
1 small avocado, sliced
Pepitas
Hot sauce and salt, to taste

Directions
Cook onions with a couple pinches of salt in fat over medium high heat until golden. Add garlic and cook a minute more. Turn heat to medium low and add egg, stirring until cooked through (I like it scrambled and well chopped). Add the peas, cook a bit, then add beans until all is heated through. Stir in oregano and hot sauce. Divide into two bowls, topping each with avocado and pepitas.

Yield: 2

Rustic winter lunch

2012-01-06T13:07:00.000-08:00

As I try to live more by the seasons, I find that the narrowing of ingredient choices is better for creativity in the kitchen! Too many choices can be overwhelming. I have come to love that I get a CSA box and must work with what I have for the week.

Because it's winter, the main vegetable fair is root vegetables. Below is a little something I made for lunch today based on roots and the herbs in my garden. It is easily adaptable to other root vegetables and herbs. Enjoy!

Roasted winter vegetables with spiced oregano oil

3 tiny potatoes, srcubbed and quartered (or one small cut into one inch chunks)
3 small carrots, scrubbed and cut in half
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced to match potato
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees.

Toss veggies in olive oil, then sprinkle generously with salt

Roast for 30-40 minutes, tossing once, or until fork tender.

Oregano oil: Mince and smush about 1/4 cup oregano leaves. Heat 1/3-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan with a pinch of red pepper flakes and a dash of hot paprika (you want enough to cover the oregano plus more). Once very warm, pour over oregano leaves (or add leaves to oil, removing from heat). Let the flavors meld and the oil cool for a few minutes, then drizzle on roasted veggies and a nice slice of bread and perhaps sliced summer sausage. Or dip.

Yield: 1-2

Pumpkin Orange Cranberry Muffins

2011-12-09T12:50:00.001-08:00

Fall and early winter are the ultimate baking times of the year! I grew up in a family that baked cookies and breads to give away as Christmas presents. The recipe I've created below is an adaption of my mom's famous "Christmas pumpkin bread." I don't know the origins of the recipe, but it is truly delicious.

The inspiration for this variation came from not having had enough pumpkin yet this year, a bag cranberries in the freezer leftover from this cake I made for Thanksgiving, and two very special guests coming for lunch all the way from Africa. Can I say I was giddy when I tasted the batter only to realize that orange and pumpkin are a match made in heaven?

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Orange Cranberry Muffins
Note: you can bake this is one standard loaf pan, 1 12 cup muffin pan, or whatever you like. I chose a jumbo 6 muffin pan. Who doesn't like an extra large muffin?

Ingredients
1 cup pumpkin puree (half of a 16oz. can)
2 TBL + 2 tsp fresh squeezed orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup + 1 TBL oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup + 2 TBL whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose)
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, separated
Turbinado sugar for finishing (or regular if you don't have this)

Directions
1. A little prep: zest your orange, squeeze out the juice, slice each cranberry in half, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease the pan of your choosing.
2. Combine the pumpkin, orange juice and zest, oil, vanilla, and eggs until well combined.
3. Combine dry ingredients and stir into pumpkin mixture until just blended. Fold in 1 cup of the halved cranberries.
4. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup halved cranberries, then sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. Bake until tops spring back in the middle when gently pressed (will vary greatly depending on your pan/loaf size. Use google if you need an estimate).
5. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from pan, and cool on rack.

Yield: 1 standard loaf or 1 dozen muffins or 6 jumbo muffins

Oatmeal Cherry Muffins

2011-06-22T11:26:00.001-07:00

I am in love. Hello, scrumptious oat muffins! These are delectable, moist and lightly sweetened, with a delicious oat crumble topping. I adapted the recipe from Heidi at 101Cookbooks. I am once again guilty of adapting something before even trying the original, however I would recommend trying the basic version and coming up with your own adaptions! You'll have to excuse the way I switch around between ounces and grams. It works in my brain somehow. If you want volume measurements, just see the original recipe. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cherry Muffins

Changes from original: I altered the amounts to make exactly 1 dozen muffins (with only a little bit of leftover crumble), added cherries, and extracts. I didn't include "almond" in the title because all I did was add a hint to complement the cherries. If you want a more pronounced almond flavor, try adding finely chopped blanched almonds to the crumble topping. If you don't want to be left with only a tad extra crumble, then simply make the whole amount (double this), and then you'll have plenty to freeze for later use. :)

Crumble topping:

1.5 oz whole wheat pastry flour

0.75 oz cup rolled oats (not quick cooking)

1.25 oz brown sugar

1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt (if using table salt, you should use a scant 1/4 tsp)

1.25 oz unsalted butter, melted

Muffin batter:

67 grams rolled oats (not quick cooking)

67 grams unbleached all purpose flour

67 grams whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 tsp baking soda

scant 1/3 tsp fine grain sea salt

134 grams unsalted butter

47 grams brown sugar

8 oz (ounces!) plain yogurt - I accidentally measured this by weight, not fluid ounces, but it came out, so I wouldn't worry either way.

1 egg, whisked

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup pitted sweet cherries, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin pan (no need for liners - mine popped out easily). Place racks in top third of oven.

Prep cherries.

Use a fork to combine the flour, oats, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Form into a patty, wrap, and freeze for about ten minutes.

In a large bowl combine the oats, flours, baking soda, and sea salt. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Whisk in the yogurt, and then the eggs and extracts. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir just until combined. Gently fold in cherries. Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full (tip: I find using my large cookie scoop is perfect for the job!). Take the crumble from the freezer, crumble it, and sprinkle on top of each muffin. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool just a minute or so, then turn out onto a cooling rack (Heidi says: important! And I agree. :) )

Yield: 1 dozen muffins

Zucchini bread using Amish Friendship Bread starter

2011-05-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

I recently received my first Amish Friendship Bread starter. It's like a sourdough starter, except it's sweet, and the recipe traditionally handed out with it is really more for a cake than a bread. I've had the version that came with it and it's scrumptious (almond poppy seed), but I wanted to try something less sweet and rich and use up some ingredients that were sitting in the fridge. I discovered online a few different variations of the recipe, settled on one, and adapted it to my needs. The result? One of the best zucchini breads I've had. Whenever I've done the "use yogurt and less sugar and whole wheat flour" route in a quick bread, I've had mediocre results. But having a starter improves the flavor and adds moisture. So, I'd say it was a success!

Amish Friendship Zucchini Bread

A note on the starter: the instructions that came with the starter have you feeding it just before using it. I decided against this, as it seemed the starter would have maximum flavor without the feeding to dilute it (a suggested by other bloggers). One can just feed it afterwards, split, and share with others.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup stone ground whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1 tsp salt

1 cup AFB starter

3 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup 2% Greek yogurt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cup shredded zucchini (or carrot for a carrot version)

1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

Opt: Cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 2 9x5 loaf pans (mine came out rather flat. Maybe put the whole batter into one 9x5, or make muffins)

2. Sift together dry ingredients.

3. In large mixing bowl combine starter, eggs, oil, yogurt, and vanilla. Beat for a minute or two to aerate. Add dry ingredients gradually and mix until just blended. Stir in shredded zucchini and nuts. Divide batter evenly between pans. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar to your liking (opt).

4. Bake 35 min or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

The ultimate chocolate peppermint cake

2011-01-06T21:48:00.000-08:00

This was the most intense cake I've ever made. It was also one of the most delicious. Normally, I'm not a huge cake person, so I'm fairly selective with recipes I undertake. And usually my handy dandy husband helps (in this case, he was the awesome assembler). :)

I am also proud of this cake because, despite the many warnings and concerns among the reviewers on Epicurious.com, I felt like the whole thing was a great success. More on that later.

For now, pictures!!

First, the components:

1. Dark Chocolate Ganache (yes, that is a finger mark)

2. Peppermint Marshmallowy Frosting

3. White chocolate peppermint whipped cream

4. Devil's Food Cake

Second, the assembly:

The final delicious and gigantic product:

Red bell pepper panzanella

2010-11-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

I just had the most delicious lunch. I mean, how could lunch made almost entirely of bread not be awesome? It's something I created out of my leftover focaccia bread. It uses pickled red onions, but if you haven't prepped that (or don't want to), cook some chopped onion with the red bell pepper and be sure to add a splash or two of red wine vinegar along with the olive oil.

Red bell pepper panzanella

1 red bell pepper, chopped

Zest of half a lemon

Rings of pickled red onion with a bit of the liquid (I eyeballed it)

Day old small loaf of focaccia bread, cut into bit sized chunks (about enough to fill a toaster oven tray)

Fresh basil, chopped (or slivered if you're feeling fancy)

Grated mozzarella cheese

Extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute the bell pepper until just done in a bit high heat oil of your choice. Turn off heat and stir in lemon zest and onions.

2. While bell pepper is cooking, toast the focaccia chunks in the toaster oven.

3. Toss together the bread, basil, mozzarella, a few splashes of extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper with the bell pepper mixture. Taste; adjust seasoning if necessary.

4. Eat with salad or something else "healthy" so that you don't feel too bad. ;)

Grains

2010-08-10T00:54:00.000-07:00

As promised, I'm going to talk about grains. However, since there are already so many great resources out there, I will simply point you to them and share some favorite recipes!

First of all, grains don't have to be intimidating. Just take one you've never heard of, look up how to cook it (if you can make rice, you can cook grains), and enjoy! If you have a store nearby that sells food in bulk bins, even better! Just grab a trial amount so you don't waste your money. And for a hard to find grain, opt for an ethnic market rather than the "ethnic" section of the grocery store. Not only will you save money, you'll also have fun looking at all the foods you've never seen before, getting to ask the people who work or shop there what to do with them!

Now on to the info. Here is a handy description of various grains and what to do with them: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/a-few-favorite-grains-recipe.html

For a brief glossary, see here: http://www.foodsubs.com/FGGrains.html

For a very detailed description of each grain (or any food, for that matter), use http://www.whfoods.com/

Now on to some of my favorite recipes!

Brown Rice:

Plain BROWN RICE. Best brown rice method hands down. No more mushy or undercooked brown rice!

If you're wanting to try a new grain but aren't sure if you'll like it, try adding it to brown rice. Or try this recipe that uses five grains (or four or three, depending on what you have and/or like). I once made a large batch and froze the leftovers for later use. Boy did the leftovers come in handy for quick weeknight meals (stir fry, anyone?).

Quinoa:

My favorite grain is probably quinoa. Ah, quinoa. I've blogged about it before here. It's also delicious served with grilled zucchini and pork. My favorite seasoning for it has to be cumin. Also, I've recently discovered that I prefer a longer cooking time than what most packages indicate (25 minutes instead of 10 of 15). Beyond the usual applications, I absolutely love this creative and mouthwatering delicious Quinoa Skillet bread. If you try it, be warned that it comes out better when you measure by weight (ounces, grams) rather than volume (cups, pints).

Multiple grains:

If making bread is up your ally, I highly recommend Peter Reinhart's Multigrain Bread Extraordinare. An almost pompous sounding title, I know, but this loaf from his book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, is the best multigrain bread I've ever tasted. Really. It uses brown rice, oats, bran, and your choice of coarse corn meal, amaranth, millet, or quinoa. Google the name of the bread and you're sure to find a recipe (or get your hands on a copy of the fantastic resource that is the Baker's Apprentice).

Oats:

And finally, let me add something about oats. I have fallen in love with quick-cooking steel oats. I much prefer the texture to rolled oats. That's not to say that one couldn't enjoy both. If you want to try something new in the oat department, try steel cut, and preferably quick cooking since they take longer to cook than rolled oats. Here is a decadent way to use them: http://delicioushouse.blogspot.com/2010/01/toasted-maple-nut-steel-cut-irish.html

You can use any nuts you have on hand. I also like to add fresh or dried fruit, especially raisins, dried cranberries, apples, apricots, etc. Have fun mixing and matching nuts, fruits, sweeteners (honey, agave, maple syrup).

I'm back (with a late spring salad)

2010-06-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

After many weeks of silence (and lack of inspiration at home), I have finally broken the silence (and the dry spell)! Last time we spoke, I just started a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). I never did get back to you about my experience. Stay tuned!

This lovely in-between-spring-and-summer evening, I'd like to share my recent creation! Like I alluded to earlier, I have been a bit bored lately with my cooking. My remedy? Go to my favoriteblog and look up new ingredients! I decided to branch out with grains and vinegar. I will talk about grains more later.

Vinegar? Isn't that a little boring or basic? Perhaps, but it was severely underutilized in my kitchen! One day I realized I had a decent bottle of balsamic vinegar and Chinese cooking wine (which in my mind is pretty much like vinegar) sitting, just sitting there, in the pantry (next to my olive oil, no less). What a shame, I thought. So I just started adding it to things. First, the Chinese cooking wine went into stir-fried bok choy (thank you CSA for introducing me to bok choy!), and the balsamic into a vinaigrette for salad with chickpeas.

So the next time I went to Trader Joe's, I decided to investigate the vinegar section. Holy smokes, there are some delicious looking vinegars! I decided upon the orange muscat champagne vinegar. Once I opened the bottle, catching a sniff of its sweet scent, I knew was going to have fun. With this and my CSA basket in hand, I was inspired to make this beauty of a salad.

Late spring salad with orange-mint vinaigrette

3-4 cups washed and torn lettuce leaves (I mixed romaine, red leaf, and iceberg)

1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted

For the vinaigrette:

4 strawberries, sliced

1 small blood orange, peeled and pulled into segments

3 mint leaves, crushed and chopped

1 shallot, thinly sliced

a few splashes of orange champagne vinegar (or whatever you have that's similar)

a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

pinch salt and pepper

1. Prepare vinaigrette and let sit for at least 5-10 minutes.

2. Toss vinaigrette and toasted walnuts with salad and enjoy!

Notes: No blood orange? No problem. Any small, sweet orange or tangerine will do. Also, the shallot could just as well be an equivalent amount of red onion. I'm sure this could be adapted for other kinds of fruit and nuts depending on what you have on hand as well.

CSA Basket #1

2010-03-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

I just joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for the first time. Full of excitement, I brought home my first basket today. Can I say wow? I'm a bit overwhelmed with produce now! Here's a list of what items were in it:

Rosemary

Kale (kale)

Butter lettuce

Broccoli (tiny)

Red romaine (huge)

Red lettuce

Parsley - flat leaf and curly

Swiss Chard (huge)

Carrots

Celery

Beets

Green onions

6 small russet potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes

2 meyer lemons

5 apples

1 grapefruit

2 huge avocados

11 oranges/tangerines

2 kiwis

I would like to do some cost comparison to the same quantities and quality of these items from the grocery store. I say quality because cost is not my reason for doing this. It's more about getting food that's fresh and supports local farmers. However, even good things shouldn't be done if you can't afford them (cough health care cough). I have a feeling that so far, though, it's going to come out about the same. In which case, CSA you are amazing!

Confetti Soup or, How to Use up Thanksgiving leftovers

2009-12-01T20:09:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that there were only three of us for Thanksgiving this year, my kitchen pal and I still managed to cook up a storm! And thankfully I love leftovers. But almost a week after Thanksgiving, I was getting a little bored with eating turkey and stuffing, and most of the other dishes were already finished off. Plus, I will be honest and say I was scared to look into my fridge and pantry for fear of all the odds and ends that were left over. Things like that half a head of cauliflower since I halved my cauliflower dish, or the half a leek, or the all the potatoes and sweet potatoes because I bought too many, or the heavy cream carton which was too big but a smaller size would have been to small, you get the idea.

My advice to anyone who has lots of odds and ends: make a list. I have a white board in the kitchen and I wrote down everything perishable and then starred the most important items to use right away. I don't know why--perhaps its because I read so many recipes--but something about seeing the names of all the items in my fridge is just what I need for inspiration. It's like solving a math problem, but without those darned numbers! After staring for a few moments, an idea started emerging. Then it hit me like an epiphany: soup! A ton of these things I have leftover could be used to make soup! And if you know me well, you know I am totally in love with soup.

So without any further ado, here is my Thanksgiving leftover soup. Every ingredient was either a odd, and end, or a little something from the pantry. It's a little random, I confess, but its and honest to goodness reflection of the variety in my kitchen!

Confetti Soup

Ingredients:

handful each green split peas and yellow split peas

half head of cauliflower

2 medium potatoes

1 medium sweet potato

1 carrot

half can of water chestnuts (yes, Kira, I even used your water chestnuts)

2 inch piece of Spanish chorizo, finely diced (trust me, a little goes a long way)

diced leftover turkey, your choice on the amount (dark meat)

chicken broth and water to cover everything so far

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 leak (white part only), thinly sliced

1 clove garlic (in retrospect may have doubled)

fresh parsley, rosemary, sage finely chopped, to taste

thyme (would have used fresh if I had it)

salt and pepper to taste

heavy cream (optional)

1. Start by simmering the peas in chicken broth and water for about 10 minutes. Then add the cauliflower, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrot, water chestnuts, chorizo, and turkey. Add more liquid if necessary to cover vegetables. Simmer covered for 15 minutes or until the peas are done.

2. Meanwhile, saute the onions and leeks in olive oil over medium low heat until caramelized (about 20 minutes). Then add the herbs and garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds more and turn off heat.

3. When the vegetable/meat mixture is done, stir in the onion/herb mixture. Add a little heavy cream if you like to add a touch of richness and sweetness.

This ended up making a rather large pot of soup. And the good news is it tastes delicious!

The best thing I learned from this is that sweet potatoes and chorizo go beautifully together! There's something about the richness and spicyness of the chorizo that play just right against the earthy yet sweet qualities of the sweet potato. Now I'll have to think about other ways to combine the two. :)

Couscous lunch

2009-11-23T12:13:00.000-08:00

Stop reading this and go buy some organic whole wheat couscous right now!

Waiting....

All right, I assume you're back with the couscous in hand now. Now you can experience the amazing speed and deliciousness of this amazingly fast and delicious product! If you're not familiar with couscous, they are tender minuscule balls of wheat joy. All you do is boil some liquid, add the couscous, cover, and turn off the heat. Five minutes later and it's ready! Now that's fast!

And because this post wouldn't be complete without a recipe, here's what I just made for lunch with it:

Part 1: make couscous (subbing stock if you have any; I used free range chicken broth)

Part 2:

Saute in some butter 1 small thinly sliced onion and 1 julienned carrot.

Stir in a couple/few handfuls of spinach and a small handful of sprouts. After spinach welts a bit, turn off heat.

Top with Rogan Josh seasoning (or similar blend), golden raisins, toasted pine nuts (can easily sub another nut), and grated Parmesan cheese.

Part 3: Mix together the couscous and veggie mixture and devour!

YUMMMMMM!!!

Sorry, I just couldn't resist typing up one of my sudden kitchen inspirations, sloppy and all. :)

Ralph's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

2009-10-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

Now that we've featured a recipe that my mom created, it's time to celebrate one from Lynn, my mother-in-law. But first it requires a little background on the father-in-law, Ralph.

Ralph loves a good oatmeal. And what, might you ask, is a good oatmeal? I must say mine goes something like apples, cinnamon, honey, walnuts, and milk. Fairly conventional. But Ralph's oatmeal is the most unique kind I've heard of. Not to sweet, full of healthy nuts and seeds, and entirely his own.

So his wife decided to try creating a cookie that had all the elements of his oatmeal. And the result is not only unique but absolutely delicious! Featuring sunflower seeds, raisins, peanut butter, and flax seed, it's one you don't want to miss.

Ralph's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

(adapted from here)

Note: I'm not a fan of raisins, so I tried doing half with raisins and half with chocolate chips. To my amazement, not only did I like the version with raisins, but I thought it was significantly better! Go figure.

In a medium bowl, mix together:

2 cups quick cooking oatmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt (reduce if using salted sunflower seeds)

2 Tbl ground flaxseed (optional but highly recommended)

In another bowl, mix at medium speed until smooth:

1 cup creamy peanut butter (both peanut only and the Skippy kind work)

3/4 cup butter

Beat in:

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

Then beat in:

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir in the flour mixture, then add:

1-2 cups raisins

1/2 cup unsalted toasted sunflower seeds

Chill dough until it can be shaped into 1" balls (about 1-1/2 hours). When ready, shape into 1" balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet; flatten slightly with a wet fork. Bake at 325 degrees for 8-12 minutes, until very lightly browned.

Yield: 5 dozen

Lynn's notes: A 1" cookie scoop works really well for making the balls of dough. It doesn't even have to be too firm. Ground flaxseed and toasted sunflower seeds can be found for a good price at Trader Joe's stores. They are the only place I have found toasted unsalted sunflower seeds.

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2009-10-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

This recipe comes courtesy of Martha Stewart herself. I found this on line the other day and decided to make the cookies as a welcome home treat for my co-worker who just returned from Greece. I am happy to report they received multiple stamps of approval!

- 1 cup(s) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup(s) whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon(s) coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
- 3/4 cup(s) (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup(s) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup(s) packed light-brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup(s) (about 1 large) mashed ripe banana
- 1 cup(s) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 8 ounce(s) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks
- 1/2 cup(s) (about 2 ounces) coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.

What my mom made for dinner

2009-09-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

My mom is my inspiration for cooking and baking! Growing up, as busy as she was as a single mom raising two kids and often working multiple jobs, she still managed to make dinner almost every night. Not to mention her amazing baking around Christmas time! I should write up another post on that sometime. :) Even though my brother and I could be picky, she did her best to introduce us to whole grains (it took until recently to like them), vegetables, fruits (these I had no trouble liking, especially when it was something from the backyard!), and unsweetened cereal (well she tried, but I sneaked sugar onto it anyway). But I thank her for her hard work and giving a solid foundation!

So today I'd like to feature a dish that she just created. I'm not sure what to call it, "Mom's curried chickpea dish"? Or the not very descriptive but accurate "What I made for dinner" which is what she said upon first telling me about it. Well, whatever the title, this is a tasty, healthful dish that is sure to please everyone!

"What I made for dinner" in my mom's words:

Prepare white or brown Jasmine rice or couscous with chicken or vegetable broth (I used low sodium chicken broth and didn't add additional salt)

Saute lightly in olive oil
-1 yellow squash sliced
-1 red bell pepper cut into strips
-1 small red onion chopped
-1 carrot cut into somewhat thin 2-inch strips

Add to veggies and stir:

-chili pepper flakes (I used about 1/2 tsp)
-kosher salt (1 used about 1/4 tsp)
-black pepper (I used about 1/4 tsp)
-curry (I used a mixture of yellow and red curry, started with 1/4 tsp, but added mo9re to taste)
-cinnamon (3 quick dashes)
-lemon juice (I started with 2 tablespoons then added more to taste)

Mix in rice or couscous (I used 2 cups of white jasmine loosely measured-don't pack into cup).
Mix in 1/2 can rinsed garbanzo beans.

Serve with feta cheese sprinkled on top.

Note: I think that fresh chopped cilantro added at the end would be a nice addition (but I didn't have any).

Love, Mom

Notes from my mom:

I made this recipe again using brown jasmine rice and black beans instead of garbanzo. It came out good except for the fact that I accidentally cooked the veggies too long which wasn't that great. Make sure that you do a quick stir fry only so that the onions are a bit soft but everything else is still crisp. Also, 1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes puts in on the spicier side. You might want to try less to start.

My notes:

Use the vegetable broth and skip the cheese to make this vegan.

I think I used more garbanzo beans (I started with the dry, so I can't say for sure), which I recommend.

Also good with brown basmati rice.

Enjoy!

Molten Chocolate Cookies

2009-09-20T12:25:00.000-07:00

One of the first things I just had to do in New York was find good chocolate chips. And by good, I mean at minimum no artificial flavors. Having a really really stellar flavor is a plus, but I wasn't about to shell out the exorbitant price for the Ghiradelli bars and chips are at my local market (the only brand of chocolate chips, I'm afraid to say, that didn't have artificial flavor)! Remember that story about the butter? Yeah, well, I didn't want to repeat that mistake with the chocolate.

This is where Fresh Direct came to my rescue! They delivered right to my door chocolate chips that were delicious, all natural, and a good price! The brand is Guittard, and I must say they were tasty. But best of all, I discovered an amazing recipe on the back of the bag. If you like chocolate, cookies, and molten cakes, you will love these! They also make great cookies for ice cream sandwiches on the second day. :)

Molten Chocolate Cookies

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter (unsalted)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Melt the chips and butter in a double boiler or heat proof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water. You may also melt in microwave. Set aside.

Beat egg and sugar with an electric mixer. When light and fluffy, beat in a salt and vanilla. Gradually beat in the slightly cooled chocolate.

Stir the flour and baking powder together, then add to the egg mixture and stir until mixed. Batter won’t be stiff enough to use at this point.

Chill batter for about 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment.

Spoon batter by rounded tablespoonfuls (approx) and make mounds. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for about 3 minutes, then transfer to rack to cool.

Best served warm. To reheat, microwave on high power 10 seconds per cookie.

Quote from the Kitchen

2009-08-21T14:38:00.001-07:00

"No matter what happens in the kitchen, never apologize."
—Julia Child, in Fitch, Appetite for Life, p. 142

Vegetable Tartlets (or Veggie Tart)

2009-08-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

My kitchen partner and I made this a few weeks ago, and it was absolutely delicious! Make sure you allow 45 minutes to an hour to prepare the veggies and make the filling. (absolutely worth every minute) If you find yourself pressed for time and can't make the crust (or perhaps, you are crust challenged), the veggie filling would also taste great served with noodles or rice.

Chef's Note: We did not have mini tart pans so we substituted with one pan instead.

Serves 6
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup ice water
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 red bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced
1 Italian eggplant, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, quartered
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 cups coarsely chopped kale (8 ounces)
2 cups cherry tomatoes (about 1 pint)
1/3 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped
Pinch of red-pepper flakes
6 tablespoons nonfat ricotta cheese

Directions:
Make the crust: Pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream; process just until dough holds together. Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 3 days).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out six 9-inch rounds, gathering scraps and rerolling dough. Fit into 4 1/2-inch springform tart pans, and cut dough flush with tops. Place on a baking sheet, and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Make the filling: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bell peppers, and cook until just tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add zucchini, squash, eggplant, and onion; cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add wine and salt; season with pepper. Cook, stirring, until liquid has evaporated. Add kale, and cook until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in tomatoes, basil, and red-pepper flakes.

Spoon 1 1/4 cups vegetable mixture into each tart shell. Bake until crust is golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes. Top each tart with 1 tablespoon ricotta, and serve.

Recipe from Martha Stewart.

Crumble time!

2009-07-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

Hello blog world! It's been a while! My life has been turned upside down by graduating from my masters and going on an extended "vacation" on the other side of the country while negotiating trying to get back to the right side of the country. Or something like that. Thus I have not had much chance to try new recipes much less make up any of my own. But that ends now! Tonight, after a frustrating, long search on google for a recipe that didn't exist (except in my mind), I decided to try my hand at creating my very own baked good. I specify baked good since I've never had a problem making up dinner entrees. But baking has always had that mysterious aura to it that scared me away from ever making something up. Substitutions? Yes. Additions or alterations? All the time! But no recipe at all? AH!

Surprisingly, I think I was actually successful. In fact, I think it was pretty darn good. I have to say I'm proud of myself, and hope you enjoy this recipe while the summer fruit season lasts.

Cherry Blueberry Almond Crumble

Ingredients

2 cups pitted cherries
2 cups blueberries
Juice of half a lemon
almond extract to taste (actually, I just used what was left in the bottle!)
cinnamon
1 tbl cornstarch
1/4 sugar (more if fruit is not very sweet)
1 stick butter (4oz), cut into small pieces and kept cold
4oz flour
2 oz white sugar
2 oz brown sugar (can do more white sugar if desired)
handful toasted, ground almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the berries, lemon juice, almond extract, a sprinkling of cinnamon, cornstarch, and sugar in a 8x8" pan (I used pyrex).
2. In a medium bowl, combine butter, flour, sugars, and almonds with fingers until butter is evenly distributed throughout. Alternatively, you can use a pastry blender, but honestly, fingers work just fine. :)
3. Spread crumble topping over the berry mixture evenly. Bake for 35 minutes, or until fruit is bubbling and the topping is a lightly golden.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Strawberry Ice Box Cake

2009-05-22T07:33:00.001-07:00

Ah, summer. It's coming! And know what one of my favorite things in the summer is? Berries! Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and all the unique I've-never-heard-of-that-berry that can be found at the local orchard. So to welcome in the season, here's a strawberry dessert!

This recipe has been passed down from my great grandmother. She used to make it for my mom when she was little. Yes, it does use raw egg, but if you're the type to sneak a little cookie dough before baking, then you should be fine. :)

Note: start ahead (must be refrigerated at least 3 hours)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
3 tbl cream (can substitute milk)
1/2 nuts, chopped (I think almonds are probably best)
1 tsp vanilla
1 box strawberries, sliced
8 oz cool whip
8 oz vanilla wafers, crushed fine

1. Cream sugar and butter until light and creamy. Add egg, cream, nuts, and vanilla. Gently stir in berries. Fold in cool whip.
2. Place half the crumbs in an 8" or 9" square pan. Pour berry mixture over. Sprinkle remaining crumbs on top.
3. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Cut into squares and serve!

Yield: 8 servings.

Root Vegetable Shepherd's Pie

2009-04-19T14:32:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, I experienced my first weekend without school stress! In order to celebrate this momentous occasion, I decided to have some fun in the kitchen. After seeing a post on another blog and knowing I had some ground beef in the freezer, I thought shepherd's pie was worth a try. But I couldn't just do the normal, standard recipe, now could I? Besides, I really just don't like celery and carrots. And thus my solution: create my very own shepherd's pie remix based on root vegetables!

I started with parsnips, turnip, and brown (crimini) mushrooms. I highly recommend brown mushroom, so much more flavor!

Here they are being caramelized (except the mushrooms)...ah so fragrant!

Now I added the mushrooms and some herbs

Peter helped with the beef...I'm not a big fan of touching or getting near raw meat. What a silly face. :)

Here the veggies, beef, and gravy are getting acquainted.

Top it with mashed, seasoned potatoes, bake, and:

Voila! Cauliflower! Just kidding. More like a giant delicious potato topping!

So what was the result of my experiment? Good, but not amazing. But I think the lack of amazingness is easily remedied. First, cut the amount of parsnip in half, second, use more mushrooms, and third, season more heavily. I've adjusted the recipe accordingly. I am proud to say, however, that the potato topping came out quite nicely. :) One can also add more flavor by topping it with shredded cheese. And I suppose if you do like celery but want to stick with the root theme, you could try some celery root.

Let me know if you try it!

Ingredients

1 parsnip, cleaned and diced (no need to peel if scrubbed well)

1 turnip, peeled and diced

1 medium onion, diced

5 tbl butter

dried thyme, rosemary, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste (I sprinkle and smell)

1 lb ground beef

3-4 splashes Worcestershire sauce

3 tbl flour

1 3/4 cup beef broth (or less for a thicker gravy)

1 cup frozen peas

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook and caramelize parsnip, turnip, and onion in butter (about 10 min). Add mushrooms and seasonings, stir together for about 30 seconds, then turn off heat.

3. In another skillet, cook the beef; if there is a lot of fat leftover, partially drain. Do not drain completely. Add Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper. While at medium heat, add the flour, stirring contantly, and cook a couple of minutes. Add peas and slowly pour in broth and bring to a simmer, stirring occaisionally. Simmer until thickened.

4. Combine veggie and meat mixture in a 2 quart casserole dish. Add mashed potato mixture (recipe below). Place on a baking sheet in case of spills and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until mashed potatoes nice and puffy with golden tips.

For the mashed potatoes:

Boil in salted water until fork tender 5-6 red potatoes, peeled and chopped. Drain, then transfer to a stand mixer. Beat with the paddle until smooth. Add 2 tbl cream, 2 tbl milk, 2 tbl butter, 1 egg, and salt and pepper. Cream together. Adjust liquid if necessary.

Yield: 6 servings

Stuffed Florentine Shells

2009-04-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

This is a delicous Pampered Chef Recipe. It's meatless, and if you're like me and can't stomach melted cheese, you can easily make the stuffing with just the spinach, ricotta cheese, seasonings, and half and half.

18 jumbo pasta shells (you can also substitute manicotti shells)
1 container (15 ounces) part skim Ricotta
1 package (10 ounces) frozen spinach chopped, thawed, and drained and squeezed dry
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
3/4 cup half and half (divided)
1 garlic clove pressed
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. salt
28 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven to 350, cook pasta according to directions, drain, then drizzle with Olive oil so the shells don't stick.

Mix ricotta, spinach, 1&1/2 cups of Italian cheese, 1/4 cup of Parmesan, and 1/4 cup of half and half. Press in garlic and seasonings. Mix well. In another bowl whisk the rest of spaghetti sauce with remaining half and half. Pour some of sauce mix on bottom of cooking pan. Fill each shell with ricotta mixture (one scoop) I usually use my cookie dropper. Arrange filled shells in baking pan. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce. Cover with foil, bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil, top dish with remaining 1/2 cup of Italian cheese. Bake uncovered an additional 5 min. Let cool for 10 min. before serving.

I'm sorry to say I forgot to take pictures so you'll have to make do with a photoless post.

Pickled red onion 4 ways, part 3

2009-04-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

I hope no one was waiting in anxious anticipation for the conclusion of my series on pickled red onions! It's been incredibly busy around here, what with having been working and going to school full time. But that story is for my other blog...

Here is part 3 of the amazing pickled red onion! Again, forgive my lack of precise ingredients. See this less as a recipe and more as a guide or an inspiration. Let me know if you try the pickled onion and what you do with it!

Escarole tuna wraps with pickled red onion and almonds

Make a filling with 1 can of tuna (preferably in oil), finely ground almonds, mayo, some pickling juice, and finely chopped pickled red onion. Scoop filling onto a large escarole leaf. Wrap it all together and there you have it!

Ratatouille Lasagna

2009-03-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and happy spring! Today I created a ratatouille-ish version of lasagna. It is vegetarian, delicious, and based on my favorite lasagna recipe from my friend Karen M. The secret is the cottage cheese! I hope you enjoy it as much as Peter and I did!

8 oz. lasagna noodles
12 oz. part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 medium zucchini, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (fresh if possible)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tbl parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 cups spaghetti sauce (I used Wegmans portabella mushroom)

1. Stir-fry zucchini and bell pepper in a bit of olive oil under crisp-tender. Season generously (I used Italian seasoning, salt, and red pepper. I wanted to imitate the kick of Italian sausage).
2. Mix together everything but lasagna noodles and mozzarella.
3. In a greased 9x13" dish, layer half the lasagna noodles, sauce mixture, and mozzarella. Repeat. No, you do not need to pre-cook the noodles, hurray!
4. Cook, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2009-03-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

While I haven't actually made this, a friend of mine did, and it was delicious!

Topping
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple slices, well drained
Maraschino cherries, drained and halved
Walnut halves

Cake
1 package DUNCAN HINES® Moist Deluxe® Pineapple Supreme Cake Mix
1 package (4-serving size) vanilla-flavor instant pudding and pie filling mix
4 eggs
1 cup water (*you can also substitute pineapple juice for a moister cake)
1/2 cup oil

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. For topping, melt butter over low heat in 12-inch cast-iron skillet or skillet with ovenproof handle. Remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar. Spread to cover bottom of skillet. Arrange pineapple slices, maraschino cherries and walnut halves in skillet. Set aside.
3. For cake, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water and oil in large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Pour batter evenly over fruit in skillet. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Invert onto serving plate.

Tip Cake can be made in a 13×9×2-inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cake is also delicious using Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Classic Yellow Cake Mix.

Pickled red onion 4 ways, part 2

2009-03-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

As much as I loved the escarole salad, I couldn't eat enough of it to use up all the pickled onion. When lunchtime came around the following day, I used it and some of the other leftovers hanging around to create this delightful sandwich! I did everything to taste, so sorry for the lack of precise measurements. You could also use leftover escarole instead of spinach leaves or some of the pickling juice instead of the red wine vinegar (if doing the latter, omit salt and pepper).

Red wine tuna sandwich with onion and spinach

1 5-6oz can tuna (they're so tricky these days with the tuna can sizes)
1 Tbl mayonnaise
paprika (to taste)
Red wine vinegar, tsp or so
salt and pepper to taste
Pickled onion slices
a handful of fresh spinach leaves
4 slices Italian bread (or bread of your choice)

Mix together tuna, mayonnaise, paprika, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Layer on one slice of bread, top with onions and spinach, and close with second slice. Repeat. Serve with fruit (I shared a grapefruit with Peter).

Yield: 2 servings

Pickled red onion 4 ways, part 1

2009-03-06T14:48:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gentleman, an historic event has occurred. I branched out beyond Caesar salad and made a new kind of salad!

I have many reasons for either not wanting or not caring to make interesting salads. First, taste and texture: I don't want lettuce and fruit together, I don't like strong cheeses, I don't like raw vegetables enough, and though I'm over it now I use to hate nuts in salads! Second, I don't like spending a lot of time on something that I eat only because "it's good for you." Just get it over and done with and spend my creative energies on the main dish (and dessert!). But on this historic day, all that changed!

I subscribe to a variety of food blogs with my hand-dandy google reader, where I found this amazing recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Here is my adapted version. The key is the pickled red onion. You will not be disappointed!

To make the pickled onion:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup cold water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 to 3 shots hot sauce (I used Tapatio)
1 red onion, sliced into very thin rings (Pampered Chef mandolin came in handy here!)

Mix all ingredients together and store in fridge at least 1 hour. I made this the day before, storing it in the fridge overnight. Then I took some escarole (washed and torn into bite-sized pieces), pickled onion, a bit of the pickling juice, a couple splashes of extra-virgin olive oil, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese and tossed it all together. Walla, amazing salad!

Yield: as much (or little) as you like! :)

Filling, gluten free, inexpensive soup

2009-02-16T10:58:00.000-08:00

In a recession, everyone is looking for ways to save money. This soup is an easy, filling, delicious, healthy, and even gluten free way to do so! The trick is using lentils, brown rice, and ground beef. This recipe was inspired by this soup. Feel free to add more vegetables; I thought sliced mushrooms might do nicely.

1 lb ground beef

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 tbl parsley

1 tsp thyme

½ tsp cumin

3 cups chicken broth

4 1/2 cups vegetable broth

2/3 cup lentils

Half of a red bell pepper

1/4 cup frozen pees

½ cup brown rice

1. Cook onions and ground beef in stockpot. Add garlic at the end (only saute it a minute).

2. Add herbs, broth, lentils, and bell pepper and simmer for 1 hour or until lentils are soft.

3. Add brown rice and peas; simmer 40 more minutes, or until rice is done.

Yield: 4-6 servings

A new twist on baked potatoes

2009-02-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

I love potatoes. They come in different shapes, colors, and you can do many tasty things with them. I have recently discovered my favorite method of making a baked potato. This method creates a crisp skin with a flaky, dryish (as apposed to steamy) center. If you like your potatoes steamy and soft, almost wet, then this method is not for you. :)

2 medium sized potatos (I used a red-skinned Yukon)
1/2 onion, sliced into thing rings
1 garlic clove
salt
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Prick the potatoes with a fork and then microwave for 3 minutes. Turn over and cook another 3-5 minutes. Check periodically for done-ness with a fork (should be quite soft and the skin should be bubbly). When they are done, wrap in foil and let sit for a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, caramelize onions in a bit of olive oil. Add garlic and salt at the end and saute for just a minute.

Open potato and top with onions and cheese. Yum!

Yield: 2 servings

Silky Chocolate Fondue

2009-01-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

This is an easy and delicious recipe to make!

Silky Chocolate Fondue

6 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Assorted dippers such as strawberries, marshmallows, pound cake cubes or graham crackers

In small (2-qt.) saucepan, bring 1 inch of water to a simmer over low heat. In double boiler, combine chocolate, ice cream topping and cream; mix well. Set double boiler over simmering water in saucepan. Heat chocolate mixture 7-10 minutes or until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally. **It time is of the essence, you may microwave the chocolate, caramel, and whipping cream.**

Pour chocolate mixture into Simple Additions™ Small Bowl. Serve fondue immediately with assorted dippers. Yield: 1 1/3 cups (10 servings)

For additional flavor and variety, stir 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of any one of the following into fondue: almond, mint or vanilla extract, ground cinnamon or finely snipped orange zest. Pampered Chef

Sampling of our dippers: strawberries, Famous Amos cookies, and pirouettes. Not pictured: strawberries, bananas, and shortbread cookies.

Olive & Roasted Pepper Bruschetta

2009-01-09T19:51:00.000-08:00

We made this at our NYE party, and it got rave reviews!

Olive & Roasted Pepper Bruschetta

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup chopped pitted green olives
1/2 cup chopped rosted sweet red peppers
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. dried basil
16 slives French bread baguette (1/2 in. thick) toasted

In a small bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Top each bread olive with 1 tbsp. olive mixture.

Pasta, pasta, pasta

2008-11-28T16:46:00.000-08:00

As I was helping to prepare lunch today of linguine with a delicious homemade meat sauce, I began mulling over how much I love pasta. I love how it comes in multiple shapes and sizes, so many that the chef is certain to find the perfect pasta for each and every occasion. I love the various textures and how they differ from ridged to smooth, to round to long, to firm and stuffed. And the recipes that accompany pasta...ah, the possibilities are endless.

I started doing a little research and was honestly shocked at how many different types of pasta exist. I had no idea the list was so extensive. Here are a couple of web sites I found particularly helpful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pasta

http://www.thenibble.com/REVIEWS/MAIN/pastas/glossary.asp

Cornbread crusted pork chops with Spicy Peach and Corn Salsa

2008-11-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

Today's recipe comes from the end of the lovely Rochester summer. It took me this long to upload the photos! I adapted the recipe from About.com's Gourmet section. Earlier that week, I had made cornbread that I didn't turn out so well, but hating to throw food away, I wanted a recipe that would use it in a creative way. This certainly fit the bill! I was quite impressed with the flavors, textures, and colors of this dish. Too bad fresh peaches are pretty much gone here in Rochester!

Notes: I hate to share a recipe that I didn't like, so I'll just say that my cornbread was made with buttermilk and without flour. I recommend any non-sweet, simple cornbread for this. I highly recommend the Fatali pepper: its citrus undertones pair perfectly with the peaches. If you can't find them, use a habanero. If you can't handle the heat, use chipotle. I found a bunch of fatali peppers at the farmer's market and have been storing them in the freezer. :)

Ingredients:

4 8-ounce Pork Chops
3 Cups Cornbread Crumbs
1 Tablespoon Thyme
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Large Peaches, peeled, pit removed, and diced into 1/4 inch cubes
1 Cup Corn, cooked and cooled
1 Minced Fatali Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour the milk into a shallow dish and add the pork chops. Let soak for 30 minutes.

Add the vegetable oil to a large saute pan and heat to medium high.

In a large bowl, mix together the cornbread crumbs, thyme, and black pepper. Place the pork chops in the cornbread mixture and turn to coat. Press the mixture lightly onto the pork.

Put the pork chops into the hot saute pan. Cook until golden brown and turn over, about 3 minutes each side. Transfer the pork chops to a cookie sheet or rack and place into the preheated oven. Bake in oven until the pork chops are completely cooked through with no pink in the center, approximately 10 to 15 minutes depending on how thick your chops are. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the diced peaches, corn, fatali, salt, and pepper. Mix well. The salsa can be made one day ahead if needed.

To serve, place pork chops on plates and spoon salsa over the top.

Yield: 4 servings

Zabaglione with shortbread cookies

2008-11-05T17:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight I opened my first bottle of Marsala wine to make chicken marsala. The dish tasted fabulous, but I was left with a whole lot more Marsala than I needed. So I decided to make zabaglione and shortbread cookies. All the ingredients, except the marsala, are common kitchen items! It turned out beautifully and was quite easy to do. :)

Note: it can be nice to have two people do this together (yay Peter!)

Zabaglione (for 2)
adapted from Joy of Cooking

2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Marsala wine
2 egg whites (optional)

In a double boiler (or in my case in a small sauce pan over a larger one), whisk together all ingredients over boiling water. Do not immerse pan in boiling water. Whisking constantly, slowly bring mixture to 160 degrees (will become lighter and thicker). Meanwhile (this is where helps comes in), beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into finished custard. Serve immediately!

Shortbread cookies (for 2 or 3)

2 oz butter, softened
1 oz granulated sugar
3 oz flour
pinch of salt
turbinado sugar (or other large-crystal sugar), or just white sugar

Mix together first four ingredients, form into cookies by hand, and then bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min. Sprinkle with sugar. I actually did this in the toaster oven since it was such a small batch.

Enjoy together!

ps: Peter's comment on the zabaglione: "it was good--interesting, but good." :)

Leftover Ingredients: the mother of invention!

2008-10-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I've ever had so many different food items in my fridge and on my shelves! Between the normal, everyday perishables and pantry stock, I also acquired leftover soup, home grown tomatoes, and babaganoush from a party (which meant, of course, that I had to go buy pita bread) and apparently bought too many ingredients for the recipes I did have in mind to make that week. For instance, I had one too many habanero peppers, too much shredded cheese, leftover "lime sour cream", some brussels sprouts that I intended to eat for lunch but forgot about, etc. Oh yeah, and a turnip that I forgot to put into a root vegetable soup. And this, my friends, is what the stress of midterm preparation can do to you!

In order to rectify this odd situation, I did something I haven't done in a long time: I made up a recipe! It was so fun and easy to make. Here's what I did, though since I didn't measure much, have fun adjusting to your own tastes. :)

Hot chicken, tomato, and corn soup
(This is a lot like chicken tortilla soup, but no tortilla. I joked to Peter that it's great for the low-carb diet.)

1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 tbl canola oil (the fat choice is random, I know, don't ask...)
1 small onion, chopped
Salt, pepper, and seasoning to taste (I used the Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning plus cumin)
A few splashes Tapatio hot sauce (or a favorite hot sauce)
1 habanero pepper (omit or use jalapeno for something milder)
1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted (could have used more)
1 large tomato, diced (could have been 2)
Enough chicken or vegetable broth (I used a mix) to cover everything, but not so much as to make it too brothy
1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded

Optional (but highly recommended) accompaniments: shredded mexican cheese blend, sour cream, freshly squeezed lime juice, cilantro

1. Saute onion and pepper with seasonings and hot sauce over medium heat for a couple of minutes (should be very fragrant).
2. Add corn and tomato, sauteing another minute.
3. Add broth and chicken, bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes. The longer it simmers, the more the flavors will meld, but just do whatever you have the time for.
4. Serve with accompaniments.

Yield: 3-4 servings

Something Old Revisited

2008-10-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not remember, in July Christina and I embarked on the ultimate baking challenge: to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie. We found one recipe that was absolutely delicious, however it had one minor flaw -- the dough was a bit on the goopy side and the cookies were rather spread out and thin. Because we were baking in Rochester, New York, on what I remember was an extremely warm and humid day, we attributed the consistency of the dough and resulting cookies to the humidity. This could mean only one thing: the cookies would have to be baked in another part of the United States (preferably without the extreme humidity) to see if the same thing happened again.

I, one half of Le Tablier Rose, took it upon myself to make them in my hometown in Southern California and find out if I would experience the same results. After baking (and tasting!) this recipe, I am happy to report the consistency was, indeed, due to the Rochester summer, and they are just as good now as they were in July. :-)

Now, this post would simply not be complete without the customary photos, so please enjoy. Hm, I'm starting to feel like Martha Stewart since we're documenting the progress via photography!

*If you would like to try our "something old" recipe, please see July's blog post with recipe #1 in the title.

Gathering ingredients & mixing well the flour and baking powder

The dough is amazing! Warning: You will be tempted to
eat more than you bake.

On the cookie sheet with somewhere to go: the oven!

The finished product.

Mrs. McCabe's Poppy Seed Cake

2008-10-09T22:01:00.000-07:00

I am not one for cake. I don't like cake. But this is one cake I absolutely love! It's moist, texture is delectable, and flavor absolutely delicious. The recipe came from a Tae Kwon Do Mom, and per her request, the following story stays with the recipe.

"The recipe is named after a sweet old lade from Santa Ana who lived across the street from us. She was just a sweetheart. She and her husband lived alone and she would bake a cake every weekend. When I found out she had died all by herself I cried. One night when she found out she was very sick and could not drive she left from 11th street in Santa Ana to the bus station (in downtown Santa Ana) about one mile from her home. Where the bus station is, is not a good neighborhood. She then took the bus to the hospital. About a week later the neighbors said she had passed away. She just never wanted to bother anyone. After hearing this stry, I decided I would try to be a better neighbor after that."

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Ingredients:

One yellow cake mix
One small vanilla pudding, instant
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup very warm water
1 tsp. almond extract
2 tbs. poppy seeds

Place all ingredients in a large mixer, except poppy seeds. Mix for 5 minutes on high. Fold in poppy seeds. Pour into greased and floured bunt pan or angel food pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes, cool in pan for 15 minutes on rack. Remove and dust with powder sugar when cool.

Variations:

You can also change this to a lemon, orange, chocolate, with a chocolate cake mix or add a different extract.

You can also vary the size of the pan for different thickness. Any way you make it, it's delish!

Enjoy, and if you pass the recipe on, please don't forget Mrs. McCabe.

Vegetable Pie

2008-09-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

What happens when you come home from the market (actually, two markets) with a ton of random vegetables with no recipes in mind? Why, vegetable pie of course! My inspiration came from this "recipe". It's not exactly a recipe, but more of a guide on how to create your own vegetable pie. I adjusted it to what I had from the market and on hand. Here's my version:

steamed rainbow chard
the following sauteed in extra-virgin olive oil:
-a few cloves of garlic
-1 medium onion
-2 red bell peppers
-1 yellow squash
-the stems (chopped) from the chard

Place in a pie plate (I used the Pampered Chef Deep Dish Baker) and sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano, marjoram, and parmesan cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven 15-20 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings

Oh, and to fulfill my usual carb-cravings, I made drop biscuits.

I look forward to trying other interesting combinations. And I HIGHLY recommend rainbow chard. Mmmmmm

Cookie recipe #4: Something from a website

2008-09-09T19:14:00.001-07:00

All right, folks, it's about time we returned to the original point of this blog: to document our journey toward the perfect chocolate chip cookie! This is the 4th and final recipe in our original set of something old, something new, something borrowed, and something...from a website. Kira has already posted a review of the first two. I will post here the recipe for #4 and in a subsequent post, the review. Recipe #3 has still yet to be tried (sorry, my spontaneous ways led to a disregard for the order!), but in due time it will be reviewed here as well.

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com. They are "Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies." They make A LOT, so I only made half.

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional) (I didn't add)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture.
3. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

Yield: 6 dozen

Spicy Quinoa Bowl

2008-09-03T16:39:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered quinoa. A powerhouse of good-for-you-ness, I was eager to find yummy ways to utilize it. Well this dish certainly fits the bill! It's fairly quick, easy, and absolutely delicious. It's adapted from a recipe on allrecipes.com. Note that the fresher the corn, the better. I was lucky to have recently purchased corn at the South Wedge market from the local farmer himself (accompanied by his corn-raising anecdotes). Peter and I were thinking afterwards that the addition of ground beef or shredded chicken would augment it as well (but it's hearty enough alone). Or try topping each serving with a fried egg.

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 whole guajillo pepper (mine was dried)
2 ears of corn, as fresh as possible
1 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
chopped fresh cilantro, to taste

1. Saute onion and garlic in a medium saucepan until onion is translucent.
2. Rinse the quinoa; add to pot and add chicken broth; add seasonings, bring to a boil; cover and simmer for 15 minutes (there should be a bit of liquid left).
3. De-husk the corn; carefully cut off the kernels and set aside; chop/crush/crumble the dried pepper until minced.
4. After the quinoa has been cooking for 15 minutes or so, add the corn kernels and minced pepper. Simmer another 5 minutes (trust me, fresh corn doesn't need much cooking).
5. Stir in beans and top with desired amount of cilantro.

Yield: 8 side dish servings or 4 main servings

Spiciness rating: medium

Yangzhou inspired fried rice

2008-08-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

Last night I found a video on Epicurious.com on how to make Yangzhou Fried Rice. It looked so good that I couldn't wait to make it after a trip to the store. So I made it with what I currently had. It was delicious! I highly recommend this method of making fried rice. Check out the original. Here's my version:

This makes enough for a large lunch for one or a lunch for two requiring a side (in our case, grapes).

Canola oil
1 green onion, sliced diagonally every 1/2"
1 cup cooked, cold brown rice
1 egg
a handful or so of deli sliced ham cut into bite sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat a couple of tablespoons of canola oil in a wok or large skillet. Add green onions and stir fry for 15-30 seconds. Crumble rice over this.
2. Add egg and mix together, coating rice evenly. Add ham, salt, and pepper, and stir fry until egg is cooked.

Enjoy!

Fiesta Tortilla Stack

2008-08-04T20:23:00.000-07:00

This is a fun and easy recipe!

Fiesta Tortilla Stack

Ingredients:
1 can ( 9 ounces) bean dip
2 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon Pantry Southwestern Seasoning Mix-divided
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1/2 cup green onion with tops, sliced thinly-(8)
3/4 cup pitted ripe olives, sliced, divided
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, divided
5 ( 10 inch) flour tortillas
8 ounces mild cheddar-( 2 cups)
Vegetable oil
2 medium plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Salsa

Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a 1 quart bowl combine the bean dip, 2 tablespoons sour cream, and 1 tablespoon of the seasoning mix: mix well. Chop chicken and bell pepper and slice the green onion. Chop 1/2 cup of the olives. Chop the cilantro.

Place one tortilla on round baking stone. Use medium scoop (or your best guess!) and top each tortilla with 2 scoops of bean mixture; spreading within 1/4 inch of edge. Top evenly with 1 cup of chicken mixture. Place cheese over the top. Top with tortilla and repeat.

When the layers are complete spray Pam over the last one and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until top is brown. Mix the remaining 1/4 cup sour cream with the remaining seasoning spreading over top of warm tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. Sprinkle tomato, olives and chopped cilantro over the top as a garnish. Cut into wedges, serve with salsa. Serves 6

Chef's Hint from La Tablier Rose: Instead of layering each tortilla with the bean/chicken mixture and cheese, combine all ingredients together at the same time. It makes the mixture easier to spread.

Bon Appetit!

Cookie recipe #3: Something Borrowed

2008-08-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

This recipe counts as borrowed because it is from one of Kira's co-workers. We noticed looking at the recipe that it is fairly similar to the Joy of Cooking recipe but perhaps less sweet. We shall see!

Big Chippers

1 ¼ c. flour

½ c. packed brown sugar

¼ c. granulated sugar

½ c. butter, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 egg, at room temperature

1 12 oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

1 c. chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Into a large bowl measure flour, brown sugar, butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, baking soda, salt, and egg. With mixer at low speed beat ingredients until mixed. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Drop mixture by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. (I like to use parchment paper to bake cookies on, makes cleanup easier and the white paper doesn’t attack the heat like a dark cookie sheet does and the cookies tend not to get too brown on the bottom) Bake 12-15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove cookie to wire racks to cool. Makes 2 ½ dozen.

Muffin variation #1: Berry Almond

2008-08-01T07:32:00.001-07:00

Remember to have all ingredients at room temperature!

Now since I'm an amateur, I don't know why this recipe doesn't utilize the muffin method. It did seem to work, though. Next time I make them I'll use the muffin method and let you know if it makes a difference.

Berry Almond Muffins:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour (I used unbleached)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Handful dried mixed berries (about 1/2 cup)
Handful chopped almonds (about 1/2 cup)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 12 medium muffins cups.
2. Beat egg; stir in milk, oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
3. Fold in remaining ingredients all at once just until flour is moistened (I pre-mixed the dry ingredients). Fold in berries and almonds.
4. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in pan, then cool on a rack. Good with butter.

Note: I don't have the normal 12 muffin cup pan. I use the six jumbo muffin pan. I love it!

French Puffs, the customizable muffin

2008-08-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

Growing up, my husband's mother made "French Puffs," and old Betty Crocker recipe, for special occasions. Inspired by Peter's fond memories of these muffins, I decided to get the recipe and make them for his birthday. They were a little kids dream muffin: drenched with melted butter then rolled in cinnamon/sugar. What I like most about the recipe, though, is that it's so easily customizable! Stay tuned for interesting variations by yours truly.

French Puffs:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat over to 375. Grease bottoms only of 12 medium muffins cups. Beat egg; stir in milk and oil. Stir in remaining ingredients all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy.) Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Immediately remove from pan and roll hot muffins in about 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted, then in mixture of 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp. ground cinnamon.

Her note: They are pretty rich with all that butter. They reheat okay, but are best when fresh. So if you want, you could cut the butter and cinnamon sugar in half, and only roll half of the muffins. The plain muffins reheat better and are great with just butter and jam or honey.

Peanut Butter dip

2008-07-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

Today I decided an apple wasn't good enough. I wanted an apple with dip! Unfortunately, I can't tell you the exact amounts to use (because when I suddenly decide to invent something, I don't measure), but I can tell you the ingredients for a quick, yummy dip:

In a little bowl, whisk with a fork:
-peanut butter
-powdered sugar (not too much if your peanut butter is sweetened)
-a bit of cinnamon (I used cassia)
-a few drops of vanilla extract
-milk, enough to make it creamy

The cinnamon adds just the right warmth. I call it my secret ingredient. :)

Something old and Something new

2008-07-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

First of all, leftover cookie dough is delicious! In fact, it is a little too good because instead of baking a second batch of cookies, Christina and I (Peter may have helped too!) ate most of it. I mean, homemade cookie dough is naturally an excellent topping for ice cream, not to mention a great snack. . .

A few days ago we began our search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. For our first test we made two different kinds. Both were supposed to be a little crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. The favorite recipe can be traced back to 1943, first published in a wartime issue of the Joy of Cooking. Unfortunately, we baked them on a very humid day which affected the consistency of the dough and finished product. True to Kira form, we ended up with very thin cookies for our first batch, although later taste tests proved this minor inconvenience to be a mute point. They were delicious! The vanilla extract added extra flavor to the cookie, and they were still fabulous days after baking.

The second "something new"recipe was good but not great. They were thick and chewy, exactly what we were looking for, however the taste did not meet our expectations. The chocolate flavor did not burst from the cookie and overall something seemed to be missing.

Christina and I highly recommend "something old" and hope you find time to enjoy this delightful, little treat.

Cookie recipe #2: Something New

2008-07-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

Our "Something New" is a recipe published in 1996 by the magazine Cooks Illustrated in their hunt for a "thick, chewy gourmet shop cookie at home" (http://www.cooksillustrated.com/login.asp?name=&did=1270&LoginForm=recipe&iseason=). (again, a review/s will follow)

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/8 cups bleached all-purpose flour (about 10 1/2 ounces) (we used unbleached)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark), 7 ounces (we used dark)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 - 2 cups chocolate chips or chunks (semi or bittersweet) (we used bittersweet chunks from Trader Joes)

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips.

3. Following illustrations below, form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined 20-by-14-inch lipless cookie sheets, about nine dough balls per sheet. Smaller cookie sheets can be used, but fewer cookies can be baked at one time and baking time may need to be adjusted. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.)

NOTE: try as we may, this part was impossible due to the Rochester humidity. Instead, we plopped the same amount right onto the sheet. We knew that it would spread out anyway, so whatever.

4. Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.

Cookie recipe #1: Something Old

2008-07-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

Our "Something Old" recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Joy of Cooking. This recipe originated in the wartime edition of the cookbook, 1943. (review/s will be posted separately)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line 2 cookie sheets.

1 cup plus 2 tbl all-purpose flour (we used unbleached)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips (we added more :) )
3/4 chopped walnuts or pecans (optional; we left out)

1. Whisk together flour and baking soda. Beat in a large bowl until well blended the butter and sugars. Add to this and beat until well blended the egg, salt, and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until well blended and smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.
2. Drop the dough by heaping teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are just slightly colored on top and the edges are brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Let stand briefly, then remove to a rack to cool.

Steak and Kidney Pie

2008-07-21T17:52:00.001-07:00

Reader advisory: below are some rather raw images of my adventure. Beware if you squeamish!

Once upon a time, I decided to get a little adventurous in the kitchen. It all started when I found a list of vitamins and minerals and what foods contain them naturally. Turns out I needed to eat more brown rice, fish, leafy greens, and oh my, kidneys.

Then one day as I was flipping through an old American cookbook, I discovered a recipe for steak and kidney pie. "Perfect!" I thought, "now I can try kidneys, and if I don't like them, at least the beef will be good!" Or so I thought.

Now the process of making this pie ended up being much more time consuming than I anticipated! First, no grocer or butcher in this city carried beef kidney. So I had to make multiple phone calls and then drive 20 miles into another county (those of you in CA will laugh at me). Once in hand, I had to prepare it (a nasty little process), cook it (which was perhaps the worst thing I have ever smelled), make a pie crust, create a sauce, and finally bake it. Did I mention this all took about 4 hours?

In the end, I was skeptical but hopeful. After all, I knew the beef would taste good. Unfortunately, I failed to consider that the entire pie, broth, beef, and all, would be tainted with the flavor of the kidney. What did it taste like, you might ask? Strange. Not bad, just strange. The word foreign also comes to mind. It was one of those things that did not disgust me, but left me without any desire to eat more. And thus, to our great disappointment, or perhaps satisfaction (depending on how you look at it), the fruit of my hours of labor and bravery were soon laying pitifully at the bottom of a trash can.

For the visual learners out there, I decided to post step-by-step pictures of the whole process, including a video of my "first taste":

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

1) prepping the kidney (removing the white stuff):

2) Flouring (then searing) the beef and kidney pieces:

3) Cooking the meat for 2 hours:

4) The pie!

And finally, a video Peter surreptitiously took of me taking my first bite. I didn't know he was doing this!!

So there you have it! Now you all know--next time you feel like being adventurous, don't make a whole steak and kidney pie.

Welcome

2008-07-20T16:03:00.000-07:00

We (Kira and Christina) set out to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. After traversing thousands of miles and enduring the insufferable heat and humidity of Upstate New York, we narrowed the search for the perfect recipe down to four contenders: something old, something new, something borrowed, and something...from a website. Each has it own unique characteristics which we hope will result in the culmination of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Join us on this journey. Time to tie on our aprons and get to work!