Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Browned butter, I've found is practically the only way to make a chocolate chip cookie. If you love that slightly salty, molasses, buttery tasty of raw cookie dough, take that and magnify all the goodness in it by 100 and that's how it is with browned butter. Plus the cooked cookies are fabulous too.

I've found a couple different ways to make these cookies and switched it up every time...though mostly I skip the chilling, because who wants to wait a day for their cookies?! Also, excuse the photos, the whole post has been a lovely 6 months in coming up, since it was an impromptu, "I want chocolate, I want cookies!!!" by Andy while I was home. Then while we were cooking he said "you should blog about this!" not knowing where my camera was though, I settled for iPhone photos. So these will have to satisfy your craving till you make these for yourself.

Ingredients:
2 sticks of UNSALTED butter --- Lien, salted butter = salty cookies.
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flower
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 sm. bag (or less) of chocolate chips (you know some times I mostly just want the dough!)
1 cup of chopped pecans/almonds/etc.
1 cup of oats (optional) if you include this add before you add the flour so you can see if you should add less flour, based on the consistency of the dough after 2 cups of flour.

1. Melt the butter in a silver or light colored pan, this is ideal for seeing what color the butter is. Cook over moderate heat until it turns a beautiful amber color, whisking constantly. Now every recipe tells you this will take like 5-8 minutes, it always takes nearly twice that for me, so don't get discouraged. I'm always impatient and hate standing there whisking, so turn on some music or the tv and zone out for a little bit while you whisk since it makes it all the better. My brother stood there the whole time once whisking, and man, that was the best browned butter I've seen in ages. If you don't whisk while it does it's thing then it gets little burned bits in it. You can tell the butter is done when it has an especially nutty smell, and the color matches. I also go all out and get a flash light in there too to help with the color. :)

2. Now your supposed to let the butter cool to room temperature, I let it sit while I get the other ingredients ready, and then just dump it in even if it is still warm. Remember, impatient here. So combine the butter, sugars and whisk until smooth. Then add the vanilla and the eggs. Should look about like this:

3. Then add the baking soda and salt. Then the oatmeal, if adding. Then the flour. Mix after each addition, this is so the smaller and more important for baking/fluffing/rising all that chemistry gobbly gook, like the baking soda get evenly dispersed through the mixture before the flour goes in. Yes, I know most pro chefs just sift the dry ingredients in another bowl together, but again, impatience here, and one less thing to clean.

4. Then stir in the chocolate chips and the nuts.

5. Here's the part where you're suppose to chill it for 24 hours. Choose to do as you wish!

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then scoop nice spoonfuls on to ungreased cookie sheets. There's already butter in them, hence no greasing. Bake for about 8 minutes, in the center of the oven, I always rotate the sheets half way. Take out based on your desired doneness, i.e. semi gooey cookies the Ashlee/Rachel way, or harder crunchy cookies, etc. No matter what you want, always take it out when you think they are slightly underdone as they will continue to cook on the cookie sheet.

7. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for a minute or two and then take off and put on a baking rack or a cut up brown paper bag, absorbs the grease.

8. Enjoy!

Bacon Jam

Hello! I am back from the dead. Last post was on November of 2011. I am quite a lazy cook these days. When I cook food, I just want to eat it, not take photos of it and then blog about it. Well let's see how long this keeps up.

Okay, so everyone knows about how crazy sweet and savory food combinations are now. Combine that with America's obsession with bacon. ...Bacon jam!

Bacon Jam
makes 1.5-2 cups of spread 

1 package of bacon
2 medium onions, chopped or cut into slivers
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup coffee (I used 1 instant pack of coffee with 3/4 cup water)
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar (optional)
3-4 dashes of Maggi soy sauce or 2-3 dashes of fish sauce (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Cut the bacon into small 1/4 inch pieces. Cook in a pot on medium heat until the bacon is browned. Alternatively, cook the bacon strips whole and crumble later.

2. Strain the bacon out of the pan. Discard some of the oil (or use it for something else). Reduce the heat the medium-low and add the onions and garlic. Cover the pan and let the onions caramelize. Stir occassionally, every 2-3 minutes. This step will take the longest--about 20-30 minutes.

3. If you want the bacon jam to be smoother, turn the heat off and let the onions cool down. Then process the onions and bacon using whatever you have, such as an immersion blender or food processor. I decided to keep my bacon jam chunky.

4. Smooth or chunky, add the onions and bacon back into the pan on high heat. Add the brown sugar and stir, allowing the sugar to melt. Then add the vinegars, maple syrup, coffee and secret ingredient (wink wink). The secret ingredient being the soy sauce or fish sauce. A little bit adds some depth of flavor but keeps people guessing. Same with the coffee.

5. Allow sauce to reach a boil and then reduce to medium or medium-high heat. Let the sauce thicken till the liquid is no longer runny and instead coats the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Allow the bacon jam to cool and enjoy it warm or cold. Crackers and toast are a good start. I have also seen it as a condiment for burgers. Yum!

Lentil flatbread

A few weeks ago, I was reading about the Paleo diet, in which people consume a very low/no-carb, high protein, high fat diet to lose weight. I thought I'd try out some recipes. Well fast forward to today: I miserably failed on the no carb. However, this flatbread is very tasty and healthy.

Lentil flatbread:

1 1/2 cups dried lentils (I used red lentils)

2 tablespoons whole flaxseed

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Grind the lentils into flour using a blender or food processor.

2. Mix the remaining ingredients together. It should resemble a very thick batter.

3. Pour into a 13x9 pan or a smaller square pan. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.

Indian spiced wings

Indian Spiced Wings:

2 lb chicken wings
3/4 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (optional, it's for color)
1 1/2 tablespoons garam masala
5 cloves garlic, grated, diced, or mashed
1 inch piece ginger, diced or grated
1 cup plain yogurt

1. The night before, mix all of the ingredients together and marinate overnight. If you can, roast 2 tablespoons of whole garam masala spices in a pan for 2 minutes, then grind. However, you can also use ground garama masala and use that.

2. Place the top rack of the oven on the 2nd row to the top. Set the oven to broil. Broil turns on the heat only on the top of the oven and is used when you want to brown the top of whatever is cooking.  Broil the wings for about 15-20 minutes, then flip over and broil for another 10-15 minutes until the other side is browned and you have some blackened spots. Yum.

I also made crispy potatoes and roasted broccoli with my chicken wings. If you want to make those too, follow these directions.

Crispy potatoes:

5 potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (or 3/4 teaspoons fresh)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1. Cut your potatoes into thirds, lengthwise. Then take each slice, cut those into thirds, lengthwise, then slice into small cubes (about 1/2 inch).
2. Place the potato cubes into a baking pan or dish, add the oil and seasonings, and mix well.


Roasted broccoli:
1 head broccoli
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Cut the florets off of the stem and into uniform pieces, about 1 inch. You can also roast the stems too. Peel the thick skin off of the stem, it doesn't have to be perfect. Then cut the stems into 1/2 inch cubes.
2. Place the broccoli into a baking dish or pan. Add the oil and seasonings, and mix well.


Place the top rack on the 2nd row to the top, and the 2nd rack one row below that one. Heat oven to broil. Set the veggies on the top rack and the wings on the bottom rack. After 5 minutes, the broccoli should have some browned (but not blackened!) spots on it. Now place the broccoli on the bottom rack and the wings on the top rack next to the potatoes. Stir the potatoes around but keep them on the top rack.  After 15-20 minutes, the wings should be browned so flip the wings over. Stir the potatoes again and add more oil if they are looking dry. If you broil heats unevenly, you may have to rotate the pans so that the back doesn't burn before the front browns all the way. Broil for another 10-15 minutes until the wings are done.

French Lentil and Garlic Sausage Stew

My new Food and Wine magazine is only amazing, though Chris would say I am biased since I am only a francophile, but it is all about France! As a result there are like 20 things I want to make it...probably more but I feel the bitters will probably nearly never get made till I actually have a big kitchen/real budget. They sound super fun though. Tonight I decided to make the recipe for French Lentils. Turns out my mom actually used to make a similar dish for my dad when they first got married, so I guess there is some family tradition in this dish as well. The actual dish calls for hazelnuts, but I was disinclined to go buy hazelnuts only for a soup and figured I could add some pecans and then forgot, so oh well! Next time I also might try adding fresh pesto instead of my mustard oil as the recipe calls. My aunt in France would do that with her lentil soups and I've never quite found another soup just like it.

Lien, I know, French lentils, WTF?!?! They sound intimidating but they really aren't. Its basically like cooking rice, add water and let them cook for 30 minutes, and then ta da! Also escarole is a type of lettuce, but a tougher kind, closer to a cross between typical romaine lettuce and bok choy. It's got some more grungy spice to it too than normal lettuce, so I would say if you are confused at the store just get some arugula, then you don't have to chop it or search for it.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb French garlic sausage, or as my mom and I do any sausage we really like, uncooked.
2 leeks, white and tender (Trader Joe's has them in packs of two Lien, and there is a picture of one further down)
1 large carrot or a nice handful of baby carrots
3 garlic cloves, or a big spoonful of preminced garlic
1 1/2 cups French green lentils (also a picture below)
3 thyme sprigs, 1 rosemary sprig, and 1 bay leaf (you can survive with dried stuff too Lien)
5 cups water
Salt
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 small head of escarole
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1. Take 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and put them in a big pot (preferably a dutch oven, so Lien, like my big red pot or a Le Cruset-like pot that I use for soup). Put the pot over medium heat and then chop your sausage, in the casing or out is fine. Cut it into about 3/4 inch pieces, so they will end up nice little bite size meatballs in the end. Add them to the pot and let them cook until browned, about 5 minutes.

2. While the sausage browns, slice your leeks and carrot. The leeks should be thinly sliced and the carrot should be diced in to about pea size pieces. Once the sausages are browned all over, take them out with a slotted spoon so that all the yummy juices stay in the pot to flavor your veggies with. Then add the leeks and carrot, as well as the garlic. Let them cook for about 7 minutes until softened. Then add the herbs, lentils, and 5 cups of water (or a combination of water and chicken broth). Season the broth with salt and pepper and let it cook for about 35 minutes, at a simmer, so on LOW heat, till the lentils are softened, so when you can chew them and would want to eat them. 

3. Once the lentils are about 5 minutes from being done chop the escarole. If you got escarole then make sure you clean it first, especially if it is organic. Don't worry too much about excess water from rinsing it off if you don't have a salad spinner since there is already water in the stew. Chop it so it wont be big slices of escarole in the soup, otherwise it's kind of like lettuce noodles, if that makes sense. Add the escarole and let it cook till wilted, 6 minutes. 

4. While the escarole cooks, make the mustard oil! Take the mustard and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and mix them together with a small whisk or a fork till combined. Then chop the parsley, finely if you don't want to take the leaves off the stems because the stems can be kind of tough. I actually used probably more like 2-3 tablespoons worth of chopped parsley, since Chris and I like it. Once the escarole is wilted, add the sausages to the pot again and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Then ladle out bowls and serve with parsley and mustard oil drizzled on top.

Oh and thats the sunset. It's really just here so my brother can see because he loves sunsets. And long walks on the beach of course ;)

But the lentils were delicious and will make wonderful lunch/dinner later this week!

Quick Red Thai Curry

I just realized I had never posted how to make thai curry before and that is one of the simplest dishes I know! As a result I sadly do not have any pictures at the moment, but I will definitely add some soon.

Lien, you could easily recreate this and it wouldn't be a problem to season it exactly to your taste. You also don't have to worry about it being spicy if you don't add too much curry paste. Sound good?

All you need are as follows:

2 chicken breasts
1/2-1 onion sliced thinly
1 bell pepper
1 small head of broccoli or cauliflower cut into bit size pieces
1 can of coconut milk
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons thai kitchen red curry paste
2 teaspoons thai kitchen roasted red chile sauce
1 package of tofu (optional)

1. Slice your chicken into bite size pieces and cook over medium heat until no more pink shows.

2. Add the can of coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, curry paste and chile sauce. Mix until the curry paste is mixed in.  Season with the sugar/curry paste/fish sauce till it suits your tastes. I usually always add more fish sauce and curry paste than required but depends on the person. Bring to a boil.

3. Add your veggies and cook until the broccoli is cooked through, about 10 minutes over low heat. Add tofu at this point with your veggies if desired.

4. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Salmon Fish Tacos

So Chris NEVER asks me to cook anything, he always just says whatever I want to cook is good enough for him since I get bored too easily. I planned last week to make salmon of some sort, probably salmon teriyaki, and maybe make fish tacos since I had ingredients for it. When I told Chris though he got really excited about fish tacos, and at that point I had to make them. I went to the freezer though to find only one piece of catfish left, meaning I'd need more first. Thus, salmon fist tacos. They turned out super good and are really fast to make. It's really just making your crema and grilling (stove top for me) your fish.

Serves: Two

Ingredients:

1 salmon fillet (whatever size really)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa

2 limes

1 small bunch of cilantro chopped (to the base of the stems)

1/4 onion chopped

1 jalapeno chopped

1/2-1 bag of cabbage or a head of it sliced (depends on how many people you want to serve/how many veggies you like on your tacos)

6-8 corn tortillas

salt and pepper to taste

1. Take your salmon fillet and generously salt and pepper it on both sides. You can also add some cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, whatever you want to season it. Then heat a skillet to medium heat and add the salmon once hot. It should cook about 2-3 minutes per side.

2. While the salmon is cooking chop your veggies and combine with the sour cream and salsa. Take one lime and add the juice of half first, then taste and add more if desired. Season to taste with salt or more sour cream/salsa.

3. Also take your tortillas and put them between two paper towels or two plates and warm them in the microwave for like 30 seconds (or a minute if frozen).

4. Once your salmon has cooked for about 5-6 minutes chop it up with a spatula and turn off the burner. Let the salmon finish cooking and prep an assembly line for people to make tacos. I usually like to add some crema then salmon then crema and cabbage to top it off.

5. Serve with limes and enjoy!