Rainy Day Cookies

My parents were visiting last weekend to celebrate my Mom's birthday. We had a great time and got to relive a favorite childhood tradition - rainy day cookie making. A drizzly day in NYC is not a fun day for exploring the city, so after brunch we cut our loses, and headed to the grocery store for cookie making goods. We decided on a family favorite - Pudding Chip Cookies. After all my ranting and raving about limiting processed foods, you will just have to let this one slide, its too good to pass up. This is a twist on a basic Chocolate Chip cookie recipe and the number one rule is to UNDERCOOK the cookies. This means if you open the oven and say, "hmm maybe a little longer?" That should automatically translate into, "Take them out!"

Here's how it goes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Start with two sticks butter (the real stuff!). Works best if softened, but if your butter happens to be cold at the moment, put it on a wooden cutting board and whack it (while still wrapped in its package) with a rolling pin (or whatever you can find) until it is softer.

Cream the butter with 2 eggs, 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. When creamy, add 3/4 cup brown sugar. In a separate bowl, mix 2 1/4 cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 3.5 ounce package of INSTANT vanilla pudding.

Using your hands, (if adventurous and with the bonus of getting to lick your fingers) gradually mix the flour (a 1/3 at a time) with the creamy butter sugar mixture.

Now add the chocolate chips - I only use semi-sweet as I deplore milk chocolate. I really like using the mini chips because I think you get a better cookie to chocolate ratio in a bite with the smaller pieces. Use about 2/3 of the bag (or more if you want!).

Spoon the dough onto greased or parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes. The perfect cookie should have a light blond colored bottom and almost no color on top. If you want to eat them hot, be prepared for a sloppy, but delicious mess. Once they cool, they firm up and stay oh-so-soft!!

Enjoy!! I know I did - at least 15 times that day.

Banana Bread, full of goodness.

This banana bread recipe is an experiment to create a recipe that is full of goodness and avoids most badness. What does that mean exactly? Good question. In this case, I aim to avoid white flour, refined sugar (mostly), and hydrogenated fats.

Here's how it goes...

Start with 1 1/2 cups Organic Whole Wheat Flour. Add 1/4 cup Whole Wheat Germ (I used one with cinnamon), 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cardamom, pinch of salt.

In another bowl, mash 1-2 ripe bananas and then add 1 tablespoon Agave Syrup (honey could also work), 1/4 cup brown sugar, about 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce (organic if possible), 2 eggs, and about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Mix quickly then add flour mixture. Mix until combined then bake!

I used a loaf pan, but muffin cups could be good too. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.


Serve with Honey Butter -
I love to use Trader Joe's Creamed Honey mixed with softened butter - either right on top of the bread or make a larger batch adding a little honey at a time to taste.

Some many great dinners, so little time... part 3

The heat continues...Wednesday night it was just the two of us, but I was feeling inspired. I wanted to try a variation of Ina's Tabbouleh recipe (see earlier post). I am trying to find ways to reduce meat intake, so last night's dinner was completely meat free.

Tabbouleh with Zuchini Ribbons, Feta, Tomatoes
I used Bulgur wheat, which I think is the same grain they use to make the Sugar Smaks cereal (do they even make it anymore?) It is a easy grain to work with, has a nice chewy texture and a little nutty flavor. Follow direction on the package, but is should basically be a ratio of 2:1 (water:bulgur). Boil it until water is absorbed, then let set with lid on. While it is setting add the juice of 1 lemon, olive oil, and some rice vinegar (or other mild white vinegar).

Meanwhile, use a cheese slicer to thinly slice zucchini - if you are lucky enough to have a mandolin, that works even better (making long ribbons). Blanch the ribbons - this is a fancy term to mean quickly cook in boiling water - really quickly means no more than 2 minutes, just soften the zucchini. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Chop green onion and about a 1/2 cup fresh mint. Halve cherry tomatoes. Add to bulgur. Add 1 package of crumbled feta - or crumble your own and add as much as you want! Mix and cool off in fridge before serving. Season with salt and pepper. I served with fresh pita bread.

In addition, I made goat cheese stuffed, egg plant rolls - am I on a goat cheese kick or what?

Goat Cheese Stuffed, Eggplant Rolls...

Using same blanching technique from above - and the same water even - quickly (a little longer for the eggplant) blanch thin slices of eggplant (like thin discs).

Oil an cookie sheet. Work on the cookie sheet, adding a little cheese to the center of the eggplant and roll up, secure with a toothpick. Sprinkle more oil on top and season with salt, pepper, and if you like spice, cayenne pepper.

Bake at 400 degrees until lightly browned. About 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Some many great dinners, so little time... part 2

On Tuesday night we had a friend over for dinner - it was still insufferably hot - so I wanted something delicious, but easy with minimal cooking time.

The menu -
Goat Cheese Stuffed, Bacon Wrapped Dates
Gnocchi with Roasted Shrimp, Mushrooms, Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, and Goat Cheese
Katy's Tiramisu

unfortunately no pictures :(

The Dates...
I was inspired for this dish by a trip I took with my brother through Spain. At the time, he lived in Cadiz where we visited an amazing little tapas bar. The overwhelming favorite was the bacon wrapped dates. We pretty much instantly stole the idea and tried making our own at home. I have never been able to get them to taste exactly the same...but this version still needs a warning as it is highly addictive!

The goat cheese stuffing is to offset the dryness that can occur when you buy pre-pitted dates. It is just plain goat cheese sprinkled inside the date - although I am already thinking of other possiblities -

The pitted dates have a slit along one side. Open it up and spoon in a bit of goat cheese - you don't need much as this dish is already very rich.

For the bacon - use thick cut bacon, I like the kind labeled center cut. Cut the bacon pieces in half. Close the dates and wrap in a piece (actually a half) of bacon and secure with a toothpick. I like to put two dates on one tooth pick (with a little space in between) because they lay flatter and cook more evenly.

There are two equally good cooking options - pan frying or baking. Because of the heat, I used my little toaster oven which has a convection baking function. Bake the dates for about 15 minutes - until golden brown at about 400 degrees.

The Gnocchi...

Gnocchi is a pantry staple at our house. It is extremely versatile, cooks very quickly, and is totally delicious. I made my own - once. Then I realised that my abilities or level of patience or both cannot create the delicate, smooth texture that I crave. So I buy them, with minimal shame, but plan to perfect my abilities someday...

I used about 1 pound of shrimp. Start by peeling and deviening them. Spread a thin layer of the shrimp on a well oiled cookie sheet, drizzle with more oil and add salt and pepper. Bake at 400 until pink. Don't over bake, as they will turn to chewy rubber.

While they are baking start boiling water for the gnocchi. Pick a pot that is big enough for the gnocchi to move around, but not huge. While that's heating, finely chop 2 cloves garlic and one medium shallot. I saved a couple slices of bacon from the dates to cook with the garlic - just roughly chop them.

In a large pan, start cooking the bacon pieces, garlic and shallot over medium heat - cook slowly here, burning will make the garlic bitter. Add a little olive oil and a tablespoon of butter.

Meanwhile, chop mushrooms. I used crimini and shitake (two of my favorites) but any kind will do. Keep the mushroom chunky - that will give a better texture to the finished dish. Add them to the garlic mix as soon as it is fragrant. Add more butter to keep the mix moist.

While the mushrooms are cooking, cut the cherry tomatoes in half - if you can't find heirloom cherry tomatoes, don't fret, regular will work great too. Set aside. Check mushrooms and remove from heat once they are browned and fragrant - remember, don't crowd them.

Break goat cheese into small-ish chunks.

When the water comes to a boil add the gnocchi. They cook pretty quickly - so keep an eye on them. As they rise to the top of the water remove them - I use a slotted spoon or other utensil that will let water drain through it. Sometimes they pop to the top one at a time, sometimes in groups, but those at the top are done and removing them as they rise will prevent over cooking.

When you remove the gnocchi put them straight into the pan with the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes on top of the gnocchi, then the goat cheese. Put a lid on and let stand for a couple of minutes. Stir before serving.

This goes together really quickly and has infinite variations, so have fun with it!

Katy's Tiramisu...

This recipe is from a friend who spent a summer in Rome where she learned this authentic recipe that is ideal for hot summer nights. She uses it as a litmus test for Italian cookbooks - if the cookbook's version is similar to her own, then it is probably authentic.

I don't usually write out recipes, but I want to deliver this as it was delivered to me:

3-4 eggs (I used four, mine were medium sized)
250g mascapone cheese (I actually could only find an 8oz container and it worked out fine)
1 pot Espresso (I used a stove top espresso maker)
1-2 Tbsp brandy or cordial (optional)
2-3 Tbsp sugar
Salvodiari cookies/lady finger cookies
Cocoa powder or chocolate shavings (chocolte shaving are really great)

Cool espresso to room temp. and add about 1 Tbsp sugar and liquor.
Beat egg whites until stiff.
Mix egg yolks with mascapone, add about 1 Tbsp sugar to mixture.
Combine egg white and egg yolk mixtures - don't over stir here.
Quickly dip cookies in coffee mix - if you break a cookie in half it should have a white center.
Layer cookies in bottom of a baking dish - I used a 5.5''x 9.5" pan.
Pour half of the egg mixture over cookie layer
Sprinkle with chocolate
Repeat to make a second layer.
Freeze for 20 minute to set. Refrigerate.

A very good recipe - not too sweet and perfect for a hot night!

Enjoy!

Some many great dinners, so little time... part 1

Last Saturday night we had a great double date with friends where we tried a couple of Ina Garten's recipes:
Roasted Shrimp Salad
Tabbouleh with Feta
Ginger Cookies

Everything was GREAT! and super easy.

Kitchen Herb Garden

Lately, I have been yearning for a garden. Unfortunately, city living does not afford any outdoor space to call my own. I have two house plants - one made the cross-country drive with us as just a baby clipping from one of my sister's Spider plants. The other is a sweet potato that I think really didn't want to be eaten so it started growing a beautiful vine. I planted the whole potato in a pot and it is very happy.

Although I love my house plants, I would really like to grow food - home grown tomatoes could be one of the most delicious things in the world. In light of space issues, I am focusing on herbs. I bought seeds and little starter cups, pots and organic soil. I planted the seeds about a week ago and already have cute little sprouts. I am growing: Rosemary, Oregano, Marjoram, Dill, Savory, and Basil. For now, the little sprouts live on a table in my kitchen, but I hope to graduate them to the tops of my cabinets where there is nice light. I am looking forward to harvest time already - but starting from seed is a practice in patience.

Port and Mushrooms and Chicken, oh my!

Between the Vanity Fair article, "Our Lady of the Kitchen" by Laura Jacobs and the new movie "Julie & Julia" I have developed an interest in Julia Childs. I share not only her affinity for French food, but her struggle to define herself and find her place in world. She is responsible for making cooking a more accessible art and for teaching countless people that it is ok to fail, you just have to pick up the pieces and try again. She is a very cool lady. I have to add her to my imaginary dinner party list - you know the list of people dead or alive who you would invite to a dinner party...

In light of my new interest in the ol' gal, I thought I would try one of her recipes. Nora Ephron, the writer and director of "Julie & Julia" was interviewed on WNYC's Leonard Lopate Show and she mentioned that one of her favorite recipes from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" is one for chicken with mushrooms and port. That combination stuck in the back of my head for a couple of weeks and last night I finally tried it.

No surprise, I didn't use a recipe - but here is the jist of it...

Saute portabello and shitake mushrooms in a large pan (As Julia says, "Don't crowd the mushrooms!") with one clove garlic (finely chopped), olive oil, and butter. Once the color changes and they become fragrant, remove from heat.

Heat olive oil in a separate pan over high heat. Add chicken pieces (I used boneless, skinless breasts, but anything will do). Cook on each side until golden brown.

In a small bowl or cup, mix a couple of spoon fulls of flour with about a 1/2 cup light cream (or half and half) until smooth.

When chicken is golden, remove from heat. Return mushroom mixture to low heat. Add half and half (enough to create a sauce around the mushrooms) and simmer while stirring. Add the flour mixture and stir until incorporated. Next add about 1/2 cup port and stir into mixture. Keep an eye on the heat - if the sauce gets too hot it may separate. The sauce should thicken. If it gets too thick add a little water or milk. Season with salt, pepper, and one addition garlic clove (finely chopped).

Add chicken pieces, cover and let simmer for a few minutes to finish cooking the chicken and let all the flavors come together.


I served my chicken with orzo. Orzo is pasta that looks a lot like rice. I boiled and strained the orzo then added sun-dried tomatoes (soaked in water for about 10 minutes to soften them) my Balsamic vinaigrette (from an earlier post) and plenty of freshly grated Asiago cheese.

Here's a picture - although it was kind of an afterthought so its not great, but you get the idea.


The dinner was a hit! Now I have to find the real recipe and see if I was anywhere close to it.