2011 May

Double Chocolate Cookies

May 31, 2011 by Marci 3 Comments

There once was a time when the only cookie I made at home was a Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie. When I was growing up, we baked those, oatmeal raisin cookies, coffee cake, or brownies from a box as our dessert of choice. There were deviations for holidays or parties, but the around-the-house cookies were usually chocolate chip.

When I got older, I discovered a whole world of cookies. Different kinds of chocolate, different shapes, new flours, changing out the nuts, vegan (?!) cookies too. These are not vegan, far from it. But they are different than what I would usually bake.

Onto the double chocolate cookie–this is a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa show made by the owner of Tate’s Bake Shop in Southampton, NY. When I was in New York in April, we went to Tate’s Bake Shop in Southampton, NY. What a cute store! I still have some purchases in our freezer. Anyhoo, Ina lives in the Hamptons, Tate’s is in the Hamptons, and the owner baked this cookie on her show. We swooned. And then immediately printed the recipe.

This cookie required the stand mixer (you know it’s a serious cookie when you have to pull out the big guy) and made over four dozen little cookies of the size in the pics. They are firm outside, pillowy inside. Crunchy with chopped walnuts, gooey from melted chocolate chips. I liked best that they weren’t a crunch cookie on the outside like crumbly. I like soft cookies best. What more do you want?

I know what more, you want good dough. I would happily become a raw foodie if uncooked cookie dough is included in the diet. This dough was realllyyy good. It has 2.5 sticks of butter for one, a cup of cocoa powder, chocolate chips, nuts, sugars, I could go on. Oh wait, I do go on below. Back to the dough–it’s interesting to me how batter/dough changes consistency based on the way you mix, the order you mix, and the ratios of flour to butter. I cringe when I see people write “dump all ingredients in a bowl and mix.” That’s just not correct. I read Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio to learn why. This dough was not a wet dough, just really chocolatey and good. I know that’s not a great adjective, but you can imagine how heavenly chocolate cookie dough is licked off your finger. There’s only one raw egg so forget about that part.

Oh you want the recipe? Ok I’ll share. The original recipe had white chocolate chips, which I omitted, and almonds. I subbed walnuts. I really think my cookie sounds better. I didn’t think it needed white chocolate and I prefer semi-sweet anyway. I did not increase the amount of chocolate chips, I just omitted. I also thought walnuts were better than almonds. Maybe almonds seemed too much like they belong in granola and not in a cookie.

Double Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients (makes ~55 small cookies)

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark or light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and mix together. Add the flour mixture and continue mixing until just combined.
Add the chocolate chips and walnuts and mix until combined. Using two tablespoons or a small ice cream scoop, drop the dough two inches apart on sheet pans lined with parchment. Bake for 15 minutes.
Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets. The cookies should be very soft when they are removed from the oven. They will firm up as they cool.

The recipe is a traditional cookie baking recipe, but the flavors are perfection. I really loved the decadent cocoa with chocolate chips and walnuts combo. You must try. I’m also sorry I’m sharing a chocolate cookie recipe with 2.5 sticks of butter during bathing suit season right after a long weekend of summer gluttony. I hear one-pieces are becoming more fashionable.

What’s your absolute favorite cookie variety?

P.S. I have a coupon to pass on for Calphalon products. They were a sponsor of Eat Write Retreat and are offering readers 10% off their products online. They have NEVER done a discount like this and are starting to try new outreach things. If you are interested, the promotional code for Calphalon.com is: C95926. Use this link: http://store.calphalon.com/?CCAID=SCSNBLPR19

Details for this code are: *Clearance Items and Gift Certificates do not qualify. Excludes John Boos & Co. Cannot be combined with other special offers or applied to previous purchases. Terms subject to change. Offer valid through June 6th, 2011.

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, chocolate, Cookies, Recipes

What Pinterest’s you

May 29, 2011 by Marci 8 Comments

There is a new website out there called Pinterest. I know you probably don’t want another site to go to daily or every so often, but I’ve added it to my repertoire to visit, and it’s gaining popularity, so I want to tell you about it and show you how to use it, if you’re curious. I just want you to be an informed internet user! I joined a few weeks ago, but didn’t really spend much time on it to understand it until this weekend. And now I’m checking back often.

What’s Pinterest? If you are familiar with the trending topic of “inspiration boards” where you collect images or fabrics or ideas in one place for a room in your house or goal to accomplish, this is like a virtual inspiration board. You “pin” photos to boards you create, like “kitchen ideas,” “beautiful furniture,” “wedding,” “baby nursery,” anything you want to create.

The good thing about Pinterest is that it’s not related to a blog, so you don’t need one to join. Some photos may take you to a blog, but it’s not necessary. It’s also a free tool.

How to use Pinterest: (Reminder, I just played around and took some screen shots, I’m not an expert at the site.) Once you sign up, you should start following people. You can access Twitter and Facebook and email to see if any of your friends are members too. When you follow someone, you can see their boards. Below is an image of one person I follow and all of her boards to the right. The board open is called “yummy food.”

Once you see boards, you can “repin” pictures you like to your boards. That’s how you build your own collection. To create your own boards, make up some categories of anything you want. It’s a great site for home design, cooking, weddings, fashion, and just beautiful photos.

Why use Pinterest: Well, it is another time sucker, but it would be great if you were decorating a house for sure. I just like seeing pretty photos, especially of food. You could use this as a place to find recipe ideas. For instance, I typed “tortellini salad” into the search box because I wanted to make something like it, and I got a list of photos where I could click them and see a recipe.

If you are a blogger and want to share photos, you can pin your own photos to a board. I create a board called “food from my kitchen” where I put all recipes I thought had nice photos. Then people can view or share. If you’re looking for traffic, it’s not like posting on Food Gawker or TasteSpotting.

Pin it bookmark button: There is a convenient button to add to your toolbar. You open a page you like, click “pin it,” and that image goes right to Pinterest on a board you choose. No uploading necessary.

There are also ways to share your pins via Facebook and Twitter, and there’s an iPhone app for easy viewing and pinning.

Any questions?

Filed Under: How To, Things I Love · Tagged With: Home organizing, How To, Things I Love

Week in Review

May 28, 2011 by Marci 1 Comment

Hello again! Thank you for tolerating some posts about Washington D.C. and the conference I attended, whether you found it interesting or not! I did not do any cooking at home this week because of the conference, dinner with a friend and Jeffrey’s birthday. And now it’s a holiday weekend so I hope to make something good! I hope you’re spending your holiday weekend doing something fabulous and summery. Here’s a look back at the week in posts.

Monday: Sights of D.C.

Tuesday: Thoughts on Eat Write Retreat

Wednesday: Jeffrey’s Pasta

Thursday: Demystifying Beets

Friday: On Summer

Filed Under: Week in Review ·

On Summer

May 27, 2011 by Marci 1 Comment

Memorial Day weekend means summer is really here. It doesn’t matter that the calendar says we still have a few weeks to go. In Houston, Memorial Day means the cool temps are long gone, sweaters are only needed in office spaces kept too cold, and soups and stew pots are literally kept on the back burner. Welcome to summer in Texas where we start to sweat just by walking the dog in the front yard.

Summer used to mean lazy days, ice cream trucks, long vacations, and camp. It was for dark sun tans, pool parties, new bathing suits and weekdays that run into weekends. Not anymore are our days like that, but working through the summer is more bearable knowing there’s still daylight at the end of the day.

As much as I complain about not liking the heat often on the blog, there are some things I like about summertime. Let’s begin…

Watermelon–so juicy and watery, what’s not to like? I can’t wait to try it in salads this year.
Summer soups like gazpacho, summer corn, grilling—things that make you go mmm.
Long summer days and nights–the sun setting so late means more time left in the day. I’d be lying if I said I take walks after work or eat outside. It’s over 100 degrees! I enjoy the daylight from the indoors.
An excuse to eat ice cream flavors like “Southern Comfort” and “Blackberry Cobbler” by Blue Bell. These flavors are really good. My sister found them last year.

Sundresses and flats–Luckily, these are cute because pants are too hot when they stick to your legs! Closed toed shoes make your feet swell even more from the heat. That’s the real reason dresses and open-toed shoes are in my wardrobe!
Bermuda shorts–Again, shorts are more comfortable than pants, and they are cute. I found GREAT ones at J Crew this year.
Beach vacations–We’ll be going to the beach twice in July and to cooler temps once in June and once in August. I’m very happy that our travel plans this year include some cooler weather trips! A nice respite from the heat.

What’s your favorite part of summer? Have a great holiday weekend!

Filed Under: Things I Love, Thoughts · Tagged With: Things I Love, Thoughts

Demystifying Beets

May 26, 2011 by Marci 4 Comments

Have you tried beets yet? Well beets are a little laborious and messy to make, but I really love the taste. They are a vegetable, but look like a starch, and cook like a starch too. I first started eating beets from the Whole Foods salad bar, where I learn about a lot of things I haven’t created myself. Then I got daring and decided to cook them myself. That’s how I started eating tofu too–I loved it from Whole Foods, and then tried to mimic flavors at home. You learn how it should be prepared from the pros, then try to recreate at home.

First, you buy beets at the store in a bundle. My little bundle above was three beets with a gigantic long stem. You cut the stem and discard (or some people may save them for a soup), and scrub the skins a little to get the dirt off. They’re pretty dirty.

While we’re talking about dirt, beets are one vegetable that you should consider buying organic. They are from the ground, like a vegetable is, but seem to retain a lot of dirt. I feel a little better about what I’m eating if I know it wasn’t sprayed by a lot of pesticides. I don’t buy all fruits and vegetables organic, but that’s a story for another day.

Back to the instructions–after you’ve scrubbed the beets, lay them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 375* and prepare to bake them. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap them tightly in the foil they’re laying on.

After about one hour, the beets should be knife tender. Unwrap the foil a little and poke with a knife. If it doesn’t stick easily or come out easily, bake a little longer, but one hour should be about right.

I read that the skin should peel off easily, but mine didn’t really peel. I cut along the skin with a knife and then cut the beets into large bite sized pieces. At this point, I put mine in a tupperware container to eat during the week for lunches and dinners, but you could season again with olive oil, salt and pepper, or add to a salad and season with a dressing. You could also combine a red onion and fennel (or another herb) for a nice side dish with an oily dressing.

Lily says, “Mom, why do your hands look like they are bleeding at the nails?” Well Lily, beets make your hands turn beet red. That’s why they call it that expression. You could wear latex gloves if you don’t want pink hands and nail beds, because the beets really do turn everything red.

The good part of baking beets is that most of the time is inactive cooking, you can do whatever you want while the beets cook.

Have you tried cooking with beets? I’ve also boiled them, but that was pre-blog days too! It’s a similar process of boiling until tender and chopping.

Filed Under: How To · Tagged With: How To, vegetables

Jeffrey’s Pasta Night

May 25, 2011 by Marci 4 Comments

A few weeks ago when I was in North Carolina, my husband sent me a text message and said he was cooking dinner for himself. I assumed that meant Easy Mac and a can of soup. I’m not exaggerating. But then I got a picture of a beautiful pasta dish with a homemade sauce. I was a little jealous that he cooked a lovely meal at home for himself on a Saturday night. We rarely stay home on a Saturday night and cook…ever!

When I got home, there was still some leftover pasta, and it was delicious. We recreated it together a week later. The funny part that Jeffrey didn’t realize is that this dish is actually vegan (until you add cheese on top)! As much of an “I need some kind of meat in my meals” eater as he is, this dish got its bulk from an olive/sun-dried tomato sauce that looked like meat spaghetti sauce. Maybe I’m rubbing off on him without him admitting it…

When we made it again, I was the sous chef and Jeffrey was the cook. While I was gone, Jeffrey saw this recipe on the Food Network (again, he was watching by himself!), and he decided to make it that night. He used the food processor by himself (I didn’t know he knew where it was, much less how to use it), and he went to the grocery store too! Not just any grocery, but Whole Foods. This has never happened when I’m around. He’s on a roll.

Linguine with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Olives and Lemon

By Giada de Laurentis

Ingredients (for 3-4 people):

1 pound linguine pasta
1 cup (6-ounces) chopped or julienned sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
1 cup (4-ounces) medium green olives, pitted
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
Zest of 1 large lemon
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water. Place the pasta in a large serving bowl.
In a food processor, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, basil, garlic, oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Pulse until blended but still chunky.
Add the tomatomixture and Parmesan cheese to the pasta and toss well until the pasta is coated. Add 1 C pasta water to thin out sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

The above picture is the sauce right out of the food processor. The below picture is grated cheese over the pasta before the sauce goes on.

He says the secret is adding pasta water before the sauce to thin it out and make it more saucy.

I made a side salad. Jeffrey didn’t even eat it. It had mixed greens, chopped carrots, an orange bell pepper, sunflower seeds and craisins. Topped with a Stonewall Kitchen jar dressing.

Final product, garnished with basil leaves from our garden.

This pasta had strong flavor from the olives and tomatoes, and was slippery with oils and melted cheese. The fresh basil added an extra oomph of earthy-ness, and fresh lemon juice is much different than out of a bottle. Just knowing it was made with love makes it better.

Ok Jeffrey, what are you cooking next? Today is actually his birthday, maybe I should buy him a Whole Foods gift card!

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged With: Dinner, vegetables, vegetarian

Thoughts on Eat Write Retreat

May 24, 2011 by Marci 9 Comments

Over the weekend, I attended my second blogging conference, this one in Washington, D.C. called Eat Write Retreat. It was the first year for the conference, and I was drawn to it because of its small size which meant for more hands on work, and its focus on writing and technical blogging skills.

I learned from Foodbuzz Fest in November that taking away a few things makes the conference worth it. From Foodbuzz, my main takeaway was camera skills from Ashley and meeting many bloggers who I already read and new ones too. It was really nice to meet people in real life and get to know them as people. Seeing beautiful San Francisco was a perk too. Fast forward six months and I went to the other coast for another conference. This one was much smaller and I was hoping to gain some writing and photography skills now that I’m more comfortable with blogging and have a better idea of my goals and voice.

Between some very long and heavy meals and a few boring and not so great panels/speaker sessions (I liked parts!), I did pick up some useful take-aways. For one, it was great to meet people from Oxo and Calphalon. They gave away some great loot (knife set! frying pan!), but it’s really nice to meet people from the brands. Face-to-face time is valuable in connecting and making relationships, and I hope to pass along promotions or reviews to my readers. Both brands are ones I already use and love in my kitchen, and I hope to learn more about their brands.

There was a session on food styling, which was interesting, but not incredibly useful. I will not be buying large white boards and lights to set up in my house. Nor will I build a salad on mashed potatoes to make it look taller and fuller. I wanted to learn some everyday skills, not how to make food look good for a cookbook.

Tip–the tomatoes and cucumber in these photos were sprayed with water to make them look juicy. I cleaned the white space on the plate to take smudge marks off. The prosciutto was tweaked with tweezers to fluff it up. Everything was placed deliberately, including the angle of the camera.

The lights were so powerful that when I moved the plate out of the lights and took a picture with the same camera settings, it was black.

Take-aways

The biggest takeaway for me was to think about my own blog and remember why I blog and what I want to get from it. My very favorite part is sharing stories through food. I like trying things in the kitchen and telling a story. I want to share what works for me and what I suggest. I blog for healthy living because I think anyone can plop ice cream in a bowl and call it dessert. But finding healthy alternatives takes creativity and research. It’s nice when I know people are reading, and nicer when lots of people are reading, but stats tend to make me want more and worry about the marketing more than the writing. Why was Wednesday so good and Friday so weak? Is anyone out there? What will my next great recipe be with a good photo opportunity? Will people want to read about my garden? What will I write about next Monday?

These are common things I wonder, and thinking about that takes my thoughts away from food and writing. I want to go back to the quality of writing and creativity and spend more time on my posts. My posts are not hurried, and many are written long before they are published, but I want to focus more on the words and descriptions and share in more detail.

I realized that the word blogger doesn’t make me a writer or a foodie. It’s a type of communicator that encompasses writing, editing, publicizing, marketing, web design, layout, photography, photo editing, and story-telling. Those are the parts that go into every post. The most important of those qualities to me is writing, and I want to spend more time on that.

The photography part is my latest hobby and I absolutely plan to continue and grow that hobby. The publicity part was important but it was clouding my writing. I want to write regardless of who is reading and publicize knowing I’ve written my best.

Back to lighter topics tomorrow. There’s a birthday in our house!

Filed Under: Blog Conference, Things I Love, Thoughts, Travel · Tagged With: Blog Conference, Things I Love, Thoughts

Sights of D.C.

May 23, 2011 by Marci 7 Comments

This post is a bit long, settle in!

Spending the weekend in Washington, D.C. by myself was so much fun. The weather was nice, although hotter than I expected, and I got a lot of walking in. I saw the White House, went to a few museums/monuments, saw some cute neighborhood areas, and attended a blog conference. Busy weekend!

The part about this conference I was looking forward to was seeing D.C. I had not been here since probably 8th grade with a school trip. I came once before that with my parents when I was even younger. Needless to say, I didn’t remember much. However, I was very glad I had at least been and knew what I was looking for without needing a guide or book to help. The city was so beautiful and different than I expected. Not as intimidating or bustling as New York City feels, and more quaint areas of restaurants and homes than I expected.

On Friday with a few hours to kill, I walked to The White House. With no one to take a picture of me, I tried one of myself above. I just like this one because of my shoulder muscle. Haha. Not evidenced below. It was hot outside and I was fresh off the plane.

I walked along the White House where I found the Department of Treasury.

And a famous hotel called the Hay-Adams, which I only know because of The Travel Channel when I used to be obsessed with Samantha Brown and Great Hotels.

Flash forward a day (I’ll share the retreat part in another post), we went on a food tour of the Capitol Hill area of town. This was the Eastern Market on a nice night.

They explained that there are some green areas through the city in the middle of homes like this one. Hard to imagine the whole city covered in snow or in the sweltering heat. I’m glad I was here when I was.

Remember the alliums from the Duke Gardens? They’re following me.

This pic is for my dad. He likes this place.

Flash forward another day and I set out on a long walk of the main mall and monuments. Here’s Washington Monument.

The Museum of American History, see below, where the First Lady dresses are shown and Julia Child’s kitchen. Also the Star Spangled Banner, but no photos allowed.

The Archives.

This was the highlight of my museum tour–the Newseum. I used to be more of a news junkie and still love breaking news stories.

Here’s a little story for you–When Jeffrey and I first started dating, he told me about one of his favorite websites, called Newseum.org (nerd alert?). It showed front page stories from all over the world for the current day. So fascinating to see what is top news all over and how things are covered. Now there’s a museum for it.

The Newseum had displays of Hurricane Katrina (not the most impressive), 9/11 coverage, Tim Russert, and every Pulitzer prize winning photo ever. The 9/11 exhibit was the best. Poignant and like wow. I also really enjoyed the theater short shows throughout the museum, especially the 9/11 one and the one about Presidential photographers and their images. Really awesome to capture such expression. I also thought the video about comedy of journalism was funny with Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart making fun of media.

The Newseum is the only paid museum on the mall, and it was beautiful and quiet inside. I also had lunch at the Wolfgang Puck cafeteria.

This is a piece from the World Trade Towers, top antenna.

I was so impressed that they had updated the 9/11 exhibit with current events of bin Laden’s death. These were headlines from all over, my favorite is the Daily News (top middle).

Tim Russert was a favorite for me to watch. I don’t really understand politics but I liked watching Tim Russert talk to the important people. There was a lovely tribute to him and his office.

The Newseum is next to the Capitol.

Then I walked in the Museum of American History quickly. It was a free one and so much more crowded and old looking! I wanted to see this: Julia Child’s kitchen. I thought the KitchenAid stand mixer looked a little too modern. I don’t believe that part.

I saw Mrs. O’s inauguration gown. I always thought it looked like a wedding gown.

Next up were the state monuments (don’t know the proper name) in front of Lincoln. Thanks to my friend, Sarah, for meeting me to show me some more sights and take some pics!

We walked up to see Lincoln.

And lastly, the Emancipation Proclamation.

That ends this post about the sights. I also saw the Dupont Circle area with Sarah, and had dinner with her and my blog friend, Liz. It was great to meet Liz after reading her blog for many months. I know as much about blog friends as friends I live in the same city with.

Filed Under: Blog Conference, Travel · Tagged With: Blog Conference, Travel

Hi from D.C.

May 22, 2011 by Marci Leave a Comment

Hi from The White House!

I’m still in D.C. until Monday. Going to enjoy my time here! My pictures either look like the one above where I’m taking it of myself with my arm outstretched, not easy to do with a DSLR camera! Or like the one below without people in it.

The conference was interesting. I enjoyed seeing the city more than the conference, but I want to sit on my thoughts until I’m ready to write about it. I met some lovely new people, saw some old friends, and hopefully took away a few key things to think about for my blog.

That’s it for now!

Filed Under: Travel · Tagged With: Blog Conference, Travel

Week in Review

May 21, 2011 by Marci Leave a Comment

Hope you’re having a nice Saturday. I’m in D.C. this weekend, but wanted to keep up my regular “week in review” post. Here’s a look back at the week on the blog!

Monday: Greek Turkey Burgers