Recipe Box 2009

(Recipe Box 2008 can be found here)

Let's talk Cookie Party. What really worked this year? What was new? What will I make again? Which recipes can you find online? Here's a rundown:


Artichoke & Spinach Dip with crackers (not pictured) -- I'm still using my favorite recipe, which my friend Angela gave to me. It has red pepper flakes in it for spice. This year, I made it a day ahead and heated it up right before the party started. Perfect!



Black and White Espresso Chip Cookies - NEW! I decided to try this recipe because I wanted to make a cookie flavored with the instant espresso powder in my spice cabinet, but I didn't want to make the chocolate mint cookies I've used it for in the past. I'd gotten burnt out on those when I baked cookies for Tim and Holly's wedding. These espresso chip cookies were okay, but not my favorite of the cookies I served this year. (recipe here, nuts omitted)



Boy Scout Bars -- Jeff suggested I rename these, as he and I are uncomfortable with The Boy Scouts of America as an organization. I didn't have a much better experience with The Girl Scouts when I was a child, so the lady scouts are out, too. Other possible names being tossed around include "Girl Guide Bars" and "Brunettes." Everyone seems to love these, as do I. (recipe here)



Buttermilk Bacon Pralines - NEW! -- I'm still on the search for the perfect bacon cookie or sweet. These pralines were good, but too sweet. I also felt the citrus flavor wasn't balanced against anything, but I used lemon juice instead of orange, so that might be my fault. (recipe here)



Chocolate Peppermint Snaps - NEW! -- Since, as I mentioned above, I decided not to make more chocolate butter cookies with mint glaze this year, I wanted to find a new cookie to represent "mint" in the taste spectrum. These are simple and really minty. They do, as the cookbook suggests, taste something like Girl Scout Thin Mints. (recipe here, from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)



Chocolate Wakeups -- I've made these several years in a row now. They're the perfect mixture of spice and chocolate. (recipe here, from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)



Citrus Sizzlers -- These come off spicier than the chocolate wakeups, but they're also a favorite of more people than the chocolate version. I love both kinds. (from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)



Cocoa Snowflakes (pistachios) -- I made this cookie for the second year in a row. I don't know why, but I liked them better last year. I think they may not do too well being made ahead of time. If I make them again next year, I'll shuffle them to the end of the baking schedule. (recipe here)



Coconut Joe Froggers (vegan) -- People kept asking me where the name "Froggers" comes from, but I had forgotten this cookie's origin story (which varies). I think they are fine, but nothing special. Send me your awesome vegan cookie recipes!! (recipe here, but add coconut; from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)



Cornflake Pecan Honeys - IMPROVED! -- Last year, I felt these cookies were missing something. You may remember, I got the recipe off of MySpace, despite the fact that I've never belonged to MySpace or spent much time there. Thanks for the tip, Tia! Anyway, this year I substituted local honey (a gift from my friend Stephen) for half of the sugar in the recipe. I also used pecans. Chewy and crispy at once, these turned out to be one of my favorites for the year. They were reborn; I absolutely love this cookie with honey. I will make these again and again. (recipe here, but substitute honey for half the sugar)



Crispix Mix (pistachios) - Lime or Original -- Dan made two batches of Crispix Mix, each with a different flavor profile. Dan makes the Mix every year, and lime was a nice variation, if a tad burnt. (recipe on the box)



Deluxe Sugar Cookies to decorate -- I've never had a better tasting sugar cookie. I don't even bother sprinkling the tops with granulated sugar anymore. They're so lovely. (recipe from Betty Crocker, via Mom)



Double Decker Peanut Butter Marbled Meltaway Fudge -- This is a classic "Mom" recipe, and every year I love her more for making it and sharing it with me. It keeps in the freezer forever.



English Toffee (peanuts) -- I made the toffee with peanuts this year, but I'm going back to almonds. The peanuts just didn't have the right stuff. (recipe source unknown)


Herb Biscuits with filling -- vegetarian (not pictured) -- I almost forget to make these most years, but I'm always glad to have the mini rosemary biscuits with vegetarian sandwich filling inside. (recipe from Mom)



Hot Buttered Rum -- Okay, I'll admit it. This mix has been in the freezer since last year. It's still good! Just add rum and boiling water. (recipe here)


Hot Cranberry Tea -- optional: with rum or bourbon (not pictured) -- Last year, I made two batches. I had to do that again this year. Demand is just that great for this stuff. It's good on its own or spiked. It doesn't really quench your thirst (perhaps it's a little too sweet), but it does usually make a person desire a second glass. I vary the spices every year, so it never comes out quite the same as it did the year before. (adapted from a recipe in 365 Foods Kids Love to Eat)



Magnolia Peanut Butterscotch -- This cookie was a big hit last year, so I had to make it again. I must give credit to my sister for informing me a few years ago that butterscotch chips are perfect in peanut butter cookies. She was so right. (recipe here, but add butterscotch chips)



Margarita Cookies -- Here's another recipe that's relatively new. I think this was my second year making these beauties. Rimmed with salt and full of tequila and lime, they're really something. Somehow, they were much more sour this year, which was a good thing. (recipe here)



Midnight Rum Balls (vegan) -- Thank goodness Oreos are "accidentally vegan!" These are a breeze to make, plus they taste good and boozy. I love them, as do a lot of the guests. (recipe here)



Mrs. Fields Cookies (walnuts) -- I don't know... These are great right out of the oven (which is how I served them) but don't store well. I'm still looking for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe (with or without nuts). (recipe from Mom)



Nutella Cranberry Crisps (hazelnut) -- I don't do a lot of recipe development, but I did create these cookies based on a simpler chocolate cookie recipe. I wanted something with Nutella and something using dried cranberries. After a little internet searching, I decided to combine the two, base it all on a recipe that called for melted chocolate (but substitute Nutella) and see how things tasted. I made a couple of test cookies before I stirred in the entire amount of dried cranberries, and found that I was willing to take the plunge. (adapted from this recipe)

10 oz. Nutella brand chocolate hazelnut spread
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or chocolate chips

1 cup all purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 oz unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Beat in eggs, then vanilla. Beat in the Nutella. By hand or with lowest speed of a mixer, stir in the flour mixture. Add cranberries and chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. Stir to combine.

Scoop the dough up by teaspoons and space mounds of dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake one sheet at a time on center rack for 10-12 minutes or until edges are dry. Tops should crack and cookies should spread out quite a bit Let cool on cookie sheets for about 1-2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool.





Pecan Turtle Bars -- Just plain good. I love you, Mom! (recipe from her, obvs.)



Salty Oatmeal Cookies -- I made these for Tim and Holly's wedding, so they were in danger of being pulled out of cookie party rotation for the year, but they're so "wow," so "something special," I had to make more. Seriously. Do they look boring? They taste great. (recipe here, from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)



Shortbread Jammies - NEW! -- I like to serve at least one cookie that incorporates jam in the recipe. This is an excellent, buttery shortbread, and I loved the jam flavors (quince and mixed berry) that Dan chose at the store. (recipe here, from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)



Snickerdoodles -- Classic. Perfect. Mom's recipe. I'd never have a cookie party without them.



Spicy Cheese Puffs -- These are a popular item, and I'm as much of a fan as the next snacker. I made a quintuple recipe this year and served some at my office holiday party, too. People there didn't seem to catch on to how good they are, which is okay by me. I was happy to take the leftovers home. (recipe source unknown)



Spritz Cookies (contain almond extract) -- My mom gave me an antique aluminum cookie press one year, and I always make colored spritz cookies for the cookie party. This cookie is mostly butter, and is therefore excellent. We miss you, Matthew Nauser! He's their biggest fan. (recipe from Mom)



Triple Ginger Spice Cookies (vegan) -- These cookies are so flavorful, they're almost as good in their vegan permutation (made with applesauce instead of egg and vegan butter substitute) as they are in their intended form. That said, if you don't have to make the vegan substitutions, they turn out quite a bit prettier. (recipe here)


Turkey Meatballs (not pictured) -- It may be the Cookie Party, but I know that some of my guests really consider it the Meatball Party. I use the same recipe every time and I usually don't dare deviate (except for using turkey meat). However, this year I ran out of chili powder and substituted cayenne. Surprise! Nothing's sacred! They were still terrific. (recipe from Mom)



Walnut Rum Errors (2 ways) - NEW! I found this recipe in Martha Stewart Living this year, but failed to read it carefully. Because of this, I added all of the chopped walnuts to the batter, but I was actually supposed to reserve some of the walnuts to sprinkle on top of the cookies. What came out of the oven after my error were sticky, brittle, delicate, and prone to shattering. I may have done some swearing at that point. Then, the test batch to which I added extra flour came out hard as rocks. So I tried to make my mistake work, salvaging as many cookies as I could by allowing them to cool completely on the baking sheet (ungreased worked better than parchment- or silpat-covered, I discovered) before transferring them to the cookie rack. And they were, actually and surprisingly, delicious when served at the cookie party, pleasing me and many others with their deep walnut flavor. (recipe, which I failed to follow correctly, here)



World Peace Cookies - NEW! I saw the recipe for these cookies all over the blogosphere in 2009. They seemed so trendy, but I had to try them. And I liked them, though I would have enjoyed them even more if they'd been a little saltier. (recipe here)

In which I write a letter to eggnog waffles.

Dear waffles,

I love you. Remember when I made you for Brooke and Dan and Vincent and myself that one morning? You know, the waffle iron is really hard to clean, but you're worth it. I mean, batter always gets stuck in the crack by the spring and I can't get it out. It's distressing, but then I think, "Waffles!" and I remember why I bother.

I'm including a photo of you that day. I recall how special you were. You were eggnog waffles, weren't you? What a good idea. You may not know it, but I found the recipe here. That blog's good; you should read it. Put it in your RSS reader.

It's funny -- you smelled more like eggnog than you tasted, but I still enjoyed you. You were so sweet. The nutmeg was a nice touch.

Oh! Another thing that's great about you? You know how if there are leftovers, I can just freeze you and toast you the next morning? That's awesome. I just wanted you to know.

Please be my breakfast forever.

Fondly,
Jennette

Adventures in CSA: Weeks 18 + 19, Part II; Weeks 20 + 21, Part I

(photo by Dan)


Produce abounds in our kitchen. It has continued building up to dangerous levels this month, but the result has not been a mound of rotting vegetables. No, instead we've enjoyed an explosion of swell CSA-vegetable-based dishes.

Join me on my mad dash to the finish of this spring-summer-fall 2009 CSA season.


The Uneaten Leftover Ingredients of Weeks 18 and 19:
3 beets
1 1/2 celery
1/2 lb peppers
1 squash
1 lb green tomatoes - CHALLENGE VEGETABLE (yes, actually a fruit)




Then Came Week 20:
Several beets
1 cabbage
2 celery root - CHALLENGE VEGETABLE
potatoes
3 garlic




And, So Soon?! Week 21:
1lb kale
1lb sweet potato
1 stalk brussels sprouts
1 kohlrabi (not pictured)
1.5 lbs beets
1 acorn squash -- CHALLENGE VEGETABLE
1lb onion


Lordy! That's a lot to deal with. Let's get a move on!




(photo by Dan)



1. David Chang's Brussels Sprouts with Mint. In a word, superb!

Kelly posted this recipe (from this month's Food and Wine magazine) over at Eat Make Read. She did not find the end result to be spicy enough for her, but I sure did. Perhaps that's because I doubled the cayenne pepper, also used a sprinkling of togarashi (which I did not realize I had in my spice cabinet until after using the cayenne), and chopped up half a habanero to use as the "red chile" called for in the recipe. It was spicy and outstanding. After my first taste, I wanted to shout with delight, but instead I just exclaimed about the dish in a slightly-too-loud voice.

I attempted to capture the "snap-crackle-and-pop" of the rice cereal in the video above, but it doesn't really reflect the aural experience.




(photo by Dan)



(photo by Dan)

2. Roasted Winter Squash with Parmesan. Dan made a beautiful lunch of the squash one afternoon while I was at work. How I wish I'd been there.




(photo by Dan)

3. Raw Celery (sometimes with peanut butter). This is shown with the celery root, which we did not eat raw.





4. Chicken Stock. I used a few ribs of the celery and the carcass of a CSA market day chicken to create some homemade chicken stock. I also added some mushroom trimmings that were in the freezer. By following Mark Bittman's instructions in How To Cook Everything and simmering all afternoon, I came up with a rich, flavorful stock that I was quite proud of. I used some in a cabbage soup (featured below) and froze the rest.




(photo by Dan)




5. Stir-Fried Green Cabbage with Fennel Seeds. Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking is a relatively new cookbook purchase. This, the second recipe of hers I've tried, used 1/2 of a gigantic head of cabbage and 4-5 small onions. It was spectacular, hot out of the wok, made tangy with fresh lemon. It reminded me of noodle-less pad Thai. Jaffrey wrote that I might want to serve it with sausage. Now that you mention it, I do want to serve it that way.





6. Celeriac Root Puree. Acting on a tip from another member of my CSA, I tried out this recipe for Celeriac pureed with apple and potato. Another winning combination! Surprisingly, it tasted slightly of nutmeg, despite the fact that there was no nutmeg in the dish.








7. Polenta-Crusted Fried Green Tomatoes. Tyler Florence's recipe on the Food Network's website was simple, effective, and tasty. I used 3/4 cup polenta and 1/4 corn flour instead of 1 cup corn flour and fried them in peanut oil. These were still good the next day, having spent the night refrigerated, wrapped in foil. I reheated them in the microwave and, though they did not stay crispy the second day, they were delicious. For both meals, I served them with a mixture of Kewpie mayo and a lime-infused hot sauce, alongside fresh lime wedges.





8. Rustic Cabbage and Lentil Soup. Here, on 101 Cookbooks, was a recipe for soup I deemed worthy of my cabbage and the homemade chicken stock described above. It also called for potatoes and onions, which I still had from the CSA. I used lentil beans instead of white beans, and loved the end result. Cabbage may never be one of my favorite ingredients, but in this soup it is comforting, filling, and smooth, worth eating and savoring even without the cheese on top.





9. Acorn Squash Stuffed with Greens & White Beans. This recipe was adapted from Eating Well by Cathy at Noble Pig, then further (slightly) adapted by me. I felt hot sauce was a necessary addition. It didn't really make the filling spicy, but it added another layer of flavor. I also served the finished product with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, instead of the agave nectar recommended by Cathy.

1 medium acorn squash, halved and seeded
1/2 teaspoon plus 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-3 Tablespoons water
1/2 Tablespoon tomato paste
4 cups chopped greens -- chard leaves (about 1 large bunch chard), beet greens, spinach, etc.
1 (15 oz) can white beans, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
your favorite hot sauce (to taste)
1/4 cup coarse breadcrumbs such as Panko
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
balsamic vinegar (to taste)

Cut the squash in half. Scoop out pulp and seeds. Remove a small piece from the bottom of each half so it will sit flat. Brush inside with 1/2 tsp. oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a microwave-safe-dish. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on High until the squash flesh is fork-tender (8-12 minutes).

Meanwhile, heat 1/2 T. of the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until it begins to brown, (2-3 minutes). Add garlic; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in water and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the greens of your choice, cover and cook until tender, (3-5 minutes). Add white beans and olives; stir occasionally until heated through, (1-2 minutes). Taste and adjust seasonings. Add hot sauce to taste. Heat another minute or so. Remove pan from the heat.

Preheat broiler. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a separate container. Place squash in a oven- and broiler-safe dish or baking sheet. Fill each squash half with half of the greens/beans mixture. Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Broil until the breadcrumbs are browned, (1-2 minutes).

Remove from the oven and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.


----


At this point, I'd like to pause and catch my breath, BUT there are only four days until my final CSA pickup of this season and I still have a large number of vegetables (including a veritable bevy of beets) hanging out in my kitchen. There is truly no rest for the hungry!

Lunch Club round-up: Week 3

I participated in a third round of Jane's Lunch Club at work, but I failed to have my camera in with me for two days' worth of the lunches. Rats! Everything was really tasty.

Here's an incomplete breakdown of the week:




Monday - Jane
Mollie Katzen's solyanka and beets





Tuesday - Ethan
5-alarm veggie chili and jalapeno cornbread.



Wednesday - David
(sadly, not pictured)
Squash and olive lasagna (the olives were inspired) and salad with homemade dressing.



Thursday - Sarah
(sadly, not pictured)
Many-vegetable curry with rice and a tangerine.





Friday - Me
Many-vegetable soup (see CSA post), Napoli Bakery baguette, cheddar cheese, and salty brownie.

Dare I Say It? Better than Boxed?

I've had some irreverent thoughts about brownies. The one that feels most like blasphemy? I usually find boxed or bagged brownie mix to make a better batch. But these babies are the best I have made in a long, long time (should I have said "a bazillion years" to keep the accidental alliteration going?).

Kelly at Eat Make Read posted this recipe. I think you'd do well to bake them yourself. That little bit of Maldon sea salt goes the extra mile. I happened to have most of a box in the pantry because of last year's margarita cookies (that recipe was from Smitten Kitchen), and boy am I glad.




They don't carry the recommended Valrhona chocolate at Whole Foods, so I used Green & Black's organic baking chocolate (72% cocoa). The resulting brownies were rich, thick, and dense. They also managed to be flaky on top, with a crackly crust, but soft and chewy and tender of crumb. Win-win!

This is a big statement, but... if I were forced to only make one brownie recipe for the rest of my life (boy, I am glad this is just a hypothetical situation I posed to myself), I think I would choose these.

It's scary to have one's world turned upside down, but my boxed mix days may be over.