a fabulous idea.

This started as trying out a cookie recipe that promised fudgy cookies that were chewy and ultra chocolatey. Not only that, but these babies weren't made with any flour so I was looking forward to something decadent and rich. I switched out the chocolate chips for white and added walnuts for some crunch. And, oh! Were these good!

So of course I had to save some for the hubby to try. But then, a couple of days passed by and the cookies started to go from fudgy to stale and crumbly...and he hadn't even gotten a chance to try them yet! So after day five hit, I tried them and they just weren't the same. But then a thought came into my head....what if I used them for something else? Parfaits? Ice box cake of some sort? Hmm....

Ding! Ice cream sandwiches!!

Oh, and what a crazy great idea it was! The decadent factor went up two-fold after taking the first heavenly bite! And to top it off, I used cookies and cream ice cream, so it was just a double dose of cookie goodness. I made the sandwiches again today and, this time, I let them sit for a day so that they were still chewy. Oh my god, they were even better the second time around!

These icy treats were perfect for the last few days here in Guam. The rain had just let up and the sun was scorching down, lol. So now, there are ten sandwiches in the freezer, lovingly waiting to be devoured. And I can't wait! :D

---- o o o o ---- 

Fudge Walnut Chip Cookies
(adapted from Chocolate and Carrots)

3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened Hershey’s dark chocolate cocoa powder
1/4 ts. kosher salt
2 to 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup white or semi-sweet chocolate baking chips
1/2 cup walnuts, crushed

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set aside two baking sheets with silpat mats or parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar with cocoa powder and salt. Whisk in the vanilla and egg whites starting with just two.

Beat just until the batter is moistened. You’re looking for a brownie-like, thick and fudgy batter consistency. If it seems too thick, add another egg white, then a 4th one if it still seems too thick.

Stir in the baking chips and walnuts.

Scoop the batter by the tablespoon full onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave enough space between each cookie for them to spread.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Makes roughly about 20 (3 to 4 inch wide) cookies.

---- o o o o ---- 

Double Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
(makes 10 sandwiches, 2 servings per sandwich)

20 day-old Fudge Walnut Chip Cookies
1/2 gallon reduced fat cookies and cream ice cream (we like Kemps. :D)

To make sandwiches, pair cookies together so they're about the same size. Working quickly, scoop ice cream on the bottom of one cookie to about 1 inch thickness. Press the matching cookie firmly on top and repeat with remaining cookie pairs. Wrap individual sandwiches with cling wrap or parchment paper and freeze to store.

Note: these make *large* decadent sandwiches! I find that cutting the sandwich in half is more than plenty for an after dinner treat. :)

jazzing it up.

This sad, sad, sad picture of pasta stabbed with a fork is actually tastier than it looks. Today was one of those "need to get food on the table, quick!" kind of days. When the hubby called to say he was coming home from work, he sounded so tired...I wanted to make sure that he got some food in him quick that wasn't only fast, but also nice and comforting. What better way to say that than pasta?

I originally based this off the way that my mom would make it for us when we were growing up. In her version, she'd add a can of Manwich in it. Well, at the time I was playing around with her recipe, I didn't have that on hand so I looked for alternatives. I found this recipe and decided to take some elements from that instead. Essentially, this fusion of recipes has got a loooooot more extra add-ins that I think makes it more well rounded and a little bit more complex. Served with a side salad, this made one, feel-good meal for my work-tired hubby. Mission accomplished!

---- o o o o ---- Meaty Spaghetti Pasta Sauce
(loosely adapted from Table for Two and my mom's recipe)

3 tbsp olive oil
1.5 to 2 lbs lean ground beef
2 pcs Italian sausage, casing removed (optional)
3 tbsp minced bottled garlic
1 large red onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped*
2 4oz. canned mushroom, stem and pieces

1 medium squash, diced small (optional)

1 medium zucchini, diced small (optional)
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, divided
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 24oz. Prego or Ragu Chunky Vegetable pasta sauce
1 cup beef or chicken broth
1 6oz. tomato paste**
1 8oz. tomato sauce*
2 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp pesto sauce

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley   
salt and pepper to taste
2 lbs pkg pasta of choice
water as needed

*Sometimes I like to substitute one 15oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes or diced tomatoes in tomato sauce to skip a step.

**For extra oomph, try finding a tomato paste with pesto!

Start pasta by boiling a pot of salted water on high heat. Once it comes to a rolling boil, add some olive oil and drop pasta. Cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add olive oil and saute the garlic and onion until fragrant on high heat. Crumble in the ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and then add the rest of the seasonings.

When the beef has browned, drain any fat cooked out and add vegetables, and half the parsley. Cook for a few minutes until peppers are tender then add the sauce, broth, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and ketchup.

Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the remaining parsley and simmer an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened. Season with additional salt, pepper, and spices as needed. If sauce is too thick, add water to liking and let simmer an additional 10 minutes after adjusting.

Serves roughly about six to ten people.

If desired, you can freeze half the sauce for later use. Keeps in the freezer up to six months.

for my mom...

In terms of cooking, I aspire to be like my mom. She's my culinary hero. She's the kind of cook that no matter what she makes, it's guaranteed to be always tasty and delicious. I will always equate her cooking with love and affection. :) And plus, I don't ever remember a time when she made something bad! I might be a little biased tho, of course, lol. Not to mention, she's the quintessential Filipino cook...there is always an abundance of garlic, ginger, fish sauce, or soy sauce in her dishes. In fact, the more, the better! It's her birthday tomorrow and she'll probably make something awesome...*sigh*.

I grew up eating Filipino food with the occasional American fare. It wasn't until I got into high school that my mom got cable t.v. and The Food Network that she really started to branch out and started experimenting with different cuisine. With that said, Filipino food was always a constant in the house. For me, *that's* comfort food! And my favorite? Would definitely be her laing.

Laing (pronounced with a soft "lah" and a semi-hard "ING") originates from the Bicol Region of the Philippines where coconut milk is used a lot in the local cuisine. My mom started making this when she began planting taro in the back yard. I remember her slicing the leaves into strips and drying them out in the sun. Then she would make the laing and I just couldn't wait for her to finish! I would have it with extra chili peppers I fished from the pot and a big dallop of spicy bagoong (a Filipino condiment made from sauteed shrimp paste). Yumm yum!

As I got older, my taste started to stray away from heavy Filipino food and I found myself eating more "American" food. Lots of salad and sandwiches...chicken adobo turned into baked chicken and my starch of choice soon turned from white rice to mashed potatoes. I do indulge tho whenever I went home to my parents' house...Filipino food is always on the table. And whenever my mom makes laing and she knows I'm coming over, I get my very own reserved bowl to be touched by *no one*. And yes, you bet your ass I asked my mom for the recipe, lol!

Coming to Guam, I really miss my mom's cooking. And I've had a hell of a time finding taro leaves! Looking up different alternatives, kale or kangkong (water spinach) were interesting ingredients that came up in my search and, more importantly, was more available in my area. Since I hadn't had kangkong in a while, I decided to go with that and found it surprisingly tasty!

It's a really mild plant so I found that the gingery coconut really shone through. This version is slightly meatier than what I was expecting so I would definitely use two bunches next time instead of the single I had. Also, I made mine with coconut cream and reduced it by about a *third* so it was awesomely rich and indulgent and oh so nice and thick...just the way I like my laing. Not to mention, I doubled my peppers so I get a kick in the mouth....which will only get hotter the next day. :D

Mom, did I ever tell you how much I love you?

---- o o o o ---- 

Laing na Kangkong
(Water Spinach with Pork in Gingery Coconut Milk)

2 bunches kangkong (water spinach)
1 small ginger (about thumb-sized), sliced or minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced or roughly chopped
0.5lbs pork, cut into strips
1 (14oz.) can coconut milk or cream
1/2 cup water
3 to 5 pieces Thai chili peppers
vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste

Wash and drain the kangkong and chop into desired size. Set aside. In a large pan on medium-high heat, saute ginger, garlic, and onion in a little vegetable oil until fragrant. Add the pork then season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook until the pork starts to brown.

Once the pork has browned, reduce heat to medium and pour in the coconut milk or cream and the water. Let come to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture starts to boil, stir in the chili peppers then top with the kangkong. Stir the mix once again and reduce heat. Let simmer for about 30 minutes or to desired consistency.

To determine doneness, the kankong stems should be softened and gravy should be able to coat the back of a spoon fairly well. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve with rice and bagoong. Makes about 6 to 8 servings.

 

drunken fruit.

After coming down with a severe allergic reaction to fruitcake, theme-nights got tossed out of the window. That makes me sad as I'm one of those weird people who simply *adores* fruitcake. :'( I found it a little odd that i'd get such a reaction though...I've been eating that fruitcake brand for years! Oh welll....

1 So in an effort to make myself feel better, I decided to make myself some cookies that mimicked fruitcake. Rum? Check! Dried fruit? Check! Everything that I wanted was almost all in this recipe. So, I added some walnuts for texture. Also, for New Years, my mother had sent me some biscotti that was laced with the flavor of anise. I thought they had an awesome flavor profile, so I went ahead and added some anise seed to the mix.

True to the author's word, these cookies aren't that sweet. The rum in the cranberries added the boozy flavor i was looking for and the slight crunch from the walnuts gave them a nice texture. The anise is prominent, which was exactly what I was going for. To me, these buttery cookies came out exactly how I wanted them to. :D

---- o o o o ---- 

Rum-Soaked Cranberry and Walnut Shortbread Cookies
(adapted from Everybody Likes Sandwiches)

1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup rum
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp anise seed
1/2 cup walnuts, crushed

In a small saucepan, bring cranberries and rum to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand for 30 minutes until the rum is absorbed into the cranberries. Set aside to cool.

Cream butter, vanilla and sugar together. In another bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, anise, and walnuts – add gradually to the creamed mixture. Add the dried cranberries, stirring until just combined.

Shape dough into 2 rolls, about 1 1/2″ each in diameter. Wrap tightly in parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F. Slice each log into cookies about 1/4″ thick and place on a prepared cookie sheet lined with ungreased parchment paper. Cookies don’t spread very much, so you can bake more at once if you like. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

viva, mexico!

Next stop...Mexico!

Okay, so for tonight's theme, I decided to make it easy for myself and do a no-brainer. Chicken fajitas is one of our favorite things to make. We have it about every two weeks or so, so it's fairly common 'round these parts. Heck, even the hubby's made them before (btw, it's rare to see him in the kitchen nowadays...he cooked a lot more when we were just dating, lol).

For these fajitas, I found a recipe online that had some ideal ingredients that I was looking for. But being the gal that I am (and being from California to boot!), I decided to change the ingredients list...namely reducing the Italian dressing and adding more "authentic" Mexican flavors in the mix. It's a lot of things going on in the marinade, but this works for me and the hubbs. Usually, since it's just me and him, I halve the recipe so that we won't have too much leftovers. Oh, and did I forget to mention that this goes great with a couple of cervezas? Olé!

Chicken Fajitas
(adapted from Plain Chicken)

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp bottled Italian dressing
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ancho chile powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cornstarch
2 large bay leaves
4 to 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into strips (about 4 lb.)

1 large onion, sliced
1 medium green pepper, sliced
1 medium red pepper, sliced
salt and pepper
olive oil

flour or corn tortillas, taco or fajita size
mexican four cheese blend
light sour cream

Whisk together first 12 ingredients. Pour into a large zip-top plastic freezer bag then add the chicken and bay leaves. Seal and give the bag a few shakes to evenly coat the chicken. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours up to overnight.

When ready to cook, remove from fridge 30 minutes prior to use. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high then add peppers and onions. Let sear for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken with the marinade and reduce heat to medium. Cook until chicken is no longer pink and sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

To serve, top warm tortilla with chicken mixture, some cheese, and a dollop of sour cream. I take mine with added cilantro, jalapenos, and hot sauce!