Dos Margaritas

I am way behind on this, but never fear! I’ve been checking off the list.  This counts as 2, as I have never had Happy Hour drinks with my co-worker, Kim, nor have I ever had a chocolate margarita.  Kim and I were brave and they were delicious!!  But, I have to admit, I had the worst stomach ache for the next few days.  Oh!  Kim did tell me that Lawrence doesn’t actually have Happy Hours.  I guess they have had past troubles with people overdoing it, so bars and restaurants simply have all-day specials…Happy Days! Hah!

 

Gettin’ dirty at The Pig.

The Bourgeois Pig is a sweet place here in Lawrence to sit outside, listen to great music, and catch up with an old friend.  Well, not an OLD friend..just a friend I’ve known longer than anyone I have known from Warrensburg.  I met Sarah when I was a freshman in college and, over the years, I remember just running into her again and again.  It seemed like each time I met new people, Sarah just happened to know them, too.  I remember seeing her play the flute and sing in a band called Graft.  She has a beautiful voice, but she always looked so shy and cute on stage.  Man…it seems like a million years ago!  But, it’s only been 11.  Now that we live in the same town again, we finally got together at The Pig for a few drinks.  As I have never had a real martini, olives and all, that’s what I ordered. 

 

Sarah ordered one, too, and Brian took a sip. 

 

HAH!   It was a great night and I have a feeling martinis with Sarah might become a regular thing. 

 

30 Days ’til 30

Today is exactly thirty days until I turn 30.  I hadn’t even thought about it, really, until yesterday when I was sitting on a plane going through some serious turbulence.  Well, it wasn’t THAT serious, but it was serious enough that the woman next to me had a pretty darn good grip on the armrest and the flight attendant explained to us that Chicago always has turbulence…there was nothing to worry about.  But the pilot kept coming on with a really low fast voice saying “flight attendants take your seats.”  That, and my tiny plastic cup of club soda and half-empty bag of peanuts sliding across my tray over and over, was not exactly reassuring that there was NOTHING to worry about.

So this quick little thought just popped right into my head…I could actually see it in a little cartoon cloud…”I don’t want to die on a plane, coming back from Pittsburgh, before I even reach 30.”  And the “30″ just kind of hung out and bounced around inside my brain cloud.  Damn…30…really? Man…that’s weird.

So I started thinking about all the things I would like to do before I died on a plane coming back from Pittsburgh.  I started writing them down.  I wrote and wrote, so much that I didn’t even notice the plane touching down in Kansas City.  The jolt of the landing knocked me into reality and I started reading my list of things I need to do before I die.

This is where I discovered just how lame I really am.  All of this deep thinking and furious writing and I didn’t write down cool things like “swim with dolphins” or “climb Mt. Everest.”  I was thinking unbelievably, absolutely annoyingly realistically.  I wrote things like “hop a curb on my bike” and “order the most expensive thing on the menu” or “make a triple-layer cake.” LAME!

But there it was…a huge list of realistically lame things I could actually do before I turned 30.  So, that’s my plan…to do 30 things I’ve never done before in the 30 days before I turn 30.

 

My Nemesis…Nemeses? What’s the plural on that?

My enemy…the no-good, dirty-rotten, low-down, rassa-frassen, stinkin’ chocolate chip cookie.  Yes…the plain old chocolate chip cookie.  I’m embarrassed to say it, but I’ve NEVER been able to make a good chocolate chip cookie…EVER!  I’ve tried every recipe I could find…the Tollhouse, the Ghirardelli, the Betty Crocker, the Martha Stewart.  Every single time I produced either flat, greasy cookies that were crunchy on the edges and soggy on the inside, or cakey, flavorless, sorry excuses for cookies.  So, I gave up.  I made every other cookie I could think of and just forgot about my nemesis…nemeses…my enemy!  I put chocolate chips in peanut butter cookies (which I definitely will post because they are darn good), banana bread and brownies.

But, what is a sweet lady to do without chocolate chip cookies?!  It’s like Michael Jackson without the moonwalk or the glove or the “hee hee” or the crotch grab…man, he had a lot of stuff goin’ on…but I think you get my point.  I decided to give it one last try with a recipe from one of my favorite sites, smittenkitchen.com.  The entire time I was mixing and stirring and rolling this dough, in my head, I sounded like the dad from a Christmas Story….cussing and ranting.   I just knew they were never going to turn out right and I had wasted all those chocolate chips and that butter when I could’ve just made ginger snaps and been perfectly happy…..but…I took them out of the oven and…Woo Woo (hmm..that’s supposed to be a whistle…like the kind of whistle the guy would make when Bugs Bunny dressed up like a girl)…these were the best looking chocolate chip cookies I’d seen in a long time.  And..yes…they were damn good.  I even made them twice, just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.  They were even better the second time!  The chocolate chip cookie and I are at peace…FOR NOW (dum dum dum!).  I did add a few things the second time I made this recipe…one being more chocolate the other being more butter mmmhmmm…that’s right….

I WILL post photos…soon..very soon.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from smittenkitchen.com which was adapted from Allrecipes.com

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup + one tablespoon (13 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup finely chopped bar chocolate (I used Ghirardelli semisweet in the food processor)                                                                                                                   1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Nestle)

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F . Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.

3. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.

4. Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped chunks. Drop cookie dough one tablespoon at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. (Eat a little dough…I probably don’t have to remind you to do that). Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

5. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are slightly firm. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

 

Man Oh Man!

It has been way too long since my last post.  It’s been a busy few months!  Because of work, I have traveled more than I ever thought I would in my life!  I’ve seen professional homeless people and veiny body-builders on Venice Beach; the Louisville Slugger factory and museum (I even got to take home a tiny bat); the Mall of America and its’ ghost-town indoor amusement park…I was much more excited about the IKEA across the street; Atlantic City – I got pulled over for using my cell phone, went through 3 toll booths with no change, and got a $36 parking ticket…DAMN YOU NEW JERSEY!; Philadelphia and the Goodman family (FINALLY!) complete with a history of dinosaurs, a tour of the house, and some amazing apple cake (thank you, Jane!); and one of the San Juan Islands north of Seattle -Lopez Island…just one little mile of it, but it was beautiful.  The best part is that I’ve been able to do most of these things with Brian and  he has some amazing images from our travels on his blog.   

When I have been home, I’ve still been cooking and baking.  Well, I have taken it easy on the baking, but not on the cooking!  I realized, other than my Gingersnaps, I haven’t put ANY of my staples…my go-to dishes on this blog.  Considering we eat the same few things every week, I might as well throw them out there.  So, my next few posts will be my signature dishes (all of which are stolen from other people’s signature dishes).  For now…just a little hello.   :)

 

Meatos

I had a serious craving for tacos last night.  It was so serious that, after work, I immediately drove to the store to pick up a few things I needed.  As I was shopping, I was thinking about the days of living in sin with Brian, particularly in the pink apartments we lived in behind a Burger King.

Lots of milestones happened in that apartment.  We got Walter, our sweet little puppy who fit in one of Brian’s hands.  We bought Wired, our little drive-through coffee shop.  We had our first Christmas party and real Christmas tree.  We had good times in that apartment.  Good times but not good meals…or really anything resembling what we would now call a meal.

This craving for tacos brought back a flood of memories of…ugh..I’m so embarrassed….Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, Totinos pizzas, Tater Puffs (the Always Save version of Tater Tots) and Burger King….I mean, we lived right by the damn place and smelled the Whoppers flame-broilin’ all day long…how could we resist?!

It’s really weird to think back about it, but I just had no idea how or what to cook.  The Tater Puffs came with directions…18 minutes on a cookie sheet in a 375 oven, some ketchup and voila!!  The only thing I could make without directions was a mean grilled cheese or some french toast, if we were going all out.  But most of the time we ate out or ate crap.  Tacos were frequently on the menu and this craving was making me feel horribly guilty…like tacos were too easy to be good or somehow bad for us.

But, damnit, tacos are…well, they are just plain awesome!  Even though I fancied them up a bit with some homemade shells and grass-fed beef, they were still tacos.  Damn good tacos that I am going to add back into the rotation, guilt-free!  And, since the homemade shells are bigger than the store-bought ones, we packed extra meat in ‘em…hence the new and improved taco…the Meato!!

Meatos…tacos for 2-4 people with pointy teeth.

1 lb. grass-fed ground beef

½ medium red onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp. chili powder

½ tbsp. cumin

Dash of oregano

Dash of ground red pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Chopped iceberg lettuce

1 avocado

Salsa

Sour cream

Homemade taco shells (recipe follows)

In a large skillet, over medium high heat, cook onions, garlic, and ground beef until beef is browned.  Drain beef in a colander and return to skillet.  With the heat off or on low, stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, and ground red pepper.  Mash the avocado with ½ cup of salsa for some quick homemade guacamole. Top homemade taco shells with MEAT, cheese, guac, lettuce, sour cream, and salsa.

Homemade Taco Shells

Serves 2-4

8 yellow corn tortillas

Canola oil cooking spray

Chili powder

Kosher salt

Heat oven to 375.  Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and steam for 30 seconds in the microwave.  Lightly spray each side of the tortilla with canola oil.  Sprinkle chili powder and salt on one side of each tortilla.  Lay each tortilla over 2 bars of the oven rack and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly brown and crispy.  Do not undercook or you’ll have chewy shells.  Shells will keep for a few days in an airtight container.

 

Winter Woah

Well, it’s still winter, damnit.  After Christmas and New Year’s I guess I always expect it to start getting warmer.  But it doesn’t…it stays cold and dark and I can’t get out of bed because I’ve eaten too many cookies and had too much champagne.  It’s even more depressing having to take all the ornaments and the fifteen million strands of lights off the poor dead Christmas tree.  Then, dragging it out on to the curb and cleaning up all the needles and taking down the stockings…sigh…Curse you January!! 

 

But, it’s not all bad.  I start thinking about our annual ski trip in March and that gets me pumped up.  Then I remember that skiing is exercise and I need to get back to it.  Baking doesn’t really firm up your butt or tone your thighs, (it is a good arm workout if you skip the mixer) so I signed up for a spin class this year.  It has only been three classes, but I am feeling pretty good.  One thing I noticed, other than my sore buns, is how HUNGRY I am all day.  I’m talkin’ HUNGRY! My stomach growls so loud I look down at it and give it the stink-eye to try to make it stop.  The stink-eye does not work on growling stomachs.  What DOES work is this Potato Soup. 

Now, I made this soup with bacon for my hungry stomach and my meat-eatin’ man, but you could certainly leave out the bacon and cook the onions in oil (although the bacon makes it so so good).  It’s so good, Brian finished the last bowl and said out loud “more potato soup, please!”  I’m hoping it will make winter a little easier and my stomach a little quieter.

 Potato Soup (for Meatitarians)

 4 or 5 strips of uncured bacon

½ of a medium white or yellow onion, diced

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups natural chicken broth or veggie broth (I used one of each)

2 cups 2% or skim milk

2 ½ to 3 cups shredded mild cheddar

Dash of flour

Salt

Pepper

Paprika, Ground red pepper or a dash of hot sauce

 Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy.  Place cooked strips aside and do NOT drain fat.  Toss the onions in the skillet with the bacon fat and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.  Toss the cubed potatoes in the skillet and cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the size).  After the potatoes are tender throw minced garlic in the skillet and cook just until fragrant, 30 seconds.  Spoon the cooked potatoes, onions, and garlic into a large pot with the broth, milk, and the dash of flour (you can always add a bit more if you want thicker soup or, prior to putting the potatoes in the pot, mash up 1/3 of them for some texture).  Cook over medium-high heat until barely boiling and add the cheese small handfuls at a time.  Stir with each addition to make sure the cheese melts.  Add salt, pepper, and spice to taste and let simmer for another 10 minutes over low heat.  Stir frequently so the bottom of the soup doesn’t burn.  Serve with the bacon crumbled on top and some crusty bread or Fritos Scoops

 

Oh, Snaps!

If I were stranded on a desert island and could only choose one cookie to eat for the rest of my life (yes, THIS desert island has an Easy Bake Oven, flour, butter, eggs…work with me people, it’s hypothetical)….if I could eat just one cookie on my island, it would be these Ginger Snaps.  They aren’t really ’snaps’…they’re more like ‘chews’, but that just doesn’t sound as cool.  These cookies always turn out moist and just darn right pretty, with their crackly, sugar-coated tops.

Thanks to my friend, Melissa, I have found something that makes these cookies even more amazing.  Her family grows sorghum and makes…well…sorghum syrup.  It looks and smells so similar to molasses, you would never know the difference.  It’s all in the taste.  If you’ve ever been brave enough to taste plain old molasses, you’ve probably only done it once.  The iron in it makes it insanely bitter.  It tastes like Aspirin that’s started to dissolve on the back of your tongue and, no matter how much water you drink, you can’t get that taste out of your mouth.  My friend Michelle said she had to eat it by the spoonful during her pregnancy….ugh…like being pregnant isn’t painful enough.

So, when Melissa brought me a whole Planter’s peanut jar full of sorghum, I was skeptical…scared, really…I was just down-right scared to take a taste.  But I did.  And it was surprisingly sweet with just the tiniest hint of bitterness.   It took my Ginger Snaps to a whole new level of delicious and, I have to say, I hope I never have to go back to plain old bitter MOLASSES!

I will post photos of the Ginger Snaps and Babka, soon.  I’m just waiting for my photographer-man to help me… If you want to see some darn right sweet photos, completely unrelated to food, check out my man’s blog at www.briangoodman.wordpress.com or his website at www.thegoodmanphoto.com

Ginger Snaps

¾ cup unsalted, softened butter

1 cup light brown sugar

¼ cup sorghum or molasses

1 egg

2 ¼ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon ground cloves

Cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in sorghum and egg. Add 1 cup of flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and ground cloves and stir to combine. Add remaining flour. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar. Bake on cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 8 to 9 minutes or until top crackles. Do not overbake.

 

The way of the Babka

Until about a year ago, I had only heard of Babka from the Chocolate vs. Cinnamon episode of Seinfeld.  It was after a long day of shopping for some ski duds with my friend Holly that I met…the Chocolate Babka (or Bobka, as Brian so sweetly spelled it).  We stopped at Dean & Deluca and it was my first time checking out all of the salsas, cheeses, sauces, and breads.  It was HEAVEN!  This stuff  may be ordinary for some of you, but we lived in a town where you were lucky to find more than just white bread and American cheese.

Ok, I’m exaggerating a little, but there weren’t a lot of options…Wal-Mart and two grocery stores.  Neither of which had anything resembling Chocolate Babka.  So Holly said we should split a loaf and we sat to have some coffee and my first slice of Babka.

I’m capitalizing Babka because it deserves it…really.  If you haven’t tried it, be prepared to become a Babka addict.   It’s really everything amazing about baked goods all wrapped and twisted up into one loaf of love….sweet, sweet love.  If you want to make it, you have to love it….a lot!  It’s not easy.  It takes a ton of ingredients.  A whole lotta mixing, kneading, rising, rolling, filling, twisting, resting and baking.  But, good lord, it is completely worth it!  Thank you, Holly, for showing me the way of the Babka.

Chocolate Babka

Martha Stewart

I made one large loaf and two mini loaves.  You could definitely make two large loaves.  Also, my measurements are a little weird because I halved her recipe.  Don’t laugh at my math.

¾ cup warm milk, 110 degrees

½ tablespoon active dry yeast (or one ¼ ounce package)
½ cup plus 6 tablespoons of sugar (and a pinch for the yeast)
2 whole large eggs, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and rolling
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ sticks (14 tablespoons) of unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature, plus more for bowl and loaf pans
1 pound (16 ounces) semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped (if you have food processor, for the love of all    things holy, use it! Otherwise, you’ll be chopping for a solid half-hour, but you’ll get a darn good arm workout.)
1 ¼ tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Streusel topping (recipe follows)

1. Warm cold milk for about 25 seconds in a microwave safe bowl.  Sprinkle yeast and pinch of sugar over milk; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together 6 tablespoons of sugar, 1 egg, and egg yolk. Add yeast mixture to egg mixture, and whisk to combine.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add egg mixture, and beat on low speed until almost all the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Change to the dough hook. Add 1 stick of butter, and beat until flour mixture and butter are completely incorporated, and a smooth, soft dough that’s slightly sticky when squeezed is formed, about 10 minutes.

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead a few turns until smooth. Butter a large bowl. Place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover tightly. Set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

5. Place chocolate, remaining ½ cup sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl, and stir to combine. Using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in remaining 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) butter until well combined; set filling aside.

6. Generously butter one 9-by-5-by-2 3/4-inch loaf pans and two mini loaf pans; line them with parchment paper. Beat remaining egg with 1 tablespoon cream; set egg wash aside. Punch back the dough, and transfer to a clean surface. Let rest 5 minutes. Cut in half, then cut ONE half in half. Keep 2 small pieces covered with plastic wrap while working with the large half. On a generously floured surface, roll dough out into a 16-inch square; it should be 1/8 inch thick.

7. Brush edges with reserved egg wash. Crumble a little less than 1/2 of the reserved chocolate filling evenly over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Roll dough up tightly like a jelly roll. Pinch ends together to seal. Twist 5 or 6 turns along the entire length of the roll. Brush top of roll with egg wash. Carefully crumble 2 tablespoons filling over the left half of the roll, being careful not to let mixture slide off. Fold right half of the roll on top of the coated left half. Fold ends under and pinch to seal. Twist roll 2 turns, and fit into prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining 2 pieces of dough and remaining filling.

8. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the top of each loaf with egg wash. Crumble streusel topping over each loaf. Loosely cover each pan with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place 20 to 30 minutes.

9. Bake loaves, rotating halfway through, until golden, about 55 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake until Babkas are deep golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove from oven, and transfer to wire racks until cool. Remove from pans; serve. Babkas freeze well for up to 1 month.

Streusel Topping

Makes more than you’ll need.  Save it in the freezer for the next time!

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons ( ¾ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, and butter. Using a fork, stir until fully combined with clumps ranging in size from crumbs to 1 inch.

 

O-R-E-O’s and B-L-O-G’s

This is serious business, people. It’s Christmas time and I’m not messin’ around. I’m branching out with some new sweets and I decided it’s about time I started bloggin’ about my bakin’. Of course, all photos are from the Good-man’s camera. No stealing!!

I decided to try the Homemade Oreos recipe from one of my favorite blogs www.smittenkitchen.com Oreos are my first true love in the cookie category. I’m not a dunker, or a splitter…in fact, I hated watching other kids lick the frosting off their Hydrox in grade school or drink their chunky cookie-milk. I think it’s a crime to drown your Oreos in milk and slurp them up all soggy and mushy. I like them just the way they are…crunchy, crumbly, chocolatey, salty and sweet all in one or two amazing bites. These homemade fellas are no Oreos, people. They just aren’t. BUT, they are pretty damn close and a lot of fun to make…and eat

Homemade Oreos

Makes 25 to 30 cookies

Chocolate Crunchies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) softened, unsalted butter
1 large egg

Filling

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (yikes..i know, but just grab some no trans-fat Crisco and don’t eat the whole batch)
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Continue mixing and add the butter, then the egg. Continue mixing until dough comes together. I did this in an electric mixer and it worked great.
3. Take heaping teaspoons of dough and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool. These cookies will be crispy.
4. To make the filling, mix the butter and shortening on low (if you have a mixer) and gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy. *I had trouble getting the filling “fluffy” but it still spread easily on the cookies.
5. To assemble the cookies you could TRY to use a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Yet, if you had the same fluffing problem I did, this would prove impossible. What worked best for me was grabbing a blob of filling with my fingers, spreading it onto one cookie and gently squeezing another cookie on top to even out the filling.