Cooking 101: Light Chocolate Chip Cookies? February 3, 2010

Ok no, these cookies are not ‘good for you,’ but they are a yummy lighter version of this traditional treat. Last weekend, I spontaneously decided to bake some cookies before dinner. Since I’ve kept my fridge and pantry stocked for my kitchen adventures, I had all I needed for Cooking Light’s chocolate chip cookies.

As a long-time baker, I’ve made dozens of different kinds of chocolate chip cookies — each a little different. However, this recipe had a few adjustments to make the cookies a little better for you. Here are some tips that I learned on how to keep cookies light:

1. Just use the egg whites, not the whole egg.
2. Add more brown sugar than granulated sugar. Brown sugar has more flavor, so less total sugar can offer the same amount of sweetness.
3. Use a flatter tablespoon to measure out the perfect cookie size. Just use one of your fingers to scoop out the dough.

Yum!

Dough Diaries: Basic Breakfast Bread January 29, 2010

After the pasta challenge, I was really looking forward to a different dough adventure — freshly baked bread. I started with the basic dough recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and added some dried cranberries and dark chocolate chips to make a tasty breakfast treat.

The bread pilot went a lot better than the pasta, but I did learn a few things that will make next month’s artisan loaf better:

1. When adding things to bread (like chocolate, olives, etc.), don’t go overboard in the quantity. A little can go a long way.
2. Place dough in a MUCH larger bowl than you initially think it needs when waiting for the dough to rise. Yeast is a crazy thing
3. Make smaller loaves. They will bake better and be easier to share with others.

Dough Diaries: Pasta, Round One January 25, 2010

After weeks of looking at my pasta maker from Christmas, I finally found the time to give a go at homemade noodles. Woah, this was some adventure. Without the moral support and hands-on assistance from my wonderful friend Ashley, the attempt would have failed completely.

I found a recipe for pasta dough online that was simple enough to make, but not the best for making noodles. The noodles turned out very sticky, and Ashley and I had a time trying to keep them separated. But, after cooking them and dressing them up with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella — we had a tasty, unattractive, dinner.

Thanks to my culinary friends, I already have another recipe to try and tips on keeping the noodles dry. Let’s hope next month is better

The Meat Apprentice: Fixing Basic Chicken January 20, 2010

It has been years since I’ve eaten meat, let alone cooked it. But,  as I mentioned earlier, I think that a basic knowledge of how to prepare meat will be helpful in the long run. *I’d rather not force a diet upon small children that will make them an easy target for ridicule in the cafeteria.*

So, last Friday night I took a leap and cooked a chicken breast. Since I knew I had (and liked) Quorn’s Chik’n cutlets, I tried to find a simple recipe that could work for both chicken and chicken-like proteins. A simple sauté with garlic and white wine sounded like the best option, and it would go well with the two sides I already picked for the meal (broccolini with tomatoes and garlic and smashed potatoes with goat cheese and chives).

I was a little anxious going up to the meat counter at Central Market. Most of the time I just bypass it on the way to wine and cheese or see the line of customers while I quickly get some seafood. The line of people was a bit long, but the butcher’s reaction to my request for just one-half of a chicken breast when everyone before me was asking for pounds of veal, steaks and whole chickens.

Back home in my kitchen, I had a great time putting everything together and was most nervous about not cooking the chicken completely. Thankfully, all turned out well. My dinner partner loved the chicken, and my Chik’n was really good with a similar preparation.

Mission Chicken: Accomplished

Check out the photos from the meal:

Dining In: Margherita Pizza January 13, 2010

For several weeks now, I’ve walked by the bread section of Central Market and noticed their fresh pizza crusts. Each time I thought to myself, those would be great for an easy, non-frozen pizza dinner. Since I’m going to start simple with my bread baking (which is what the book advises), I decided to give CM’s crust a try.

My favorite kind of pizza is Margherita. Whole tomatoes, basil and mozzarella make for a light, yet satisfying slice. So, after picking up the crust I picked up fresh basil, buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and some of their bail pesto near the self-serve olive bar.

Prep time was minimal: just had to slice the cheese, tomatoes and chop the basil. I placed the crust on my pizza stone and brushed a think layer of the pesto all over, added the sliced tomatoes and cheese, and topped with the basil. Since the crust was already cooked, I just wanted to melt the cheese and brown the crust in the oven. I placed the pizza in the broiler on low for about 15 min and that did the trick.

Warm, flavorful and filling in about 20 minutes!

Cooking 101: A tastier Risotto January 6, 2010

So, I’ve already fell in love with Cooking Light’s Way to Cook. The book if filled with great tips on the best way to prepare meats, veggies and even tricky pasta dishes — along with several yummy looking recipes.

This past weekend I made a mushroom risotto based on this Series Eats recipe, the back of the risotto box, and my new cookbook. With all these sources I felt a little overwhelmed at first but ended up feeling fairly confident that it was all going to turn out well. And it did…mmm, delicious!

From this cooking adventure, I discovered three tricks to a better risotto:

1. Saute some chopped onion and garlic first in olive oil before melting the butter in the pan. It not only makes your kitchen smell heavenly, but also helps season the butter.
2. Before adding any stock (chicken or veggie), add a 1/2 cup of dry white wine to the risotto. Be sure that all the moisture is out before moving to the next step so that all the alcohol is cooked out and only the flavor of the wine remains with the risotto.
3. Keep the stock warm during the whole process. I just heated mine in a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup via the microwave. This way the starch from the risotto isn’t released to early, keeping the final dish from getting gummy.

I forgot to take a photo, but this one from Paolo G on Flickr looks close (his looks a bit better).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paolo_g2005/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

A New Year, a New-ish Resolution January 2, 2010

Blogging this past year has been so much fun! Though, looking back on my posts, it’s obvious that my favorite part of blogging has been sharing my condo renovations and all the different recipes I’ve tackled (45 total!). I don’t have any big plans for my condo in 2010 (except maybe hardwoods downstairs), but will share anything new I add or update. I plan to keep up my weekly recipes and share all that are successful and challenge myself to explore more French food.

But, you may be asking, what will my new resolution be? Homemade pasta, breads and mastering some more traditional everyday cooking! For Christmas I got the Kitchen Aid pasta add-on (hooray for a Mom that reads all my blogs), Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and the Cooking Light’s Way to Cook among many other wonderful gifts. I decided these things would be a great foundation for new challenges in the kitchen. I’m not 100% sure how often I will be able to tackle each, but my goal is to try to make one pasta and bread a month and feel comfortable cooking meat. No, I’m not changing my pescatarian diet, but  I would like to be able to prepare meals for loved ones that do enjoy eating meat.

Dining In: Linguine with Brown Butter and Sage December 29, 2009

After a week of baking 100+ sugar cookies, chocolate truffles, scones, and cooking a variety of snacks and sides, I knew that this week I needed a bit of a break. Before the chaos of the holidays I saw a recipe for brown butter and sage pasta and flagged it as something tasty to try. Well, after having both a dressing and potato dish with fresh sage during the holidays, this recipe from Serious Eats was perfect for a simple, cheap, warm pasta to start my week.

Ingredients:

• linguine (1-2 servings)
• 3-4 tablespoons of butter
• salt and pepper
• 4-6 sage leaves, chopped
• shredded Parmesan
  

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of well salted boiling water. When it is done, set aside 4-6 tablespoons of the cooking water and then drain the pasta.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  After the foam subsides, watch the butter and when it is a light caramel color (and begins to smell yummy), drop in the sage leaves and toss them around a bit.
3. Add the pasta and pasta water to the butter mix. Salt and pepper to taste and top with some cheese.

Dining In: Mushroom Bhaji with Rice December 17, 2009

So, really there are two reasons I decided to make this recipe. #1 A warm, tomato, mushroom and onion dish sounded delish. #2 The  name, Bhaji totally caught my eye. The aroma from my kitchen when cooking this stew-like meal was heavenly, and the meal really held its heat.

Ingredients:

• 1 carton white button mushrooms, stems remove and thickly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped (or just 1/2 if the pepper is really spicy)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon minced green onions or chives
• Cooked white rice

Directions:

1. Pour the oil into a pot set over medium heat. Toss in the onion and the jalapeño and cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, stir well, and cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the cumin, coriander, and chile powder, stir well, and cook for 1 minutes.
2. Add the mushrooms, tomato paste, and 3 cans of water. Stir until the paste is evenly distributed, then cover the pot, reduce heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir halfway through. The dish should be stew-like. If it is not thick enough, or the mushrooms aren’t yet tender, remove the lid and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Serve with white rice and sprinkling of the green onions.

Dining In: Butternut Squash, Spinach and Goat Cheese Gnocchi December 14, 2009

I’m really not a fan of pumpkin. I don’t do pumpkin pie, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin scented candles, and I especially don’t do pumpkin beer. So, you may think it odd that this recipe on Broke Ass Gourmet for gnocchi with pumpkin spinach sauce caught my eye last week. Well, one thing I’ve figured out this past year is to not judge a recipe based on one ingredient, just make a logical substitute. Often, I will omit any meat mentioned in a recipe or replace it with tofu or seafood. So, for this recipe, I swapped squashes.  Butternut squash for pumpkin.

It turned out to be a pretty tasty, simple, savory dish that was great leftover. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 package gnocchi
• 1 can Amy’s Butternut Squash soup
• 2 oz. soft, creamy goat cheese
• 1 bunch fresh sage leaves, chopped finely
  
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium frying pan, Saute onion in butter until translucent. Then add in spinach, some olive oil and lightly cook with onion for just a few minutes (leaves are mostly wilted).
2. Cook gnocchi according to package directions in salted water, drain and add to the spinach and onion.
3. In the pot used to boil the gnocchi, heat butternut squash soup on medium. Stir in sage, cheese, salt and pepper. Stir frequently as cheese melts and sauce becomes creamy.
4. Once the sauce is ready, add to the gnocchi, onion and spinach and heat to desired temperature. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.