Food For Thoughtfulness!

I've been whining about this bitterly cold winter...

A sweet friend listened and brought SPRING to my soul...and belly! Thank you berry much Karen! You just plain ROCK!

p.s. I'm off to the store for more of these babies! Wish me luck in the sleet!

p.s.s. tomorrow's recipe - Da bomb of all Spinach Dips! I tested 4 and this one is seriously Da bomb!

Classic Chocolate Chip cOOkies!

These are IT! I'm always testing different chocolate chip cookie recipes--It's been an obsession for years. Whenever someone says theirs is the best, I feel inclined to be the judge of such a bold statement! I'm usually a little let down. I also have major issues with any recipe the says Mrs. Fields. Really no one has ever come close...until now. Cooks Illustrated has done it, they've calmed my inner cookie beast! They tested hundreds of recipes, and figured out what makes a perfectly crispy, yet chewy cookie. I'm in love!

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Slightly adapted from Cooks Illustrated

2 cups plus 1 Tb flour (Spoon flour into cup then scrape off excess-this really makes a difference)
1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cubes (3/4 cup)melted butter (be sure not to over heat- just until creamy)

1 cup packed dark brown sugar (I use 1/2 dark and 1/2 cup light)

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 Tb pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt-set aside.

In a mixer, cream melted butter and sugars together until well blended. Beat in vanilla, egg, and yolk until light and creamy looking. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes (this helps the egg absorb into ingredients). Pulse a few more times then add flour mixture until well blended. Add chips try not to over mix. I let the dough sit another 5 to 10 minutes. This results in a better looking/texture cookie. Trust me!

Scoop 1 rounded tablespoon of dough onto parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 12 to 13 minutes. Be careful not to over bake! Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

p.s. These aren't as good the next day, only a few have made it that far to tell the tale. I scoop and freeze if I don't bake all the dough the same day.

Sloppy Tom's. . .Sorry Joe!

Why does Joe get all the attention? And who named them Sloppy Joe's anyway?! What about Sloppy Dave's or Sloppy Garrett's? Now that makes more sense!

Seriously, these were really good and really fast to make! It's a perfect meal for post holiday anti-kitchen syndrome! For the sake of trying to cook on the lighter side, I use lean ground turkey instead of ground meat. I was surprised that I couldn't tell the difference. So so good!

SLOPPY JOE'S/TOMS
Adapted from The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner

1 Tb butter
1 pd lean ground turkey or beef
1 cup ketsup
1/2 cup to 1 cup water (depends on how runny you like it)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tb red wine vinegar
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper (I used 1/4 tsp)
2 Tb dehydrated onions (optional)

-6 lightly buttered hamburger buns

In a skillet cook meat until done. Drain. Return meat to pan and add all the rest of the ingredients. Cook over med heat for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add more water if too thick.

Toast buns on electric skillet until nice and brown. Serve up this Manwich to all the hungry men in your house and watch them smile!

SNOW BALLS and PEANUT BUTTER BALLS!

The Nor'easter hit us hard, but we loved every minute of it!

This was our first WHITE Christmas -Bryn's dream come true! The hot hot hot chocolate station kept our toes nice and warm. The best part for me was having all the extra hands I needed to roll the peanut butter balls. We added another ball this year...Oreo truffles. They were a hit!

Hope you had a ball this Christmas too!



Peanut Butter Balls

2 cubes butter-soft

1 1/2 package finely crushed graham crackers

1 pd. powdered sugar (1 box or 3 3/4 cups unsifted)

1 tsp pure vanilla

1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter-I use Jif

2 bags milk chocolate chips - Guittard or Hershey are the best

1/8 of a parafin wax bar (optional)

Put graham crackers in a gallon size Ziploc bag. Use a rolling pin crush into fine crumbs. Pour into a large bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Form into 1 inch balls-place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper, and put in the freezer to firm for about 20 to 30 minutes.

In a double broiler melt chocolate chips with 1/8 of a parafin wax bar. You don't have to use the wax. Dip ball and let set in the freezer. Store in Ziploc in the freezer.

Oreo Truffles

1 package Oreos

1 package cream cheese

Mix in a food processor or a mixer with the whipping hook, until mixture is completely creamed and no white remains. Form into balls and set in freezer. Follow dipping instructions for pb balls.

Home for the Holidays!

As promised, (Michelle, Zana and Deb) here are a few snippets of our Christmas in Virginia. The best part is that I only spent a few dollars this year to deck the halls! I'd like to thank Tai Pan and Roberts from years past, for helping me find cute Christmas decor that I could afford...Are you listening Virginia, I said cheap, but nooo, you don't understand that word do you? Why oh why did we have to pick the most expensive county in the country to live? If anything, it has helped me to tighten the belt around here and get busy in the kitchen trying to cut cost as much as possible. Although, lately I have become quite obsessed with making English Toffee. Is there anything better in the Christmas candy department then English Toffee? I don't think so! This is the best recipe I've ever tasted! I won't confess how many batches I've made this year that haven't made it out of the house to give to neighbors! The kids claw each other for the last piece! It's CRRAZZY over here!! The recipe takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. Be sure to make it when no one is around to distract you. You must give it your full 100% attention - If you do, it will bring joy to last the whole season through but, if you don't, it will bring angry, bitter tears knowing that you just wasted 3 cubes of butter! Good luck! Call me if you want me to make it with you! I promise not to eat it all.

*Recipe update-I recently bombed a batch of this and had to do some deep toffee soul searching! Come to find out I needed to change a few things. First, cook the toffee at a lower temperature-right below medium. Second, cook up to 290 degrees F. but no more then 300 F. And lastly, don't make the chocolate layer too thick or it won't stick. Hopefully, you won't waste as much butter as I have. But I still think it was worth it!

Best English Toffee

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cubes REAL butter (I use salted butter-if you use unsalted add 1/2 tsp more of salt)
1/4 tsp salt
1 bag milk chocolate chips (Guittard is to die for)
or half milk and semi sweet-

Lightly butter a 9x13 pan.

In a heavy, good quality sauce pan, melt butter, sugar and salt over medium. With a wooden spoon or flat wire whisk, carefully stir ingredients until well incorporated. Place candy thermometer in on the side of the pan. Watch for any stray sugar granules on the side of pan. Wipe with a pastry brush to remove. Once the sugar is dissolved, this shouldn't be a problem.

From this point on, your not going to stop slowly stirring. After the mixture starts to boil, it will look creamy yellow. It's okay if the sugar and butter separate just keep stirring in a up and down motion, making sure your getting the sides. The mixture will start to look golden/tan keep stirring. It starts to heat fast, you want the color to turn to the color of a brown paper bag. Keep stirring so you don't scorch it. When the thermo. reaches between 290 to 300 F. Quickly remove and pour into prepared pan. Let toffee cool for 5 minutes, I usually wipe the top lightly with a paper towel to remove any oil from the surface so the chocolate will stick better. Let the toffee completely harden-you can speed it up in the freezer. In the mircowave, melt chocolate in 20 second intervals stirring after each time-then spread over toffee. You can sprinkle finely crushed walnuts or almonds over chocolate.

Let set for a few hours-or you can speed up the process in the fridge. When set, break into pieces and inhale.

Gingerbread Houses!

I was taught the art of gingerbread making 16 years ago, by my amazing friend Aimee. She was raised with a mother who would make gingerbread villages with stained glass windows lit up with a real light inside each house-and a lake for the gingerbread townsfolk to ice skate on! Truly magical! This is why I love this tradition so much, it unlocks our imaginations that have been in cold storage for a year! Since moving to a climate with high humidity, I've had to change the recipe to one that holds better--It's just not as good to eat. But really, who wants to eat 3 week old gingerbread anyway? I also changed to a royal icing made with meringue powder. It makes it easier to get the right consistency. It may seem a little daunting, but once you have a "good" experience making a homemade gingerbread house, you'll look forward to the fun next year--promise!

Gingerbread Cottage
Humidity proof recipe!

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
3/4 cup butter, cubed
5 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt

*1/2 cup crushed butterscotch candies (or any yellow candy) for windows. Place unwrapped candies in 2 gallon size Ziploc bags. Crush with a meat mallet (flat side). Get all those holiday stresses out!

In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, spices, and salt. Set aside.

In a large pot, combine brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat. Stir in flour mixture (it will be stiff) using you hands to mix it really well. Place dough in bowl and cover to keep from drying out. Let it cool in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

You'll need 2 large jelly roll pan. Turn pans upside down and spray lightly and evenly with cooking spray. Grab about half the dough and roll out to get an even surface a little less than 1/8 in. Trim with a pizza cutter any excess dough overlapping the edges.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Carefully place patterns on dough and with a sharp small knife cut out pattern. Remove excess dough. Finish baking for 5 more minutes or until edges are starting to lightly brown. Remove all pieces except window pieces.

Rip small pieces of foil, slightly larger than windows and spray with Pam. With a spatula, gently lift dough to place foil under windows (Pam side up). Spoon crushed candy evenly into windows and bake an additional 4 minutes or until candy has melted. Let cool then remove foil.

Allow gingerbread pieces to completely cool before you assemble house. I usually bake the day before I decorate. Royal Icing

3 level Tb Meringue Powder (you can purchase this at Walmart or Micheals)
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
6 Tb water--if you use a counter top mixer use 1 Tb less!

(I usually add more water a little at a time to get a glossy smooth paste)

Beat all ingreds. for about 5 min or until icing forms peaks.
Makes 3 cups. I usually double this when I make trees. Cover Icing with a damp cloth when not using - this keeps it from drying out. You can also store it in the fridge completely sealed, to use the next day.

To make trees, use ice cream sugar cones-upside down. Take out about 2 cups icing and mix in a few drops of green paste food coloring (Wilton) to get the right color of green.

Decorate each piece before you assemble the house-except for the roof. I glue gun the house together, (way easier) then cover with icing.

Decorating Ideas~
Mike and Ikes (red and yellow) for candles in windows.
Chocolate sticks for window flower boxes.
Red hots
M&Ms-red and green
Miniature candy canes
Star bright peppermints
Cherry sour balls
Pretzel rods-for log pile
Heart sprinkles
Mini tree sprinkles-use as leafs in flower boxes and wreaths.
Edible glitter-to make snow shimmer!
For the roof: Frosted Mini Wheats, Necos, Big Red gum (tiles) Let your imagination go! Happy gingerbread making!

This is Bryn's house - Looks like I'll be stealing some decorating ideas for my house next year! Way to CREATE Brynie!

ROLL WITH IT ON YOUR ?TH B-DAY - MICHELLE!

I stole this recipe from Michelle 15 years ago, and have been enjoying the compliments I have been getting from it ever since! Thanks Michelle (again)! Actually I should be thanking her Mother, Roberta for giving birth to one of my dearest, funniest, and most youngest looking friends, ?? years ago TODAY! You heard it right people, it's the queen of cookin's Birthday today. No, not Paula Deen, I'm talking about Michelle, the cook that always has a perfect recipe idea to knock your socks off clear into the washer! She is always there for me in a recipe crunch, and I love her for it! I hope you have a wonderful Birthday Michelle! You deserve it! I am so blessed to call you friend -- speaking of calling, you better pick up the phone!

ROBERTA'S ROLLS

1/2 cup really warm water
1 Tb sugar
2 Tb active dry yeast

Mix this together in small bowl--set aside for at least 5 min. or until nice and foamy.

2 cups scalded milk
1 cube butter-cut into pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 Tb sugar
3 beaten eggs
2 tsp salt
7 1/4 cups flour (give or take)

In microwave scald milk for 3 to 5 min. Pour hot milk in your mixer attached with dough hook and add cut up butter. Allow butter to melt. Add sugar and beaten eggs and 2 cups flour, mix then add yeast mixture scraping the sides. Add 1 cup flour and salt mix, then gradually add additional flour. Total cups of flour about 7 1/2 cups. Beat until well incorporated. The dough will be pretty sticky. That's normal. If it looks a too soupy, sticky you can add no more than 1/2 cup to 1 cup more flour especially if you live in an area with high humidity.

Remove dough and place in a large well oiled bowl, cover and let rise 2 hours. If you have the time, you can add an extra hour.

Punch down dough and dump onto lightly floured counter. Prepare into desired roll shape. Lightly dust with flour when needed. Be careful not to add to much flour or your rolls won't turn out as light and fluffy as they should be.

Let rolls rise on pans until double in size. A good hour.

Bake at 420 degrees for 7-9 minutes. Or until they are nice and brown on top. The most important step is to brush each roll with melted butter after they are baked. Don't hold back!

*When I make cinnamon rolls I add about 1 1/2 more cups of flour until the dough is still sticky but the dough is starting to come off the sides of the mixing bowl. I'll post the cinnamon roll recipe later.