Weekend of mishaps - Cookies, English Muffins, Fried Chicken and Mac and Cheese

Like everyone else... I have kitchen failures and this weekend I was on a roll. It started off on Friday with Momofuku’s Milk Bar Compost Cookie, which is a brilliant idea for any home cook who, like me, is constantly left with bags of chocolate chips that contain a half of a cup floating around in the pantry. The concept is that you will make a basic cookie recipe and throw in 3 cups of random baking bits. One and one half cups would be your favorite baking ingredients, i.e. chocolate, chocolate chips, Rollo, Carmelo, Payday... and the other one and one half cups would be of your favorite snack foods: potato chips, pretzels, etc. I think the concept is brilliant, I ended up making: potato chip and chocolate chips; pretzel and butterscotch chips; Rice Crispies and Reece Cups. Unfortunately, once cooked my cookies came out flat and greasy... I wasn't happy with the outcome AT ALL. I think that either my butter was too soft or that the recipe called for too much butter altogether.. But all over cyberspace (here and here) everyone else has had success with these cookies... so I will try these again.   Plus I think the recipe in the cookbook is different than the one from Regis & Kelly... weird.   I am still on the library waiting list for a copy of the cookbook...

My other failure was Peter Reinhardt’s English Muffins, which tasted good but didn't rise like I wish they would have. More on these tomorrow, along with photos of said hockey pucks.

But I did have some successes this weekend: I worked on creating a light box to hopefully improve the pictures I am taking of all my creations; and I had a fruitful jaunt to the flea market. I also made two of my more dependable and comforting recipes for a memorial service I attended on Saturday: Bon ton Fried Chicken and Macaroni and Cheese. Alright, I did try a new Mac and Cheese recipe out, but it is only because I read this recipe on Pioneer Woman and she makes it exactly like I do... by using cheese remnants from her cheese drawer. No need to buy specific cheeses and by subscribing to this philosophy you can always be assured that no two pans of Mac and Cheese are the same. Plus you are using precious ingredients before they go bad.

Momofuku’s Milk Bar Compost Cookie
(recipe found on Amateur Gourmet and Regis & Kelly Website)

1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Corn Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs
1 3/4 cups AP Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 cups Your favorite baking ingredients (chocolate, chocolate chips, nuts, fruit, peanut butter chips)
1 1/2 cups Your favorite snack foods (chips, pretzels, etc... I think the bakery cookies have Frito's, potato chips and pretzles in them)

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and corn syrup on medium high for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

On a lower speed, add eggs and vanilla to incorporate. Increase mixing speed to medium-high and start a timer for 10 minutes. During this time the sugar granules will fully dissolve, the mixture will become an almost pale white color and your creamed mixture will double in size.

When time is up, on a lower speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix 45-60 sec just until your dough comes together and all remnants of dry ingredients have incorporated. Do not walk away from your mixer during this time or you will risk over mixing the dough. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

On same low speed, add in the hodgepodge of your favorite baking ingredients and mix for 30-45 sec until they evenly mix into the dough. Add in your favorite snack foods last, paddling again on low speed until they are just incorporated.

Using a 6oz ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough onto a parchment lined sheetpan.

Wrap scooped cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 1 week.

DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.

Heat the conventional oven to 400F. (350F in a convection oven)

When the oven reads 400F, arrange your chilled cookie dough balls on a parchment or silpat-lined sheetpan a minimum of 4" apart in any direction.

Bake 9-11 min. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread.

At 9 min the cookies should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown towards the center. Leave the cookies in the oven for the additional minutes if these colors don't match up and your cookies stills seem pale and doughy on the surface.

Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan before transferring to a plate or an airtight container or tin for storage. At room temp, cookies will keep fresh 5 days. In the freezer, cookies will keep fresh 1 month.

Yield: 15 6oz cookies

Bon Ton Fried Chicken
(Recipe from Gourmet)

Marinade
1 qt water
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons cayenne
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

About 12 cups vegetable oil

Dredging
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon white pepper

Marinating Chicken:
Whisk together all marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken, making sure it is covered with marinade. Chill, covered, stirring twice, about 24 hours.
Dredge and fry chicken:
Heat 2 inches oil in a wide 8- to 9 1/2-quart pot over moderately high heat until a deep-fat thermometer registers 365 to 375°F. (Our pot was 12 inches wide and 5 inches deep; if you don’t have that wide a pot, you can fry the chicken in two batches.)

Meanwhile, whisk together all dredging ingredients in a large bowl. Drain chicken, discarding marinade. Dredge each piece of chicken in seasoned flour and put on a large baking sheet. Let stand about 10 minutes.

Fry chicken, turning a few times, 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown, then drain on a rack.

 
Pioneer Woman Mac and Cheese

My usual Mac and Cheese recipe

Canning: Spiced Lemon Honey

This weekend I set out to try a Honey Lemon Jelly recipe but at the last minute I spied this Spiced Honey in The Ball Complete Book of Preservation. This is a quick easy recipe that I think everyone should try. I opened a jar immediately after I processed them and make a cup of earl grey tea. The honey was fresh and lightly spiced. I discovered an additional benefit to my spiced honey a few days later, canned in my small 4 oz jars they are portable for someone like me who wants a bit of honey at work to stir into my Greek yogurt.

The cinnamon I used came from the Villa Vanilla Spice Plantation that I visited this summer in Costa Rica. I brought back a few huge bags of Ceylon cinnamon bark and about 10 fat vanilla beans. Up until now I have only made tea with the cinnamon bark.

I plan on tracking the flavors of the honey as I open a new jar to see how they age, so I will update this post with incremental updates.

Spiced Honey
(from The Ball Complete Book of Preservation)
Makes 6 8oz jars

2 ¾ Cups of Honey
1 lemon, ends removed and sliced into 6 slices
4 cinnamon sticks broken into pieces
10 whole cloves
Sterilize jars per manufacture’s instruction.

Place two cloves into each lemon slice. Heat honey over medium heat with cinnamon sticks on medium heat until the honey softens. Add lemon slices and boil for 3 minutes.

Pour into jars leaving ¼ head room in the jars. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, depending upon your altitude.

Can Jam January: Citrus - Meyer Lemon Marmalade

I love pickles, I love kraut, I love chutneys, I love jam and I love to can. I am a reader of Tigress in a Jam and Tigress in a Pickle blogs and I recently came across her Can Jam challenge. Unfortunately, I was in a work coma during November and December and I missed the sign up for this challenge. Darn. But I am still trying to participate. Of course, I am now posting my January entry for this challenge. (You all must be thinking… this girl really needs to get it together.) I think it is the effort that counts in the end. I really never thought I would ever be canning anything in January… I should start a can of the month club to distribute these goodies. Anyway, here it is. Meyer Lemon Marmalade… ta-da

Meyer Lemon Marmalade
Adapted from Joy of Cooking

Makes 4-6 8-oz jars of marmalade

3 pounds Meyer Lemons, washed and dried
2 cups water
4 Meyer lemons, juiced and strained
2-3 cups sugar

Scrub and clean the lemons. Peel the Lemons removing as much as the zest as possible while leaving behind as much of the pith as possible. Chop the remaining zest. Peel remaining pith from each lemon. Cut the lemons in half; remove the seeds; and crush/juice them. Combine zest, pulp and 1 cup of water in a bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Combine 2 cups of sugar, pulp/zest, water and the juice of two lemons in a pot and boil until and cook until the marmalade reaches a temperature (as measured by a candy thermometer) of 220 – 222° Fahrenheit. Taste and stir marmalade occasionally during the cooking process and add sugar as needed “to taste”. I sweeten just over my “taste preference because at the end of cooking I add some more juice to “freshen” the lemon flavor. I usually am not a fan of commercial jams and marmalades because I think the use too much sugar and much of the fruit flavor is lost. So like all good cook I am constantly tasting and adding sugar (or other ingredients depending on the recipe) to taste. During this process wash your jars, lids and rings and then place in a pot of boiling water for 15 minutes.

Once you have reached 220 on your thermometer turn off the heat and add the juice of the other two lemons. Ladle marmalade into sterilized jars, leaving ¼ inch head room. Run a knife around the inside of the jars to remove air bubbles; wipe rims of jars to remove any marmalade that got on the top of jars because any residual marmalade will break the seal. Put rings and lids on the jars and tighten. Put jars upright in large pot of boiling water and make sure they are covered. Boil water and process for 15 minutes. Remove jars and leave on the counters, listening for the “pop” sound indicating that the jars are sealed. Once cooled check and make sure that lids have sealed and tighten the rings.

*I have not tried this recipe out since Joy of Cooking suggests letting the marmalade sit for two weeks before opening to allow the zest to soften. I will update this entry once I have tried the marmalade.

I have been pouring over canning books to make my February selection.  Here is a link to the rest of the participants results!

Potato and Leek Soup - Quick supper

(Image from Cooking Light)

Sometimes it’s hard to come home from a busy day and think about preparing dinner. I think American’s really need to focus more on cooking and the quality of the food they are consuming and less on other things. My theory is that dinner should be one of the priorities in our lives - not only will it provide you with quality family time but it will also help us all move away from corn and other processed foods. I have for many years been working on avoiding convenience foods but I know it is difficult with so many things going on in our lives to keep away from them. To help in this avoidance we all need to be armed with items that can be whipped up in a pinch whether it be from your pantry or from your fridge.   It has only been in the past few years that I have started buying leeks on a regular basis.   I have found that they add such great flavor to so many things and they keep for quite a while in your veggie drawer waiting for their turn.

This soup is delicious, comforting, quick and adaptable.   You can add any liquid you like or you can add other vegetables into it at will.  Sometimes I will add some broccoli or asparagus to it…


Potato and Leek Soup

2 leeks, remove hard outer leaves, split in half, washed well and chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and in ½ cubes (used russet but have been known to use any
potato around the house)
2 cups of liquid – water, chicken stock, milk, half n half depending upon where your diet is at
that week (this comes out well regardless of the liquid used but I will always
use at least 1 cup of milk to give it some creaminess)
1 Tablespoon of butter
Salt and Pepper
Red Pepper flakes (optional, in case you want a bit of spice)

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium high. Add leeks and let them soften and begin to brown. Add garlic and let it soften for a minute. Add potatoes, liquid, salt and pepper (to taste) and let cook until potatoes soften, about 20 minutes. Once potatoes are soft, taste soup for seasoning and adjust, serve or use a masher to break up the potatoes a bit or puree it with a hand blender.

Superbowl Snacking

I have really lost interest in watching football ever since I read an article that stated there is actually only 12 minutes of actual action in a football game. Talk about lending some perspective to sitting on the couch and watching life pass you by! I have too many things I want to do, books to read, movies to watch and friends to visit to sit and watch another game.  I do however, love listening to sports on the radio and I really love game time eating: superbowl snacks; ballpark hotdogs; and tailgating.

I recently read this article in Food and Wine magazine and dog-eared the page as a possible Super bowl snack selection. I loved the idea of offering a few different types of wings, but to be honest I had a hard time deciding on which to make. I finally made Mac choose: classic, ginger-honey, mango-curry, old bay and Thai green curry. Since it was just he and I snacking I only made a few of each type. The Thai green curry was replaced by peanut satay wings, because the green curry paste I used was super salty and disgusting - I just couldn't bring myself to pour it over the wings.  So I whipped up a quick satay sauce to toss them in.

The results were outstanding.  My favorites in order where: ginger-honey, mango-curry, classic, old-bay and satay.    One thing I loved about these recipes were that the wings were baked in the oven and not deep fried, yet they turned out crispy and delcious without any rubbery chicken skin!  

Classic Hot Wings
Ginger-Honey Wings
Mango-Curry Wings
Old Bay Wings
Thai Green Curry Wings

Wing recipes from the article which I didn't try, but will very soon!

Jamacian Jerk Wings
Maple Chipotle Wings
Sweet & Sticky Wings

Thursday night dinners

(picture via Parade)

Some girlfriends and I get together every Thursday night for dinner and Project Runway. I love our Thursday nights... lots of wine and good food. This past Thursday I gave Walshie a break and told her I would cook so that she could have a week off. My original intention was to make red chili cheese enchiladas with lots of onion, since I have about a gallon of my coveted NM red chili in my freezer. But instead I made a recipe I have been holding onto for sometime... Banh-mi sandwiches created by Dorie Greenspan. Dorie originally published this recipe in Parade Magazine and also discussed it on her blog: here and here. She was also kind enough to help me out when I was trying to figure out - Which sweet red chili sauce to use?  In addition to the sandwich I also prepared the components of a roll-your-own-spring-roll plate with a few different dipping sauces. The menu was a huge hit.  The only shift from Dories’ recipe is that I pounded each chicken breast flat and then marinated the chicken in a mixture of: lime juice, olive oil, cilantro, honey and chili garlic sauce. I also cooked the chicken on my new Le Creuset grill pan that I got for Christmas and used homemade mayonnaise on the bread. This sandwich is totally irresistible and the flavors are those that I continually crave. I absolutely loved it. I can't wait to try the rest of the recipes from this article.

Work Challenge

So to start the New Year off some my coworkers and I are participating in a weight loss challenge. We started on January 11th and will continue the deprivation for three months with a good bit of money at stake. I decided last week that I would contribute by providing them with an email each week containing some low calorie recipes.

When deciding on what recipes to present to my work friends all it dawned on me, "how can you provide fellow starving coworkers with an untested low calorie recipe?" Truth is I can't and most of the time when I read a recipe I generally think that it sounds disgusting sans that requisite stick of butter. So, to ease my conscience I decided to test these recipes and once tested provide them with a taste to help them decide if they wanted to recreate the treat at home. So... Thursdays are the days I have chosen to provide them with this snack. Last week I tinkered with a banana bread recipe from the Weight Watchers site and it was a big hit and this week... caramel corn.

The recipe is delicious. I did modify this - because once I started pouring the syrup over the corn I thought there was way too much... so I popped more corn.  A 1/2 a cup of popcorn only popped to about 6 cups for me, don't know why - all the information I have read has said 1 cup is about 15 to 16 cups of popped corn.   So I popped about 12 cups which seemed to provide the correct syrup to corny goodness ratio for me.  To save calories I air popped the corn instead of popping it on the stove in oil. This recipe is messy, which is why there aren't any pictures accompanying this post, caramel syrup everywhere... not pretty but 'tis yummy.

(image from fitness - thankfully likes turquoise as much as I do!)

Caramel Popcorn
adapted from fitness

3/4 cups unpopped popcorn kernels (about 12 cups popped - air popped or fat free microwave)
1 3/4 cups light brown sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Pop popcorn.  Lightly coat 3 large baking pans with cooking spray. Pour popcorn into pans and preheat oven to 200 degrees F.  In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, honey, remaining oil, and salt. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden or silicone spoon, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in baking soda until smooth.  Evenly drizzle over popcorn; stir to coat. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

This recipe has about 180 calories per cup.   A cup - is pretty hard to a) measure and b) limit yourself to.