A Shaved Dinner

I know this sounds weird, a "shaved" dinner.  As far as I know it's not a new food trend or anything, it just happened to be the theme of tonight's dinner.  It started with a pizza recipe, which was complemented by a simple salad, and then, when I started to write this post, I realized they each contained shaved components, and there you have it, the theme for this post.  So without further ado...


Part 1 of Shaved Dinner: Shaved Asparagus Pizza

 

I just finished eating this pizza about 5 minutes ago, and I'm already itching to share it with you, because it's darn good.  I found the inspiration for it on smittenkitchen.com, which is a fantastic blog.  I can't remember if I've plugged it before, but I will now: it's a great site. 

This simple pizza has elevated asparagus in my book simply because it is shaved.  Never thought of that before!  For me shaving asparagus takes away what I don't like about the veg (the stringiness) while enhancing the flavor, and particularly bringing out the sweetness.  I tweaked the recipe a little bit, adding pancetta (because I thought it would be good) and omitting scallions (because I completely forgot to buy them, although I bet they would be good).  Other than that I followed Deb's sound advice, and I have to say, I will be returning to shaved asparagus again and again.  Why?  Because it's easy to prep, versatile (I'm already envisioning some sort of pappardelle/shaved asparagus pasta something or other), and brings out a whole new side to this fantastic veggie.  Which, as it so happens, is in season, so you should get some ASAP and whip up this tasty pie.

Shaved Asparagus Pizza (Adapted from SmittenKitchen.com)

Makes 1 thin crust 12 to 14-inch pizza

* 1 recipe of your favorite pizza dough (see below for my fave easy recipe), or pre-made dough from the grocery store, at room temperature
* 1/2 pound asparagus--8 or 9 stalks, perhaps?
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
* 1/2 pound mozzarella, shredded or cut into small cubes--you can use pre-shredded bagged mozz here, but I love the fresh mozz balls that you can find in the specialty cheese section of your grocery store, or at the very least, the vacuum sealed mozz balls, such as Bel Gioioso or Dragone brands
* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1 scallion, thinly sliced

* 1 scant cup finely diced pancetta (about a 1/4 inch dice)

* A few tablespoons of cornmeal, for dusting

1. Preheat your oven to the hottest temperature it goes--500 is typical. If you use a pizza stone, preheat it in the oven now.

 

2.  Prep the asparagus: wash your asparagus and pat dry.  Don't snap off the tough ends like you normally might when prepping asparagus, as they are useful to hold on to while you're shaving the asparagus.  Holding a single asparagus spear by its tough end, lay it flat on a cutting board and run a vegetable peeler from the base to the top of the spear to make long shavings.  Repeat with remaining stalks.  Don’t sweat it if some pieces are unevenly thick (i.e., the last slice of the stalk)--it all works out once it's cooked.  Discard the tough end and toss the shaved asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl.  

3.  If you are using pancetta, cook it in a saute pan over medium heat, tossing occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until browned.  Some of the fat will render out here, so no need to grease the pan.  Transfer the pancetta cubes to a paper towel lined plate to drain (just like you would with bacon).

4. Assembly time: Stretch out your pizza dough to a 12 to 14-inch round.  Dough should be quite thin, although you can leave it a little bit thicker around the edges.  Either transfer to a floured or cornmeal-dusted pizza peel (if using a pizza stone in the oven) or to a cornmeal-dusted cookie sheet or round pizza pan to bake it on. Sprinkle pizza dough with Parmesan, then mozzarella and pancetta.  Pile asparagus on top. Bake pizza for 10 to 15 minutes, or until edges are browned, the cheese is bubbly and the asparagus might be lightly charred. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with scallions (if using), then slice and enjoy!

Deb had the following suggestions for ways to tweak this recipe.  I think they would all be fantastic--perhaps I will try one next time:

-Toss a pinch of red pepper flakes with the asparagus, oil, s&p.

-Squeeze lemon juice over the asparagus after you remove it from the oven

-Add a few eggs by baking the pizza for 8 minutes, breaking the eggs on top, then finish cooking pizza and eggs together

Part 2 of Shaved Dinner: Shaved Fennel and Arugula Salad 
 

If the concept of shaved veggies has you really excited, I would suggest a shaved fennel and arugula salad to accompany this fine pizza.  Shaved fennel and arugula is one of my all time fave salads, a combo that we have adopted & adapted from Jamie Oliver and Pi Pizzeria, our local high(er) end pizza place.  It's super easy:  

1. Take a fresh fennel bulb, cut off the fennel stalks, halve the bulb, and peel off any outer pieces if they are brown and bruised.  Using either a good chef's knife or a mandolin (my tool of choice), thinly slice either one or both halves of the bulb (depending on how many people you're making the salad for), stopping just before the tough root.  

2. Toss with arugula (I like buying the pre-washed organic boxes of arugula, but if you buy it in bunches, be sure to wash it well, since it is often sandy).  If you want, shave some Parmesan on top (your veggie peeler is a good tool for this).  

3. Dress with a simple Dijon mustard-lemon juice-EVOO dressing and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.  

This was a winning combo with the pizza.  Enjoy!!!

Easy Pizza  Dough (From the new Gourmet cookbook)

* 1 1/4 oz package (or 2 1/4 teaspoons if it's from a jar) of active dry yeast

* About 1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour, divided, plus more for kneading.  You can replace up to half of this flour with whole wheat, if you'd like

* 3/4 cups warm water, divided. (105-115 degrees F)--if you don't have a thermometer, this is quite warm to the touch, just slightly cooler than shower water

* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1. Mix 1/4 cup of the warm water, the yeast and 1 tablespoon of flour in a cup and let sit for 5 minutes. The yeast mixture should look creamy

2. In a mixing bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups flour and the salt. Pour in the yeast mixture, the rest of the water, and the olive oil, and stir until smooth.

3. Mix in the enough of the remaining flour (about 1/2 a cup) until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

4. Turn the dough out on to a clean surface and knead with lightly floured hands, adding more flour if the dough starts to stick to your hands. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Here is a good YouTube video that demonstrates kneading: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWj8oHMPFm0

5. Form the dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Dust with flour and cover with saran wrap and allow to rise in a warm, draft free place for about an hour and a quarter, until doubled in size.

Leaving You With A Little Something

 
My sister Allison and I are off to Europe tonight (in theory, if the volcano would please dear god just stop spewing crap into the sky so our plane can leave).  We're visiting Ireland, Scotland and Amsterdam in honor of her graduation (with honors, yay Ali!), and very belatedly in honor of graduation (or so I like to tell myself, since I started working immediately upon graduating...times were different back in 2006, when there were jobs...) I don't know much about the food cultures of those places, other than boiled meat, sausage, and cabbage, so I don't know if I will be returning with any great ideas, so I wanted to leave you with one cookie recipe that will absolutely knock your socks off, so you have something to bake in my absence. 

My dad has always had a soft spot for this incredible triple or quadruple-y chocolate cookies from a Boston bakery chain called Rebecca's.  These cookies are so intense that he eats one over the course of several days, and if you ask for a bite he'll give you a piece about the size of your thumb nail, which is kind of stingy (sorry, Dad), but in fact is all you really need, because they are just that powerful.  It has been a personal mission of mine to bake something for him that matches Rebecca's cookies in intensity, and I think I have finally found that recipe.  I was waiting for my dad's approval before writing about them, because I didn't want to share something that was just so-so.  Fortunately, these cookies are not so-so, not even close!  (A few of my prior attempts, which I found delicious, did not make the cut, by his standards.)  These cookies come from Baker's Illustrated by way of Brown Eyed Baker, which is also the blog that turned me on to the Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies a few weeks ago.  They are triple chocolate, and totally amazing.  Along with the Thick and Chewys, I may never try any cookie recipes ever again.  I just don't need to, these are just THAT GOOD.

So without further ado (and apologies for being a lazy photographer, yet again), the recipe, in its original quantities.  When I made these I halved the recipe, because one man, even a chocoholic like my father, does not need 42 cookies at once.  Fortunately it halves very nicely.  It also gives the dry ingredient measurements in ounces, which is great if you have a scale. 


Thick and Chewy Triple-Chocolate Cookies (From Baker's Illustrated and Brown Eyed Baker)
Makes about 42 cookies 

* 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
* ½ cup (1½ ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* ½ teaspoon salt
* 16 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
* 4 large eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso powder
* 10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
* 1½ cups packed (10½ ounces) light brown sugar
* ½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar
* 12 ounces (about 2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips


 1. Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.  Melt the chocolate, stirring a few times, until smooth, then remove from the heat. (Alternatively, you could melt the chocolate in the microwave, just be careful to check it often, so it doesn't overheat and scorch.)

2.  While the chocolate is melting, beat the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl, then sprinkle the coffee powder over to dissolve, and set aside.  In a separate medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 seconds. Beat in the sugars until combined, about 45 seconds; the mixture will still be quite granular. Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overbeat. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is scoopable and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or silicone mats. Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets with a medium ice cream or cookie scoop, spacing the mounds of dough about 1½ inches apart.  (If you don't have a scoop, make balls of dough that about the size of ping pong balls)

5. Bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but the centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time.  Don't over bake these--You want them to stay soft and chewy!  Cool the cookies on the sheets about 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling to room temperature.  Cool the baking sheets before scooping more dough onto them (I pop mine in the freezer for a few minutes to expedite this); the parchment paper can be reused. 


ENJOY!!!  And don't miss me too much while I'm away :)

Pasta with Spring Vegetables

 

Right now the pile of cooking magazines I have received and have yet to read is growing pretty tall.  I'm actually kind of sitting on the magazines right now, and they're sort of cramping my style...

Before I was sitting on the magazines, though, while they were still scattered about, Erik was flipping through our most recent Food and Wine (I'm MONTHS behind on that magazine!), and stumbled upon tonight's recipe: Farfalle with Spring Vegetables.  I was immediately smitten, as it contains many of my favorite veggies, notably broccolini and fennel, plus a host of other yummy things, like scallions, garlic, and peas.  

For our first go-around we followed the recipe to a T (tee?), other than adding an extra clove of garlic, and an extra scallion, (because we had 3, and who wants just 1 leftover scallion sitting around?  Not I.)  Okay, and I only used 3 tablespoons of butter, and I didn't measure my olive oil, or herbs, and I used dried tarragon, and I put cheese on top, because I always put cheese on pasta...  So I lied, I mostly followed the recipe.  And wow, it's good.  But I think my improvisations made it better :)  If you're a garlic fiend (like me), you could easily bump this recipe to 3-4 cloves, not the 1 that the actual recipe calls for, but regardless, use at least 2--1 just doesn't cut it!  Additionally, I think the recipe needs a bit more lemon juice--1 tablespoon doesn't add enough pop to such a large quantity of pasta and vegetables.  I find that lemon juice's acidity helps highlight the butter's richness, plus is tastes fantastic, which is why I suggest adding lemon wedges for serving, so you can juice as you see fit.  As for the herbs, I used fresh parsley and chives, but dried tarragon.  While fresh herbs are always best, I think that dried tarragon is nearly as flavorful as fresh, so I didn't feel bad substituting.  However, I don't find either dried parsley or chives particularly flavorful, so definitely stick with fresh on those.  The one thing that I wouldn't change at all are the herbed breadcrumbs that you sprinkle on top--they really took this recipe to the next level.  I was having trouble not eating those by the spoonful while I was waiting for the rest of the dish to cook!  They add crunch and oily richness, and man oh man, they are so yummy!  This recipe is quick enough for a weeknight (about 45 minutes total), but a big enough and tasty enough to serve to friends.  So you should, and tell me what you think! 

Farfalle with Spring Vegetables (Adapted from Food and Wine, May 2010)

Serves 4-6 

* 2 slices of white sandwich bread, finely chopped (1 cup)

* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

* 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

* 2 tablespoons snipped chives

* 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon

* Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

* 1 bunch broccolini

* 1 pound farfalle

* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

* 2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced

* 1 fennel bulb, halved, cored and thinly sliced--a mandolin is great for the slicing, if you have one.

* 3 scallions, thinly sliced

* 1 cup frozen peas, thawed, or 1 pound fresh peas, shelled

* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving

* Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, or your favorite hard cheese, grated, to sprinkle on top (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. On a baking sheet, toss the bread with 1/4 cup of the oil and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once, until golden. Let cool, then stir in half each of the parsley, chives and tarragon. Season the crumbs with salt and pepper.

2. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the broccolini until tender, 1 minute.  Using tongs, transfer to a cutting board and coarsely chop. 

3. Add the pasta to the broccolini water and boil until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.

4.  While the pasta cooks, melt the butter and the remaining 6 tablespoons of oil in a deep skillet.  Add the garlic, fennel, scallions, peas and broccolini and cook over moderate heat until the fennel is crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. 

4. Add the pasta, lemon juice and cooking water and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderate heat until the water is nearly absorbed. Stir in the remaining herbs. Sprinkle the pasta with the bread crumbs and cheese (if using) just before serving.

(If you want to make this dish ahead of time, Food and Wine informs me that the pasta can be kept at room temperature for 4 hours, and the crumbs can be stored at room temperature overnight.)

 

Enjoy!

 

The Baker's Dozen Cookbook

No, no, I'm not publishing my own cookbook!  Did you know, though, that there is ALREADY a Baker's Dozen Cookbook?  I had no idea, until just recently.  But it should come as no surprise that a cookbook that shares my (soon to be renamed) blog's name is excellent!  I'm currently cat-sitting for a neighbor who is an avid cook with an extensive cookbook collection, which is how I stumbled upon this volume.  Although I've been here for nearly two weeks, things have been so busy that I haven't had much time to delve into the collection.  However, I immediately picked up The Baker's Dozen Cookbook because of the title, and have enjoyed browsing it while I've been here. 

The Baker's Dozen is a group of professional (and well known) LA and San Francisco-area bakers who started meeting in the late 80s and have continued to get together to share tips and test recipes; this book contains the collective baking wisdom of these accomplished ladies and gents.  It's an astounding resource for us simple home cooks who don't always have the time or inclination to test a recipe using five different kinds of flours or with egg whites at several different temperatures, as they have done, in pursuit of the best-possible version of every recipe.  The combination of science and expertise is like equal parts Alton Brown and Baker's Illustrated (I imagine--I haven't actually gotten my hands on a copy yet, but it seems like the stuff that BI would talk about, because it's serious like that).  Obviously I love to bake, but I allow myself to skip over steps when they seem extraneous or arbitrary, if no explanation is offered.  For example, I often let cakes or quick breads cool for hours in the pan, even if the recipe says to turn them onto a cooling rack after 15 minutes, because I figured, what's the harm?  But I learned from The Baker's Dozen that the reason you shouldn't do this is because steam gets trapped in bottom of the pan and causes the cake to stick to the pan...and I always thought they stuck because I did a bad job greasing the pan!  And, speaking of greasing, the book notes when pans should be greased, when they shouldn't, when you can use non-stick pans, and when you shouldn't.  And then there's the glass pans, the ceramic pans, steel pans, aluminum pans to consider...I  always thought they were interchangeable, but apparently there are appropriate times to use all of them!  I also found out when to use 60 degree eggs (for soft meringue), when to use 70 degree eggs (the rest of the time), why rack position actually matters, when to mix a lot, when to mix a little, the list just goes on an on and on....

This isn't one of those big, glossy books full of mouth-watering photos but only a few recipes and sub-par instructions.  In fact, only a handful of its 350 pages are dedicated to photos (but those few are mouthwatering--my only wish is that there were more!)  Nor are there tons of trendy recipes and hard-to-find ingredients.  It's just good, wholesome, delicious baking for every occasion.  The book's highlights include its encyclopedic glossaries of both tools and ingredients, its tried-and-true recipe instructions and helpful tips, and of greatest interest to me, the explanations of chemical and physical reactions that occur during baking.  Oh, and of course, there are are the recipes!  135 of them, nearly all of which I would love to try, (if only I had the time and that many occasions....)  Cakes, pies, tarts, cookies, quick breads, yeast breads, custards....it really covers everything! 

I don't usually rave about cookbooks, even though I love reading them.  And I'm not raving about this one just because this cookbook happens to share the name of my blog; as I said before, it is a complete coincidence.  It's just a fantastic and thorough reference book that covers so much--excellent for any home baker who wants to learn more and improve their skills.  Perhaps one day I'll even get my own copy! 

Note: Out of curiosity I checked out the reviews on Amazon.com, which were for the most part as positive as mine, although a few drew my attention to some editing mistakes and typos in the book.  For the most part these are minor, and certainly do not diminish the book's overall value.

Shakshuka: Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce

I wish I had something inspirational to say about this next recipe, but truthfully, I don't.  I don't even have a photo to show you, sorry.  But I do have an easy, tasty recipe, so read on.  

I hadn't even heard of Shakshuka, an Israeli dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, until it was featured on Smitten Kitchen, an excellent cooking blog that I often read.  Although in Israel Shakshuka is traditionally served as a breakfast dish, for my American palate I thought it was much more well suited to dinner (I usually steer clear of anything more potent than Cheerios at breakfast).  I was enticed by the simple ingredient list and easy prep--the perfect meal for the end of a busy week.  

I tweaked the recipe just a bit, most notably in the number of servings.  Smitten Kitchen and Saveur, which originally published this recipe, claim that it serves 4-6, but Erik and polished off 2/3 of it on our own (hey, don't judge, it's mostly vegetables!).  However, I reduced the number of eggs accordingly, from the recommended 6 to 3, basically budgeting 1 egg per serving.  The diameter of the pan I used was smaller than the recommended 12 inches, so in my pan 3 eggs fit perfectly--any more would have just created a thick, egg-y layer instead of individually poached eggs.  I suppose that if you had a larger pan and used 2 eggs per person you could stretch the sauce a bit, but I liked mine saucy without too many eggs--healthier that way, right?  I also bumped up the amounts of cumin and garlic, because I simply can't get enough of those delicious flavors.  I wimped out on the jalapenos, however, and used only 2.  Without their seeds, jalapenos actually don't pack too much of a punch, so when I make this again I will use the recommended 3 jalapenos, or add a few seeds, since those are where most of the heat resides.  This is a forgiving and flexible recipe that's easy to prepare, so try it when you're in the mood for something easy, comforting, and full of flavor.

Shakshuka (Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Serves 3 to 4 

* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 5 Anaheim chiles or 3 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped

* 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
* 6 cloves garlic, crushed then sliced
* 1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin
* 1 Tablespoon paprika
* A 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained

* 1/2 cup water
* Kosher salt, to taste
* 3-4 eggs, or more, if you feel so inclined
* 1/2 cup crumbed feta cheese
* 1 generous Tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
* Warm pitas, for serving

1. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chilis and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.

 

2. Crush the tomatoes.  You can do this by transferring them to the bowl and crushing them with your hands, or just crushing them as you add them to the skillet.  Either way, crush the tomatoes and add them, along with their liquid and 1/2 cup water to the skillet.  Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 20 minutes. Season with salt, to taste.

3. Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across sauce’s surface. Cover and cook until yolks are barely set, about 5 minutes.  (Obviously you can simmer for less time if you prefer a runny yolk, like Erik does).  Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture, being careful not to disturb the yolk.  Sprinkle shakshuka with feta and parsley and serve with warm pitas, cut into quarters, for dipping.  Enjoy!

Volkswagens, Daffodils, and Some Damn Good Cookies

I love that time in the spring when everything starts to green up, when the hedges and the shrubs and wild growth along the sides of the road begin to bud, so that from afar they look as though they have simply been dusted with the faintest hint of green.  Then, seemingly overnight, plants are covered with actual leaves, and it really feels as though spring has arrived.  The transition from brown to green means two (somewhat related) things.  I am ridiculously busy at work, and Daffodil weekend is approaching.  For my non-Nantucket readers, Daffodil weekend, which occurs in late April, is a festival of sorts for which locals and visitors alike turn out in droves to celebrate the simple daffodil.  (It's also the first time that many seasonal folks come to the back to the island,  hence the busy-ness at work.)  The highlight of the of the weekend is the Antique car parade, which starts in town and then crosses half the island to 'Sconset, where the cars park, their drivers set up tailgates, and then everyone proceeds to blatantly ignores open container laws and gets boozed up while dressed in all manner of ridiculously bright/preppy daffodil-adorned attire.  While I've gone out and spectated for the past two years, this will be my first year participating in the decorating of an antique car and being part of that spectacle.  The Nantucket Historical Association was the lucky recipient of a 1960s VW van, which is undergoing a major decorating effort and will be part of the parade this year.  I'm not going to spill the beans just yet, but it's going to be awesome.  But in order for it to be awesome, we needed to do some work.  And naturally, workers need to be fed, right?  So yesterday we gathered and sawed and drilled and taped and painted, and worked up an appetite, so we ate.

A stock-market-themed tailgate.  They only get more elaborate from here...

I use any gathering of people where food is being served (in this case, lunch), to try out new recipes and make yummy baked goods that I won't make just to have around the house (because that is just asking for trouble!).  Naturally my contribution to this gathering would be sweet in nature, because that's just how I roll.  My limiting factors were: a) ingredients, since I didn't do any shopping beforehand, and b) timing, since I only left myself about an hour to make something, and c) easy to serve and eat.  With that criteria, I figured my best bet would be cookies, since they bake quickly and are finger friendly.  The one catch with cookies, however, is that they often use room temperature butter, which I didn't have on hand (and didn't have time to wait for!)  For inspiration I turned to Brown Eyed Baker, which has a wealth of basic yet fantastic baked-good recipes.  I quickly stumbled across one incredibly indulgent "Thick and Chewy" chocolate chip cookie recipe that called for melted butter instead of room temperature--timing problem solved!  I got to work immediately, and about an hour later I was packing the cookies, still warm from the oven.

As you readers have probably guessed, I always like to try new recipes.  Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're just so-so (obviously I don't write about those), and sometimes they're so great they're an automatic keeper, and let me tell you, this one is a keeper!  There are about a million chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, but as far as I'm concerned, I've found my winner.  And I'm not the only one.  My first assurance that these cookies were in fact as great as I thought they'd be was when my friend Beth nabbed one before lunch and declared "these cookies are amazing!" (or something like that).  When we all broke for lunch the praise kept rolling in, and it was impossible for people to eat just one (despite their hefty size!).  Here's what makes them so amazing:  the fact that they stay chewy, even after cooling (thanks to the butter plus and extra egg yolk).  Enough vanilla so you could actually taste it.  A perfect sweet-salty balance.  The aforementioned hefty size (and I even down-sized mine a tiny bit!).  The thick-and-chewiness...oh wait, I already said that.  The key to the chewiness is pulling them from the oven when the centers are still soft and puffy looking so you don't run the risk of over-baking them.  Apparently cooling the cookies on the sheets also enhances the texture--as I was a bit crunched for time I didn't have an opportunity to let them cool all the way before packing them, and as far as I can tell, they didn't suffer too much because of it.  We consumed most of these cookies about 2 1/2 hours after they were pulled from the oven, so not only were they soft, but the chocolate chips were still partially melted, which no doubt contributed to the overwhelmingly positive response. Still, 24 hours later they're still awesome (don't worry, I just ate another, just to be sure), so don't delay, makes these cookies today, and you too will be singing their praises. 

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker and Baking Illustrated)

Makes 18-22 large cookies

This recipe's original source, Baking Illustrated, gives ingredient measures in weights as well as cups.  Armed with a trusty kitchen scale, I measured the dry ingredients by weight.  To satisfy my own curiosity I compared the weigh and volume measurements, and found that when measuring by volume I always ended up with more flour and sugar.  So, if you have a scale, use it, and if you don't, be sure not to overfill your cup measures.  When you're going for soft and chewy you don't want to dry out your cookies with too much flour, or over-sweeten with too much sugar!

* 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10.625 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
* 1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
* 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
* 1 large egg plus 1 additional egg yolk
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* About 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper, a silicone baking mat, or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer or just a wooden spoon or spatula, combine the melted butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until just combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.

4. Roll the dough into ping-pong sized balls--a scant 1/4 cup or so of dough.  Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

5. Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 14 to 17 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets before removing with a metal spatula.  Enjoy--I know you will!!!

Apple Spiced Upside-Down Cake

 

Inspired partly by the previous recipe (Apple Walnut Bread), and partly by the fantastic Plum Upside Down Cake that I posted about last fall, I decided to do a little experimenting this weekend.  I've been desperate to make the upside-down cake again--it's simple to prepare yet rich and buttery, and when topped with caramelized fruit, I can think of few things better.  Since plums are months away from being in season, I thought I would try the cake using a fruit that never seems to go out of season: apples.  I caramelized them in butter and sugar until they were soft and syrupy, and I enhanced the batter with cinnamon and nutmeg, a pair that always complements apples.  The result, I have to say, was fantastic.  I brought it to Armchair Theatre, a monthly potluck/play reading that Erik and I often attend, and then took a page out of my dad's book and enjoyed some of the leftovers for breakfast!  For breakfast or dessert, this cake is a winner! 

Apple Spiced Upside Down Cake, (Inspired by Real Simple Magazine, August 2009)

Serves 8-10

* 3 apples, each peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges 

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus an additional tablespoon
* 1/4 cup brown sugar 
* 2/3 cup white sugar
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 2/3 cup sour cream (lowfat is fine)
* 1 large egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper

2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar and the apple wedges. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the apples begin to soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Arrange the apples in the cake pan in slightly overlapping concentric circles, starting from the outside. Spoon any remaining syrup over the top.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

4. With an electric mixer, beat the 1/2 cup of butter and 2/3 cup of sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, sour cream, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated.

5. Pour the batter over the apples (you'll have to use a spatula to spread it around, it's thick).  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 1 hour. Place a large plate over the cake pan and invert the cake onto the plate.  Slice and enjoy!!!

 Pardon the glare.  It doesn't quite do it justice, but this is one darn tasty cake!