18 December 2007

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Here is the recipe I use for making the chocolotate chip cookies, enjoy!

Renee

Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Food Network Kitchens How to Boil Water, Meredith, 2006

This is such an easy chocolate chip cookie. No special equipment, no creaming--a perfect cookie to do with kids. We love how versatile this dough is, too. It makes an awesome rocky road bar cookie.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt

Evenly position 2 racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. (on convection setting if you have it.) Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone sheets. (If you only have 1 baking sheet, let it cool completely between batches.)

Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on medium power until melted. (Alternatively melt in a small saucepan.) Cool slightly. Whisk the sugars, eggs, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon; take care not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared pans. Wet hands slightly and roll the dough into balls. Space the cookies about 2-inches apart on the pans. Bake, until golden, but still soft in the center, 12 to 16 minutes, depending on how chewy or crunchy you like your cookies.

Transfer hot cookies with a spatula to a rack to cool. Serve.

Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.

For a Rocky Road Bar: Lightly butter a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Make the batter as per cookie recipe and fold in 1 cup chopped walnuts along with the chocolate chips. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake until the edges are light brown and the batter sets, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly and cover surface with 4 cups marshmallows and 1 cup chocolate chips. Broil at least 8 inches from the heat until marshmallows turn golden brown, about 2 minutes. (Keep an eye on the marshmallows, and turn the pan frequently--they go from golden to char in a wink.) Cool, cut and serve.

09 August 2007

Macaroni & Cheese

Hey guys and gals,

Here's the new recipe everyone is asking for.......Quite delicious and very easy. Don't be thrown on the method of preparing this. It really does work


Macaroni & Cheese

Place in large kettle ¼ cup of butter and melt on low.

Increase heat to Medium and add 1 cup finely chopped onion. Sauté until tender. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 2 Tablespoons flour to this.

Mix together and cook for 1 minute.

To this mixture add 3 cups of milk. Bring to a simmer on Medium High stirring frequently so as not to burn. When this mixture begins to simmer, add 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni. Reduce to the lowest temperature and cover. Cook 9 to 11 minutes stirring frequently so as not to burn.

When this is done the macaroni is tender and the mixture will be quite creamy. At this time add 1 cup (heaping) of grated Fontina Cheese and ½ cup (heaping) of grated Parmesan Cheese.

Stir to blend and serve.

The recipe says you can substitute Mozzarella for the Fontina.

20 June 2007

Fresh Mint Mojito

The Mojito was the topic of much discussion while we were in Wilmington for the Clinical Foundation Program. Several of us went to a Cuban restaurant to get the 'authentic' version of the drink. Some of those in attendance tried a Mojito for the first time! Upon my return to austin I learned that my good friend, Sujata, has had an overwhelming mint crop in her garden this year. She suggested a Mojito party to use up her fantastic mint. I agreed, and we tested various recipes. Here is my favorite.

12 fresh mint leaves
2-3 tsp simple syrup (or 4 tsp sugar)
1.5 oz light rum
Juice of 1/2 a fresh lime
Ice
club soda or sparkling water

Put the clean mint leaves and the simple syrup in the bottom of a chilled glass. Muddle the mint leaves. Add the lime juice and rum. Add ice and club soda to fill the glass. Stir gently. Garnish with more mint and a lime wedge. It is best to drink a mojito with a straw, otherwise you have to fight with the mint leaves to drink it!

If you prefer a more tart drink use a whole lime, and less simple syrup. If, like me, you like your drinks sticky sweet, then up the sugar and reduce the lime.

Although you can use sugar to sweeten this drink, the simple syrup is easy to make, and in my opinion, completely worth the effort (you can also buy it pre-made at any liquor store).

Simple Syrup Recipe (provided by Joey)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp cream of tartar

Place sugar and water in sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved. Add the cream of tartar, stir until it dissolves and then turn off the heat. Allow mixture to cool slowly. The cream of tartar stablizes the syrup so that it does not recrystalize, and it will last longer. It is not a necessity, but it makes it easier to make more simple syrup than you need and store it in the fridge for later use.

Spinach / Strawberry Salad

Dressing
½ cup Sugar
2 T. Sesame Seeds
1 T. Poppy Seeds
1 ½ teas. Minced Onion (Red is best)
¼ teas. Worchestire Sauce
¼ teas. Paprika
½ cup Oil (I usually use EVOO)
¼ cup Vinegar (My favorite is Balsamic but anything would work)

Mix all together.

2 - 10 ounce bags of spinach.
1 pint strawberries (hulled and quartered)

Do not pour dressing over salad until just before serving. Use all the dressing and toss evenly.

Delicious.

25 April 2007

Guacomole

4 ripe beautiful Haas avocados
3 Tablespoons of freshly sqeezed lemon juice
8 Dashes of Hot Pepper Sauce (I used Tabasco)
1/2 cup small-diced red onion
2 fresh large cloves of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of course kosher salt
1 teasp freshly ground black pepper
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced as small as possible.

Scoop out the avocados. Immediately add the lemon juice as it discolors easily. Add Pepper sauce, onion, garlic, salt & pepper. Toss well. Slice through whole thing with a sharp knife to cut up the avocados. Add tomoatoes. Add more salt & pepper to taste, if needed. Serve with the finest of corn chips. (unsalted are the best)

Enjoy!

24 April 2007

Thai Tiger's Tears Salad

Thai food is one of several ethnic varieties of grub that I very much enjoy. Locally, I recommend Sawasdee on Capital Blvd. and ShabaShabu on Old Wake Forest Rd. in Raleigh as two excellent Thai restaurants.

At ShabaShabu they serve an appetizer salad called Tiger's Tears. I have requested a double portion as an entree, and they have happily obliged. This is a spicy beef delight that is absolutely perfect for a light meal in warmer weather. Prep is a bit involved, but the results are highly satisfying indeed.

1/4 cup raw jasmine rice
1.5 pounds top sirloin or round beef, 1” thick

Marinade:
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp minced ginger root
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp chili pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp chopped cilantro

Salad:
1 green pepper, seeded
1 red pepper, seeded
2 jalapeno peppers, minced
2 scallions (white and green parts)
12 sprigs fresh mint (optional), remove the leaves and discard the stems
1 cup lightly packed Thai basil leaves
1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves
2 to 3 shallots, sliced crosswise very thin or 1 small red onion, sliced very thin
2 stalks lemon grass

1 head Bibb or Boston, or 1 heart of Romaine lettuce

Dressing:
2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp sesame seed oil

Rice preparation:
Toast rice in a skillet over med-high heat shaking the skillet constantly, until rice is golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Remove from skillet, let cool completely. Process in the food processor until it is the size of couscous. Remove to a bowl. This step can be done ahead of time; the rice will keep in a sealed container indefinitely.

Beef marinade:
Mix all marinade ingredients in a non-reactive bowl that is just big enough to hold the steaks in one layer. Add the steaks and turn them to coat. They should be sitting very tightly in the bowl. If you don't have the bowl of appropriate size, just pour the marinade into a large ziploc freezer bag, add the steaks, squeeze all the air out and close the bag. If marinating only for 30 minutes leave the beef at room temperature. If marinating longer than that, keep it in the fridge removing to room temperature 30 minutes before cooking. Marinate 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Salad preparation:
Slice the peppers into quarters lengthwise, and then slice crosswise into very thin slices (1/16" thick). Put into a large bowl. Thinly slice scallion and shallots or onion and add to peppers. Add mint, basil, and cilantro to the bowl. Slice lemon grass into very thin rings (the thickness of a sturdy sewing thread) using Benriner slicer or mandoline, and add to the bowl. You can do this with a very sharp knife, but it is much harder to get slices that thin with a knife. Finely mince jalapenos including seeds, and add to the bowl. If necessary, the salad can be prepared to this stage 1 hour before serving and kept covered in the fridge.

Cooking and dressing:
In a small bowl, mix fish sauce, lime juice, and sesame oil to make a dressing. Sear beef to medium rare. Remove beef to a plate and slice thin, into pieces approximately 2 inches across and 1/8 inch thick. Use the lettuce to make a bed in the bottom of the plate. Add beef and toasted rice to the salad. Pour in the dressing and mix well. Adjust seasoning as desired. Place on bed of lettuce and serve immediately.

02 April 2007

No Knead Bread

A friend of mine made this bread last weekend. It is delicious!

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 5/8 cups water
cornmeal or wheat bran as needed


1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir
until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18 hours, at warm room temperature,
about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work
surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it
over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about
15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your
fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel
(not terry-cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on
towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel
and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double
in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a
5- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as
it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slid your hand
under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess,
but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will
straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid
and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on rack.

YIELD: One 1 1/2 pound loaf.

28 February 2007

Tortellini with Prosciutto and Peas in Creamy Sauce

This is the recipe that I made for Heidi when she came to Austin. I served it with asparagus and a salad.

1/2 pound refrigerated fresh cheese tortellini
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 pound deli sliced prosciutto, chopped
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to package directions. Stir in peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking: drain.

Meanwhile, coat a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and heat over medium heat. Add the prosciutto and cook, stirring occationally, until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Remove and reserve the prosciutto. Disolve the flour in the milk in a small bowl and add to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, 8-10 minutes. Remove from the head and stir in the parmesan cheese and pepper. Add the prosciutto, tortellini, and peas and toss to coat.

This recipe is from the weight watcher's "Make it in Minutes" cookbook; it is advertised as taking about 20 minutes. It took a bit longer than that, but it was still quick. I think that the whole milk is not necessary, and I had to add water to make the sauce thin enough to toss with the tortellini, so you may want to use 1% or 2% milk instead, and maybe use more of it than the recipe calls for.

The recipe yields 8 cups, which is considered 4 servings. 358 calories and 6 points per serving.

Enjoy!

27 February 2007

1999 Terlingua International Chili Championship Winner

Greetings, all:

I'm very passionate about real Texas chili, and have collected many award-winning recipes. In honor of LisaDiane starting this cool blog, I will contribute the recipe that won the 1999 Terlingua International Chili Championship in Texas.

Terlingua is the Super Bowl (no pun intended) of chili cookoffs; to be invited, you have to accumulate a certain number of points in other national and international chili cookoffs. To learn more, check out http://www.chili.org/terlingua.html.

As you might imagine, this is not your garden variety, "throw some ingredients in a pot and let it simmer for a while" chili. Befitting this group, it is complex, requires hard work, dedication, and attention to detail, and success with it brings great reward--in the form of a great "bowl of red"!

This recipe involves three separate "dumps" of spices at specified time intervals. Remember, this is a competition chili recipe, designed to be made from scratch within a contest time limit. I would recommend making it and refrigerating it overnight, as difficult as that will be when it's done and your house smells so yummy.

To make it exactly according to the recipe, you will actually have to order some spices from Texas (web sites below); you can find Sazon Goya in the Hispanic section at the grocery store. Truth be told, you can probably get away with substituting chili powder you already have on hand--your diners will forgive you when they taste the results, I'll betcha. However, if I know the "go the extra mile" spirit of this group, I imagine those chili folks in Texas will be sending some orders up here to the Old North State.

So, without further ado:

"Out O Site Chili, Too"
Bob Coats - Irving, Texas
1999 Terlingua International Chili Championship Winner

Gray 2-1/2 pounds of cubed beef chuck tender in 1 TBSP Crisco

Add
1 Can – Swanson’s Beef Broth
1/2 Can – Swanson’s Chicken Broth
1 - 8 oz Can - Hunts Tomato Sauce
Float 2 Serrano Peppers

Bring to a boil and add the following:

First Spices
2 TSP Granulated Onion
1/2 TSP Cayenne
2 TSP Wyler’s Beef Granules
1/4 TSP Salt
2 TSP Wyler’s Chicken Granules
1 TBSP Pendery's Fort Worth Light Chili Powder
2 TBSP Gunpowder Foods Texas Red Chili Powder
Cover and cook 1 hour - squeeze peppers and discard pulp

Second Spices
2 TSP Pendery's Ground Cumin
2 TSP Granulated Garlic
1/4 TSP Gunpowder Foods Hot Stuff
2 TBSP Gebhardt Chili Powder
1 TBSP Pendery's Fort Worth Light Chili Powder
1 Packet Sazon Goya
Adjust liquid with remainder of chicken broth, if necessary
Cover and cook 30 minutes

Third Spices
1 TBSP Gebhardt Chili Powder
1 TSP Pendery's Ground Cumin
1/4 TSP Granulated Garlic
1/4 TSP Cayenne
1/4 TSP Brown Sugar
Reduce heat to a slow boil; cook 10 minutes
Adjust Salt, Cayenne, and Gebhardt Chili Powder to taste

Gunpowder Spices - 1-800-PEPPERS - Website: http://www.bigbruce.com
Pendery's Spices - 1-800-533-1870 - Website: http://www.penderys.com

22 February 2007

Julie's Chicken Pie

Hi Team! Below is my chicken pie recipe:

1 chicken cooked, cut up into bite size pieces (I use skinless chicken breasts - at least 3.5 lbs)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can chicken broth
Mix chicken broth w/ soups. Place cut up chicken in baking dish. Pour soups over chicken.
Crust:
Mix 1 cup milk, 1 cup bisquick, 1/3 stick melted butter. Pour on top of soups.
Bake at 350 degrees ~45 minutes

21 February 2007

Welcome to the GL&P Cookbook!

Hey Team!

We are always creating wonderful food for our pot luck lunches. Sometimes the recipes makes it around, but sometimes not. I created the GL&P cookbook blog so that we will have a convenient place to post our favorite recipes. If you want to post to the blog, you will need to have an account with blogger. If you just want to read the blog, all you need is the web address. You can share the web address with your friends, and thus share our love of good food!

Just a reminder.... when posting to this blog, do not say the name of our company, as it is against company policy!

Yours,
LisaDiane