Monster Cookie

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

I must confess while I do love chocolate, it's not to the exclusion of other desserts. At restaurants I find myself choosing peach crisp with vanilla ice cream, or cheesecake over chocolate cake. My girls, on the other hand, are chocolate fiends. So when we were discussing what to bake for the Valentine's Day bake sale, I was thinking shortbread hearts or lemon bars. I was thinking wrong. My kids very clear that we would be making something very, very chocolately. I thought of those huge double chocolate cookies and knew it would hit the spot. I dressed them up with some cute heart baking decorations I found at Crate and Barrel to give them a little seasonal flair. The coffee's influence is light, but adds a little more flavor.

Please note that while you may think I am horribly bourgeois for using shortening for part of the fat in this recipe, really big cookies hold up better if they aren't all butter. I promise you they taste amazing. Also, I have always cooked them on a silpat mat. This is also very helpful for monster cookies. The mat allows you to cook them through without burning the bottom. You can get them at Williams Sonoma, Amazon, or any cooking shop, and I think they make cookie baking much easier. 

You will need:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/2 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco) 

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 tablespoons instant coffee, crushed to a powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

12 ounces milk chocolate chips

1 cup raisins (or walnuts. we've got nut allergies in the house)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Put a silpat mat on a cookie sheet. 

Beat the butter, shortening and sugars together well. Add both eggs and the vanilla and beat until all incorporated. In a separate bowl, combines the flour, cocoa, coffee, salt, and baking soda. Stir flour mixture into the butter mixture, and when well blended at the chocolate chips and nuts/raisins and stire. 

Take a 1/4 cup measure, and scoop out the batter. Place on the silpat mat/cookie sheet and flatten the dough a bit. Bake the cookies 12-15 minutes (really depends on your oven, but don't overcook). You'll know they are done when they are puffed up and cracked, but still give a little when you touch them in the middle. Makes about 18 huge cookies. 

Valentines Day Bake Sale Treats

You may be thinking WHAT? right now. After taking almost two months off from blogging, why is she posting two days in a row? I suppose it's because I've gotten most of my apartment unpacked by now from our December move. Regardless, I should really learn to pace myself. This is not the right time for pacing though, because next week is Valentine's Day, and at my kids' preschool that means the Valentines Day Bake Sale! Hooray! I love to bake. Love it. But there is the whole issue of eating the goodies afterward and health of my children and the size of my rear end to be considered, so sadly I don't do it very often. Bake sale day is awesome, because then I just donate the goodies and don't have to worry about giving my children heart disease before they hit elementary school.  Last year I made these little babies for the sale. I even have a picture of them, I was so proud of how I packaged them. There is nothing really special about the recipe. I just used a basic chocolate cookie chip bar recipe and substituted the special red and pink M&M's they sell around Valentine's day for the chocolate chips.

I'll include the recipe here. And I might even post what I decide to make this year as my next entry!


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for the baking sheet
4 cups flour
2 tsps baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
12 oz of M&Ms (or to your taste)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. A note about this: when you are baking it is really important to preheat the oven. Make sure it is actually 350 degrees when you put in the cookies. Butter a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet. You can also use cooking spray, but the butter works a little better. Put the sheet aside. Combine together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set that aside as well.
Cream butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well combined. Add flour mixture and beat until they are just combined- you don't want to overbeat or they get a little tough. Stir in most of the M&Ms by hand so you don't break them. Leave some for putting on the top.
Put the raw dough into the baking sheet, and smooth it so it's even. Lick spatula. Add the remaining M&Ms to the top wherever things look sparse. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, depending somewhat on your oven. I recommend taking a peek halfway through and rotating it around so it bakes evenly. Yummmmmm!

Chicken Chili

Despite living in NY for 10 years now, I can't muster up anything but benign apathy for the Giants. Sorry Giants, but when you grow up in Steeler country you are a Steeler fan for life. So the Superbowl was not as exciting for me as it was for many of my fellow New Yorkers. The bright side is that no matter how indifferent you are to the actual game, Superbowl food is always awesome. One of the main features of Superbowl fare is classic meat chili. I love it, but I make a different version that is a little healthier. I think my version is even tastier with big juicy chunks of veggies and chicken, almost like a stew. I suppose in this way it is doing double duty as chili and stew. It is spicy and filling like chili, and healthy like stew. Almost like if Tom Brady could throw the ball and catch it too. It's easy to make and freezes well.

Ingredients
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 tblsps olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded, and large-diced
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for chicken
1 14.5 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
1 14 oz can of chicken broth (I use the reduced sodium kind)
1.5 cups of frozen corn
1 can of kidney beans
12 ounces of chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces (note: you can use raw or leftover chicken)
3/4 cup of salsa
Freshly ground black pepper
For serving:
Chopped onions, corn chips, grated cheddar, sour cream

Directions
Cook the onions in the oil over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. Cook for 1 minute. Crush the tomatoes by hand or in batches in a food processor fitted with a steel blade (pulse 6 to 8 times). Add to mixture. Add broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the frozen corn, chicken, salsa and beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add pepper to taste.
Serve with the toppings, or refrigerate and reheat gently before serving. It's great with crusty bread and salad, or on top of rice

Christmas Activities- Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

Hi everyone! Here is an article I recently wrote for the BoweryBabes newsletter and thought my non-NYC friends might have a little fun with it as well.

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I have fond memories of making chocolate dipped pretzel rods with my mother at Christmastime.  I was always so amazed at how gorgeous and impressive they looked. So when I was asked to share a festive cooking activity, I immediately thought of the rods.   They are easy! They are delicious! They are so incredibly beautiful!  It’s going to look like a real cooking magazine! I was very pleased with myself. 

This morning I tested out the recipe with my girls, age 2 and 4.  They donned their aprons and carefully dipped and sprinkled, all the while licking “Christmas sticks” (aka candy canes).  They had a wonderful time doing it, and the rods tasted really good. Perhaps the visual results were not identical to a real cooking magazine…..but we can pretend, right? Originally I was going to suggest making some extras for your friends, but after witnessing some of the unsanitary production conditions with my small workers (No! You can’t lick it, then dip it!), I think maybe it’s best to keep these all in the family. So here we go:

Ingredients:

½ cup of white chocolate melts, or white chocolate chips (or regular chocolate, although it isn’t as pretty)

10 pretzel rods

Green and red sprinkles

3 candy canes

And for the preparation:

A plastic bag and a rolling pin or other object for crushing the candy canes

A double boiler or a microwave

A plate that is bigger than the rods, but that has a bit of a lip so that the sprinkles and crushed candy canes don’t get everywhere.

A pyrex cup or small container to hold the melted chocolate. You want it to be deep and skinny, so that you don’t have to melt a ton of chocolate.

A mug filled with rice or one of those snack cups for babies with the flaps in the lid. This will be your pretzel cooling station.

A spoon for catching drips, and generally managing the melted chocolate

I find that to make this an activity a true success, its best to have the children help you with the preparations, and also to have everything ready to go before you melt the chocolate. The children can help you open the bag of pretzels, and select which pretzel rods to use. They can help you set up the work area with plates, and pour the sprinkles onto the plates. They can pour the rice into the container (which will be where you cool the pretzels).

Now the real fun begins. Put the candy canes in the plastic bag. Crush the candy canes with the rolling pin. (My 4 year old was drunk with power during this activity, while my 2 year old stared on in a mix of alarm and envy).  Put the crushed candy canes on a plate.

Melt the chocolate. If you are using a microwave, it takes about 2 minutes on high. I suggest that you only microwave it for about 30 seconds at a time and stir. Then do another 30 seconds, and stir, repeating until it is melted.  It turns out the warning on the formula can is right- microwaves do heat a bit unevenly and you can end up with burned parts.  If you are using a double boiler, fill the bottom with water and bring it to a simmer. Put the chocolate in the top part, and stir it while it melts.  Quickly bring the melted chocolate to your working surface. Have the children dip and twirl the rods into the chocolate.  CAUTION: You must watch the children very carefully at this stage, so they don’t lick or touch the hot chocolate!!!! Please be careful. Once some chocolate is adhered to the end of a rod, they can stick the rods into the sprinkles or crushed candy canes.  Place them in the cup filled with rice, making sure they don’t touch, and put in the fridge to harden. Voila!  You are the proud owner of several beautiful chocolate pretzel rods. Don’t eat too many at once.

Catastrophes in the kitchen

Today I thought I’d review some of my unsuccessful forays in the kitchen for your edification and entertainment.

1. One day, after reading about how my children were most certainly vitamin D and DHA deficient in an annoying parenting magazine at the doctor’s office, I decided I needed to make salmon for dinner that very night. I had to head off this nutritional crisis immediately!  I went to the grocery store with two screaming, feverish kids, bought the salmon, carefully prepared it, and felt triumphant. Then my three year-old cried after she tasted it. The one year old just spit it out. They did not seem affected by parenting magazine hysteria and still refuse to eat salmon.

2. After toiling away for hours, making the marinara sauce from scratch, boiling noodles, and whisking away at a complicated béchamel sauce, all the while with a 5 week old in a baby Bjorn strapped to my chest, I presented this glorious lasagna to my then-husband. He said, “It looks great!” with enthusiasm, got up out of the table, got a bottle of ketchup, and squirted it all over the lasagna. This time I was the one who cried.

3. One night I decided that butternut squash soup would be the solution to augmenting my children’s vegetable intake. Did I mention that I was in a sleep deprived haze when I made this decision? At any rate, I made the soup. I am still amazed I did not lose a finger “peeling” the squash (as an aside, it is much easier to roast a squash, THEN peel it, but I didn’t know that then).  I discovered that my immersion blender didn’t work at all, right at the very same moment that the Wonder Pets had wrapped up rescuing the baby bird. I found myself trying to transfer the hot soup to my food processor and simultaneously fending off curious toddlers to prevent them from getting burned, and burning my own hand in the process. Post food processor, the soup still didn’t have the perfect texture. By then it was 6.30pm, and my (then) husband was home from work. I told him that we were having soup for dinner, and in my sleep deprived haze I suddenly realized that vegetable soup was not nearly enough food for a 6 foot tall person who runs 50 miles a week. But he looked at me, saw I was not to be messed with, and ate the soup. The kids refused to touch it, because they are never afraid to mess with me.

Anyhow, I think the moral of these stories just could be

·        Don’t read parenting magazines

·        Don’t make anything too complicated

·        Go to bed early whenever you can.

Hope you have a happy cooking week!

XOXO Christina

Chicken Soup for Sanity

Why does no one mention the fact that Britney Spears had two toddlers at the time of her nervous breakdown? Doesn’t anyone think that perhaps having two very small children, going through a divorce and being a world famous pop star at the same time might just be a tad too much pressure for anyone? Maybe she shaved her head so at least she didn’t have to deal with washing her hair on top of everything else.  That’s my theory. And she probably didn’t know how to make chicken soup, either. I think I might have gone at least partially insane by now if it were not for chicken soup.

Chicken soup solves a lot of my problems. It doesn’t require a lot of hands-on time, it is nutritious, it can be used for lunch or dinner, you can freeze it, and incredibly, my kids seem to really like it.  Finally, it is a good way to use a leftover roast chicken. You can make chicken soup in the slow cooker if you want to leave it to simmer all day while you are out and about, or you can make it in a pot if you have less time.  There are a lot of themes and variations on chicken soup. I’m going to share my version. I will say part of the process is a little messy. I hope you can tolerate that because I think it's worth the result.

As usual, I will present alternative ways of approaching this classic. The first area you need to think about is the broth. I’m actually a bit of a purist about this but I will still totally respect you if you decide making the broth is just a bit too overachiever for your taste. That’s cool. You can always used canned broth (but I would recommend watering it down just a little) if you like.  Also, I don't like garlic or parsnips in my broth.  I normally LOVE garlic, but, in this case but I think it adds a funny taste, and parsnips make it too sweet. Just my opinion, of course, but this is my blog and I get to do whatever I want.

You will need:
a big soup pot
some sort of skimmer

2 carrots

2 pieces of celery

1.5 small yellow onions

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon of dried thyme or about 4 sprigs of fresh

8 sprigs of fresh flat parsley (sometimes called Italian parsley)

2-3 cups egg noodles

1 tablespoon salt (I really like sea salt)

1/2 tsp black peppercorns

Pinch of red pepper if you are making this for adults (it really perks it up, but probably best to skip with sensitive kids)

Here’s how to make the broth:

Take a chicken carcass leftover from Roast Chicken Night, or a whole raw chicken (or pieces of chicken, whatever you want, but the broth turns out way better if there are bones and skin involved) and put it in a big ole soup pot. 

Add water until it is pretty much covered. Or if you are nervous about what is the right amount of water, measure out 10 cups of water and add it. 

Add one unpeeled carrot, cut up into a few big pieces.

Add two pieces of celery, cut up into a few big pieces

Add one small yellow onion, quartered. Just throw it in there, skin and all

Add one bay leaf

Add 1 tablespoon of dried thyme or about 4 sprigs of fresh
4 sprigs of the parsley

1 tablespoon salt (I really like sea salt)

1/2 tsp black peppercorns

Pinch of red pepper if you are making this for adults

Bring to a boil. Then turn the burner down to low, cover it and simmer for 2 hours or so on low. You should be seeing one bubble come up at time, not much more than that. It’s going to smell amazing and drive you wild with desire. The longer it simmers, the richer the broth, so it is up to you. But you should aim for 2 hours at least. 


Once you have determined that your broth is ready, or more realistically when you have a few minutes, you are going to take out all the ingredients. Most cookbooks start talking about cheesecloth and pressing and stuff, but I just use this big skimmer thing, and take everything out. Put the chicken carcass on a plate. You can throw out the veggies/herbs/peppercorns. WHAT?!!! You may say. That is SO WASTEFUL. I guess it is, but sometimes it is exciting to be a rebel. It is possible to make the soup all at once by just peeling and chopping the veggies and simply fishing out the herbs and peppercorn, but they get a little mushy. Can you trust me on this one? Thanks. 


Now, let the chicken pieces/carcass/whatever cool off a little bit. 

Take this time to peel and dice a carrot, and dice stalk of celery, and half an onion (Some notes: This may be too much onion for you, so use your discretion. You can add more carrots, celery, a parsnip other veggies if you wish. Peas work well. I find broccoli changes the flavor of the soup though. ) Throw the pieces into the remaining broth.

Take the chicken carcass and cut off the remaining meat. Cut the meat into bite size pieces and put it back into the pot.  Put the veggies in the pot. 


Bring to a boil again. Add 2-3 cups egg noodles and boil according to the package directions (usually about 10 min.) I add 3 cups and it is very noodle dense. Taste to see if there is enough salt. I usually add more at this point. Chop up the remaining parsley, and add it at the end for a flash of green and flavor. 

Serve it up with some bread and salad. I hope you enjoy it!
Christina

Three For One (Blog entry) Special

Here is a guest blog from my sister Claire, super-hero mom of two boys, attorney extraordinaire, and one of the best cooks I know!

As a mom with two hungry munchkins, a really hungry husband, and a busy work schedule, I have found that the roasting pan is my best ally.  I truly believe that the ability to prep dinner earlier and throw it in the oven later makes dinner possible in my house.  I find that the last thing any of us can handle at the end of the day is a fussy recipe competing for my ever fragmented attention, even if it just takes 20 minutes. I am much saner when I just some toss some items into a baggie, preheat the oven, and topple dinner into a pan.  I feel like my roasting pan turns me into the Platonic Form of 1950s housewife without the apron, (it is currently in use as a superhero cape by my 3 year old) and without the Valium. Plus, as a bonus, these recipes only require one pan to clean up!

Chicken In a Pan- Sassy Version

(based on a dish I found on the Mad Hungry Blog called “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner”)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil or if you only have ¼ of a cup due to a sorely misguided attempt at making ‘healthy’ muffins, that is fine too.
• some minced garlic; however much you like and are willing to risk oozing from every pore tomorrow at hot yoga
• 2 tablespoons paprika: I like Hungarian paprika for this.
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons salt which seems like a lot but works
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• Boneless chicken breasts (however many come in a package at your grocery store) or a whole chicken cut up into pieces
• 1 big can of garbanzo beans drained
• 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes

Directions

1. Mix the marinade: olive oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, red pepper, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Using a zip-lock bag combine marinade with the chicken, beans, and tomatoes, this requires some massaging to make sure that the chicken is evenly coated with the marinade. Let marinate a few hours, all day, or overnight.
2. Go to bed. Get up three times to prove to preschooler that dinosaurs do not in fact live in their closet.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove toddler from oven door. Forcibly.
4. When ready to cook, dump contents into large roasting pan. Roast 20 minutes for chicken breasts or 30 minutes for whole chicken pieces,  or until chicken is cooked through and browned, and tomatoes have burst and caramelized. Feel smug.
5. Wipe brow and remove toddler from top of refrigerator. Let dog out. Let dog in.

Chicken in a Pan- Spanish(y) version

Ingredients

• 2 tbsps. olive oil
• package of chicken thighs and package of drumsticks
• package of andouille chicken sausage, cut into pieces
• 3 sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 large spanish onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• grated zest 1 orange

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425.  Put the oil in the bottom of roasting pan. Rub the skin of the chicken in the oil, then turn skin-side up, salt and pepper the chicken. I think salt, pepper, and the roasting pan are the holy trinity of the kitchen.
2. Nestle the sweet potatoes among the chicken pieces. Tuck in the sausage pieces.  Sprinkle the onion and the oregano over, then grate the orange zest over everything. Don’t skip the orange zest, like passing the bar exam, it makes the whole adventure worthwhile.
3. Cook for 1 hour.

Chicken in Pan- London School of Economics version

(supply and demand- only supply one thing and don’t listen to demands)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large Spanish onion or 2 small onions or however many you have
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried sage
• Ground pepper
• 1 whole chicken cut into pieces
• 1 package of chicken and apple sausages
• 2 tablespoons chopped sage leaves
• whatever random root vegetables you have lying around, peel and chop them. I like carrots, parsnips, potatoes, butternut squash in this dish. Be sure to feel virtuous because you not only cooked dinner but it also includes vegetables.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. Arrange the chicken pieces in a roasting pan, skin-side up, salt and pepper them.  
3. Tuck the sausages around the chicken pieces. Sprinkle the fresh sage leaves over the chicken and sausages and then put the roasting pan into the oven to cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the sausages over halfway through to colour them evenly.
4. Arrange the chicken and sausages on a large platter. Sigh contentedly. You managed to cook dinner 3 times this week, month, year! Hooray!