This week, I wanted to make birthday cookies for a friend at work. Her favorite were oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, so I decided to give it a go.
My oatmeal cookies have never turned out well--always too dry or too healthy-tasting (seriously, not a good thing for cookies.) I started making the basic oatmeal cookies from joy of cooking but then realized that SOMEBODY had used the rest of my brown sugar. Ehem. Thankfully, I had something else that was brown and sweet: molasses. It brought some much-needed flavor and moisture to the cookies. I might still tinker with the ratio of sugar to molasses, but here's what I did--it was quite a hit!
This is a half recipe (~24 cookies), but makes plenty for 5 people to enjoy for a couple of days.
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream ~1 stick unsalted butter
Add 1/2c + 2T sugar and 1/4c molasses, continue to beat
Add 1 egg and 1 1/4 t vanilla, beat more
Stop the mixer
Add 3/4c flour + 2T all purpose flour, 3/4t baking powder, 1/4t salt, and 1/4t cinnamon.
Mix around lightly with a finger (or a fork, if you're feeling sanitary), then mix on low until just combined
Then, add 1 3/4c oats (not instant), a scant 1/2c pecans, and a generous 1c chocolate chips.
Stir until incorporated.
Spoon onto a greased cookie sheet
Cook for 12-14 minutes until they lookin' good. Don't be shy about taking them out if they still look a little moist, you don't want to completely dry them out
Friday, September 30, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Daquiris come in mango, too!
M. just made me a mango daquiri and it was fabulous!! I highly recommend it. He followed the recipe exactly except he used frozen pineapple instead of pineapple juice and upped the rum to 1/2 cup.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Leeks in the crockpot
A simple post. If you slice leeks and leave them in the crockpot on high for 5 or 6 hours, they seem almost to caramelize. Suzanne had some of the resulting leek pie today - - just the leeks, some egg beaters poured on top of them after I put them in a bread-dough-lined casserole, and red peppers on top, cooked for 40 min. They would have been better with some hummus, but they were good nonetheless.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Bare Cupboard Bean Soup
Old Mother Hubbard
went to the cupboard
after getting home from work to learn that "due to hurricane-related telecommunications issues" (at least Mother H never had to worry about those), Peapod had not delivered groceries. Hence, bean soup.
Soak 16 oz pinto beans by adding water to the top of the pot, bringing to a boil, boiling for 3 min, then leaving mix on very low heat for 1 hr. Add 6 cups veg. stock to crockpot (on high). Process 1/4 jalapeno and 3 cloves garlic until fine. Add and chop 1/2 onion. Slice 1 bunch celery and leaves and 6 carrots. Place in crockpot. Add 1/4 c. pico de gallo or other salsa. Add thyme. Put dishtowels over crockpot to speed cooking. Add drained beans after they have softened and cook for another 3 hours.
Michael thought it would have been nicely complemented by white pepper, which the cupboard didn't have. I added my serving of quinoa (for 3 servings: 1 c. quinoa, 1 c. water, 1 c. wine, rosemary) to my bowl. Slices of swiss cheese would have been nice with the piquancy of the celery.
went to the cupboard
after getting home from work to learn that "due to hurricane-related telecommunications issues" (at least Mother H never had to worry about those), Peapod had not delivered groceries. Hence, bean soup.
Soak 16 oz pinto beans by adding water to the top of the pot, bringing to a boil, boiling for 3 min, then leaving mix on very low heat for 1 hr. Add 6 cups veg. stock to crockpot (on high). Process 1/4 jalapeno and 3 cloves garlic until fine. Add and chop 1/2 onion. Slice 1 bunch celery and leaves and 6 carrots. Place in crockpot. Add 1/4 c. pico de gallo or other salsa. Add thyme. Put dishtowels over crockpot to speed cooking. Add drained beans after they have softened and cook for another 3 hours.
Michael thought it would have been nicely complemented by white pepper, which the cupboard didn't have. I added my serving of quinoa (for 3 servings: 1 c. quinoa, 1 c. water, 1 c. wine, rosemary) to my bowl. Slices of swiss cheese would have been nice with the piquancy of the celery.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Gazpacho
I've been making gazpacho for years but have hesitated to write down a recipe. I like changing it up each time depending on what veggies I have available (/remember to buy). I only make it about once a year, at the peak of summer when all of the ingredients are at their ripest. Having awesome tomatoes is key. At the suggestion of Joan at One Straw Farm, our CSA purveyor, we've been using a combination of big pink heirloom tomatoes (pink brandywine?) and more garden-variety, tart red tomatoes. The pink brandywine have a sweet, delicate flavor and beautiful color. They keep the soup from becoming too tangy.
One of my favorite things about making gazpacho is how the color changes with every ingredient you add: pink with the tomato juice, green with the cucumber & green pepper, purple-flecked with the red onion, and then back to red with the addition of the tomato chunks. I always have a moment where I'm afraid the red + green +purple soup will turn icky brown, but, defying laws of physics and art, it never does. I wish I had taken photos. Today's project was a messy business, though, and had I tried, my camera may have died a juicy, delicious death.
Gazpacho
(inspired by Joy of Cooking and One Straw Farm)
Find a large bowl or pot in which to mix your soup and a food processor or blender in which to prepare the ingredients. I used a blender today, but I think a food processor is a better choice because you have more control over how fine to chop your ingredients.
Peel and seed tomatoes (about 5 lbs), two cucumbers, two green bell peppers, and 1 jalapeno.
Make or pour 2c tomato juice (I blend one brandywine pink tomato.)
Finely process and add two cucumbers, two green peppers, and 1 jalapeno pepper (I process them to just short of a puree.)
Finely process and add 1 small red onion, a full 1/3c parsley, and 3 cloves garlic.
Coarsely process and add ~4 lbs tomatoes (I used four medium-sized red tomatoes and one large pink)
Add 1/4c EVOO, 1T lemon juice, 1T balsamic vinegar, and 1T red wine vinegar.
Add 1t salt.
Refrigerate for 2+ hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend.
Enjoy!
One of my favorite things about making gazpacho is how the color changes with every ingredient you add: pink with the tomato juice, green with the cucumber & green pepper, purple-flecked with the red onion, and then back to red with the addition of the tomato chunks. I always have a moment where I'm afraid the red + green +purple soup will turn icky brown, but, defying laws of physics and art, it never does. I wish I had taken photos. Today's project was a messy business, though, and had I tried, my camera may have died a juicy, delicious death.
Gazpacho
(inspired by Joy of Cooking and One Straw Farm)
Find a large bowl or pot in which to mix your soup and a food processor or blender in which to prepare the ingredients. I used a blender today, but I think a food processor is a better choice because you have more control over how fine to chop your ingredients.
Peel and seed tomatoes (about 5 lbs), two cucumbers, two green bell peppers, and 1 jalapeno.
Make or pour 2c tomato juice (I blend one brandywine pink tomato.)
Finely process and add two cucumbers, two green peppers, and 1 jalapeno pepper (I process them to just short of a puree.)
Finely process and add 1 small red onion, a full 1/3c parsley, and 3 cloves garlic.
Coarsely process and add ~4 lbs tomatoes (I used four medium-sized red tomatoes and one large pink)
Add 1/4c EVOO, 1T lemon juice, 1T balsamic vinegar, and 1T red wine vinegar.
Add 1t salt.
Refrigerate for 2+ hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend.
Enjoy!
Fried Green Tomatoes
Last week, friends of ours kindly volunteered to pick out our CSA veggies while we were out of town (eating a delicious, fancy schmancy brunch at the "Tabbard Inn" in DC. Just thinking about that brunch... mmmm...) They chose some beautiful, green/orange tomatoes. Here they are with some nectarine-friends:
After oo-ing and ahh-ing over how perfect they looked and smelled, I realized I had no idea what to do with them. So, like a good Southerner, I turned to my Hoppin' John cookbooks for inspiration. He has fried green tomato (of course) and green tomato soup recipes. I made both! Well, I didn't make his fried tomato recipe, but he inspired me to try my own. I don't like deep frying things because having that much hot oil on my stove makes me nervous. I used the same technique I use to fry tofu, inspired by this 101 cookbooks hit.
First set up your fry-station with one scrambled egg in a shallow bowl, Italian-herbed bread crumbs mixed with some Parmesan cheese in another, and 1-2T EVOO in a frying pan. I liked to line them up along my stove in that order with a stack of paper towels at the end.
Heat the oil over medium heat. Slice your tomatoes ~1/2" thick. Dip each slice in the egg, then the bread crumbs, and then drop them into the oil. After a few minutes, the first side will look golden-brown. Flip them to fry the other side, adding more oil if needed. When the second side is done, remove the tomatoes and place them on the paper towel stack.
This blots away some of the oil, making them more crispy and less greasy. Another tip I've heard to make fried green tomatoes less greasy is to chill the tomato slices in an ice bath before frying them. I'm too lazy to try this, but I bet it would work well.
Here's the finished product:
We had them with the 101 cookbooks soba noodle recipe linked above, one of my all-time favorite.
Yum!
After oo-ing and ahh-ing over how perfect they looked and smelled, I realized I had no idea what to do with them. So, like a good Southerner, I turned to my Hoppin' John cookbooks for inspiration. He has fried green tomato (of course) and green tomato soup recipes. I made both! Well, I didn't make his fried tomato recipe, but he inspired me to try my own. I don't like deep frying things because having that much hot oil on my stove makes me nervous. I used the same technique I use to fry tofu, inspired by this 101 cookbooks hit.
First set up your fry-station with one scrambled egg in a shallow bowl, Italian-herbed bread crumbs mixed with some Parmesan cheese in another, and 1-2T EVOO in a frying pan. I liked to line them up along my stove in that order with a stack of paper towels at the end.
Heat the oil over medium heat. Slice your tomatoes ~1/2" thick. Dip each slice in the egg, then the bread crumbs, and then drop them into the oil. After a few minutes, the first side will look golden-brown. Flip them to fry the other side, adding more oil if needed. When the second side is done, remove the tomatoes and place them on the paper towel stack.
This blots away some of the oil, making them more crispy and less greasy. Another tip I've heard to make fried green tomatoes less greasy is to chill the tomato slices in an ice bath before frying them. I'm too lazy to try this, but I bet it would work well.
Here's the finished product:
We had them with the 101 cookbooks soba noodle recipe linked above, one of my all-time favorite.
Yum!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Menu: Mom's Midweek Visit
Mom came up for a midweek visit. Dad's away on business and, well, when the cat's away the mice will play. Or something. In preparation for my shopping, I asked her what she wanted. She thought for a moment and very forlornly said, "cheese?" I'm always happy to oblige requests for cheese. I decided to up the ante with some chocolate, too. Living large. Anyhow, I thought the menu came together very nicely so I figured I'd post the whole thing!
Appetizer: whole wheat toast + Ghirardelli 60% cacao squares + EVOO + sea salt, placed under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Kate and I made something similar to this years ago out of a tapas cookbook she had.
Dinner: kale salad (courtesy of mom), salmon (the same), grilled tuna, and panzanella. I've seen panzanella all over the place lately--smitten kitchen, bon appetit, ads for tuna. I figured it was time. Anyhow, I used Joy of Cooking's recipe and added feta. It was amazing.
Dessert: blue cheese & seed crackers, almonds, dried apricots, & more chocolate.
Yum!
Appetizer: whole wheat toast + Ghirardelli 60% cacao squares + EVOO + sea salt, placed under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Kate and I made something similar to this years ago out of a tapas cookbook she had.
Dinner: kale salad (courtesy of mom), salmon (the same), grilled tuna, and panzanella. I've seen panzanella all over the place lately--smitten kitchen, bon appetit, ads for tuna. I figured it was time. Anyhow, I used Joy of Cooking's recipe and added feta. It was amazing.
Dessert: blue cheese & seed crackers, almonds, dried apricots, & more chocolate.
Yum!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)