Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

29 Aug

A storm is was brewing. With cabin fever hitting me hard, I found myself baking and eating all weekend long. Would the power go out? Would we really be stuck inside all day long waiting for the hurricane to destroy Manhattan before our very own eyes? Alas, I think I slept through the worst of the storm. It was not a terribly destructive storm. On the good side, I was prepared with these salted chocolate chip cookies and some homemade peach pie (recipe from Joy) with vanilla ice cream just to be sure we were well-desserted.

Every person has his/her own preference for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. A lot of the differences in baking depend on the temperature of the dough before it goes in the oven. Cold dough works best in my experience. If you are looking for a more soft and cake-like texture reminiscent of an old-school Toll House chocolate chip cookie, you might also be interested in these classic chocolate chip cookies.

I made the dough for these salted chocolate chip cookies at the beginning of the week and have slowly been baking the cookies off little by little. Just as they came out of the oven, I sprinkled a few flecks of sea salt over the top of the cookies. That salty sweet combo…it always gets me. (See: cocoa brownies with sea salt)

Make. Bake. Dunk. Eat. Repeat. Enjoy.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

from DavidLebovitz

makes about 2 dozen cookies, well, depending on how much raw dough you nibble on, and depending on how large you bake your cookies

If you are using unsalted butter, 4 ounces (8 tablespoons, or 115g) of butter has about 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt in it.For the rest of us, you could simply swap out unsalted butter and add another 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt.4 ounces (115g) salted butter, at room temperature (I used unsalted butter)

2/3 cup packed (110g) dark or light brown sugar

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup (180g) flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt or kosher salt (I used 1/2 t. sea salt and 1/2 t. kosher salt)

1 1/3 cups (200g) coarsely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I just used chocolate chips)

optional: 1 cup toasted nuts, coarsely chopped

more sea salt, for sprinkling on top just after the cookies come out of the oven

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar just until smooth and creamy.

2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. Stir the flour mixture into the beaten butter until combined, then mix in the chopped chocolate (including any chocolate dust) and the chopped nuts.

5. Cover and chill the batter until firm. (It’s preferable to let it rest overnight.)

6. To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

7. Form the cookie dough into rounds about the size of a large unshelled walnut. Place the mounds evenly spaced apart on the baking sheets, and press down the tops to flatten them so they are no longer domed and the dough is even.

8. Bake the cookies for ten minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies look about set, but are not browned.

9. Remove from the oven and quickly tap the top of each with a spatula, then return to the oven for two to five more minutes, until the tops of the cookies are light golden brown. Remove from oven and let cookies cool.

Storage: The cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to five days in an airtight container. The dough can be refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for one or two months. Feel free to keep the dough and just bake off a few cookies at a time. Moderation, folks.

Israeli Couscous Salad + NY Eating (Diner) + Sloppy Joes + Oven Mishaps/Over-Cheesing

23 Aug

Today I went on a lunch date with an old friend. We ate at a great restaurant right near the Williamsburg bridge in Brooklyn. Diner. We sat outside on the patio with a delightful sunny breeze drifting by. Our server was quite the charmer, he even sat down at our table as he described the menu items, which included rabbit terrine, fried green tomato and egg sandwich on brioche, fried chicken with a biscuit and homemade peach jam, and bratwurst. We ended up sharing the market salad (purslane, corn, tomatoes, buttermilk dressing) and the fried green tomato and egg sandwich. The sandwich came with crunchy-on-the-outside-soft-centered fries, specked with flaky salt chunks. It was a darling lunch. Diner even has a quarterly magazine that I cannot wait to delve into. I then proceeded to drag my old friend up and around Williamsburg, making a quick coffee stop at Bakeri and heading back to Manhattan via the 4$ East River Ferry.

Tonight as I was brainstorming dinner ideas, that market salad with purslane (which, I believe is an edible weed) was still in my thoughts. It was just so satisfying. And it definitely counter-acted those delicious salty fries that I was eating, and those AMAZING sloppy joes that I made for dinner last night (on a toasted English muffin, with tortilla chips and roasted broccoli).

Israeli couscous in a salad. My dinner (not to be confused with Diner). My family used to call Israeli couscous “octopus eggs.” I still don’t know why that never irked me. Add some nectarines and dried sour cherries. Feta cheese and garbanzo beans. With cubed hacked cucumbers, slivered radishes, and spinach leaves. A cool crunchy sweet and savory salad. While I appreciate a nice homemade dressing, I am too lazy in the comfort of my own home and almost always opt for a drizzle of balsamic and olive oil with flaky salt and course ground pepper. It never fails me.

Oooo, and I want to tell you about a few of the things that I have been making this last week or so:

Homemade Pizza. It was quite good, however I went a tad overboard with the fresh pulled mozz. And my dang oven likes to burn things very quickly and set off the smoke alarm. Needless to say, I still need to perfect my pizza making and my fix my old, has-a-mind-of-its-own oven before I give you a recipe. BUT, a tip from me to you is to always throw a dash of cornmeal on the pan before baking. Texture, baby, it’s all about texture.

I mentioned Sloppy Joe’s earlier. Go to Ree’s website. Make her sloppy joe’s. Read her book, “Black Heels to Tractor Wheels.”

I also mentioned my wacko oven earlier. I was trying to make these cookies from David Lebovitz. I only baked off 4 of them tonight. I caught them just before my oven was about to cinch them to burnt smithereens. They were chewy and crispy and chocolaty and perfect with milk. I still have dough in my fridge. I am going to figure this oven mishap out.

In the meantime, Couscous.

Israeli Couscous Salad

1 box of Israeli Couscous

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 block of feta, cubed

1/2 cup dried sour cherries

1/4 of an English cucumber, cubed

1/2 a large nectarine, cubed

2 small radishes, quartered and thinly sliced

1-2 large handfuls of fresh spinach

salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar

1. Make your couscous according to the directions on the box. (toast the couscous in a pot, pour boiling water over it, simmer until done).

2. Have all of your add-ins chopped and ready to go. Add the couscous and toss. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic and add salt and pepper.

**A poached or hard-boiled egg sounds delightful if you are looking to boost up the protein in this salad.

Scalloped Tomatoes with Croutons and Sausage

9 Aug

Summer tomatoes are everywhere at the farmer’s market. You will see all shapes and sizes from these cute grape tomatoes to the heirloom varieties that are large and colorful and warty (p.s. in my opinion, the uglier an heirloom tomato, the better it tastes).

These tomatoes are so sweet that you can just slice them in half, sprinkle with fancy sea salt, and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic. Add some basil sprigs and crusty bread, and you have got yourself the most sensational summer salad in just mintues.

Last night I made a tomato salad, and tonight I baked these tomatoes up with some garlic, bread, sausage, basil, and cheese. Scalloped tomatoes with croutons and sausage.

You could easily make a dinner-for-one size of this dish, or multiply it for a crowd. You could omit the sausage or add a vegetarian sausage. You could use a different cheese if you prefer. Throw in some summer corn and zucchini in addition to the tomatoes. Take this whole thing and spoon it over some al dente pasta. You say tomatO and I say tomAto…

Scalloped Tomatoes with Croutons and Sausage

adapted from SmittenKitchen

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 sausage, cut into small pieces

2-3 cups bread from a French boule, in a 1/2-inch dice, crusts removed

2 1/2 pounds whatever good tomatoes you’ve got, cut into 1/2-inch dice

3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup thinly slivered basil leaves, lightly packed

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high. Add the sausage and bread cubes and stir so that they are evenly coated with oil. Coo, tossing frequently, until toasty on all sides, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. When the bread cubes are toasted, add the tomato mixture and cook them together, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the basil. Pour into a shallow (6 to 8 cup) baking dish and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and the tomatoes are bubbly. Serve hot or warm with a big green salad, a bean salad and/or a poached egg.

Obsessed with “Grilled” Corn + Peanut Sesame Noodles

4 Aug

See that piece of corn? That is the beginnings of pretty much every meal that I have made in the last week.

Step 1: Husk your corn.

Step 2: Turn on the stove top. Place corn directly over the flame. Let is sit for a few minutes until it pops and hisses. Flip and repeat.

Step 3: Shave corn off cobb.

Step 4: Add this corn to whatever dish you are making. Or, just slather it with butter and chili and maybe some salty cheese and it is right off the cobb.

The other day I made some charred corn tacos.

Today I made some saucy peanut noodles.

These noodles are seriously dripping with peanut sauce and are a peanut butter-lover’s savory dream come true. The sauce gets spun in the blender. Couldn’t be easier. Oh, and I think the ginger is a key ingredient, so don’t leave it out. Go get the fresh stuff. And peel it with a spoon (the best trick I know!). And if you don’t use all of it, freeze it. It keeps well in the freezer. Ginger. Miracle ingredient.

I make these noodles all the time, adding different veggies etc. depending on the season and what I have on-hand.

I have a very hard time knowing when to stop eating these noodles. I always want just one more bite. They are quite heavy though, so only use half the amount of sauce to start and add more if you dare.

Peanut Sesame Noodles

adapted from Epicurious

This makes A LOT of sauce…you should make lots of pasta (like, an entire package/pound at least) or just use half of the sauce and save the other half in a jar for another time…

*Try not to let the noodles sit in the sauce very long — toss them together a few seconds before serving. If you are eating leftovers the next day, sprinkle with a tablespoon or so of water before heating to freshen up the dish.

**This is perfect for your vegan/veggie friends and meat eaters alike. Feel free to add tofu/tempeh, or some kind of chicken or meat if you wish.

For the peanut dressing:

  • 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup warm water
  • 2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
  • 1 medium garlic clove, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil (sometimes I like to use a spicy sesame oil)
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

For the noodle salad:

  • 1 lb dried linguine fini or spaghetti (or soba noodles…)
  • 1 ear of corn
  • 3 hefty handfuls of fresh spinach leaves
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
  • 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Prepare your dressing by placing everything in the blender and pureeing it for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a large bowl.

Boil some water, then heavily salt it, then add your pasta and cook until al dente. The last 3 minutes of cooking, add your fresh spinach. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, take your ear of corn and set it over the gas stove burner and char it on all sides. Cut it off the cobb and set aside. Have your scallions, bell pepper chopped and ready.
Assemble the noodles: Add your hot noodles to the peanut sauce along with the veggies, sesame seeds, and whatever accoutrement you like.

Rustic Almond Plum Galette + Creme Fraiche Ice Cream

2 Aug

Stone fruit is in full swing. Peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, pluots, apriums, and all sorts of cross breeds like you couldn’t imagine!

I make galettes every summer. A galette is supposed to be rustic, so I don’t feel guilty if the dough is not perfectly and evenly crimped. Here is a quick look back at some sweet galettes that I have made in the past:

Nectarine Galette

(just follow this recipe but use nectarines instead of plums and nix the lemon zest)

Summer Peach and Blueberry Galette with Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Fresh Fig Galette

Today I made you a rustic almond plum galette. The almonds are ground and are spread on the bottom of the dough, underneath the plums. This helps hold all of the juices from the plums inside and adds a nice flavor palate to the open-faced tart. I paired this galette with homemade creme fraiche ice cream. Tangy and smooth, this ice cream is the ultimate hot summer day cure.

The plums offer a nice red hue when baked. They are soft but still hold their shape.

Creme Fraiche Ice Cream right out of the machine, super soft and creamy

I still can’t believe that I am turning on the oven in this insane New York summer heat, but it is all in the name of rustic pies and good eats.

Now excuse me while I go wipe the sweat off my forehead and dip into some homemade dessert…

Rustic Almond Plum Galette

from KissmySpatula, check out her gorgeous photos!

  • 1 1/4 cups + 3 tbsp all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
  • 1/2 cup very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp + 1/2 tsp sugar, plus more for dusting
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 2-4 tbsp ice water
  • 1/4 cup whole, skin-on almonds, toasted
  • 5 to 6 firm plums, halved, pitted, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
  • zest of half a lemon
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

In a food processor, combine 1 1/4 cups flour, butter, 1/2 tsp sugar, and salt.  Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add ice water, 1 tbsp at a time.  Pulse until dough is crumbly, but holds together when squeezed.  Do not overmix. Remove dough from food processor and shape into a disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, wipe bowl of food processor clean and add almonds, 3 tbsp sugar, and 2 tbsp of flour.  Pulse until ground to a coarse meal.

In a large bowl, toss the plums with 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tbsp flour and zest of half a lemon.  Taste and add more sugar for desired sweetness and set aside.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 13-14 inch round, about an 1/8-1/4 of inch thick.  Transfer to a parchment-lined cookie sheet (preferably without sides) and spread almond mixture over dough, leaving a two-inch border.  Spread and arrange plums on top of almond mixture.  Fold and pleat edge of dough over fruit.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take your galette out of the refrigerator and brush the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar.  Bake until crust is golden and underside is cooked through, about 60-70 minutes, checking after 30 minutes and every 10 minutes thereafter.  Allow to cool before slicing.

Creme Fraiche Ice Cream

adapted from David Lebovitz and Crispywaffle

1 cup milk (preferably whole milk or 2%)

2/3 cup sugar

1/8 t. salt

5 large egg yolks

2 cups creme fraiche

First, make the custard. Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium low heat until it’s steaming. Pour the milk over the egg yolks, whisking the whole time. Add the milk/egg mixture back to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula. When the mixture thickens (at around 190 F) and coats the back of the spatula, pour the mixture through a strainer into a bowl. Chill the mixture in the fridge for a few hours until cold.
When ready to freeze in the ice cream maker, stir in the creme fraiche. Chill in the ice cream maker as directed and the ice cream is thickened, about 20 minutes.

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