Sarabeth's Chocolate Chubbies

CHOCOLATE CHUBBIES - SARABETH

makes 2 dozen cookies

· 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

· 9 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (no more than 62 pe

rcent cacao), finely chopped

· 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

· 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

· 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

· 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

· 3 large eggs, at room temperature

· 1 1/4 cups superfine sugar

· 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

· 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

· 1 1/2 cups (5 1/2 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans

· 1 1/4 cups (4 1/2 ounces) coarsely chopped walnuts

PROCEDURES

1

Position racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper.

2

Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over low heat. Put the butter in a wide, heatproof bowl, and melt the butter over the hot water in the saucepan. Add the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate, stirring often, until melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cooled slightly but still warm, about 5 minutes.

3

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Whip the eggs in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until the eggs are foamy and lightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and gradually add the sugar, then the vanilla. Whip until the eggs are very thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat in the tepid chocolate, making sure it is completely incorporated. Change to the paddle attachment and reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate chips, pecans, and walnuts, making sure the chunky ingredients are evenly distributed at the bottom of the bowl. The dough will be somewhat soft.

4

Using a 2-inch ice-cream scoop, portion the batter onto the prepared pans, placing the cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake the cookies immediately—if you wait, they won’t be shiny after baking. Bake, switching the position of the pans from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through baking, until the cookies are set around the edges (if you lift a cookie from the pan, the edges should release easily, even if the center of the cookie seems underdone), 17 to 20 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool completely on the baking pans.

Note: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature, with the layers separated by parchment paper, for up to 3 days.)

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/12/chocolate-chubbies-recipe.html

Topher's Horchata

Horchata

Topher's recipe from David Lebowitz' site.......

About 6 cups (1.5l)

Adapted from Paletas (Ten Speed) by Fany Gerson

I used rice milk since I like the flavor of it and it is a bit lighter than regular milk, although there are versions of horchata that use plain milk (whole or skim), coconut milk, or even sweetened condensed milk. Feel free to use what you’d like, although if using coconut or condensed milk, sweeten the horchata to taste.

Speaking of which, on first taste, I thought this was a little sweet. But after pouring it over ice, I realized the sweetener was just right. The original recipe called for the full cup,bBut you may wish to start off with the smaller amount sugar (or even less) and add more if you wish.

2/3 cup (120g) white rice (see Note)

3 cups warm water

One 2-inch (5cm) cinnamon stick

3/4 to 1 cup (150g-200g) sugar

2 cups (500ml) rice milk or regular milk

Ground cinnamon, for serving

1. In a blender, grind the rice so it is in fine pieces, roughly the consistency of very coarse polenta. (If your blender won’t go that fine, that’s okay and just break up the rice as much as possible.)

2. Transfer the rice to a bowl then pour warm water over it and add the cinnamon stick. Cover and refrigerate at least eight hours, but preferably overnight.

3. Pluck out the cinnamon stick then puree the rice and water until it’s as smooth as possible. Strain the mixture through a sieve lined with a few layers of cheesecloth, squeezing it relatively firmly to extract as much of the rice flavor as possible.

4. Stir in the sugar and milk, mixing until the sugar is dissolved. Taste, and adjust sweetness, if necessary. Refrigerate until completely chilled.

Serving: Serve over ice with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon on top.

Storage: Store the horchata in the refrigerator for up to four days.

Note: The original, and most other horchata recipes I’ve seen, recommend using long grain rice. However I used short grain rice, and was pleased with the results. In Spain they make horchata withchufa, which are not easy to find, depending on where you live.

Glazed Ham & Cheese Sliders

these are very tasty! be sure you use the King's Hawaiian Rolls.

the recipe I found calls them:

Funeral Sandwiches
1 package of King's Hawaiian Rolls
1/2-1 lb. good ham deli meat
Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
1/2 c. butter, melted
3 T. worcheshire sauce
2 T. mustard
2 T. brown sugar
dash of onion powder


Cut the rolls in half and line the bottom of a baking pan with the bottoms of the rolls. Layer the ham slices, then cheese and place the top half back on. Mix together the melted butter, worcheshire, mustard, brown sugar and onion powder. Pour the whole works over the buns, drenching each one. Cover tightly and marinade anywhere from 4-24 hours.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bun tops are a bit golden. *i baked them uncovered for 16 minutes.

Chocolate Chubbies from 'Sarabeth's Bakery

here's a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks: Sarabeth's Bakery....they're chocolately goodness~ lots of deep chocolate flavor, a gooey center and lots and lots of nuts- I promise you'll love these.

CHOCOLATE CHUBBIES

makes 2 dozen cookies

· 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

· 9 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (no more than 62 percent cacao), finely chopped

· 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

· 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

· 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

· 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

· 3 large eggs, at room temperature

· 1 1/4 cups superfine sugar

· 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

· 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

· 1 1/2 cups (5 1/2 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans

· 1 1/4 cups (4 1/2 ounces) coarsely chopped walnuts

1 Position racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper.

2 Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over low heat. Put the butter in a wide, heatproof bowl, and melt the butter over the hot water in the saucepan. Add the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate, stirring often, until melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cooled slightly but still warm, about 5 minutes.

3 Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Whip the eggs in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until the eggs are foamy and lightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and gradually add the sugar, then the vanilla. Whip until the eggs are very thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat in the tepid chocolate, making sure it is completely incorporated. Change to the paddle attachment and reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate chips, pecans, and walnuts, making sure the chunky ingredients are evenly distributed at the bottom of the bowl. The dough will be somewhat soft.

4 Using a 2-inch ice-cream scoop, portion the batter onto the prepared pans, placing the cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake the cookies immediately—if you wait, they won’t be shiny after baking. Bake, switching the position of the pans from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through baking, until the cookies are set around the edges (if you lift a cookie from the pan, the edges should release easily, even if the center of the cookie seems underdone), 17 to 20 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool completely on the baking pans.

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Chicken Cordon Bleu

So for the ingredients, obviously you do however many pieces of chicken for however many people you're feeding, and then a slice of swiss cheese, and I doubled the ham slices because mine are cut pretty thin.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 6 slices ham

plate with melted butter (I didn't measure)

bowl with bread crumbs

• 
  
• Sauce
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Pound the chicken so it's really thin...at least 1/2 an inch.

2. Lay the swiss cheese and ham on top, (try and keep it away from the edges just a little bit.)

3. Start from one end and roll up the chicken fairly tight, and stick toothpicks in it. (I used 2.)

4. Roll the chicken in melted butter, and then in bread crumbs, and stick it on in the pan.

5. Bake for 30 minutes at 375.

When that's cooking, you can make the sauce.

1. Whisk the cornstarch and heavy whipping cream together in a pot BEFORE you turn the heat on. (so the whipping cream is still cold so they'll blend together.)

2. Once that's blended, turn on the heat and add the bouillon and the water. (as you see...it calls for white wine, so I did "chicken broth" instead, by adding 1/2 cup water, and an extra bouillon cube. If you know of different wine alternatives, feel free to try one.)

3. Let it simmer for a good few minutes, so that it can thicken up. (Mine never really thickened...but I still poured it all over the food, or dipped my bites in the bowl, and it was sooooo much better than the bites by itself.)

I looooved this recipe, cause it was so good, and it hardly took me anytime cause there really isn't too much prep work, and the process is really simple. Enjoy!

Carrie's Coconut Rice

Coconut Rice

found at "ourbestbites"

this stuff is YUMMY! great with Topher's Chicken Tikki Masala....

2 c. white, Jasmine, or Basmatti rice (we used Basmatti at the FFFFF and it was owesome!)

1 can coconut milk (NO to the "Thai Kitchen" Brand-not as good as others)

2 c. water

1 tsp. Kosher salt

Splash of white vinegar (optional, but it helps with the texture)

2-3 tsp. white sugar

Handful of chopped green onions, plus chopped green onion tops for garnish (didn't use this...remember; this is Carrie's recipe)

Black pepper to taste *no again to the pepper

Combine rice, coconut milk, water, salt, vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil

Turn heat to low and cover for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Allow to stand 5 minutes. Add green onions, black pepper (if desired), and additional salt if necessary.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Tonight I'm having another fancy dinner party. This one's Indian themed, though the dessert decided not to play along. I should have made cardamom ice cream! Ah well. The recipes are all taken from More Best Recipes. Reproducing recipes verbatim in naughty, but giving the ingredients and summarizing the preparation is okay, so that's what I'll do here.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken & Rub:

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast (trimmed)

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. table salt

Cut the chicken into large (~1 inch) cubes and place in a bowl. Mix the chicken in the bowl as you apply the rub. Refrigerate until you need it later. The original recipe actually calls for a normal rub on whole breasts, covering the chicken in a mix of yogurt, garlic, ginger, and oil, then broiling it. It tastes great, but is a bit too much work for me in a recipe that already takes me more than an hour to finish. I'm not sure if spicing cubed chicken does anything, since it probably all comes off when it later goes into the sauce, but I pretty sure that the salt does it's thing.

Masala Sauce:

3 TBSP. vegetable oil

1 med. onion, diced fine (~1 1/4 c.)

2 med. garlic cloves, pressed through a fancy garlic press

2 tsp. grated ginger

1(or more) serrano chile

1 TBSP. tomato paste

1 TBSP. garam masala

1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes

2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 c. heavy cream

1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a large dutch oven (that you may have purchased at Wal-mart) over medium heat until it reaches that magical shimmering state, toss in the onion and cook for ~12 minutes. The book says to add the garlic, ginger, chile, paste, and garam masala all at the same time and cook for ~3 minutes. Indians typically heat their spices in a dry pan before cooking with them. If you want to try that with the garam masala before you throw it in the pot, that's cool too. Open up the can of tomatoes, and add the sugar and salt. Dump it in before you burn stuff. You can now scrape off anything that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Bring it to a boil, then cover it and lower the heat to medium-low, and then let it simmer for ~10 minutes. Stir it a few times in the process. Add the chicken and stir to distribute it in the sauce. Cook until the chicken reaches 155 degrees F. Time will vary. Add the cream after the chicken is done. Add the cilantro and consider adding more salt. After you're cooked this once, you might decide to add more garam masala too. I usually add another teaspoon. Serve with some delicious basmati rice.