The Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

These bad boys are a frequent request from my kitchen. My sister will come to town and ask if I'm making them, Sofia will remind me when I haven't made them in awhile, and OHSU even been paid me to make 12 dozen of them last year! Many have asked for my recipe and so I'm going to post it here. I'm a firm believer in sharing recipes. If someone else can benefit and learn from my recipes than I'm that much happier of a baker and cook. I think it's silly when people won't share their recipes as if it's some huge family secret that only those born into a family can benefit. I like to share and I believe when you have something great that others can enjoy, you should share!!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cup unsifted all purpose flour (may need extra flour)
2 cup chocalte chips
1-2 cups M&M’s® or nuts (optional)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Beat in salt and baking soda.

Gradually add flour one cup at a time. The mixture may need more flour above what the recipe indicates. To determine if the mixture needs more flour, wash your hands and touch the dough. If the dough is extremely sticky to your fingers, it needs more flour. Note: by not adding more flour you can count on a very flat cookie.

Begin by adding 1/2 cup additional flour at a time.

Beat or mix the dough until the flour is well mixed.

Repeat the sticky test. Continue to add flour until the dough is not sticking to your hands. After you add sufficient flour (usually an additional 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 more cups flour).

Add the chocolate chips and any additional ingredients (i.e. M&M’s ®, nuts)

Lightly grease cookie sheet and roll small to medium-large sized balls in your hands and then place on the cookie sheet. I like to use a food scale to weigh my cookie dough in 1 or 2 oz balls. The recipe will produce around 50 1 oz cookies and just over 2 dozen 2 oz cookies.

Bake 8-12 minutes, depending on the oven.

Watch your oven and the cookies as they bake to determine the necessary amount of time to bake in your oven. Cookies are done when they are just barely starting to turn golden. If the cookies turn golden brown throughout, you can count on them being soft and moist the day they are baked but they will harden the next day. That is why pulling them out of the oven right when they're just starting to turn golden is essential to having a cookie that will stay soft and moist as if you just cooked them that day! (that is if they even last longer than a day!)

Texas Sheet Cake: Southern Hospitality in a 9x13-Inch Pan

Most of you know that I am the daughter of Southern parents. While I was raised in the Pacific Northwest I was inculcated with the southern culture of my heritage. I have the sweetest Mom in the whole world, born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the epitome of southern hospitality: warm, friendly, always welcoming of anyone she meets, generous, and never fails to appropriately address those with whom she interacts as ma'am or sir. Additionally, Southern cuisine and treats figure highly in Southern hospitality. When I was a kid, anytime someone would be coming by or family and friends would gather, out came the killer southern delicacies whipped up by my Momma. One of our family favorites is the Texas Sheet Cake and can I just get an AMEN for this one?!?! It's been described as delicious, decadent, sinful, and down right goo-ood!!!

In the last several weeks just before Sydnei's birth and after, my Mom has been here to help us. (Thanks, Mom!) Well, her presence has brought back the Southern cuisine, more specifically, the Texas Sheet Cake. (darn--wink wink) We've made them together over the last couple of months and shared them with friends and family. It's been fun to do this with my mom and reminisce of her sweet treats and good times growing up.

There are many versions of the Texas Sheet Cake recipe; I'm going to share our long-time family version with you!

TEXAS Sheet Cake
by Carolyn Thompson

2 cups Sugar
2 cups Flour
1 cup Butter
4 tbsp Cocoa
1 cup Water
1/2 cup Buttermilk
2 Eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift together sugar, flour, baking soda and cinnamon. In a saucepan, combine butter, cocoa, and water and bring to a boil until butter is melted. Pour into sugar/flour mixture and stir. Add buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into 9x13-inch pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.


Just before the cake is ready to come out of the oven (about 5 minutes) prepare the hot fudge frosting:

1/2 cup Butter
4 tbsp Cocoa
5-6 tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
1 lb. Powdered Sugar


Combine butter, cocoa, milk, and vanilla. Simmer until cake is ready to come out of oven. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar. Stir vigorously and well until it reaches a fudge like consistency. Using a fork, punch holes throughout the top of the cake. Pour the hot frosting over the cake immediately.

Note: it will seem when pouring in the powdered sugar all at once that it's too much, just keep stirring and the frosting will develop.


It is delicious served warm with ice cream or cold with a glass of milk! Enjoy!

Marinades are our friends

I had planned one week to have "Lime Marinated Broiled Salmon" for dinner. As many of you know, having tried that recipe, there is at least an hour of marinating time prior to broiling it, not to mention the time it takes to prepare the marinade.

We arrived home at 6:00 one night and I knew it would be forever until we ate if I made the salmon. Sure, I could just make something else on the menu for the week, but this preggo mama was totally pumped about the salmon! Being the "results-oriented" person I am, (you Arcadians out there know what that means--wink, wink) I looked out in the garage to find my saving grace: a bottle of Lawry's Brand, Havana Garlic and Lime marinade. (I promise, this isn't a "blog commercial!") The flavor was perfect and the closest I could get to the original recipe.

Anywho, I grabbed it and quickly marinated the salmon. I even only marinated it 30 minutes and the flavor still absorbed nicely. Moral of the story?

1) Always have some marinade on hand to make a super delish dinner fast;
2) Lawry's brand marinades are our friend--no matter what flavor you use; and finally,
3) go ahead and purchase 20 bottles of these bad boys when they go on sale for a BUCK at Albertson's, you'll definitely use 'em all!

p.s. We're actually grilling pork chops tonight and they've been marinating in the steak and chop flavor...yumm-o.

p.p.s. My favorite flavor of all is the Sesame Ginger one, it rocks my cooking world.

The MOST AMAZING Apple Muffins

Holy Cow!!! I found an amazing recipe for Apple Muffins in "the muffin book" and of course, switched out and altered the amounts of five of the ingredients. They are unbelievably tasty! I just finished eating three and I couldn't wait to post about them! They are perfect in every way: flavor, texture, and fluffiness.


Refrigerator Apple Muffins
You can make the batter ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days!

3/4 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
1 tbsp baking powder
apple pie spice (apple pie spice ingredients below)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking multi-grain cereal (Cream of Wheat)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup whole ground flaxseed meal
2 cups, thinly sliced, chopped, peeled apples
3 egg whites or 2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups skim milk
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp canola oil
coarse sugar (turbinado) or granulated sugar

Apple Pie Spice

Combine:
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger

1. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, apple pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Stir through the cream of wheat, brown sugar, whole wheat flour, and flaxseed meal. Add the apples; stir well.

2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the egg whites or eggs, milk, applesauce, and oil. Add all at once to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened (the mixture should be lumpy).

3. Place the muffin batter in an airtight container. Cover, seal, and label with the date by which it must be used. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Gently stir the batter (it will have risen during storage). Grease muffin pan or line muffin pan with paper baking cups, then spoon into muffin cups, filling them two-thirds full. Sprinkle each muffin top with some of the coarse or granulated sugar.

5. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Serve warm, or transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Killer Pizza Dough Recipe

Here it is the BEST recipe you'll ever find for pizza dough. I adopted this recipe from allrecipes.com and added a couple of ingredients while at the same time, depending on my mood, I also change up the proportions of bread flour vs. wheat flour. There is a lot of flexibility on this one so feel free to add to it as well! (if you do, be sure to let me know how it came out--I love new ideas!)


Pizza Dough

Makes two to three hearty pizza crusts. This dough can also be used to make calzones or can be frozen for later use.

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 ½ cups of warm water (110 degrees F)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of salt
1/2 whole wheat flour
5 1/2 cups of bread flour
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon of basil

Directions:
1. In a glass or bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let sit until creamy; about 10 minutes.

Hint: An effective and quick way to help the yeast activate is to place it on the stove as the oven is preheating. It's sort of like giving the yeast a jump start. The added warmth of the stove top provides just the right boost to the activating yeast. I learned that little trick back in my 4-H days when I was about 9 years old!--good times. :D

2. Stir the olive oil, wheat flour, salt, garlic powder, basil, and 4 cups of bread flour into the yeast mixture.

3. Mix the remaining flour, ½ cup at time, stirring well after each addition.

4. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

5. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with olive oil. Cover with damp cloth and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in volume; about 1 hour.

6. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two to three equal pieces and form into rounds. Cover the rounds and let them rest for about ten minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

8. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into the desired shape, cover it with your favorite toppings and bake at 425 degrees (220 degrees C) for about 20 minutes or until the crust and cheese are golden brown.

Beef Carnitas, A Family Favorite

Everyone knows our family loves any food with a Latin or Spanish flare. This recipe is a staple for us and can be used to make so many great dishes. Tonight we're having Beef Carnitas Tacos for dinner but like I said the Beef Carnitas can be used to make various dishes including: empanadas, enchilada casseroles, and beef salad.

I found this recipe almost a year and a half ago in Cooking Light Magazine. It's such a stellar recipe that I've never found a reason to alter it. Give it a try, your tummies and waistline won't be sorry!

p.s. The timing of Beef Carnitas on our menu for the week is no coincidence...I'm having some serious physical cravings for red meat. It must be all the protein and iron! Not too worry--I'm doing my best not to over due it. :D

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Okay, everyone, this bread recipe is a definite keeper. I found it on allrecipes.com and then of course, modified it quite a bit...like I always do! To be honest, I don't think I'll every buy wheat bread from the store again. This is so good and let's just say my hubby is going to be the happiest guy on earth tomorrow when he opens his lunch bag. (A tuna salad sandwich on homemade bread awaits him)


Honey Whole Wheat Bread

• 1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  
• 1/2 cup wheat bran (if you don't have wheat bran substitute wheat flour)
  
• 1 cup bread flour
• 2 tablespoons melted butter (may also use veg/canola oil)
  
• 1 package active dry yeast

Add ingredients according to the manufacturer's directions to your bread machine. Use the wheat bread cycle and light color setting. Most bread machines tell you to add the ingredients in the order they are listed--that's exactly what I did.

Feel free to play with the wheat flour and bran ratios--there's a lot of wiggle room there to make it to your liking. I'm going to add some flaxseed next time to give it an even healthier boost.

I LOVE THIS BREAD!!!!

p.s. The picture above is not my own--the bread didn't last long enough to get a pic. :D

Baking Season Has Begun

I've been aching to bake but we've been so dang busy and then I got really sick (first time since I quit working!)...and finally had a little energy today. While Ryan was at his LSAT class tonight, Sofia and I made some delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. (Recipe compliments of Lindy's mom, Risa Udall, -THANK YOU FOR SHARING!) It made the house smell like Fall and it turned out so yummy. It actually reminds me of the same bread from the Great Harvest Bread Company. I used mostly 100% whole wheat flour, added the chocolate chips, and a couple of dashes of pumpkin spice to the recipe and voilà! Here is the finished product....recipe to follow....

Risa’s Pumpkin Bread

1/2 cup oil

1/3 cup water

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

Mix together the above ingredients. In another bowl, mix together:

1 2/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Add the dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture. Pour evenly into greased and floured pans (1 large or 2 medium). Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

--I'm thinking of trying to use creamed honey (instead of white sugar) to sweeten it the next time I make this. I'm not sure; however, what that will do to the texture...but that's what baking is all about--experimenting!

Another Stellar Recipe

Once again, Cooking Light Magazine comes through. I found this recipe as I was browsing the latest edition of the Cooking Light Cookbook in Costco the other day. The cookbook itself is only $20 bucks and it's huge! Our family loves salmon and ever since we've moved to the Northwest we eat more and more of it. I picked up some very fresh wild catch salmon at Costco the other day and used it to make this recipe. It was to die for...and once again, my husband paid me the "Stormy, I wish you couldn't cook so well, then I wouldn't have to eat everything," compliment. I was grinning from ear to ear. It's simple and easy to make, enjoy!



Lime-Marinated Broiled Salmon

Ingredients

1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
Cooking spray
4 lime wedges

Preparation

Place first 5 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Pour into a large zip-top plastic bag. Add salmon, and seal and marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, turning bag occasionally.

Preheat broiler.

Remove salmon from bag, discarding marinade. Place salmon on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 8 minutes. Turn, and broil an additional 4 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with lime wedges.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and 1 lime wedge)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 281(42% from fat); FAT 13.1g (sat 3.1g,mono 5.7g,poly 3.2g); PROTEIN 36.8g; CHOLESTEROL 87mg; CALCIUM 25mg; SODIUM 414mg; FIBER 0.1g; IRON 0.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 7.9g

Cooking Light, MAY 2003

My notes:

1. One whole lime will squeeze 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, of course you could subsitute from lime juice concentrate--I just prefer this ingredient to be fresh;

2. Ground ginger and chopped thyme from your spice collection works just as well as fresh ginger and thyme;

3. Minced garlic from a jar works just the same as fresh chopped garlic; and

4. You can marinate more than 24 ounces of salmon using this recipe. I marinated 37 ounces for three hours and the flavor was absolutely scrumptious.

Fresh Berry-Peach Cobbler

The following recipe is absolutely to die for and a perfect summer dessert. I made this recipe the same night the July edition of Cooking Light magazine arrived in my mail box. I'll post it exactly as published, however please note a few of my own changes and comments. They are identified by the asterisks noted below. Details about the changes follow the nutrition facts.

FRESH BERRY-PEACH COBBLER

Filling:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped peeled peaches*
(about 2 pounds)
2 cups fresh blueberries**
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Topping:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chilled butter (cut into small pieces)
2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons turbinado sugar***

PREHEAT oven to 400º.

To prepare filling:
COMBINE first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.
ADD peaches, blueberries, and juice.
SPOON mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coted with cooking spray.
BAKE at 400º for 15 minutes.

To prepare topping:
LIGHTLY SPOON 1 1/3 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.
COMBINE 1 1/3 cups flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring with a whisk.
CUT IN butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.
ADD buttermilk; stir just until moist.

Remove dish from oven; drop dough onto peach mixture to form 8 rounds.**** Sprinkle dough evenly with turbinado sugar. Bake at 400º for 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size 1/2 cup cobbler and 1 biscuit) Best served hot, a 'la mode.


Nutrition Facts:
CALORIES 259; FAT 4.9g (sat 2.9, mono 1.2, poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 3.9g; CARB 52.1g; FIBER 2.4g; CHOL 12mg; IRON 1.3mg; SODIUM 230mg; CALC 52mg.

Recipe by Mary Simpson Creel, MS, RD, Cooking Light projects editor. July 2007.


My Notes:

* Peaches: I was in a pinch for time so I did not peel the peaches. The peel did not adversely affect the cobbler and in my opinion, added to the overall texture of the cobbler.

** Blueberries: I didn't have any blueberries on hand and a separate trip to the store to purchase some was not in the cards. I did however, have on hand some fresh raspberries and strawberries. I used a cup of each and it turned out beautifully. Peaches, raspberries, and strawberries are a dynamic combination.

*** Turbinado sugar: For those of you who aren't familiar with turbinado sugar it's basically, steamed unrefined raw sugar. It can be found in the bakery section of the grocery store and is most often sold under the brand name: "Sugar in the raw." Turbinado sugar is similar in appearance to brown sugar but paler, and in general the two can be exchanged freely in recipes. This is exactly what I did by sprinkling brown sugar over the cobbler just before baking it.

****8 rounds of topping: I didn't separate the rounds and instead spread them over the cobbler until it was evenly distributed throughout. It's still easy to gauge the size of the 8 portions the recipe makes.

My Passion for Cooking

This section of our blog is inspired by one of the best compliments I've ever received. We were eating breakfast yesterday morning, and my dear husband, Ryan, says to me: "Stormy, I wish you couldn't cook so well, then I wouldn't have to eat everything." It was a very proud moment for me and in turn prompted an entire cooking and recipe section of our blog. I'm happy to share with you my passion for cooking and some of my favorite recipes!

Cooking for me is a way to dip into my creative side, relieve stress, spend time with Sofia, and put smiles on the faces of those I cook for--especially when they taste my food. My cooking training began way back when I was just a little girl. My mom would bake and cook dishes all the time and it never failed that she would allow me to stir batter or test taste the final product. During the summertime each Sunday afternoon we would walk down a block to an alley which was abundant in blackberry bushes. We would pick and pick and pick and then take them home to my mom where she would make the most unbelievably delicious blackberry cobbler.

As my sister and I got older, my mom enrolled us in the 4-H program. My mom teamed up with another mom named Jan, and started a 4-H cooking class for us and Jan's daughters. Each week we would pick out new recipes and they would teach us how to make them. We went on to learn recipes so well to enter the county fair competitions. We even entered cooking competitions where we had to make a full recipe in front of a panel of judges. They not only judged the final product but also our techniques and sanitary practices throughout the cooking demonstration. It was so much fun and one of my most fond memories of spending time with my little sister Darci, and my Mom. It became the big thing of the year. My paternal grandmother who could cook like you would not believe began scheduling her month-long annual visits around county fair time. Ma-maw would love to accompany us, give us advice, and sit in the audience to cheer us on as we participated.

So that is where my passion and training for cooking was born and it continues today. Now that I am home with Sofia, I have more and more time to cook healthy and yummy meals. Sofia often cooks with me and we have so much fun doing it. I'm proud to pass on this essential skill to my daughter Sofia and future children which, thankfully, my mom passed on to me. Thanks, mommy!

In this section of my blog under "Recipes," I'm going to post some of my favorite recipes and even new ones I find and fall in love with. You can be certain that if it's posted here--it's no doubt a delicious recipe to try.

Bon Appétit!