W-BLT: It May Be Longer to Say, But It'll Catch On

A little while ago Sara of I Like to Cook posted a sandwich for everyday of the week. Each day she had a question about our favourite sandwiches and a trivia question. As if that wasn’t great enough all on its own, Sara offered up Julia Child’s Cooking with Master Chefs as a prize for some lucky person who could answer all 7 of her trivia questions. I happened to be that lucky person and am thrilled that I will soon be in possession of yet another cookbook, so thanks again Sara! Although I’m sure that all of the recipes in that book will be fantastic, I don’t think they’ll have one like mine… Sara’s daily questions got me thinking about what I like in a sandwich and also that I don’t make nearly enough of them. Especially amazing ones like this. As I’ve said before, waffles add years to your life so why not incorporate them into more meals? I’d never made a savoury waffle before so I figured I’d better play it safe and pair it with bacon, because bacon makes everything better.

You can label this sandwich another victory for the wonderful waffle! Imagine if you will, ripe tomatoes, crisp lettuce and homemade bacon, (drool) sandwiched between two sharp cheddar cheese waffles which have been slathered in baba ghanouj. Can you taste it yet? No? Well then you’d better get yourself into the kitchen to make it.

Once you’ve finished your W-BLT and have cleaned yourself up, (cause it’s a little messy), I’ve got a special request for you: a baba ghanoug recipe. I’ve tried a few times to make my own and it’s never turned out half as good as the stuff I buy at the store and that’s just not right. So if anyone is holding an amazingly good recipe that I can’t possibly ruin, (eggplants and I have had conflicts in the past) I would love if you would share it with me. Thanks!

Cheese Waffles (Adapted from Alton Brown)

½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1 egg
8 ounces cottage cheese
1 cup extra old cheddar, grated
A few splashes of milk (varies depending on the consistency of your batter)
Vegetable spray, for waffle iron

Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl beat together eggs and cottage cheese. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Add milk until a proper waffle batter consistency is achieved. Stir in the grated cheese. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the iron according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Close iron top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

Technorati Tags:

Waffles + Bacon + Sandwich

Wonderful Wingless Hot Wings

The FoodTV blog is hosting its first Cooking Club blogging event where one recipe is chosen for anyone who wants to participate to make. To kick things off, a Chef at a Home recipe for Buffalo Chicken Salad has been selected. I’m a fan of Michael Smith. Some people object to the fact that it’s not actually his home that he cooks in, but I don’t care, I like his food. Some people complain that he’s way too big for the kitchen, but that’s not his fault! Leave us tall people alone, kitchens are usually built for midgets! Counter tops are always too low unless they’ve been custom built and this results in daily back aches from having to lean forward so much. I think Michael Smith is charmingly goofy and as far as kids go, his son Gabe is pretty darn cute, (the fact that he’s not a picky eater gains him massive points in my book). I also like his philosophy of cooking without a recipe, (although I do find the repetition of that line annoying, not nearly as much as some other peoples’ catch lines… you know who I mean). Some people also object to the structure of his recipes, which don’t always have precise quantities. I’m ok with that because, as you may have noticed with me, I’m the same way, (a handful, a dash, a scoop, they’re all valid measurements). So quit picking on Michael Smith and go pick on someone your own size!

Now that we’ve cleared that up, I’m really happy with the way this recipe turned out, it’s just like eating hot wings, but not as messy. It has all of the flavours you love from neighbourhood pub chicken wings, complete with blue cheese and celery sticks and it’s really quick and easy to make too. I’m giving this recipe a gold star and will definitely be making it again.

Buffalo Chicken Salad (Adapted from Chef at Home)

4 chicken breasts, cut into strips

1/4 cup flour

Salt and pepper

3 African devil chilies

1/4 cup oil

1 batch Spicy Chicken Sauce (recipe follows)

1 head of romaine lettuce, washed and sliced

2 ribs celery, washed and chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

8 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup Franks hot sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Toss chicken with flour, salt, pepper and chilies until well coated.

Pour oil into pan and add the chicken.

Cook on one side until it's golden brown and then flip and cook the other side until the chicken is cooked through. Drain on a paper towel and pat dry.

Make Spicy Chicken Sauce by combing butter, Franks and ketchup, heating it in the microwave or on the stove top and whisking to combine.

Pour Spicy Chicken Sauce over hot chicken, toss well to coat.

Plate the lettuce and celery and top with chicken, blue cheese, a squeeze of lemon and some dressing if you’d like, ideally Blue Cheese dressing or Ranch.

I’d also suggest serving it with some garlic bread.

Technorati Tags:

Chicken + Salad + Chef at Home + Buffalo Wings

More Proof I’m Losing My Mind

If there was any doubt before, I think this confirms it: I’ve officially lost my mind. I don’t know if there’s much to explain here. My buddies were hungry so I made them something to eat. Cake, cookies, ice cream cones, donuts and cupcakes are always popular.

Technorati Tags:

Knitting + Cookies + Cakes + Cupcakes

This Is Why I Never Order Pizza

I never order pizza because I don’t like the taste of cardboard and grease and I dislike having to pay ridiculous prices for said cardboard and grease even more. When I make pizza I’m guaranteed that the crust won’t be too thick, too thin, bland or have any trace of sogginess. The toppings are whatever I want them to be and I’m not charged extra for seafood. It’s always hot and fresh whenever I make it and I don’t have to tip the oven for delivery.

I particularly enjoy my homemade pizza ever since I got a pizza pan that has holes in the bottom. It lets the air circulate nicely and produces a nice crisp crust every time, (the bbq will also achieve this, but some days you want to be inside). Like with most things, I hardly ever make the same pizza twice, there’s always something different. This time I used Giada’s pizza dough and covered it with a white sauce made out of garlic, white wine, freshly grated parmesan, milk, and cornstarch. Then I topped it with sliced scallops, marinated artichoke hearts, caramelized onions, homemade bacon, fried wild mushrooms and a sprinkling of parmesan. When was the last time you had take out like that?

Technorati Tags:

Pizza + Seafood + Scallops

Lost: 1 Brain, If Found Please Return Here

I’ve been having a huge mental block lately. Usually when I sit down to write my blog entries the words flow freely and I’ve got a post up in no time. But the past week has been somewhat of a struggle. The problem extends further than the blog though. I can’t focus on conversations either so trying to interact with others is painful. I’ve been off in my own little world, my brain wandered off quite some time ago and hasn’t felt the need to return. Luckily, this doesn’t affect my cooking. Quite the opposite in fact. The kitchen is the only environment where I don’t have to worry about anything other than what’s right in front of me. I can easily get into a pepper chopping rhythm or a tortilla flipping rhythm and not think about anything else. Never mind the fact that before today I had never made tortillas, they were easy to focus on and surprisingly easy to make. Sometimes I get impatient when I’m making a dish that requires a whole lot of repetition like pancakes or crepes or tortillas but today I enjoyed that repetition, it was oddly soothing. I had two pans going, managed not to burn anything other than my fingers and wasn’t bothered by that either.

There are some days when making tortillas would have been enough of an adventure and I wouldn’t really want to make anything else. Today was not one of those days. Before making the tortillas I made my Grandma’s broccoli salad and my recently created Asian inspired salad so that they would have time for all of the flavours to meld together. I also started marinating the steak I was going to fill the tortillas with for a sort of fajita, (onions, red, orange and yellow peppers would later be joining the mix). Usually when I make a marinade, I only make one. Today was not a usual day. I decided that a day like today required two different marinades so I made one up and turned to the blogs for the other. The steak strips were marinated for 4 hours before cooking and it definitely resulted in a more flavourful dish. All of this would have been more than enough on most days, but today was not one of those days. I also made brownies.

Flour Tortillas (Adapted from BakingBites)

3 1/3 cups flour (bread flour is slightly preferable to all purpose)

1/2 cup lard

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup warm water

Combine flour, salt and lard in a food processor and pulse briefly. With the processor on, pour in the water until the dough turns into a ball, let it go around a few times until the sides are completely clean.

Take the ball and divide it into 15 balls. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

Roll out each ball into a circle. Get them as thin as you can - about 1mm thick.

In a nonstick frying pan over medium heat, dry fry each tortilla. Fry the first side until the surface has many bubbles. Flip it over and cook an additional minute. Both sides should have bubbles and be dry. Cooking times may vary with your oven, but don’t increase the heat any or the tortillas may burn.

Tortillas can be frozen for up to 1 month, layered with sheets of wax paper.

Ginger-Soy Marinade for Steak (Adapted from Lenn Devours)

5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 vidalia onion, roughly chopped
1 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup good-but-not-great olive oil
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon paprika

Zest of 1 lime

Combine in a food processor and pour over the steak. Cover, refrigerate and let sit for about 4 hours.

The second marinade I made was a hodge-podge of whatever I felt like throwing in and included: smoked sweet paprika, cumin, olive oil and cilantro, mixed again in the food processor.

Broccoli Salad (From Grandma)

4 broccoli trees, chopped into bite sized pieces

2 eggs

1 T cornstarch

1 T dry mustard

1 T sugar

¼ white vinegar

¼ cup water

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup baba ghanoug (this was my addition, Grandmas usually just does a ½ cup mayo)

½ cup raisins

½ cup toasted slivered almonds

1 can mandarin slices, drained

1 small red onion, chopped

4 thick slices of bacon, chopped and fried then drained

Whisk together the eggs, cornstarch, mustard, sugar, vinegar and water. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let cool. Once the mixture is cool, add mayo and baba ghanoug and whisk to combine.

Combine all of the remaining ingredients in a big bowl and pour the sauce overtop, then stir.

The brownies will make their appearance in another post, don’t worry, they’ll be here. And EJM- they even have raisins!

One last thing to end this ramble; a big thank you to Patricia of Technicolor Kitchen who has given me a Thinking Blogger Award, despite the recent absence of my brain.

Technorati Tags:

Fajitas + Tortillas + Broccoli + Steak + Marinade

Lemony Lamb

Hurray for the weekend! Just a recipe today.

Lemony Lamb (Adapted from Tessa Kiros’ Falling Cloudberries)

1.5kg leg of lamb

Juice of 2 lemons

2 T za’atar

50 g butter

2 T olive oil

1 cup water

4 large potatoes, cubed

2 parsnips, sliced lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 425F. Place the parsnips in an even layer in a baking dish. Rub the lamb all over with lemon juice, pepper and za’atar and then place it on top of the parsnips. Dot the top of the lamb with butter. Pour 1 cup of water around the lamb and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, flip the lamb and bake another 30 minutes. At this point, add the potatoes around the lamb and some water if it has evaporated. Lower the heat to 350F and bake for about another 1 ½-2 hours, flipping the lamb and potatoes at least once during this time. Remove from pan and let rest 10 minutes before slicing. While the lamb is resting, drain most of the liquid out of the baking dish, leaving the potatoes in the dish. Return the potatoes to the oven and increase the heat to 450F for about another 10 minutes or until potatoes are sufficiently browned.

Both the lamb and potatoes will have soaked up the lemon flavour wonderfully.

Technorati Tags:

Lamb + Cauliflower + Potatoes + Lemon

MMMmmarvelous Muffins

Is there anything bacon can’t do? I’ll tell you one thing it can and that’s make a mean muffin! Elena of Experiments is the creator of Muffin Monday and for the second round she proposed ‘Unique and Unusual Muffins that make you go Ooooh,’ as the theme. It wasn’t until yesterday that I finally thought of what kind of muffin to make and it wasn’t until today that I actually made them. Then I looked up the due date for entries. Apparently Muffin Monday II was over a week ago, the round up’s already been posted and I’m considerably late to the party. But the Bacon and Cheddar muffins demanded to be posted and they fit the category so well that I had to put them up.

I’ve completely given up on store bought bacon, homemade is the way to go. There’s no comparison between the flavour and it’s not hard to make either. The only downside is that I’ve become obsessed with adding bacon to everything and trying to create new dishes that revolve around bacon, (is that even a downside? I guess it adds to my crazy factor). I’m beginning to question whether or not there’s anything that can’t be improved by the addition of bacon. After the bacon brittle and these bacon muffins, I’m getting closer and closer to making bacon ice cream. It definitely has potential. I think it could be especially good as a scoop on top of cheddar waffles…

Bacon and Cheddar Muffins (Adapted from Magnificent Muffins Cookbook)

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

½ cup cornmeal

1 T baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp sweet smoked paprika

1 ¼ cups extra old cheddar, coarsely grated + extra for the tops of the muffins

3 thick slices of bacon, (preferably homemade… go buy Charcuterie)

1 cup milk

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 425F and line 12 muffin cups with papers.

Cut bacon into small pieces and fry until crisp. Drain and cool.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt, paprika, cheddar and bacon.

In a separate bowl lightly beat the egg and then add milk and pumpkin puree and mix together.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until uniformly combined.

Fill muffin cups, then sprinkle each muffin top with a pinch of sugar and a pinch of cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Technorati Tags:

Muffins + Bacon + Cheese> + Muffin Monday

Floating on a Maple Cloud

It must be a slow news week as I’ve been honoured with a Thinking Blogger Award by Freya and Paul of Writing at the Kitchen Table. I make them think? Really? I think this is one of those cases where they’re laughing at me, not with me. Or more accurately, thinking at me, not with me. I can only assume that the reason I make them think is that I’m a psychological study for them and I make them think things like: What on earth goes through this girl’s head? Why would she subject 30 people to making a disaster of a crepe cake? What causes her to become randomly obsessed with people (Dorie, Ruhlman) or ingredients, (bacon, sugar)? Does she suffer from any as yet unlabeled mental deficiencies like Hotsugarophobia or Scatterbrainitus? I’m a case study alright! Whatever Paul and Freya’s reason for choosing me as a Thinking Blogger, I thank them. I’ll try to hold up my end of the bargin. Do maple meringues make you think? They make me think of tastiness. Mmmm maple. And look at that top photo, the meringues are like clouds in that clear blue sky. Ooooh look at me, I just used a simile. Before I get too carried away, here’s a recipe for my maple clouds followed by a list of 5 bloggers who make me think.

Maple Meringues

3 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar

¼ tsp maple extract

Beat egg whites until foamy. Continue to beat while gradually adding sugar. Beat until whites are stiff but not dry, add maple extract and beat just to combine. Drop by spoonful onto a silpat covered baking sheet. Bake for 45min in a preheated oven at 200F, then turn off the oven but leave the meringues in for another hour. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.

5 Bloggers Who Make Me Think

Gattina of Kitchen Unplugged: I never know what I will find when I check into Gattina’s blog (everyday) but I know it will be stunning. She most definitely has a way with pastry, bread and pasta and is always willing to share her tips and tricks to help me succeed.

Danielle of Habeas Brulee: Not only does she use a variety of ingredients, (like urfa-biber) make amazingly tasty goodies (like chewy maple cookies) and write wonderful posts, (the counter top story is gold) but manages to do all of this and open a solo law practice at the same time! Amazing.

Bea of La Tartine Gourmande: Bea has a beautiful eye for photography which makes me want to improve my own shabby skills and become a quarter as good as she is. Oh, and her recipes are phenomenal.

Dorie (the one and only) Greenspan: Of course I had to include Dorie on this list. Her book Baking: From My Home to Yours has become my baking bible and I was absolutely thrilled when she started blogging. Now I get a weekly dose of Dorie’s writing and it’s always something new, be it a bike ride in Paris or a lunch at Bouchon Bakery, I love it all.

Rob of Hungry in Hogtown: Every single one of Rob’s posts makes me think. His enthusiasm for undertaking recipes that are difficult, unusual or from the El Bulli cookbook is always impressive. And he’s not afraid to cause some controversy! I like that!

Winners, now you get nominate 5 Blogs that make you think. Should you choose to participate, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging.

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

Technorati Tags:

Meme + Meringues + Maple + Thinking Blogger

When Life Hands You Lemons...

Only those eternally optimistic, in your face cheery people say things like “When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade!” When what you really want to do is take those lemons and throw them right back, adding in a few lemons of your own. In this case, the metaphorical lemon would be the disaster that was the crepe cake and although pulverizing it in my 3 horsepower blender would have been entertaining, it wasn’t going to make me any lemonade. Therefore, I turned to the one person I knew would never, ever disappoint me with a bad recipe: Dorie Greenspan. Just opening up my copy of Baking: From My Home To Yours was enough to soothe my shattered nerves. I knew there was no risk of failure so I was free to choose whichever recipe I wanted. When I came across the Tartest Lemon Tart I knew it was meant to be. The lemon analogy comes full circle.

As is always the case with a Dorie recipe, this tart was wonderful. And the title is as fitting as any you’ll ever see. The use of whole lemons in this tart certainly renders it the most tart of tarts. If you’re a citrus lover, this is certainly the tart for you. The intense lemon flavour tantalizes all of your tastebuds and is never sour or overwhelming. As I’ve said before, I love the suggestions that Dorie has for variations to each of her recipes. Once again, this tart was no exception. The sidebar suggested making it a brulee tart. A brulee tart??? Heck yeah! Brulee meant another reason to use my mini torch. The mini torch gave its all for this tart, may it rest in peace. It just couldn’t handle the awesomeness of the tart and fizzled out, but not after creating a perfectly crunchy top layer. I think I need to invest in a real kitchen torch, once you’ve had a brulee crunch, there’s no going back. I’m a believer.

As I stood and looked at the completed tart, I couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. That something was a splash of colour. I contemplated making a raspberry coulee, (the recipe for that is also in Dorie’s book) but why make a raspberry coulee when you can make a blackberry coulee? It’s as simple as whirring together some blackberries and sugar but the result was spectacular. Not only did the dark blackberries lend contrast to the tart but some excellent flavour too. This is where I patted myself on the back for a job well done. I’m back on track after the crepes and it’s all thanks to Dorie. I guarantee if she had a crepe cake recipe, it would be a fabulous one.

Not only did this tart taste delicious, but it was for a good cause too. The ever busy Barbara of Winos and Foodies is hosting A Taste of Yellow for Livestrong Day and has asked us all to make yellow dishes for the event. LIVESTRONG Day is the Lance Armstrong Foundation's (LAF) grassroots advocacy initiative to unify people affected by cancer and to raise awareness about cancer survivorship issues on a national level and in local communities across the country. LIVESTRONG Day 2007 will occur on Wednesday, May 16 so you’ve got plenty of time to get baking!

Technorati Tags:

A Taste of Yellow + Tart + Lemon + Baking + Dorie Greenspan

After This, You May Never Hear From Me Again

If you never hear from me again it’s because the Daring Bakers put a hit out on me. And I wouldn’t blame them either. I’m responsible for the disaster that was this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge. It was my turn to choose a recipe and I chose Martha Stewart’s Darkest Chocolate Crepe Cake. Martha suckered me in with beautiful pictures and then pulled a Nigella fast one on me with an awful recipe. Other than my experiences with Nigella, I’ve never been so angry at a recipe. It’s not like I put out a small amount of effort either. This recipe required a serious amount of work, and a ton of ingredients, mainly butter. Despite my best efforts and following the recipe to a T, (highly unusual for me) the proportions were not right. I couldn’t even pinpoint what the problem was. I ended up adding more milk and an egg but I hear from the other Daring Bakers that some of them added extra flour. No matter what we did, the crepes were just off. Luckily though there was an amazing mousse to accompany the lousy crepes because otherwise I think I would have dumped this cake off the back porch for the raccoons and coyotes.

From the crepe batter I was supposed to be able to make 32, 8 inch crepes. I only have a 10 inch crepe pan so I used that and ended up with 16 crepes. I would have had at least 6 more but I ate them when they fell apart as I tried to flip them. I didn’t even enjoy them when I ate them. It was simply out of angry. Eating them wasn’t even enjoyable but I wanted to destroy them and decided that mashing the crepes up in my mouth and swallowing them was the best way to achieve total destruction. Once the crepes were done though, most of the rest of the experience went alright. Or maybe I’ve just had time to cooldown and have forgotten about what it feels like to have spun sugar shoved under my nails. Ah yes, that’s a wonderful feeling, sharp, jagged pieces of sugar lodged under my finger nails. The cake was supposed to be decorated with a stunning arrangement of hazelnuts dipped in hot sugar to form long tails. The sugar covered hazelnuts were supposed to complement the hazelnut filling in the cake. But I didn’t make a hazelnut filling, I made a cashew filling.

So I decided that my stunning sugar masterpiece would be a globe of spun sugar, studded with cashew pieces. I have no clue what made me think that I was capable of such a creation. I had never even seen it done before but for some reason I thought I could create it. I will take this opportunity to remind you that hot sugar has long been a nemesis of mine. This was no exception. I tried to drizzle the sugar over the top of a greased bowl with the idea that when the sugar hardened, it would just pop off the bowl and I could place it on my cake. Nope. Instead, it hardened to the bowl and refused to come off. This is where I ended up with sugar spears stabbing my fingers. I tried to pry the sugar off using my nails and instead of coming off in one lovely piece, it broke off in chunks. I ended up with a pile of broken sugar chunks that were certainly not stunning. I still thought I could make something out of sugar so I decided to try a different approach, I tried to gather spun sugar into a ball, to make a nest to put on top of my cake. Once again, failure. My patience had long since left me and I threw all of the hardened sugar into the garbage. This stuff wasn’t even good enough for the raccoons. I had just about resigned myself to the fact that my cake would not have a beautiful decoration adorning the top, when I spotted a box of fresh strawberries sitting on the counter. Strawberries require nothing more than a wash and a slice and I was certainly capable of that.

The assembly of the cake was another pain. The crepes wanted to slide all over the place and the chocolate ganache kept pooling at the bottom of the plate instead of staying on the cake. Fortunately, the ganache was extremely tasty to I scooped it off the plate and into my mouth. You didn’t hear that…

When the cake was finally complete I didn’t even want to look at it let alone eat it. I served it to some friends and they absolutely loved it. That was perhaps the only redeeming part of the cake. It received rave reviews and requests to make it again. Ha! That won’t be happening! I still like the concept of the cake though. A tower of crepes covered in chocolate is a good thing, but this recipe wasn’t. Even when I had a piece, a day later, I wasn’t impressed with it. I could taste grumpiness in the cake. With each bite my mood worsened until it was like I was making the cake all over again. With all this misery I could write a country song.

Technorati Tags:

Crepes + Chocolate + Cake + Cashew + Daring Bakers

This One's For the Team

I’m constantly reading blogs, magazines and cookbooks that proclaim they have “The Best” recipe for . Proper logic tells me that can’t possibly be true. They can’t all be “The Best.” With so many recipes out there I think it’s a pretty gusty move to claim yours as the ultimate. Personal preferences play a huge roll in determining how much I like something compared to how much you like it. For example, anyone who tries to tell me that thin, crunchy cookies are “The Best” is fighting a losing battle. There’s no way I’m going to agree with them. The same goes for cakey brownies. You might believe with all your heart that a certain version of a recipe is the be all and end all but I have no doubt there’s a slew of people who will disagree with you. People are crazy that way, (case in point, people who don’t like things they’ve never tried.) With all of that in mind, I won’t try to tell you that these cookies are “The Best” you will ever have, but they very well could be, they’re amazing! And for the record, I’ve heard many, many people say they’re the best they’ve ever had.

So just what kind of cookies am I talking about? Team Cookies. Also known as the perfect balance of peanut butter, oatmeal and chocolate chips. I’ve eaten hundreds of these cookies but this is the first time I’ve ever made them myself. I was introduced to Team Cookies 5 years ago when I played University basketball. Pam, my teammate and roommate and best friend’s Mom, made a mountain of these cookies and brought them to one of our games in a plastic bucket. There were so many cookies that they couldn’t be contained in a mere cookie tin, they actually required a bucket. Go big or go home! As soon as I tasted one though, I understood why there were so many. Pam had been baking these cookies for basketball teams for a long time and it never mattered how many she made, they would always disappear. The cookies are so good that they developed a cult following all of their own. It began with the women’s basketball team and quickly spread to the men’s team as sharing a bus with them meant sharing our cookies too. Then someone gave one to a volleyball player and soon they were on the lookout for the cookie bucket. And I don’t know if it was my imagination but it seemed like we had more friends and fans in the stands when Pam and her cookies made an appearance… Luckily for all of you, Pam believes that recipes should be shared and not hoarded so without further ado, I give you Team Cookies:

Basketball Team Cookies

1 cup peanut butter, (crunchy preferred)

1 cup soft butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup lightly-packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups « quick » rolled oats

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1-1½ cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream together peanut butter, butter, white and brown sugar and brown sugar. If you don’t use crunchy peanut butter, I would suggest adding in salted peanuts when you mix in the chocolate chips.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.

Combine oats, flour and baking soda, and stir into peanut butter mixture.

Add chocolate chips. If the dough is still really sticky, add in a little more flour.

Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Place in oven at 325-350 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly brown, do NOT overcook these.

Cool on rack. Makes 4 dozen.

* The only disclaimer I must put on these cookies is that when you make them, they will never be as good as when Pam does.

Technorati Tags:

Chocolate + Cookies + Peanut Butter + Baking

Enlivening Picnics All Summer Long

The weather is slowly starting to change for the better. Flowers are starting to pop up, birds are chirping and I’m able to go biking without getting frost bite. That’s a good thing. Warmer weather also means eating al fresco. That’s a good thing too. And when I think of eating outdoors I think of picnics and when I think of picnics I can’t help but think of potato salad. Somewhere along the way potato salad seems to have become a quintessential summer food that’s required at all summer bbq’s, potlucks and picnics. This has potential to be a good thing, but often it’s not. Cursed are the potato salads that are swimming in a sea of mayonnaise with nary another vegetable to be seen. Ditto for those that feature marshmallows and fruit among the potatoes. For my first outside eating experience of the year, I certainly did not want any of these atrocities taking over my table. With that in mind, I made up my own recipe, free of mayo and marshmallows and full of bright, fresh flavour.

Brilynn’s Asian Inspired Potato Salad

6 baked potatoes, cut into cubes

2 hardboiled eggs, chopped

2 spring onions, chopped

3 big cherry tomatoes, chopped

1 ½ cups shelled edamame

Large handful chopped parsley

Vinaigrette

2 T olive oil

½ tsp sesame oil

2 T rice vinegar

1 ½ tsp sugar

½ tsp soy sauce

½ inch grated ginger

1 ½ T grainy mustard

Bake potatoes and allow to cool completely, I did this the night before. Boil the edamame in salted water for 5-8 minutes until softened, drain. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together all of the ingredients of the vinaigrette and pour over potato combination, stir gently.

Technorati Tags:

Salad + Asian + Potato

Excuse me? Waiter? There's Something Wonderful in My...

One of the most wonderful scents there could ever be is the one that fills your house when there’s a loaf of bread in the oven. When you combine that smell with the taste of warm bread, adorned simply with a pat of butter, it’s heavenly. Unfortunately, I have not mastered the art of bread making, (and I’m not sure that I ever will) but I keep trying and I’m thrilled with each success that comes out of my kitchen. When Andrew of Spittoon Extra announced that bread was this month’s theme for Waiter There’s Something In My… I knew that I would be participating, but I wasn’t sure with what. Then I saw a post by Bea at La Tartine Gourmande for ‘Simple Brioche’ and my mind was made up. For some reason I had always believed that brioche was difficult to make, I classified it as some sort of croissant variation. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Whereas my croissant making venture took 3 days and a ridiculously long recipe, brioche making required little work and was done in no time, (comparatively). And the smell, the smell! I was rewarded with the mouthwatering scent of flour and yeast as my brioche puffed up and baked. It only got better from there as I removed a loaf from the oven with a shiny, golden crust which gave way to a sweet and tender crumb. It was as good as any I’ve had from a bakery. Now if only I had seen Peabody’s brioche earlier, I might have added something else to my brioche like chocolate chips. Ah well, there’s always next time, and there will definitely be a next time.

The Simplest Brioche (From Bea of La Tartine Gourmande)

You need:

• 8 3/4 oz (1 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
• 2 3/4 oz butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 dose dry baker’s yeast (1 Tbsp)
• 2 Tbsp fine sugar
• 1/3 cup warm milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 egg yolk for glaze

Steps:

• In a bowl, mix the flour with the yeast, make a hole in the middle.
• Add the warm milk mixing with the tip of your fingers (if using a stand mixer, pour the milk slowly and steadily while mixing, with the hook attachment.)
• Add the sugar and a pinch of salt, then add the soft butter, piece after piece, waiting each time that each piece is asborbed.
• Then one by one, add the eggs, mixing well between each. Work the dough until it is elastic and detaches from your fingers more easily (or from the bowl of the stand mixer).
• Cover and let rest in a warm place, away from drafts, for two hours, until it doubles in size.
• Work the dough again for 10 min and divide it in four balls. Place them in a greased rectangular mold and cover. Let rise for an hour again.
• Preheat the oven at 400 F.
• Brush the brioche with the egg yolk mixed with a dash of sugar. With a pair of scissors, make small cuts at the top of each ball.
• Place in the oven to bake for 10 min at 400 C, then reduce the heat to 350 F and bake for about 20 to 30 min.
• Remove, unmold and let cool on a rack.
• Makes 1 loaf, mold 10 ” long

Technorati Tags:

WTSIM + Waiter There’s Something In My + Bread + Brioche

Lots of Great Things Start with B- Bacon, Bananas, Brownies, Brilynn...

Myriam of Once Upon A Tart is hosting a new event called Browniebabe of the Month. I had to participate because who doesn’t love brownies? Note- if you don’t love brownies, I don’t want to hear about it because that’s just not right. It’s almost as sacrilegious as saying fried bologna tastes like bacon, (yes, I actually heard someone say that). Brownies or blondies, nuts or fruit or chocolate chips, no matter what you put in your brownies, they’re all good. I have to like a more dense brownie, but if you like a cakey brownie, that’s alright too. I was surprised at the consistency of my ‘naner brownies. It definitely wasn’t cakey, but it wasn’t fudgy either. It was some sort of hybrid of the two. Is it possible for a brownie to be dense and light at the same time? If so, these are it. They’d probably be even better if you topped them with banana or chocolate ice cream and some hot fudge sauce. But that could be said about most desserts. I added cacao nibs to these ones and I think it was a pretty good decision. It also makes means they’re much more portable than ice cream topped brownies, but still special.

Banana Brownies (Adapted from Chocolatier magazine, Spring 2007)

¼ cup butter

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

2 large bananas, mashed

¾ cup quinoa flour

1/8 cup cacao nibs

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8 inch square pan and line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl set over simmering water, melt butter with chocolate. Set aside to cool slightly when combined.

In another bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together until combined. Stir in mashed bananas and vanilla.

Stir in butter and chocolate.

Fold in flour until just incorporated. Add cacao nibs and mix in lightly.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes. Centre should be very moist but not runny.

Transfer hot pan to refrigerator and chill for 1 hour. Return to room temp before dusting with icing sugar and cutting into squares and serving.

Technorati Tags:

Brownies + Banana + Blogging Event + Baking

I'll Take 'S' words for $100 please Alex. -->That's 'Swords' Mr. Connery, Like Swordfish, Like My Dinner...

I used to play competitive basketball. Something that I heard from all of my coaches was that our team had to play to the best of our ability regardless of what the other team was doing. This was especially true when going into a game that we knew we should easily win. Sometimes when our opponent was a weaker team we’d find ourselves playing down to their level; our passes would be sloppy, we’d be lazy about bringing the ball up the court, we’d take bad shots and make poor decisions. There was no physical reason for this and we should have been the dominant team. The problem was a mental one. We let the other team affect our view on the game and how we were playing. It was like we lost our abilities simply by being around the weaker players, like they were sucking out our energy.

This past week has been like that. I feel like the people around me have sucked out my energy and part of my brain power while they were at it, (whatever there was to take…). As much as I wanted to write something, each time I sat down at my computer, nothing came out. I would stare at the screen but couldn’t even begin to compose a post. It was the same thing in the kitchen. I wanted nothing more than to cook and bake but I was just drained. Once again, it was more of a mental thing than a physical thing. I hadn’t done anything physically demanding, but I was exhausted. Night after night I couldn’t bring myself to put anything together and post about it too. Half way through the week I managed to make some one-bowl brownies but still haven’t got around to putting them up. Tonight though, just knowing that the weekend is ahead of me gave me the strength to get back in the kitchen. Dinner was grilled swordfish with a chunky pineapple salsa and pasta and then I attempted butterscotch pudding for dessert. The consistency wasn’t right on the pudding so I’ll have to work on that one. The fish on the other hand, was thick, hearty and was enhanced by the salsa. Plus, it was done on the bbq so you know it was good. Perhaps what was even better though was that the weather is currently beautiful and the weekend promises to be equally as nice. I’ve got my fingers crossed that it will stay that way and that we might even see some morels pop up.

Grilled Swordfish with Chunky Pineapple Salsa

1 large swordfish steak, (about an inch thick)

1 lemon, cut into slices

Juice of half a lemon, (use the other half in the salsa)

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated, (use half in salsa)

A few dashes of soy sauce

Pineapple Salsa

1/3 of a pineapple, peeled and cut into chunks

5 large cherry tomatoes, cut into sixes

A handful of cilantro, chopped

1 tsp liquid honey

Lemon juice

Grated ginger

Salt

Pepper

Dash of paprika

Coat the swordfish with lemon juice, grated ginger and a few dashes of soy sauce. Set aside while you make the salsa. For the salsa, just combine everything in a bowl and mix it up. Heat the bbq and when it’s hot, put the slices of lemon onto the grill, creating a bed for the swordfish and then lay it on top. Flip once, halfway through cooking. Place on a plate when finished and cover with salsa.

Technorati Tags:

Fish + Seafood + Pineapple + BBQ

A Bowl of Sunshine on a Rainy Day

I’m grumpy. Spring is nowhere to be seen and I almost got blown away when I stepped outside this morning. I then proceeded to spend the day in a small room with seven other people who seemed intent on making meaningless chit-chat so as to prolong our miserable stay there. It was certainly an exercise in patience on my part. The only entertainment I got out of the day was observing what the others chose to eat for lunch. I felt like I was in some sort of weird behavioural science experiment where I was the only sane one. I brought my lunch from home and it consisted of leftover lasagna that I made last night, (and was the BEST pasta I have ever made in my life, I got all the way down to ‘1’ on my pasta roller while making the noodles!), a yogurt, a banana, an apple and a bottle of water. Only one other person brought a lunch, if you can call it that. He unpacked a can of diet coke, a twinkie, a pudding cup and a fruit by the foot. Another person bought a sandwich out of the vending machine that had no expiry date or ‘made on’ date, which I found highly suspicious. Three people bought frozen, microwaveable meals from the vending machine which most likely had no more taste than the cardboard they were packaged in. Two people consumed pop and cigarettes and the last person left so I wasn’t able to analyze his lunch. I watched them eat like I would watch a train wreck. It was disgusting and awful but fascinating at the same time and I couldn’t look away. How do people live like this? I wanted to cook for them and show them what they were missing. Getting paid for this would be ideal…

Upon returning home I wanted something sweet and delicious to take the bitter edge off. Despite the frigid weather there’s always room for frozen delights on my plate. So I scooped myself a bowl of homemade pineapple frozen yogurt, topped with fresh pineapple and tried to imagine myself somewhere warm and tropical. While in dreamland I decided that this wonderful fro-yo would be perfect for a new blogging event which is being co-hosted by the lovely Ilva of Lucillian Delights and Joanna of Joanna’s Food called The Heart of the Matter which focuses on creating heart healthy foods. The theme for the second edition, (I shamefully missed the first one) is puddings, or desserts for the North Americans. And although I ate my Pineapple Fro-Yo before dinner, it would still make an excellent dessert.

Pineapple Frozen Yogurt (Adapted from Baking Bites)

2 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar (ground in the blender to a powder, or use confectioners sugar)

250 grams 1% plain yogurt

250 grams non-fat mango-passionfruit yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup pureed fresh pineapple

Combine yogurts and vanilla and whisk until it is smooth.

Beat egg whites until frothy, add sugar gradually and continue beating at medium-high speed until you have soft peaks. Mixture will be gooey, kind of like marshmallow.

Fold yogurt into egg whites in 4 additions, making sure it is well incorporated. Fold in pineapple and pour mixture into your ice cream maker. Freeze as directed and store in an airtight container in the freezer if you are not going to eat it right away.

If your pineapple is nice and sweet, you could cut back on the sugar.

Technorati Tags:

HOTM + Heart of the Matter + Frozen Yogurt + Pineapple

If I Made Two Types of Mousse Does That Give Me Mice?

The recipe I used to make these chocolate and lime mousse/mousses/mice was meant to serve six people. I made it today with plans to let it set overnight and then to serve for dessert tomorrow with company. Not too long after I had put the mousse in the fridge, I found out that instead of five people for dinner tomorrow there would be eight. There was no way that mousse for six would feed eight, not with the portion sizes I serve. That meant I would either have to make more mousse or eat the mousse tonight and make something else for tomorrow. Easy decision. Three of us ate all of the mousse and I’ll be making a cake for tomorrow. I think it was an excellent choice, the combination of bittersweet chocolate and lime was irresistible. Each of us licked the bottom of our glass clean. No sooner were the glasses gleaming than I started to get comments like “I’d eat that again”, “I wish there was more of that”. “When are you making this again?”, “Are you sure there’s none left?”. “Mmm, the chocolate and lime was really nice together”, “I looove mousse”. “I could eat more”, “It’s a good thing you didn’t save these for tomorrow night”, “Yup, that sure was good.” You’d think I fed an army with the mousse, but no, these comments were coming from two people who just kept going on and on about the mousse. It’s too bad for them that I don’t like making the same thing twice…

Who knows if I could even recreate the same mousse again anyways? It was a combination of recipes for this month’s round of Hay Hay it’s Donna Day, hosted by Helene of Tartelette. HHDD was originally started by Barabara of Winos and Foodies and is now in its 11^th edition and going strong with mousse as the theme. Yummy, yummy mousse.

Chocolate Mousse (Adapted from Bon Appetit Cookbook)

¼ cup milk

2 egg yolks

2 T sugar

3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large egg whites

Pinch of salt

Whisk milk, egg yolks and 1 T sugar in a heavy saucepan to blend. Stir over med-low heat until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate, whisk until smooth. Whisk in vanilla. Transfer mixture to bowl and cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally, about 10min. Beat egg whites and salt in large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating until stiff. Fold whites into cooled chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours.

Lime Mousse (Adapted from Bon Appetit Cookbook)

½ cup sugar

¼ cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 T fresh lime juice, divided

½ teaspoon unflavoured gelatin

1 large egg

½ cup chilled whipping cream

Syrup: Combine sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan. Bring to simmer until sugar dissolves and mixtures thickens slightly, becoming syrupy. Remove from heat, add vanilla and 1 T lime juice, refrigerate.

Mix gelatin and remaining lime juice in a small bowl. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 10min. Heat in microwave on short bursts of heat until gelatin dissolves.

Beat egg in a stainless steel bowl at high speed until egg falls in heavy ribbons when beaters are lifted. Gradually beat in the lime juice and gelatin as well as 3T syrup mixture. Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat until temp reaches 140F on instant read thermometer, about 5 minutes. Place bowl over a larger bowl of ice and whisk until cool.

Beat whipping cream until peaks form, add in 1 T syrup and combine. Fold the whipped cream into the egg-lime mixture. Cover mousse and refrigerate at least 6 hours.

To serve: Layer the two mousses into glasses. If you have leftover lime syrup, pour it on top. Zest some lime peel and grate extra chocolate for garnish.

Technorati Tags:

Mousse + HHDD + Hay Hay It’s Donna Day + Lime + Chocolate