cool cookies.

surprisingly, the two bags of toffee chips i had bought a few months back were still in the pantry waiting to be used. i had a grandeur idea that i was going to go on a baking spree and give out cookies like crazy. needless to say i'm just now getting the baking itch and did a batch of chocolate peanut butter cookies...

...and also two tea flavored shortbreads to go along with. earl gray and matcha green tea.

cookies ready to bake. mmmm....

 

Brickle Drop Cookies
(from Hershey's Kitchens)

1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
3 eggs
1-1/3 cups HEATH BITS 'O BRICKLE Toffee Bits
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in large bowl until blended. Add eggs; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in toffee bits. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheet.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

 
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
(from Hershey's Kitchens)

2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1(10-oz.) package REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips

1. Heat oven to 375°F.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat well.

3. Stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda; add in peanut butter chips; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

 

baked tea cookies. more buttery than tea...must fix somehow. hmmmm....
Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies
(from Food Network)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey tea leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, tea, and salt, until the tea is just spotted throughout the flour. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and butter. Pulse together just until a dough is formed. Place dough on a sheet of plastic wrap, and roll into a log, about 2 1/2-inches in diameter. Tightly twist each end of wrap, and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the log into 1/3-inch thick disks. Place on parchment or silpat lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart (2 probably needed depending on size of sheets). Bake until the edges are just brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and cool to room temperature.

hummus be joking!

hummus! so easy to do...took me less than five minutes to make and now i have two weeks worth out of two cans of beans. used this recipe as a base. i didn't really follow it though. considering i just used whatever i had in the pantry, i ended up mixing garbanzo and cannellini so it's a mixed bean hummus. not wanting it plain, i added some tuscany blend spice i bought from san francisco as well as hungarian smoked paprika. the result? deliciousness.

 
Smokey Tuscun Hummus
(adapted from Simply Recipes)

2 garlic cloves, mashed and then minced (used garlic paste, about 1 tsp)
1 (15.oz) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed with half can liquid reserved
1 (15.oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup of tahini (roasted, not raw)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (or use lime juice instead)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp of salt or more to taste
1 1/2 tbsp tuscany blend spice
1 to 2 tsp hungarian smoked paprika
Pine nuts (toasted) and parsley (chopped) for garnish
water, if needed

1. In a food processor, combine the garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add salt, starting at a half a teaspoon, to taste. (skipped this and used the blender method. use water to thin out the hummus if too thick while blending.)

2. Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley (and also additional smoked paprika).

Makes about 3 cups.

thirsty.

infused waters. need to stock up on these and just put them in the fridge. :/

corned...beef.

so, the corned beef experiment didn't turn out as well as i had hoped. the baked recipe that i used turned out to be much too sweet for my taste (which was a shame, it sounded good). The texture was there, but the taste was just too confusing on the palate. Next time, it would definitely be boiled in the traditional way (i roasted the whole brisket instead of doing half and half). The cabbage that i sauteed with it will also be boiled (and less salted). The only thing that probably turned out well was the colcannon (which in itself is kinda hard to fuck up, lol). ah well...practice makes perfect.

mcguire’s irish pub reuben chowder.

was browsing through the internet to add things to my soups, stews, and gravies section on pinterest and ran across this rueben chowder recipe and thought, "ooh! i can make that with leftover corned beef!" yaay for more corned beef recipes!

 
Jean's Favorite Reuben Chowder
(from Martie Knows Parties)

For the Roux:
1 lb butter
2 cups flour
1 cup celery, finely diced
1 cup green onion, finely diced

2 gallons milk
4 quarts heavy cream
½ cup chicken base
½ cup ham base
1/3 cup caraway seeds
1 cup sauerkraut
2 lbs corned beef brisket
Salt and pepper to taste
2 lbs potatoes

 
Melt butter. Sweat onions and celery until tender. Stir in flour. Cook the roux for three to five minutes and then add the rest of the ingredients except the potatoes. Stir frequently to keep from sticking. Meanwhile, steam the potatoes separately. Add to chowder after it thickens then serve.

adventures in brining...

in an effort to "level up" my cooking skills, i decided to make my own corned beef. the gal in the blog tweaked her recipe so that it's more indian influenced but one thing i thought was nifty was the substitution of beets. Reading her post about pink salt and nitrates, i decided to follow the original recipe she used but subbing pink salt for beets instead. I wanted my corned beef to taste like corned beef but not add any other chemicals in it that i didn't need to. It's currently day three in the brining process so we'll see what the finished product tastes like. i think i'm going to boil half of the brisket and then bake the other. Since i'm curious how both actually taste, it'll give me a chance to see which cooking method i prefer. more on cooking this later. :)

Corned Beef
(adapted from Saveur and Healthy Green Kitchen)

1 tbsp allspice
1 tbsp cloves
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp crushed red chile flakes
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1/2 tbsp juniper berries
2 cinnamon sticks
5 bay leaves, crumbled
1 ¼ cups kosher salt, plus more to taste
¾ cup sugar
2 large beets, sliced in half and divided
1 5-lb. first-cut beef brisket
4 cloves garlic
1 medium onion

Combine spices and 3 bay leaves in a 12″ skillet over medium heat. Cook, swirling pan constantly, until spices are toasted and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer ¾ of the mixture (reserving the rest in a covered jar) to a 5-qt. pot and add 8 cups water, kosher salt, sugar, and half of the beets. Bring to a simmer; remove pot from heat and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate brine until chilled. Add brisket and weigh it down with a plate so brisket is submerged. Refrigerate for 5 days.

Drain corned beef and rinse. Transfer beef to a 5-qt. pot along with the reserved pickling spices, garlic, onion, and remaining beets. Cover corned beef with cold water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer until corned beef is tender, about 1 hour. Remove pot from heat and let cool slightly.

To serve, transfer corned beef to a cutting board, thinly slice beef across the grain, and transfer to the platter. Spoon some of the cooking liquid over the beef and serve warm.

big bang and dinner.

just a quick post. had my sister over last night and made some delicious food. For the main we made some broiled chicken and for the sides we did asparagus with leeks and bacon with caramelized onion and goat cheese mashed potatoes. Couple that with a four hour marathon of big bang theory and you got yourself a good night! XD life is good. :)

 
Easy Garlic Broiled Chicken
(from All Recipes)

1/2 cup butter
3 tbsp sminced garlic
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp dried parsley
6 boneless chicken thighs, with skin
dried parsley, to taste

1. Preheat the oven broiler. Lightly grease a baking pan.

2. In a microwave safe bowl, mix the butter, garlic, soy sauce, pepper, and parsley. Cook 2 minutes on High in the microwave, or until butter is melted.

3. Arrange chicken on the baking pan, and coat with the butter mixture, reserving some of the mixture for basting.

4. Broil chicken 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until juices run clear, turning occasionally and basting with remaining butter mixture. Sprinkle with parsley to serve.

 

Absurdly Addictive Asparagus
(from Food52)

4 ounces pancetta, cut into 3/8 inch to 1/4 inch dice
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound asparagus, woody ends trimmed and sliced into 2 inch pieces on the bias
1 1/4 cup leek, thinly sliced crosswise (white and pale green parts only)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1-2 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. In a large non-stick pan, sauté pancetta, stirring frequently, over medium heat, until crisp and lightly golden.

2. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to pan. Add asparagus pieces and leek and sauté until asparagus is tender crisp, about 3-4 minutes.

3. Add garlic, lemon and orange zest, toasted pine nuts and parsley and sauté for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and salt and serve immediately.

 

Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese
(from Food52)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 pounds yellow onions (approximately 2 large onions), thinly sliced
Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
3 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1.5 cups half and half
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 bay leaf
3 ounces goat cheese
Black pepper

1. To make the caramelized onions, heat 2 tablespoons of butter and the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and stir them to coat with the fat. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and the sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are golden brown and caramelized, about 30-40 minutes. If the onions get too dry, add a small amount of water to deglaze the pan. Set aside.

2. Place the potatoes in a large pot of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender.

3. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the half and half, garlic, bay leaf, and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

4. Drain the potatoes and return them to the hot, dry pot. Stir them over low heat for 2 minutes until they are dry. Pass the potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl. Gently stir in the hot cream mixture a little at a time until the potatoes are smooth and creamy (discard the garlic and bay leaf). You may not need to use all of the liquid. Set aside a small amount of the caramelized onions for garnish and stir the remaining onions into the mashed potatoes. Crumble the goat cheese into the potatoes and stir to combine well. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. (deviated from here. i just took out the bay leaf and mashed everything together, stired in 3/4 of the caramelized onions and all of the goat cheese, seasoned it, and garnished it with the rest of the onions while in the pot.)

5. Spoon the mashed potatoes into a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining caramelized onions. Serve hot.