Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie - revisited

Last fall I wrote about my discovery of the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. I now have another nominee for this title, which I tasted at a picnic this past weekend: Nestle's Original Toll House Cookie recipe with the amount of flour cut in half!

The proportions of these two recipes are different enough that I believe they are different recipes.

I'm getting ready to whip-up my first batch of these cookies. I'll let you know if they are as delicious as those I tasted this weekend, and my original October posting. I'm not writing the recipe in this post, it is printed on the back of every Nestle's semi-sweet morsel.

Stay tuned!

My New Year's Resolution - Eat More Veggies!

For the past few years I've been trying to broaden the variety of vegetables in my diet, and also learn new ways to prepare those vegetables I'm already eating.  To help me achieve my goal, I regularly borrow vegetable cookbooks from the library.  If I fall in love with the book, I may buy it for my collection.  If not, I learn what I can and try a few recipes before the book's due date.

Last week I checked out "Vegetable Love" by Barbara Kafka.  I loved the way the book is organized, a separate chapter for each vegetable, with lots of background information.  I don't always agree with some of her pronouncements, such as you cannot roast cauliflower ( this happens to be my favorite way to make cauliflower!)  but overall, I found the book a great source for ideas and how to information.

The following recipe for Lamb Stuffed Delicata Squash, has its origins in Barbara's Lamb Curry Stuffing.  I've modified the stuffing recipe slightly, and also substituted the delicata squash for her suggestion of zucchini, eggplant or peppers.  The result:  a great balance between the spicy lamb mixture and sweet squash.  Enjoy.

LAMB STUFFED DELICATA SQUASH (4 servings)

2 delicata squash - sliced lengthwise and seeded

1 lb. ground lamb

1/4 c. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic - smashed and minced

1 tbsp. curry powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. cinammon

1/4 c. yellow raisins

1/4 c. white rice

1 c.  chicken broth.

Preheat oven to 425 degress

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a small saucepan.  Add rice and cook for 8 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool for 15 or 20 minutes.  The rice will absorb more liquid as it cools, and still be watery at the end of the cooling time.

In a large bowl combine the ground lamb and all of the remaining ingredients except for the squash.  Using your hands, thoroughly mix.  Add the rice/broth mixture and again mix until the rice is evenly distributed throughout the meat mixture.

Place the 4 squash halves in a shallow baking dish or rimmed baking sheet.  Distribute the meat mixture evenly among the 4 squash halves, patting gently to remove any air pockets. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until squash is tender to the fork.

Shrimp & Naan "Wraps"

A few days ago I sauteed shrimp in olive oil and garlic for dinner.  There were a few shrimp left over, and I was trying to figure out how to turn them into a tasty lunch.   Luckily my refrigerator and freezer offered a wealth of good options:  mango, spicy mayo, butter lettuce, and naan.  

Frozen naan is now a staple in my house.  It heats quickly in the oven, and is great not only for my attempts at Indian cuisine, but also as an alternative to crackers when serving cheeses and various tapenades.  Since I was heating up the oven for the naan, I also wrapped the shrimp in aluminum foil and put them in at the same time as the naan. The naan and the shrimp were heated through in about three minutes. The wraps were assembled as follows:

1 naan - spread generously with spicy mayo

1 leaf of butter lettuce

2 or 3 slices of mango

2 or 3 shrimp

The wrap was too thick to roll, but the naan was large enough to fold in half, sort of similar to a soft taco.  Yumm!

 I apologize for the lack of a picture, put as frequently happens, I ate everything before I had a chance to take any photos!  

At Last, the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

I've been looking for a knock-out chocolate chip cookie recipe for years. Not too sweet, not too fatty tasting, but chewy once cooled. I want my homemade chocolate chip cookies to provide the same satisfaction as Entemann's, only even better.

Well, though I've tried for years to tinker with recipes, replacing some sugar with honey or switching from granulated sugar to brown, nothing has worked. I wish I could take credit for the recipe I'm about to share with you, but I can't. Credit belongs to Cook's Illustrated. Their American Classics issue has the perfect Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. My only change - ignoring their labor intensive suggestion for shaping the cookies. I just dropped spoonfuls of dough from a tablespoon. Enjoy!

Makes 18 large cookies

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

1 1/2 sticks butter, melt in microwave and let cool until just warm.

2 cups + 2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to blend. Set aside

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine:

1 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Add melted butter, and blend thoroughly on medium speed.

To sugar - butter mixture add:
2 tsps. vanilla extract
1 egg + 1 egg yolk

With mixer running on low, gradually add dry ingredients. When fully incorporated add

1.5 cups chocolate chips & blend.

Using a tablespoon, divide dough into 18 large balls arranged between the two cookie sheets.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until a light golden brown color and slightly hardened around the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheets.

Stuffed French Toast that's Really Stuffed!

I can't tell you the number of times I've ordered stuffed french toast, only to be served two pieces of french toast with a topping piled between them. Call it layered, call it deconstructed, but don't call it stuffed!

Today was my chance to take a crack at making a real stuffed french toast. I had a delicious challah in the house, and it was practically begging to be turned into french toast. I cut the bread into very thick slices, about 1.5 inches, and then cut a pocket in the middle of each slice.The slices were then soaked in a mixture of eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar. While the bread was soaking it was time to prepare the stuffing. I quartered a banana and then coated each piece in brown sugar. The bananas were then sauteed in butter in a non-stick fry pan, creating a dark, caramel sauce, with the bananas heated through but still firm. The challah slices were transferred to the fry pan, and the pockets filled with the caramelized bananas, and then cooked until the toast was nicely browned on both sides.The pieces were then transferred to a buttered baking dish, dotted with butter, covered, and baked in a 325 degree oven for 20 minutes. The result: a rich, sweet french toast, filled with a buttery hot banana filling. Definitely a do again recipe.


Recipe - makes 2 very generous servings

1 loaf challah or other rich egg bread
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk (skim is fine)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1 ripe banana, halved lengthwise, and then widthwise
brown sugar
2 Tbsps. butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Cut 2 thick (1.5" to 2") slices from Challah. Cut a pocket in the middle of each slice.
Mix next five ingredients in a shallow baking dish. Soak bread for 30 minutes, turn over once.
Place 1/4 c. brown sugar in a shallow bowl and cover each banana quarter with sugar, turning and pressing sugar into each banana piece. Use more sugar if necessary. Melt 1 tbsp. butter in a non-stick fry pan. Add banana quarters. Let cook 2 minutes on a side without moving until ready to turn the pieces. Sugar will melt and the bananas should be warmed through, but not mushy. Push the banana pieces of the edge of the pan, and add the soaked challah. Carefully insert a banana piece into each slice of challah. Cook challah until browned on each side. Transfer challah and remaining banana slices to a lightly buttered baking dish. Cover with foil and cook 20 minutes, or until each slice is cooked through. Garnish with chopped pecans and serve.

Turkey "Bracciola"

Inspiration comes from many places. Last night's inspiration was a NY Times Mark Bittman video on bracciola.

Bracciola is an Italian dish in which beef (flank steak) is rolled up like a jelly rolly with a filling of bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, though, as in the case with Mark Bittman, it can also include vegetables.

I wanted something other than beef, and chose turkey breast cutlets. I split the cutlets, pounded them thin (about 1/4 inch), then placed a thin slice of prosciutto on each cutlet, and covered the prosciutto with a mixture of bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, sauted garlic and mushrooms. The cutlets were too narrow to roll up, so I folded them in half; they looked like a sandwich. Each cutlet was dredged in cornmeal, egg, then seasoned bread crumbs. After browning the "sandwiches" on each side in olive oil, they were put in a single layer into a glass casserole, covered with foil, then baked for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

The result, a crispy outside with a moist flavorful inside. Enjoy!

Traditions

There is not a lot of variation in my menu for the Jewish High Holidays. Chicken soup and matzoh balls - always. Potato kugel - yes, unless my mother makes knishes, and, since my son has become a major carnivore, brisket.

Brisket has a long tradition as a comfort food in Jewish cooking. A long, slow cooking turns a flat brisket into a fork tender, moist and delicious entree. There are endless ways to season a brisket, but all recipes call for slow cooking at a temperature of 300 to 325 degrees.

Brisket for Rosh Hashana 5769

6 lb. flat cut brisket
2 large onions - sliced thin
3 - 4 Tbsps. brown sugar
1 package lipton powdered onion soup
1 can crushed tomatoes
kosher salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Place a large roasting pan over one or two stove top burners. Add onions and spray lightly with olive oil. Saute on medium high heat until onions start to sweat.

Salt and pepper both sides of the brisket. Place fat side-up on top of the onions. Cover with brown sugar, onion soup, and crushed tomatoes. Cover and seal tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil. Place in the oven and bake for 4 hours. Remove from oven and check brisket with a fork to see if tender. If not, recover tightly with foil, and return to the oven for an additional hour.

Let cool covered overnight in the refrigerator. Remove congealed fat and slice brisket thinly across the grain. Return brisket to the pan, cover, and re-heat in a 325 degree oven. Alternatively, after slicing the brisket can be covered with plastic wrap and foil, then frozen.

Enjoy!

P.S. - the chicken soup was delicious.

Parchmant Paper Tribute

You may be wondering "How does she get the dough for the grilled foccacia onto the grill?" "Parchment paper" is my solution to most kitchen dilemmas these days. Without parchment paper, many of my dishes would be a disaster.

In the case of the grilled foccacia (pizza), I roll the dough out on the paper, lightly oil the exposed side, then pick the dough up by the paper and let it fold in half (dough side facing out). This allows me to "roll" the dough onto the grill. Once down, I just peel off the paper, which is now facing up, and oil and season the newly exposed side while the bottom cooks.

I also use parchment when I am making a pizza on a pizza stone in my oven. I never mastered sliding the pizza from the peel onto the hot stone. It always ended-up a mess. I put a piece of parchment on top of my peel, and then roll and make the pizza . When it is time to put the pie in the oven, I just slide the parchment paper with pizza off the peel and onto the stone. The paper scorches around the edges, but stays intact. When the pizza is done the pie easily slides off the paper and onto the peel.

Finally, parchment paper has become my secret to making delicious buffalo wings. We like our wings crispy, not soggy. I line rimmed baking sheets with parchment, and place uncooked frozen wings onto the paper. The wings cook for about 30 minutes in a 425 degree oven (use the convection setting if you have it, if not cooking time will be longer). When the wings have reached the desired level of crispiness, I use tongs to put them into a large bowl where they are tossed with the buffalo sauce. If I skip the parchment paper, the wings never get as crisp. The parchment paper and any excess oil are thrown away, the baking sheets are lined with fresh paper, and the wings, now coated with buffalo sauce, are cooked for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. The parchment paper keeps the sauced wings from sticking to the pan.

Things Change

Sometimes life throws a monkey wrench in our meal plans. An unexpectedly, uncomfortable dentist appointment, forced a last minute switch to an easy to chew meal and my son’s request last night for macaroni and cheese.

In earlier times, that would have me reaching for a box of Annie’s or Kraft’s. Homemade macaroni and cheese was just too much work for a “kids” food. The need for two pots, one for the sauce and the other to cook the pasta, was the real deal killer. My sister-in-law whips-up a mean mac’n cheese: a white sauce from scratch with freshly grated cheese. I wanted that rich and creamy home cooked taste, with the convenience of a box.

I’ve succeeded in creating a one-pot recipe that delivers on both counts. The key is to follow the same steps you use with the box: Cook the pasta, drain and return to the pot, add butter, allow to melt, sprinkle flour over the buttered macaroni, mix, gradually add warmed milk, and then slowly add grated cheese (from a bag of course!) It takes a bit of stirring to get the cheese melted and incorporated, but the result is worth the minimal effort. Best of all, there was only one pot to clean.

For those of us with a fully functioning set of teeth, dinner was rounded out with a salad of tomato, hearts of palm, and cucumber, and chicken Italian sausages.

RECIPE FOR ONE POT MACARONI & CHEESE

1 box elbow pasta (usually 1 lb.)
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 Tbsp. flour
1.5 cups low fat milk, warmed in microwave (about 2 minutes on high)
2 cups grated cheddar ( equivalent to one small bag of pre-grated cheese)
salt & pepper to taste

Cook and drain pasta. Return to pot. Over a low heat, add butter to the pasta. Stir to evenly coat pasta with the melted butter. Sprinkle the buttered pasta with the flour, stirring to coat evenly. Slowly add the warmed milk while stirring. Add the cheese by handfuls, stirring to fully melt between additions. Salt & pepper to taste. Sometimes I add a few dashes of hot sauce. If you want a runnier sauce add an additional 1/2 cup of warmed mile.