My Search Is Over...

For those of you who have read this blog from the beginning you know one of the things I have been trying to find is the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Dare I say, I think I have found it.

If you are a food blogger I'm sure you have seen the amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe from the New York Times. There has been so much buzz about this cookie recipe in the blog world I knew I had to try it (and share it with all of my non-food blogging friends).

There are a few tricks to making the perfect chocolate chip cookie. First you must make the dough about 36 hours before you are going to eat them. I know this sounds ridiculous. But by letting the cookie dough hang out in the fridge for a few days it actually develops a wonderful rich flavor that is missing in a more traditional chocolate chip cookie.

Secondly, this recipe calls for over a pound of good quality bittersweet chocolate. We are not talking chips here. I used Callebaut bittersweet that they sell in large chunks at my local grocery store and it tasted divine, well worth the extra cost.

Third, the recipe says to use 3 1/2 oz. of dough per cookie. This makes a very substantial cookie. I ended up making mine only 3 oz each and it seemed to be plenty. Making larger size cookies creates that desirable contrast between a crispy outside and a soft a chewy inside. Cookie heaven if you ask me.

And the last trick to divine chocolate chip cookies is a tiny sprinkle of sea salt right on top of those chocolaty mounds right before they go in the oven. Salty and sweet, what can be better than that?

Intrigued? Wanna give these a shot yourself? You can find the recipe here. Trust me, you will be glad you actually let that dough stay in the fridge longer than you thought was humanly possible. And besides, I never said you couldn't "test" the dough every now and then. Cookie dough, its a good thing.

Oh, and I almost forgot. These cookies are best eaten still warm (although they tasted pretty good at room temp. too), so I just baked them as we were going to eat them. The dough can hang out in the fridge for up to 72 hrs. But don't worry, I don't think it will last that long. And make sure you have plenty of milk to go with them. Enjoy!

Read more...

Its Worth The Drive...

These amazingly fresh, still warm donuts can be found here. Trust me, its worth the trip!

Read more...

Oh Heavenly Potatoes...

These potatoes are amazing! Caramelized and crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. They go amazingly with roasted chicken. You can try doubling the recipe so you can have left overs, but we have never been able do that because no matter how many I make we end up eating them all!

I got this recipe from my friend Tish who I believe got it from an issue of Fine Cooking Magazine.

Roasted Smashed Potatoes

1 1/2 - 2 lbs baby potatoes (skin on)

olive oil

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook whole potatoes until fork tender. Drain potatoes and lay out to dry on a clean dish towel. Line a rimmed baking sheet (you might need more than one) with parchment paper or non-stick foil. Using a second clean dish towel press down on each potato to flatten to about 1/2'' and fan out a bit by pressing and twisting at the same time. Put potatoes in a single layer on baking sheet and drizzle with a good amount of olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast in oven for 30-45 minute, flipping potatoes over about halfway through (I usually wait for them to start to brown on one side and then I flip them over). You will know they are done when they are brown and crispy.

This recipe feeds one, or I mean two, actually it should feed four, but it never has in my household.

Read more...