0 WHITE CHOC., CHERRY, MAC., ALMOND, OATS COOKIE

WHITE CHOCOLATE, CHERRY, MACADAMIA and TOASTED ALMOND

in an OLD FASHIONED CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIE

i know, long name for a little crispy chewy disc, but this recipe is a big winner. actually the recipe i'm talking about is a great base to anything you want. i found this recipe at bigoven.com.

i was on the mad hunt one day to find a cookie that basically had a regular chocolate chip cookie flavor, but with a little oatmeal in it. why?..i don't know. in the back of my mind i was thinking a little oatmeal would make it a little healthy..right?... well, so many that i ran across were just oatmeal-chocolate chip. i wanted a chocolate chip with oatmeal...make sense?

i'll bet if you weren't told there was oatmeal in it you wouldn't even know...
well, maybe if you're a cookie expert.

so there's no need to really go on and on...i linked in the recipe (again) so please try it out. i found it to make about 90 cookies. maybe because i add so much/many extras. for this combo that i just made i added 1c. slightly chopped roasted macadamias, 1 c. white choc. chips, 3/4 c. dried cherries, and approx. 1/2 c. toasted slivered almonds. sounds like alot, but as you can see, this recipe can take it. also i didn't have quick oats so i just threw in regular oatmeal and that worked great, couldn't tell the diff. i think a while bake i did almonds and butterscotch chips. i think i might try something with apricot next.
so try it out, let me know what flavor combos you come up with...

0 BBQ PIG'S FEET aka "TROTTERS"

HAVE I GONE NUTS ???...

"why yes, i believe you have", i say to myself.

and they say that's the 1st sign ya know...talking to yourself...myself...

any-whoo...i have no idea what has gotten into me and why i just had to try me some pig's feet. last month i wanted to cook my own octopus, but as stated a few days ago, i found an easier way out of that obsession. i thought this would be a bit easier to find, so i called around and asked for pig's feet, but found out i would have to special order them and 5 lbs is the minimum. i knew i was all alone on this one so i thought 5 lbs might be just a bit much. one of the butchers at Bristol Farms suggested going to a Mexican market or a carniceria. so off i went. obsession going at full speed.

BINGO!..i hit up the 1st carniceria and WOW!...beautiful meats and poulty. i was like a kid in a candy store...so to speak, but i was there for one thing so i stayed focused. i ran into a little language barrier (at first he was going to sell me a beef foot/HOOF the size of a small tree stump), but i walked out with a huge smile of sucess and 3 feet-1 whole and 4 halves.

so...cooking them....i googled and googled about the preparation. i found that you have to get friendly with your feet. wash them carefully and one REAL special thing you must do is get out a disposable razor and shave the stray hairs you will undoubtedly see. YIKES! after that i threw them in a large pot filled with water, 1/2 - 1/3 c. white vinegar, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, peppers, chili powder cayenne, cumin and red pepper flakes. basically a spicy stew. bring to a boil, then simmer for about 2 1/2 hrs or untill tender. i really didn't know what a tender pig foot was supposed to feel like, so i guessed. when i thought they were done, i drained them, stared at them, and decided to put them in the fridge overnight and deal with them later. (my insecurities about the whole ordeal were creeping back).

so the next day i gave them a little reheat and i'm thinkin' they don't look half bad. i'll bet if i was more "cheffie" or just more aquainted with pig's feet i could get creative with them at this point. newbie that i am, i had to play around a little.

i had to take this picture...sorry, but i started to feel like this was a 3rd grade science project. the yellow pointer is showing the exact area and, i might add, THE ONLY area that there is any real meat. oh, by the way, the feet are cut in half...i had the option to buy whole and half(the butcher cut them right then for me), but they usually are sold in halves. also, (the weak stomach people cover your eyes and ears) you'll notice, as most certainly DID I, the lovely toenail directely above the yellow pointer. yes, that was hard to deal with. i probably should have removed it, but i was unaware and will know better next time.....next time?...maybe

for this 1st time experience i decided to go the safe route...

now you're speakin' my language...slop some BBQ sauce on anything and i'll eat it...well, i couldn't reeeeally say that was true before..., but i sure can now. solid proof right here.

all i did was slather them with Stubb's Classic Sauce and stuck them in a 390 oven. i think in the end it was about 40 minutes total. i kept taking them out, inspecting, poking and turning them...

one more shot for a comparison of before and after BBQ sauce...this is the next day warmed up after being refrigerated over night, before the BBQ treatment...trust me, you didn't want to see them straight out of the cooker. REEEELLLY gelatinous!

let's face it, there is nothing pretty about feet.

here we have the finished product. i think i could have left them in the oven a bit longer or moved them up to the broiler. i'll bet they would have gotten a nice crispy pig skin effect.

in conclusion...

will i eat these again?

if faced with the situation, i will not be afraid..

will i cook them again?

if given the task...i will not run...

all kidding aside...YES, i just might give this another try and i challenge anyone else who is a bit adventurous to just give it a shot...you'll have fun and maybe find your new favorite delicacy.

0 PORTUGUESE CUSTARD TARTS

ahhh... the Portuguese Custard Tart. they are quite cute and really not that hard to make, although i AM wondering why they are "donned" Portuguese. they seem kinda country French or you might think the same thing in a pie crust dough would be English?...anyway, thanks to the Portuguese for these little babies AND many thanks to almostbourdain where i found this recipe.





the recipe does make 12 in a regular size muffin tin and i must say, these should be eaten the day of baking. i'm saying this only because due to HOT weather, i had to refridgerate some and it's just not the same(well, no different than anything with pastry dough). BUT don't let this deter you because they probably won't make it through the night...one just doesn't seem to be enough.




the most time consuming part of the recipe is the handling of the dough. i know, you look at the recipe and sigh relief taht you can use frozen dough, BUT the rolling it up and rolling it out, then pressing into the cups takes a bit more effort. i'll cut the whining...because as you can see in this photo of the bottom, it becomes an important part of the tart cup. i think it makes it much better than some of the recipes that just say to form the dough straight into the tin.

i don't quite know what i would serve with these. just one on a plate looks kinda lonely...besides, they are definitely one of those things you just have to pick up and take a bite. no utensil would do it justice

anyhow..try them yourself. i think they would be great for a brunch.

0 PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP. My fav.

well, i'm pretty sure this is my favorite PB cookie recipe so far. good ol' Betty Crocker. i found this old school cookie recipe book among my moms library of cook books, ranging from her original Good Housekeeping 3 ring binder to Jaques Pepin's le Technique. it looks like a childrens picture book, only the pictures are awful. some of them almost unappitizing, but i knew i couldn't go wrong with something basic and something Betty.

oh yeah...i forgot...i was also surprized by Betty's recipe in the fact that she gives the option of whole wheat flour. imagine that. who'd of thought Betty would be bringing up whole wheat so early in the game?...

i think my 1st try, i used 3/4 c. whole wheat and 1/2 c. reg. and the second time i used all whole wheat and they were still just as crisp/chewy and yummy.

the recipe's not so huge that you're making cookies for hours and they keep really well in a tupperware for days












one of the things that really makes this cookie is that i used HUGE salted Virgina peanuts and barely chopped them. when you bite into one of the chunks you really get the peanutty thing going on. also i used mini chocolate chips because i didn't want the choc. to overpower the peanut in flavor, texture AND looks.

BETTY CROCKER'S PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. butter or margarine

1/4 c. shortening

1/2 c. peanut butter

1 egg

1 1/4 c. all purpose or whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

mix sugars, butter, shortening, peanut butter and egg

stir in remaining ingredients

cover and refridgerate for at least 3 hours

heat oven to 375

shape dough into 1 1/4 in balls and place 3 in. apart on ungreased cookie sheet. flaten in criss-cross pattern with fork dipped in flour.

bake untill light brown 9-10 min.

makes about 3 dz.

as i said, i added mini choc chips and huge pieces of peanuts...i have also tried it with craisins and they were even better...like a PPJ on whole wheat toast?

0 Daring Dobos Torte

This month's Daring Bakers' challenge is co-hosted by Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella and Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar. They chose Dobos torte.

According to Angela and Lorraine, the Dobos torte is a five-layer sponge cake, filled with a chocolate buttercream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.

I originally planned to pass on this month's challenge because it's summer time and I wanted to spend as much time away from the kitchen as possible. Even though we only need to complete 8 out of 12 challenges per year to maintain good DB standing, as the posting date approached, I felt guilty for skipping one due to laziness. I blame it on my OCD. I just like knowing that I can check this one off my list. So at the last minute I threw this cake together.






The sponge cake recipe was straightforward. I was too lazy to bake the cake in six rounds so I just spread the batter in two half-sheet pans and cut out rectangular layers. My sponge layers ended up too thick since I used only two half-sheet pans for the whole quantity of batter. I should have used three pans instead of two. My frosting and cake layering skills need some work. It bothers me that my buttercream layers are so much thinner than the cake layers.

I've only made Swiss meringue buttercream before so using whole eggs for this particular buttercream recipe was new to me. Even though I used a 60% cacao chocolate, I felt the buttercream was too sweet. But I really enjoyed the whole egg method. The chocolate buttercream turned out super rich due to the egg yolks and the buttercream did not feel too greasy or taste overly buttery. The recipe was also very forgiving. I thought my chocolate-egg mixture was cool enough to start adding the butter, but after beating in all the butter my buttercream was still a bit runny. So I chilled it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes and then beat it until it was the proper fluffiness.

I didn’t want the caramel coating on the top cake layer to be so hard that it would be impossible to fork through it so I thought that adding a little butter to the caramel might help. When the sugar reached a medium amber color I added a generous tablespoon of unsalted butter and swirled it until melted and proceeded to coat my cake layer. I had a minor mishap involving the hot pan and my sink so I was distracted. I was distracted for less than a minute but it was long enough that the caramel I poured over the cake layer had already started to set so I was unable to coat the cake layer as well as I should have.

I could fork through the caramel coated cake layer without any problems. I was worried that the caramel might be too hard or stick to my teeth but it wasn't and it didn't. The caramel shattered perfectly and melted it my mouth. I'm not sure if it turned out so well because I took the sugar to the correct stage or because I added the butter.

I read somewhere that the caramel coated cake layer was the key to the Dobos torte's "keeping properties". Well, I can't speak to that, but I can say that the caramel coated cake layer technique is something I will keep with me and use for other cakes. The caramel coated cake layer was my favorite part of the Dobos torte.






The fine print:
The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Continue reading...

0 OCTOPUS SASHIMI WITH CHILI SESAME OIL

easy sashimi?
well, of coarse it's easy. what is it? sliced raw fish made pretty on a plate. how hard can that be? so, i have no real secrets for ya, but i can tell you a real quick cheater way to have some dee-lish octopus sashimi at home and you can impress your friends with this as a starter or a side to a great meal.

so what's my big secret?...

1st. don't try to deal with this eight legged bugger and think you're going to cook it to proper sashimi texture yourself..unless your an octopologist of some sort.

2nd..."you're only as good as your tools"...in this case, i let my fingers do the walkin'. i googled all the Japanese markets in the area and chose the best one.

i found this beautiful octopus at Mitstuwa. funny thing is...i was on the hunt for chicken feet!!!...my octopus obsession was last month, hence the reasoning for my suggestion of not trying to cook this yourself. cleaning the thing alone, i mean with a BEAK and all, didn't sound fun, let alone the fact that i couldn't find a whole, fresh octopus anywhere. they were all frozen. then there's the fact that cooking it so that it's buttery tender enough for sashimi, might be a different cooking technique than just the normal instructions i found.

so long story short, go to a Japanese market and pick out a perfectly cooked octopus tentacled leg. i bought one that was a little less than 1/2 lb and it would have been great for 4-5 people to enjoy a few slices (kinda all you need for an app.). while you're there look at the dressings...good luck!...it's really hard to pick out something when you can't read the lable. instead i went to Bristol Farms and asked how they make thier yummy chili oil they use on thier spicy poki.

sesame oil, chili oil, cayenne, sea salt, seaweed, white and black sesame seeds and ground pepper. you could, of course just go traditional and serve with soy, ginger and wasabi.

so that's it...go and have fun investigating your local Japanese/Asian market. some of the stuff you'll find is definitely and eye-opening experience. i wouldn't do my shopping there, but i will go back for sushi grade goods.

0 EASY SIMPLE PUFF PASTRY FRUIT TARTS

seen before...I KNOW !...but it was my 1st time solo with puff pastry (store bought, of course) and i know there are a few more dinosaurs out there who have yet to experience the wonder and amaze themselves with the instant gratification one can get from that small thin frozen box of ready-made dough.

i don't see a time where i would ever want to make pastry dough from scratch...WAIT...scratch that...i never thought i'd be making my own candy either !!!...

anyway, go out and buy a box and try some variations on the old tired fruit tart.

WAIT !...that didn't come out right, did it...!?

my 1st try started with seeing the strawberry black pepper tyme tart recipe that kevin found (Kevin's blog at closetcooking) and he in turn found it at the hungry mouse. both sites are great and i can always find something interesting and yummy. (check 'em out!).

so...use any variation(s) of fruit, being that we are still blessed with beautiful summer goods right now and play with spices and herbs and nuts. just follow these easy prep and cooking instructions . i decided i really liked the strawberry and thyme tart because i liked the fact that it had cardamom in it, and i hadn't worked with that either. come to find that in a regular market it's kinda expensive. i found a really good price at World Market (FYI) . now i've used cardamom quite a few times and love it.
also...these are best eaten same day, otherwise, of course, it tastes like a day old danish. anyway, they are so quick to whip up, why not have fresh all the time. keep some frozen pastry in the freezer at all times...i do now....