Food Archives - Page 28 of 56

Bok Bok, Batch…of Three Cup Chicken

By threejamigos | February 12, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

Gung hay fat choy! Happy Lunar New Year! This is the Year of the Pig and in celebration of this, I spent the last week in Hong Kong with my boys-PIGGIN’ out. It has been years since I have been in Hong Kong and with Jordan living in nearby Korea, we decided a rendezvous was in order.
I walked off the plane and took a deep breath and instantly knew I was back in Asia. The scent that wafted through the air and surrounded me immediately transported me back to my first visit to Hong Kong so many years ago. An amalgam of daily life, food, incense, years of humanity all rolled into one.

Before I regale you with our travels in Hong Kong…let me tell you about our flight. It’s been a while since I have been on a flight that lasts 14 hours. AUUUGH! I don’t care if you are in First Class, Business, or Economy…it’s a LONG time to be cooped up in a plane. I did manage to catch 40 winks, watch a couple of movies, and pick through multiple cafeteria-like meals. The highlight was a bowl of instant ramen on the last leg of our journey. By then even the K-Movie I was watching knew how I felt.

One of the meal selections was Three Cup Chicken. I knew of this classic Taiwanese dish but have never had it. This peaked my curiosity so I made a mental note to try this dish when I got home.

A day of vegging out to get over my jet lag and I was ready to hunt down the recipe for Three Cup Chicken. The first thing I noticed was, though called 3 cup chicken, most recipes did not use those proportions. Thank goodness since that is a lot of sesame oil.

I decided on a mash-up from two of my go-to blogs, The Woks of Life and No Recipes. You can use bone-in pieces like chicken wings but the next time I think I will try boneless thighs. This dish is easy to prepare and lands on the dinner table in minutes…my kind of dish.

The soy sauce, sesame oil and rice wine form the braising liquid but the addition of garlic, ginger and Thai basil really sets this dish apart. No wonder it’s a classic that has stood the test of time. One recipe called for a touch of sugar, sounded good, so I included it. If you like spice, throw in 1-2 Thai chili peppers for good measure.

The aromatics are heated in oil before adding the chicken. Brown the chicken and add the braising sauce. Simmer, turning the pieces occasionally. The sauce will reduce and coat the chicken creating a deep caramel color. Can you say yum? Finish with the basil and green onions. Be generous with your basil it adds a ton of flavor to the dish.

The chicken is browned in the ginger, garlic infused oil.

Isn’t that a lovely color? Serve with steamed rice and veggies. The perfect meal.

So delicious. Don’t tell Cathay Pacific, but this version of 3 Cup Chicken is so much better than theirs!

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San Bei Ji(三杯鷄), or Three Cup Chicken

Taiwanese dish made by cooking chicken with sesame oil, soy sauce and rice wine.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword 3 Cup Chicken

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings 4

Calories 460kcal

Ingredients

1 tablespoon peanut oil or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 inch piece ginger sliced then julienned
6-8 cloves of garlic lightly crushed, but left whole
1 thai chili seeded and sliced crosswise optional
1.25 pounds boneless skin-on chicken thighs sub: 1.5 pounds chicken wings
1/4 cup Chinese rice wine mijiu or shaoxing
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 cup loosely packed Thai basil leaves only
1-2 green onions thinly sliced

Instructions

Heat a large pan or wok until hot. Add the peanut oil then ginger and garlic (and chili if using). Fry until fragrant, but don't let it brown.
Add the chicken in a single layer, skin-side down and fry until the skin is well browned.
Flip the chicken over, and then add the rice wine, dark soy sauce, regular soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar.
Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is tender, flipping the chicken over a few times as it cooks.
Remove the lid and turn up the heat. Reduce the liquid into a thick sauce.
Add the Thai basil leaves and toss to coat.
Serve with rice.

Potato Leek-i-ty Split Soup (Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup)

By threejamigos | February 7, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

I love Potato Leek Soup. If you dig into the 3jamigos archive this soup pops up a couple of times. This is my go-to soup. In the winter, I make a hearty, rustic version with lots of potatoes, smokey bacon, and heavy cream, perfect for a chilly evening. The summer version is lightened with a bit more stock and light cream, pureed so it is silky smooth, and served at room temperature. Both are crazy delicious and proof of the “Versatility of Vichyssoise”.

The hubs called me at work one afternoon last week with that age old question, “What’s for dinner?”. With my long commute, I knew it had to something quick and easy. A salad? stir fry? Quick pasta dish? As ideas popped up in my brain (including restaurant names), I heard Wes say, how about potato leek soup?

Crusty French bread, glass of wine, bowl of soup..I was all in. But, silly, soup takes awhile…wait, hmmm.

Enter the Instant Pot. I have made other soups in my IP. Why not? A quick Google search landed on quite a few recipes for Potato Leek in an Instant Pot. Why didn’t I think of this before?

I saute’ the vegetables in the Instant Pot, added the stock, set the timer to 7 minutes and forgot about it until I heard the beep-beep-beep. Finish with cream and garnish…DONE. How easy is that? Ahhh dinner on the table in less than an hour and only 1 pot to clean. Perfect.

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Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup

A delicious, quick and easy recipe for Potato Leek Soup made in your pressure cooker

Course Soup

Cuisine French

Keyword Instant Pot, Potato Leek Soup

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Resting time 10

Total Time 30

Calories 244kcal

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Butter
3 large Leeks white part only, cleaned and sliced into rounds(1/8")
1 yellow onion diced
2 cloves Garlic minced
2 Tbsp Flour
5-6 cups Chicken Broth
1 Bay Leaf
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp White Pepper
1 lb Gold Potatoes (4-5 spuds if using Yukon Gold, 3 russets) peeled and diced
1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
Garnish
Chopped Chives
Sour Cream
Anything your little heart desires

Instructions

Press the Sauté button on the Instant Pot. When hot, add the oil and butter.
Add the onion. Cook until soft, stirring occasionally, approximately 5 minutes. Try not to let it brown. Add leeks, cook for additional 3-4 minutes until the leeks are soft.
Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant, stirring frequently.
Sprinkle the flour over the onion-leeks mixture and stir. Cook for a minute to get the raw taste out of the flour.
Stir in the broth. Be sure to dissolve the flour and scrape the bottom of the pot. The Instant Pot senses particles on the bottom and will shut off to prevent burning.
Add the bay leaf, salt, pepper, and the potatoes. Stir.
Put the lid on the pot and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
Press the Manual (or Pressure Cook) button, and the + or - button to choose 7 minutes. then forget about it until the timer goes off.
When the cooking cycle has ended, let the pot naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Then manually release the remaining steam.
10. When the pin in the lid drops, open it and stir the soup. Remove the bay leaf. Then use an immersion blender to puree it. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a blender, pureeing the soup in small batches very carefully.
11. Stir in the cream or half and half.
12. Taste and adjust salt, if needed.

Garnish with chopped chives, sour cream, bacon...just about anything you like, corn, shrimp, crab.

Notes

Blend soup just a bit leaving chunks of potatoes for a more rustic soup. Blend until completely smooth for a classic version. Reserve part of the soup, before adding the cream, to freeze for a rainy day. Rainy day instructions-heat soup slowly and add cream once it is warmed.

This soup serves as a wonderful base for a vegetable soup. Add chopped spinach at the end and heat and stir occasionally until spinach wilts.

Use clam juice as part of the stock for a seafood twist. Garnish with shrimp or crab. yummos.

Cool as a Cucumber Banchan (Simple Asian Cucumber Salad)

By threejamigos | January 21, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

Are you like me? I hate making salads. I love salads, but prepping veggies, not so much. I only have enough bandwidth to prep maybe 1-2 fixings for a salad. Which means my salads are pretty darn boring. Helloooo, Banchan. Banchan are little appetizers plates that come with every Korean meal. Banchan can include seafood like fishcake but are generally comprised of vegetables such as soybeans, radishes, potatoes or CUCUMBERS (my favorite). It’s my veggie salvation. Instead of a salad, I pull out my jar of kimchi or pickled radishes, slice some cucumbers and splash a soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onion dressing on the cucumbers. So refreshing and delicious. Yep, rockin’ the banchan.

One of my favorite kitchen gadgets is the Japanese Behringer mandoline. I purchased mine when I was in school in Los Angeles a long time ago, and I mean a LONG time ago. Thirty years later it’s still going strong, it’s a great option if you don’t have a mandoline. It is sturdy, inexpensive and apparently very durable (I can vouch for that), find it here.

I love this little salad. It is stupid easy to make and delicious. I use soy dashi, (a combination of soy sauce and dashi, a fish-based stock) when I want a smokey, slightly briny taste to the cucumbers. Would be a lovely side dish with the Gochujang-Lime Salmon or the Braised Pork Belly rice bowl.

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Cucumber Banchan

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Asian

Keyword cucumber salad

Prep Time 10

Ingredients

1 cucumber Japanese, English, Persian about 1 1/2 cup sliced for 1 cucumber

Dressing

1 Tbs soy sauce or Soy Dashi
2 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp Korean red chili powder
1 tsp sesame oil

Garnish

1/4 tsp sesame seeds
2 green onions chopped

Instructions

Slice cucumbers into thin slices. Around 1/8 inch (3 mm).
Mix soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar in a bowl. Pour soy vinegar into the bowl with cucumbers.
Then, add 1/2 tsp chili powder and sesame seeds. Mix and taste. Add more chili powder if you want. Doing it in this order allows you to taste and control the amount of chili powder based on how spicy you want it.
Add chopped green onions and mix again.
YOU ARE DONE!! Serve immediately for the freshest and crunchiest cucumbers. You can also let it sit for 10-15 minutes for the cucumbers to absorb the dressing before serving.

Rainy Day Eats: Braised Pork Belly ala Instant Pot

By threejamigos | January 20, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

I am a sucker for rice bowls and noodle soups, especially when the weather turns cold and dreary. There is something comforting about eating out of a bowl. I love sitting by the window watching the falling rain and listening to the blustering wind while holding a bowl of deliciousness. My Dad’s stew, my Mom’s won ton soup, spicy Thai curry or gooey mac and cheese all come to mind.

Yep, living life one bowl at a time.

Japanese braised pork belly, Buta Kakuni falls neatly into this scenario. Simmered in soy sauce, sake and sugar, the pork becomes so tender it melts in your mouth and has that sweet salty flavor that I love. It is rich and flavorful, so a little goes a long way. Grab a good sized bowl, add a big scoop of steamy hot rice, lay 2-3 pieces of the pork on top and drizzle the braising liquid over it. Serve with a ramen style soft boiled egg and vegetables. Yep, a bowl of rockin’ goodness.

Normally, this dish takes a couple of hours to make, but thanks to the Instantpot, you’ll be sitting down to eat in less than an hour.

This recipe is adapted from the blog Just One Cookbook, another favorite for Asian recipes. Slab pork belly can be found in most Asian markets or ask your butcher to save you a piece. If time is tight, you can forego browning the pork, but I think it does add flavor and color. Reduce the Mirin to 1/4 cup and increase the sake to 1/2 cup to cut the sweetness. The recipe calls for adding soft boiled eggs to the pork to finish cooking. Instead, cool the braising liquid and put the peeled soft boiled eggs in to seep overnight a la ramen style eggs. Love oozy runny egg yolks. Feel free to follow the recipe or try Serious Eats’s recipe for ramen eggs, both are delicious!

This is classic comfort food. I stir-fried some shredded cabbage and onions with the braising liquid as an accompaniment. Another option is a super simple Asian Cucumber Salad. The crisp cucumbers provide a nice contrast to the soft pork. Plus, it’s nice to get some veggies in for a “well-rounded” bowl.

Enjoy!

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PRESSURE COOKER PORK BELLY (KAKUNI)

Braised Pork Belly in a fraction of the time with an Instant Pot. Delicious with a bowl of rice or ramen.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Instant Pot, Pork Belly

Equipment

Instant Pot or pressure cooker

Ingredients

3 green onions/scallions use only the green parts
1 inch ginger
1 Tbsp neutral flavor oil vegetable or canola
2 lb pork belly block 2 lb = 907 g
Water for cooking pork belly
4 soft/hard boiled eggs See Notes
Shichimi Togarashi Japanese seven spice (for taste, optional)
Chinese Mustard

Seasonings

1/2 cup sake 1/2 cup = 120 ml
½ cup water ½ cup = 120 ml
1/4 cup mirin 1/4 cup = 60 ml
½ cup soy sauce ½ cup = 120 ml
¼ cup sugar ¼ cup = 50 g

Instructions

Cut pork into 1-inch pieces
Peel and cut ginger into slices. Using the green part only, cut scallions into 2 inch segments
Switch Instant Pot to Saute' function and add oil to pot. When the oil is hot, add pork and brown (3-5 minutes). Add water to pot to cover the pork. Add green onions and ginger to pot.
Cover Instant Pot and seal, make sure the knob is set to sealing. Cancel saute' function and set function on stew/meat (35 minutes)
When the pork is finished, carefully vent to quick release pressure. Drain pork. Add seasoning ingredients to the Instant Pot and return pork to pot. Add soft boiled eggs to pot unless seasoning them separately. See notes.
Seal and set pot on stew/meat function and set time to 10 minutes. When finished, quick release vent pot.
Remove pork and eggs from pot. Taste the seasoning liquid, if it seems to dilute, set pot on saute' and reduce. Reserve sauce for serving.
Serve pork and eggs over rice or ramen. Garnish with Shichimi Togarashi. Drizzle sauce over rice and serve with mustard. Enjoy.

Notes

If you don't have Mirin, increase Sake to 3/4 cup and add 1 tablespoon sugar. If you like a soft runny egg, do not put it in the Instant Pot to cook. Cook your eggs separately. You can cool the cooking liquid and place the peeled soft boiled eggs in the liquid to seep for a couple of hours or overnight. You do not have to seep the eggs. You can serve the eggs in your rice bowl drizzled with the cooking liquid and sprinkled with seaweed seasonings (furikake) if you want.

Nutty for Almond Meltaways

By threejamigos | January 15, 2019 | Comments 2 comments

I contemplated using the tiniest font size possible when I typed “cookie #12 of my 12 days of cookies” when I realized I actually can’t change the font size. Damn! It’s the second week in January and here I am finally posting the last holiday cookie.

At least it is a good one, Almond Meltaways.

I would not be surprised if one of the first cookies I ever nibbled on was an almond cookie. Every bakery in Chinatown makes a version of the egg-washed, crinkly cookie with a hallmark whole almond pressed in the center of each. Made with lard or shortening these cookies are crumbly, sandy, crisp, and redolent of almonds. In a nutshell-yummy. While friends pulled out sugar or chocolate chip cookies from their lunch bags, I pulled out almond cookies from mine. Those days are a distant memory but I still love eating almond cookies.

On my last jaunt to Los Angeles, I made a quick pitstop at a family favorite in Chinatown, Phoenix Bakery. When we were kids, my mom, distantly related to the owners, always made it a point to stop there when we were in LA. After catching up with the latest news of our families, they would pack boxes of Almond Cookies and Butterflies for us to bring home. I love their Butterflies, a bow-shaped sheet of dough deep-fried to make them shatteringly crisp and covered with a sweet, sticky, gooey syrup-a dentist’s dream. If you are ever in LA, do yourself a favor and pick up a box. The bakery just celebrated its 80th anniversary, no small feat for a family-run business and a testament to their delicious sweets.

I enjoy almond cookies anytime. But almond cookies are a must during New Year and an integral part of any New Year’s celebration. Symbolizing coins, they represent good fortune and prosperity in the New Year.

Although it would be hard to beat the almond cookie of my youth, I am always trying new recipes for almond cookies. I’m glad I tried this one. They’re delicious. The recipe comes from the blog The Beach House Kitchen and is a wonderful stand-in for Chinese Almond Cookies. The fine grain texture and tenderness come from the use of cornstarch, confectioners’ sugar, and shortening while the butter and almond extract provide the flavor.

The dough comes together in a snap. Use a tablespoon ice cream scoop (#70 scoop) to portion out the dough.

The dough is flattened with a glass dipped in sugar and a whole almond pressed in the center. After baking, a quick dusting of powdered sugar is the final touch before serving these gorgeous cookies.

I can’t wait to bring these to this year’s celebration, Happy Year of the Pig!

Like Almond Cookies? Here are a couple of other favorites, Almond Clouds from King Arthur’s Flour and Almond Cookies from B’s Patisserie in San Francisco.

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Almond Meltaways

Course cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword Almond Cookies

Prep Time 16

Cook Time 14

Total Time 30

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour 167 gm
1/2 cup whole almonds finely ground 75gms
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar 71gm
1/2 cup cornstarch 56gm
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature one stick
1/2 cup shortening room temperature
2 tsp. almond extract
whole almonds for garnish
granulated sugar for dipping
confectioners' sugar for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, almonds, confectioners' sugar, corn starch and salt until well combined. Set aside.
Combine butter and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, on medium speed beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add almond extract.
Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the flour mixture, beating until the dough begins to clump and form a ball around the paddle.
Shape the dough into balls, about one tablespoon each and place on baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Flatten each cookie with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in some granulated sugar and then press a whole almond into the center of each cookie.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, until just lightly browned and firm when gently touched. Let stand on baking sheet for 5 minutes, before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
Shake confectioners' sugar on tops of cookies

A Crinkle Just In Time: Cookie #11 Lemon Crinkles

By threejamigos | January 1, 2019 | Comments 2 comments

Jamie is home and decided it was time to bake and bail me out, as she always does, on my attempt to post 12 Days of Cookies. I’m soooo close, this is cookie number 11. If it wasn’t for “being under the weather”, I would have posted this yesterday. We definitely needed a citrus cookie so she picked a Lemon Crinkles. The recipe comes from Fresh April Flours by Lynn. I think it was karma that Jamie picked this recipe, Lynn is a scientist by trade and a field hockey player. Imagine that? Fate.

A riff on Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, these gems are bursting with lemon flavor, a delightfully refreshing cookie that’s easy to make and sure to appeal to any citrus lover.

If you are a lemon FREAK. You could up the amount of zest or play with the amount of lemon juice (just a bit since adding liquid can effect the texture). Remember, adding zest ups the lemon flavor while adding lemon juice will increase the tartness. Baking soda also tempers sourness (which is why I add baking soda to my buttermilk biscuits, I don’t want the tang). You could play around with leaving out the baking soda and adding more baking powder…but this is speculation on my part, so you are entering the change at your own risk zone.

Using you handy dandy ice cream/cookie scoops. Use a 1.5 tablespoon scooper for a good size cookie. Roll the scoops into smooth uniform balls before LIBERALLY rolling in the powdered sugar. Some of the sugar will be absorbed by the moisture in the dough. For that nice white jagged snowy cap, keep on rollin’.

Cookies spreading too much? Chill-out and chill the dough well. This means on warm days, chill the dough, scoop out the balls, if they are soft, chill again.

Bake these bad boys off and sit down with a nice cup of tea and enjoy! Or tease your Dog…

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Lemon Crinkle Cookies

A citrus riff on the classic chocolate crinkle cookie. A refreshing change of pace.

Course cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword Crinkles

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings 18 cookies

Author April Fresh Flours

Ingredients

1.5 cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature = 1 stick
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg room temperature*
1.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 T for more tartness
zest of one lemon can increase for more lemon flavor

Instructions

In a medium size bowl, toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (approximately 2-3 minutes). Beat in vanilla, egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Cover bowl and chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. If chilling longer than 1 hour, allow to sit at room temperature about 15 minutes before rolling into balls.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
Pour the powdered sugar onto a large plate. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop the dough out of the bowl and roll into a ball with your hands. Dough ball does not need to be perfect. Roll the ball of dough generously in the powdered sugar. Place no more than 8 balls of dough on a baking sheet at one time (4 rows of 2). Chill dough you are not using.
Bake cookies for 13-14 minutes or until cookies look mostly matte (not wet or shiny). Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 10 days. Baked cookies freeze well, up to 2 months. Rolled cookie dough can be frozen up to 3 months. Roll in powdered sugar before baking and bake frozen. Add another 1-2 minutes to baking time.

Forward Progress…courtesy of Jamie….an Instagram Story on making Lemon Crinkles! It gets a little loss in translation on the blog but it’s a start..onto 2019!

Go Big or Go Home Day 10 of 12 Days of Cookies (CCC Skillet Style)

By threejamigos | December 31, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

The best thing about cruising the internet right now is the plethora of Top Ten or Best Eats of the Year lists that are popping up everywhere. In between furiously publishing holiday recipes, everyone digs into their 2018 archives and comes up with The Best of 2018.
I scrolled through Favorite Desserts of 2018 on Ktchn and landed on a cookie recipe and I mean A cookie. My stomach grumble meter went into overdrive, a ginormous chocolate chip cookie baked in an iron skillet.

It’s New Year’s Eve. I need a dessert that’s EASY to make, a show stopper, sharable, and has universal appeal.

This pops into my head.

Enter the Skillet Zone. Julia Child in a suit and tie, sans glass of wine, starts to speak, she’s a bit stiffer than normal but hey, this is a mash up…she starts to speak…

Imagine if you will, a Cast Iron Skillet, ebony from years of cooking and love. A warm GIANT Chocolate Chip Cookie cooked in the aforementioned skillet and a quart (or more) of Vanilla Ice Cream.

The Oohs and Aahs as you bring this to the dinner table. Cause who doesn’t succumb to the aroma of a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie?

You cut into the cookie-the chocolate chips are gooey, melted perfection, the cookie is soft, cakey in the middle, you work your way to the edge, the texture changes to that of a cookie with a crisp, caramelized edge. You place the wedge of cookie on a plate.

Everyone is holding their breath in anticipation, mesmerized by the chocolate oozing and the aroma of the cookie and then…

BAM! You hit it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream which immediately begins to melt over the cookie.

Everyone goes crazy.

Yes, you have entered the Skillet Zone.

Unfortunately, I do not have a cast iron skillet. Lost, in one of the many moves we have made. I used an All-Clad skillet. My cookie was relatively even in height. I think that if baked in a cast iron skillet, the additional heat of the black pan would cause the sides to bake quicker, rise a little higher than mine, possibly be a bit crisper. Hmmm, yummy. Feel free to add nuts if you like. I CHEATED, I used chocolate chunks and pistoles instead of chopping chocolate. Definitely try to find chunks and not use regular sized chips.

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Deep-Dish Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces dark chocolate coarsely chopped, divided
1/2 cup pecans pieces

Instructions

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 375°F.
Place the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine; set aside.
Place the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (Alternatively, use an electric hand mixer and large bowl.) Beat at medium speed until lightened in color and creamy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the eggs and vanilla. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Beat in the flour mixture on low speed until just combined.
Set aside 1/3 cup of the chopped chocolate. Add the remaining chocolate and nuts if using, to the dough and fold to combine. Transfer the dough to a 10-inch cast iron or oven-safe skillet. With damp hands, press the dough in an even layer to the edges of the skillet. Sprinkle the reserved 1/3 cup chocolate over top and gently press into the dough.
Bake until the center is set and the edges are golden-brown and slightly pull back from the skillet, about 25 minutes. Set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

Notes

Add nuts if you like. I use pecans. Ok, I cheated, I didn't chop chocolate but used chocolate chunks and pistoles I found. I am all about the path of least resistence.

Will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Use only vanilla ice cream. NO bubblegum flavor, peppermint or anything else but Vanilla...just saying.

Thumbprints: Thumbs Up for Day 9 of 12 Days of Cookies

By threejamigos | December 29, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Only 3 more cookies to bake for my 12 days of cookies 2018. Cookie no. 9 is a riff on my go-to thumbprint cookie. I decided to use toasted hazelnuts in place of walnuts. Ok, not earth-shattering but enough of a twist that the hubster noticed (he is a thumbprint afficionado) and loved the nuanced change. The hazelnut MO? More assertive than other nuts such as almonds or pecans, buttery and sweet. It’s flavor shines in these thumbprint cookies. I filled the center with a berry-lime jam I had made at the end of summer and added a tease of vanilla to the dough to complement the jam. Yummy!

Measure the amount of nuts needed before grinding them. You want the nuts to be finely ground but not to the point where it starts to get pasty.

Take out your trusty ice cream/cookie scoop. I use a tablespoon scoop and line up the cookie dough balls, assembly line mentality, on a sheet. Place dough balls on a cookie sheet approximately 1.5-2 inches apart. Press each one to flatten to 1/4-3/8 inch thick (thicker if larger). Use the end of a wooden spoon or utensil of similar size, to create a depression in the center of each cookie. I use a hand blender to puree my jam (no fruit lumps!) and a squeeze bottle to squirt the jam into the center of each cookie. How easy is that?

This turned out to be a delish version of thumbprint cookies. Perfect during the holidays and especially nice with a bit of the bubbly to bring in the new year!

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Riff on Thumbprint Cookies

Course cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword thumbprints

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts
1 cup butter at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup seedless berry-lime preserves or your choice
Dash of salt
Powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Chop nuts in food processor until very fine. Beat butter, nuts, salt and granulated sugar in mixer bowl until light. Beat in flour into blended.
Shape dough into 1 inch balls.
Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets and flatten to 1 1/2 inch circle.
Press into centers with a fingertip.
Fill each indentation with 1/4 teaspoon preserves.
Bake 10-12 minutes, until golden.
Cool.
Sift confectioner's sugar over cookies.

Notes

Substitute your favorite jam, I plan to use a pineapple-orange jam for the next batch.

Crazy 8 Day: It’s Crack Not A Cookie but It Deserves to be on the List

By threejamigos | December 26, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

This year I joined in on Food52’s Holiday Gift Swap. It was simple, all I had to do was make a donation to their designated charity and promise to send a food-centric gift by Dec. 10th. A couple of days later, I received my “Secret Santa” swapee’s name and address. My swappee lives in Colorado, I already had a list of go to items I wanted to send her like Jule’s granola and my cousin’s spiced pecans.

My box of goodies came from Catherine of Salt Lake City. Like a kid in a candy store, I quickly tore the box open and discovered a treasure trove of gifts, sweet and salty chocolate sprinkles, popcorn seasoning, salad toppings, a too cute kitchen towel and a delicious cereal mix- Ashure Cereal that I started munching on immediately. Luckily, Cathy included the recipe by Saimin Nosrat in the NY Times. It starts with a base of puffed wheat, nuts, and sesame seeds. Then spiced with cinnamon, cardamon and mahaleb, (a middle eastern spice from cherry seeds, think bitter almond) and finally toasted in the oven with brown sugar, honey and oil. It is addictively delicious.

After scarffing down the bag, I knew I had to make my own batch.

This is where the search begins…

I head to my favorite market, International Food Bazaar. I unwittingly thought that the spices would be the hardest to find. Surprisingly not true. Most of the ingredients and spices can also be found online.

With Mahaleb in hand, I head to my neighborhood grocery for the puffed wheat cereal…

4 STORES later, I walk out empty-handed and dejected. Not a bag or box of puffed wheat to be found. Apparently it is really hard to find puffed cereals without sugar added. Who would have “thunk” it?

I took to the internet, and found Vitacost, a supplement/health food site where I not only find Puffed Wheat, but Puffed Kamut (an ancient grain), Puffed Corn and Puffed Rice. You can find Puffed Rice by Quaker Oats in the supermarket, a great alternative for a gluten free version. I like Puffed Kamut. I would definitely cut a bit of the cereal and add more nuts and Mahaleb. Watch carefully when baking as it browns fairly quickly. I love it over yogurt and fresh fruit or straight out of hand.

So be forewarned, the most difficult ingredient to find will be the cereal. But it will be well worth it, Ashure Cereal is absolutely delicious.

Here, for you to drool over, my Food 52 holiday swap gift from Cathy!

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Ashure Cereal

Course Snack

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Keyword cereal

Cook Time 15

Servings 10 servings

Author Adapted from NYT

Ingredients

1/2 cup /85 grams neutral-tasting oil such as canola
6 tablespoons /110 grams honey
1⁄2 cup /110 grams dark brown sugar packed
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon ground mahaleb increase to 3/4 -1
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cardamom
10 cups /160 grams puffed wheat sub Puffed Kamut or Rice
3/4 Scant cup /85 grams halved pecans increase to 1 cup
1⁄3 cup /50 grams pumpkin seeds
3 tablespoons /30 grams sesame seeds
1⁄2 cup /85 grams almonds very roughly chopped, or left whole with skin

Instructions

Step 1

Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions. Heat to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

Step 2

Combine oil, honey and sugar in a medium saucepan, and set over medium-high heat. Whisk well, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.

Step 3

In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients, and mix well. Once the honey mixture comes to a boil, carefully pour it over the dry ingredients. Working quickly, use a large silicone spatula to stir, turning the contents of the bowl over until everything is coated evenly with the syrup. Transfer mixture to baking sheets, and use spatula to flatten out cereal into an even layer.

Step 4

Place baking sheets on prepared oven racks, and bake for 10 minutes.
Carefully remove 1 tray at a time, and use spatula to stir cereal around. Rotate trays 180 degrees, and switch oven positions to ensure even baking. Bake for 4 to 6 minutes longer, until golden brown and well caramelized. Remove from oven, and allow to cool entirely on the trays before breaking cereal into large clusters.

Step 5

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Happy holidays and happy baking!