Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Remember when your mom told you that eating raw cookie dough would give you worms? I never did believe her or if I did, I did not care. I threw all caution to the wind and ate as much raw cookie dough as I could sneak passed her.
It was my job to bake the family cookies beginning in the second grade. That is how I learned fractions and got my fill of cookie dough! I became quite the cookie monster and still am.
These are my favorite chocolate chip cookies. It is a basic recipe with a little twist. Try browning the butter to add a toffee taste to the cookies. I hope you like them!

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cup cups semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
3/4 cup toasted walnuts*

Adjust the oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk flour and baking soda together in a medium bowl and set aside.
Heat 10 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan often until butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma. This will take 4-6 minutes. Transfer browned butter to a large heatproof bowl, using a spatula to scrape out the pan. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.
Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk again for 30 seconds. Repeat the process of whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny. This will dissolve all the sugar. (The dissolved sugar caramelizes more easily, creating a spectrum of toffee flavors and influencing texture. Uh... that was just in case you care about such things.) Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture in the butter mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and toasted nuts. Give the dough a final stir to make sure no pockets of flour remain.
Roll cookie dough into walnut-sized balls. Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
bake cookies one tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have just begun to brown, 7-9 minutes. Let cookies begin to cool on baking sheet and then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly before eating a few!

* To toast walnuts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange walnuts on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, checking frequently.

Ginger Refresher

This turned out to be an especially good idea. It has become my new favorite summer beverage. It is light and refreshing. It can be enjoyed as is or mixed with tea or an adult beverage to liven it up. I added a couple of mixer ideas below the basic recipe.
The original recipe calls for lemon peel and lemon juice but I especially like lime. I have yet to try it with lemon. I think that would be quite nice, as well.

2 ½ ounce fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
4 cups boiling water
2 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
4 tablespoons sugar

Grate the ginger into a heatproof bowl or quart canning jar. Be careful to not lose the juice from the ginger! Add the lime peel. Pour bowling water into the bowl or jar and let steep overnight.
Strain the liquid into a large pitcher. Stir in the fresh squeezed lime juice and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Taste and add extra lime juice or sugar to suit your taste.

Ginger Lime Martini
To make an adult beverage, fill a shaker with ice and add 3 ounces of ginger mixer and 1 ounce of vodka, ginger cello, or spiced rum. Shake well and pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a twist of lime.
Mary Palmer
To make a delicious tea, fill a tall glass with ice and fill with equal parts iced sun tea and ginger mixer. Garnish with a twist of lime.

Chicken Jalfrezi

I had never cooked Indian food but a new found cheap rack cookbook piqued my interest. This is the first of four recipes I tried. It takes a while to chop up all these veggies but it is worth the effort. I think this is a good meal to cook with a friend. So pop the cork on a bottle of wine, turn on some music, and start chopping!

Chicken Jalfrezi

Serves 4-6

4 Tablespoons ghee*

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, sliced

1 large onion, chopped

2 tablespoons garlic and ginger paste

2 green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and chopped

1 large fresh green chile, seeded and finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon salt

14 oz. canned chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup water

chopped fresh cilantro

Melt half the ghee in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces and stir around for 5 minutes, until browned but not necessarily cooked through, then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Melt the remaining ghee in the pan. Add the onion and sauté, stirring frequently, for 5-8 minutes, until golden brown. Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and continue sautéing for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the green bell peppers to the pan and stir around for 2 minutes.

Stir in the chile, cumin, coriander, chili powder, turmeric, and salt. Add the tomatoes with their juice and the water and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low, add the chicken, and let simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the bell peppers are tender, the chicken is cooked through, and the juices run clear if you pierce a few pieces with the tip of a knife. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro.

Serve over basmati rice.

To make ghee: Melt one pound of unsalted butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. As the butter melts it will begin to boil and separate (white froth on top with sediment settling to the bottom of the pan). Reduce heat and keep the butter boiling steadily. Do not stir. Allow the butter to continue to cook for about 20 minutes. The bubbling noise will quiet down and the sediment at the bottom of the pan will turn golden brown and the the liquid under the froth will turn an amber color. Remove pan from the burner and let the cooked ghee cool for half an hour. Line a strainer with some cheese cloth and strain the ghee into a heatproof bowl. Discard the sediment . The ghee will harden as it cools.

Easter Napolean Torte

I first made this torte for a dear Mennonite friend. He described the torte his Mom used to make; I did the best I could to recreate her recipe. My friend said it was "right on." I was happy about that but I thought it screamed strawberries. Maybe strawberries were not so available in the Alberta prairie but they are available in Vancouver! I made the torte pictured for Easter celebration with my kids.

Napoleon Torte with Fresh Strawberries
Cookie Layer
3/4 cup cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups flour
pinch salt

In an large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cream and mix until blended. Add the 2 eggs and beat them in. In a separate bowl combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto the countertop and knead 3-4 times just to form it into a ball. Wrap the dough well and put it in the refrigerator to cool 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 400°. Take out the cooled dough and divide it into 6 balls. Roll each ball out into the bottom of a well greased 9 inch spring form pan and bake for 6-8 minutes or until very lightly browned. I bake them 2 at a time because I have only two forms. Carefully turn the cookies out onto a cooling rack.

Cream Filling
4 cups whole milk (or use 2 cups whole milk, 2 cups half and half)
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons soft butter
5 cups fresh sliced strawberries

Mix the sugar and cornstarch together in a large saucepan. Lightly beat the egg yolks in 1 cup of the milk and gradually whisk the milk and egg yolk mixture into the sugar and cornstarch mixture. Cook over medium low heat until the mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly. When it comes to a boil remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla. Pour into a bowl and then lay plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard. Let this cool until thoroughly chilled.
Slice all but one cup of the strawberries. The remaining berries will be sliced right before serving the cake and added to the top layer.
Place the first cookie layer on a cake platter and spread custard over the top but not quite to the edges. Top with strawberries. Add the second cookie layer, dividing the custard and strawberries evenly among the layers. Top with the final cookie and the last of the custard. Wrap the cake well in plastic wrap so it does not topple off the platter and set in the refrigerator 24 hours. This will allow the custard to soak into the cookie layers and form a soft torte.
Before serving slice the remaining strawberries and arrange them on the top of the torte.

Dulce de Leche Filled Cookies aka Stephen's New Favorite Cookies

I first made these cookies for Christmas 2009. I liked them but wondered if they would be a hit with my family. No need to worry! Stephen ate one and declared them "My new favorite cookie." They disappeared rather quickly and I made more. They made a nice addition to a cookie plate filled with more colorful and fanciful Christmas favorites.

Ingredients:
1 cup soft butter
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups cornstarch
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 can sweetened condensed milk

To make dulce de leche set the unopened can of sweetened condensed milk in a pan of boiling water, for 1 hour. Make sure the can is completely submerged in the boiling water. Add more water as needed to keep the can covered. Cool completely in the refrigerator. I usually prepare the dulce de leche the day before I bake cookies.
Mix sugar and lemon rind in a small bowl and set aside. Mix flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl beat butter until very creamy. Beat the egg yolks lightly and then add yolks and vanilla to the creamed butter. Add cornstarch to the butter and then add the flour mixture. Beat until smooth. Shape into ball, wrap in waxed paper, and set in refrigerator 1 hour.
Taking about 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface.. Cut with small, round cookie cutter . I use a 1 ½ inch cutter. Smaller would be even better. Place on cookie rounds on floured
cookie sheets and bake at 350°F for about 8 min. Do not over bake. Cookies should just be starting to brown along the edges. Cool completely.
Spread 2 teaspoons dulce de leche on the underside of one cookie and top with a second cookie. Freeze to set the dulce de leche. Store in air tight container in freezer and beware if someone in your family likes eating them frozen! They might disappear if they are discovered!

Happy Michael Apricot and Blueberry Pie

I created this pie two days before my grandson was born. I had apricots from my grandma's tree and had spent the afternoon making jam. I ended up with a few extra apricots. Some were already blended for the next batch of jam but I saw that I did not have enough fruit to complete the job. I did, however, have a bowl of fresh picked blueberries. I put 2 and 2 together and decided to see how the two would blend to make pie. I used lime juice instead of the usual lemon juice just for fun. I really liked it!

2 cups mashed apricots
2 cups chopped fresh apricots
4 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoon lime juice
2 Tablespoons instant tapioca
2 Tablespoons corn starch
Pastry for 2 crust pie

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pit fresh apricots and blend lightly to make 2 cups. Pour into a large bowl. Pit and chop an additional 2 cups of apricots; add to blended apricots. Add lime juice and blueberries. In a separate bowl mix sugar, tapioca, and cornstarch. Pour sugar mixture over the fruit. Let sit 10 minutes.
Line a deep dish 9-10 inch pie pan with pastry. Pour in fruit mixture. Top with pastry, flute edges, and cut vent holes in top of pie. Bake in preheated oven 35 minutes.